Join the conversation! The EDC is holding a roundtable on ecological design and activism in an age of reactionary politics.

The Ecological Design Collective invites you to a critical roundtable discussion on the challenges and possibilities of ecological design, activism, and community-building in an era of resurgent reactionary politics. This important conversation will feature an esteemed panel of scholars and practitioners, including Anand Pandian, Nicole Labruto, Samia Kirchner, Sam Myers, and PJ Brendese, who will explore how we can sustain and expand radical political and ecological imaginaries amid growing political constraints. With right-wing politics gaining traction globally, we will discuss strategies for resistance, refusal, and invention, and how we can continue building solidarities across movements and intellectual traditions to strengthen environmental justice work. This roundtable offers a space for collaboration, critical reflection, and collective strategy as we navigate these pressing issues. Your voice is crucial in shaping a future where ecological justice and political imagination can thrive, and we invite you to be part of this essential conversation.

Date: April 3, 2025 | Time: 2:00 PM | Location: Johns Hopkins University, Homewood Campus, Mergenthaler 439 and Zoom.

Save the date for the EDC's end-of-year reception, panel, and gallery exhibit.

The EDC celebrates the conclusion of our thematic programming around "Reimagining Land." Join us from May 16th to 18th for a series of special events at The Crow's Nest, an art incubator in Baltimore dedicated to addressing climate change and environmental justice through artistic expression.

The weekend of events will feature EDC curators, artists, designers, and collaborators who have explored the intersection of ecological design, community-building, and artistic practice. Together, we’ll commemorate our collective journey and discuss new ways to envision sustainable futures rooted in social and environmental justice.

This weekend will include an inspiring panel discussion, an artistic exhibition showcasing visionary works, and a reception for attendees to connect and celebrate this important milestone. Stay tuned for more details!

Join the EDC and Tim Burger over Zoom for a discussion on living on abandoned land.

On April 14th from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT, the EDC invites you to a thought-provoking discussion with Tim Burger, an incoming Postdoctoral Fellow at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Tim’s talk focuses on the experience of living on abandoned land in the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago facing rapid demographic decline. With many islands experiencing population halving, Tim explores how residents confront their environmental crisis by engaging with agrarian land in ruins. The concept of "lost land"—overgrown, unproductive fields—becomes a crucial site for islanders to resist abandonment, actively cultivating the land despite its deteriorating state. This talk will delve into how land, memory, and community intersect in the face of depopulation, offering a powerful lens on place-making and resilience.

Listen in on the EDC's conversation with the editors of the Flooded Pine Press.

As part of our Reimagining Land series, the EDC hosted a virtual gathering with Flooded Pine Press, a publishing initiative born out of political urgency and a commitment to ecological futures. Co-founders Holden Turner and Bri Cunliffe led a session that was more than just a panel—it was a space of shared inquiry and reflection, where we collectively imagined the possibilities of our current moment.

In the aftermath of the 2024 U.S. elections, Holden and Bri founded Flooded Pine Press as a response to political contraction and exhaustion. The event invited participants to reflect on what we want to carry forward in the face of climate crisis and political constraint. Through collaborative exercises, including a storytelling session about an ecological collective, we imagined a future grounded in mutual care, environmental justice, and shared responsibility.

This practice of co-creation was both a political gesture and a reminder that, even now, we can still imagine futures worth striving for.

Calling all graphic designers in our community!

The EDC is seeking a talented graphic designer to help shape the visual identity of our evolving platform. As we continue to update the website, we are looking for creative collaborators to develop new graphics, including custom wallpaper that captures the spirit of ecological design.This is a paid opportunity, and we hope to build an ongoing partnership as the EDC continues to grow and transform. If you are passionate about design and excited by the prospect of contributing to a dynamic, community-driven initiative, we would love to hear from you!If you are interested or know someone who would be a great fit, please email us at curators@ecodesigncollective.org with a portfolio or examples of past work. Let us create something beautiful together!

Find new events and opportunities on the EDC platform:

• Climate Stories Project is Recruiting for Climate Storytelling Curriculum: Climate Stories Project is recruiting K-12 and University educators to take part in 2 online sessions to begin developing climate storytelling curriculum materials for use in a wide range of classrooms. The sessions will take place on April 7 and May 5, both at 7pm ET, and will be co-facilitated by myself and climate curriculum expert Tessa Ware of the University of Minnesota. If you’d like to take part, please fill out this survey to register and to provide your information.
• The Climate Museum Fellowships: The Climate Museum seeks applications from humanities scholars who wish to engage the public on climate change and inequality, to fill a one-year full-time Postdoctoral Fellowship funded by the Mellon Foundation. The Fellowship will run from August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026. The Museum also  seeks rising college juniors and seniors majoring in a humanities field and planning to pursue careers in academia to fill a one-year Undergraduate Fellowship funded by the Mellon Foundation
  
• Conversation Series with Artist Asad Raza: On April 8th join Join Kristine Roome, Andreas Bandak, and Daniel M. Knight as we continue our series of conversations with eco-artist Asad Raza.