Events

Special Event

Optimism, Optopia and Climate Change Stories

Focus on Environment and Sustainability Seminar Series

How can science fiction balance hopeful stories about environmental futures with current realities? What theory of social change should inform these stories? With dire climate change impacts already happening, what kinds of stories can inspire audiences to care about and become active on large-scale environmental issues?

burned down homes and scorched trees

Wildfire disaster, recovery, and resilience: what have we learned?

2024-2025 Focus on Environment and Sustainability Series

Wildfire recovery in the U.S., particularly in California, is a slow and complex process hindered by unique post-fire challenges like housing shortages, regulatory hurdles, and underinsurance, but innovative solutions are emerging to improve resilience and equity.

Grand Theft Eco: The iBear in the River

LENS screening of the first episode of Grand Theft Eco: Environmental Futures of Los Angeles.

Grand Theft Eco is a machinima series and pedagogical engine that repurposes the video game Grand Theft Auto to explore possible eco-futures of LA in the year 2050.

On Campus

UCLA-wide sustainability events calendar

For those interested in more campus events on the environment and sustainability, follow our friends at UCLA Sustainability.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Managing the Mid-Transition from Fossil to Clean Energy

Focus on Environment and Sustainability Seminar Series

Featuring Emily Grubert Associate Professor of Sustainable Energy PolicyKeough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame Emily Grubert, a civil engineer and environmental sociologist, will share insights on how…

PAST EVENTS

GreenShorts Award Ceremony

With GreenShorts, high school students get a chance to sit in the director’s chair and win cash prizes. The contest invites two-minute-or-less films to showcase ideas, commentary and vision for…

Climate Justice Forum

By hosting a Climate Justice Forum, the Environmentalists of Color Collective at UCLA hopes to accomplish three things: Raise awareness about the contributions that people of color have made to…

Water in the Middle East & Africa: A Nexus of Cooperation & Conflict

The severe water crises facing areas of the Middle East and Africa have significant implications for the health, welfare and security of the regions’ people. Today, issues related to water…

Built Environment Sustainability Roundtables

Industry leaders will make brief presentations on their contributions to sustainability in the built environment. Participants will explore these topics further in small roundtable discussions with the presenters and UCLA…

Fossils as a Tool for Marine Restoration: Old Shells Provide New Insights For Santa Monica Bay

One of the great challenges in conservation biology is discovering ‘what was natural’ before human impacts. This problem is especially pressing in marine systems where biological monitoring and other records…