Hockey Team Scores for Climate Action

The inspiration for the project came after Hall and Zimmerman took Nature & Technology with Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Aaron Strong. For their final project, they recorded a podcast about single-use paper cups on campus, sparking conversations with the Hamilton Sustainability Coordinators (HSC). The players’ curiosity and initiative stood out, and soon they and their teammates were invited to a zero-waste dinner to explore more ideas.

“We thought maybe they’d ask about recycling,” recalls Sara Soika, associate director of sustainability and safety. “But they showed up and said we want to offset our travel emissions. We were like, wow, that’s ambitious, but let’s talk about it; let’s see what it’ll take.”

The conventional approach that many colleges and universities take is to purchase carbon offsets from a digital marketplace. But that doesn’t align with Hamilton’s Climate Action Plan and the College’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, both of which stress that climate action should be real, tangible action — action that engages students, the campus, and the community.

Hall and Zimmerman ran with the idea, and their teammates were instantly on board. What began with hockey quickly grew into a multi-team effort. “We wanted to give students the ability to make a difference and do something tangible about their carbon footprint here at Hamilton,” Hall said.

After Zimmerman and Hall pitched their idea to men’s basketball, women’s lacrosse players who happened to be in the room asked to get involved as well. “We thought we’d have to use some sort of prize or incentive, but in the first couple meetings, it became clear that people didn’t need an incentive to do this,” Zimmerman said.

With the support of the Hamilton Sustainability Working group, including Director of Environmental Protection, Safety and Sustainability Brian Hansen, Soika, and HSC interns Betsy Gross ’25 and Brad Holcomb ’26, and funding from President Steven Tepper’s What If Initiative, Hall and Zimmerman connected with Utica’s Forest Revitalization Project. The city’s initiative, backed by a $2 million USDA grant, aims to reforest the city’s urban landscapes and restore its forest canopy. This partnership doesn’t just provide Hamilton with carbon offset credits; more importantly, it actually combats climate change and enriches Hamilton’s ties with local neighbors and communities. At the tree planting event, Utica homeowners were out on their porches playing music and chatting with students. 

"I'm really happy with the energy our team brought to the project,” said Hall. “This project has been in the works for a year now, and it’s amazing to see our work come to life. As we planted trees, I watched Utica residents share their excitement and gratitude for the project with my teammates. This project goes beyond carbon offsets—it strengthens the community.”

“As we planted trees, I watched Utica residents share their excitement and gratitude ... This project goes beyond carbon offsets—it strengthens the community.”

This initiative is the most recent of many reforestation efforts by Hamilton students, faculty, and staff. Community members have planted thousands of trees on campus since 2018 to help offset emissions, helping to make the College home to the third-largest private reforestation effort in New York State. What makes this one different is the collaboration with others in the area looking to do the same.

“This is about us trying to authentically reach outside our own borders — to get off the Hill,” Hansen said. There are educational benefits, too. “Students will continue to research these trees, going into Utica annually to measure the trees, measure the carbon. Its impacts go beyond just the planting.”

What Zimmerman and Hall started reflects a broader culture of engagement, sustainability, and support at Hamilton. “I think what’s so impressive about this project is that it’s been entirely student-led,” Strong said.

“It’s a testament to a campus where a student can have an idea, talk to a professor about it, plant a seed, and grow it with more and more students and more and more people.”

As the semester progresses, Hamilton’s student-athletes will continue to plant trees in Utica and strengthen this culture of consciousness. The trees will take years to sequester carbon, but their roots already represent a campus where students, faculty, and community members work together to make lasting change.