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People & Planet
Help Create a Just Future
Which Way to Sustainability?
Welcome to People and Planet, one of Cal Poly Humboldt’s Place-Based Learning Communities. As a first-year student with an interest in intersectional environmentalism, you can choose to be a part of this program to learn how sustainability is both local and global, while addressing specific case studies in fields like agriculture, clean energy, and climate justice. You’ll foster relationships with students and faculty who are as passionate as you are about regenerative and restorative practices for a thriving world.
Imagine yourself learning about ways to revitalize ecosystems and food systems through a service learning project at the Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab and Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute. Picture yourself joining the compost squad or repairing your bike at the Bicycle Learning Center with other students who are part of the Waste Reduction Resource Awareness Program. Become a volunteer at the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology where you can practice ways to minimize the impact of human needs on the Earth's finite resources.
People & Planet is open for students who are interested in intersectional environmentalism and are not already in a major-based Place-Based Learning Community.
At Humboldt, we’re committed to
an equitable and sustainable world
Humboldt Means Hands-on Learning
Acquire knowledge and skills to build a better world for all living beings. Experience how sustainability is localized while addressing a global impact through agricultural practices, clean energy, and climate justice. Engage with approachable professors who guide you through practical activities beyond the classroom.
Get the Classes that Count
Immerse yourself in courses that offer a pathway to complete general education requirements and count towards the Sustainable Food Systems minor and Sustainability Minor.
Get Support from Day One
From the day you arrive at Humboldt, you'll have a support network that includes professors, peer mentors, staff, and seasoned professionals. Grow academically and personally with the backing of a caring and invested community.
The Specialized Experiences that Make up People and Planet
You’ll learn sustainability is the recognition that humanity is a part of the natural world, not separate from it, and that healthy social and economic systems depend on the resilience of ecological systems.
In People & Planet, you’ll begin the semester with a Zero Waste Tour of Arcata to support a sustainable lifestyle, you’ll visit a 6th generation working organic dairy farm committed to regenerative practices, and make connections with faculty and students who are as passionate about sustainability as you.
Throughout the semester we will discuss relationships, systems thinking, and interdisciplinarity to foster an equitable and sustainable future for all beings. We will address the “wicked problems” such as exceeding planetary boundaries, insufficiently addressing social injustices, and perpetuating economic disparity. You will become an expert on a solution-based approach to create the change they want to see in the world. This learning community encourages self care practices and promotes well being because it is important to sustain ourselves if we are to engage in sustainability work.
Guided Enrollment
As part of guided enrollment, PBLC students have the opportunity to enroll into a deliberate selection of courses based on their PBLC. Guided Enrollment alleviates the pressure of finding spaces in courses and will set students on the best path to graduation.
Fall Courses for People & Planet
All students in People & Planet will have the opportunity to enroll in:
AHSS 108 (Nature, Culture, and Food)
NAS 101 (Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Place-Based Learning)
MATH (dependent on readiness)
COMM 100, ENGL 102, or ENGL 104 (Fundamentals of Speech or Composition and Rhetoric)
These courses are selected in collaboration with the People & Planet team and are relevant to People & Planet specific programming.
Spring Courses for People & Planet
All students in People & Planet will have the opportunity to enroll in:
- BA 106 (Advocating for Sustainability)
- SOIL 104 (Introduction to Sustainable Agriculture)
Students will work with their advisor to fill out the rest of their spring schedule.
Meet Our People and Planet Faculty Coordinator
Jennifer Ortega
Faculty Coordinator for People and Planet
(707) 826-5946
