ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - If there’s one thing that separates today’s students from previous generations, it’s that climate change is no longer a specter looming in some distant future. It’s happening now. Despite their fear and frustration, however, many students also expressed hope—in large part because they see how they and others are making a difference.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - Nicholas Burns (class of 2025), isn’t afraid to stop and smell the roses. Burns is dedicated to finding and applying strategies to create new pollinator habitats and combat their decline. He studies the fitness of flowering plant species in response to neighboring competition and pollination alongside mentor and professor Lauren Hallett at the University of Oregon Hallett Lab.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - Kaley McCarty’s experiences as an environmental studies major landed her a job in higher ed. Now she’s paying it forward by taking students to the world’s biggest climate change conference.

BIOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - Ecologists from the University of Oregon have designed a soil health management system to strengthen the long-term vitality of the state’s hazelnut industry. Oregon produces 99 percent of the nation’s hazelnuts, but the escalation of global extreme heat, which brings dry soil and scalded plants, threatens the agricultural productivity of the region.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - Associate Professor Lauren Hallett is one of three faculty members to receive a Fulbright US Scholar Program award. Hallett will use her Fulbright award to further her research on restoration ecology in Australia and Spain.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, INDIGENOUS, RACE, ETHNIC STUDIES, - Staff and faculty members came together for the inaugural College of Arts and Sciences Awards and Hallmark Achievement Reception, which celebrated some of the achievements of faculty and staff. In addition to celebrating some of the college’s faculty members who have received accolades outside of the university, the ceremony featured the college’s first-ever awards that recognize the work of faculty and staff.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, GEOGRAPHY - Damp weather in the winter and spring doesn’t necessarily protect against wildfires later in the year, according to University of Oregon researchers. Instead, increased moisture can act to increase the threat of fire as summer heat bakes the landscape.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES - Meet Keyen Singer, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Her Indian name is Wáašaša qmɨmsalí ptínits, Dancing Hummingbird Girl. Singer is Miss Indigenous UO and her major is environmental studies. Singer endeavors to embrace the interconnectedness of tradition and modernity, while committed to her cultural legacy and the sanctity of first foods.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES, POLITICAL SCIENCE - Success at the University of Oregon looks different for each student, from academic achievement to personal growth to career readiness.