About the EcoLeague

The Eco League is the only college consortium in the United States dedicated to environmental learning and the active pursuit of environmental studies. Five of the most distinctive colleges in the country make up the consortium, together offering students exciting opportunities to study human and natural systems from Maine to Alaska.

The Eco League was officially founded in early 2003, when member schools signed a formal agreement that provided for cooperative exchanges of faculty and students, as well as program research and experiential opportunities.

Many of the schools were original members of the North American Alliance for Green Education (NAAGE), founded by students from Prescott College. The interest in that student-initiated association suggested the possible benefits of formalizing wide-ranging agreements among a group of liberal arts colleges that specialize in education aimed at building a sustainable society.

With strong support from the administrations of potential Eco League colleges, Green Mountain College wrote a grant to the Educational Foundation of America to fund an initiating conference and subsequent faculty visits to build collaborative projects. This effort culminated in the presidents of the colleges meeting in July of 2003 in Boston, where they approved the initial organizational steps and allocated funding for the development of systems and materials needed to make the vision a reality.