Finding solutions to the world's biggest environmental problems as we train the next generation of environmental leaders. Our work takes place at the Philip K.
Working at the forefront of environmental science, the Wrigley Institute brings together researchers and students from all disciplines to solve our world's most pressing environmental challenges. Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island, USC's University Park Campus, and field locations across the country and around the world. Visit our website to learn more about our most recent projects and about opportunities for fellowships, internships, and other research support!
05/07/2026
Meet the Interns! Environmental Communications Edition 📸🎙️
Introducing our 2026 Environmental Communications Internship cohort, a group of undergraduate student science communicators and storytellers. From writing to photography to graphic design, these interns will spend their summer translating environmental research into engaging content that educate, inspire, and connect people to important work for our planet.
05/06/2026
This semester, students in ENST 499: Infrastructure and Environmental Justice in U.S. History explored how infrastructure (like water distribution systems and transportation networks) shapes who benefits from the environment and who bears the burden. To help with their deep dive, they conducted research with original historical materials held in the USC Special Collections!
05/01/2026
Catalina Julymester applications close this Sunday, May 3 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Don’t miss out!
OPEN Julymester 2026 Course:
🟢 ENST 320aL: Water & Soil Sustainability
Application link: https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b8IS0lQuSACYShw
04/29/2026
Giving to the Wrigley Institute on means investing in hands-on learning opportunities and groundbreaking research. 🌱🔬
Your gift helps support programs at the Wrigley Marine Science Center, including our Scientific Diving Program and the Catalina Residential College, where Maymester and Julymester students live and learn.
Give today: https://dayofscupport.usc.edu/p/usc-wies/c/Dornsife
04/29/2026
Today, the Trojan Family comes together for .
At the Wrigley Institute, we’re empowering future environmental leaders with immersive learning experiences that turn hope into meaningful action.
Your support today helps make their impact possible. Join us in shaping a more sustainable future for our planet. 🌍✨
Give today: https://dayofscupport.usc.edu/p/usc-wies/c/Dornsife
04/27/2026
On Friday we held our Surf Conservation Community Launch at USC! We heard from Cnidarian Evolutionary Ecology Lab (CEE Lab at USC) researchers and the Surf Conservation team about what’s happening in our oceans right now, and from University of Southern California undergrads sharing how they’re taking action today.
We’re excited to welcome this growing community of students turning their passion for surfing and the ocean into protecting the ecosystems we all depend on!
USC Environmental Student Assembly
Conservation International
04/23/2026
Save the date! On Wednesday, April 29, the Trojan Family comes together for ❤️💛
From Los Angeles to Catalina Island and across the globe, our goal is to create a more sustainable future for our planet and all who live on it. 🌎
Your support fuels research and hands-on learning that bring much-needed hope to our environment and inspire positive change. Join us today and be part of the solution.
Support the USC Wrigley Institute: https://dayofscupport.usc.edu/p/usc-wies/c/Dornsife
It’s people like Matt Luna ‘26 who remind us why we do this work.
As a biochemistry major and scientific diver, Matt was drawn to the Maymester aquatic microbiology course. His month at the Wrigley Marine Science Center involved not just hands-on lab and fieldwork, but also opportunities to build strong connections with professors and students from other majors who share a passion for protecting our environment. These experiences prepared him for life after USC and gave him something more: the confidence to turn his hope for our planet into action.
This Earth Day, we celebrate students like Matt who are building the skills to tackle real environmental challenges and create meaningful change today and in the future. 🌎🌱
In celebration of , and host Climate Forward, an annual conference bringing together leaders from across the political spectrum to move the climate conversation beyond debate and toward real, actionable solutions. 🌎🌱
04/16/2026
At a recent visit to the Green Ravine Test Plot at the Wrigley Marine Science Center, volunteers and University of Southern California students came together to tend the space. They checked in on plantings installed during the fall season, prepped the site for annual brush clearance, and improved irrigation systems to support long-term growth. 🌱
Part of Test Plot, a community land-care initiative developed in partnership with USC's Department of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism, the project is led by professor and landscape architect Alexander Robinson. Through his ARCH 546 course, students return to WMSC each year to help build and maintain the landscape as a living experiment. Students, staff, and volunteers from WMSC, the Catalina Island Conservancy, and the USC Environmental Studies Program are also helping to maintain the plot and track its health.
Now in its third year, the Green Ravine Test Plot aims to restore biodiversity on campus and help manage rainwater runoff flowing into the marine protected area at Big Fisherman Cove on Catalina Island.
In celebration of Earth Month, the USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability and the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future are honored to host its seventh annual Climate Forward Conference on Wednesday, April 15, from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm PST in the USC Town & Gown Ballroom.
The Climate Forward Conference features a series of conversations around advancing climate change issues. A range of panelists with expertise in environmental policy, sustainability, and government service will discuss paths to practical solutions to climate change and the political obstacles to implementing those changes.
The USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability is driven by its mission to work toward sparking meaningful, nonpartisan change to save our planet. The USC Center for the Political Future aims to advance civil dialogue and research that transcends partisan divisions and finds solutions to pressing national and global challenges.
