The 2025 Washington & Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC) was hosted from March 5-7 at Portland Community College! WOHESC is organized by Pacific Northwest higher education institutions and travels to a different host school each year to inspire change, facilitate action, and promote collaboration around sustainability within the region. Over 50 students and staff from Oregon State University attended the conference this year!
The 2025 theme was “Cultivating Sustainable Communities”. Attendees heard from various keynote speakers. A few quotes that stood out to OSU’s group of students was “what we do in the name of hatred will not survive, but what we do in the name of love will,” by Brianna Fruean. In the same keynote address Fruean said “We must resist the urge to not share seeds.” Many students connected with Fruean’s ability to paint a picture of collaboration and support across boarders. Sarah Jacquette Ray spoke on climate anxiety, she said “the root of climate crisis is a crack in kinship with ourselves, the land and each other.”
Throughout the conference, attendees chose from a variety of break-out sessions such as ‘Community Engagement: Case Study from Gonzaga Institute’, ‘Sustainable Strategies for Student Engagement’, and ‘The Parking Game’.
The ‘Student Action Challenge’ takes place annually at WOHESC. Students form teams, attend workshops with guest expert speakers, and collaborate to develop sustainable solutions for presentation at the ‘Pitch Fest’. This year, OSU students dominated most of the four teams that competed. Congratulations to first place winners Marci Cabanos, Piper Thompson, Jillian Thompson, and Jamie McMurray from ‘Portion Patrol’! Their presentation proposed a solution for food waste at OSU by offering different portion sizes.
Cheers to anther successful WOHESC! OSU looks forward to attending the 2026 conference at University of Washington!
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