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On May 3, 2018, faculty and student research assistants invited the campus community to a dialogue centered around environmental justice in Nicaragua and across the Americas during Santa Clara University\u2019s annual Immigration Week. Testimonials offered by <\/span>Gustavo Aguirre<\/span><\/a>, the Director of Organizing at the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment, <\/span>faculty research collaborators<\/span><\/a>, and student participants of community-based experiences created a space for reflection, discernment, and avenues of action. After, event attendees had the opportunity to connect with campus and local organizations, such as the <\/span>Community Agroecology Network<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Santa Clara Community Action Program<\/span><\/a>\u2019s (SCCAP) Environmental Action and Worker\u2019s Connection.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The event audience enjoyed viewing the Remi Award winning documentary <\/span>Ending Seasonal Hunger in Nicaragua<\/span><\/a>, which set the stage for the conversation. Faculty collaborators Christopher Bacon, Iris Stewart-Frey, William Sundstrom, Edwin Maurer, and postdoctoral scholar Lisa Kelley offered reflections on what they learned through building relationships with smallholder communities in Nicaragua and engaging in food and water security research. Student research assistants Chris Esparza and Kimy Grandi Soriano (who also organized and coordinated Immigration Week) opened the student portion of the event with personal stories of what motivates their dedication to the project. Vanessa Shin <\/span>interviewed participants<\/span><\/a> from the Nicaragua immersion trip, posing the question: which experiences\/encounters in Nicaragua have continued to shape you 2.5 years later? The <\/span>Community Agroecology Network<\/span><\/a> provided coffee from Nicaraguan coffee smallholders. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This event was made possible by funding from the <\/span>Ignatian Center on Jesuit Education<\/span><\/a>, the <\/span>Santa Clara Community Action Program<\/span><\/a>, and the <\/span>SCU Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences<\/span><\/a>, and the National Science Foundation Grant BCS 1539795 continues to support the field research. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On May 3, 2018, faculty and student research assistants invited the campus community to a dialogue centered around environmental justice in Nicaragua and across the Americas during Santa Clara University\u2019s annual Immigration Week. Testimonials offered by Gustavo Aguirre, the Director … Continue reading