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2025 Program


Wednesday, March 5th, 2025
11:00 AM
Student Sustainability Action Challenge

  • Jade Menchaca | Sustainability Coordinator, Portland Community College
WORKSHOPS
Space Limited. Registration is Required.
1:00 PM
Art in Nature Workshop - Cultivating Presence in Nature ▾
An outdoor (or "plein aire") painting workshop led by artist Phyllis Trowbridge, who has been painting plein aire for decades, closely observing the Pacific Northwest landscape as it changes with the seasons and over time due to the climate crisis. This session provides space for participants to be truly present and, under the instruction of the artist, record the natural world on Mount Sylvania, in a painting they will take home with them. No experience required.
TOURS
Space Limited. Registration is Required.
3:00 PM
Lewis & Clark College Experimental Art Research (EAR) Forest Tour ▾
Lewis & Clark College is the proud home of a 16-channel audio system nestled in the trees. Sound walks, auditory experiences, storytelling, musical compositions and more are made available through scheduled programming. The EAR Forest is located behind Lewis & Clark’s Fields Art Building and the Historic Bathhouse of the Estate Gardens. Nestled in the woods you will find 16 speakers mounted to trees along a path. Requirements: The EAR Forest is a rough and uneven path through the woods in Portland, Oregon. In an effort to make this accessible to those who aren’t nearby, or who cannot navigate this type of terrain, the audio works are accessible through binaural recordings of the walks, available through our Soundcloud channel.
  • Tour Leader: Amy Dvorak | Sustainability Director, Lewis & Clark College
3:00 PM
Portland Community College Rock Creek Walking Tour ▾
Join the PCC Sustainability team for a walking tour showcasing different sustainability programs and initiatives throughout the Rock Creek Campus. This tour will feature the college’s largest Learning Garden, spanning almost four acres, that hosts class projects, food production for the Panther Pantries, an orchard and several natural building structures. We’ll also visit the Washington County Master Gardeners’ demonstration garden, the college’s 500 kw solar array, an active honey bee apiary, the farm (with horses, goats and more!) and the Environmental Resources Center. Along the way you will learn about many of the college’s operational initiatives, including green building practices, Bee Campus and Tree Campus programs and how PCC is electrifying its fleet. We will also see and learn about several student initiatives that were established by PCC’s student sustainability fund - the Eco Social Justice Grant. Accessibility note: This tour spans about a mile of campus, mostly flat, but part of which includes gravel and uneven paths. For accessibility accommodations, please contact sustainability@pcc.edu.
3:00 PM
Portland Community College Metro Opportunity Center/OC42: A Holistic Approach to Community and Sustainability ▾
Since 1998, the Portland Community College (PCC) Opportunity Center at 42nd Avenue has worked to support a diverse job-ready workforce by providing customized training, career exploration and educational opportunities. The new Opportunity Center will now offer workforce development programs alongside affordable housing, childcare and a health clinic to help position their clients for careers that offer greater economic mobility. The two-story facility is situated between the Cully and Concordia neighborhoods in Northeast Portland. It is an example of how sustainability can be applied to not only the structural components of a building, but also the mental, emotional and physical success of its residents by using trauma-informed design. The tour will provide an overview of PCC’s goals for the project, design considerations, efficient systems, and solar energy generation for the site. Join us for a tour to learn more about this community-focused project, and read about the sustainability design here.
Presented by    

  • Tour Leader: Adam Holzschuh | Energy Resources Manager, Portland Community College
3:00 PM
Urban Rejuvenation: Portland State University's Oak Savanna and Vernier Science Center ▾
How we design and build collaborative places for student success matters. The journey to reclaim an Oak Savanna in the Portland State University urban landscape for food, medicine and ceremony began more than a decade ago with students seeking sanctuary on campus, a place to come together. It is thanks to the many students over the years that tended to the Oak Savanna that we are currently in the design process for a newly renovated Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge (ITECK) Center that will uplift place based and community based learning for the ITECK Certificate Program. Today as we work towards a newly envisioned ITECK Center, we have the opportunity to transform PSU students' interest and success in STEAM majors through the dramatic reinvention of Portland State's Vernier Science Center. Both of these intentionally crafted ecosystems provide culturally affirming spaces and gardens, enabling a new curriculum around ITECK. Join us in seeing how PSU is uniting programs that support the success of first-generation students as well as those from historically underserved groups.
  • Tour Leader: Emma Ruth Johnson | Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge (ITECK) Coordinator, Portland State University
5:15 PM
Welcome Reception
Portland Community College Cascade Student Union - 5575 N Albina Ave, Portland, OR 97217
Thursday, March 6th, 2025
8:00 AM
Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:10 AM
Welcome Address
9:20 AM
Tribal Welcome/Land Acknowledgement and Keynote Address
Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Judy Bluehorse Skelton | Associate Professor (Ret.), Indigenous Nations Studies, Portland State University
9:45 AM
Traditional Teachings for a Modern Crisis: Indigenous Climate Solutions ▾
This transformative conversation brings together leaders and advocates from the Pacific Islands and Native American communities to share and celebrate their unique perspectives on sustainability and climate action. As stewards of the Earth for millennia, Indigenous peoples possess a wealth of traditional knowledge rooted in harmony with nature, resilience, and collective responsibility. In this session, participants will explore how ancestral teachings and practices, such as sustainable land management, resource conservation, and holistic community planning, can guide modern responses to the global climate crisis. Through storytelling, dialogue, and collaboration, they will highlight the shared challenges faced by their communities—including rising sea levels, habitat degradation, and environmental injustice—and offer actionable solutions drawn from their cultural heritage. Together, Pacific Islanders and Native Americans will illuminate a path forward that will bridge time-tested practices with innovative climate solutions, inspiring a renewed commitment to protecting our planet for future generations.
Brianna Fruean
Brianna Fruean | Pacific Climate Warrior, Activist and Environmental Advocate

Makerusa Porotesano
Makerusa Porotesano | Director of Multicultural Services, Portland Community College

Gabe Seoships
Gabe Seoships | Executive Director, Friends of Tryon Creek

Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Judy Bluehorse Skelton | Associate Professor (Ret.), Indigenous Nations Studies, Portland State University

Sophia Agtarap
Sophia Agtarap | Race and Social Justice Lead Advisor, City of Seattle's Office of Civil Rights

10:45 AM
Networking Break
11:15 AM
Unsettling Environmental Sociology ▾
This session offers reflections on efforts to 'unsettle' environmental sociology curricula by challenging settler colonial concepts and centering Indigenous perspectives. Erika, a White settler instructor, and Jordan, a Tlingit and Haida student/teaching assistant, share their reflections on integrating Indigenous ways of knowing and discuss student feedback on their efforts. They discuss three key concepts guiding their curriculum revisions: the impact of settler colonialism, relationality and reciprocity among all beings, and the value of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). The session will engage participants to reflect on and discuss how they can apply these concepts in various academic settings.
Erika Giesen | Department Chair of Social Science and Human Services, Rogue Community College
Jordan J. Johnson | Teaching Assistant and Student, Rogue Community College
From Inception to Operation: How Oregon Schools Can Utilize Incentives and Support to Reach Ambitious Sustainability Goals ▾
When institutions in higher education reach for more ambitious sustainability goals, building performance and resiliency is key. By using a structured, intentional early design approach, design teams can work together to determine how best to integrate and complement objectives around resiliency, trauma-informed design, sustainability, and social justice. Energy Trust of Oregon has created a framework to boost campus and school sustainability efforts throughout the entire building lifecycle. Learn more about high-performance building design, available incentives, and forward-looking resiliency strategies.
Amy Dvorak | Sustainability Director, Lewis & Clark College
Actor-Network Theory as a Framework for Impactful Community Engagement: Case Study from Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment ▾
Karli Honebein, Climate Literacy Program Manager, and Dante Jester, Climate Resilience Program Manager, will share how the Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment has grown in less than four years from a small, unfunded academic project to a nationally recognized and regionally impactful force for climate literacy and resilience in the Inland Northwest. The session will include lessons learned from the Gonzaga Climate Institute on how to leverage the resources and knowledge of institutions of higher education to connect research with action to empower decision makers, community members, and youth to understand and respond to the climate crisis. The workshop will provide the opportunity for attendees to consider and develop their own actor-network map that can be leveraged to create change.
Karli Honebein | Climate Literacy Program Manager, Gonzaga University Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment
Dante Jester | Climate Resilience Program Manager, Gonzaga University Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment
The Grove Community Garden: A Case for Student Led Placemaking, Land Stewardship, and Community ▾
The Grove Garden is a student-led community garden run by the Student Sustainability Center (SSC) at the University of Oregon. Our space is a nexus of possibility, and our workshop will explore our history and how student organizers have adapted to changing needs, with the goal of showing students at other campuses that it is possible for them to create the communities they need to thrive. We will look at the importance of student leadership and autonomy, share our process for shaping community values, and show how programming can operate collaboratively. We will also address the institutional limitations that require students to build emerging third spaces in order to feed themselves now and build skills to feed their communities in the future (physically, emotionally, and spiritually). The Grove is evidence that we are the people we need the most, and in coming together we can leverage seemingly small and simple interactions into an ecosystem of support.
Valentine Bentz | Grove Garden Coordinator, University of Oregon Student Sustainability Center
Hattie Sterns | Grove Garden Coordinator, University of Oregon Student Sustainability Center
Impact Networks: Creating Change in a Complex World ▾
Explore the mindset shift needed to cultivate an impact network for sustainability education, with a worldview that focuses on living systems, centers shared purpose, and prioritizes emergent strategy. Discuss impact network principles with practitioners, and examine the tensions between individual and collective action, and between self and shared interest. Help develop actionable next steps to catalyze an impact network here in our region to stimulate greater learning-into-action and collective impact around climate change.
Taryn Oakley | Faculty and Community Based Learning Faculty Coordinator, Portland Community College
Trevor Soponis | Founder and Chief Learning Officer, The Sustainable Learning Projects
Embedding Sustainability Across the Curriculum: A Case Study of Central Washington University’s Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising Program ▾
The Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising (ATM) program stands out as a pioneer in integrating sustainability throughout its curriculum at Central Washington University. In this session, we will explore how sustainability has been integrated across a wide range of courses, with tailored content for each class, as well as college-wide strategies to engage students in sustainable apparel practices.
Andrea Eklund | Full Professor, Program Director, Apparel, Textiles, and Merchandising, Central Washington University
12:30 PM
Lunch
1:30 PM
Building Community Trust Through Transparency: Western Washington University’s Efforts to Increase Sustainability Transparency ▾
Transparency is a critical part of building and maintaining a community that is formed around shared values, like sustainability. Members of the Western Washington University will share their experiences attempting to increase transparency of WWU’s sustainability successes and challenges through accessible ways designed for its diverse community. Participants will have the opportunity to think through transparency and trust in the sustainability communities they’re a part of, and ways in which they might increase transparency at their institutions.
Kate Beck | Sustainability Action Plan Implementation Manager, Western Washington University
Kaia Olson | Environmental Science Undergraduate, Western Washington University
Empowering Indigenous Voices through Natural History and Food Systems Education in Environmental Studies: Lessons from the Field ▾
Panel discussion centering indigenous voices exploring collaborative teaching in environmental studies curriculum. Our discussion will focus on work being done in natural history and food system education at the University of Washington.
Building a Climate Justice Across the Curriculum Program at your Institution: Insights from Two-Year College's Community of Transformation ▾
This interactive workshop is designed for faculty and administrators looking to launch a climate justice-focused curriculum development program at their institution. Participants will explore successful models from a community of transformation composed of 2-year college faculty in Washington, Oregon, and California, and engage in a step-by-step process to foster similar programs at their campuses. The session will offer practical tools, including sample curricula and professional development frameworks, to support community building and program implementation. By the end, participants will have actionable strategies, resources, and a support network to help launch climate justice and civic engagement initiatives at their colleges.
Taryn Oakley | Environment Science Instructor, Portland Community College
Heather Price, PhD | Professor, North Seattle College
Sonya Remmington-Doucette | Faculty, Bellevue College
Sustainability in the Face of Scarcity: Where to Turn When the Funds Just Aren't There ▾
This participative panel discussion is for sustainability practitioners who have found themselves saying, "I'd love to, but there's only one of me!," or have felt defeated by lack of funding for their work. This session is designed to focus on what we can do in the short-term to move our work forward in the face of scarcity, and features real-life experiences and anecdotes of where to turn when the funding isn't there.
Speculative Landscapes ▾
What results when creative thinkers are given space to speculate about the future of the land? This session will be an open-ended conversation about the history and potential futures of our ecosystem, centering the imaginative perspectives of artists, writers, and creative environmental scientists. Topics include habitat restoration projects, creative ideas for future states of the land, and immersive virtual ecosystems. Come prepared to participate in your own speculation at the end of the session!
Sustainable Strategies for Student Engagement ▾
This session will focus on strategies for engaging students in sustainability by making environmental, social, and economic issues more accessible and relevant. We will explore methods for fostering interest, building community, and lowering barriers to sustainability education, ensuring students from diverse backgrounds feel welcome. Attendees will learn how to create inclusive, empowering spaces that inspire lasting student involvement. Practical examples and collaborative discussion will highlight how to drive meaningful participation in sustainability efforts.
2:45 PM
Break
2:45 PM
Poster Sessions

Learn more here.

3:15 PM
Leading Justice-Centered Sustainability: An Example of Radical Reclamation and Practice of Sustainability for our Collective Future ▾
Learn how the Campus Sustainability Fund at the University of Washington-Seattle Campus has developed comprehensive justice-centered sustainability programming. Created in 2009 from a grassroots student movement, this small and mighty team was founded to materially change the way the UW campus engages with building a sustainable future and center students in this process. Learn tangible lessons from our 14-year effort to deeply ingrain sustainability in our working process and UW Seattle community. From over $4M of investments in student-led projects, educational programming that promotes narrative change, partnerships that redefine what sustainability can mean, internal processes that uphold sustainable practice, and nurturing a knowledge democracy to broaden our impact, the CSF affirms the critical role of students in creating sustainable communities (on campus and beyond).
Boe Zhou | Campus Sustainability Funder Grant and Project Coordinator, University of Washington
Jumpstarting Campus Decarbonization Efforts with Electric Vehicles ▾
Electrifying fleet vehicles is an important step in meeting institutional decarbonization and climate action goals. While many schools and organizations are exploring this crucial strategy, there are often many barriers that still make implementation difficult. Cost, stakeholder buy-in, market availability and preconceived notions about electrification are just a few barriers, but there is light at the end of the tunnel! Join us to hear from higher education institutions who will share their progress and efforts to-date, as well as a representative from the Breaking Barriers Collaborative, which offers a Fleet Decarbonization Accelerator program to help organizations decarbonize their fleet.
Moderator:
Briar Wray | Associate Dean, Sustainability Strategies, Portland Community College
Sara Holzknecht | Director, Office of Sustainability, Bellevue College
Empowering Gen-Z for Climate Action: Social Innovation, Equity Impact Review and Skills in Securing a Career in the Public Sector ▾
This session connects equity in climate action with career empowerment. Drawing from an Equity Impact Review process applied in King County’s Green Building work, attendees will learn how identity and lived experience drive equity-based sustainability initiatives. The session concludes with a hands-on workshop for students to translate their unique experiences into compelling resumes and cover letters for the sustainability sector.
Empowering Students in E-Waste Reduction: A Case Study from Central Washington University ▾
This session will explore a practical approach to repurposing unused electronic devices. Attendees will learn how to assess, reuse, and recycle electronic components, transforming e-waste into valuable resources for the community. The presentation will highlight our step-by-step process and creative solutions to environmental challenges while emphasizing the importance of sustainability in technology.
The Parking Game: A Dialog Facilitation Tool for Sustainable Transportation Outreach and Planning on Campus ▾
Transportation Services at Oregon State University developed the Parking Game in 2019 as an outreach tool while developing OSU’s Sustainable Transportation Strategy. Participants in this workshop will experience planning for increased commuting to campus while balancing competing priorities including carbon emissions, community relations, land preservation for research, education and recreation, as well as affordability and access for students. Participants play in small groups using interventions and strategies to influence and accommodate commuter transportation mode choices. The game elements are designed to simulate real-world transportation events, constraints, and opportunities, and to include each player in decision-making.
Sara Hamilton | Outreach Coordinator; Division of Finance and Administration IT, Oregon State University
Sarah Bronstein | Sustainable Transportation Manager, Oregon State University Transportation Services
Break It, Remake It, and Take It Away ▾
Working on sustainability in academic environments can be heartbreaking challenging work, unless we make space for fun, creativity and community. STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) Centers (aka makerspaces) offer fun, uplifting spaces in which to fold these components into sustainability work.

Participants will rotate through different stations, each demonstrating creative and interactive ways to recycle, upcycle, and repurpose. This session provides opportunities for hands-on participation with a variety of makerspace equipment and material. Participants will be growing their skills and networking, while building community and doodads.
4:30 PM
Break
4:45 PM
Keynote Address
Brianna Fruean
Brianna Fruean | Pacific Climate Warrior, Activist and Environmental Advocate
5:15 PM
Networking Reception
MEETUP | Energy Efficiency on Campus - How it Works and Why it Matters ▾
Educating students and staff on energy dependence and its use is critical for understanding the complexities and origins of all our most vital resources. Providing an Energy Studies education is a great way to gain a real-world understanding of some of our planet’s biggest problems, and delivers a compelling perspective for students interested in not only environmental science but protecting the planet. Encouraging young students to learn under a "Forward-Thinking" learning model is exactly what Energy Studies promotes and as a 3rd year Energy Science and Technology major, BreAnna will share insight and skills she has gained from this incredible program.
BreAnna Mennenoh | Student, Western Washington University
MEETUP | Supporting Early Career Professionals & Building Networks ▾
This meet up will allow new sustainability professionals to make meaningful connections and find support with their peers. Upcoming sustainability leaders will be able to meet and interact with other sustainability staff, administrators, faculty, or students who are also interested in growing their connections and finding support within sustainability in higher education. As new professionals continue to move into the field of sustainability it is important to provide a welcoming space and offer each other guidance and resources to help us persevere in the early stages of our careers. This will be an opportunity to discuss challenges as emerging leaders, share resources, and build a strong network.
Jade Menchaca | Sustainability Coordinator, Portland Community College
Friday, March 7th, 2025
8:00 AM
Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 AM
Opening Remarks
9:05 AM
Host Partners Sustainability Roundtable
  • Briar Wray | Sustainability Manager, Portland Community College
  • Brandon Lesowske | Assistant Director, Materials Management Services, Portland State University
  • Becs Walker | Operations Director, Institute for Applied Sustainability, Southern Oregon University
9:30 AM
Keynote Address
Sarah Jaquette Ray
Sarah Jaquette Ray | Author, Field Guide to Climate Anxiety
10:00 AM
Authors Plenary: Intersections and Constellations – On Being Human Now and in the Future
Presented by    

Sarah Stoeckl
Moderator: Sarah Stoeckl, PhD | Director, Office of Sustainability, University of Oregon

Thea Prieto
Thea Prieto | Author, From the Caves

Sarah Jaquette Ray
Sarah Jaquette Ray | Author, Field Guide to Climate Anxiety

Brianna Fruean
Madeline Ostrander | Author, At Home on an Unruly Planet

Erin Sharkey
Erin Sharkey | Author, A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars
11:00 AM
Break
Author's Book Signing
11:30 AM
Sustainability Action Challenge Pitch Fest ▾
This is a challenge event for students as an introduction to the process of tri-sector innovation thinking as a means to develop solutions to complex problems including: empathizing, defining, ideating, prototyping, and iterating. We challenge you to generate ideas and find creative solutions built for people who will actually use them. Outcomes of this process might come in the form of programs, actions, processes, or artifacts - physical or digital. This experience provides students with a valuable skill set to use in the future along with a creative, productive way to tackle complex sustainability focused issues. Higher education institutions are invited and encouraged to recruit one or more student teams of 3-4 students to participate in this challenge!
Building Sustainable Communities through Leadership and Engagement ▾
Now in it’s third year, the UO Student Sustainability Center’s Leadership Engagement Program (LEP) is consistently meeting its targeted goal of developing sustainability leaderships, and we’re also seeing robust, emergent communities form amongst its volunteer teams. These communities have been a blend of accidental and intentional: both organic and designed. We’ll give an overview of the LEP program, discuss how it’s designed to create community from its first meeting, and then hear from student program leads about what that unique community looks like in their specific programs.
Taylor McHolm | Director, Student Sustainability Center, University of Oregon
Salmon Recovery with Compost BURritos: Lessons Learned ▾
In this session, Bellevue College Sustainability Office staff will share their work supporting salmon recovery through stormwater filtration. In collaboration with campus faculty, the National Wildlife Federation, Cedar Grove Compost, and student volunteers, the project removed invasive plants, replanted native plants in the area, and installed a series of biofiltration devices known as compost BURritos (Bioretention Urban Retrofits). These BURritos filter stormwater toxics, and in particular the tire additive 6ppd-quinone, which is correlated with coho salmon mortality.
Sara Holzknecht | Director, Office of Sustainability, Bellevue College
How An Indigenous Lens Reimagined Sustainable Design at Portland State University ▾
Science facilities on campuses have the power to attract or hinder students entering the STEM workforce, making it vital that we examine how design can welcome, reach and inspire students of all backgrounds and cultures. For the design of the Vernier Science Center at Portland State University, engaging a BIPOC cohort to foreground underrepresented voices significantly impacted the project’s goals and sustainable strategies, prompting a deeper connection to people and place. Combined with the University’s commitment to equity and inclusion, this inclusive, hands-on approach shifted design outcomes in unexpected ways, with successful results that will inform future campus projects.
Todd Rosenstiel | Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Portland State University
Leina Naversen | Associate, Bora Architecture & Interiors
Washington Building Efficiency and Clean Operations Network (BEACON) Project ▾
The WA Department of Commerce is launching the Washington Building Efficiency and Clean Operations Network (BEACON), a project designed to make a tangible difference in underserved communities. Discover the state’s approach to providing enhanced technical assistance to building owners while partnering with SEI's Climate Corps program to expand the workforce. The BEACON project aims to create a workforce pipeline for folks entering the fields of clean building and energy management.
Annalyn Bergin | CBPS Compliance Lead, Washington State Department of Commerce
Learning Gardens And You! Connecting Students Across The Curriculum To Campus Gardens ▾
We will be hosting short descriptions of creative ways faculty can use a learning garden and continue with interactive conversations to further explore engagement and expanding on students’ existing knowledge by working with a learning garden. Come hear about a wide range of courses that have used the gardens and then engage with both colleagues and presenters on strategies, activities and approaches to support authentic student learning and engagement.
Taryn Oakley | Environmental Studies and Resources Faculty and Community-Based Learning Faculty Coordinator, Portland Community College
12:45 PM
Lunch
1:30 PM
Reconnecting to Body and to Earth: Somatic Pedagogy for Managing Climate Stress and Taking Action ▾
This presentation will share about the theory behind a politicized somatics pedagogy when teaching about sustainability and climate justice. It will present a case study of a course called “Coping with Climate Stress” designed to help students manage climate-related stress and take purpose-driven action amidst the pressure from climate change. It will explain about the inter-departmental partnerships that made the course possible. Lastly, it will share key design principles, outcomes, and strategies for audience members to bring embodied learning to their campuses for the sake of reconnecting students, faculty, and staff to a sense of belonging to themselves, their community, and the broader community of life on Earth.
Climate Solutions Simulation ▾
This workshop presents a climate solutions simulation activity for classroom use. The workshop both takes participants through the simulation as well as provides the publicly available instructions and materials for replicating it in the classroom. The simulation is applicable to both graduate and undergraduate courses. It can be implemented in face-to-face classrooms as well as in virtual settings. It challenges students to grapple with the choices available for addressing the climate problem while taking into consideration cost as well as environmental, social and political impacts.
Cultivating Connections: Designing a Hub for Community-Centric Education ▾
The Chemeketa Community College Agricultural Complex exemplifies a community-centered approach to education and sustainability. Serving as the home for the Agricultural and Horticultural program, the building is also a hub for the community, fostering connections between students, faculty, industry partners, community members, and local businesses. This session will explore how a building and the programs it supports can contribute to and include the community.
Tim Ray | Dean of Agriculture and Horticulture, Chemeketa Community College
Edward Running | Partner, FFA Architecture and Interiors
Solarpunk and You: How We Can Change the World ▾
In a world often dominated by dystopian narratives, the "Solarpunk and You" workshop aims to reimagine our collective future by exploring Solarpunk, a growing media genre and social movement focused on envisioning sustainable, equitable, and hopeful worlds. This interactive session will introduce participants to Solarpunk, as well as Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs), as a vehicle for fostering creativity, climate action, and personal empowerment. Through guided exercises in societal imagination, participants will reflect on their individual strengths and explore practical tools for building a brighter, greener future. Whether navigating climate anxiety or seeking ways to engage in climate action, attendees will leave with actionable insights on how to harness their unique abilities to contribute to a Solarpunk-inspired world. This session welcomes students, educators, sustainability advocates, and anyone curious about rejecting dystopia in favor of collective innovation and hope
Hands-on Activities to Decrease Eco-Anxiety and Climate Change Grief: Building Resilience through Community ▾
Across the globe our changing climates are triggering anxiety and bringing on a sense of loss and mourning. The Pacific Northwest is experiencing the impacts of increased wildfires, record-breaking heat waves, unprecedented ice storms and the looming threat of a large subduction-zone earthquake.

We can find ways to decrease our anxiety and improve our mental well-being and we can do it together by becoming more prepared and welcoming co-created tools and skills in a collective and community-driven process of sharing and adapting.

This session will give participants a chance to work together and engage in several activities to increase our resilience as a community. Activities will include a seed saving in community workshop, exploring small scale garden design, disaster preparedness kit-building & resource sharing, identifying climate change emotions, aromatherapy, art and more!
Taryn Oakley | Environmental Studies and Resources Faculty and Community-Based Learning Faculty Coordinator, Portland Community College
Peter Ritson | Environmental Center Coordinator, Portland Community College
The Reciprocity Garden: A Sustainability-Centered Approach to Creating Community Space for Students of Color ▾
In both public and private university settings, students of color often feel isolated from their communities and culture. The Reciprocity Garden at Oregon State University’s Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture serves as a sanctuary for students of color of all backgrounds, abilities, and skill levels to practice urban horticulture and grow culturally relevant foods for themselves and their community. This session we will discuss the history of the garden, the complexities of navigating bureaucratic institutions as a group of students of color, and provide insights into methodology for establishing a similar community space at one’s own institution.
Charlotte Epps | Garden Coordinator and Founder, The Reciprocity Garden, Oregon State University
Kailey Legier | Student, Oregon State University
2:45 PM
Break
3:00 PM
Closing Remarks and 2026 Announcement