May 2016: Contests and Funding

Campus Sustainability Council Request for Proposals Available: Deadline May 6
The Campus Sustainability Council (CSC) would like to fund student organizations' sustainability projects or events in the upcoming year. The Spring 2016 funding round funding is available for Fall 2016 through Spring 2017. Proposals adhering to the criteria for student organizations and relevance to the Blueprint for a Sustainable Campus are eligible for funding. There are mandatory trainings before the deadline. Find out more on their website.

AASHE Sustainability Awards: Deadline June 3
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Sustainability Awards is inviting faculty, students, staff, and administrators to submit applications by Friday, June 3 at 5 p.m. ET for a chance to be recognized for outstanding projects or research that advance sustainability in higher education.

Call for Submissions - Student Video Competition: Deadline June 15 
The US Department of Transportation's National Institute for Transportation and Communities is seeking videos to highlight the role transportation plays in creating livable communities. Videos must incorporate the National Institute for Transportation & Communities' theme of safe, healthy, and sustainable transportation choices to foster livable communities. Follow this link to see instructions.

May 2013: Contests & Funding

Final Chance to Drop Your Own Drip
Apartment residents: the FINAL month of the Drop Your Own Drip water conservation competition is underway! Tell your apartment-mates, neighbors, and friends to reduce their use and your college could win prizes! Visit sec.enviroslug.org for more information.

AASHE Awards: Deadline May 10
The deadline to have your sustainability wins and lessons learned recognized on a national scale is approaching fast. Held during their conference in October, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) 2013 Awards ceremony will celebrate campus and student sustainability achievements. Email awards@aashe.org with any questions. Visit the website to learn more about the conference and awards.

Bike to The Future: Teen Art, Video, and Writing Contest: Deadline May 17
For the next month, teens (ages 11-19) from around Santa Cruz county will be creating visual art, videos, and writing.  $100 to the winners!  This year's theme is Bike to the Future, encouraging local teens to explore, through various art forms, how bikes (walking, skates, and scooters too) are the vehicles of the future. More information can be found at our website.

The Human Face of Sustainability: Deadline May 31
Creative Nonfiction and Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability are looking for remarkable true stories that illuminate and present the human side of environmental, economic, ethical, and/or social challenges related to the state of the planet and our future for the $10,000 Walton Sustainability Solutions Best Creative Nonfiction Essay Award. They welcome personal essays or stories about extraordinary individuals or communities and stories about innovative solutions to sustainability. Whatever the subject, they want to hear about it in an essay that blends facts and research with narrative—employing scenes, descriptions, etc. For more information click here.

Zipcar seeks "Students With Drive" in their driving credit contest

The "Students with Drive" program is giving student groups an extra hand to help get things done with the help of Zipcars. The program, which gives away over $35,000 in driving credit a month, allows all student groups to nominate themselves to win free driving credit for their group to use for their groups' needs. Learn more about how your group can get involved on the contest website.

Have you heard of the Climate Action Plan (CAP)?

The CAP is  governing document on the UCSC campus established by the Climate Action Working Group, that provides three goals to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions/footprint.

Goals:

1. 2000 levels by the year 2014
2. 1990 levels by 2020
3. 80% below 1990 levels by 2050

These levels are the levels of greenhouse gas emissions that our whole campus emits, thats including student, staff and faculty activities. Not only are these goals, but they were put in place because of CA State mandates under AB32 that require big emitters (such as UCSC) to reduce. Failure to do so is not just harming ourselves and our planet - but will also have serious financial repercussions for our campus.

So what can you do to help the UCSC community to reduce GHG emissions?

Remember that little daily actions can go a long way and help our campus meet these goals. Some simple suggestions are:

1) Are you a single-occupancy driver?  Instead take public transportation to reduce emissions, or ride your bike to not use any GHGs. For bike shuttle times click here.

2) Reduce your shower time and make sure you are turning off the water when brushing your teeth.

3) Did you know if you use 5 plastic bags when shopping - you are emitting approx. 2.5 lbs of CO2

It just makes sense to bring a reusable bag.

There are tons of easy things you can do each day to cut back on those carbon emissions - be aware and implement new behavior changes into your daily life and the lives of those around you!

Climate Action Team: Rielle Indya Green & Camille Carrillo

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.

October Campus Sustainability Plan Workshops

Want to participate in creating new goals for the Campus Sustainability Plan? October is the month for topic planning workshops!

What is the Campus Sustainability Plan?
The Campus Sustainability Plan is a document that identifies goals for UCSC to incorporate sustainability into all aspects of campus operations. It represents the campus’s first comprehensive effort to build a cohesive, phased strategy for the future. Individuals from across UCSC’s administrative and academic divisions helped create it. By working together, they helped raise awareness about the challenges and opportunities of creating a more sustainable campus. It's time to revisit this document and develop new goals for the coming years.

Get Involved 
Workshops are being held this month to start drafting goals and objectives for each topic in the new Campus Sustainability Plan for the years 2013-2016! The workshops will consists of all the staff and faculty members of each Topic Working Group, as well as any students who are interested in participating. The Working Groups are eager to include the student voice as much as possible!

If you are interested in participating, here is the information regarding the Topic Planning Workshops scheduled throughout October.

If you would like to attend one (or more), or can even attend for just one hour, please e-mail Elida Erickson and she can give you some more specific information about those topics.

Here is the link to the current Campus Sustainability Plan 2010-2013 if you'd like to familiarize yourself with the document.

CSP Topic Planning Workshop schedule

• Food Systems Working Group: Tues. 10/2, 1pm-4pm, Kerr Hall Room 307
• Procurement & Business Contracts: Tues. 10/9, 1pm-4pm, 2300 Delaware room A275G
• Waste and Recycling: Thurs. 10/18, 1pm-4pm, Chancellor's Conference Room Kerr 212
• Transportation: Tue. 10/23, 1pm-4pm, Kerr Hall Room 61
• Water: Tue. 10/23, 1:30-3:30pm, Barn G, Physical Planning & Construction Conference Room
• Buildings & Facilities: Wed. 10/24, 1pm-4pm, Barn G, Physical Planning & Construction Conference Room
• Energy: Tue. 10/30, 9am-12pm, Barn G, Physical Planning & Construction Conference Room
• Land Habitat & Watershed: Date and Time TBD, Location TBD (likely Kerr Hall)
• Awareness, Education & Engagement: Date and Time TBD, Location TBD (likely Kerr Hall)

IDEASS Program Now Accepting Applications: Deadline Extended to June 20 - Apply Today!

Are you interested in...

• Learning how to build and install a rainwater catchment system?
• Sequestering energy for the grid from algae?
• Creating a digital media platform to change Boardwalk consumer habits?
• Installing an electric vehicle charging station on the Wharf?
• Filming and editing a documentary about local sustainability initiatives?
• Working with local businesses to reduce their carbon footprint?

Or maybe you have your own idea for a sustainable design project with potential to make a real community impact, but you aren’t sure how to make it a reality? If you answered yes to any of these questions and want to learn what it takes to work as a sustainability change agent, then you should apply to IDEASS!

Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service is a new team-based internship program on campus designed to create opportunities for students to work on local (primarily off-campus) sustainability challenges with community partners or industry sponsors. 

Apply Now by Clicking Here! Applications to be considered for enrollment in Fall 2012 are due Wednesday, June 20!

IDEASS offers a unique college experience. Students spend minimal time in the classroom, putting the majority of their effort into realizing project deliverables in the field. This is an opportunity for undergraduates approaching graduation to transition into the emerging green-technology workforce. Multiple IDEASS students graduating in 2012 are entertaining or have already accepted job offers resulting from their achievements working on an IDEASS project.

Santa Cruz Wharf Wind Turbine Project

Visit the Project Clearinghouse and search for IDEASS to view examples of completed and active IDEASS projects. Click here to read a student testimonial about an IDEASS project taking place in Porter College!

To find out more about IDEASS, please visit the website or contact IDEASS with any questions or concerns. IDEASS needs your talent, so apply today!