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  • Salata Institute Student Ambassador Info Session: 2025-2026

    Virtual Event

    The purpose of the Salata Student Ambassador Program is to build a vibrant, student-led, interdisciplinary climate community across Harvard’s many schools. Ambassadors serve as connectors—engaging in peer-to-peer outreach, engaging with students, faculty, and staff involved in climate and sustainability work on campus, and contributing to the advancement of the Salata Institute’s mission. Tune into the info session to learn more.

  • In-Person Presentation Science Spotlights: Where Did All the Animals Come From? Saturday, October 25, 2:00–2:30 pm ET Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Classroom B, 3rd FL, Cambridge, MA 02138 Regular museum admission rates apply; recommended for ages 10 and up. Meet up-and-coming scientists and learn about questions at the forefront of research today! 2:00–2:30 pm Where Did All the Animals Come From? Speaker: Walker Wayland, Graduate Student, Ortega-Hernández Lab, The Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard The world today is filled with millions of animal species of every size, shape, and color, but where did they all come from? You might be surprised to learn that our animal-filled planet is a relatively recent development in Earth’s long history! Join paleontologist Walker Wayland as he uncovers how fossils reveal the story of ancient ecosystems that existed long before the dinosaurs and discover how these prehistoric worlds help scientists understand the origins of animal diversity on Earth today!

    Science Spotlights: Where Did All the Animals Come From?

    Harvard Museum of Natural History 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, United States

    The world today is filled with millions of animal species of every size, shape, and color, but where did they all come from? You might be surprised to learn that our animal-filled planet is a relatively recent development in Earth’s long history! Join paleontologist Walker Wayland as he uncovers how fossils reveal the story of ancient ecosystems that existed long before the dinosaurs and discover how these prehistoric worlds help scientists understand the origins of animal diversity on Earth today!

    Presented by the Harvard Museum of Natural History and Harvard Museums of Science & Culture.

  • The Radiant Sea cover

    The Radiant Sea: Color and Light in the Underwater World

    Geological Lecture Hall 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, United States

    Dive into the wonders of the ocean with marine biologist and photographer Steven Haddock, Senior Scientist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and coauthor with Sönke Johnsen of The Radiant Sea (Abrams Books, 2025). Through stunning photography, insightful captions, and engaging essays, the book explores how sea creatures display transparency, vivid pigmentation, iridescence, bioluminescence, and fluorescence—from the shallow tropics to the deep sea. In this presentation, Steven Haddock will share the science behind these luminous marine phenomena, along with stories from the scientific expeditions that enabled him to capture them. Videos, animations, and hands-on demonstrations will bring the book’s remarkable images to life. This event offers a unique glimpse into the vibrant world hidden beneath the waves.

  • Graphic illustration of a recycling symbol shaped as a heart with toiletries inside.

    Annual Valentine’s Toiletries Drive

    It’s time for our annual toiletries drive to support the Cambridge YWCA! Help support the drive by donating unused and unopened toiletries, cosmetics, and menstrual hygiene products. Donations will be accepted through Friday, February 6, 2026.

  • Corner of Quincy and Kirkland streets.

    Open House at GSD: Quincy – Western Kirkland Safety Improvement Project

    Gund Hall 48 Quincy St, Cambridge, United States

    The City is hosting a drop-in Open House to review plans for the Quincy St - Western Kirkland St Safety Improvement Project, covering Quincy St between Cambridge St and Kirkland St and Kirkland St between Quincy St and Oxford St. Stop by at any time to learn about the proposed design, learn about the schedule and expected impacts, and share your feedback.

    Sign up for the mailing list for updates. More information, including a map of the project sections, can be found on the project website.

    Thursday, January 22, 2026 • 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
    Harvard Graduate School of Design, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy St

  • Flock of birds flying over a marsh.

    New Perspectives in Ornithology

    Geological Lecture Hall 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, United States

    Ornithology—the science of birds—is experiencing a renaissance. Today, a new generation of tools is transforming how we study birds—from global citizen-science platforms such as eBird to satellite remote sensing and drone-based fieldwork. New Perspectives in Ornithology: 21st Century Dispatches across the World of Birds (Oxford University Press, 2026) reveals how these technologies are reshaping our understanding of bird life and the challenges birds face in a rapidly changing world. Volume editors Scott Edwards and Michael Reed will introduce the book’s key themes including bird ecology, evolution, behavior, citizen science, and conservation. Book contributors Jingmai O’Connor and Elizabeth Derryberry will then address how fossils are enhancing our understanding of bird evolution and how novel studies of bird songs are providing insights into how birds communicate and respond to environmental change.

  • Spring 2026 Freecycle at Science and Engineering Complex (SEC)

    Freecycle Events
    Science and Engineering Complex 150 Western Ave., Allston, MA, United States

    Join us at our Freecycle in the SEC Atrium! Drop off reusable goods you no longer need, and browse a fantastic selection of items brought by others. Find some secondhand items to gift this year. Popular items include books, clothes, and working household goods.

  • Research Spotlight: Building with Fungi (for Arnold Arboretum members only)

    Flora Way Gate Flora Way, Boston, MA, United States

    Fungi are known for their decomposing properties, but did you know that also make great building components? Dehydrated fungal mycelium is waterproof, fire retardant, insulating, and sound absorbing, and GSD post-doc Noam Attias is on the hunt for new species of fungi in the Arboretum to create the next generation of eco-materials. Join Noam for a walk in the landscape highlighting her work and learn about the Arboretum fungi she is exploring.

  • Freecycle- Donate and pick up items for free

    Spring 2026 Freecycle at Smith Campus Center (SCC)

    Freecycle Events

    Join us at our Freecycle in the Smith Campus Center! Drop off reusable goods you no longer need, and browse a fantastic selection of items brought by others. Find some secondhand items to gift this year. Popular items include books, clothes, and working household goods.

  • Harvard Voices on Climate Change: Measuring Forest-Based Carbon Emission Reductions

    Earth Month 2026
    Zoom

    The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability and the Harvard Alumni Association invite you to the next installment of Harvard Voices on Climate Change, a virtual series showcasing Harvard faculty and fellows on different dimensions of the climate challenge.

    This session will explore the science and measurement behind forest-based carbon emission reductions. Featuring Missy Holbrook, Charles Bullard Professor of Forestry, and Benton Taylor, Associate Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, the discussion will examine how researchers measure carbon stored in forests and assess the role of forest conservation and restoration in climate mitigation.

  • Poster graphic for Ken Burns Presents "Henry David Thoreau": A Screening and Discussion with the Filmmakers and Scholars

    Ken Burns Presents “Henry David Thoreau”: A Screening and Discussion with the Filmmakers and Scholars

    Earth Month 2026
    Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts 24 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA, United States

    The Center for the Study of World Religions’ Transcendentalism Initiative will host a special screening of Episode 2 of Henry David Thoreau, a new documentary directed by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers and produced by Ken Burns. The film is narrated by George Clooney and features voice performances by Jeff Goldblum, Meryl Streep and Ted Danson. Director Erik Ewers will introduce the film.

    The documentary offers a vivid, integrated portrait of Thoreau, bringing together the contemplative naturalist of Walden and the political thinker behind “Civil Disobedience.” It traces a life in which attention to the natural world and a commitment to social justice are presented as intertwined expressions of a single moral vision.

  • 2026 Earth Month at Harvard

    Earth Day 2026

    Earth Month 2026
    The Science Center Plaza 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, United States

    Join the Harvard Office for Sustainability and Harvard Common Spaces for an Earth Day Festival on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 from 12 to 2 pm at the Science Center Plaza.