Portland and Beyond

Sustainability at Lewis & Clark is not limited to our campus boundaries. Just being located in a Portland creates a number of opportunities for our community members. Our city and region, after all, are known for embracing public transportation, biking, curbside composting, and sustainable growth. Beyond this, however, our students, faculty, and staff actively look for ways to study and embrace sustainable practices both in our backyard and around the world.

Overseas Programs

• Our diverse overseas programs offer undergraduate and law students opportunities to see the complex ways ecology, economy, and equity interact in locations across the globe.

Student Opportunities 

• The Student Academic Affairs Board’s Grants program awards undergraduate students funds to pursue research
  and organize events that benefit the wider LC community.
• Join the Greater Portland Sustainability Education Network (GPSEN)’s College Network!
  College Network comprises of student representatives from colleges and universities across Greater Portland engaged in sustainability efforts. If you would like to work with fellow student leaders on food justice, behavioral changes, the SDGs, climate activism, and more, reach out to arunima@lclark.edu.
• Renewable Energy Fee Fund: Awards grants to student projects supporting renewable energy. Their criteria for selection include: connection to renewable energy, learning, educational mission, cultivation of thought and leadership, scholarship/practice, stakeholders, and budget & timeline. 

• The Career Center and the Environmental Studies Program help students find internship opportunities, including those related to sustainability, in the Portland metro area. 

Community Collaboration

• Lewis & Clark’s Environmental Studies Program is a member of the Coalition for a Livable Future, which unites over 100 Portland-area environmental, social justice, planning, job growth, transportation, and other organizations to promote healthy and sustainable communities.

• Several programs at the law school offer law students the chance to develop practical skills under the supervision of experienced faculty while working on significant issues.
  • The Community Development and Nonprofit Law Practicum provides practical skills opportunities for students who are interested in the intersection of business law, environmental law, and sustainable development.
  • The International Environmental Law Project, the only legal clinic in the country to focus solely on international environmental law, works on climate change, oceans and fisheries, international wildlife trade, and trade and environment issues.
  • Earthrise Law Center (formerly the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center) represents public interest organizations in litigation and administrative actions domestically. It often works in conjunction with the Northwest Environmental Defense Center.
  • Other clinics offer law students to address equity issues, including by representing low-income individuals and small businesses owned by women, minorities, or recent immigrants.