“Read the Climate” is being produced by a student team of 12 at Inspiration Studios and is advised by philosophy lecturer Anne Dabb and women’s, gender and sexuality studies lecturer Kit-Bacon Gressitt. The podcast idea emerged from the Climate Change Faculty Working Group, which was founded in 2020 to foster CSUSM’s role as a leader in campus and regional climate crisis and climate justice problem-solving. 

Environmental students student Michael Giles, who is leading the project, hopes the podcast will become an outlet for students to express the emotions that come with climate change.

“Living in San Diego County, one of the most bio culturally diverse areas in all North America, one rich with various forms of traditional knowledge, I believe we have a stage to share, one I believe can help battle the climate crisis,” Giles said. “Our campus is on the traditional homelands of the Payómkawichum people and, in other parts of San Diego, we share the space with the traditional homelands of countless other tribes.

“Globally, we are witnessing the loss of traditional languages, teachings and histories, as well as the loss of native habitats and species. We can stop this. We can reap a world that is equitable for all of us. Equitable for all people. Equitable for all forms of life. Equitable for all beings. Equitable for our planet. There is so much strength in the community. Together, our voices will be amplified, and the world will hear our calls to action.”

Giles and the “Read the Climate” team aim to have the podcast accessible for students to listen to in times of passing. The best way to keep up to date with new episodes is to follow the Read the Climate Instagram page. 

“We want to make sure we are as accessible as we can be,” Giles said. “People are busy, and as a full-time student myself working two jobs, I understand what it’s like to not have time to do a lot. The podcast aims to reach people whether they’re on transit, doing some work, or really anything that allows individuals to safely listen to something we hope empowers them.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist
ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Reyes has multiple family members who worked in Imperial Valley’s agricultural fields, including a grandfather who developed cancer from exposure to pesticides.

But it wasn’t until Reyes enrolled at Cal State San Marcos in 2017 that she really began focusing on environmental justice.

“I didn't realize that there were so many environmental injustices happening in the Imperial Valley until I learned about it when I got to Cal State San Marcos,” said Reyes, who will graduate next month with a bachelor’s in environmental studies. “I feel like that really promoted my passion for environmental justice, because it hit home personally.”

Reyes has been working hard throughout the pandemic to pursue this passion, both as an environmental justice intern through a partnership between the Office of Inclusive Excellence and the Sustainability Department and her role as co-president of the Environmental Stewards Association.

As part of her internship, Reyes was a presenter for the This Way to Sustainability (TWTS) Conference, which was hosted by Chico State in March. Reyes’ presentation was titled “Social Justice Through Sustainability: Acknowledging students of environmentally discriminated areas through sustainable efforts on campus.” The project analyzed how some CSUSM students come from places impacted by environmental injustices such as poor air or water quality and how the university can uplift the voices of those students.

“The environmental justice internship, which is only 2 years old now, has spurred lots of really cool research projects,” said Juliana Goodlaw-Morris, CSUSM’s sustainability manager, who coordinates the program with Ariel Stevenson, assistant director of programs and initiatives for the Office of Inclusive Excellence. “But the project that Melissa worked on, connecting environmental injustices and COVID-19 data with our students, is a very timely and important project. As we seek to better serve our students and ensure they are successful toward graduation, it is opportunities such as this that continue to motivate us to further develop the environmental justice internship program and the inclusive sustainability efforts at CSUSM.”

Reyes also played a vital role in an Earth Month event held on April 6 called “BIPOC and Green: Centering CS‘U’SM in the Environmental Justice Movement,” which focused on intersectionality in the environmental justice movement.

Helping to create meaningful events through the internship has been one of the highlights of Reyes’ time at CSUSM.

“I'm able to bring awareness to an issue that I strongly believe in, and I'm doing it with the help of these two amazing women,” said Reyes, referring to Goodlaw-Morris and Stevenson.

Reyes also credits professor Gabriel Valle and lecturer Christina Simokat from the environmental studies department for their support in her education. Simokat encouraged Reyes to join student organizations, which eventually led to the creation of the Environmental Stewards Association. With multiple environmental studies student organizations on campus, it was difficult for students who are interested in the environment to attend numerous meetings and events related to each group. That led Reyes and a group of friends to create one umbrella organization that is open to all students.

“Melissa is a driven student,” Stevenson said. “As an active member of the Environmental Stewards Association and an environmental justice intern, she continually connects her studies, her passion and her lived experiences to this work.

“In the last year, I watched her navigate the pandemic, lead presentations and present at a conference – all virtually. She is an example of the very best things we love about our students – resiliency, growth and dedication.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

“You’re teaching about the food system and talking about food, but you’re in this room with no connection to the outside,” said Guthey, the coordinator for CSUSM’s environmental studies program.

Knowing the importance of being outdoors to develop connections with the ecology, Guthey worked with his students to establish a sustainable food project garden. What began as a small pilot project in 2012 has grown to serve more than 100 students who take classes taught by Guthey and fellow environmental studies professor Gabriel Valle in the garden each year.

Guthey and Valle are collaborating with sustainability manager Juliana Goodlaw-Morris in an effort to expand the garden and provide fresh produce for all CSUSM students through the Cougar Pantry, an Associated Students Inc. initiative to decrease food insecurity among students.

CSUSM was among 14 California State University campuses that received grants from the Chancellor’s Office last spring in support of basic needs and student well-being. Valle received a $15,000 grant focused on producing food for the Cougar Pantry and doing so consistently throughout the year. As part of the grant, he and Guthey will be examining whether growing and distributing food helps students become leaders in addressing basic needs.

Goodlaw-Morris also received a $3,000 stipend that is being used to help fund improvements to the garden.

“The garden is a great academic space,” Goodlaw-Morris said. “It’s a place where students can put into practice what they’re learning in the classroom and have hands-on learning opportunities.”

Students use the garden as an outdoor classroom as part of Guthey’s fall course on food systems and emerging markets and Valle’s spring course on food justice. Valle also recently taught the first summer course in which the garden was used extensively, a class focused on diet and the planet.

“We have a lot of fun,” Guthey said. “It’s a different environment for students, and that really helps. It gets them outside of their regular pattern. It helps open up their minds and interact with people in different ways.”

In the past, the garden was largely unattended during the summer recess, and Guthey’s classes had to spend the first few weeks of the fall semester restoring it for planting. By adding a summer course, they’ve cut down the unattended times significantly, an important step in preparing to produce food for the Cougar Pantry throughout the year. They have also added a student assistant, Jameson Meyst, who has brought expertise from growing food on his family’s property in Valley Center. As part of the improvements being made, Jameson helped Valle’s summer students build a hoop house, which can extend growing seasons and provides warmth from the sun and cool air from the winds.

Students spend some time in a traditional classroom, but they are largely in the garden, learning about everything from the importance of soil composition to proper watering techniques.

“It really changes your perspective,” said Blythe Abbey, an environmental studies student who took Valle’s summer course.

The garden is tucked away on the east side of campus behind the Center for Children and Families. Students grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including corn, cucumbers, kale, tomatoes and zucchini. There is even a macadamia nut tree.

One of the ongoing challenges for Guthey and Valle is making sure people know about the garden and that it’s open to anyone.

To relax, Sammie Deane Phinney, an environmental studies student who also took Valle’s summer course, said she frequently walked over from her nearby Block C apartment even when she wasn’t in class.

With her first child due in January, Sammie said working in the garden has inspired her to grow produce at home so she can make baby food.

“I’m super excited that I have this knowledge because I want to bring it into my child’s life,” Sammie said. “It’s really enlightened me on what’s best for me and my child.”

The garden has already undergone some of the planned improvements. One of the biggest was gaining control over new water stations. In the past, the garden was part of the larger university watering cycle, which often meant plants getting too much or too little water. Now, with support from Facility Services, they are able to better monitor the plants and adjust the amount or pressure of water accordingly. New fencing is being installed, which will help protect the garden from rabbits and gophers, and Guthey and Valle are awaiting final approval from the Office of Planning, Design and Construction to expand the garden, pushing its eastern boundary out an additional 50-60 feet.

While many of the students who take the courses are environmental studies majors, Guthey and Valle stress that their classes are open to all students.

“We encourage any student who is interested in where their food comes from – whether it’s the nutritional side, the access side or the food system science – to take classes and to see what it’s like to grow food,” Valle said. “This is a learning garden. Part of the reason it doesn’t look like a perfect farm is because students are learning how to do all of this.

“We’re trying to do what we can to let more people know about the garden and the classes down here, and let them know that it’s fun, rewarding and enjoyable.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314