Cataldo Project Since 2016
6200+
Undergrad Students Annually Impacted
100
University Faculty Participants
36
Academic Disciplines Represented
5
Colleges and Universities Served
The goal of the Cataldo Project is to provide participants with a fundamental awareness and understanding of the importance of the natural environment to life, how all human activities affect the environment, and an ethic for responsible stewardship of the planet.
The Cataldo Project at Gonzaga assists Inland Northwest college and university faculty members explore ways of incorporating sustainability and climate pedagogy and curriculum into their classes. We host an annual workshop that offers multi-disciplinary teaching strategies around sustainability issues, experiential learning about place, and pedagogical exercises designed to help faculty modify existing courses (or develop a new one) to incorporate sustainability themes without dislodging current course content.
Participants commit to:
- Attend a sustainability curriculum and pedagogy workshop.
- Modify or develop a class or assignment to incorporate sustainability or environmental issues appropriate to their field.
2026 Workshop Registration has closed
Location:
Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington. Sessions are in-person.
Registration for non-Gonzaga Faculty: $350
Included With the Workshop
- Full lunch and light appetizers on Friday and full breakfast, lunch and light appetizers and drinks on Saturday.
- Pedagogy and curriculum development materials.
- Connections to regional faculty and non-profits actively working on sustainability and climate issues.
- Two book related to sustainability and teaching.
The Cataldo Project has been recognized as a national Center for Sustainability Across the Curriculum by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
Learning for the Cataldo Project participants will come in several forms.
Faculty will immerse themselves in basic knowledge through on-line readings prior to the workshop and formal presentations during the workshop. Topics that may be covered include the local Rathdrum-Prarie watershed ecosystem, Spokane’s environmental justice and equity issues, public health consequences of sprawl, and current campus sustainability efforts. Outdoor river walks deepen ecological knowledge, and talks by local resource experts expand the educational experience. Concrete examples from Spokane and the surrounding region help to strengthen a sense of place and support imaginative connections for courses. Learning also occurs in small and large group discussions.
Examples of Course Modifications
The following statements are from faculty participants describing how the Cataldo Project workshop helped them modify their courses.
For this introductory course, I would like to present two major concepts to my students: stewardship, principles of environmental justice, and Non-toxic Printmaking practice. We will study critical historical moments such as the evolution of chemicals used in the different printmaking processes, their effect on the body, and their alternatives. The studio would be in the form of a complementary reading during the studio tour during the first two weeks of class. We will see the aesthetical differents developed by some of these material uses in works created by a survey of artists from different art periods. Students will develop a Safety DataBase survey of the chemical components of the materials we will be using in class and have a guest speaker, Susan Rostow. Susan is responsible for developing the AKUA non-toxic ink that doesn't compromise the aesthetic results that printmakers love.
I made two changes to my course. 1. Add sustainability topic to product design module. For individuals, sustainability can mean reuse the product or choose to buy products from companies with social responsibility. For companies, sustainability can start as early as they design the products. Adding this content to product design module can inform students different approaches companies can do for our environment. 2. Add corporate social responsibility content to the global supply chain module. Traditionally, companies choose their global partners based only on quality and costs. As companies and consumers value more on corporate social responsibility, companies would consider green sourcing. Adding this content can help students learn different ways companies would do to make sure the products from their global partners can also achieve their expected sustainability standard they expect. 3. Add a corporate social responsibility topic to the group term project. In my class, I offer different topics for my students to work on for their group term projects. I added corporate social responsibility as an option so that the students can explore more on the innovative approaches to sustainability.
In this course we learn about the concept of a mathematical tree. Trees are graphs that don't have any cycles (loops). In this course I am going to have our tree assignment be about mapping the tributaries to the Columbia River and documenting where there are dams. In introducing the project, I am planning to talk about water and fishing rights. Specifically, the decision to over a 10 year period work to restore salmon populations.
We had the Lands Council and Riverkeepers come and present for 40 Freshman students about the work they do in the context of a lesson on Planetary Health and Caring for Our Common Home. For their final project, students were asked to further explore any topic we touched on in the semester. I had 4 students choose to do their final project on care for the environment, greening hospitals, and health equity and health promotion through building green spaces.