Fall 2020 Speakers and Events
See additional events for the campus 2020-21 Theme "Health, Healing, and Humanity" here!
November 2020
Election Day - Get out and vote!
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020
In the 2016 election, 44% of eligible voters did not vote. If “Did Not Vote” had been
a candidate, they would have won in a landslide! Nearly 1/3 of eligible voters are
college-aged which means your vote is important and powerful! To learn more about
how to register to vote, different methods of voting, or where you can vote, click HERE!
Senior Seminar Virtual Community Briefing
Monday, November 16th, 2020
Time and registration information coming soon!
Every year, seniors of the IWU Environmental Studies Program use their four years of accumulated skills and knowledge to lead a project on and develop solutions for a current environmental issue. During the Fall 2020 semester, ES Program Class of 2021 students have conducted research on two community-based topics: expanding the Illinois Solar for All environmental justice designation in West Bloomington, and determining if past and current-day environmental injustices have occured on the West Side. Join us as these hard-working students report their findings and discuss their conclusions about environmental justice and progress in our very own City of Bloomington.
October 2020
Annual Peace Garden Harvest Festival
Friday, October 9th, 2020
4-7 p.m.
IWU Peace Garden (corner of University & Evans)
Illinois Wesleyan University
RSVP HERE
The IWU Peace Garden will host its annual Harvest Festival on Friday, October 9th in the IWU Peace Garden. At the festival, we will be painting rocks to put in the garden, listening to some live music, and carving pumpkins! You can come for the whole sha-bang, or just for a short time. Please use the RSVP to let us know when you plan on coming and how long you'll be staying. Also, don't forget, the plants might shrivel up and die if they see a nose or mouth, so don't forget your mask!
"Health & the Environment Virtual Workshop"
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
RSVP HERE
Registration is required - Zoom login and participations details will be emailed.
Join us for this dynamic student-led workshop that explores the impact of environmental
issues on the health of the planet, including humans and other species. Connecting
directly to the annual theme, "Health, Healing & Humanity," the workshop will feature
interactive breakout sessions in which participants will consider case studies that
illustrate contemporary environmental health challenges and discuss possible solutions
and steps forward. It provides a wonderful opportunity for students from many disciplines
to engage with and learn from each other. Open to all in the IWU community. Co-sponsored by the IWU Environmental Studies Program, the Office of Diversity and
Inclusion, the School of Nursing, and the Sierra Student Coalition.
Titan Talk (Virtual): "Tackling Climate Change"
Speaker: Karen Petersen '07, The Nature Conservancy
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
7-8 p.m.
Register here for login link:
https://www.iwu.edu/
Climate change has led to an increase in extreme weather and natural disasters, and
as temperatures rise the impacts are expected to negatively impact livelihoods, especially
for the most vulnerable communities. To achieve deep decarbonization and avoid the
most dramatic impacts of climate change, countries, corporations, and communities
are in pursuit of actionable climate solutions. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a
leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically
important lands and waters for nature and people. Karen Petersen '07 - an IWU alum
who is the Climate Change Project Manager for the
IL Chapter of The Nature Conservancy -
will discuss her career trajectory, her role at TNC, and how her work is addressing
global climate change. This Titan Talk through IWU Alumni Engagement is presented in partnership with
the Biology Department and Environmental Studies Program.
September 2020
"PUBLIC TRUST" Film Screening and Virtual Discussion
Thursday, September 24, 2020
6:30 p.m.
A brief discussion will begin at 8:15 p.m.
RSVP HERE
View the film trailer HERE
Join us for a virtual viewing of the film PUBLIC TRUST, followed by an online conversation where we will discuss the film and talk about how we can mobilize to protect our public lands. The film explores how our public lands are facing unprecedented threats from extractive industries and the politicians in their pockets. Part love letter, part political exposé, PUBLIC TRUST investigates how we arrived at this precarious moment through the examination of three beloved public lands that are particularly at risk—a national monument in the Utah desert, a mine in the Boundary Waters and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—and makes a case for their continued protection. Open to the IWU Community. Co-sponsored by the IWU Environmental Studies Program, GREENetwork, and the Sierra Student Coalition.
How to Communicate About the Environment in 2020
~A Virtual Conversation with IWU Alumni~
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
7-8:30 p.m.
RSVP HERE
This dynamic panel features four IWU alumnae - Katie Coleman '04, Anna (Groves) Funk '11, Leslie Morrison '08, and Amanda Solliday '06 - who are working at the intersection of environmentalism and communications — from journalism to advocacy to academia. Together, they will discuss the role of communications in science, how to get people to care about environmental issues during times of historic upheaval and uncertainty (#2020, anyone?), how racial inequities influence their work in environmental communications, and how they’re finding ways to cut through the noise and disinformation that’s prevalent today. Co-sponsored by the IWU Environmental Studies Program, the IWU English Department, and Hart Career Center.
For more information on the panelists, please click here!
August 2020
Welcome (back) to campus - whether virtual or in-person!
Annual Environmental Studies Picnic
Sunday, August 30, 2020
5-6:30 p.m.
IWU Peace Garden (corner of University & Evans)
Illinois Wesleyan University
RSVP required - more information to come!
The Environmental Studies Program will host its annual picnic at the IWU Peace Garden. This is a great time to gather outdoors (following safety protocols), meet new people, and enjoy some down time with your ES faculty and fellow students (ES majors & minors). The event will feature homemade pizzas from an onsite pizza oven and apple cider, yard games, a chance to check out the garden and beehives, a venue for getting to know ES students and faculty, and safe food handling and social distancing. Masks required. More details to come! Sponsored by the IWU Environmental Studies Program
Click here for a sampling of Spring 2020 Events and Speakers.
Aaron Wilson - Chair and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies
Department - Environmental Studies