Climate Change: Causes, Impacts, & Solutions Certificate

Interested in the Climate Change Certificate? This unique 13-19 unit 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 too! Students take 5 classes, one in each of the following areas: Foundations; Causes; Impacts; Solutions; and a Practicum course. Students gain an interdisciplinary overview of climate change issues and climate justice too. This is a great way to get started in studies on climate change and is flexible to accommodate students in all majors.

Stay connected with us to learn about upcoming classes in the certificate and speak to any certificate advisor to plan your spring 2025 schedule!

Faculty Learning Communities

Apply by November 20th at 5pm

Do you have an interest in incorporating climate change and/or climate justice into your pedagogy? Apply to be a part of a faculty learning community (FLC), or a group of 3-6 faculty, staff, or students committed to meeting for 10 hours over the course of the spring 2025 semester to collaborate on a climate-related topic that enhances your learning/pedagogy. Both interdisciplinary groups and people within departments/disciplines are encourages to apply. We also have a discussion board to post your idea & connect with others to build your community! A $500 honorarium is provided!



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Interview with Dr. Autumn Thoyre, Climate HQ Co-Director

What role do you play in Climate HQ and what does being a part of Climate HQ mean to you?

Climate HQ, to me, means community, hope, solutions, and social justice. Along with Aritree Samanta and Kai Burrus and an amazing team from across the University, I founded Climate HQ and the interdisciplinary Climate Change Certificate and I have co-directed HQ with these two fearless co-leaders ever since. This year, I’m also working with Gopal Dayaneni to develop a new Climate Justice Internship program. I’m thrilled we’ll soon be able to pay students to gain job experience at climate justice organizations.

What are your areas of expertise and how do you see them aligning with your work at Climate HQ?

My background is in sustainable energy, climate policies, and environmental justice. My research has focused on how many mainstream environmental groups/policies have tended to over-prioritize technocentric solutions to climate change in ways that fail to address the political, economic, and social roots of climate change. Climate HQ is a space for addressing those root causes. I thrive in collaborative, caring spaces and I really appreciate the ways I can help create Climate HQ as such a community.

What excites you about what we are doing on campus to address climate change and injustice?

Climate change is a problem that can feel overwhelming and hopeless. Working on it with others gives a sense of hope and also amplifies our influence. I learn so much from students, staff, and faculty colleagues when working in community on climate change and I know I’m part of something bigger than just me. I’m also so pumped about all the ways for students to get involved…

What would you say to new students at SF State who want to get involved?

We need your help! We need people from all majors to work together to address climate change, from scientists to artists, from healthcare workers to policymakers, from storytellers to builders, from businesses to social movements - and everyone in between.

There are so many different ways for you to get involved at SF State, including: completing one of the Climate Certificates; becoming a Climate Action Fellow; becoming an intern; attending or helping organize events like Earth Week; and joining the Certificate Steering Committee.

We’re here to help! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to an advisor or faculty/staff member at Climate HQ for advice on how to plug into these opportunities. (Also recommended: see Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s advice on finding climate actions that bring you joy and draw on your strengths.). We're so excited to work with you. Welcome!

Environmental Resource Center (ERC)

The Environmental Resource Center aims to provide opportunities for SFSU students to engage in environmentalism and sustainability on campus and in the greater Bay Area. Our Fall 2024 team is focused on zero waste, the circular economy, green jobs, regenerative agriculture and native plants, and climate justice/policy education. Recurring events include the ERC Open House, Sol Patch Garden activities, Clothing Swaps, Zero Waste Sorting, EcoFest, Earth Week, and more. Local partners and sponsors like Heirloom Coffee Roasters, Sloat Gardens, and Daisy Refillery extend the ERC’s reach beyond SFSU and into the larger community. 

Past & Upcoming October Events

10/7 ERC Tabling at the Women's Center Period Party

10/21 Zero Waste Sorting

10/23 Fall ERC Clothing Swap with QTRC

10/30 Halloween Hike

Learn more about the Environmental Resource Center and follow @as_erc_sfsu on Instagram for event alerts!

Office of Sustainability

Past October 2024 Events

On Thursday October 17th, students gathered at the Muni station on 19th to ride the 18 Muni with the Office of Sustainability to have a picnic on Ocean Beach! Remember: Your Muni rides are FREE with your Gator Pass!

On Thursday, October 10th, the Office of Sustainability and Health Promotion & Wellness held a plant-based cooking demo at Malcolm X Plaza! Students learned about the health effects and environmental benefits of plant-based eating.

Learn more about the Office of Sustainability and follow @sustainsfstate on Instagram for event alerts!

Pacific Islander Poetics & Climate Justice with Craig Santos Perez

Poet, essayist, and educator Craig Santos Perez gave a presentation and discussion on Pacific Islander poetics and climate justice in an event hosted by Professor Leora Kava and students of RRS 275: Intro to Pacific Islander Literature–How to Read an Ocean. Craig read a series of poems, including selections from his latest collection, Call this Mutiny, in response to quotes from Teresia Teaiwa’s short piece, “To Island.” “To Island” considers what possibilities arise if we think of ourselves as islanded:

Shall we make “island” a verb? As a noun, it’s so vulnerable to impinging forces. Let us turn the energy of the island inside out. Let us ʻislandʻ the world! Let us teach the inhabitants of planet Earth how to behave as if we were all living on islands! For what is Earth but an island in our solar system? 

Drawing together themes that arose between his poetry and lines from “To Island,” Craig responded to questions on Pacific Islander poetics and the connections between Pacific Islander storytelling and climate justice. Craig’s presentation and discussion with students emphasized Indigenous Pacific Islander forms of storying connection through poetry, and that poetry—as a means of layering meaning and connection—presents Pacific Islander strategies of ecological consciousness, ethics, and action. 

This event was sponsored by Department of Race & Resistance Studies, the Critical Pacific Islands & Oceania Studies minor program, the ARC program, and Climate HQ.

Visit from Matt Scott, Project Drawdown, Director of Storytelling and Engagement

SFSU Climate HQ hosted Matt Scott, Director of Storytelling and Engagement, Project Drawdown on campus on September 13, 2024. Matt Scott is the host of the Drawdown's Neighborhood docuseries, featured on The Weather Channel's Pattrn Network, and has led storytelling and engagement initiatives in collaboration with NASA, the White House, Nike, and more.

Matt led two sessions during his visit. The first one was with SFSU students in BIOL 240: Introductory Biology II. This session was also open to the campus community beyond the students enrolled in the course. The second session was a CSU-wide training on “​​Students Discovering Climate Solutions: Resources and insights for bringing climate change to classrooms and communities.” The training was attended by 50 faculty and staff across the CSUs including members from the CSU Chancellor’s Office, CSU STEM-NET, and leads/directors of climate initiatives in other CSU campuses. 

Visit from author of "Golden Gate Gardening" Pam Peirce

The author of the book "Golden Gate Gardening", Pam Peirce, was invited by Dr. Zubaida Qamar, Associate Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Campus Farm Lead for Climate HQ, for a visit to SF State and tour potential farm sites and the student garden, Sol Patch, on Sep 11, 2024.

Climate HQ Retreat

September 2024

Climate HQ held their first retreat on Sep 6, 2024. Climate HQ members represent various departments and sections of campus. The focus of the retreat was to organize and refine Climate HQ’s principles on climate justice. Climate HQ’s climate justice principles will continue to serve as a guiding framework for the hub’s initiatives and programs, including the Climate Justice Leaders Initiative.