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Climate HQ Newsletter

Volume 2, Issue 3: Feb 2026

For students, faculty, staff, and community.

Climate HQ was created to empower SF State's diverse students, staff, and faculty to become climate justice leaders. Together, we are training student leaders, fostering collective knowledge, creating empowering events, and transforming our campus to face today's greatest climate challenges.

In This Issue: Climate Action Fellows App Due, Bike to School & Native Plant Nursery Events, PK-12 CJ Education Certificate, Welcoming Our Climate Justice Interns & Storytellers' Lab Fellows, Participants Wanted for a Study on Food Systems & Mental Health, Summer Class in the Sierras, New CC Steering Committee Members, Co-Director Rotary Award, Past Events, & Certificate Advising!

As the magnolias bloom around the Bay Area, Climate HQ is glad to be back for spring 2026. This is a great time to get involved with Climate HQ and our partners' events on and off campus, take advantage of fellowships, networking opportunities, and meet with an advisor to make sure you're on the right track to getting your Certificate in Climate Change: Causes, Impacts, and Solutions!

For those new to Climate HQ - welcome! Make sure you browse our website or reach out to members of our team to get plugged into our opportunities!

Check out our past newsletters to get a sense of what we've been up to.

What we are reading, watching, & listening to:

"Ash Souvenir" by Ragana, a queer nature black metal duo from Olympia, WA.

Read This When Things Fall Apart: Letters to Activists in Crisis, ed. by Kelly Hayes

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth by Ben Rawlence

Climate Shifted Podcast - no more doom and gloom, just climate messages that stick.

Volts Podcast on clean energy transitions from a non-technical perspective.

Thank you for being a reader of the Climate HQ Newsletter. We'd love to learn where our newsletters are circulating and who they are reaching.

This is fifth annual all-virtual conference on cross-sector solutions to the climate crisis from February 23-27, 2026. With more than 70 talks and discussions, the conference provides ample opportunities to discover ways to engage with the climate emergency that match your skills and help you become a powerful part of the solution!

https://climate.calpoly.edu/climate-solutions

For free registration use discount code: CSN26free

Concerned about climate change and want to make a difference? Have a project idea related to climate change or climate justice that you’re hoping to work on?  

Apply for a Climate Action Fellowship and get paid to do the work you care about! Fellowships are open to undergraduate and graduate students in all fields of study. Application deadline: March 2, 2026.

Up to five $10,000 fellowships will be awarded for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Want to find out more? 

Come to an information session and/or email climate.action.fellowship@sfsu.edu

Some of our current and past Climate Action Fellows

The SF State Colleges of Education, Science and Engineering, and Ethnic Studies invite you to apply to the Graduate Certificate in PK-12 Climate Justice Education. 

This 12-unit program, completed over the course of a year (June 2026- May 2027), supports educators to integrate issues of climate justice across the curriculum. We invite pk-12 classroom teachers, informal educators, and others who work with pk-12 students in any subject area to join this program and work together toward systemic change.

We have a limited number of full scholarships available for our second cohort of climate education leaders! You can also request an application fee waiver code. March 1, 2026 is the priority deadline for scholarship consideration.

We invite you to visit the certificate website for more details, and also see the attached flyer for a program summary. Contact one of our co-directors for more info!

Please spread this invitation widely to any and all youth educators!

Certificate in Climate Change: Causes, Impacts, and Solutions

Interested in the Climate Change Certificate? Need advising? This unique program is open to students of any major and is a great way to complete your SF State Studies requirements along with many of your Upper Division and even major requirements!

Students take classes in the areas of: Foundations, Causes, Impacts, & Solutions. Students gain an interdisciplinary overview of climate change issues and climate justice. This is a great way to get started in studies on climate change and is flexible to accommodate students in all majors.

We have certificate advisors across campus in every college. Contact a certificate advisor to plan your schedule to best fit your graduation timeline!

🚲 Bike to School with Climate HQ &

the SF Bicycle Coalition!

March 3rd | Meet at Daly City BART | 8:45am & 10:15am

Want to ditch the car and ride to campus? Join us for a beginner-friendly group bike ride from Daly City BART station to SF State on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 — with departure times at 8:45am and 10:15am.

At just 1.8 miles with minimal elevation gain, this route is totally doable even if you haven't biked in a while. Every ride like this is a climate solution in action:

 choosing bikes over cars reduces emissions, improves air quality, and builds stronger, more connected communities.

Hot cocoa and donuts will be provided to fuel your commute. The event is free, but registration is required. Sign up at https://bit.ly/biketoschool_2026 or scan the QR code on the flyer.



See you on the road!

🌿 Get Your Hands Dirty for Climate Justice

Native Plant Nursery Workday

Saturday, March 14th 9:30am - 12:00pm

Join Climate HQ, Literacy for Environmental Justice, and the Rotary Climate Action Team Network for a morning of meaningful hands-on climate action at the Native Plant Nursery, 1150 Carroll Ave on Saturday, March 14, 9:30am–12:00pm.

Native plants are both beautiful and a frontline for climate defense. The work you'll do that morning directly supports shoreline habitat restoration, carbon sequestration, and coastal ecosystem resilience in communities like Bayview/Hunter's Point, where sea level rise and environmental degradation pose very real and urgent threats. You'll spend the morning tending and growing native plants, maintaining propagation areas, caring for demonstration gardens, and learning about California restoration ecology and the specific impacts of sea level rise on Bayview/Hunter's Point.

No experience necessary, just bring your enthusiasm and willingness to dig in.

Lunch is provided after the workday, and if you need a ride, a van from campus can be arranged — just indicate that when you sign up.

The event is free, and registration is required. Scan the QR code on the flyer or reach out to Kai at lburrus@sfsu.edu with questions.

Welcome, New Climate Justice Interns!

Inaugural Cohort of Climate Justice Interns Launched this Spring

Artwork by Josh MacPhee, 2006

The Climate HQ Climate Justice Internship Program launched this year, matching SFSU undergraduates with paid internships at climate justice-focused partner organizations. Applications opened in fall 2025 for spring 2026 internships.

Each intern will be paid $3,000 to work 150 hours over the spring semester, gaining experience and professional development.

The 15 new interns represent majors from across the university and have been placed at these six amazing partner organizations.

Welcome to our new interns!

At People’s Solar Energy Fund:

Manisha Chand (Computer Science major)

Jacqline Patino (Mechanical Engineering major)

Natalia Lopez Castaneda (Biology major)

At Local Clean Energy Alliance:

Jenna Rafla-Hua (Psychology major)

Bee Bauman (Environmental Science major)

Nicky Aquino (Environmental Studies major)

At PODER SF:

Tatiana Peters (Environmental Studies major)

Sally Chan (Psychology major)

At Movement Generation:

Anni Welch (Sociology major)

Indira Villeda (Philosophy major)

At Goldman Environmental Prize:

Tram Anh Pham (Business Analytics major)

Melanie Arriaga (Political Science major)

At Frontline Catalysts:

Angelia Vang (Psychology major)

Ray Choudhury (Environmental Studies major)

Hector Nuno (Biology major)



The next cohort of CJ Interns will begin accepting applications in fall 2026 for spring 2027 internships. Stay tuned for the announcement when those applications open!

The Climate HQ Storytellers' Lab has officially launched with the acceptance of seven new Storyteller Fellows.

Our new Fellows are current SFSU students representing diverse interests, backgrounds, departments, and disciplines—including Philosophy, Environmental Sciences, Ethnic Studies, and Cinema—from both undergraduate and graduate programs.

Each Fellow has been awarded $750 to produce film and media projects that tell stories of climate and ecological impacts, resistance, and resilience, with support from our Storytellers’ Lab mentors.

Selected Storytellers' projects will be featured at our 4th Annual Climate HQ FilmFest on Thursday, April 23rd during Earth Week 2026. Please stay tuned for more info about our Storytellers, their unique work, and the upcoming FilmFest!

Student Participation in Research Study on Sustainable Food Systems and Mental Health

We, Zubaida Qamar (FINA/Climate HQ) and Supriya Misra (Public Health), are conducting research on college students’ feelings about climate change, sustainable food systems, and mental health. We are inviting you to participate because you are a part of the student community at SF State, and your voice matters!

We are looking for current undergraduate and graduate students to participate in a 90-minute focus group on campus in March. Later in the semester, we will also be sharing a short survey if you prefer that.

If you are interested in the focus group, you can fill out this form:

https://sfsu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3q6BEWCaLElknZ4

If you have any questions or would like to participate in the research, email food4future@sfsu.edu.

Curious how science, design, and activism can work together to create real change? Are you passionate about the planet and ready to do something about it? Interested in earning course credit while exploring the breathtaking Sierra Nevadas?

In this hands-on, interdisciplinary course, students dive into California’s most pressing environmental challenges and discover creative ways to respond. It includes classes at SF State and a one-week visit to the Sierra Nevada Field Campus near Bassets, CA. Blending fieldwork, research, and artistic practice, the class invites you to explore the natural world up close, understand the forces shaping it, and design meaningful interventions.

Climate Issues & Activism is a 3 unit cross-listed course and can count towards your major degree in: Visual Com Design (DES 312), Liberal Studies (LS 312), and Environmental Studies (ENVS 312).

Register here and fill out the Student Interest Survey.

Contact Professors:

Saskia van Kampen (saskia@sfsu.edu)

Logan Hennessy (loganh@sfsu.edu).

Climate HQ is pleased to announce the addition of three new faculty members to the Climate Change Certificate Steering Committee.

Dr. Aiko Yoshino is a Professor in the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism. Dr. Yoshino works in environmental psychology and outdoor learning to combat deepening environmental and health disparities, build climate resilience, and advance equity.

Dr. Laura Moorhead is an Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism. Dr. Moorhead engages students with climate justice education that bridges environmental studies, media literacy, and ethnic studies, giving them tools to tell their own stories about climate and environmental justice.

Dr. Rob Collins is an Associate Professor in the American Indian Studies program in the College of Ethnic Studies. Dr. Collins brings a rich body of knowledge on the links between Native American and Indigenous ecologies and oral histories of climate change through generations of first nations communities. 

All three faculty will be developing and/or revising new classes in our Journalism, American Indian Studies, and Recreation, Parks, and Tourism departments to be added to the Certificate, and working with our Steering Committee to continue to revise and enhance the program. We’re excited to bring them on-board!

Thank you to all our Climate Change Certificate Steering Committee members that serve alongside them: Thyra Beckley (student PLSI); Kai Burrus (faculty BIOL); Alcides Fuentes (Climate HQ); Angus Funkhouser (student ENGR); Gretchen L George (faculty NUTR); Constance Gordon (faculty COMM); Logan Hennessy (faculty LS); Mahmood Monshipouri (faculty IR); Shawn Rosenmoss (faculty SoTE); Aritree Samanta (faculty SoTE); and Jonathon Stillman (faculty BIOL)

Northern California Recycling Association

30th Annual Recycling Update at SF State on Wednesday, March 25th

This is the premier event for resource recovery professionals in Northern California. Are you an SF State student in town over Spring Break? Attend for free!  

Recycling Update is widely recognized as the leading one-day Zero Waste conference in Northern California.

Known for its fast-paced, "speed-dating" presentation format, that features 20 speakers from across California and the West Coast each presenting for 10 minutes on the latest innovations, programs, policies on more than just recycling; topics will cover reuse, repair, composting, outreach, extended producer responsibility (EPR), and edible food recovery. 

Since 2023, over 500 register to attend RU each year, attendees include municipal employees, refuse service providers, local and state policy makers, business leaders, university professors and facility staff, students, plastic-free and anti-incineration advocates, consultants, among many other sustainability professionals.

Register to attend here & join us in McKenna Theatre



For more info contact: Shawn Rosenmoss (srosenmoss@sfsu.edu)

🌟 Climate HQ Co-Director Kai Burrus Named SF Rotary Rotarian of the Month

We're thrilled to share that Climate HQ Co-Director Kai Burrus has been named Rotarian of the Month by SF Rotary Club President Frank Yoke, in recognition of her leadership of the Rotary Climate Action Team (RCAT).

The honor reflects a growing body of collaborative climate work that brings together unlikely partners around hands-on environmental action.

Last fall, Kai helped organize a shoreline restoration event at Baylands Park that united members of SF Rotary, Menlo Park Rotary, and SFSU Climate HQ students — working side by side with Save the Bay to plant native plants along the shoreline. It was a powerful example of what's possible when universities, civic organizations, and community nonprofits align around a shared climate vision.

And the work continues. This March, RCAT and Climate HQ students will head to the native plant nursery in Bayview to cultivate the very plants used in shoreline restoration efforts — this time in partnership with Literacy for Environmental Justice, an organization deeply rooted in the frontline communities most affected by sea level rise and environmental change. Congratulations, Kai — and thank you for building the bridges that make this kind of community climate action possible!

Photos: (Above) Kai Burrus and Frank Yoke (Rotary President); (Below): Climate HQ students participating in the Baylands Park Restoration event.

Celebrating Food & Gardening at SFSU

Reflections from Dr. Zubaida Qamar

Pam Price Visits SF State



Pam Peirce, author of the book Golden Gate Gardening, was invited by Zubaida Qamar, the Campus Farm Lead for Climate HQ, to deliver a presentation for the San Francisco State University community titled “Food Gardening in America: What’s Going on Now” in May 2025 as part of her ICCE (Institute for Civic and Community Engagement) grant project.

The presentation examined the historical and cultural influences on American diets, motivations for home food gardening, and strategies for transitioning toward a garden-sourced cuisine.

Peirce also highlighted the horticultural and cultural knowledge necessary to support more productive and meaningful food-growing practices. The event featured complimentary food and a plant giveaway to further engage participants in sustainable, hands-on learning.

Gardening Resources Display at the Library 

In Summer 2025, the SF State Library featured a curated garden book display in collaboration with Zubaida Qamar, the Campus Farm Lead for Climate HQ. The exhibit highlighted scholarly and practice-based resources on home and urban gardening, sustainable food systems, seasonal growing, and environmental stewardship. Dr. Qamar also donated a gardening kit along with pots and seeds from her project on sustainable food systems that the library now lends to the students. 



Located on the first floor across from the Book Checkout and Pickup desk, the display supported experiential learning and interdisciplinary resources by connecting the campus community members with literature that advances gardening and community-engaged food practices.

Take a look at the display here: Instagram.

Make Professional Connections!

Take advantage of free and discounted student memberships to clean tech and sustainability organizations.

It’s never too early to start making career connections! Many professional organizations offer free or reduced price memberships to students.  

Women in Cleantech and Sustainability fosters an influential network of professionals to further the roles of women in growing the green economy and making a positive impact on the environment. It offers a 30% discount to students.

The Association of Women in Water, Energy, and Environment fosters a community dedicated to the advancement of all women in the fields of water, energy, and environment. It offers a free annual membership for students..

Save the Date - SF Climate Week

April 18-26, 2026

The City of San Francisco is once again hosting Climate Week in mid-April.

This annual summit brings industry, government, and civil society actors together for a number of events, occasionally with high-profile guests. Past participants have included Indigenous leaders throughout the world as well as state and national climate leaders. Stay tuned on the link below for updates to this year’s schedule.

Follow for updates and to plan your schedule: www.sfclimateweek.org

In 2021, participants across 6 of SF State's colleges joined to create what would become Climate HQ, a hub to empower SF State's diverse students, staff, and faculty to become climate justice leaders. We began by creating the Climate Change Certificate Program, open to all students in every major.

We then developed the Climate Justice Leaders Initiative, a multi-year effort to grow our impact through education, research, and action. We launched a paid opportunity for students called the Climate Action Fellows, developed Applied Climate Justice Courses, rolled out Faculty Learning Communities and Faculty Mini Grants, initiated a PK-12 Graduate Certificate in Climate Justice Education for teachers, hosted annual events like Earth Week (including an annual FilmFest), launched a paid Climate Justice Internship Program + more.