November 2016 Sustainability Profile: Ivy Young of Santa Cruz Community Compost Co.

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month we are featuring Ivy Young of Santa Cruz Community Compost Co., which employs a number of UCSC alumni and turns Santa Cruz residents' food scraps into rich compost.

What does your organization do?

Santa Cruz Community Compost Co. is a bicycle-powered, community oriented, compost collection service. Customers collect their food scraps and other compostables in the bin we provide. Then, we pick it up weekly via cargo bike and deliver it to a local urban farm where we transform it into high quality fertile soil that is either returned to our customers or made available to the host farm.

How many pounds of food scraps does your organization divert from the landfill each year in creating compost? How many miles do your riders bike compost each year?

Since our first haul in June 2014 we have diverted more than 130,000 lbs of waste from the local landfill and we’re hauling around 2000 lbs more every week from around 250 local homes and businesses. Though we don’t track our riders’ miles, we cover ground from Shaffer at Delaware all the way to 42nd Ave and even take a trip up to the UCSC faculty housing once a week.  

How did you decide to use bicycles for transporting the compost?

The idea was originally sparked by a company in Austin, TX, the Compost Pedallers, that operates using a similar model. While bicycle transport does present some challenges, we believe in operating our business in a way that is energy efficient, inspiring and honors our core values. Bicycles are clean, quiet and when people see us out riding it puts a smile on their face.  

What’s one of your favorite memories associated with your organization and composting?  

I’m a single mom and in the first 6 months of operating routes, I often had my then 5 year old son riding on the back of my bike with me as I trekked all over town.  He would keep me company by singing “Keep on the Sunny Side” and he would chant “go mama, go mama, go” whenever I had to go up a hill.  I feel so grateful that he has been able to share in this experience and see what is possible when you work hard for something you believe in.

How did you get involved with composting?

I grew up composting so I’m someone who feels very strange whenever I’m faced with throwing a banana peel in the trash.  Most of my previous knowledge, however, was in the realm of small, backyard piles.  I have had to learn as I go about how to handle such large amounts of organic waste and I still have a lot more to learn.  I have become so excited now about the microbial universe living within a compost pile and the incredibly transformative process that occurs there that the work I’m doing is becoming a sort of philosophy to me.  

What does “sustainability” mean to you?

I don’t think that “sustainable” is just a catch phrase for the green movement.  To sustain something is to find the balance between what is possible and what is plausible. Sustainability is getting out on your tiptoes, reaching out for your most perfect Ideal, but not letting your feet leave the ground because you can’t inspire others when you’re floating in a bubble way out of reach, and it’s our collective efforts that will really make a difference. Sustainability to me is waking up each day, doing the very best you can and believing that your neighbor is doing the same.  

Has this job influenced you to live more sustainably in other ways?  

This work pushes me to my limits sometimes physically, socially and emotionally and while I had always considered my lifestyle to be sustainable because I eat organic, compost, and reuse my plastic bags and twistie ties at the bulk bins, I had never considered whether my inner life, social life or physical existence were truly sustainable. I’ve really tried in the last few years to apply the spirit of sustainable living to more than just how I consume things. Now, I ask myself questions like, “Am I an energy efficient vehicle?” “How does the energy I expend contribute positively to my community?” “Where is my time/energy/spirit being wasted and where is it being transformed into something useful?” I see the transformation that occurs in my piles--rotting detritus that smells somewhat like baby vomit becoming fresh living healthy soil that smells like the rain forest--and it gives me hope that even the most rotten things in life can, with time, be transformed into something beautiful.

Thank you, Ivy Young, for sharing about your work and inspiring us! To learn more about Santa Cruz Compost Co., visit their website.

October 2016 Sustainability Profile: Ariel Wexler

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month we are featuring Ariel Wexler, a UCSC alumna and currently the volunteer coordinator for Long Way Home. 

Name: Ariel Wexler

Major, College, Graduation Year: Environmental Studies, Stevenson College, Class of 2015

Currently: The Volunteer Coordinator at Long Way Home

How were you involved with sustainability at UCSC?
My first year living in Stevenson College I got involved with PTAGS (Path to a Greener Stevenson) and the Stevenson Garden which allowed me to attend Inter-Org Retreat. Soon after, I was on the planning committee for the following retreats. For a year and a half I was an assistant on the Education and Outreach team at the Sustainability Office. I was also very involved with PICA (Program in Community and Agroecology). I was a PICA resident for three years and a Program Assistant for one year. One of my most rewarding experiences was getting the opportunity to co-facilitate an ESLP (Education for Sustainable Living Program) course called “Decolonize your Food System.”

How did your experiences at UCSC prepare you for life after college? 
As an Environmental Studies major I was taught the skills to think critically about the complexities of environmental problems/solutions. Oftentimes when there seems like a clear or right solution to a problem it is always so much more complex. It has helped me think more holistically about what “sustainability” really means. Really, my time at UCSC was most beneficial because it gave me a network of wonderful, passionate, and inspiring individuals that also want to make real solutions in the world.

What are you currently up to? 
Currently, I am living in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala as a Volunteer Coordinator for Long Way Home (LWH), a non-profit organization that has been building a school using green building techniques. Currently, the school has 118 students, grades K-8. Thus far LWH has used over 400 tons of trash and 14,000 tires in their construction. I love working for a project that has been able to turn sustainability from theory to practice. My main focus is to make sure that our volunteers have a great experience while working with us! Check out Long Way Home’s website.

Do you have any advice for current students? 
Don't stress too much about life post-college. Try to enjoy where you are at in this moment in time. I know it is easier said than done. Last year I definitely found myself all consumed with questions about what type of career or job I was supposed to/should be doing. I’ve learned that every experience good or bad may lead you on a completely different path. I think it’s best to take it experience/job at a time and learn about the things you enjoy and don’t enjoy and then move on from there.

May 2016 Sustainability Profile: Rebecca Sale

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month features Rebecca Sale, the Education and Outreach Team Coordinator for the Sustainability Office.

Position Titles: Education and Outreach Coordinator (2015-2016), Student Sustainability Advisor for Cowell and Stevenson Colleges (2014-2015), Education and Outreach Team Associate (2013-2015)

What does “sustainability” mean to you?  It means so much and it's so big that it's kind of difficult to grasp. To me, it means considering the impact of everything you do. Being conscious of, and taking responsibility for your actions. Everything you do affects something and someone else, even if you don't see it. It's a balance between the people and the planet.

Why did you get involved with sustainability? It's a lifestyle I chose so that I can give back. It's important to take care of our limited resources. I'm an outdoor enthusiast and I want to show my respect to the land and the people who were here before me. I hope to leave this place better than it was when I got here.

How has sustainability related to your role(s) at UCSC? As the Education and Outreach Coordinator, my role is to promote campus sustainability efforts like carbon neutrality and zero waste and to encourage behavior change.

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life? I challenge myself every day to be more conscious and to use fewer resources and to make good habits of those actions. I try to not purchase what I don't need. I ride my bike to school and work. I do things that I think everyone one has a societal responsibility to do, like picking up litter, not buying single use items.

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC? I love tabling at orientations and spring spotlight, talking to prospective students about their own interests in environmental work and getting them excited about what this amazing school has to offer.

Are there sustainability practices you’ve picked up specific to your background or culture? My family doesn't really buy unnecessary items, we reuse grocery bags and repurpose food containers. I'm following those footsteps and hopefully living a lifestyle that my future family will respect and continue improving.

If you know of a person or group on campus that you think we should profile, or if you would like to be profiled, please send us an email at susted[at]ucsc[dot]edu

April 2016 Sustainability Profile: Rebekkah Scharff

 

Position Title(s):
Director, Sprout Up-Santa Cruz
Seed Librarian, UCSC Food Systems Working Group

What does “sustainability” mean to you?
Sustainability is first and foremost about people. For me, it means preserving cultures, knowledge, and natural resources so that future generations have the same access to them in the future, and can live physically and mentally-healthy lives as a result. Sustainability should be a social movement as much as it is environmental, of sustaining not only environmental but social and cultural livelihoods.

Why did you get involved with sustainability?
After leading field trips at Life Lab for an ENVS internship, I became really interested in organic farming and gardening. After participating in another Life Lab internship at Gault Elementary School, and volunteering with Sprout Up, I decided to completely change my major to environmental studies. I later declared a concentration in agro-ecology, where I found my passion for sustainable agriculture, and issues facing people of color in sustainability. While I have sometimes felt different as a POC in studying food and agriculture, I have found that my voice is important to lend to the significance of food, eating and environmentalism significant to my culture and others’.

How has sustainability related to your role(s) at UCSC?
In my work with the seed library, I help preserve and continue growing crop varieties that are adapted to the Santa Cruz region, and give them away for free, to sustain seed and food sovereignty in the UCSC and Santa Cruz community. In this way, food is sustainable from seed to fork. As the director of Sprout Up-Santa Cruz, one of my roles is training volunteers to be environmental education instructors. After studying how sustainability, especially the sustainable food movement, has so often been a wealthy and privileged movement, I taught this to the instructors as part of their training. In Sprout Up, we reach many low-income students and teach them about environmental sustainability. After studying food and social justice, I realized that many of the things we taught to the kids: waste management, local/non-local food, community gardening, imply very privileged notions of sustainability. I teach instructors to never shame the kids about what practices they do at home, what they eat, and actions beyond their control. I think that this is sustainability: empowering the next generations to be stewards of the environment, as culturally and socially appropriate.

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life?
I teach kids to love and appreciate the earth! (In return, some of them teach me Spanish!) I sustain the next generation of caregivers for the planet, by evoking interest and love for the natural world and healthy food. In addition, I try to listen to people, learn and read as much as I can, about diverse perspectives in the sustainability movement. This includes what I learn from my elementary students, as well as my peers and family. I wish to question and change the discourse of sustainability from making informed individual choices, to sustainable ways of living that different people practice in their own ways.

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC?
Once while preparing for a Life Lab field trip at CASFS, my supervisor pulled a kohlrabi out of the ground. I had never seen or heard of a kohlrabi before, let alone tasted it, or so I thought. We prepared and ate it, and it was delicious; I was so stoked about how it looked and tasted. I bought some and brought it home to my parents later, and my mom told me that my grandmother (now 95) used to grow enormous kohlrabis in the backyard of her house, in San Francisco. In addition, she said that I had eaten kohlrabi when she had cooked it, but I had never seen it in the ground or eaten it raw. I realized how disconnected I had been from my Chinese culture’s food in that moment; I didn’t recognize a food I had eaten before, and which was culturally relevant to me. As I continued at UCSC, I realized how food is culture, and how preserving cooking and food is cultural knowledge, which my grandmother passed down to my mom, and her to me.

Are there sustainability practices you’ve picked up specific to your background or culture?
I do not think I have “picked up” specific sustainability practices, but recognized them as sustainability practices themselves, while at UCSC. I realized that learning to cook from my mom and grandmother is sustainability, of preserving food and diet that is not only healthy but cultural, both of which enhance happiness and health. In addition, that my Americanized immigrant family still holds on to their culture overall, by practicing tradition and celebrating holidays, is sustainability. This is especially true of food culture; even when they still love convenient American food, they still prepare their traditional dishes. In addition, my older family’s reliance on herbs and food as medicine is sustainable as well, sustaining the health of their bodies through preventative and holistic methods, and passing this knowledge to the future generations. My mother, grandmother, and aunt all love to garden, which I also learned to value and practice in college. Being disconnected from my family at UCSC, I learned to hold onto and value the food, medicine and traditions of my culture, and also defend them. I cannot count how many times that euro-centric foods like tomatoes and lettuce were labeled as “normal”, while bok choy and napa cabbage were called “crazy” or “different” while attending UCSC, which feels alienating. I think I’ve picked up an appreciation of my culture’s foods and our own sustainability practices, and also the recognition of many different discourses of what sustainability means, some more dominant than others.

December Sustainability Profile: Catherine Alfaro and Amran Khan

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. 

This month features American Indian Resource Center and People of Color Sustainability Collective interns Catherine Alfaro and Amran Khan. Catherine and Amran work together to showcase the historical, current, and future impact of people of color in the sustainability movement.

What is your title, affiliation, and year?

Amran: American Indian Resource Center and People of Color Sustainability Collective intern; College 10 affiliated junior.

Catherine: Intern for the American Indian Resource Center and Student Coordinator for People of Color Sustainability Collective; College 10 affiliated senior.

What does “sustainability” mean to you? 

Amran: Sustainability to me is more than just trying to preserve our environment, but also our culture, language, history, people, and future. There is no way of talking about sustainability without talking about issues like social justice and inequality. Sustainability involves everyone and everything from class, color, religion, et cetera. Being sustainable is important because it helps us to remember our roots and how we got to where we are.  

Catherine: Sustainability to me means sustaining the balance of many parts of life. A great reference for me is the web of life which shows the interconnectedness of everyone and everything. Culture, community, health, education, animals, individuals, food, the living and non-living things, et cetera are all connected. We all affect each other in positive and negative ways, but learning how to sustain every aspect of life is important. By sustaining I mean learning about culture, community, education, animals, health, food, the living and non-living things and preserving these entities. One important thing that I have learned is that there are many ways to define and practice sustainability. There is not a one size fits all or guidelines to being sustainable. I would only think about ecology when people would mention sustainability. It took a long time for me to define sustainability in a holistic way.

How would you describe the goals of the People of Color Sustainability Collective?

Amran: The goal of People of Color Sustainability Collective is to educate and show UCSC students the contributions people of color have made and will make for environmental justice. We also want to create spaces for people to be able to share their knowledge and experiences in the environmental justice movement.

Catherine: I would say that our main goals are to bring awareness and highlight the work that People of Color are doing in regards to sustainability. Also, to create spaces where people of color feel comfortable to share their views, experiences, and outlooks on sustainability as well as to redefine sustainability to include a variety of interpretations.

Any projects you're looking forward to this year?

Amran: People of Color Sustainability Collective has a lot of exciting projects in the future ahead. I am excited for more discussion, events, and activities in the future and next quarter to come. Also in the winter quarter, People of Color Sustainability Collective will be conducting research at UCSC, based on environmental and social justice.

Catherine: I am excited for the research Amran, Adriana (the People of Color Sustainability Collective Coordinator), and I will be working on in regards to student opinions, experiences, and perceptions about inclusivity in the campus sustainability movements. Also, I am excited for the different collaborations and events that we will be working on throughout the year.

What made you interested in sustainability?

Amran: Growing up as a person of color, I became interested in sustainability when I realized how much people of color are impacted by environmental issues and how little people recognized this. 

Catherine: Before joining the People of Color Sustainability Collective, I thought I did not know much about sustainability. I did not think I was sustainable myself. What changed my outlook on sustainability was re-defining what it meant to me. Both mentor Adriana Renteria and Dr. Rosser’s recommendation that I read the book by Enrique Salmon, Eating the Landscape: American Indian Stories of Food, Identity, and Resilience, helped me re-define sustainability. Learning that there are many components to sustainability and realizing that my family, my culture, and the work that I do are sustainable practices made me feel comfortable with the concept of sustainability. Realizing that all my life my family has been sustainable through actions that are seen as minuscule things like wearing hand-me-downs, re-using containers, trying our best to not waste food, and finding ingenious ways to work with what we have made me interested in sustainability. Validating the work that I have done within College 10 and the Ethnic Resource Centers that foster community, culture, and retention of students as something sustainable also made me interested. Being able to highlight the work that I do and redefine sustainability has been a big motivation.

If you could send one message about sustainability to everyone at UCSC, what would you say?
Amran: You can be sustainable about anything that impacts you or your greater interests.

Catherine: What I would say to people is that it would be good to reflect a little about their own definition of sustainability, why they think that, and how they could link it to the work they do. Also, that we might want to rethink our strategies on how to sustain our earth, and that people from a multitude of backgrounds and disciplines need to get together and talk about what is going on. All the different perspectives are needed to create a more inclusive and sustainable campus.

You can find the information and contact page for the People of Color Sustainability Collective here and check out the Facebook page here!

November 2015 Sustainability Profile: Jay Luce Nelson

This month features Jay Luce Nelson, a second-year College Eight affiliated student and this year’s Chancellor’s Undergraduate Intern (CUIP) for the Sustainability Office’s Education and Outreach Team. Jay Luce uses the pronouns they, them, and their.

What does "sustainability" mean to you?
To me, sustainability means preserving cultures, ways of life, and individual well-being while creating a safer global climate both socially and environmentally. I believe the idea of sustainability is inseparable from environmental justice, and that the preservation and restoration of natural systems and resources must work together with the empowering of marginalized peoples to create a better living standard for all.

What projects are you working on?
As a member of the Education and Outreach Team, I assist with the monthly newsletter and tabling. This quarter, my main goal is to work with an assortment of students from various social and environmental sustainability-related groups on campus to coordinate the Inter-Organizational Sustainability Retreat. A main objective for the retreat is to create conversation regarding environmental and social sustainability with both aspects supporting each other on an equal playing field. This balance of the two aspects will be new to this year’s retreat and I hope that attendees will gain a greater understanding of sustainability as a result.

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC?
As a proposed Ecology and Evolution major with an interest in restoration ecology, environmental sustainability is key to the path I wish to pursue in life. My role as a student at UCSC—and in life—is to constantly increase my capability to practice ecology without sacrificing social sustainability. I am also of the belief that the preservation of marginalized groups is a key aspect of social sustainability; often I feel that neurodivergent and mentally ill trans survival should be counted as a sort of self-sustainability.

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life?
I would like to think that living on campus in the Village makes environmental sustainability a part of my daily life. Food comprises most of my consumption, and living on campus makes recycling and composting automatic parts of life. I try to be conscious of what I do buy and avoid plastic packaging and companies known for unfair workplace or environmental policies. Mindfulness is key.

If you wish to get involved in the planning process for the 2016 Inter-Organizational Sustainability Retreat, please contact Jay Luce at jusnelso [at] ucsc [dot] edu

October 2015 Sustainability Profile: Jamison Czarnecki and Jordi Vasquez

Jamison Czarnecki and Jordi Vaquez are the new Carbon Neutrality Initiative Fellows for UC Santa Cruz. The CNI Fellows support the University of California's Carbon Neutrality Initiative, which commits UC to emitting net zero greenhouse gasses from its buildings and vehicle fleet by 2025, something no other major university system has done. As part of a network of CNI Fellows throughout the UC system, Jamison and Jordi are responsible for helping to promote and engage the campus through the Cool Campus Challenge, an online competition to reduce our carbon emissions through behavior change. We decided to learn more about our new fellows.

Jamison Czarnecki (left) Jordi Vasquez (right)

What is your major and college affiliation? 

• Jamison: Environmental Studies BA/Sustainability Studies Minor. Kresge College.
• Jordi: Earth Science, B.S. College Nine.

What's your favorite green tip? 

• Jamison: Don't take the bus on campus, walk! Especially around fall and winter when our mascot is out in full force from the rain and everything smells fresh and renewed. Also, drink sustainably! Order brews from the tap instead of the bottle and local brews over national brands. It's a smaller impact and usually better taste.
• Jordi: Be water wise! Every drop counts whether it’s a wet or dry year, recognize the importance of water. Full loads of laundry, turning off the tap when brushing your teeth, or using reusable water containers all promote water efficiency. 

What does "sustainability" mean to you? 

• Jamison: Focusing on the triple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit. Our increasingly complex global society is showing us that environmental and social issues are inter-connected. To truly solve them, we have to incorporate all disciplines and backgrounds to approach this important nexus. 
• Jordi: For me, sustainability means to remember that our Earth, that one speck of life in a vast universe, only has a finite amount of resources. Therefore, we all have a responsibility to sustain what matters for today and tomorrow. 

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life? 

• Jamison: I try to be conscious about my everyday actions and making good habits of those. For example, keeping my shower time under 5 minutes, unplugging my coffee pot when I'm done, or composting my food scraps. They're easy steps with BIG impacts! 
• Jordi: Besides being water wise I also do simple tasks such as recycling, unplugging unused appliances, and by walking or busing around. 

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? 

• Jamison: As a Carbon Neutrality Fellow and a conscious student, I am always trying to research, learn, and share new ideas that we can become as sustainable as possible. We've made a lot of progress, but we can do so much more! 
• Jordi: As a Carbon Neutrality Fellow, sustainability is our main focus, promoting a carbon-neutral campus by the year 2025. Knowing the dedication of UCSC staff, students, and faculty, I’m sure we can achieve such an ambitious goal! 

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC? 

• Jamison: Attending the workshops with the Student Environmental Center and the Winter Inter-Organizational Retreat. They really taught me how to become more conscious and aware in an inspiring way. They're also great ways to get to know like-minded students! 
• Jordi: As a fresh-eyed freshman, the strive for sustainability was eye-opening! The first few days it was amazing to realize that if a university could push for energy, food, and waste sustainability, then certainly I or any individual could achieve the same. 

Can you tell us about what it means to be a Carbon Neutrality Fellow? 

• Jamison: It's truly an honor to be selected. The UC system has pushed itself to achieve the tremendous feat of being carbon neutral by 2025. This will show that if we as a huge entity can do it, then other educational systems and businesses can become carbon neutral as well. Being a fellow this year will not only give me great professional skills to advance my career, it will allow me help other people see the importance of this goal and how they can be a part of this movement too! 
• Jordi: Being a Fellow means much more than the title portrays. The work on the 2025 Carbon Neutrality goal goes far beyond our campus and UC System; here we have the chance to promote sustainability as an everyday aspect of life. I’m excited and honored to get started!

Learn more about the Carbon Neutrality Initiative here. 

Sign up for the Cool Campus Challenge today!

March 2015 Sustainability Profile: Caitlin Jetter

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month features Caitlin Jetter, UCSC alumna and former Zero Waste Team member in the Sustainability Office, who now works at the Watershed Stewards Program.

Education
I attended UCSC all four years, I was associated with Stevenson College, I majored in Environmental Studies and minored in Politics, and I graduated in June 2014.

How were you involved with sustainability at UCSC?
I was directly involved with sustainability at UCSC in my work with the Zero Waste and Green Labs teams. Two of the larger projects I helped coordinate were the Campus Waste Assessment/Report and the Kimberly-Clark Glove Recycling Program. I was also involved with the Stevenson Student Council, which could lend a hand in supporting student-lead sustainability projects or events.

Did you have a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC?
A favorite moment was the first time I checked one of my Kimberly-Clark Recycling boxes and found a bunch of correctly disposed gloves! That may sound lame but it really meant a lot after all the time putting the program in place. Also, all the moments I got to spend with my zero waste teammates could be labeled my favorite. You can't sort trash without these fantastic individuals!

What are you doing now?
Right now I'm working for the Watershed Stewards Program. The program's goal is to conserve, restore, and enhance anadromous watersheds by linking education with scientific field practices. I'm stationed in Fresno where I have been working with the local Conservation Trust and Dept. of Fish and Wildlife to improve the habitat and study the Chinook salmon which used to run the full extent of the San Joaquin River. The position has been a great experience and I've already learned so much!

Did your sustainability experiences at UCSC prepare you for life after college?
Definitely! Being part of the Sustainability Office was one of the best experiences that prepared me for work after college. I learned so much about outreach, education, project management, and coordination. And I must say the zero waste team offered a special set of skills, in that I've never been so prepared to get dirty and handle the smelly (which happens more often than not in my current position!) Overall, I will always remember the amazing people and time spent with sustainability at UCSC.

December 2014 Sustainability Profile: Peggy Delaney

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month features Peggy Delaney, Vice Chancellor of Planning and Budget for UCSC. She serves on the University of California's wholesale power board, which recently successfully coordinated and advocated for the largest purchase of solar energy by any university in the United States. Though this doesn't mean you're going to see more solar panels on campus, this agreement "will allow the university’s campuses served by the Wholesale Power Program to receive energy that is 60 percent sourced from renewable supply" (UC Press Room). UC Santa Cruz is one of those campuses.

We interviewed Peggy Delaney to learn more about her role in this and how her work on campus supports sustainability efforts.

Education: Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography. B.S. in chemistry from Yale University.

How are you involved with campus energy management and sustainability? 
I'm the Vice Chancellor of Planning and Budget, which includes working with the budget office, capital management, and UC system-wide efforts. I serve in several roles that help UCSC advance its sustainability initiatives. I am the campus representative to the wholesale power board, which advises the newly-formed Energy Services Unit at UC Office of the President. This board works to help campuses become “direct access” customers, allowing campuses to purchase energy through the quasi-power company created by the UC system. In addition to working with the board, I also serve on the Global Climate Leadership Council that President Napolitano initiated to support the UC goal for all campuses to become Carbon Neutral by 2025.

I've been a fan of the Sustainability Office for a long time. I helped with the Office's funding request on its way to the Executive Vice Chancellor's desk. Many of the building projects that I'm involved with through capital management are designed by LEED-certified colleagues. I also helped with the co-generation plant replacement project, which generates power for our campus on-site.

We are excited to learn about the recent purchase of enough solar electricity to allow the UC to supply 206,000 megawatt-hours per year of solar energy to California's electrical grid. What was your role in helping the system increase its renewable energy portfolio?
The wholesale power board that I serve on was instrumental in this process. There is a lot of complex and technical energy background needed to participate on this board, so I have been learning a lot from Patrick Testoni, UCSC's Energy Manager, and Henry Salameh, Director of Physical Plant. Right now is an outstanding time to move forward with this purchase because we were able to take advantage of a tax credit that will soon expire. The board agreed with the Energy Service Unit to take advantage of this, and the board even agreed to purchase a higher percentage of renewables than is required by law. In 2016 the renewable energy access will go live and will supply 20% of campus electricity with solar power!

What is your long-term vision for sustainability at UCSC?
I'm an oceanographer focused on paleoceanography, the study of the history of our oceans, so long-term climate changes are something I have been thinking about for a long time. When thinking about sustainability at UCSC, I think with both parts of my brain--my academic self knowing that we need to tackle climate change and the financial, budget-management self saying we seemingly can't afford to do that. We must integrate sustainability on our campus in a financially sustainable way.

Fortunately, we're doing that already with things like the Integrated Climate and Energy Study. In the mid-2000s, people in my field of research began discussing managing oceans as a whole ecosystem, and the campus is like this, too, an ecosystem. Sustainability work is in the process of going from the individual level to system-wide, and our campus has been doing this for a long time, understanding the University organization as a whole and incorporating sustainability throughout.

What are some ways students can support President Napolitano's "Carbon Neutral by 2025" directive?
There's not any medium sized entity in the world that has actually achieved carbon neutrality. Those places that are close or call themselves carbon neutral require manufacturers to take away their packaging and shipping waste. This kind of work requires a systemic approach; we're dealing with the largest geophysical experiment in history and there are enormous social justice inequities. Those who are causing emissions are not around to feel those effects, and many places in the world cannot afford for us all to reach that level of emissions. It's an intergenerational and diverse challenge.

Often, students are enthusiastic in approaching these challenges, and they can bring creativity and an ability to think differently. This challenge we're facing is huge, but it's not intractable. Students and young people can keep this issue in the forefront of the political world and insure we continue to work to solve it.

When did you first become interested in environmental sustainability issues? 
I first became interested in these issues in the early '80s because my field of research looks at the past climate of the oceans, so those of us studying this topic were thinking of this topic already. Back then, we didn't even recycle paper on campus, so I sent around a polite but somewhat cranky memo asking why we couldn't do that. I also taught a global change course that explored the potency of humans as actors on the geophysical scale. It can be hard to connect small actions to changes in our climate, but we have to have traction in understanding those relationships in order to solve these issues.

If you had one piece of "green" advice to give people, what would it be?
Our experiment with carbon dioxide on the atmosphere is enormous and the most pressing environmental issue of our time because it is also a social inequity issue. We can't allow politics to get in the way, and we need the will to implement the solutions we already have.

Is there anything else you would like the students to learn about you or our campus sustainability initiatives?
There are so many ways for students to engage with these issues at UC Santa Cruz. There are funding opportunities and programs in place to allow students to participate in the operations of our campus. Students can benefit academically while also influencing UCSC long after they have graduated and moved on.

October 2014 Sustainability Profile: Melina Meseroll

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month features Melina Meseroll, the current Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Campus Sustainability Office. In the past, Melina has been the Provost's Sustainability Intern for UCSC's Procurement Services Department and she was last year's Chancellor's Undergraduate Intern for the Sustainability Office.

Position Titles: 

• Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Sustainability Office
• Co-Chair of Path to a Greener Stevenson
• Residential Advisor for the Sustainability Themed House in Stevenson

Favorite Green Tip: Pick something reusable like a reusable water bottle or a mason jar that you love, decorate and customize it, and then use it! Personally, I love mason jars because they have so many uses; for instance, a flower vase, a table center piece, they can hold my lunch and liquids, and they are very beautiful.

What does “Sustainability” mean to you? I am a fan of separating out words to better understand their meaning and origin; so, the first thing I think of when I hear "sustainability" is "the ability to sustain." My first sustainability-related job was working with UCSC Purchasing, so my intuition naturally turns to consumerism when thinking of sustainability. Right now, our products are made to not last, so that we keep buying more and more products (Story of Stuff anyone?). In a sustainable world, our purchasing system would be able to sustain itself, meaning products would be recycled back into the system and not add to our landfills.

How has sustainability related to your role at UCSC? 
How doesn't sustainability relate to my life at UCSC? That should be the question. UCSC has kindled my love for sustainability. I came into college knowing that I wanted to work in environmental awareness and I found so many opportunities available on this campus.

In my freshman year I got involved in a sustainability club called Path to a Greener Stevenson (PTAGS). From there, I heard of the Provost's Sustainability Internship (PSI) opportunity in the Sustainability Office. Once accepted into the program, I was given the project to create a Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) Tool for UCSC's Procurement Department and got greatly involved with the Green Purchasing Working Group. I grew very passionate about making the purchasing system more sustainable. The LCCA Tool is currently being integrated into the Procurement Department so that campus buyers are aware of which products have the lowest life-cycle cost and are thus more sustainable products to buy for our campus.

After the PSI program, I was hired as the Chancellor's Undergraduate Intern for the Sustainability Office. In that position, I was the coordinator for the Education and Outreach Team. Together, the team and I tabled at events, create a monthly newsletter for the office, planned events, and created educational materials for students, staff, and faculty on campus. I also participated in a weekly class with other CUIPs around campus where I presented and wrote about my internship projects. I fell in love with educating fellow students about our campus's goals and showing them how they can help us reach our goals by making small behavior changes in their daily lives.

This year, I am still working as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Sustainability Office and will continue to foster sustainability in my daily life at UCSC.

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life?
I use a reusable water bottle and mason jars for whenever I need fluids. I walk everywhere that is manageable; the only time I take a bus is when I have to go to downtown Santa Cruz. I bring reusable bags when shopping.

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC?
So many to choose from...I would have to say one of my favorite sustainability moments was last year when I was able to sit down with Chancellor Blumenthal and interview him for the Sustainability Office newsletter. It was so inspiring to see how he is sustainable in his own life and his enthusiasm for sustainability is contagious and never ending. Chancellor Blumenthal has enormously supported campus sustainability and it was such an honor to be able to talk to him about his sustainability ideas. I was also really nervous!

May 2014 Sustainability Profile: Julie Foster

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month features Julie Foster, a second year Stevenson College affiliated student who has been making a great effort to help UCSC become a bike-friendly university.

Julie and Rizzo

Position Titles: Bike Library Coordinator, Bike Friendly Campus Initiatives Intern, and Student Environmental Center Personnel Organizer and Blueprint Intern

Favorite Green Tips: Do it yourself! I think the best green tip is to not be so reliant on modern technology, consumption, and buying new things. Try skipping the bus or car and transporting yourself with human power like walking, skateboarding, or bike riding. And try reducing your waste by taking old trash and remodeling it with a DIY ideas (I'm a big fan of pinterest projects).

What does "sustainability" mean to you? I like to think being sustainable is doing what you can to minimize your impact on Earth. It is keeping the Earth healthy and doing your part to ensure the human relationship with nature has that component of giving back to the world rather than just taking what we can without considering the consequences.

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? Throughout this year I have been really active with the sustainability community on campus through my involvement with the Student Environmental Center and my work on the Bike Library. However, I think the most important role I play that relates to sustainability on campus is simply my role as a student. As much as I can do myself by working on projects, my impact will never be as great as the impact all campus affiliates can make together. You do not have to be actively involved with the environmental community to participate in the projects and resources all the amazing sustainability orgs on campus create. Sometimes the little things can have the largest effect.

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life? I ride my bike! As much as possible I try to choose my bicycle and forego automobile transportation. This reduces my carbon footprint, plus it can be so much fun!

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC? As a huge bike fan and the coordinator I might be a little biased, but I really love the Bike Library Program. This project started as an Education for Sustainable Living Program course, then it became a Student Environmental Center campaign, and now it lives with TAPS. It is fascinating to track how much it has grown through all these organizations and how well it has brought people together. The mission is to get people on bikes who would otherwise not be able to have bikes to promote sustainable transportation and self sufficiency. Like the Bike Library on Facebook to stay updated on cool bike stuff!

March 2014 Sustainability Profile: Stacy Philpott

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month features Stacy Philpott, an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and the Alfred & Ruth Heller Chair in Agroecology at UC Santa Cruz. Stacy and a team of other researchers recently received a $730,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to direct a three-year program that will increase opportunities for high school and community college students to study sustainable agriculture at UC Santa Cruz.

We asked Stacy what she thinks about sustainability and how it relates to her work at UCSC.

Name & Job Title
Stacy Philpott, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and the Alfred & Ruth Heller Chair in Agroecology

Academic Background
B.S. in Zoology and minor in music from U. of Washington 1995. Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from U. of Michigan 2004.

Roles & Areas of Focus
I have a 25% appointment with the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS). My work at CASFS involves work to enhance and encourage research and educational activities on the farm and Chadwick garden, acting as a liaison between Environmental Studies Department and CASFS. I am also currently the Faculty Director of the PICA program (Program in Community and Agroecology) and the SLC (Sustainable Living Center).

My research touches on agroecology, insect ecology, tropical ecology and conservation biology -- and the connections of all of these things to human livelihoods. Basically, I'm really interested in learning how agricultural management and the landscapes surrounding agroecosystems influence on-farm biodiversity and ecological interactions. I've worked for 15+ years in coffee agroecosystems to understand how alterations in the shade tree canopy that grows over the coffee shrubs affects insect and bird communities, interactions between birds, insects, and coffee plants. I've worked most closely to study ant communities, understanding the role of ants as predators (consume coffee pests), ant competition, ant nesting requirements, and other ecological interactions involving ants. In temperate areas, I have a strong current interest in the ecology of urban gardens, and in understanding more about how garden management affects biodiversity in gardens, as well as the ecosystem services that biodiversity provides (e.g. pest control, pollination services, climate regulation). I also am interested in looking at questions of food security, certification, and in general techniques that both promote biodiversity as well as farmer livelihoods.

What does "sustainability" mean to you?
I tend to go with the text book definition -- maintaining ecosystems and the environment so that we can provide for our generation without compromising the ability of the ecosystems and the environment to provide for future generations. I tend to think the most about agricultural sustainability -- and thinking about ecological, economic and social sustainability and where and how those things overlap or coincide.

Favorite Green Tip
Think about where your food comes and the resources (natural, human) that went into creating your food.

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? 
A big part of my role at UCSC is to teach about sustainable agriculture, and to facilitate learning for students about research in promoting sustainable agriculture/agroecology and sustainable food systems. My work with CASFS and PICA is all related to developing ecological sustainability within agricultural systems, and learning how to do that, and how to teach about that. Activities at the farm and on all of the campus gardens are teaching students about growing their own food, and learning more about where their food comes from.

Can you describe the agroecology grant you received and how that will support the community and sustainability work? 
Our current USDA grant is working on three things: a) improving and enhancing the agroecology and sustainable food systems related curriculum at UCSC, b) working on recruitment of students to study agriculture-related degree programs at UCSC, and c) working on improving transfer articulation between community colleges in the region with agriculture programs and UCSC. We are primarily focusing on recruitment of traditionally under-represented students in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, and have fantastic partners both at UCSC and beyond. We're working in the Environmental Studies department and CASFS to encourage students to do internships at the farm, to take courses in agroecology and sustainable food systems, to offer more internship on the farm, and to have more hands-on activities during coursework.

For recruitment, we're working with UCSC's Educational Partnership Center that works with K-12 students to educate them about STEM opportunities in college and in careers, and to provide non-traditional students with the training and skills necessary to apply to and succeed in college. We are also working with the Transfer Preparation Program at UCSC that works with transfer students to ensure smooth and successful transitions from community college to UCSC. Off campus, we are partnering with Cabrillo and Hartnell Community Colleges and with Greenaction (an environmental justice NGO) and Life Lab's FoodWhat program. All of these organizations have programming or courses related to agriculture, and we are utilizing their knowledge, expertise, and programming to reach out to students, get them to visit UCSC to think about options for college.

This year, UCSC's Chancellor Blumenthal has implemented the Chancellor’s Sustainability Challenge to push the campus to reduce our waste, helping us in the long run to reach our Zero Waste by 2020 Goal. How do you practice sustainability and reduce waste in your own life? 
I recycle, I compost all my food waste. Carry around my water bottle, and my coffee cups...I participate in a community supported agriculture program, I shop at the farmers markets in Santa Cruz, I try to eat local (and organic!), and spend most of my waking hours thinking about how to promote ecological sustainability. I avoid buying junk that I really don't need. Most of all, I try to teach students about all of these things that they can do.

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC? 
A favorite? Too many to count. Loved the Annie Leonard talk!? Seeing the appreciative faces of the CASFS intern crew?! Attending my first PICA workday?! Realizing how much my students already know about sustainability?!

February 2014 Sustainability Profile: Darlene Khalafi

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month features Darlene Khalafi, the newest member of the Sustainability Office Staff and a UCSC alumna who was involved in sustainability work as an undergraduate.

Name & Job Title: Darlene Khalafi - Sustainability Office Manager/Events Coordinator

Academic Background: Graduated from UCSC with a major in Environmental Studies combined with Biology, class of 2011

Previous Student Organizations: Stevenson Reslife (Residential Advisor); Path to a Greener Stevenson & Stevenson Garden; Student Environmental Center intern for Gardener's Alliance Gatherings (GAG); Climate Organization, Outreach, & Leadership (COOL); Site Stewardship Intern; and Seymour Center Volunteer

Photo by Adam Ghahate

We asked Darlene what she thinks about sustainability and how it relates to her work at UCSC.

What does "sustainability" mean to you? Sustainability is an interesting word because it means so much and it's so big that it's actually kind of difficult to grasp. It's an evolving definition; but the way I utilize the word today is to live my life in a way that takes action with respect toward natural systems, the environment, and all living beings. As someone who promotes sustainability, I am an advocate for life, fairness, and the well-being of things.

Favorite Green Tip: Always look for new ways to be resourceful. Being "green" is all about adaptability and getting creative! I love to repurpose things, so looking on my desk right now, I've reused a bread bag to hold my lunch, put my pencils in an old spaghetti jar, and have a notebook made from single-printed sheets and a cereal box cover.

What are you up to when you aren't at the Sustainability Office? Volunteering at the UCSC-USGS Sea Otter Research Cooperative, gardening at the Live Oak Grange, promoting alternative transportation with Ecology Action, or selling bread at farmer's markets for Beckmann's Old World Bakery

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? What is one cool thing you've done to make UCSC a more sustainable place?
Sustainability was a big part of my undergraduate education. I incorporated it into all aspects of my life. As an RA, I helped start an accredited sustainable living co-curricular residential life program in Stevenson. While leading Path to a Greener Stevenson, I was one of the initial groundbreakers of the Stevenson Community Garden. I also held an internship every quarter with places like the Student Environmental Center, Site Stewardship, and the Seymour Discovery Center. I graduated an Environmental Studies/Biology major in 2011.

As a newly added member to the Sustainability Office staff, my job is to empower students and UCSC affiliates to lead their own projects promoting sustainable practices on our campus to make UCSC a brighter, greener place. I also want to help make sustainability "cultural" by doing my part to create a positive mindset founded in environmental awareness and the interconnectedness of all things.

This year, UCSC's Chancellor Blumenthal has implemented the Chancellor’s Sustainability Challenge to push the campus to reduce our waste, helping us in the long run to reach our Zero Waste by 2020 Goal. How do you practice sustainability and reduce waste in your own life? 
I try to throw away as little as possible. We compost and recycle at my house, so now we're at this point where we are trying to reduce what's ending up in our garbage bin. It's sad when I have to throw something away because there really is no other option for it. To solve this, I have to be more conscious of the types of packaging products come in and make sure that the products themselves are made to last and are repairable rather than made to be replaced.

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC?
This year, my favorite 'sustainability moment' happened at the Inter-Organizational Retreat. Realizing how many people on campus are working everyday toward the same goals and aspirations, is definitely empowering. There are literally hundreds of us. I connected to a strong sense of community while watching everyone interact so closely with all these people they've never even met before. It's truly inspiring.

Contact: Find me at the Sustainability Office in Kerr 118, call me at 831-459-2182, or email dkhalafi [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

June 2013 Sustainability Profile: Madeleine Turner & ESLP

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month's profile features the Education for Sustainable Living Program (ESLP), a multidisciplinary and collaborative student-led organization that offers an accredited 5-unit and 2-unit course every spring quarter focused on sustainability. Students partner with guest lectures and create student-led sections to implement sustainability into the UC Santa Cruz and greater community.

We interviewed Madeleine Turner, currently a Collaboration and Networking Sphere Organizer for ESLP, to learn about her experiences with sustainability at UCSC.

This year's ESLP organizers. Madeleine is in the middle row, second from the left.

We asked Madeleine what she thinks about sustainability and how it relates to her life at UCSC.

Name: Madeleine Turner

Title: Collaboration and Networking Sphere Organizer for the Education for Sustainable Living Program

Year & Affiliation: First year, Oakes College

Favorite Green Tips: I’d say try to walk and bike everywhere as much as you possibly can.  I literally don’t ever take the bus unless I’m going downtown (I live on-campus) or I’m seriously running late to something.  Not only can you save energy this way, but you’re automatically adding time to exercise and relax throughout the day.  

What does "sustainability" mean to you? With the word “sustainability,” I think of simplicity.  Our lives are often so busy and complicated.  How will anyone be able to change what they’re doing in order to be more sustainable, if they can’t even stop and evaluate what’s happening right now?  If everything was simpler, maybe the problems and solutions to becoming more sustainable would become simpler too.

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? As a Collaboration and Network Organizer in ESLP, I’m here for getting the word out about the cool stuff going on with us. If you don't want to miss anything, like us on Facebook!

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life? I choose to spend as much time outdoors as possible. This way I’m not using electricity, and I’m not buying things I don’t need. I also believe that being close to nature helps me to foster good intentions about treating our earth well.

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC? My favorite sustainability moment so far was going to my first General Gathering.  It was the first Wednesday ever of my entire college experience.  Somehow my friend Sativa, an ESLP organizer, recruited me that night as an intern. From that moment, my entire year’s path was changed in an immeasurable and awesome way.

Madeleine will be next year's Chancellor's Undergraduate Intern for the Education for Sustainable Living Program. Congratulations, Madeleine--we look forward to the great work you'll be doing with ESLP in the future!

To learn more about ESLP and its accomplishments this year, click on the photo below!

May 2013 Sustainability Profile: Tamara Ball

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month's profile features Tamara Ball, a Post-Doctoral Researcher and instructor for the Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) program, which is currently accepting applications for next year.

We asked Tamara what she thinks about sustainability and how it relates to her work at UCSC.

Name: Tamara Ball
Title: Post-Doctoral Researcher & IDEASS instructor
Education: Amherst College as undergraduate, UC Santa Cruz Doctorate of Education

Favorite Green Tips: Hanging laundry to dry. Laundry to landscape. Growing as much of your own food as the snails and gophers will allow (less time to make hummus with parsley & cilantro from garden than to run to the store). Shopping at the thrift on a quest to never buy new. Native no mow fescue grass. Putting young people's ideas into action.

What does "sustainability" mean to you? In a word - perhaps it means Balance. Balance is not stillness - it is ongoing motion. A constant re-direction, re-generation, re-creation as a system strains against itself.

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? My involvement with the IDEASS program over the last three years has allowed me the privilege of encouraging and supporting talented students as they work towards completing sustainable design projects that are making noticeable and tangible impacts in our community.  These projects cover a broad range of topics from game design to "yellow grease" to renewable energy microgrids.

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life? Not purchasing what I don't need. Walking to wherever whenever I can (even with toddler and baby in tow). Recharging batteries rather than depending on Duracel. Ball jars for tupperware.

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC? Meeting the most recent cohort of IDEASS interns for the first time last fall.  Looking forward to another inspiring round of projects.

We are accepting applications now for 2013/2014 academic year. Students should apply online at sustainability.ucsc/ideass and learn what it takes to make their best idea become a reality.

April 2013: Sustainability Profile - Carley Corrado

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month's profile features Carley Corrado, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Physics who is working on developing electricity-generating greenhouses that can produce solar energy while simultaneously producing agricultural crops. Read a detailed interview about this project here.

We asked Carley what she thinks about sustainability and how it relates to her work at UCSC.

Name: Carley Corrado
Title: Postdoctoral Fellow in Physics
Education: PhD in Chemistry (UC Santa Cruz), 2006-2011
Favorite Food: Thai food

Favorite Green Tips: Know that you will work toward a more sustainable world and hold that in your intentions. It will come to fruition, no matter what your passion is and what piece of the puzzle you hold.

What does "sustainability" mean to you? Not using this world up, but instead living holistically with it. Or should I say wholistically. Looking at the whole picture, how everything affects everything, and how we can find harmony living within it.

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? My current project is in the development of electricity-generating greenhouses that can produce solar energy while simultaneously producing agricultural crops. The electricity will be the second-harvest. Our semi-transparent solar panel windows use concentration of light to enhance the power out of the solar cells, thus reducing the cost per Watt of the system, while absorbing predominantly in the green spectrum (where plants do not absorb) and emitting in the red (giving the plants the red light special which stimulates earlier flowering and more fruiting).

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life?

• Turning things off when not in use
• Reusing bags
• Buying in Bulk
• Believing that this world will become more sustainable and being ready to jump on any opportunity I have to encourage this shift

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC? Attending the University Forum for Sustainability Education and learning the awesome work that the ESLP is undertaking to make this campus more sustainable. The event was so fun, and inspiring!

February 2013: Sustainablity Director Hired

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month's profile features the new UC Santa Cruz Sustainability Director, Lacey Raak.

Lacey Raak (Photo: Carolyn Lagattuta)

We asked Lacey what she thinks about sustainability and to share her thoughts on what it means to be the Sustainability Director at UC Santa Cruz.

Name: Lacey Raak

Title: Sustainability Director

Education: B.A. in Global Studies from University of Minnesota; M.A. in International Environmental Policy from Monterey Institute of International Studies

Favorite food: Fruit (especially berries)

Favorite Green Tips: Go for a walk...it helps you slow down, it doesn't produce any waste or emissions, it connects you to your surroundings and it helps you become aware of the environment around you, whether that is a forest, a residential street, an industrial park or a beach front.

What does "sustainability" mean to you? Wow, that can be answered a lot of ways, but in the most simple sense it means considering the impact of everything I do. What I purchase, how I travel, the food I eat. Everything that touches my life impacts or is impacted by something else and it is my responsibility and my joy to consider those impacts.

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? I live and breath sustainability at UCSC, it is my job. Some of the exciting projects I have recently been involved with include the Green Revolving Loan Fund, working on Cap and Trade impacts to UCSC and supporting the work of other staff and students working on sustainability throughout campus.

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life? I think about the impact my life has on the world around me and I always strive to stay true to my values and live intentionally.

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC? Every time I walk through the office and hear students and staff working on projects and programs in their sustainability niche I get really jazzed.  I also love that in a meeting at UCSC, I am with people who ask how we can do more to reach our sustainability goals rather than question why sustainability is important.


City on a Hill Press recently profiled Lacey in their Campus Voice column, as well. Click to here to read the article and learn more about Lacey's work and thoughts about campus sustainability.

December 2012 Sustainability Profile: Larry Pageler

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month's profile features Larry Pageler, Director of Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS) at UC Santa Cruz. Last month, we reported here on the new bike maintenance stations recently installed by TAPS across campus, which allow cyclists to fix their bikes for free 24-7.

Larry Pageler, Director of TAPS, at Cathedral Lake

We asked Larry what he thinks about sustainability and how it relates to his work at UCSC.

Name: Larry Pageler
Title: Director, Transportation & Parking Services
Education: B.S. in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Cruz (Crown College), Class of 1982
Favorite food: Sushi

Favorite Green Tips: Turn off unnecessary lights, especially around your home. And shut off "phantom" power supplies whenever possible with a power strip switch. While my professional focus is on sustainable transportation, saving electricity is such an easy thing to do it's at the top of my list.

What does "sustainability" mean to you? Sometimes it means "doing more with less;" at other times, it simply means "doing with less." But perhaps the most important thing is raising my kids (twin 14-year-old boys, Jed and Aren) to understand and appreciate how we impact and interrelate with the world around us. Long after I'm gone, they'll be dealing with the world my generation has left them—and I think they'll make much better choices than many of us, thanks in part to what they've learned from their mom and dad.

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? I oversee most of the transportation and parking services at UCSC, which has a 40-year history of supporting alternative transportation modes like SCMTD transit, Campus Transit services, the Bike Shuttle, and many other programs. What we used to do to reduce parking and traffic impacts, we now do to reduce the campus' carbon footprint.

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life? In many ways, big and small. We installed an 8kW solar photovoltaic system on our house in May 2007 and now produce more than 85% of our total electrical demand. We reduced our mobile GHG emissions by buying a Prius, and our propane use by installing an instant-on water heater at home. Shopping at the Farmers Market each Saturday morning has become a tradition. And buying local organic food whenever possible is good for the planet, the community, and my family.

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC? Some years ago, while attending a New Student Orientation program one summer, a young woman approached the TAPS table and proudly announced that "my parents were ready to give me a car when I graduated from high school. But I told them to put that money toward my education and get me an awesome mountain bike instead. With the buses and Zipcar and my bike, I expect to get around Santa Cruz just fine!"

To learn more about Transportation at UC Santa Cruz, please visit the Transporation & Parking Services website here.

November 2012 Sustainability Profile: Professor Michael Isaacson

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month's profile features Professor Michael Isaacson, Narinder Singh Kapany professor of Electrical Engineering at UC Santa Cruz.

Professor Isaacson is the principle investigator of the Sustainable Engineering and Ecological Design (SEED) research program at UCSC, which recently received a five-year $4.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to fund clean energy research and educational programs.

Professor Michael Isaacson and fellow researchers were recently awarded a five-year $4.5 million grant to fund clean energy research and educational programs. 

We asked Professor Isaacson a series of questions to get a better sense of his perspectives on sustainability and understand better how sustainability relates to his role at UCSC.

Name: Michael Isaacson
Title: Narinder Singh Kapany professor of Electrical Engineering
Education: B.S. Eng. Physics from University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, 1961-66 and MS, PhD. Physics from University of Chicago, 1966-71
Favorite Green Tips: Think about how much additional energy you use when you send a text message, or email as opposed to talking face to face.
What does "sustainability" mean to you? Developing local renewable energy power plants for community scale heating and cooling thus reducing the need for the inefficiencies and expensive infrastructure needed to transmit energy over long distances.
How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? We (the faculty that are part of the SEED program [Sustainable Engineering and Ecological Design]) are trying to put sustainability on a quantitative scale, so that measures of sustainability are not based upon opinion or anecdote, but on real scientifically based fact.
How do you practice sustainability in your daily life? Turning off the lights when leaving a room. Unplugging appliances that aren't being used.

To read more about the research grant and the work of Professor Isaacson and the SEED program, please read this article from the Santa Cruz Sentinel. If you want to learn more about Professor Isaacson's work or contact him, please visit his page on the Jack Baskin School of Engineering website here.

October 2012: Sustainability Profile

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month's profile features Melissa Ott, the Sustainability Office's Education & Outreach Coordinator this year.

Melissa Ott tabling at OPERS Fall Festival for the Sustainability Office.

• College: Stevenson College
• Degree: B.A., English Literature (2014)
• Favorite Hobby: Blogging about things that inspire me to be the change I wish to see in the world on my green tips and sustainable living blog called Green Gal
• Favorite Food: Fluffy oven-baked potatoes with non-dairy butter, basil, and garlic salt, served with caramelized carrots and onions. 
• Favorite Green Tips: Refill your own reusable water bottle with filtered tap water, and stop buying plastic single-used bottles. I get so excited when I hear that someone is implementing this into their life because they will actually notice the difference they're making in the amount of recycling in their bin and the amount of money they're no longer spending. Similarly, I think paper towel waste is another really easy problem to avoid by getting a reusable hand towel that you carry with you. In your kitchen, hide the paper towels and keep those dish rags in sight. 
• What does "sustainability" mean to you? "Sustainability" in the environmental sense means to conserve resources so that there are enough for others, both those living now and those who will come after us. For me, sustainability means being conscious of the many ways that my lifestyle can be less wasteful and less harmful to other people and other human, plant, and animal communities. Sustainability is a personal commitment that you make to yourself, your fellow human beings, and future generations that you will live in such a way that they, too, can enjoy comfort and sufficient resources. I strongly believe that every single person in the world has the capacity to understand sustainability for their own self and embrace it, and helping people recognize sustainability in their lives and beliefs is my favorite thing to do in my internship.Once you start paying attention, you realize how many simple ways exist for you to begin making a difference, and that is empowering. 
• How did you become involved with sustainability at UCSC and what is your current role? I was really active with my environmental club in high school, and after freshman year I realized that I missed that kind of work. I was hired as an assistant in the Sustainability Office last year, and being surrounded by such a vibrant sustainability community inspired me to commit to getting even more involved. This year, I'm the Education & Outreach Coordinator for the Sustainability Office through the Chancellor's Undergraduate Internship Program (CUIP). I work with a team of students to educate the campus about how to lead more sustainable lives and about what is happening in the sustainability community on campus. We also work to encourage students, staff, and faculty to get more involved with the sustainability work happening all over campus. We have a lot of fantastic projects planned for this year, and I'm really excited to get started.
• How do you practice sustainability in your daily life? I am constantly challenging myself in new ways to be more conscious and use fewer resources. I refuse plastic water bottles and bags at grocery stores, and I bring my reusable water bottle, bag, and coffee mug with me wherever I go (let's say 97% of the time). I don't have a car, and this quarter, I'm trying to walk and bike more than taking the bus. I also use glass containers to carry chips, veggies, and other lunch items. One way that I continue to challenge myself is by participating in Change the World Wednesday Challenges and blogging about my experiences. Writing about my experiences and making commitments to myself publicly on my blog helps keep me on track. The green blog community is also incredibly supportive, creative, and fun, and I learn so much from other bloggers about ways to implement simpler living changes into my life.
• What is your advice to people who want to behave more sustainably but don't know where to begin or if it would even make a difference? Choose one thing that you can feasibly commit to and stick with it for a week. Reflect on your experience, and tell someone about it. Once you're comfortable with it, take another step forward. In terms of making a difference, the real question is "how am I making a difference?" Every action you take does something, and recognizing the value of and personal relationship to those combined differences you're making (be it personally, in your community, or on a global and ecological scale) is what makes sustainability a commitment that you will stick with. When you understand why you're living more sustainably and find reasons that are of value to you, you will have a lot easier time actually doing it. Certainly, if you were the only person behaving more sustainably, your actions will have little impact on a large scale. But you are not the only person, and it is only by beginning to make those changes that you can be the change you wish to see in the world and inspire someone else to join you.

• Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC? Tabling at OPERS last Tuesday was probably my favorite series of sustainability moments at UCSC. The Sustainability Tent was so busy and full of energy, and I practically went hoarse talking to students about the work our office does and the opportunities they have for getting involved. So many students participated in our Simply Committed Campaign, and I had a lot of fun working with my new team. I look forward to many more sustainability moments at UCSC in the coming year, and I'm so grateful for the opportunities that I've been able to have so far. 

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