At the Center of Research in the Western Pacific
Members of the first Guam Green Growth (G3) Youth Conservation Corps and the 2026 cohort of the G3 Conservation Corps responded to post-typhoon recovery efforts, removing debris and clearing storm-damaged areas at the University of Guam (UOG) and partner sites after Super Typhoon Bavi passed through the Marianas.
The University of Guam’s (UOG) NSF EPSCoR E-RISE program has started this year’s Summer Math Research Experience (SMRE) and for the first time, welcomed participants from Guam Community College (GCC).
Guam Green Growth (G3) and the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant (UOG CIS and Sea Grant) launched the first G3 Youth Conservation Corps this week, a new initiative that introduces high school students to careers in sustainability and the green economy.
As communities across Micronesia recover from the impacts of Super Typhoon Sinlaku, members of the Guam Green Growth Conservation Corps (G3CC) are proving that sustainability work goes far beyond environmental projects—it is also about showing up in times of crisis.
At the 17th Conference on Island Sustainability, marine biologist Mafalda Gentil Martins Seiz de Freitas delivered a presentation grounded in urgency and innovation, drawing directly from her work addressing marine debris across the Pacific.
“And I think a lot of us, across island communities, are standing in that same proverbial space, surrounded by opportunity, but calling it waste.”
“Because for us in the Pacific, resilience is not a trend,” said Sabrina Suluai-Mahuka, Ph.D., founder and executive director of Finafinau, one of two educators at the forefront of Pacific scholarship and advocacy who served as featured speakers, framing the emotional and political weight of island resilience in the face of ongoing environmental and social challenges.
Guam reaffirmed its push toward a cleaner, more resilient energy future this week with a renewed commitment to the Blue Planet Alliance’s 100 x 100 campaign, reinforcing the island’s long-term goal of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2045.
With approximately $1 million in annual local funding, the Guam Green Growth (G3) initiative generated more than $30 million in external funding last year—an over 30-fold return that underscores the value of investing in sustainability programs, according to UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant Director Austin Shelton, Ph.D.
Stories—not just systems and statistics—defined the CIS2026 SEED Talks, where voices from across the island community transformed personal journeys into powerful calls for change. Framed as “ideas worth cultivating,” the speaker series invited participants to move beyond data and into lived experience, weaving together narratives of loss, identity, resilience, and hope. In an intimate, TED-style setting, each speaker offered a glimpse into how their own paths, shaped by culture, community, and connection to land and sea—continue to inform their work.