Kunal Palawat

Fellow, Climate Assessment for the Southwest

2020 recipient of the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) Environment & Society Graduate Fellows Program.

Kunal Palawat (they/them) is pursuing a masters in soil and water science at the University of Arizona Department of Environmental Science. They have a background in soil/water science and community organizing from their time living in Vermont and are excited to blend their passions together in Arizona. Kunal’s research focuses on public participation in science, environmental pollution, and ecological modeling through the community rainwater harvesting study called Project Harvest. They are also passionate challenging the oppressive norms of western science through the democratization of science, supporting queer, trans, and two-spirit BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students, mentorship, and climate activism. Their project with CLIMAS involves creating a climate change and contamination informed community cookbook. The Arizonan communities participating in the process are the members of Project Harvest in four towns (Dewey, Globe, Hayden, Tucson) and the Mission Garden in Tucson. The cookbook will have recipes developed by community members and Kunal in addition to photographs and historical narratives of each dish.