STERLING COLLEGE USES EDUCATION AS A FORCE TO ADVANCE ECOLOGICAL THINKING AND ACTION THROUGH AFFORDABLE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THAT PREPARES PEOPLE TO BE KNOWLEDGEABLE, SKILLED, AND RESPONSIBLE LEADERS IN THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY LIVE. WE ADDRESS CRITICAL ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS CAUSED BY UNLIMITED GROWTH AND CONSUMPTION THAT IS DESTROYING THE PLANET AS WE HAVE KNOWN IT, SUCH AS: FOSSIL FUEL DEPENDENCE AND RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE, DESTRUCTION OF BIODIVERSITY AND LOSS OF WILD PLACES, PROMOTION OF HARMFUL AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES THAT THREATEN HUMAN AND NATURAL COMMUNITIES, PERSISTENCE OF STRUCTURAL OPPRESSION THAT IMPACTS HUMAN AND ECOLOGICAL WELLBEING, AND THE DETERIORATION OF CIVIL SOCIETY THROUGH ESTRANGEMENT FROM COMMUNITY, NATURE, AND PLACE.