Sustainability

A newly published study in Current Biology is reframing a fundamental question in plant evolution: What made trees possible?

On June 3–5, Cal Poly Humboldt will host California’s inaugural Outdoor Economy Summit, a new statewide event exploring how outdoor recreation drives economic growth, job creation, and long-term community resilience.

The 10th annual Sustainability Champion Awards program honors Cal Poly Humboldt students, faculty, and staff whose practices have deepened a culture of sustainability on campus, have furthered the integration of sustainability into academics or student life, or have reduced the University’s environmental footprint.

A $1 million grant from the Campbell Foundation is funding a first-of-its-kind study aimed at helping cannabis farmers reduce costs, lower environmental impacts, and produce cleaner, more sustainable products.

Cal Poly Humboldt’s Earth Week will bring the campus community together from April 16-25 to celebrate and explore how sustainability is woven into everyday life in creative, inclusive, and hands-on ways.

The third annual Cannabis & Environmental Stewardship Symposium will bring together experts throughout California to Cal Poly Humboldt on Friday, April 17, to explore equitable and environmentally responsible practices in California’s cannabis market—the nation’s largest, valued at more than $5 billion.

Cal Poly Humboldt is launching a new Bachelor of Arts in Critical Agriculture Studies & Agroecology in Fall 2026, expanding the University’s commitment to place-based learning, sustainability, community-engaged scholarship, and climate justice. 

In response to accelerating climate change and increasing human impacts on California’s landscapes, Cal Poly Humboldt and the U.S. Geological Survey California Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit are leading a major expansion of a statewide biodiversity monitoring effort.

The old swath of lawn where the Jensen House once stood is transforming into something extraordinary: a vibrant, living coastal prairie. Soon, this hillside will be home to dozens of native grasses and wildflowers—a space designed to teach, inspire, and restore.

When most people think of climate education, they tend to picture science classes. But what if sustainability could bloom in history lessons, art studios, and business courses too?

Cal Poly Humboldt has been honored with a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly University award by the League of American Bicyclists, the premier grassroots advocacy organization encouraging better bicycling, in recognition of the University’s achievements in promoting and enabling safe, accessible bicycling on campus.

Long celebrated for its natural beauty and environmental values, Cal Poly Humboldt has once again been recognized for putting sustainability into action—earning a place among the nation’s most environmentally conscious campuses in The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges.

A new report from the Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt examines the entwined history of energy development and timber production in Humboldt County—and looks at how transmission system expansion for offshore wind could empower greater energy access on the North Coast.

Since 2011, Cal Poly Humboldt secured more than $1 billion in external funding, advancing breakthroughs in gene therapy, clean energy, climate science, community health, the arts, and student success programs while providing students hands-on opportunities to shape the future. 

At 4:30 a.m., before the first rays of sun reach the waters surrounding the Galápagos Islands, trillions of phytoplankton drift in the dark, waiting for the light of dawn to trigger photosynthesis—the process that releases oxygen and energy into the ocean and the marine food web.

During an expedition to the Peruvian Andes in 2018, a team of researchers exploring Abiseo River National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, made an extraordinary discovery: a previously undocumented species of marsupial.

In a muddy ditch draining into Baduwa’t (Mad River), a flicker of silver darted beneath the surface. 

Cal Poly Humboldt has taken a significant step toward its carbon neutrality goal by offsetting 428 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)—the equivalent of annual emissions from 100 gas-powered cars.

Cal Poly Humboldt has been recognized as a leader in sustainability by the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI), becoming only the fourth academic library in the country and the second in the California State University (CSU) system to earn the initiative’s award-winning Sustainable Library Certification.

For the final talk in this semester’s Climate and Clean Energy Series—“Scaling Our Energy Future: Insights from the Utility Sector”—PG&E Executive Vice President Carla J. Peterman will describe how the utility plans to scale the energy system to meet growing power demand, decarbonization, and resiliency goals, while ensuring that energy remains affordable.

The ninth annual Sustainability Champion Awards program honors Cal Poly Humboldt students, faculty, and staff whose practices have deepened a culture of sustainability on campus, have furthered the integration of sustainability into academics or student life, or have reduced the University’s environmental footprint.

Cal Poly Humboldt has been recognized as a Tree Campus by the Arbor Day Foundation for its dedication to enhancing community well-being through tree education, investment, and community engagement.

Cal Poly Humboldt has officially broken ground on the Energy Research + Sustainability Center (ER+SC)—a hub dedicated to cutting-edge research in sustainability and cultivating the next generation of environmental leaders.

From reusable water bottles to compost bins, Cal Poly Humboldt embodies a culture of sustainability and environmental stewardship. This year, various on-campus organizations are uniting to create an inspiring Earth Week, inviting students, staff, and faculty to come together in celebration of a global movement that champions awareness and action for Earth's protection and sustainability, from April 21-26.

Cal Poly Humboldt’s Cannabis Studies Program invites campus and community members to attend the second annual Symposium on Cannabis and Environmental Stewardship to empower regenerative cannabis agriculture and best practices for licensed cannabis production.