Events and Programs

The MIT Climate Machine and a research group of five undergraduate students deployed an innovative climate engagement program during Group Therapy Weekender, the electronic music festival at the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington state.

An Afro InterAmerican Forum on Climate Change event in New York City focused on the pressing socio-ecological challenges faced by Afro-descendant communities that serve as historic environmental stewards across the Americas.

As ESI prepares for deeper engagement with the Indigenous-led non-profit Se'Si'Le, team members traveled to the San Juan Islands to the site of a planned immersive art experience.

ESI Research Program Director Marcela Angel has built an international program in natural climate solutions, with a focus on climate adaptation, urban planning and biodiversity in her home country of Colombia.

A variety of recent events, several hosted or co-hosted by ESI, highlighted efforts by MIT faculty, staff, and students to make a difference today.

Azania, a master's student in the MIT Department of Architecture, reflects on her field experience in the ESI-created course Biodiversity and Cities: A Perspective in Colombian Cities.

Ziyuan "Zoey" Zhu '22 worked with ESI's MIT Climate Machine to design augmented reality experiences that encourage music festival fans to reflect on their environmental impact.

A series of drone test flights and community events in Mocoa, Colombia, have pushed to the next phase a project by ESI and partners to monitor the city and surrounding forest for climate change-related landslide risks.

In collaboration with ESI, PhD student Alexis Hocken is working with manufacturers to keep their products from literally falling through the cracks in the recycling process.

The Environmental Solutions Initiative launched the MIT-ESI Climate Justice Program at an afternoon workshop with MIT faculty and staff.

The event united MIT, Universidade Positivo, and scientists across Latin America around a framework for socially beneficial climate action and biodiversity conservation in carbon-rich ecosystems.

The Afro-Interamerican Forum on Climate Change (AIFCC), in collaboration with ESI, convened leaders from around the Americas and the world at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.