Dozens of student activists attended a workshop in Exley Science Center on Saturday, Dec. 6, focused on methods to fight gas pipeline expansion in Connecticut and the broader northeast. The event was hosted by No Pipeline Expansion (NOPE) Northeast, a multi-state coalition comprising over a hundred community organizations opposed to gas pipeline expansion projects in the northeast United States.
Formerly known as Stop Project Maple Coalition, NOPE was initially established to counter Project Maple, a methane gas pipeline expansion across Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts proposed by multinational oil transportation and energy company Enbridge. Since then, NOPE has broadened its scope to further oppose pipeline projects in the broader northeast, such as the New York Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline.
Although Connecticut does not produce its own gas, relying largely on imported gas from other states, three main interstate gas pipelines pass through the state as of April 2025: the Algonquin Gas Transmission, Iroquois Gas Transmission System, and Tennessee Gas Pipeline.
The first half of the workshop focused on NOPE’s opposition to multiple pipeline concepts that have piqued the interest of both President Donald Trump and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, which NOPE views as a potentially ruinous alliance. The Trump administration hopes to repeal numerous environmental protections and rebuild cancelled pipelines along the East Coast; the governor has expressed interest in some of the plans. At the event, speakers elaborated on the potential risks posed by these collaborations, including economic and public health concerns, environmental damage, and energy dependence on out-of-state fossil fuels instead of local energy solutions. The speakers argued that clean, locally-sourced energy leads to lower energy prices, broad economic growth, energy security, and healthier, cleaner communities.
“I think we’re in a really critical moment for a number of reasons,” Sarah Dynowski, State Director of Sierra Club Connecticut, said. “The pressure from the federal government, the Trump administration specifically, to build pipelines that we don’t actually really need is really a challenge. And it’s becoming more and more of a challenge, because the narrative that somehow we need more gas has been taking hold, and we know we don’t.”
The workshop further discussed different ways in which students could get involved in protests against environmental deregulations and pipeline projects. Participants were given index cards to write down actions that activists could take to best fight pipeline projects. After that, participants split into groups to brainstorm targets and tactics.
Sierra Club Connecticut, a member organization in the NOPE coalition, is the state chapter of a leading national environmental nonprofit. They were the primary organizer of the event, and chose the University as the event’s venue due to several different reasons.
“[We had the event at Wesleyan] largely because it’s in the middle of the state, and also between New York and Massachusetts…we’re trying to bring people in from around the region,” Sena Wazer, the Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for Sierra Club Connecticut and the main event organizer, said. “I also really love having it on college campuses, because I think it helps bring in students, and I worked with Sunrise Movement Wesleyan to bring in students from Wesleyan.”
Sunrise Wesleyan is the University’s hub of the youth-led national Sunrise Movement, which has worked on political engagement against climate change via local advocacy. In 2019, the energy provider Eversource began construction of the Southeast Resiliency Project, installing approximately ten miles of gas pipeline between Middletown and Montville.
“There is a gas expansion project happening in Middletown,” Dynowski said. “Eversource is expanding pipelines for redundancy’s sake. It’s going through Middletown and then under the Connecticut River.”
Wazer and Dynowski both noted that they had visited the University before.
“I have come here several times to some environmental studies classes, just to talk about the history of the environmental movement and the kind of issues we’re facing now, and it’s great,” Dynowski said. “There’s a lot of terrific ideas.”
Several University students, many of whom were members of environmental advocacy organizations, reflected on the importance of events like the workshop.
“We should all care about how this energy is furthering the climate crisis, causing asthma and health issues,” Sunrise Movement Wesleyan Coordinator Sasha Lovell ’28 said. “We need to start learning about the expansions that are coming close to Wesleyan so that we can oppose them, because these are things that are really unhealthy, unpopular, and backed by these big government interests. I think that’s something that everyone should be concerned about.”
Students also called for the University to follow its own environmental commitments.
“At Wesleyan, our policy that’s been passed on is the sustainability strategic plan [SSP], and this is our way of trying to get to carbon neutral,” Sunrise Movement Wesleyan coordinator Aviva Branoff ’26 said. “Our goal is to be carbon neutral by 2035, and this is not at all the trajectory that we’re on. Wesleyan students should be educated and ready to support the SSP, know what it is, know how to fight for it, and hold the school accountable for something they already signed and agreed to follow.”
According to the University’s SSP annual report for FY 2025, the University has reduced its carbon footprint by 32% from its 2008 baseline, largely attributed to converting majority of campus heating pipes to energy-efficient hot-water pipes, improving student transportation, and reduced faculty air travel.
President Michael Roth ’78 reaffirmed the University’s goal to go carbon neutral by 2035, stating that there are more phases to be completed for energy-saving infrastructure projects on campus, which will further help in achieving eventual carbon neutrality.
“It’s expensive, it takes a while,” Roth said, adding that energy-efficiency has become a priority whenever a major construction or maintenance project takes place, referencing the new science center scheduled to open in Fall 2026. “It’s done all in the summer, but it’s really been very effective in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. So we’ll continue to do that.”
Dynowski invited interested University students to join the fight for climate action.
“We welcome folks to be involved, because there are lots of activities that can be done from one’s dorm room,” Dynowski said. “Students can also join a rally or event, or just brainstorm some fun ideas we might do, like a march, a bike ride, or a flash mob. We want to have a diversity of voices at the table so that we do good work.”
Spencer Landers can be reached at sklanders@wesleyan.edu.
Brendan Kelso can be reached at bkelso@wesleyan.edu.
Leave a Reply