The climate emergency demands immediate attention. Higher education institutions have increasingly focused on climate change in both curricular offerings as well as in reducing greenhouse gases from their own operations and investments. But often we miss some of the more foundational issues that structure how climate change impacts different communities, including the students at our institutions.

Dr. Levenda’s co-edited book has recently been published as a part of the Geographies of Justice and Social Transformation series at the University of Georgia Press: https://ugapress.org/book/9780820363769/urban-climate-justice/

After a year and a half of the CCAS being started, we have been able to center climate justice in our work. We consider climate justice in numerous ways including the disparate impacts of climate change on communities across place and space, but also in the lifeworlds, emotions, and everyday activities of our communities. As a part of each of our core functions – transformative education, innovative research, and public engagement – climate justice is a guiding principle. Events such as the Native Cases Conference, Climate Lecture Series, and Jose Gomez Farmworker Justice Day have all paid special consideration to this theme and connected issues such as Indigenous sovereignty, worker justice, emotional well-being, and climate action across sectors. We have continued to extend our work in these directions.

In addition, the CCAS has continued to focus on Evergreen student experience and collaboration. We have been lucky enough to support 15 student interns (Jamie, Justin, Corey, Angelica, Renae, M, Mina, Arien, Lana, Ali, Cedar, Amita, Miguel, Takumi, and Ash) who have been doing amazing work that is featured in this newsletter. In upcoming posts, you can read reflections from CCAS interns as well as original writings from Jamie Fiano and Arien Wolf on the connections between our Climate Lecture Series speakers, climate emotions, and climate action. Additionally, you will find reviews of our past events and previews of much more to come, including our efforts at building education pathways for green jobs and climate workforce development.

Thank you for reading and I hope you can find ways to collaborate with us!

In solidarity,

Anthony