The Earth Commons
The Earth Commons

Research

We assemble diverse, interdisciplinary teams of faculty, external experts and students to collaborate on the world’s greatest environmental and sustainability challenges and turn research into service for the common good. Our research isn’t restricted to the lab: we are transforming Georgetown’s campus into a living laboratory where we develop urgently-needed, scalable solutions to green the campus and broader community—and shape the future of our planet.

ECo Scholarship

Explore environmental scholarship across disciplines by ECo faculty that explores critical environmental issues

ECo Fellows

Apply for a post-doctoral research and teaching fellowship to advance the science on critical environmental issues

ECo Impact Awards

Apply for funding that empowers new interdisciplinary research and outreach

News & Publications from the ECo Faculty Network

More Stories

All, Scholarship, University Stories

Why Those Uneaten Fries and Side of Potatoes Are Bloating U.S. Food Waste

In a new paper by Green of Georgetown’s Earth Commons Institute, graduate students, the Portion Balance Coalition, the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative (MCURC), and the food waste nonprofit ReFED, researchers found that food left on plates makes up 70% of total restaurant food waste.

March 5, 2026

All, Announcements, Scholarship, University Stories

Is Plate Waste Eating Profit Margins? Research Insights into Reducing Restaurant Food Waste

At a time when rising food costs, shifting consumer appetites, and mounting sustainability pressures are converging on the restaurant industry, research reveals that one of the most overlooked…

March 2, 2026

All, In the Press, International, Scholarship

Venda de carnes silvestres, tanto para subsistência quanto para servir turistas, ameaça mamíferos da Amazônia

Carne silvestre desempenha papel de segurança alimentar para consumidores nas comunidades periféricas da Amazônia, daí a importância de sistemas de conservação nos quais suas práticas, conhecimentos e valores orientam o desenvolvimento de regimes de manejo. Brian Griffiths, Author provided (no reuse)

January 22, 2026

ECo Faculty Network

Explore over 100 Georgetown faculty furthering research and teaching on complex environmental issues

See the Network

Research Programs

Below is a list of research programs related to the work of the Earth Commons:

Marra Lab

Director Peter Marra’s research uses birds to help us define and understand broad environmental issues, tackling contemporary conservation challenges by addressing fundamental knowledge gaps at the intersection of ornithology, ecology and conservation biology. The Marra Lab in Georgetown’s Department of Biology investigates migratory connectivity, full annual cycle ecology, urban ecology & applied conservation, Kirtland’s Warbler conservation & management, and identifies the smoking guns in bird declines.

Research Projects

Migratory Connectivity

Advancing the conservation and understanding of animals throughout their full life cycle by promoting the science of migratory connectivity.

Explore StoryMaps

Atlas of Migratory Connectivity

Through the Migratory Connectivity Project, led by Georgetown University and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and together with the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, we are working on an important and exciting two volume book entitled “Discovering Unknown Migrations: The Atlas of Migratory Connectivity for the Birds of North America.” 

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