This talk will be a radical exploration of how higher education can advance transformative climate justice.

Amid the worsening climate crisis and intensifying inequities, higher education can play a powerful role in addressing the intersecting crises facing humanity. Institutions of higher education hold untapped potential to advance social justice and reduce climate injustices. However, universities are not yet structured to accelerate social change for the public good.

In Climate Justice and the University, Jennie Stephens, Professor of Climate Justice at the National University of Ireland Maynooth and a Professor at Northeastern University (currently on leave), reimagines the potential of higher education to advance human well-being and promote ecological health. She will be introduced by John E. Fernández, director of the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiaitve, and converse with Naomi Oreskes, the Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University.

On Wednesday, February 5th, from 1-1:50 PM in FXB G12 or online, please join us for the third installment in our Environments for Health and Happiness Seminar Series, featuring Dr. Gaurab Basu. In this event, titled “Responding to Climate Change – Challenges and Opportunities for Mental Health and Well-Being”, Dr. Basu will explore the mechanisms by which climate change impacts the mental health and well-being of our communities, and challenge the audience to explore the ways in which climate solutions can enable the deeper work of creating well-being.

Join Big Chief Gerard (Bo) Dollis, Jr. for a conversation about music, community, and strength in the face of climate change, with a particular focus on Mardi Gras Indian traditions and performance. He will be joined in conversation by Emmett G. Price III, dean of Africana studies at Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

The Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program at the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University, invites you to join us in Cambridge or online for the 2025 Conference, Landscapes of War, Landscapes of Victory: Ukraine’s Changing Environment, February 7-8, 2025. The panels at this year’s conference highlight these essential topics related to Ukraine’s changing environment. Panels will address the current geopolitical landscape and the war’s impact on global issues such as food security; how Ukrainians have been at the forefront of establishing ecocide and environmental war crimes as part of Russia’s repertoire of genocidal tactics in Ukraine and how they might be prosecuted through legal mechanisms; the widespread notion of Building Back Better and the potential to incorporate sustainability standards in Ukraine’s current and future development; and the quickly-changing landscapes of data and technology and their roles in these reconstruction processes. The keynote lecturer is Jojo Mehta (Stop Ecocide International).

This program is the second in a pair of webinars to explore the impact and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the musical traditions of New Orleans. In the 20th anniversary year of the storm’s devastating landfall in southeast Louisiana, leading performers, artists, and scholars will share their perspectives on art, music, and justice in the context of climate change. How have the performers’ music, practice, and community changed over the last two decades? Can future climate crises be occasions for artistic growth, reimagined community, spurs to social action, and new forms of solidarity? What lessons can New Orleans and its ever-evolving music teach the world about resilience and renewal?

Big Freedia will be joined in conversation with Lauron J. Kehrer (Western Michigan University), a scholar of race, gender, and sexuality in American popular music and Loren Kajikawa (The George Washington University), a scholar of rap and hip-hop, as well as race, gender, and politics.

Interested in gardening, land stewardship, or community? Join the PBHA Environmental Action Committee and Harvard Divinity School’s Garden Stewardship Initiative!
Our workshops this semester will focus on land and plant stewardship, highlighting Indigenous voices and the interconnectedness of all species.
The first workshop features a panel discussion on the ancestral significance of land and how to care for the plants and soil intentionally.