Planting the Seeds of Common Ground

Before arriving at the theme Common Ground, organizers of the 28th annual ENVX Symposium first had to break ground on a new model for the event: engaging communities across difference.

Planning for the 2025 environmental symposium, known by the shorthand ENVX, began last fall. In response to the turbulent political climate in the wake of the 2024 presidential election, the event’s student cochairs aimed to depart from the traditional keynote speaker-focused approach to better serve the needs of the Lewis & Clark community.

Professor of Environmental Studies Jim Proctor“We wanted to achieve something far more than the usual L&C academic event—say, a big keynote talk—which participants may find interesting or informative but often doesn’t really change their lives,” explains Jim Proctor, the symposium’s faculty advisor and professor of environmental studies. “Our ENVX student organizers worked hard to promote a novel environmental solution in these tough political times: Go find someone with whom you disagree on environmental issues and have a genuine conversation with them.” Growing this concept from the ground up became an exercise in community building.

Out in the (Farm) Field

In spring 2025, several months prior to the symposium, ENVX organizers arranged a Farms and Food Field Trip. In the spring, ENVX organizers arranged a Farms and Food Field Trip, where students learned about local farms and livestock operations.This event allowed students to get off campus and have lunch and conversation with representatives of local farms, livestock operations, and labor groups.

For example, students met with Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) in Woodburn, where they participated in a lively discussion about farm workers’ rights, and TMK Creamery in Canby, where they pet cows and met a newborn calf while learning about the dairy industry.

Connections and Conflict Across Difference

In preparation for the fall symposium, ENVX’s student planning committee invited a range of stakeholders—identified through the environmental studies department’s extensive alumni and community network—to begin communicating before their panel appearances. “​​We tried to have as many different perspectives present as possible,” explains cochair Violet Wojno BA ’26. These early conversations were structured with support from L&C’s Community Dialogues program.

Environmental studies major Joaquin Sandoval BA ’26 credits Community Dialogues with helping “create meeting scripts” and recruiting student facilitators for each session.

Students received training in structuring engagement in order to facilitate ENVX conversations.Panelists held opposing roles in industries surrounding issues such as animal rights on factory farms, pesticide regulation, and immigrant workers’ rights. While they each engaged in six hours of dialogue during spring 2025 to prepare for their panels, their communication was not without struggle. In addition to their roles as event organizers, ENVX cochairs and faculty moderators had to practice conflict resolution and active listening in real time.

“Inviting people intentionally across differences did pose some issues,” said Sandoval. “For instance, we had two folks who knew each other previously, and when we initially reached out, they didn’t want to be part of the group if the other person was there. We ended up getting them in the same room, and in the same conversation … and it was productive!” Community stakeholders’ trust and eagerness to speak with the Lewis & Clark community speaks to their belief in the student body and the worthwhile nature of communicating across differences.

While each discussion remained civil and productive, moments of tension surfaced through occasional head shakes, eye rolls, and lively audience Q&As. Still, Sandoval attributed these reactions to the deep convictions presenters brought to their careers and live experiences. “We’re not going to change minds or solve every issue overnight, but having these conversations and beginning to understand perspectives will make it easier to negotiate and collaborate.”

ENVX also reached across academic disciplines, encouraging student artists to showcase their pieces inspired by the themes of finding common ground. Other participants included an animal rights professor from Lewis & Clark Law School, a vegan professor from the English department, and a professor of political science as a moderator.

An Ongoing Conversation

Attendance grew each day of the symposium—so much so that organizers had to order more chairs, a problem Sandoval called “a good one to have.” Wojno saw the event’s impact ripple outward: “I had my roommates come to some of the events, and neither has an environmental studies background. When we got back home, we were still talking about it, even though it’s a conversation we wouldn’t normally have at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday. That was our goal—to have these conversations go beyond just the week of the symposium.”

As Proctor reflects, “Even if our participants did not always achieve common ground, the fact that they met for months and genuinely listened to each other is a huge step in the right direction.”

This experimental take on the traditional symposium structure was so successful that Sandoval expects the conversational model to return for the 29th annual symposium next fall. Current students are encouraged to join the planning committee, and in the meantime, Sandoval offers this advice for anyone seeking common ground: “Drop all assumptions and pursue the conversation with curiosity rather than being motivated to change minds or to prove yourself right. Just be willing to be curious and learn another perspective.”

Environmental Studies ENVX Symposium