Insights from the Climate School’s Earth Month Research Showcase – State of the Planet

Columbia Climate School’s Earth Month Showcase last spring celebrated student research on sustainability and climate change. The event featured presentations from Columbia’s Office of Sustainability on the progress for Plan 2030 (a 10-year strategic plan for Columbia’s New York campuses to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050); remarks from the Climate School staff; and a poster session, where 33 Columbia students shared their experience of conducting research and working on climate, environment and sustainability-related projects.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, the Climate School provided over $150,000 in funding to support undergraduate, graduate and PhD students engaged in collaborative research, internships, research assistantships and fieldwork. The showcase served as an opportunity to share this work, connect with peers and faculty, and contribute to the Climate School’s efforts in tackling the most pressing challenges of the 21st century.

We followed up with some of the student presenters to learn more about their backgrounds, interests and aspirations.

Vanshika Goel

Growing up in the U.K. and India, Vanshika Goel witnessed stark healthcare inequalities that were exacerbated by climate change, and how policy played an important role in this cycle. This, together with her experience studying human sciences at the University of Oxford, motivated her to try to bridge the gap between climate science and human health. Goel’s project focused on mapping the landscape of climate information services available to public health practitioners in the resource-constrained settings of Ethiopia and Indonesia.

• Program: M.A. in Climate and Society ’24
• Project: Improving climate information services for public health practitioners in resource-constrained settings
• Focus: Climate resilience and child health, nutrition

What drew you to this research topic?

I’ve grown up witnessing how climate change produces novel epidemiological threats, strains health systems and exacerbates both local and global inequalities, making social and health justice a key personal mission. At an applied level, I was interested in the climate-health nexus as a way to bring together fields of practice that have historically been siloed.

What was the most exciting aspect of your research?

Interacting with stakeholders in our focus countries, Ethiopia and Indonesia. Learning from practitioners in diverse cultural and policy contexts was invaluable.

How has this research influenced your future plans?
This research has reaffirmed that work in human development, as it relates to climate change, is both what I love and am good at. I’m excited to step into roles that build on this passion, and inspired by the skills, knowledge and experience I’ve acquired over my time at the Climate School. From chats with friends to discussions in job interviews, this work has, in many ways, been my personal and professional North Star.

Have you been engaged in anything exciting this summer?
Over the past few months, I’ve been a summer associate in the health team at the Rockefeller Foundation, focusing on the development of climate-health observatories to inform public health decision-making. My work spans technical areas including report writing, grantmaking, grantee engagement, outreach and events and team strategy. I’ve been able to engage with a range of international grantees who do incredible work on mitigating climate risks to health and am excited to remain with the foundation for a while.

Harrison Gerson

Harrison Gerson, a sustainable development major and Hispanic cultures and Earth science minor at Columbia College, created an interactive map of Barbados that examines the relationship between geology, tourism and environmental justice. The project extends his previous mapping work in N.Y.C. and Venice and was completed as part of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Field Geology course.

• Program: B.A. in Sustainable Development
• Project: Interactive map of Barbados on intricate relationships between geology, tourism and environmental justice
• Focus: Understanding how natural systems and communities influence one another

What interested you about this project?
This project combined my interests in mapping and environmental justice during the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Field Geology course in Barbados.

What was the most exciting aspect of your research?
Thinking critically about the spaces we visited in Barbados, particularly how tourism is shaped by geography and how this shapes local economies.

Do you have any plans to develop this project further?
I plan to continue mapping environmental justice and tourism in future journeys, and I plan on sharing this map with my class. Maps have always fascinated me. Maps are insights into how we understand the world. They are accessible and spark wonder; an interactive map system helps people grasp the content better.

Have you been building on your previous research work this summer?
In my findings for Barbados, I was really impressed with how geography strongly connects to how nations develop. I came back home with a greater sense of how our geography connects to our communities. This summer, I am working on thesis research that connects strongly to how universities travel and the impact of this academic travel, how we can travel differently and how it affects the environment. Having experienced different places through a tourist lens has helped me to form a connection between tourism and environmental justice and place-based learning.

Jithamanyu Thoppey Muralidharan

With a background in financial services and a degree in electronics and instrumentation engineering, Thoppey Muralidharan presented his research on mitigating human-elephant conflict in Asia. He collaborated with HSI (Humane Society International) India to develop a stakeholder engagement plan. Through this process, he interviewed various interested parties, from coffee plantation owners to wildlife advocates, and gathered their perspectives. This enabled the crafting of specific policy proposals addressing land use, elephant corridors and conflict mitigation strategies. The ultimate aim was to protect the rights of both humans and animals in shared habitats.

• Program: M.S. in Sustainability Management ’24
• Project: Assessment of human-elephant conflict in Asia
• Focus: Providing evidence-based insights to inform policymakers in their efforts to mitigate conflict and promote coexistence between humans and elephants

What inspired your research on human-elephant conflict?

Growing up in South India, I witnessed several incidents of human-elephant conflict around protected areas, with human activity affecting the animals’ habitat and forcing them near human settlements. This prompted me to leverage my research skills to address the challenges faced by endangered Asian elephants due to habitat loss and fragmentation.

What was the most exciting aspect of your research?

Partnering with health officials in India and collaborating with them to conduct stakeholder interviews proved incredibly rewarding; we worked to find a balance between the interests of the local community and the needs of the elephants living in their natural habitat. Connecting with experts in the elephant conservation space in Asia and Africa was a highlight of my project.

What are your future plans for this research?

I plan to continue my partnership with HSI India and forge new collaborations with leading NGOs in India to support research in this critical area, which has far-reaching implications for both ecological conservation and community well-being.

What have you been up to this summer? Anything exciting you’d like to share?

My independent study has taken shape into a fall 2024 capstone project with the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development at the Climate School, under the guidance of Jenna Lawrence and the HSI India team. This project, titled “Feasibility of Promoting Elephant-Friendly Coffee to Foster Human-Elephant Coexistence in South India,” aims to assess the economic and sociological feasibility of introducing elephant-friendly coffee in South India’s coffee landscapes to promote tolerance toward elephants.

The expansion of coffee cultivation in the region has intensified the rivalry between humans and animals. Human encroachment on elephant habitat leads to increased crop damage, property destruction and loss of life for both humans and elephants. The project seeks to build on my previous experience and strike a balance between the needs of the local community and the conservation of the elephant population.

Coffee products branded as “elephant friendly” are grown and produced in ways that do not harm elephants and may even help conserve their habitats. They achieve this through thoughtful land use planning, employing non-lethal methods to keep elephants away from crops, and implementing additional mitigation strategies, including training farmers on humane practices for managing encounters with elephants.

For more information on Climate School’s student opportunities, visit our website.

Additional reporting by Murun Jargal, Sharon Joh and Kathleen McCarthy.