EH Blog

Olivia Chandler reflects on her community environmental justice classes at the Nature Center at Pia Okwai.

Erin O'Farrell details their collaborative work with the Nature Center at Pia Okwai, focusing on Indigenous place names, communication strategies, and environmental justice, offering valuable advice for students entering scholarly community engagement.

We're in the midst of defense season, one of the best times of the year!

Pheej Lauj is a rising second year student and a Mellon Community Engagement Fellow. He has partnered with OCA Asian Pacific Islander American Advocates Utah, the Utah chapter of a national Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander advocacy organization, for his fellowship. In this role, he aims to fill gaps and serve as a liaison between the Asian and Pacific Islander (API+) community and the local environmental movement. He has been busy planning the upcoming Utah Asian Festival happening June 3, and he recently received a SCIF grant to support the incorporation of recycling and waste reduction education into his work with the API community.

Ten of our students successfully defended their master's projects and theses, and we celebrated their accomplishments at graduation on May 5. The Class of 2023 was full of bright, creative students with diverse interests. Research ranged from queer ecology on Fire Island, New York to lithium mining at Thacker Pass in Nevada. Students collaborated with Tribes such as the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation and spent deep time in politically charged landscapes such as the U.S.-Mexico border. We were inspired and impressed by their research and look forward to seeing what they do next!