After growing up in a small, progressive town, I don’t think I truly understood the global climate crisis until I was released, aka went to college, from what felt like my bubble. I was shocked, and unpleasantly surprised, about how common daily practices for me, such as recycling, using reusable water bottles or shopping local, […]

The partnership Black Sustainability Inc. (BSI) and Second Nature recognize that Black communities, already disproportionately affected by environmental racism, are poised to face additional pressures from climate change. In partnership, both organizations will work with HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and other higher education institutions to intentionally create and support spaces for BIPOC (Black, […]

Activating the Power of Storytelling and Student Leadership for Intersectional Climate Justice Higher education institutions play a crucial role in preparing future leaders to adapt to, and help solve, the climate crisis. Rising college/university-aged students demonstrate intense interest in social justice issues, civic engagement, and climate change. This interest factors into school choice and can […]

Completing an initial Campus-Community Resilience Assessment is the second step in implementing the Climate and Resilience Commitments. This document compiles a list of schools that have completed their Campus-Community Resilience Assessments. The outcomes from these assessments may be helpful for schools beginning the Resilience Assessment process for their own campuses.

Hi everyone, I’m Maggie, a current solutions center intern here at Second Nature! My interest in the environment and climate change really began during my time as an undergraduate at William & Mary. I ended up taking quite a few philosophy courses my freshman year that got me thinking more about environmental issues, which led […]

When I was twelve years old in my seventh grade English class, we were shown An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore’s documentary detailing the environmental issues facing the planet at the turn of the 21st century. That film was the first time in my life that I had ever heard the words “climate change” or “global […]

Growing up, the concept of anything related to environmental science, climate change, and global warming were things I didn’t hear much about at school or on any social media platforms. But all that changed during my senior year of high school when I took an AP Environmental Science class that opened my eyes to how […]

Rule #1 in the social lives of second graders: recess activities are everything. You have the cool kids on the swing set, working to get enough air to land the most epic jump for their audience below. The jocks are usually playing a game of pickup soccer while the gymnasts are either claiming the monkey […]

A conversation with Anya circa January 20, 2022, would leave you with very little idea of what Second Nature does as an organization. When friends or family asked me what my new internship entailed, I would reply with something along the lines of “something to do with sustainability in higher education?” In seeing the job […]

Second Nature is committed to fostering the development of decarbonization, resilience, and climate justice researchers and practitioners through a Fellows Program.  Second Nature Fellows work with the nation’s premier colleges and universities leading on climate action.  This year-long program is designed to provide talented and diverse individuals with a unique experience working in a small […]

In collaboration with Second Nature and The Nature Conservancy, San Francisco State University launched a community-based process to assess extreme weather and climate change impacts and to generate and prioritize solutions to improve the resiliency, sustainability, and equity of their community. This report is a summary of their findings. The Workshop occurred as part of […]

The Net Zero Forum is a unique and actionable event designed to accelerate the development and execution of Net Zero strategies. Buyers from large energy customers – including commercial, industrial, institutional (higher education and healthcare), and government – attend as an important step in the journey to reduce the carbon emissions of their organization and […]