School of Global Environmental Sustainability- Colorado State University

Last week SoGES co-hosted the 2025 Climate Leadership Summit. We were thrilled to help more than 400 high school and 8th grade students learn about climate change with many wonderful faculty experts from across campus! Topics ranged from fashion to food, and students came from all over the front range to participate. We loved working with our community and campus partners to bring this event to life, including the , , and . Read more about the event here: https://source.colostate.edu/youth-climate-leadership-summit/

In the most recent HumanNature blog post, Kathy Condon explores the concept of ecological "legacies", highlighting how past climate extremes leave lasting impacts on ecosystems. These legacies influence current and future responses to environmental changes, emphasizing the importance of considering historical events in ecological research and conservation efforts. Read more from our Sustainability Leadership Fellow here: https://sustainability.colostate.edu/humannature/ecological-legacies-in-a-world-of-climate-extremes/

Bees are essential to agriculture, boosting crop yields and biodiversity! By planting pollinator-friendly habitats, reducing pesticide use, and using managed pollination, we can support bee populations while promoting sustainable farming. Kord Dicke, a Sustainability Leadership Fellow at SoGES, walks us through how we can intertwine both pollinator health and a healthy agriculture system in this HumanNature blog post. https://sustainability.colostate.edu/humannature/incorporating-bees-in-agricultural-systems/

Almost everything we purchase is packaged in some way, and often then loaded into a plastic or paper bag for transport between store and home. In the US alone, we use about 10 billion paper bags, 100 billion plastic bags and 100 billion cardboard boxes each year. Is producing and using this much packaging environmentally sustainable? Can it be? Where does all this stuff end up? Is recycling the answer? Join our discussion with experts from CSU at Avogadro's Number this Wednesday evening! https://sustainability.colostate.edu/event/managing-the-planet_2-12-2025/

Air pollution isn’t just from fossil fuels—household products like shampoos, paints, and deodorants contribute to harmful air particles as well. Tucker Melles, a Sustainability Leadership Fellow at SoGES, walks us through how understanding their impact is key to improving our air quality. Read more on the HumanNature Blog: https://col.st/LFQoj

Sinking carbon into our soils will be critical going into the future. But treating soil as a one-trick pony is doing it a disservice. In her HumanNature blog post, Sustainability Leadership Fellow Lexi Firth advocates for a broader approach to soil health by including water retention, biodiversity, and nutrient cycling as key indicators. Read her whole article here: https://sustainability.colostate.edu/humannature/soil-carbon-the-climate-solution-were-misunderstanding/ Integrated Rocky Mountain-region Innovation Center for Healthy Soils

Ever consider how images can shape your outlook of a certain topic? What if those visuals could help inspire you instead of make you feel hopeless? That's what Sustainability Leadership Fellow Elizabeth Diaz-Clark writes about in their HumanNature blog post. By sharing diverse, people-centered images that highlight resilience, innovation, and local impacts, we can empower action and inspire change. Read the blog post here: https://sustainability.colostate.edu/humannature/diversifying-how-we-visualize-climate-change/

Communication is key in all walks of life, and finding inspiration and skills to communicate better are all around us. Sustainability Leadership Fellow Mikko Jimenez saw this from his mechanic. Read about how a trip to the mechanic made him rethink communicating scientific work. https://sustainability.colostate.edu/humannature/what-my-mechanic-taught-me-about-communicating-science/

Climate change impacts every facet of society, including but not limited to business operations, public health, safety, and transportation. Each community faces its own unique climate challenges and must tailor its actions to protect lives, livelihoods, lands, and waters.

Our panel will bring together local government with CSU researchers as they discuss ways to foster community resilience to climate change.

https://sustainability.colostate.edu/event/managing-the-planet_11-13-2024/

Ph. D. Student Azmal Hossan, a 2024-2025 Sustainability Leadership Fellow, shares his insights on decolonizing climate change adaptation research. In our latest blog post, he explores how shifting the focus toward inclusive, community-centered solutions can lead to more effective and equitable climate action. Don’t miss this thought-provoking piece on rethinking adaptation through a decolonized lens.
https://sustainability.colostate.edu/humannature/decolonizing-climate-change-adaptation-research/

Diana H. Wall’s gift to the world was an unwavering passion for educating the population about the importance of global environmental sustainability and ecosystem health. And true to her nature, Wall left behind a final gift to CSU: $2.5 million to endow the Sustainability Leadership Fellows Program within the School of Global Environmental Sustainability and the Graduate Fellowship Program in Ecology within the College of Natural Sciences’ Department of Biology.

Remember! The first annual Diana H. Wall lecture presented by Rob Jackson is this Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 5-6pm in Plant Sciences Room C101. Jackson will guide us through how we can restore the atmosphere within a lifetime and how we can safeguard a livable planet for future generations. We look forward to seeing you!

Events for October 2024 – Sustainability From one of the world’s leading climate scientists, a heart- and mind-changing book that offers a hopeful and attainable vision for restoring the atmosphere and ending the climate crisis.