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Land Claims: Conservation Easements and the Politics of Property in the Shenandoah Valley
Friday, September 16, 2022, 12pm - 1pm ET
Dr. Levi Van Sant, School of Integrative Studies
Horizon 6325 and via Zoom (virtual attendees click here to register)
A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a non-profit land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land to protect “conservation values”. Proponents of conservation easements argue that they are a crucial tool for protecting biodiversity, water quality, and other conservation values. However, critics point out several shortcomings. They are structured in such a way that they disproportionately benefit high-income land owners; there are several legal loopholes and administrative gray areas that allow for what many consider to be outright fraud; and while they depend on public funds, easement governance and data are privatized. In part due to the challenges of data privatization, there are also unanswered questions about their ecological benefits and environmental justice implications. Levi Van Sant will discuss his developing project studying conservation easements in the Shenandoah Valley.
Levi Van Sant is a human geographer whose work focuses on environmental (in)justice, particularly issues surrounding food, agriculture, and land use. He is an Assistant Professor in the School of Integrative Studies and an affiliate of Environmental Science and Policy. His previous work on conservation easements with Dean Hardy and Bryan Nuse was published in Human Geography last year.
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Register for upcoming workshop “Incorporating Systems Thinking within Environmental Curricula”
Friday, November 11, 2022, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Registration
Potomac Science Center
Systems thinking is often described as a core capacity for understanding sustainability and a critical skill for the 21st century. As such, this workshop is part of a George Mason University Curriculum Impact Grant-funded project that seeks to convene faculty and graduate students to examine the current state of systems thinking pedagogies and explore how they are being incorporated within two undergraduate degree programs–the BS in Environmental Science offered by the Department of Environmental Science & Policy (ESP), and the BA in Environmental and Sustainability Studies offered jointly by the School of Integrative Studies and ESP. Faculty and graduate students from other departments who teach related courses are also welcome. Workshop participants will share their own best practices in teaching students about systems and identify opportunities to integrate systems thinking within courses and throughout program curricula. The event will be held at Mason’s Potomac Science Center and will include a catered lunch for participants. The first half of the workshop (9:30-11:30 am), comprised of introductory talks and a curricular review, will be live-streamed for those who wish to attend but are not available for the full day. Please register HERE and email organizers K. L. Akerlof, Andrew Wingfield, Jeremy Campbell, Ted Chen, and Meaghan Caruso with any questions you have about the event.
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UGC Conference Committee
Monday, Oct 3, 2022, 10:00 AM – Friday, Oct 7, 2022, 12:00 PM EDT
Registration
University Global Coalition will host its 2022 Annual Gathering, with sessions held virtually throughout the week of October 3-7, 2022. These deep dive sessions on selected topics focus on innovative partnerships for Sustainable Development Goal innovation, with actionable outcomes leading towards the 2023 SDG Summit.
Visit UGC 2022 Annual Gathering or follow UGC on twitter (@uniglobalco) or LinkedIn (University Global Coalition) for updates.
Register today! Please save the email and password information used to register; you will need these to access the session links.
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Pitch and Pilot: Fairfax County Innovation Challenge
Registration is now open for an innovation competition to develop smart city solutions centered on carbon neutrality & climate action.
The goal of the challenge is to find innovative solutions that improve energy efficiency, increase the use of renewable electricity, and accelerate the use of electric vehicles to shift from a carbon-based economy to a carbon-neutral community. The deadline for accepting applications is October 3, 2022, at 5pm ET.
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MITRE Capstones Project Portal
As part of its University Innovation Exchange (UIX) initiative, MITRE is partnering with universities to offer technical advisors and capstone project ideas that reflect real problems facing the United States government. The MITRE Capstones Project Portal is a web-based platform for university faculty and students to browse, select, and execute capstone projects with a MITRE technical advisor. There are several exciting opportunities currently on the Project Portal. You can review the full list here.
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25Live Guide – Feature Your Sustainability Events
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ISE Faculty Profiles
The ISE faculty directory is a tool for you to find others with complementing expertise and for external and internal audiences to find you! If you haven’t yet submitted your research profile information for the directory, please complete your profile here.
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Ecuador – the Mirador Mine – Resilient? – Sustainable? – Solutions: A C-RASC Lunch & Learn Series Presentation with David Frederick Dene
Wednesday, September 14, 2022, 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET
Registration
Presenter: David Frederick Dene was invited and joined the United Nations (UN) Initiative "Harmony with Nature" in 2016 as an expert in Earth Jurisprudence in order to assist in the meeting of the 17 Sustainable Goals set by the UN for 2030. To learn more about David’s work, please visit: www.protectecuador.org. See attached flyer for more details.
**This event is FREE and Pre-registration is required!
Who should attend: All Mason Faculty, Staff, Students, and those interested in the research areas of the Amazon Region, Ecuador, Environmental and Community Resiliency, Sustainability, Human Rights, and Public Policy
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Cross-Sector Collaboration with the Public Health Department: A C-RASC Lunch & Learn Series Presentation with Dr. Brie Haupt
Wednesday, September 21, 2022, 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET
Registration
Presenter: Brittany “Brie” Haupt, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness Department with research interests of cultural competency, emergency and crisis management, crisis communication, and community resilience. She has published in Public Administration Review, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Disaster Prevention and Management, Risk, Hazards, and Crisis in Public Policy, Journal of Emergency Management, and Frontiers in Communication section on Disaster communications. Dr. Haupt‘s award-winning book with Dr. Claire Connolly Knox on Cultural Competence for Emergency and Crisis Management: Concepts, Theories, and Case Studies offers educators a roadmap for successfully engaging participants in various aspects of cultural competency knowledge, skills, and abilities. This text received the American Society of Public Administration’s Section on Democracy and Social Justice’s 2021 Book of the Year Award. See attached flyer for more details.
**This event is FREE and Pre-registration is required!
Who should attend: All Mason Faculty, Staff, Students, and those interested in the research areas of Emergency Management, Public Administration, Public Policy, Public Health, Community Resilience, Cross-Sector Collaboration, and Cultural Competency
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Bring Down Counterfeiting 2022: Policy Hackathon
George Mason University’s Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) is pleased to partner with Amazon to co-host the 2022 Bring Down Counterfeiting Public Policy Hackathon, which is now accepting registrants. Tickets are finite so register now!
Annually, counterfeiting and piracy are a $464 billion problem, or 2.5% of global trade, according to the OECD. Counterfeiters deprive brand owners of the value of their intellectual property, compete unfairly with honest entrepreneurs, and may place the health and safety of consumers at risk. Additionally, counterfeiting may intersect with other nefarious activity such as illicit trafficking in narcotics, arms, persons, and wildlife. The methods counterfeiters use and the channels they aim to exploit continue to evolve, and there is wide variability in the investments and impact that different industry stakeholders are having to prevent counterfeiters.
Organized by Blue Clarity, Bring Down Counterfeiting invites teams to register between August 5th and October 7th. This event will challenge teams from U.S. academic institutions, companies, and other affiliations to develop innovative ideas to improve public-private collaborations in the United States against the industry-wide, global challenge of counterfeiting. The final round of the public policy hackathon will be held in-person on November 5th, when teams will compete for more than $20,000 in prizes.
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The Beck Environmental Lecture: Michael Mann
Michael E. Mann is back with his new book The New Climate War, which reveals the thirty year campaign major polluters have run to deflect blame for climate change onto individuals, and away from their own toxic practices. Bill Nye says, “Mann shows that corporations and lobbyists have been successful in convincing us that climate change will be fine, if we just recycle our bottles and turn out the lights. Instead, he says, global warming is a problem way too hot for any one person to handle. He’s optimistic though, because he sees what we really can and will do.” Mann combats climate doom-saying with practical steps to save the planet. Sponsored by Robert & Lucy Beck.
This event is part of the Fall for the Book Festival, which runs from October 12-15. View the full schedule at fallforthebook.org/schedule.
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Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Conference
Monday, October 24, 2022, 8am - 6:30pm ET
Mason Square, Arlington, Virginia
George Mason University’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Initiative is proud to host this first-ever conference featuring panels, workshops, and conversation groups with researchers and changemakers from across the country.
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Trans-Atlantic Economy at the Local Level: The Case of Northern Virginia & Hamburg, Germany
The United States and Europe remain each other’s most important markets: the transatlantic economy is the largest and wealthiest market in the world with strong ties in foreign direct investment. While there are well documented metrics at the national and state-levels concerning global trade and investment, jobs and tourism, there is practically nothing at the local level. This void make strategic planning and regional marketing difficult for regional and local governments. This discussion will help shed light on experiences in Northern Virginia and Hamburg with foreign direct investment and subnational cooperation.
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- Gamifying everything from history to pain management, Research News, September 8, 2022.
- Film festival explores ‘the way of life’ in various Spanish-speaking countries, Campus News, September 7, 2022.
- Mason offers options for mental health assistance, suicide prevention, Campus News, September 5, 2022.
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Dear Colleague Letter: Critical Aspects of Sustainability (CAS): Innovative Solutions to Sustainable Chemistry (CAS-SC)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announces the establishment of the Critical Aspects of Sustainability (CAS): Innovative Solutions to Sustainable Chemistry Program (CAS-SC), under the CAS metaprogram umbrella. The CAS-SC Program recognizes the importance of sustainable chemistry in addressing many societal challenges and aims to encourage the expansion of the Nation’s research capacity in this topic area through submissions of research proposals. Proposals that emphasize a detailed and quantitative understanding of sustainable chemistry and include industrial partnerships are of particular interest.
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OJP FY2022 Solicitations: Strengthen public safety, prevent gun violence, and increase community trust
This year, the Office of Justice Programs is making significant resources available to reduce violence, including $50 million in new grant funding to support street outreach initiatives, group call-in programs, hospital-based trauma interventions, and other Community Violence Intervention (CVI) strategies designed to reach those most at risk of committing or experiencing violence. A companion solicitation from OJP’s National Institute of Justice is also available to support research and evaluation of CVI programs. We are also inviting communities to take advantage of funding opportunities designed to strengthen the bonds of trust within communities while ensuring public safety.
Please click here for more information, and click on the links below to check out OJP’s other solicitations focused on:
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Dear Colleague Letter: Design for Sustainability in Computing
This recently issued Dear Colleague Letter (NSF 2022-60) Design for Sustainability in Computing encourages the submission of novel and high impact proposals that advance sustainability in all aspects of computing to the CISE Core programs (NSF 21-616). The DCL invites transformative, cross-disciplinary and potentially clean slate approaches to enable sustainability across all levels of the entire computing stack from hardware to networking to software applications. Proposals should consider diverse notions of sustainability and propose suitable metrics for quantifying impact. Traditional energy efficiency and power savings methods alone are not in scope for this DCL. Computing techniques for sustainability in other fields are not in scope for this DCL. This DCL seeks ambitious and forward-thinking proposals on Design for Sustainability in Computing along multiple dimensions that go beyond energy efficiency.
This DCL neither constitutes a new competition nor a new program. Rather, interested proposers should prepare and submit proposals in accordance with the instructions in the CISE Core program solicitation (NSF 21-616) and the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). Additionally, to call attention to responsiveness to this DCL, the Project Summary should include "SustainabilityDCL" in the keyword list. Proposals submitted to this DCL will count towards the proposal limits imposed in the CISE Core program solicitation.
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NSF Critical Aspects of Sustainability (CAS): Innovative Solutions to Climate Change
This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) encourages the science and engineering communities to develop forward-thinking research that will demonstrably aid in the Nation's goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and developing approaches for adapting to the change that is already occurring. CAS: Innovative Solutions to Climate Change is a call to action that encourages the submission of certain types of proposals to appropriate existing NSF core programs to lay the foundation for disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and to answer fundamental questions related to novel approaches and solutions to climate change.- Funding source: National Science Foundation
- Anticipated funding amount: Up to $100,000
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Good Trouble: Supportive Community Conversation Circles for Mason Students Interested in Pursuing Positive Social Change
Are you interested in how you can spark positive social change on campus, in your local community, as well as nationally and globally? In 2020 the late great civil rights activist Congressman John R. Lewis called out﹘
“To each and every one of you, especially you young people ... Go out there, speak up, speak out. Get in the way. Get in good trouble. Necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”
This fall, the Office of Community Engagement and Civic Learning (CECIL) and a group of university faculty will offer monthly hour-long conversation circles over pizza to discuss what it means to “get in good trouble” for each of us, whether protesting in the streets, organizing a grassroots group, volunteering service, social change research, getting out the vote, or contacting your representatives. Join fellow students to talk about the issues that are important to you and how to pursue them. Find support and make new connections in these trying years that many are calling “the decisive decade.” University faculty members will help moderate the circle discussions and serve as resources.
Sign up today! The fall semester conversation circles will take place on the following days and times:
Thurs., Sept. 29th at noon
Thurs., Oct. 27th at noon
Thurs., Dec. 1st at noon
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Bird Strikes Prevention Volunteers
The Office of Sustainability’s Patriot Green Fund, led by Sarah D’Alexander, is engaged with Dr. Daniel Hanley, Dr. David Luther, and Shawn Smith, among others, in the development of strategies to reduce bird strikes and bird fatalities.
Dr. Hanley, Dr. Luther, and Shawn Smith have a unique opportunity for students to participate in community engagement at Mason’s campuses from mid-September to mid-October,
Students can support bird strike prevention by volunteering as citizen scientists! Students will travel pre-selected routes and report any observed bird fatalities in the mornings and/or evenings. Reports will be made using an application designed by Dr. Hanley, Dr. Luther, and Shawn Smith. Data from the reports will be used to help develop solutions to reduce bird strikes and bird fatalities.
Students can email Shawn Smith at ssmit28@gmu.edu and include “bird strike volunteer” in the subject line to get started.
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Mason's Active Leaders Program
Brought to you by Mason’s Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) Office is the LEAD's Active Leaders program, which is a 10-week seminar (2 hours each week) taught by Dr. Nick Lennon (LEAD Director). The program is designed to provide a more advanced leadership opportunity for Mason students (undergraduate as well as graduate). There is no reading and no homework. The primary focus is to provide a high-quality leadership program for active student leaders at Mason. This year, the program will be in-person again (on the Fairfax campus). We will have many interactive activities and discussions to help you learn about leadership (this is NOT a lecture-based program).
To be a part of the Mason Active Leaders Program, visit our website at: https://lead.gmu.edu/activeleaders/ and complete the very brief registration form. If you have questions, please contact Dr. Nick Lennon, Director of the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) office at nlennon@gmu.edu.
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The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Internship Opportunities
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The Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE) aims to connect members of the Mason community with others across the Mason community–and with other communities, policy-makers, businesses and organizations–so that, together, we can more effectively address the world’s pressing sustainability and resilience challenges.
The ISE Newsletter provides up-to-date information on conferences, funding opportunities, and research pertaining to environmental science and sustainability. The biweekly newsletter aims to facilitate information sharing among researchers, practitioners, and relevant local, national, and international organization.
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