Past HELI Events By Category
Explore a complete archive of Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative past events—spanning HELI lectures, career panels, interdisciplinary symposia, fireside chats, CLEs, and public forums.
Organized by topic area, this page offers easy access to discussions on climate change, water and energy law, biodiversity, environmental justice, ag and labor policy, and more. Whether you're a student, practitioner, or community member, this curated repository showcases HELI’s commitment to fostering environmental law leadership, collaboration, and community impact at Iowa Law and beyond.
Topics Areas
Click on each topic below to be directed to the curated event collection.
Climate Change
Climate
Water
Water
Industrial Agriculture
Industrial Agriculture
Economics
Economics
Habitat
Habitat
Browse the Collections
Scroll down to explore the collection on your own.
Past Events: Climate Change
A Spotlight On: The Endangered Species Act
On Feb, 27th, 2023, HELI hosted a fireside chat between Dean Kevin Washburn and Kierán Suckling who discussed how the Center for Biological Diversity has become a successful litigant and change-maker for endangered species and critical habitat.
Adapting to a Warming World: Perspectives from the Environmental Law Collaborative
Environmental scholars from around the country joined for a series of talks exploring what it means to adapt to a warming world. This event took place on Friday, April 14, 2023 in the Boyd Law Building (BLB) at the University of Iowa College of Law.
Carbon Pipelines Across Iowa: Panel Discussion
Panelists joined the HELI in a discussion between policy experts, researchers, industry, landowners, and environmental representatives on the proposed carbon capture and storage pipelines across the state of Iowa, on November 7th, 2022.
In Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert
HELI hosted an conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert on April 11, 2026, to discuss her new book, Life on a Little Known Planet, a collection of urgent, thought-provoking essays exploring the climate crisis and the natural world.
International Perspectives on Environmental Enforcement: Plastics, Climate, Monitoring Technologies, Environmental Justice and More
On Monday, March 18, 2024 HELI welcomed LeRoy Paddock to campus to reflect on the work occurring at the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement, as they prepare for an international summit on plastics, climate, monitoring technologies, environmental justice, and more.
Solar Energy in Iowa: Policies and Practices at the Municipal, County, and State Levels
More than 15 panelists joined HELI in discussing solar energy in iowa on Tuesday, October 11th, 2022
The "Iowa Effect": Insurance and Climate Change with NYT Reporter Christopher Flavelle
New York Times climate reporter Christopher Flavelle and Martin Grace, the Faculty Director of the Vaughan Institute discussed insurance markets in a changing climate, hosted by HELI on
Past Events: Solar
Solar Energy in Iowa: Policies and Practices at the Municipal, County, and State Levels
More than 15 panelists joined HELI in discussing solar energy in iowa on Tuesday, October 11th, 2022
Past Events: Heat
Agricultural Workers and Extreme Heat: OSHA’s Proposed Heat Safety Rule
Occupational safety, labor, and environmental experts discussed the risks of extreme temperatures for outdoor workers in a changing climate and the recently proposed OSHA rule to protect workers from hazardous heat on November 27th, 2024.
Industrial Animal Agriculture: Impacts on the Environment, Communities, and Health
Experts from across the United States discussed the impacts of industrial agriculture on the environment, community, and health of agricultural states on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2025.
The "Iowa Effect": Insurance and Climate Change with NYT Reporter Christopher Flavelle
New York Times climate reporter Christopher Flavelle and Martin Grace, the Faculty Director of the Vaughan Institute discussed insurance markets in a changing climate, hosted by HELI on
Workers on the Frontlines of a Hotter Planet: 2025 Iowa Labor and Climate Conference
Panelists discussed rising heat, public health, and worker safety in this HELI sponsored event that occurred on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
Past Events: Biodiversity
A Spotlight On: The Endangered Species Act
On Feb, 27th, 2023, HELI hosted a fireside chat between Dean Kevin Washburn and Kierán Suckling who discussed how the Center for Biological Diversity has become a successful litigant and change-maker for endangered species and critical habitat.
Adapting to a Warming World: Perspectives from the Environmental Law Collaborative
Environmental scholars from around the country joined for a series of talks exploring what it means to adapt to a warming world. This event took place on Friday, April 14, 2023 in the Boyd Law Building (BLB) at the University of Iowa College of Law.
In Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert
HELI hosted an conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert on April 11, 2026, to discuss her new book, Life on a Little Known Planet, a collection of urgent, thought-provoking essays exploring the climate crisis and the natural world.
The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience
The Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative welcomed to campus author Rob Verchick to discuss his new book: The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience, on February 23rd, 2024.
Past Events: Water
Barred Owls, Spotted Owls, and Ethics in Wildlife Management
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized a plan where it would kill up to half a million federally-protected barred owls in the Pacific Northwest over the next thirty years, panelists representing both sides of the docket discussed Thursday, September 25, 2025.
Data Centers in Iowa: Perspectives from Community, Government, and Research
This panel brought together experts in local government planning, environmental law and advocacy, and water policy to explore how data center development intersects with zoning and permitting, legal frameworks, community engagement, and natural resource management on March 9th, 2026.
From Statutes to Soil: How Environmental Law and Geoscience Interact in Practice
On February 18th, 2026, Iowa Law alum Michael Dunning and David Cook joined HELI for a candid conversation on real-world collaboration at the intersection of law, science, and redevelopment - from hazardous waste cleanup to major urban projects.
From the Driftless to the Delta: Rethinking Water Protections in the Mississippi River Watershed
HELI, Iowa Hydroscience and Engineering, Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy, and The Nature Conservancy joined for a dynamic panel discussion tracing the flow of water — and policy — from Iowa’s Driftless Region to the Mississippi Delta on October 30th, 2025.
In Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert
HELI hosted an conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert on April 11, 2026, to discuss her new book, Life on a Little Known Planet, a collection of urgent, thought-provoking essays exploring the climate crisis and the natural world.
Legal Advocacy and Environmental Litigation: From North Carolina to Iowa
Environmental litigators and advocates discussed how legal practitioners have litigated cases against industrial agriculture from North Carolina to Iowa on Oct. 16th, 2024
One Community, One Book: Wastelands
The Fall '24 One Community, One Book selection was Wastelands: The True Story of Farm Country on Trial, by Corban Addison. This author keynote, book sale, and signing took place at Old Brick on Sunday, October 20th, 2024
Student Stories: Reflections on Summer Environmental Law Internships
The Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative and the Iowa State Bar Association joined for a dynamic session spotlighting Iowa Law students who spent their summer immersed in environmental law and policy work across the state, region, country, and world on Dec. 9th, 2025!
The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience
The Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative welcomed to campus author Rob Verchick to discuss his new book: The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience, on February 23rd, 2024.
Past Events: Careers
Careers in Environmental Law Panel
On February 24th, 2024, four local panelists discussed careers and oppurtunities in environmental law
The Private Sector and the Planet: Environmental Governance Across Industries Speaker Series
The Private Sector and the Planet: Environmental Governance Across Industries is a year long speaker series (2025-2026 academic year) exploring the critical role of private environmental governance in addressing 21st-century challenges. Co-hosted by HELI, Vanderbilt Law School’s Private Climate Governance Lab, and the Tippie College of Business’ Social Impact Community
Past Events: Human Rights
Who Defends the Defenders? Exploring Sovereignty, Legitimacy, Human Rights, and Activism in Land and Environmental Protection
In this panel, on April 10th, 2026, Dakota elder and historian Tim Mentz Sr., the first certified Tribal Historic Preservation Officer in the United States, shared stories and conversation with renowned Liberian environmental and Indigenous rights lawyer Alfred Brownell, a 2019 recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize.
Past Events: International
A Spotlight On: The Endangered Species Act
On Feb, 27th, 2023, HELI hosted a fireside chat between Dean Kevin Washburn and Kierán Suckling who discussed how the Center for Biological Diversity has become a successful litigant and change-maker for endangered species and critical habitat.
About the Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative
HELI is an environmental law program within the University of Iowa College of Law.
Adapting to a Warming World: Perspectives from the Environmental Law Collaborative
Environmental scholars from around the country joined for a series of talks exploring what it means to adapt to a warming world. This event took place on Friday, April 14, 2023 in the Boyd Law Building (BLB) at the University of Iowa College of Law.
Agricultural Workers and Extreme Heat: OSHA’s Proposed Heat Safety Rule
Occupational safety, labor, and environmental experts discussed the risks of extreme temperatures for outdoor workers in a changing climate and the recently proposed OSHA rule to protect workers from hazardous heat on November 27th, 2024.
Barred Owls, Spotted Owls, and Ethics in Wildlife Management
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized a plan where it would kill up to half a million federally-protected barred owls in the Pacific Northwest over the next thirty years, panelists representing both sides of the docket discussed Thursday, September 25, 2025.
Carbon Pipelines Across Iowa: Panel Discussion
Panelists joined the HELI in a discussion between policy experts, researchers, industry, landowners, and environmental representatives on the proposed carbon capture and storage pipelines across the state of Iowa, on November 7th, 2022.
Past Events: Industrial Agriculture
Agricultural Workers and Extreme Heat: OSHA’s Proposed Heat Safety Rule
Occupational safety, labor, and environmental experts discussed the risks of extreme temperatures for outdoor workers in a changing climate and the recently proposed OSHA rule to protect workers from hazardous heat on November 27th, 2024.
Industrial Animal Agriculture: Impacts on the Environment, Communities, and Health
Experts from across the United States discussed the impacts of industrial agriculture on the environment, community, and health of agricultural states on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2025.
Legal Advocacy and Environmental Litigation: From North Carolina to Iowa
Environmental litigators and advocates discussed how legal practitioners have litigated cases against industrial agriculture from North Carolina to Iowa on Oct. 16th, 2024
One Community, One Book: Wastelands
The Fall '24 One Community, One Book selection was Wastelands: The True Story of Farm Country on Trial, by Corban Addison. This author keynote, book sale, and signing took place at Old Brick on Sunday, October 20th, 2024
Past Events: Public Lands
Water in the 21st Century: Fireside Chat
On Tuesday, October 10, HELI hosted a fireside chat style discussion between Dean Kevin Washburn and Tanya Trujillo, Iowa Law graduate (92JD) and former Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the US Department of the Interior to discuss historical water allocations for the Colorado River
Who Defends the Defenders? Exploring Sovereignty, Legitimacy, Human Rights, and Activism in Land and Environmental Protection
In this panel, on April 10th, 2026, Dakota elder and historian Tim Mentz Sr., the first certified Tribal Historic Preservation Officer in the United States, shared stories and conversation with renowned Liberian environmental and Indigenous rights lawyer Alfred Brownell, a 2019 recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize.
Past Events: Student-Hosted
Careers in Environmental Law Panel
On February 24th, 2024, four local panelists discussed careers and oppurtunities in environmental law
Past Events: Labor
Agricultural Workers and Extreme Heat: OSHA’s Proposed Heat Safety Rule
Occupational safety, labor, and environmental experts discussed the risks of extreme temperatures for outdoor workers in a changing climate and the recently proposed OSHA rule to protect workers from hazardous heat on November 27th, 2024.
Industrial Animal Agriculture: Impacts on the Environment, Communities, and Health
Experts from across the United States discussed the impacts of industrial agriculture on the environment, community, and health of agricultural states on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2025.
The Private Sector and the Planet: Environmental Governance Across Industries Speaker Series
The Private Sector and the Planet: Environmental Governance Across Industries is a year long speaker series (2025-2026 academic year) exploring the critical role of private environmental governance in addressing 21st-century challenges. Co-hosted by HELI, Vanderbilt Law School’s Private Climate Governance Lab, and the Tippie College of Business’ Social Impact Community
Workers on the Frontlines of a Hotter Planet: 2025 Iowa Labor and Climate Conference
Panelists discussed rising heat, public health, and worker safety in this HELI sponsored event that occurred on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
Past Events: Economics
The "Iowa Effect": Insurance and Climate Change with NYT Reporter Christopher Flavelle
New York Times climate reporter Christopher Flavelle and Martin Grace, the Faculty Director of the Vaughan Institute discussed insurance markets in a changing climate, hosted by HELI on
The Economic Implications of Climate Change: Iowa Law Review’s Volume 110 Symposium
Iowa Law Review presented its 2024 Symposium: “The Economic Impacts of Climate Change.” This event gathered 11 scholars from across the country to discuss on September 19th and 20th, 2024
The Private Sector and the Planet: Environmental Governance Across Industries Speaker Series
The Private Sector and the Planet: Environmental Governance Across Industries is a year long speaker series (2025-2026 academic year) exploring the critical role of private environmental governance in addressing 21st-century challenges. Co-hosted by HELI, Vanderbilt Law School’s Private Climate Governance Lab, and the Tippie College of Business’ Social Impact Community
Past Events: Public Health
Agricultural Workers and Extreme Heat: OSHA’s Proposed Heat Safety Rule
Occupational safety, labor, and environmental experts discussed the risks of extreme temperatures for outdoor workers in a changing climate and the recently proposed OSHA rule to protect workers from hazardous heat on November 27th, 2024.
Industrial Animal Agriculture: Impacts on the Environment, Communities, and Health
Experts from across the United States discussed the impacts of industrial agriculture on the environment, community, and health of agricultural states on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2025.
One Community, One Book: Wastelands
The Fall '24 One Community, One Book selection was Wastelands: The True Story of Farm Country on Trial, by Corban Addison. This author keynote, book sale, and signing took place at Old Brick on Sunday, October 20th, 2024
Past Events: Litigation
A Spotlight On: The Endangered Species Act
On Feb, 27th, 2023, HELI hosted a fireside chat between Dean Kevin Washburn and Kierán Suckling who discussed how the Center for Biological Diversity has become a successful litigant and change-maker for endangered species and critical habitat.
Legal Advocacy and Environmental Litigation: From North Carolina to Iowa
Environmental litigators and advocates discussed how legal practitioners have litigated cases against industrial agriculture from North Carolina to Iowa on Oct. 16th, 2024
The Making of Environmental Law in the United States with Richard J. Lazarus
HELI and the College of Law in welcomed Richard J. Lazarus, Harvard Law School professor, to Iowa Law on April 17th, . In his talk, he offered an interpretation of the past three decades of environmental law, examining the legal, political, cultural, and scientific factors that have shaped the creation of pollution controls and natural resource management laws.
Waters of the United States: POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource with Royal C. Gardner
On Oct. 10th, 2025, HELI joined Royal C. Gardner, the Professor of Law, Director of the Stetson Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson Law, to discuss his new book; Waters of the United States: POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource.
Past Events: Wetlands
Wetlands Conservation after Sackett v. EPA: Federal Implications and State Responses Panel Series
On Friday, April 5, 2024 The Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative held a panel series discussing wetlands conservation after Sackett v. EPA.
Past Events: Habitat
Adapting to a Warming World: Perspectives from the Environmental Law Collaborative
Environmental scholars from around the country joined for a series of talks exploring what it means to adapt to a warming world. This event took place on Friday, April 14, 2023 in the Boyd Law Building (BLB) at the University of Iowa College of Law.
Wetlands Conservation after Sackett v. EPA: Federal Implications and State Responses Panel Series
On Friday, April 5, 2024 The Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative held a panel series discussing wetlands conservation after Sackett v. EPA.