Environment

As a movement and concept, ecological art, or eco art, stretches back decades. And EcoArt has been a part of George Mason University’s School of Art since 2010, thanks to Mark Cooley, associate professor and director of new media.

On Saturday, October 1, 2022 Mason Exhibitions, with the support of Mason Facilities, the Patriot Green Fund (PGF), the Office of Sustainability, and community volunteers, planted 100 native hardwood tree saplings on the Fairfax Campus. This event was part of Atlantika Collective’s  current exhibition  at Mason Exhibitions Arlington. The tree planting event on Saturday was part of a socially engaged artwork,  200 Trees: A Performance Action, presented by visiting artist, Katie Kehoe.

George Mason PhD students Soelem Bhuiyan and Ishrat Dollan participated in the SMAPVEX 2022 summer field campaign. The SMAP mission is an orbiting observatory measuring the amount of water on soil surfaces.

In partnership with the U.S. Department of State-sponsored Community Solutions Program, the Carter School is proud to welcome five community leaders from Bangladesh, Guatemala, Palestine, and Slovakia. Together, these fellows will participate in a four-month practicum with the Carter School.

Shima Mohebbi, assistant professor in the College of Engineering and Computing at George Mason University, together with researchers from universities across the country received a $1.6 million grant from NSF on Conservation Incentives and the Socio-Spatial Dynamics of Water Sustainability. Work during the project will include examining cooperative behavior among water users and developing water conservation incentives.

Mason's DEVA project helps folks in Virginia breathe easier as research findings target air pollution sources and can shape clean air policies in the state.

Sophia Chapin was the Honors College Multimedia Communications Intern from 2019 to 2021, during which time she improved the quality of Honors College student-, public-, and alumni- facing communications.

Ben Rhoades was involved with sustainability and environmental justice at Mason and is putting these commitments into practice as a Watershed Specialist for the Reston Association.

Facing climate change, systemic racism, and resource inequity, ten Honors College students worked with peers from Mason and VCU to organize the second annual Virginia Environmental Justice Summit, held on Saturday March 27th, 2021.