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The UO’s Environment Initiative, after three foundational and pathbreaking years of work, is transitioning to a new, sustainable model. This new endeavor, known as UO Environment, will leverage institutional expertise in education, research, and impact on the major environmental issues facing our world.

Through UO Environment, the College of Arts and Sciences will work with other colleges and schools to carry forward curricular and other work begun under the initiative to grow educational and research opportunities at UO. In addition, the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation is working with faculty leaders to explore the creation of a new center on climate change solutions policy, as well as a number of other areas of research. This web site will serve as a communications hub for news and events across the entire campus.

 

CURRICULUM

The College of Arts and Sciences will continue the transdisciplinary curricular work begun under the initiative in conjunction with other colleges and schools.

POLICY

The exploration of a new center under OVPRI is underway, intended to work with communities on climate solutions, policies, and research.

RESEARCH

Learn about the work UO faculty are conducting that is making an impact in the world.

NEWS & EVENTS

See the noteworthy environment-related updates and events happening on campus and in the community.

Events

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Book talk | ¡Juntes por la justicia climática! Together for Climate Justice!
Join SCR Associate Dr. Catalina De Onís this month when she will lecture on her SCR Small Grant Program funded bilingual children's book “¡Juntes por la justicia climática! Together for Climate Justice!". During her book talk and signing she will describe the role of her student coauthors and the importance of teaching climate justice to new generations.
be flier
BE Passionate with Steph Littlebird
Join the SAB Arts & Culture team as we welcome Steph Littlebird for her free dinner presentation BE Passionate in the EMU Ballroom on November 21st. Doors & Dinner: 5:00pm Presentation: 6pm-7:00pm followed by Q&A 7-7:30pm
hooopathon
Oregon Wildfire Resilience Hoopathon
Meet community fire organizations and local artisans, shoot free throws, and support wildfire resilience and Indigenous land management! Open to students, faculty, staff, community members, and more.

Faculty Excellence

See the work that University of Oregon faculty are producing to make an impact on the world »

A researcher working with students in virtual reality

Danny Pimentel

Pimentel's work in virtual reality seeks to make a global problem like climate change into something you can experience on a personal level.

greg dotson

Greg Dotson

Dotson will work towards situating the Environment Initiative in the community of researchers, policy advocates and policymakers who are focused on climate mitigation in the energy sector.

marsha weisiger

Marsha Weisiger

Weisiger will advance several projects focused on environmental history that analyze and interpret the ways humans and nonhuman nature have shaped each other over time.

 

News

Earth Keeper's Handbook
“The Earth Keeper’s Handbook” Builds Connection, Belonging and a Sense of Purpose...
In her inspiring and transformative guidebook, author Loren Swift shares uplifting stories and helpful practices for creating healthy relationships, nurturing stronger communities and inspiring positive global change through personal leadership
Starfish
Saving Oregon’s rocky coast: Checking in on the sea stars
So, the big question is: why are ochre sea stars returning, while sunflower stars have practically disappeared? Scientists say one of the places on Oregon’s South Coast where sea star research like this has been conducted for years could offer clues: Cape Blanco.
Ocean
A Major Ocean Current May Be Hurtling Towards Collapse
In the new study published Monday in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences, scientists considered not just the amount of change to the oceans that could precede a tipping point, but also the rate of change.
Research and innovation collage
Award nominations now open for UO researchers, innovators
Together, the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, the Office of the Provost, and the Graduate School annually host and sponsor the UO Outstanding Teaching, Research, and Mentorship Awards. The research awards celebrate the significant achievement of UO faculty members engaged in research and scholarly activity.
Fire recovery
Study shows pollen records can measure ecosystem health
A postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oregon has shown that linking pollen records to plant traits works to reconstruct the benefits ecosystems provide for humans. It’s an approach that can now be used confidently to examine how the benefits, or services an ecosystem provides, have responded to disturbances over the past 21,000 years, said Thomas Brussel, a researcher in the Department of Geography.
Car
Students Reimagine Transportation with Arcimoto
Students from the Oregon Consulting Group (OCG) are helping shape the future of transportation in Lane County (and possibly the world), collaborating with the electric vehicle manufacturer Arcimoto to launch a vehicle rental program based in Eugene. With student input, a city-wide rental program for Arcimoto’s electric vehicles is tentatively set to launch in time for the Oregon ’22 World Athletics Championship to be held at Hayward Field.
Glacier
New grant will create an institute for racial and climate justice
The University of Oregon has received a $4.52 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a new initiative envisioning a transformative research platform for racial and climate justice. It is the largest humanities award in UO history.
Amazon Forest
UO-led project maps human, climate impacts in the Amazon
The forest-savanna borderlands, known as the Amazon-Cerrado transition, experience broad climatic and ecological influences. The study addressed uncertainties related to those influences in the tropical ecosystem, said Silva, a professor in the Environmental Studies Program, Department of Geography and Institute of Ecology and Evolution.
peatland in indonesia
UO team identifies what could be world's oldest tropical peatland
A University of Oregon-led research team has identified tropical peatland in Indonesia that is twice as old and much deeper than previously thought. The findings, published in Environmental Research Letters, provide new insights about the climate of equatorial rainforests, especially during the last ice age, said study co-author Dan Gavin, a professor of in the Department of Geography.
One of the art installations for David Buckley Borden's 'Hemlock Hospice' series in Harvard Forest
Fall visiting landscape architecture professor creates environmental art in Harvard Forest
Starting fall term, Cambridge-based multidisciplinary artist and designer David Buckley Borden will be a visiting professor at the Department of Landscape Architecture. Borden will bring landscape design and art experience to the School of Architecture & Environment, such as his work at the Harvard Forest in Massachusetts, where he is currently a Harvard Forest Associate Fellow.