About the trip
This 6-day itinerary blends policy meetings, community engagement, and cultural experiences to help you understand the landscape of Ireland’s climate and environmental action at both local and global scales. Imagine a morning in which you meet with local policymakers from Dublin’s city government, followed by lunch with representatives from the Irish Environmental Protection Agency. After learning about policy strategy firsthand, you spend the afternoon volunteering with a local environmental organization whose members share their perspectives regarding the true impact of those policies—and who they are benefitting. The next day, visit a medieval cathedral to discuss how religious perspectives influence climate action, then take in a museum to consider the gender-differentiated impacts of climate and environmental change. Students will seek to understand how climate policies in Ireland differ from those in the United States and propose solutions to ensure equitable benefits of environmental action.
Trip Leaders
Dr. Aubrey Paris is the director of the Parlee Center for Science and the Common Good. Before returning to Ursinus in 2026, she served as the lead diplomat on the nexus of gender equality and climate change for the U.S. government, authoring the 2023 U.S. Strategy to Respond to the Effects of Climate Change on Women. In six years at the U.S. Department of State, she regularly collaborated with federal policymakers from Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East while training U.S. government officials in the development of equitable climate policy.
Dr. Mark Ellison has been working to educate the public about climate science for over 25 years. He has written essays about climate change that have been published in Ursinus Magazine and The Harrisburg Patriot-News. His passions are in renewable energy, recycling, waste reduction, and how individual and collective action can mitigate the effects of climate change.
trip dates:
March 6-13, 2027 (tentative)
Sample activities
(subject to change)
- Panel discussion with government officials advancing climate and environmental policy
- Visit to a local business focused on the circular economy and sustainability
- Guided hike of Howth seashore and boat tour around Ireland’s eye
- Museum visit(s) and/or Irish cooking class
- Walking tour of Dublin, including sites such as Trinity College, Dublin Castle, Christ Church, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Associated Hubs/Centers
- Parlee Center for Science and the Common Good
- Hub for Civic and Global Leadership
