Introduction: practicing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in environmental studies and sciences

As a collection, this Special Issue includes examinations of changes to teaching frameworks that can be a tool to disrupt epistemic privilege, how integrated and immersive environmental justice and community engaged coursework can foster more inclusive learning experiences for students, discussions of how to effect curriculum and academic program change, and multiple case studies with practical takeaways related to pedagogical innovations and best practices for creating more equitable academic/co-curricular programs. These examples and their calls for change are couched within an understanding of the precarious nature of academic labor and the often-inequitable load carried by staff and faculty who are untenured, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), women, and/or LBGTQIA+ (Misra et al., 2021). Emphasis must be placed on institutional initiatives and structural change/networks of support, rather than individualized actions of faculty and staff. Overall, these collected articles demonstrate the theoretical and practical importance of DEIJ efforts to the field of Environmental Studies and Sciences (ESS). Critical reflection of how we teach, who we teach, and the ways in which unquestioned institutional practices reinforce racial and privileged hierarchies is needed to for our discipline to become ready for the diverse student communities who will enact just environmental futures.