WUICAN Projects

WUICAN partners are involved in several projects collaborating with community and intra-grant members:

Assessment of Tribal Member Knowledge in the UCI Climate Adaptation Plan

Co-led by Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples with CLIMATE Justice Initiative fellows, this project aims to explore the relationship between UCI and the Acjachemen and Tongva communities, on whose ancestral lands the university exists.

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Comunidad Unida Aire Limpio (CUAL)

Co-led by GREEN-MPNA with CLIMATE Justice Initiative fellows, this project aims to support community advocacy and educate residents on local environmental health concerns, such as air quality, through accessible presentations, report writing, administrative work, and public-facing materials.

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Cool Off Santa Ana! (COSA) Addressing Extreme Heat in Santa Ana

Co-led by Getting Residents Engaged in Empowering Neighborhoods-Madison Park Neighborhood Association (GREEN-MPNA) with CLIMATE Justice Initiative fellows, this project aims to find avenues to support the historically underserved Santa Ana community by evaluating historical trends of extreme heat events, future projections of extreme heat, and usage of cooling centers.

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Inequities in Childhood Life-course Lead Exposure and Academic and Neurobehavioral Outcomes (I-CLEAN)

Co-led by GREEN-MPNA and Orange County Environmental Justice with CLIMATE Justice Initiative fellows, the I-CLEAN study was created to understand the impact of exposure to lead, a heavy metal, on children’s academic performance and behavioral outcomes in Santa Ana, CA.

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Interfaith Climate Action Working Group

The Interfaith Climate Action Working Group is a consortium of leaders from different faith traditions in Orange County. Our group fosters knowledge sharing about climate action resources and opportunities in local worship communities and across faith traditions. Our goal is to enrich and support the network of scientists, nature conservancies, and community partners involved in WUICAN by exploring, documenting, and sharing faith-based tools and frameworks that confront the climate crisis. Members come from the following organizations: Church of the Messiah, Harbor Christian Church, Jewish Collaborative of Orange County, New Hope Presbyterian Church, Pacifica Institute, Reconcile Church, St. Mark Presbyterian Church, UC Humanities Research Institute, UCI School of Humanities, and United Sikh Mission.

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K-12 Climate Justice, Arts, and Communication

WUICAN’s K-12 Climate Justice, Arts, and Communication Project builds on UCI’s 2022-23 California Wildfire Project and the “Living with Wildfire” Initiative, which focused on building capacity for trans-disciplinary collaborations, coordinating programming, and co-developing curriculum exploring cultural and scientific meanings and approaches to wildfire in the Southern California region. WUICAN’s K-12 Project emphasizes youth and community-focused curriculum co-design and project development to advance regional climate justice literacy projects and actions.

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Loma Ridge Global Change Experiment (LRGCE)

The Loma Ridge Global Change Experiment (LRGCE) is a field resource managed through a partnership between the University of California, Irvine, and the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. Together, we facilitate interdisciplinary research, training, and outreach opportunities for the benefit of scientists, practitioners and students.

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Mapping Environmental Injustice in Orange County

Co-led by Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples and Orange County Environmental Justice with CLIMATE Justice Initiative fellows, this project aims to aggregate data and create maps to evaluate how marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by environmental and climate justice issues in Orange County.

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Past, Current, and Future Trends of the Crystal Cove Kelp Forests

Co-led by Crystal Cove Conservancy with CLIMATE Justice Initiative fellows, this project aims to generate educational resources about the historical context of the kelp forests adjacent to and bordering Crystal Cove in Newport Beach, California, and explore possible climate futures of the area based on various climate models and scenarios.

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Understanding Water Contamination Inequities in Orange County

Co-led by Orange County Environmental Justice with CLIMATE Justice Initiative fellows, this project aims to assess PFAS contamination in Orange County, how it impacts communities, what types of policies could help remediate damages, and evaluate public perceptions of water quality in Orange County.

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WUICAN acknowledges our presence on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Acjachemen and Tongva Peoples, who still hold strong cultural, spiritual, and physical ties to this region.