Climate, Sustainability, and the Built Environment

Sea lions bark on a distant rock while a group of students search among the tide pools for tiny marine organisms to bring back to the lab. Each year, an undergraduate cohort spends several weeks studying and living together on the UO's coastal Charleston campus, where they investigate the effects of climate change on marine life. The Oregon Institute of Marine Biology's Summer Immersion is open to all majors.

Charlotte Kamman chose Oregon's architecture program for its green emphasis. When she learned about the UO's mass timber project, Kamman came up with the idea of using mushrooms as a material to create much-needed acoustic panels for their structures, working in the lab with a professor from the Institute for Health in the Built Environment at the UO. Her research looks to move the construction industry toward a greener future.

Climate researchers and foresters who map and analyze land are using drones to survey large areas. At the UO, Ducks from all majors can take the Mapping with Drones course to learn the new technology and software involved. As part of the course, you'll put your knowledge to use at an Oregon tree farm, gaining the hands-on experience that builds the confidence and the skills you need to use drone mapping in your own field.

The UO Landscape Architecture's Civic Agriculture course centers on Oregon's Urban Farm. There, you work collaboratively on-site with other students to create real strategies to transform food systems across campus and in surrounding communities. Learn the history of agriculture in America and research, develop, and apply those skills to build just and sustainable urban farms.