CSUB to hold first-ever Sustainability Symposium

Virtual conference focuses on climate action, part of Earth Month celebration

Por California State University, Bakersfield

18 de April de 2022

In conjunction with Earth Month, California State University, Bakersfield is holding its first conference focusing on sustainability and climate action.

The virtual symposium will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, April 22, and is open to students, faculty, staff and the general public. The symposium will include remarks from President Lynnette Zelezny and Provost Vernon Harper, a student panel as well as several breakout sessions.

The sessions will be led by CSUB faculty and staff as well as representatives from area organizations such as Bring Back the Kern and the Kern County chapters of the California Native Plant Society and Sierra Club. The conference will address several sustainability issues that affect the Central Valley, including air quality, water, waste and transportation.

“The primary goal of this is to open up the conversation about sustainability and create a space for this discussion. We haven’t really had a space like this for talking about sustainability and climate action in regards to the Central Valley and Kern County,” said Energy and Sustainability Specialist Jennifer Sanchez Biedermann, who is helping organize the symposium.

Given that agriculture lies at the heart of the Valley, Sanchez Biedermann said CSUB is uniquely positioned to provide a conference like this.

“The Central Valley has so much opportunity to address the coming issues and the issues that are already here regarding climate change and the availability of natural resources,” she said. “We’re really excited to — with this program — inspire more leadership and more individuals to create sustainability projects and take on a role in the entire industry.”

Najeeb Darwish — director of sustainability for Associated Students, Inc. — has assisted the Sustainability and Energy Management Department in putting on the symposium. Darwish hopes that students, faculty and staff will take advantage of the conference.

“This is an incredible opportunity for the CSUB community to learn about current sustainable efforts being made throughout the Central Valley in a variety of fields, and a call to action for some,” he said.

Inspiring action

The symposium is part of a larger effort at CSUB to increase sustainability-related programming on campus. Faculty Sustainability Coordinator Dr. Antje Lauer hopes it will serve as a foundation that can be built upon in the coming years and that it will inspire more students to get involved in sustainability efforts on campus and in their community.

“The conference will be one big step in the right direction,” she said. “Students should understand that this is a high priority for us leaders at CSUB, that it’s important for us as a university.”

As CSUB is still in the process of developing sustainability-related academic programs, Sanchez Biedermann said many prospective students who are interested in those types of programs often overlook the university in favor of other institutions.

“The main thing I would love for students to get from the symposium is that there’s a lot of work to be done here as well,” she said. “Students should at least know that there are individuals here that are working on creating some worthwhile projects and really innovative types of technologies and business practices. There’s a space for students here to really delve into this.”

Sanchez Biedermann hopes the symposium will be able to provide all attendees with a basic understanding of sustainability and why it’s important.

“Sustainability is a word that gets tossed around a lot, but what our symposium hopes to dive into is what does that actually mean? It’s hard for some people to wrap their minds around it.” she said. “We want them to have some beginner conversations about why is this important and how do these systems work together to create this sense of urgency of addressing climate change.”

Sanchez Biedermann said she hopes the symposium will serve as a call to action and will inspire attendees to get involved in sustainability efforts either on an individual level or as part of a collaboration.

“These issues take everyone’s participation to address. It’s not something the university can do on its own to become more sustainable and resilient to future changes,” she said.

After the symposium, there will be an in-person event on April 27 at the Edible Garden from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to continue conversations about sustainability and climate change. Lunch boxes catered by Vida Vegan will be provided at the event.

These are just a few events being held in April as part of Earth Month. Here’s a look at what else is on tap:

April 19: Kaiser Permanente Bioethics and Medical Humanities Speaker Series: “Tainted Grapes, Tainted Lungs: Extreme Wildfire Impacts to Undocumented Latino/a and Indigenous Migrants” by Dr. Michael Mendez, 6 p.m. via Zoom.

April 20: California Native Tree Planting, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. outside the Dore Theatre.

April 21: Pedal & Plant, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., Student Recreation Center lobby; Wellness Walk, 1-3 p.m., SRC lobby; Teacher Read Aloud Series: Earth Day, 4:30 p.m. via Zoom.