Gala Sustainability Learning

Check out this new article from the Organization for Tropical Studies on Orlando Jimenez Mendez’s presentation at the 2026 Conference of Latin American Geography in Puerto Vallarta!

The piece explores how interactive modules built around real tropical research are helping students engage directly with biodiversity, conservation, and environmental science through hands-on data exploration and multimedia learning. It’s a neat look at how OTS is acting as a pathway in conjunction with Gala Sustainability Learning and Ocelots Network to rethink tropical science education for broader audiences.

Read the article below:

Interactive Learning in Tropical Science: OTS and OCELOTS at CLAG 2026 Interactive Learning in Tropical Science: OTS and OCELOTS at CLAG 2026

Join us in congratulating Deepika Ganesh as she earns her PhD in Environmental Justice from the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability! Her defense took place last month— serving on her committee were Rebecca Hardin, Kyle Whyte, Neil Dasgupta, Aditi Arur, and Michelle Bellino.

Deepika’s dissertation focuses on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and its inherent connection to place.

Wishing Deepika all the best as she continues her journey in education and sustainability!

It’s Hot In Here host Silver Lining has been doing great work this term and you can follow on Spotify. The crucible of this studio spurred our University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability community of environmental media minds to integrate audio with visual media, text, interactive data, and lyrics and more on the gala platform. But the radio show rocks on, now on Thursdays WCBN and soon back on our website www.hotinhere.us

Amazing to see early gala adopters like St. Andrews University Professor of Classics Andrea Brock (also Director, Center for Ancient Environmental Studies) think out loud with instructional and cyberinfrastructural design lead Ed Wäisänen and new gala authorship and assessment talent Deepika Ganesh from University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. Great start on what measurable impacts her module on Ancient Rome can have, for whom, and in what ways https://www.learngala.com/cases/urbanizing-the-eternal-city (hint: back end data are only a part of the jigsaw puzzle—especially in “ref impact” happy UK!) Thanks to International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Association and University of Aberdeen for hosting!

We learned so much! Thanks Andrea!

This is Gala, signing off for the holidays. See you next year!☃️🎄

In 'Huge Victory for Polar Bears’, Court Rejects Arctic Offshore Drilling Project Hillcorp Alaska's offshore Liberty oil project in Foggy Island Bay, Alaska, was rejected by a 9th circuit court of appeals.

Great article on urine diversion! Check out our corresponding case here: https://www.learngala.com/cases/urine-diverting-toilets

https://news.umich.edu/peecycling-payoff-urine-diversion-shows-multiple-environmental-benefits-when-used-at-city-scale/

'Peecycling' payoff: Urine diversion shows multiple environmental benefits when used at city scale Diverting urine away from municipal wastewater treatment plants and recycling the nutrient-rich liquid to make crop fertilizer would result in multiple environmental benefits when used at city scale, according to a new University of Michigan-led study. The study, published online Dec. 15 in the j

In case you missed it last week, check out this new case on "Panda Habitat Degradation in Wolong, China: How can conservation and development be balanced within a nature reserve?" University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability

https://www.learngala.com/cases/panda-habitat-degradation-in-wolong-china/1

Wow, what a week for cases!😍 Another new one up, "The Flint Water Crisis: Could the Flint water crisis happen somewhere else?" University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning U-M Ginsberg Center

The Flint Water Crisis : Could the Flint water crisis happen somewhere else? The decisions and conditions that led to the water crisis in Flint, MI are also present in cities across the country.

New case up! "Panda Habitat Degradation in Wolong, China: How can conservation and development be balanced within a nature reserve?"

Panda Habitat Degradation in Wolong, China: How can conservation and development be balanced within a nature reserve? Managers at the Wolong National Nature Reserve in central China must decide how best to conserve giant panda habitat while also addressing the livelihoods of the people within its borders and the demands of an ever-growing tourism industry.

With more news about fires on the west coast and high water levels in the Great Lakes region, cases like 'Beautiful Hazardous Places' are becoming ever more relevant.

Beautiful Hazardous Places: How is Private Land Development Regulated in High-Hazard Settings? Local stakeholders of Paradise, California and Grand Haven, Michigan must decide how to best address growing controversy over proposed development or redevelopment in these high-hazard areas.