From Green Drinks to Bioblitzes: Andrew Ferrara ’23 Uses Environmental Studies Degree to Make Conservation Fun

July 2, 2026

Environmental studies major Andrew Ferrara ’23 is the education and outreach programs director for Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT), a nonprofit focused on protecting our environment. 

In the role, they oversee all of BEAT's events planning and educational activities, including hosting a monthly Green Drinks speaker series, an annual bioblitz, and all of BEAT’s volunteer events. Additionally, Andrew presents on the nonprofit’s work and coordinates with partner organizations to host workshops and volunteer events.  

“I also get to run my own program areas, like air-quality monitoring, zero waste and recycling, and a campaign against the land application of sludge,” Andrew says. “I develop and use educational tools like GIS [Geographic Information System] and our stream table to show the real impacts of environmentally harmful activities and how they impact not just wildlife but human health, as well.”  

Andrew said their time at MCLA gave them an incredible breadth of knowledge and exposure to many areas, not just in environmental science but also in the humanities, public health, and economics.  

“In the work I do, I need to respond to environmental problems that come up quickly, and even though I may not be an expert on something, I have enough background in the subject to begin engaging in the work deeply,” Ferrara explains. “I have the skills to read relevant research and the ability to make the connections to other disciplines, which uncovers new partners in my advocacy work and new ways to connect the environment and other topics that are compelling to people who might not otherwise care about pollution or climate change.” 

Andrew remembers they loved their time at MCLA because they were encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities and resources available to them. “There were so many of both!” they said.  

Andrew made many great connections with the College's staff and faculty. “Professor Elena Traister was a tremendous supporter of all my sustainability and waste reduction activities and was always ready to help me start a new project, campaign, or club,” they said. 

Dr. Traister says that, in the more than two decades she’s been part of MCLA’s Environmental Studies Department, there have been alumni whose contributions to the program and to campus have been particularly notable, and Andrew is one of them. “They applied their passion for sustainability both in and outside the classroom with creativity and a keen interest in learning from experience to develop practical solutions to improving institutional systems and reducing waste,” she said. “They approached every assignment with an eye toward developing tools that would have practical use on campus and in the community, from using GIS to identify the availability of local foods, to compositing food waste in student resident areas, and starting the MCLA Garden Club.”, Now, through their work with BEAT, the whole region benefits from Andrew’s thoughtful and creative approaches to improving environmental sustainability." 

Andrew gives back to the College that helped them get their start in many ways, including by writing welcome notes to incoming students through the MCLA Alumni Office. “I've also been so glad to come back and present to classes about my work and participate in the annual Earth Day celebrations.” Most recently, Andrew reached out to the Alumni Office’s director of constituent engagement, Doreen Kleinman, to propose setting up a reuse program for graduation gowns. “I'm so excited to donate back several from friends who asked me to help recycle them!”