The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies is confronting global environmental challenges through imaginative research that transcends disciplinary boundaries, hands-on education that bridges classrooms and communities, and public programs that foster environmental conversations among people from business, government, academia, and advocacy.
Training Tomorrow's Environmental Leaders
The Nelson Institute values and is committed to a liberal arts and professional education, built on the premise that complex environmental issues can best be understood through familiarity with diverse perspectives, and integration of the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
Research That's Changing the World
Research drives the social and technological innovation needed to confront the challenges of a rapidly changing global environment. The Nelson Institute is a catalyst of imaginative research that combines skills and knowledge from the humanities, engineering, business, and law to the biological, physical, health, and social sciences.
We Embrace Diversity
The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies embraces the critical importance of diversity and strives for a community that is supportive, welcoming, respectful, and inclusive of all individuals. Just as our environmental research, education, and service value a wide range of perspectives, our Nelson community is strengthened by the inclusion of historically marginalized people with a diversity of lived experiences and identities. We are deeply committed to working toward a sustainable future and facilitating culturally sensitive approaches to global environmental issues.
Nelson News and Events
Latest News
Where Climate Meets Health
October 24, 2024Six Things You Didn’t Know about Flamingos
October 23, 2024The Chronicles of Cal
October 10, 2024Illustrating Prairie Ecology
October 9, 2024(Don’t Fear) the Weather
October 8, 2024- Read More News
Upcoming Events
- November
- November 7Weston RoundtableDane County’s Response to the Climate Crisis: The Art of the Possible4:15 PM, 1163 Mechanical Engineering Building
- November 9Ecological Restoration Work PartyArboretum Core Area and Curtis Prairie9:00 AM, Meet at Visitor Center, UW–Madison Arboretum
- November 10
- November 12Climate, People and the Environment Program (CPEP)The Southern Ocean in a Warming Climate4:15 PM, 1163 Mechanical Engineering Building
- November 14CO2 Emissions and Constitutional Provisions that Protect the EnvironmentLunch & Learn with Professor Adrian Treves (UW-Madison)12:00 PM, 3260 Law Building
Support the Nelson Institute
The Nelson Institute welcomes and is grateful for various forms of support – discretionary funds for our many programs, internships and mentoring opportunities for students, and introductions to new networks that can help advance our reach and build partnerships around Wisconsin and the world.