Refugia Fellowship Program

Design Climate Refugia Within Campuses—And Connect Them to the City

The Refugia Fellowship is a field-based program for undergraduate and graduate students to design, test, and scale climate refugia within university campuses and their surrounding urban environments.

University campuses are not isolated spaces.
They are embedded in cities—connected to transport systems, drainage networks, energy systems, and communities.

This fellowship positions campuses as:

• urban refugia nodes within cities

• testbeds for climate adaptation solutions

• platforms for influencing urban policy and planning

The opportunity:
Turn campuses into working urban refugia that extend benefits beyond their boundaries.

What Is a Refugium in a Campus Context?

A refugium is a space or system that buffers people, infrastructure, and ecosystems from climate stress.

Within campuses and surrounding urban areas, this includes:

Physical Refugia

• shaded pedestrian corridors connecting campus to nearby streets

• cooling hubs accessible to students and surrounding communities

• flood-adaptive open spaces and retention areas

• water capture and reuse systems

• biodiversity corridors linking campus and urban green spaces

System Refugia

• emergency response and early warning systems

• heat response protocols

• water and energy resilience systems

Behavioral & Policy Refugia

• heat-safe scheduling and campus policies

• mobility and transport behavior shifts

• governance models that can be adopted by LGUs

Refugia are not just places—they are integrated systems that sustain resilience over time.

What Fellows Do

Fellows work in interdisciplinary teams across campus and city interfaces:

1. Diagnose Campus + Urban Climate Risk

• Map heat, flooding, and vulnerability within campus and adjacent areas

• Identify at-risk populations (students, staff, nearby communities)

• Analyze how campus systems connect to city systems

2. Identify Existing Refugia Networks

• Locate shaded areas, green spaces, drainage systems, and cooling zones

• Assess how these connect (or fail to connect) with the surrounding city

3. Design Integrated Refugia Interventions

Examples:

• campus-to-city shaded mobility corridors

• cooling hubs that serve both campus and nearby residents

• flood-resilient landscapes that reduce downstream risk

• water systems that support both campus and urban needs

• biodiversity corridors linking campus to urban ecosystems

4. Prototype Within Real Constraints

• Work with university administration, facilities, and local government

• Implement small-scale pilots that can be tested quickly

5. Translate to Urban Policy and Scale

• Develop policy briefs for LGUs and national agencies

• Align campus solutions with city climate plans

• Propose scalable models for replication across universities

Fellowship Structure

Phase 1 — Foundations

Urban climate systems, adaptation, and refugia concepts applied to campuses within cities.

Phase 2 — Field Immersion

Campus + surrounding urban area assessment, stakeholder engagement.

Phase 3 — Design Lab

Systems-based intervention design grounded in real constraints.

Phase 4 — Pilot Implementation

Deployment of prototypes within campus and/or adjacent urban zones.

Phase 5 — Policy & Scale

Translate pilots into:

• university policy

• LGU recommendations

• scalable urban models

What Fellows Produce

Each team delivers:

• Campus–Urban Refugia Map
  (heat, water, vulnerability, connectivity layers)

• Refugia Intervention Prototype
  (tested within campus and/or urban interface)

• Campus–City Climate Action Plan

• Policy Brief for LGUs / National Agencies

• Refugia Playbook (Replicable Across Universities)

Why This Matters

Most universities operate as:

• research institutions

• sustainability advocates

But not as:

active nodes in urban climate resilience systems

This fellowship transforms campuses into:

• demonstration sites

• policy influence hubs

• scalable models for cities

Who Should Apply

We are looking for students who:

• think in systems, not silos

• are comfortable working across campus and city stakeholders

• want to build, not just analyze

• care about real-world impact

Open to:

• undergraduates

• graduate students

• interdisciplinary teams

What You Gain

• Experience working at the campus–city interface

• Real implementation exposure

• Portfolio of climate solutions

• Engagement with decision-makers (universities + LGUs)

• Access to Climate Action Labs network

For Universities

Partner campuses gain:

• A clear picture of climate risks within and beyond campus boundaries

• Tested interventions connected to city systems

• Stronger alignment with sustainability and resilience goals

• Policy-ready outputs that elevate institutional leadership

For Government & Partners

• Scalable urban adaptation models

• Insights grounded in real-world pilots

• A pipeline of trained climate leaders

• Practical bridges between universities and LGUs

Call to Action

Apply as a Fellow

Design climate refugia that extend beyond campus.

Partner as a University

Transform your campus into a node in urban resilience.

Support as a Funder

Enable scalable, city-linked climate innovation.