Toby Kiers, a 1998 graduate, was announced as the youngest woman to receive the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement on Apr. 27. The award ceremony took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on April 23, where Kiers accepted her $250,000 prize and delivered a state of the environment address.
The Tyler Prize is administered by the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize for the environment.” Since its establishment in 1973, it has recognized leaders such as Jane Goodall, Michael E. Mann and Gretchen Daily.
Kiers studies interactions among plants, fungi and microbes. In 2021 she founded the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), which works to map and protect underground fungi worldwide. Her recent honors include a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” in 2025 and becoming the youngest recipient of the Spinoza Prize in 2023.
Bowdoin College Environmental Studies operates within higher education with an emphasis on liberal arts and environmental studies according to its official website. The program aims to foster intellectual growth, leadership development and environmental responsibility through a liberal arts curriculum that includes small classes, internships and study abroad opportunities according to its official website.
Students are encouraged to engage in constructive debate about sustainability issues while building principled judgments according to Bowdoin College Environmental Studies’ official website. The program also offers study abroad options across 45 locations in 24 countries as stated by Bowdoin College Environmental Studies.
Bowdoin College Environmental Studies is located in Brunswick, Maine according to its official website.
