Green Building Student Alliance

Have you ever wondered what goes into making a building energy, water, and waste efficient? How can UCSC support sustainability in building designs and retrofits? What can you do to support these efforts? Tatiana Gefter (Green Building Campaign Coordinator for the Student Environmental Center), Grant Waldron (Provost's Sustainability Intern for Climate Action), and other students are collaborating to create a Green Building Student Alliance. This group will serve as a student advising resource to campus architects and project managers with a goal of increasing student participation in campus infrastructure design to keep the environment in mind.

With the West Campus Housing Development Plan in the works, the need for this type of student advising group is essential in making sure that student needs are heard and met. The Green Building Student Alliance plans to be a monthly collaborative discussion where doors are open to any and all students. In this space, the group will examine and deliberate decisions affecting the expansion of campus buildings. In addition, it will serve to help share resources and support fellow organizations with their goals while pursuing goals for sustainable infrastructure on campus.

Please email Tatiana Gefter at tgefter[at]ucsc[dot]edu if you or an organization you're involved with would be interested in participating in the Green Building Student Alliance.

Image above is Engineering 2, the first LEED-certified building at UCSC. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. Other LEED buildings (both retrofits and new buildings) include the Cowell Student Health Center, Biomedical Building,  and the Porter residence halls. For a complete listing of UC LEED-certified buildings, click here.