November 2017: Contests and Funding

Association of California Water Agencies Awards
The ACWA awards two scholarships each year to students in a water-resources related field of study. Awards are based on a combination of scholastic achievement and a commitment on the part of the applicants to their chosen fields, best demonstrated by pursuing a degree related to or identified with engineering, agriculture or urban water supply, environmental studies and public administration associated with resources management.
Deadline: Feb 1, 2018
Find more information by clicking here.

Emily M. Hewitt Memorial Scholarship 
The Emily M. Hewitt Memorial Scholarship is for an upper division or graduate student who shows a commitment to communicate and interpret a love of nature and an understanding of the need to practice conservation. Students pursuing degrees in environmental protection, forestry, wildlife and fisheries, biology, parks and recreation, park management, environmental law and public policy, environmental art, and California history are encouraged to apply.
Deadline: April 15, 2018
Find more information by clicking here.

Folsom Garden Club Scholarship Program 
The Folsom Garden Club Scholarship Program is for both part-time and full-time students majoring in Horticulture, Floriculture, Landscape Design, Botany, Forestry, Agronomy, Conservation, Plant Pathology, Environmental Concerns and/or other related subjects.
Deadline: April 11, 2018
Find more information by clicking here.

2017 Global Engagement Photo Contest
The 2017 Global Engagement Photo Contest is for current UCSC International Students, current UCSC faculty or staff, and UCSC alumni who wish to share diverse cultural perspectives through photographs. Contestants are allowed a maximum of two photographs. Accepting Submissions from February 27, 2017, to March 28, 2017. Find more information and rules by clicking here.

2017 On-Campus Photography Contest
The 2017 On-Campus Photography Contest is open to all faculty, staff, and students who wish to share photographs of UC Santa Cruz for Chancellor Blumenthal's winter holiday card. Contestants are limited to three photographs. Deadline November 5th, 2017.
Find more information by clicking here.

November 2017: Campus Sustainability Plan Kick-Off Event

On Thursday, October 19, 2017, the UC Santa Cruz's 5-year Campus Sustainability Plan was unveiled during its kick-off event at the Arboretum.

Vice Chancellor Sarah Latham delivered a few brief remarks and recognized the hard work of community members who helped develop the plan. Attendees also enjoyed music by a student jazz trio, raffle and prizes, refreshments, a photo booth, and electric bike demos.

The Campus Sustainability Plan focuses on four areas:

• Learning & Culture
• Materials Management & Food Systems
• Natural Environment & Infrastructure
• Climate & Energy

Each area includes specific goals, strategies, and first-year actions to help move us forward. The plan also acknowledges that concern for the environment intersects with social issues.

Click here for pictures from the event!

November 2017: Classes, Training, and Community

Santa Cruz Farmer's Markets
Downtown Santa Cruz Farmer's Market on Wednesdays, 1:00 to 5:00pm in Fall & Winter at Cedar St. and Lincoln St.

Westside Farmer's Market on Saturdays, 9:00am to 1:00pm year-round at Mission St. Ext. and Western Dr.

Or drive to one of the other Farmer's Markets in the area: Felton, Live Oak, Scotts Valley.

Organic Produce Pop-Up
Enjoy fresh, affordable, organic produce from the UCSC Farm & Garden and other local farms from the produce pop up. Located in the Quarry Plaza on Mondays, 10am-2pm. Find more information about the Produce-Pop Up here.

Santa Cruz Hub for Sustainable Living
Check out the various cool programs within the Santa Cruz Hub for Sustainable Living. There are lots of ways to get involved with them.

UCSC Bike Cooperative
Stop by the UCSC Bike Coop to service your bike, gain more bike knowledge, and meet new people. They are a fun place dedicated to promoting a sustainable mode of transportation.

Sustainability Minor
If you are interested in working in the sustainability field, pursuing green entrepreneurship, and becoming an agent of change to protect the environment, consider declaring the Sustainability Minor.

Get Involved with a UCSC Sustainability Organization

Wondering what organizations exist on campus that work on sustainability projects? The Sustainability Office has a list of organizations here.

Kenneth S. Norris Center for Natural History Artstravaganza & Open House: November 4th & 5th, 12p-5pm

Come to the Kenneth S. Norris Center for Natural History's open house, located in the Natural Sciences II building (room 239). They are featuring a student art show, natural history collection displays, hands-on art making and face painting, and artist talks and demonstrations. Students and community members of all ages are welcome! Free admission and donations are encouraged. Learn more about the Norris Center event here.

Community Day at The Arboretum

Come check out the UCSC Arboretum this month on community day! You'll get free admission to the Arboretum and Botanical Garden the first Tuesday of everything month. For a list of schedules days and more information, click here.

California Native Plant Society Meeting

Are you interested in learning about the flora and fauna native to the Santa Cruz area? Come to the Santa Cruz County Chapter of California Native Plant Society for a general meeting on Monday November 13th. Free admission and parking. Learn more about the Native Plant Society meeting here.

Free Guided Tour of the UCSC Farm

Curious about UCSC's 33-acre organic farm? Come get a free guided tour of the organically managed greenhouses, handworked garden beds, orchards, row crop fields, and children's garden on November 5th at 2pm. Learn more about the Free Guided Tour here.

Younger Lagoon Reserve Tour

Come take a behind the scenes tour of Younger Lagoon, one of the University of California's beautiful Natural Reserves. Younger Lagoon contains a diverse coastal habitat and is home to a wide array of wildlife. It is also a great spot for any birdwatchers out there! Free to UCSC undergraduate students with a student ID. Learn more about Touring Younger Lagoon here.

Growing Organic Garlic Workshop
Ever wanted to know how to grow great garlic? Join the Cultivating Organic Garlic in the Home Garden & Small Farm workshop to learn all the ins and outs of growing great garlic.  Led by Sandhill Farms garlic grower Pete Rasmussen and Chadwick Garden manager Orin Martin. The workshop will be held on Sunday, November 5th at 9:30am. Learn more about the Growing Garlic Workshop here.

November 2017: Internships, Employment and Volunteering

Los Gatos High School Agroecology Class
The Los Gatos High School Agroecology class is comprised of Juniors and Seniors age 15-18. Each class has about 24 students, more than half of whom are special education students having either an IEP or 504 plan. Each student is assigned a 5’x10’ garden plot of their own to work on and experiment with throughout the school year. The class focuses on the cultivation of annual edible and ornamental plants. As each plant goes through its complete life cycle, students have the opportunity to observe and document all of its life stages. Find more information by visiting this link. Contact: philip.rosenblum@gmail.com

Architecture Internship
Coastal Ecology Class Mentor
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Looking for Disciplined self study independent study partially unsupervised super passionate enthusiastic researcher self reliant student. Must be search savvy to try many different possibilities of key words searching on internet plus attend as many green conferences or local gov't public meetings as possible. Find more information by visiting this link. Contact: TheGreenArchitect@gmail.com

Walker Creek Ranch Paid Internship
This is a ten month paid internship in which Interns are responsible for leading hikes, teambuilding, and lessons for groups of approximately twenty students from a variety of cultural, socioeconomic, and educational backgrounds. Interns receive paid training and continuing mentorship throughout the school year. Find more information by visiting this link. Contact: agordon@marinschools.org

During the school year, a select group of Aptos, Pajaro Valley and Watsonville High School students will be enrolled in a Coastal Ecology science class where they will learn about environmental issues related to local watersheds. Find more information by visiting this link.

Koret Scholarship
Scholarships available for undergraduate research and creative projects! You can earn academic credit, present your work at Koret Slam and much more! For more information, visit this link.

October 2017: Sustainability Office Carbon Fund Profile

Carbon Fund Student Team Members:

Talia Gnessin and Natalie Hazrati

What is the Carbon Fund and where do the funds come from?

The Carbon Fund is a granting body that funds projects by students, staff, and community members that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conduct relevant research, or carry out educational programs. The funds come from Measure 44, which taxes every undergraduate and graduate student a $3 fee per quarter. The Carbon Fund supports UCSC goal to become carbon neutral by 2025 and has about $150,000 to allocate to sustainability projects that will help reach this goal.

Who decides what projects will receive funding?

The Carbon Fund is comprised of a committee with 8 members, both staff and students, who vote on which projects are allocated funds.

Who can apply for a Carbon Fund Grant? Some examples?

College 9 and 10 garden!

Students, staff, or community members can apply for a Carbon Fund.  Some examples of projects that have been funded are the 9 and 10 garden, which had funds allocated to purchase trees and plants. Also, the Carbon Fund gave a grant for a solar power upgrade, which will provide a long-term solar power solution for research and teaching activities at UC’s Año Nuevo Natural Reserve

How do projects incorporate sustainable practices into their projects?

The projects funded by the Carbon Fund Grant all incorporate a goal towards an ultimate reduction of carbon emission. The hope is to continue in the strides that UCSC has been making towards a more sustainable environment through carrying out these various projects.

Solar Generator kit that was purchased with a Carbon Fund grant - UC’s Año Nuevo Natural Reserve

Where can you find out more information about past Carbon Fund projects?

Visit the Carbon Fund Website to learn more about past Carbon Fund Projects!

How do you apply for a Carbon Fund Grant?

You can apply on the Carbon Fund Website. There will also be an Info Session for all prospective applicants who want to learn more about the application process on October 26th from 6-7PM in the Graduate Student Commons Fireside Lounge

October 2017: Campus Sustainability Plan Kick-Off Event

We are excited to invite you to the

Campus Sustainability Plan Kick-Off Event on

Thursday, October 19 from 2:00 - 4:30pm

at the UCSC Arboretum!

We will unveil our 5-year Campus Sustainability Plan and share funding resources for staff, faculty and student sustainability projects. Vice Chancellor Latham will recognize the hard work of community members who helped developed the plan. We'll also have some fun with music by a student jazz trio, raffle and prizes, a photo booth and electric bike demos from 2:00-4:30 pm! Refreshments including food, local organic wine, and non-alcoholic beverages will be served.

2:00pm Welcome by Vice Chancellor Sarah Latham

2:30pm Learn about UCSC’s Campus Sustainability Plan from

Sustainability Director, Elida Erickson

3:30pm Be sure to stay for the raffle prize drawing!

Feel free to invite other friends and Santa Cruz community members!

Please RSVP here by October 12th

Visualizing Sustainable Transportation in Santa Cruz County

View Future Transportation Options in 3-D

Visualizing Sustainable Transportation in Santa Cruz County

The Visualizing Sustainable Transportation in Santa Cruz County project (SCCRTC.org/VIS) will provide interactive virtual reality visualizations of potential short and long term transportation options for Santa Cruz County using an innovative OWLtm viewer. The goal of the project is to provide a fun and immersive community participation experience.

The visualizations demonstrate transportation and land use options that address congestion, city and county plans/projects, the passage of Measure D, discussions about priorities with community leaders, and state mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Visualizations will highlight:

• Optimized use of existing streets through enhanced bicycle, pedestrian and transit facilities
• Expanded safe mobility options for all members of the community
• Options that decrease greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle miles traveled
• Walk-friendly, compact, mixed-use neighborhoods
• Options that decrease personal transportation expenses thereby increasing the amount of money that can be reinvested in the local economy

The OWLtm interactive virtual reality viewer includes site-specific visualizations and will be available at four locations:

• Phase 1
• Oct 4 – Nov 15: Soquel Drive @ Chanticleer, near the Sutter Surgery Center
• Oct 18 – Nov 29: Natural Bridges @ the railroad crossing near the Wrigley Building
• Phase 2, Spring 2018
• Watsonville
• 17th Avenue in Live Oak

Participants will be able to provide feedback about the short and long term visualizations via a short survey on the Owl viewer. Each visual will also be accessible through a “pocket owl” for smart phones, computers or other devices. The “pocket owl” will be available at SCCRTC.org/VIS approximately one week after the Owl viewers are up.  

The Visualizing Sustainable Transportation in Santa Cruz County project is coordinated with other RTC projects by providing graphics to describe what sustainable transportation options might look like. The Unified Corridor Investment Study is a separate project that addresses the voter-approved mandate in Measure D to assess environmental and economic benefits/impacts of transportation options on three parallel routes in Santa Cruz County: Highway 1, the rail line and Soquel Avenue-Drive/Freedom Boulevard.

For more information about the Visualizing Sustainable Transportation in Santa Cruz County project or to view the Soquel Drive/Chanticleer and West Santa Cruz pocket Owls, please visit:  SCCRTC.org/VIS

Sign up to get project updates by sending an email to info@sccrtc.org with “Vis” in the subject line.

The Sustainable Transportation Visualization for Santa Cruz County project was funded through a Caltrans Transit Planning for Sustainable Communities grant to help meet the state goal of expanded accessibility and multimodal options.

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