Seaver College Student Belle Li Awarded Rachel Carson Council National Environmental Leadership Fellowship
Seaver College senior Belle Li has been awarded the Rachel Carson Council National Environmental Leadership Fellow (RCC NELF) for the 2025–26 year. The prestigious program, in namesake of American marine scientist and influential writer Rachel Carson, recognizes college students nationwide with a passion for environmentalism who have made tangible and valuable contributions in stewardship of our natural world and its citizens.
“Receiving this fellowship is an honor,” says Li, a double-major in sustainability and Hispanic studies. “With this fellowship, I will have the opportunity to better serve my community while opening doors to important conversations. If something is impacting the environment, it’s probably impacting a person too. We can’t separate ourselves from nature.”
Produce from the organic community garden
Each RCC fellow leads an initiative in an area such as sustainability, conservation, or energy science. In connection with her work as president of Pepperdine University’s Food Recovery Network, which partners with local Malibu churches to ensure no food within our cafeteria system goes to waste, Li has set her sights on expanding the University’s organic community garden, an initiative that biannually plants produce for the Pepperdine community.
While living abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Madrid, Spain Li shared that she gained well-informed knowledge about sustainability. Teaming up with global nonprofits, she spent her year in Buenos Aires coming alongside nearby cities to build community and educational centers which conserve energy and reduce water waste. Now Li holds the position as lead ambassador for Pepperdine’s International Programs.
A practice that intends to elevate the standard of living for all of God’s creation, Li shares, “Sustainability is for both the people and the environment. It is making sure that future generations have the resources that we have.”
In collaboration with mentor Chris Doran, professor of religion and sustainability, and Coordinator of the Sustainability Program, Li envisions Pepperdine’s garden to be a spot of greater community convening. While tending to various produce such as sweet peas and butternut squash, Li says that she considers this an educational opportunity where students can cultivate virtues such as patience and diligence that they can carry throughout their lives.
With no use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, the garden allows the community to learn sustainable practices such as building healthy soil and experimenting on which plants naturally succeed in the Malibu climate.
“I appreciate how Belle is always looking for creative ways to serve the Pepperdine community,” Doran says. “Her work this year at the community garden has been invaluable to getting plants into the ground and bringing students closer to understanding what it takes to get food to our plates.”
Li representing Pepperdine's Food Recovery Network
Throughout the duration of her RCC fellowship, Li will remain a dedicated leader of the University’s Food Recovery Network. Alongside hosting educational events to raise awareness on food waste and its impact, every Monday and Thursday evening she leads a cohort of student volunteers who routinely gather excess food from production deliveries around campus. On top of the Network’s partnership with Malibu United Methodist Church, student volunteers also provide recovered food for Malibu C.A.R.T’s lunch and dinner programs.
During the course of this spring semester, Li will expand the reach of her fellowship project to include features within the Inter-Club Council newsletter that inform on-campus clubs and organizations about easy steps toward sustainable practices. In addition to her work on sustainability, Li is pursuing a certificate in conflict management studies at the Caruso School of Law’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution.
“Belle Li is one of the most intellectually curious students I have ever had,” says Doran. “She is constantly asking good questions about everything. That curiosity paired with boundless ambition makes it clear why she was chosen to be a Rachel Carson Council Fellow.”