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Campus & Community
The path to sustainable commuting
Polina Kehayova, scientific director of Molecular and Cellular Biology Department, her husband, Florian Engert, professor of molecular and cellular biology, and their 10-year-old daughter, Anna Kehayova, commute via kick scooters and rollerblades from their Cambridge home to school and work every day. Engert says, “Every day our family starts the day by rolling from our home close Porter Square to Simon’s Coffee Shop. From there we collectively move on to drop off Anna at the Baldwin School on Oxford Street, and Polina and I then continue to start work at the Biological Laboratories at Harvard. I’m the one on rollerblades because they provide a quick and uncomplicated way of commuting. Anna and Polina use kick scooters because that’s way cooler. I think a lot of fellow commuters know us already as ‘the family on wheels.’”
Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
Faculty and staff save resources while setting an example for health and wellness
In 2018, Harvard announced that it would seek to become fossil-fuel free by 2050, and set an interim goal of becoming fossil-fuel neutral by 2026. The University community has taken steps toward this goal — literally and figuratively — with their commuting habits. The CommuterChoice Program reported that 84 percent of Harvard employees commute to work via a sustainable mode of transportation. The survey showed that 36.2 percent take public transit, 25.7 percent walk, 15.3 percent ride bicycles, and 3.7 percent carpool. (Another 3.1 percent telecommute.) This commitment shows that Harvard is not just a destination but also a lattice of green pathways connecting its diverse communities. These photographs celebrate faculty, staff, and students who save energy and resources by sustainably commuting together across town or from the far corners of New England to arrive here each day.
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Harvard University Information Technology service desk supervisor Scott Helms rides the commuter boat to work every day. “Taking the ferry from Hull allows me to live at the beach and work in Cambridge. I am greeted with the sunrise on the way in and sunset going home. You can ride up top and take in the scenery, or below in the cabin, where you are greeted by pleasant ‘Hullonians’ to catch up on the local happenings,” says Helms.
Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
Emeritus Professor of Microbiology and Immunology Jonathan Beckwith, 83, pictured with his 20-year-old Cannondale bicycle, has been riding to Harvard Medical School from his Cambridge home since the 1960s.
Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
Along his route Beckwith passes the former site of a bicycle shop where his father once worked. The store “had been founded by his Lithuanian/Jewish ancestors, at the time one of the first bike-repair stores in Boston,” he says.
Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
Florian Engert rollerblades to his job in the Bio Labs. Recently relocated from “Down South,” first-year student Hudson Miller and his wife, Hannah Miller, who works in the Physics Department, are adjusting to city life, colder temperatures, and long bus commutes from Charlestown to Harvard.
Photos by Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
On the Weeks Bridge, Joseph Henrich runs to work each day with finger shoes and hand weights. Henrich considers the finger shoes more ergonomic from an evolutionary perspective. In the winter he uses ice shoes. “Sometimes biking and other times running, I really enjoy my daily commute. Dealing with the snow, wind, and rain all year round might seem daunting, but it’s simply a matter of getting the proper equipment and not giving yourself any alternative options. It’s also key to have a shower in your building,” Henrich adds. Harvard football player Jacob Sykes ’22 rides his scooter, and Noor Kamal ’22 walks past Canaday Hall near the Memorial Church in autumn.
Photos by Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
David Seley, operations manager at Harvard University Dining Services, uses an old three-wheel moped to commute to Annenberg Hall, where he works. Seley says, “Considering waste in our daily activities, be it our mode of transport, how we manage food, how we maintain our home’s comfort, or what we discard, is everyone’s responsibility. We are Earth’s conservators for the next generations. We are responsible for how it will support life going forward. That does not mean you cannot have fun doing it!”
Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Crimson running back Devin Darrington ’22 rides a razor scooter to practice near Kirkland House. Near the Weeks Bridge, Lance Schumacher, Hazardous Waste Program coordinator, takes his e-bike to work and to sites on campus. Schumacher says, “My commute is so much more fun and faster than driving, even in the winter …”
Photos by Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Edith “Tomi” Siyanbade ’23 does homework at the Science Center Plaza, resting her foot on a skateboard that she uses for transportation. “I’ve become more and more invested in sustainability since coming to College. Learning to ride a skateboard was a small way I could make a positive change — and it looked pretty cool, too,” she says.
Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Outside Lowell House, Sophie Li ’21 from Southern California rides a Razor Ripsurf, which is shaped like a mini surfboard and has two thin wheels. Matthew Liebmann, professor of archaeology in the Department of Anthropology, rides a skateboard that he uses for commuting outside Tozzer Library and the Peabody Museum. “I ride a skateboard around campus and adjacent areas of Cambridge. It’s faster than walking or driving, and adds a little fun to my day,” Liebman says.
Photos by Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Hugo Milner ’21 rides his bike outside Dunster House. “As an environmental science and public policy major at Harvard University, I am very conscious about the environment. Whilst in Boston my main mode of transport is my bike and I use it frequently every day. The bike lanes in Boston are easy to use and I feel this helps encourage many other people to get out on their bikes.”
Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Scott Helms, boarding the commuter boat from Boston to Hull, says, “The ferry does run all winter long. There have only been two trip cancellations over the past few years due to high winds, but is more reliable than the commuter rail. Even with a frozen harbor, there are ice breakers that open up the shipping lanes. It is the most beautiful and least stressful way to get into the city. Who else can say they love their commute?”
Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
