A large rewilding project in the Scottish Highlands seeks to reverse centuries of deforestation and overgrazing, supporting the regeneration of native species like Black Grouse.
A Climate Solution Hiding in Plain Sight
Professor Oswald Schmitz has spent decades studying how animals shape the ecosystems they inhabit. He recently spoke with YSE News about the science behind rewilding — and why healthy wildlife populations may be one of nature's most undervalued tools in the fight against climate change.
YSE News
Research
Louisiana’s Shrinking Coast Offers a Narrowing Window for Managed Retreat
Louisiana is losing its coast faster than anywhere else in the U.S. What happens next could become a blueprint — or a warning — for vulnerable communities around the globe.
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In The Media
Next City
Universities can bridge the gap between climate science and City Hall
Local leaders are increasingly ready to take decisive action on climate, but implementing solutions requires aligning those ambitions with communities’ everyday priorities and building trust in the process. Research can play a critical role in this effort, but only if it reflects the realities of urban decision-making.
Colleen Murphy-Dunning
Program Director, Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability, Urban Resources Initiative (URI); Lecturer in Urban and Community Forestry
Local leaders are increasingly ready to take decisive action on climate, but implementing solutions requires aligning those ambitions with communities’ everyday priorities and building trust in the process. Research can play a critical role in this effort, but only if it reflects the realities of urban decision-making.
Colleen Murphy-Dunning
Program Director, Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability, Urban Resources Initiative (URI); Lecturer in Urban and Community Forestry
Europe Says
A South African reserve shows how carbon can catalyze rewilding conservation
That’s what the animals naturally do, right? They graze, they release urine and dung, and then they move. And then you’ve got the fertilizer sitting there on the soil from the animals. It gets absorbed into the soil, and then it gets absorbed by the plants and enhances productivity of the vegetation.
Oswald J. Schmitz
Oastler Professor of Population and Community Ecology
That’s what the animals naturally do, right? They graze, they release urine and dung, and then they move. And then you’ve got the fertilizer sitting there on the soil from the animals. It gets absorbed into the soil, and then it gets absorbed by the plants and enhances productivity of the vegetation.
Oswald J. Schmitz
Oastler Professor of Population and Community Ecology
YSE Research Day 2026
At the Yale School of the Environment's 42nd Annual Research Day on April 10, students from across the school came together to share their ongoing research and latest findings. From indoor air pollution in Ghana to Connecticut's urban coastal wetlands to mangrove forests in Southeast Asia to the understudied amphibian population — listen to these emerging climate leaders talk about the hows and whys of their work and where they hope to go from here.
Brandon Lewis
PhD Candidate
Indoor Air Pollution in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana
Sam Blair
’26 MESc
Climate and Connecticut's Urban Coastal Wetlands
Allen Gil
’26 MFS
Patterns and Impacts of Mangrove Forest Fragmentation In Southeast Asian Cities
Kaley Sperling
’26 MESc
Long-term Impacts of Tree Canopy Removal on Vernal Pond Amphibians
News in Brief
The Importance of Tracking Earth-System Methane Fluxes
Methane is one of the most powerful levers for slowing near‑term warming, yet the world still lacks the tools to track it with confidence. Sparkle Malone, assistant professor of ecosystem carbon capture, explains why a coordinated global observation system is essential for understanding both human and natural methane emissions.
Read the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture Q&A with YSE faculty Sparkle Malone.
May 07, 2026
Sparkle Malone
Assistant Professor of Ecosystem Carbon Capture
YSE Urban Scientist Receives Franklin Institute Award
Karen Seto, the Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science, has received a 2026 Franklin Institute Award for her work on urban issues.
The Institute honored Seto for her “pioneering work integrating satellite imagery, modeling methods, and social sciences to analyze the consequences of urbanization, land use, and global environmental change.” The award is one of the oldest in the nation.
“The 2026 laureates embody the same remarkable spirit of curiosity, ingenuity, and discovery that defined our nation’s founding,” said Larry Dubinski, President and CEO of The Franklin Institute.
Seto, a world renown geographer, was coordinating lead author of two U.N. climate change reports and co-led chapters on how urban areas can mitigate climate change. Her research developed the first forecasts of urban land expansion globally.
Seto is one of eight recipients of the award, which will be given during a ceremony April 30, 2026, in Philadelphia.
"I’m deeply honored by the award, especially given past recipients in the category of earth and environmental science. I’m also grateful for all my students and postdocs in the lab. This award is a celebration of our collective work," Seto said.
February 19, 2026
Karen Seto
Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science; Director of the Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability; Co-Director of the Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions
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