"I was determined to know beans," Henry David Thoreau wrote of his effort to make sense of the world by cultivating a small garden. His words would make a good motto for students attending one of the member schools of the Eco League—the United States' only environmentally themed consortium of colleges.

Founded in 2003, the Eco League consists of five small liberal arts institutions (Alaska Pacific University, College of the Atlantic, Green Mountain College, Northland College, and Prescott College) spread from Alaska to Maine but unified by an emphasis on environmental learning and hands-on experience. On any given day, students at Eco League schools might be on "lamb watch" at a farm, reading Silent Spring, or canoeing on the Yukon River for a senior project. Students can also explore different ecosystems by spending up to two semesters at other schools in the consortium.

"We're still turning out future teachers, lawyers, and leaders, like any college," says Tim Robison, director of admissions at Prescott College in Arizona. "But we also want our students to have a deep understanding of what it takes to create sustainable communities." In other words, graduates who know books and beans. To find more information, visit ecoleague.org.