EcoGovLab cultivates research, education and diverse collaborations supporting next-generation environmental governance.
Led by social scientists, EcoGovLab brings together researchers and educators across generation, geography, and discipline concerned about environmental governance. A key goal is to bring social science perspective into interdisciplinary environmental research and education. Professor Kim Fortun (Department of Anthropology, University of California Irvine) directs EcoGovLab.
EcoGovLab was established in 2022 to coordinate a growing array of projects and collaborations centered at UCI and to serve as a hub connecting environmental governance researchers, educators and advocates globally. Some EcoGovLab projects are deeply local; others have global scope and connections. EcoGovLab researchers at UCI include undergraduate and graduate students (from different disciplines), postdocs and project scientists. EcoGovLab Affiliates are in locations around the world, both within and beyond universities.
EcoGovLab collaborates with many labs and programs at both UCI and other universities, aiming to help build interdisciplinary environmental research and education capacities. EcoGovLab also collaborates with many environmental advocacy organizations. Our goal is to build durable, reciprocal relationships that make the university a resource for these organizations while creating opportunities for students and faculty to learn from and support them.
Cover image from Exploring Fast Disasters map made by EcoGovLab member Margaret Tebbe.
People
Learn about the members of EcoGovLab.
Projects
Learn about the lab’s work.
Social Media Campaign
#UnPink Santa Ana
In partnership with GREEN-MPNA, we launched an education and advocacy campaign to demand zoning justice and confront environmental injustices in Santa Ana, California.
Pink zones on the city’s official maps mark neighborhoods burdened by high pollution and socioeconomic challenges. Our mission: cut pollution, amplify community voices, and drive change in Santa Ana’s zoning update.
Upcoming Events
March 6
Waterkeeper Film Screening
We invite you to a special pre-screening of Waterkeeper, a powerful documentary film that follows the extraordinary life of Diane Wilson, a shrimp boat captain and environmental activist fighting to protect the waters of Texas’ Gulf Coast. Filmmaker Fax Bahr will join in person. Goldman Prize winner Diane Wilson will join us virtually.
🕒 5–7pm PT📍ALP 2100 ➡️ Register
News
Waterkeeper Documentary Screening at UC Irvine
Thursday, March 6, 5-7pm, UCI ALP 2100 RSVP (required) Event Description UCI EcoGovLab and Student Anthropology Club are hosting a special pre-screening of Waterkeeper, a powerful documentary film that follows the extraordinary life of Diane Wilson, a shrimp boat...
Tim Schütz at Center for Climate IT, Copenagen
CCIT Seminar: Information Environmental Justice: Digital Infrastructures, Data ideologies and Transnational Activism https://ccit.itu.dk/Seminar-series Abstract:In the face of escalating environmental crises, digital infrastructures are becoming critical sites of...
EcoGovLab presents curriculum to Orange County teachers
Reports
Environmental Injustice Pedagogies: Brokering Epistemic Trust in Cross-Institutional & Inter-Disciplinary Projects
In this reflection on the development of interdisciplinary environmental justice units for California high schoolers, we reflexively analyze the politics of knowledge in translational research between STS scholars and STEM educators. Read the full post on Backchannels.
Digital Archiving for Just Transitions
This article explores the Kaohsiung Asthma Files Archive. This public-facing research archive gathers a diverse range of data to tell multi-faceted stories of Kaohsiung’s industrial sites and their transformations. It is also part of the global environmental justice...
Protecting Students from Our Changing Climate
Creating sustainable school buildings and playgrounds is crucial for student well-being and academic success, especially in the face of climate change. Concrete and asphalt schoolyards worsen the heat island effect, leading to higher temperatures and increased health...
EcoGovLab
University of California, Irvine
ecogovlab@uci.edu