November 2016: Internships, Employment, & Volunteering

Internships:

Destination Higher Education
The African/Black Student Alliance's Program Destination Higher Education (DHE) is looking for interns. DHE introduces newly admitted students to the African/Black community and student life on the UC Santa Cruz campus. DHE provides personal, social, and academic workshops that focus on the Black Experience at UC Santa Cruz and are presented by African/Black students at UC Santa Cruz. If you interested in interning or if you have any questions, please email Destination Higher Education.

Bayview Elementary DROPS Program
Bayview Elementary School has partnered with students of the UCSC IDEASS program to aid in their water conservation initiative. They are currently seeking students for internship positions collaborating with the city and local professionals, and conducting water/soil testing or infiltration studies. Students from all majors and interests are encouraged to apply.  All internships are offered for academic credit (ENVS 183 or CLEI 150), with the possibility of paid positions for some interns.  For more information, email Tamara Ball.

National Outdoor Leadership School: Deadline November 4
NOLS is seeking a Sustainability Intern to work at their headquarters in Lander, WY from January to May 2017. This paid NOLS sustainability intern will assist the environmental stewardship & sustainability director and sustainability coordinator with a variety of tasks related to sustainability initiatives at NOLS, community outreach, and public policy. Application deadline is November 4th. There are also a number of other internships and job opportunities at NOLS. Visit the NOLS website for more information.

Employment:

Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition Education Programs Coordinator: Deadline November 23
Based out of San Jose, CA, the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition is an organization that serves to create a healthy community, environment, and economy through bicycling for people who live, work, or play in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.  The Coalition is hiring an Education Programs Coordinator, who will develop bike to school programs, coordinate with partner organizations, and instruct driver education classes.  Applicants should have a bachelor's degree in a related field and experience with bicycles and education. Visit their website for more information.

Bike Santa Cruz County Seeks Executive Director: Open until filled
Local bicycle advocacy group Bike Santa Cruz County is looking to hire an Executive Director.  Responsibilities include managing and empowering staff, interns, volunteers, and contractors, managing the budget, and generating content for their newsletter. Applicants should be passionate cyclists, have leadership and communication skills, and knowledge in finance and local government.  Visit the website for more information and application details.

Fund for the Public Interest Canvass Director: Deadline November 4
Fund for the Public Interest is a national, non-profit organization that builds the people power for America’s leading environmental and social change organizations. They are hiring for a number of positions, including Canvass Director. Here in Santa Cruz they are working with CALPIRG on a campaign to stop the overuse of antibiotics in factory farms.  Volunteers can make $450-$650 a week while gaining valuable skills and experience. Full-time and part-time positions available, starting immediately.  Visit the Fund's website for full details and to apply. For more information, email Hannah Furbush.

Stillwater Sciences: Various positions
Stillwater Sciences is an environmental consulting firm specializing in science-based, technical approaches to environmental issues. Stillwater is currently seeking curious and energetic scientists at all levels - from Bachelors through Ph.D. - with expertise in terrestrial and aquatic biology, botany, water quality, or geomorphology. Open positions include Junior Geomorphologist or Environmental Engineer, Restoration/Civil Engineer, Senior Scientist / Project Manager, and Environmental Scientist/Project Manager. More information about these positions, the firm, and how to apply is available on their website.   

Volunteering:

UCSC Arboretum Succulent Wreath Volunteering
Help make beautiful and unique succulent wreaths for the Arboretum's November Gift & Wreath Sale!  The group meets Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 am to 12 noon.  Apply to be a wreath-maker at the Arboretum's website and explore other volunteer opportunities.  For more information, email Arboretum Volunteer Program Coordinator Katie Starr Cordes.

Remove Invasive Plants with Land Trust of Santa Cruz County: November 12
Land Trust of Santa Cruz County is a local conservation group that protects, cares for, and connects people to the extraordinary lands that make this area special.  The Trust is in need of volunteers to help remove invasive plants from the Randall Morgan Sandhills Preserve in Scotts Valley (9250 Geyer Rd). The "broom pull" will be November 12 from 9am to noon.  Volunteers should bring sturdy boots, weather-protective clothing, water, and a lunch. More information about the volunteer day is available on the Land Trust's website.

"Put A Price On It" Campaign
In partnership with Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL),  this campaign is currently looking for students to help with climate solution efforts on campuses across the country. The goal of the campaign is to put a price on carbon pollution and secure our transition to a 100% clean energy economy. The campaign elevates the importance of carbon pricing through film, social media, and celebrity endorsements, while empowering students to participate in the democratic process and become more skilled in civic engagement. Opportunities for students include joining our Fellowship program (opportunity for paid positions), becoming a Field Representative, and/or joining our National Action Team. Learn more about each opportunity at the Our Climate website, and email Tom if you have any questions. Let's #PutAPriceOnIt!

Volunteer at the Bike Santa Cruz County Annual Dinner: December 4
The Bike Santa Cruz County Annual Dinner & Auction returns this holiday season on Sunday, December 4th from 5:00-8:00pm at the Food Lounge in downtown Santa Cruz. They need help with this fundraising event celebrating their 2016 accomplishments and Santa Cruz County's top bicycle advocates. There will be live music, a silent auction, and catered food. Sign up for volunteer positions here.

On-Campus Housing Survey informs UCSC’s Climate and Energy Strategy Study

In the spring quarter of 2015, undergraduate residents living in on-campus housing were requested to complete a survey to provide input on heating, cooling, and lighting in their residential housing units. Over the summer, Sustainability Office interns assigned to support the Climate and Energy Strategy (CES) study worked with one of the project’s consultants, Ecoshift, to compile a summary of the survey results. One hundred and eighteen students completed the survey, which represents only a small fraction (1.5 percent) of the total population of undergraduate residents living in on-campus housing. It is important to note that this summary is framed within the context of this small sample. The CES interns are working to increase participation in the survey by launching another round of surveys this fall.

The majority of heating and cooling issues are skewed towards Porter College and Stevenson College, with these residential housing units representing 57 percent of the survey responses. Generally and as expected, respondents agreed that their residences were too hot during the spring, fall, and summer quarters and too cold during the winter quarters. The following graph represents the general thermal comfort of the residences on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being extremely cold and 10 being extremely hot.

The graph displays the majority of survey respondent’s experience thermal comfort. Similarly, the survey found 88 percent of campus has adequate hot water in sinks around campus and showers.

Surprisingly, many students are either unaware that they can adjust the temperatures in their rooms with the thermostats provided in the residences or simply do not use them. CES interns hope to be able conduct outreach to new residents about how they can adjust their room temperatures. As for lighting, a majority of the students agreed that they found unoccupied spaces with lights left on more times than not. Many residents indicated that occupancy sensors did not work or they weren’t sure what occupancy sensors do. By adding occupancy sensors and educational outreach on how they work, wasted energy from leaving lights on in unoccupied spaces can be minimized.

The survey has given the CES interns and consulting team good insight into energy issues that residents face on-campus. This knowledge can enable planning of concrete steps to improve thermal and lighting issues in on-campus residential housing while ensuring that comfort is maximized with the least amount of energy consumed.

As mentioned above, there is another round of the survey happening this fall. Complete this survey for a chance to win the grand prize $100 gift certificate, or one of four $50 certificates to the Bay Tree Bookstore. Please spread the word to your on-campus friends about this opportunity. More survey participation means more invaluable information our campus has for solving energy issues, making students more comfortable, and reaching carbon neutrality! Look out for upcoming emails and flyers about the survey.

New Wellness Center Rainwater Harvesting

This recently completed project consists of a rainwater catchment system that will serve as the primary water source for toilet use at the UCSC Wellness Center. It is intended to be a small scale pilot project that will give the UCSC community the opportunity to monitor the effectiveness of rainwater harvesting and re-use and provide a working prototype for future rainwater catchment systems. The goal is to learn from this application and be able to apply it to future large-scale systems.

The location was chosen not only for the small-scale applicability but because the site is accessible to most campus users. This project has the potential to provide many educational benefits. Already, UCSC students in the Impact Designs: Engineering & Sustainability through Student Service program, with the help of a local engineering mentor, completed a large portion of the calculations, design, and estimate.

Storm Water Programs Manager Courtney Trask oversaw the project implementation and hopes to increase awareness about water conservation rainwater catchment systems, and sustainability by educating students, faculty, and staff and ultimately reducing municipal water consumption and energy use.

With the use of rainwater harvesting UCSC could reduce the following:

• use of domestic water 
• energy used to treat the water to drinking water standards 
• energy used to pump the water to the treatment plant and then the extra pumping to reach UCSC's elevation 
• chemicals used to treat domestic water

Innovative Approaches to Sustainability at Other Campuses

Here are a few selections of the innovative approaches to sustainability taking place on other college campuses. Each of these examples was chosen because they represent ideas that UCSC could potentially implement in some form, or in some cases, already has begun to. If you see something here that you want to make a reality at UCSC, contact the Sustainability Office susted@ucsc.edu and we will help you direct your ideas toward fruition! 

UC Irvine student uses art to inspire climate activism
In art student Kathleen Deck's "Conservation Through Creation” art installation, a section of lawn won’t be watered for a month. The idea is to return an artificial environment to its natural state, and start a discussion about how the changing climate can affect water use and the fragile environment that people have created. Deck is one of 37 UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative Fellows. 

University of Illinois announces winners for Green Office Program
The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) announced award winners for its 2014-15 Certified Green Office Program on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. Twenty-four participating offices collected hardware for making commitments toward and achieving energy and resource reductions during the school year. Here, at UCSC, we also have a Green Office Certification Program.

State of the Drought

            Santa Cruz is particularly unique because it relies on rainfall, local surface water and groundwater to secure its water supply.  Its four sources include: surface water from three creeks in the northern portion of Santa Cruz County, groundwater from the Live Oak well system, surface water from the San Lorenzo River, and surface water from the Loch Lomond Reservoir.  No water is imported or purchased from state or federal sources.

           

With passing storm activity in November and December, hopes were high that the effects of 2014’s drought could be diminished as local watersheds were recharged.  However, Santa Cruz experienced no rain in the month of January, calling into question the state of the drought.  The outlook is precarious: March and April are historically wet months, which has the potential to secure much needed water supplies for the rest of the year.  If dry conditions persist, it is possible that the City of Santa Cruz will have to reinstate the mandatory water rationing penalties that were recently suspended.

To see the state of the Loch Lomond Reservoir and weekly precipitation: Click here. 

The “WADR Team”: Water Action and Drought Response Team 

The WADR team! Lauren, Lindsay, Cat and Michael.

 What are we doing to address scarce water supplies here on campus?

            As a team, we're working hard to foster efficient water practices on campus.  We test water fixtures to monitor the water usage on campus, and gather and analyze the data we find to promote and research more efficient practices.  You can find us tabling at events such as last week's successful February Fest or getting involved with the Water Working Group, a collective of different groups and entities on campus that discuss a multitude of issues related to water.

Regional Water Supplies: California

When looking at California’s drought monitor, the situation we are facing seems a bit grim.  Fortunately, there are statewide efforts being made to address the situation with new and innovative approaches.  Take this water challenge to see the cost of different approaches that are being advocated to handle the drought!

March 2015 Green Tip: Go Green For Your Spring Clean

It's just about time to open your windows and let in the fresh spring air. These green spring cleaning tips will help you shoo off cobwebs and sweep up dust bunnies without the guilt of using harsh chemicals contributing to the landfill.

Green Cleaning Products: According to the EPA, the air inside of a home is two to five times more polluted than the air outside, mainly because of household cleaners and pesticides. Many common cleaning products can be made from nontoxic ingredients that you already have in your home and work just as well. Making your own cleaning solutions will also help reduce the amount of plastic packaging you buy. Check out this nontoxic solutions site for ideas and recipes.

Trash to treasure: When going through your old notes, don't just toss them in the closest trash bin, save the unused paper and use them for scratch paper and recycle the others.

If you have unwanted and slightly worn clothes, you can donate or sell them. Santa Cruz GOODWILL and the Homeless Service Center are always accepting donations. Also, UCSC has several Facebook groups where you can sell your unwanted items. Check out and join the Free & For Sell and Clothing and Accessories Exchange Facebook groups.

End the Cycle: You can save water and energy by washing full loads of laundry with cold water.

Green Labs Program Presents Energy-Efficient Equipment Funding!

Greetings from the Green Labs Team, and happy 2015!! At UCSC, labs contribute over 50% of energy consumption, and produce over 12% waste to landfills. Here at Green Labs, we seek to improve energy efficiency, increase green purchasing and reduce waste through behavior change, physical improvements, and education. This year, the Green Labs student committee has made great progress towards a more sustainable UCSC!

We are excited to announce the implementation of a “Green Labs Equipment Fund”, made possible through a Carbon Fund macro-grant. This will be available to all labs on campus that have been certified through the Green Labs program, and will be a source for energy-efficient equipment retrofits of common lab equipment like freezers, centrifuges, and incubators. Aside from energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions, this project will contribute energy use data for labs, and other institutions will be able to reference this data in weighing the costs and energy savings of implementing retrofits in their own labs.

In the coming months, the team will be outreaching around campus, certifying labs, and compiling a list of recommended energy-efficient equipment. With increased involvement from the lab community, UC Santa Cruz will be one step closer to reaching the UCOP goal of carbon neutrality by 2025.


If you have any questions or inquiries,
please contact greenlabs-group[at]ucsc[dot]edu,
and visit our website to learn more about the program.

  -- Lily Urmann and the Green Labs Team

Chrissy Thomure (Climate Action Manager), Lily Urmann (Green Labs Facilitator), Robert Jones (Carbon Fund Student Facilitator), Jaric Sawatdee (Green Labs Outreach Coordinator), Ariel Lee (Carbon Fund Outreach Coordinator), Alden Phinney (Climate Action CUIP)

Spelling out "CLIMATE" at the Sustainability Office Retreat

Sustainability Office Hiring for Winter

The Sustainability Office is currently hiring for winter quarter. Please help us spread the word by sharing these images and information via social media channels or email. If you have questions, please contact the staff supervisors listed on the applications, linked below.

Water Positions Available in the Sustainability Office: Deadline December 4
The Water Action and Drought Response (WADR) Team is dedicated to water conservation and aids UCSC in meeting water rationing goals during this time of drought. They work directly with water fixtures to assess and report for changes, and with student and University staff to promote wise water practices and educate about the seriousness of the drought. The WADR Team is looking for two new students to join a four-person team starting winter quarter. The deadline to apply is December 4, and interviews will happen the following week. View the requirements and application on the Employee Request system here (ER 7324).

Seeking Green Office Certification Program Coordinator

The Sustainability Office is looking for an exceptional leader to oversee the Green Office Certification Program. Lead a team of students to work with staff across campus to improve their business practices and to adopt sustainable behaviors. Full job description and application are available on the UCSC Employment Request system here (ER 6682).

Use Your Voice and Drop Your Own Drip!

The Drop Your Own Drip campaign within the Student Environmental Center is conducting a survey about water conservation efforts at UCSC. The campaign aims to use this data to determine possible project ideas for the future.

The input from students will also be shared with the Water Working Group and the Water Task Force. Please take the survey here.

SUA Passes Resolution to End Sale of Bottled Water at UCSC

Ever notice those nifty water bottle filling stations around campus? Most of those were installed as part of a project to encourage reusable water bottle use by Take Back the Tap UCSC (TBTT), a student-led organization with a mission to end the sale of single use plastic water bottles on campus and educate our community about the environmental, social, and economics impacts of bottled water (see below for more details on these topics). This group has been making progress these last few weeks, with the most exciting achievement being that the Student Union Assembly has passed a resolution to support their cause.

Goals and Achievements

This year, TBTT is working to finally ban single-use plastic water bottles at UC Santa Cruz, and they have a number of ideas for how to do so. One is to connect with campus administrators like Chancellor Blumenthal to encourage their support in ending the sale of plastic water bottles in on-campus stores. Another goal is to get student organizations involved in signing onto a coalition with TBTT stating their support and commitment to hold plastic water bottle-free events.

These two goals, among other strategies like encouraging use of reusable water bottles and installing bottle filling spigots, require major student, faculty, and staff support. If you can lend your support or have ideas for how they can be successful this year, please email them at takebackthetapucsc[at]gmail[dot]com. Fortunately, some progress has already been made this fall quarter:

• Student Union Assembly recently passed a resolution stating their full support of Take Back the Tap. Read the resolution here.
• LOVE Foundation Santa Cruz was the first organization to sign on to the coalition with Take Back the Tap showing their support in the campaign. This organization is a network of students, musicians, and artists who organize a variety of events to raise money for water development projects. Learn more on their Facebook page.
• Student Environmental Center's Drop Your Own Drip Campaign has also shown support through signing onto the coalition, as well as exploring further collaborations with TBTT.
• Installed 4 new water spigots on campus this summer 

David Rosas, one of three co-coordinators for the Food & Water Watch Hub and Provost's Sustainability Intern for TBTT shared his thoughts about the coming year: "I think the Student Union Assembles passing of the resolution is a great first step to making UCSC a bottle water free UC but we will still need a lot of student body support in order to make this dream a reality. Students and organizations that agree with their SUA can definitely show their support through joining Take Back the Taps coalition or signing our petition that we will be sending to Chancellor Blumenthal. Not only do I care about getting ride of single use plastic water bottles on campus but I also want to provide plenty of alternatives for students so they do not feel inconvenienced or worse."

Background
Take Back the Tap has been around the UC Santa Cruz campus for the past 4 years, and they are not alone: the Food & Water Watch's Take Back the Tap campaign has chapters at universities across the country. UCSC's TBTT is part of a Food & Water Watch Hub (FWW Hub) that was founded this year at UCSC, which includes not only TBTT but also an anti-fracking group and an anti-genetically modified organisms (GMO) group. The FWW Hub at UC Santa Cruz is sponsored by the Kresge Common Ground Center.

Why Ban the Bottle
The reasons are numerous and far-reaching for banning single-use plastic water bottles at UC Santa Cruz. Some reasons listed on the Food & Water Watch website include

• "Bottled water is not safer than tap water.
• Increasingly, bottled water comes from the tap.
• Bottled water creates mountains of garbage and causes other major environmental problems. 
• Bottled water is thousands of times more expensive than tap water. 
• Bottled water companies mislead communities into giving away their public water in exchange for dangerous jobs."

Annie Leonard of The Story of Stuff Project has a video that explains these reasons in some detail. Watch it below, or view it on Youtube here.

How to Get Involved or Support TBTT
If you want to get involved with Take Back the Tap UCSC, sign their petition when you see them a tabling event or come to one of their weekly meetings, which are held every Wednesday from 7 - 8:30 PM in Kresge Seminar Room #159. You can email them at takebackthetapucsc[at]gmail[dot]com or visit their Facebook page for more information.

Innovative Approaches to Sustainability at Other Campuses

Here are a few selections of the innovative approaches to sustainability taking place on other college campuses. Each of these examples was chosen because they represent ideas that UCSC could potentially implement in some form, or in some cases, already has begun to. If you see something here that you want to make a reality at UCSC, contact the Sustainability Office at sustain.education [at] ucsc [dot] edu and we will help you direct your ideas toward fruition!

Students Suggest Ways to Get Peers Biking to SF State University
Northern California is home to the two most bicycle-friendly universities in the entire country, according to the League of American Bicyclists — and yet a mere 9.5 percent of students pedal to San Francisco State University, the Bay Area’s second largest campus. The university’s new Bicycle Geographies class sought to understand why so few students cycle to school, and published a report in May detailing the students’ findings and recommendations. 

UC Davis Gone Solar!

When a team of UC Davis students packs up its house and travels to Irvine next year for the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2015 Solar Decathlon competition, its members will bring not only a desire to win, but also to make zero-net-energy homes more affordable. After submitting an entry for the first time, UC Davis was one of 20 universities selected in February to compete in the Solar Decathlon. The competition draws students and scientists from universities across the nation — from Yale and Vanderbilt to CalPoly and Sacramento State — to design and build solar-powered homes that are energy efficient and attractive. Learn more here.

Maharishi U Management Uses Rain Water for Bottles
Campus residents can now fill their bottles at a free bottle-filling station that was recently installed. This station uses water from a 10,000-gallon cistern that collects rainwater.

Coastal Carolina U Releases Fracking Brief
Students created reports that analyze federal and state laws and their impacts on various communities. A recent report looked at fracking in North Carolina in an effort to best prepare students for sustainable leadership and public service.

Students Promote Green Cleaning
Students from several institutions promote the importance of using green products such as baking soda and vinegar for cleaning as a less expensive and healthier option.

U Texas Austin Students Create BioFuel
Through a 2013 grant, students have researched, studied and created a biofuel that is intended for use in university vehicles once out of the testing stages. This particular biofuel is created from a waste product that was slated to be thrown away and will decrease the university's fuel intake.

November 2014: Contests & Funding

Apply for the Carbon Fund by November 14
Have an idea for a project that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions at UCSC? The Carbon Fund provides grants to UCSC greenhouse gas-reducing projects! Abstract applications are due on November 14, 2014 by 11:59 PM. Visit the website for more information about how to apply!

Campus Conservation Nationals Registration Deadline - November 7
Registration is now open for Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN), the world’s largest energy and water reduction competition for colleges and universities. Now in its fifth year, CCN is hosted by the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, Lucid, National Wildlife Federation, and the Alliance to Save Energy. It’s an unparalleled opportunity to foster a culture of conservation on your campus; save energy and water; enable students to develop leadership, community organizing, and career development skills; and become part of the CCN legacy (during CCN 2014, 109 schools saved enough electricity to take 201 homes off the grid for a year!) The CCN team will support you all the way with training webinars, how-to guides, and templates. Your school will also get its very own Building Dashboard website to communicate competition standings to your community. Register for CCN today or find out more information at www.competetoreduce.org. Questions? E-mail ccn [at] comptetoreduce [dot] org. Registration closes November 7th, so don’t delay!

Call For Submissions: Sustainability Teaching Activities - Deadline January 20
Submissions are now being accepted for the peer-reviewed and edited book Learner-Centered Teaching Activities for Environmental and Sustainability Studies. Instructors are invited to submit descriptions of novel, easy to implement and engaging in-class activities. To be considered for publication, contributions must be submitted by January 20, 2015. For more information check out the following website: http://faculty.rwu.edu/lbyrne/book.html

Got a Big Idea? Receive Funding and Support - Deadline November 13
The 2014-2015 Big Ideas@Berkeley contest has launched with new categories and expanded eligibility to include graduate and undergraduate students across the entire UC system. This year there are four Big Ideas categories open to matriculated students from all 10 UC campuses: Food System Innovations, Global Health, Mobiles For Reading, IT for Society. Big Ideas is an annual student innovation contest aimed at providing funding, support, and encouragement to interdisciplinary teams of students who have creative solutions to important social challenges. Since its founding in 2006, Big Ideas has inspired innovative and high-impact student-led projects aimed at solving problems that matter to this generation. Up to $300,000 in prizes available to students with innovative ideas to improve society... So put on your thinking caps, break out your big ideas and do not miss this opportunity to have the support you need to get started!

Real Food Media Contest - Deadline January 5
Multimedia video submissions are now being accepted for the Real Food Media Contest. These videos should be between 30 seconds and 4 minutes, showcasing sustainable food and farming. The vides should feature underreported issues, innovative sustainability strategies, and compelling stories of food producers and workers. Make your submission by January 5, 2015. For more information, please visit the website.

Apply for the Campus Safety Health and Environmental Management Scholarship
CSHEMA is sponsoring the Scholarship Award Program to encourage the study of environmental and occupational health and safety. Currently, one $2,000 scholarship is awarded anually along with paid registration to attend the annual CSHEMA Conference. To be considered for the award, students must meet the following requirements: 1) submit an official transcript, 2) complete application form, 3) write and submit an essay. These items must be delivered in a sealed envelope with university seal and mailed by March 31, 2014. For more information contact April Anstey.

Call for Student Sustainability Leaders: C2C Fellows Network Training (December 5-7)
C2C workshops are for current students and recent graduates who want high-impact careers that can change the future through NGO's and government, and in sustainable business. Join C2C to learn the leadership skills necessary to succeed: how to develop a vision; know what you’re good at; tell your story; raise money; and build your network. The cost of the weekend trainings, including food and lodging, is $30. Graduates of these workshops are eligible for scholarships to become funded graduate students at Bard's Center for Environmental Policy and Bard's new MBA in Sustainability. Read more about the benefits of joining the growing national network of over 500 C2C Fellows here. Students aspiring to sustainability leadership in policy, politics and business should apply now to join student leaders from across the country. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and only 60 participants will be accepted into each workshop.

Women's Bike Mechanic Scholarship - Deadline November 15
SRAM, Liv, QBP, United Bicycle Institute (UBI), Pedro’s and Park Tool have joined together to offer ten scholarships for women bike mechanics to attend UBI. This scholarship is dedicated to getting more women on bikes and supporting the development of female mechanics. This opportunity is open to aspiring or experienced bike mechanics and women that would like to increase their technical knowledge to further their career in the bike industry. This scholarship will cover the 2-week Professional Shop Repair and Operations class. Additional support is provided by Nuu-Muu and the Outdoor Industries Women's Coalition (OIWC). This open call for applications began October 20 and will close November 15. Scholarship winners will be notified via email by December 19. Apply for this scholarship!

Call for Papers - Special Issue: Campus Sustainability & Social Sciences Universities and colleges have been among the leading places where sustainability is promoted on campus and beyond. The social sciences can offer a variety of valuable insights into how to enhance a broad range of these efforts at higher education institutions: from supporting recycling, waste reduction, water and energy conservation, renewable energy and alternative transportation use, sustainable food procurement, and green building construction to fostering a sustainability culture. This special issue aims to present contemporary, state-of-the-art applications of how social science theories, models, and findings can help overcome campus sustainability challenges – and – to illustrate the diversity of social science campus sustainability research conducted across the world. Papers are sought from a range of social sciences including but not limited to anthropology, communication, economics, education, geography, psychology, political science, and sociology. Interdisciplinary social science contributions are welcome as well.
Information and Instructions for submissions: Prospective authors should submit an abstract of around 500 words, outlining the proposed manuscript, directly to the guest editor (zintmich[at]umich[dot]edu) by 15th November 2014. Registration and access is available at: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijshe Author guidelines must be followed and can be found on the journal web site at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=1467-6370&show=latest

Saving Water Every Day - Institutional-Scale Compost Toilets

Seminar date and time: Monday, May 19th, 12:15-1:40pm at the Kresge Seminar Room #159

Mention “composting toilet”, and most people will think of something suitable for a summer cabin or a rural residence off the grid---a kind of classy outhouse---surely not something suitable for installation in an urban environment. As one person has remarked, flush toilets are the accepted social standard. The idea of collecting human excrement in a basement composting bin does not exactly square with the modern paradigm of gracious living.

There is, however, more to the story. At this event, Peter Scott, a retired professor of physics a UC Santa Cruz, describes six composting toilet installations of varying types, currently installed for public use in locations in the United States, including three in California. He considers only those for institutional, industrial, municipal and commercial venues, i.e., those for which maintenance can be assured. In his descriptions, he includes comments by administrators, architects and users. As we shall see, every one of these six installations is positively viewed. He also includes answers to frequently asked questions, including discussions of costs and possible legal barriers.

This event is hosted by the Kresge Common Ground Center.

Innovative Approaches to Sustainability at Other Campuses

Here are a few selections of the innovative approaches to sustainability taking place on other college campuses. Each of these examples was chosen because they represent ideas that UCSC could potentially implement in some form, or in some cases, already has begun to. If you see something here that you want to make a reality at UCSC, contact the Sustainability Office susted@ucsc.edu and we will help you direct your ideas toward fruition!

New Compost Program, Targets Pizza Boxes

North Carolina State U Begins Pizza Box Composting. The university's Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling implemented the Pizza Box Composting Project, which seeks to decrease compostable waste on campus and encourage students to pay more attention to the importance of composting. These boxes, plus additional boxes from other campus organizations and personal purchases, will be turned into nutrient-rich soil through composting. So many students here on our campus order tons of pizza and it would be great if we had a pizza box composting system at UCSC too.

Stanford Farm Implements Water Conservation Techniques in Face of Drought

The Stanford Community Farm, a one-acre field located on the outskirts of campus, has implemented moisture-trapping gardening techniques in order to mitigate water usage, in response to the ongoing shortage of rainfall throughout California. They set up drip-watering systems that he estimated as being 80- to 90-percent more efficient due to plants having more time to absorb a more limited amount of water. The farm has also incorporated the use of three kinds of cover crops—oats, rye and bell beans—that have unique root systems conducive to allowing air and water to seep deeply into the soil. Without the cover crops, the soil would become compressed, which would eventually lead to erosion and a loss of valuable nutrients to wind and rain. If our CASFS isn't already using similar techniques, the farm should try this to conserve water.

U New Mexico Establishes Student Food Pantry

Imagine being a student who doesn't have enough money to buy healthy food. This is not as uncommon as many may think. If students don't eat properly, they cannot concentrate and do well in school. Recognizing that, the UNM Dean of Students Office, the Division of Student Affairs and a Food Bank are partnering to bring a mobile food bank to UNM students once a month. What would it take to have this at UCSC? This would be beneficial to students here.

April 2014: Classes, Training, & Community

World Cafe: Changing UCSC's Water Inputs & Outputs
Concerned about water consumption? Interested in collective action? Take Back the Tap invites you to a World Cafe conversation about the next steps in changing UCSC's water inputs and outputs. Please join us Monday, April 7th from 5-7 PM in the Kresge Seminar Room. Pu-erh tea and meaningful discussion will be provided!

Practicing Agroecology and Social Awareness - 2 unit internship
Wouldn't you love to spend this spring quarter outside of the classroom? CAN is hosting a 2-unit internship again through the Environmental Studies Department called Cultivating a Daily Revolution. The internship is for up to 10 students and includes a weekly interactive lecture series and service learning project. Participants will have the opportunity to network with various community partners, meet new people, share weekly meals, and experience hands on projects in agroecology, indigenous knowledge, community activism, and sustainable living. To sign-up send an email to focan [at] canunite [dot] org and visit the ENVS Internship Website to find out more information about how to get credit. Deadline to sign up for Spring Quarter is April 16th.  Or if you cannot commit, anyone is welcome to attend the class.

March 2014 Green Tip: Saving Water

As you you've probably heard, California is in a state of emergency over an extended drought. How bad is it? California faces water shortfalls in the driest year in recorded state history. Governor Brown has urged conservation in the state saying, “The more water we use, the less water we have. The more water we save, the more water we have.” 

In the spirit of conservation this month we wanted to share some tips on how to save water. We've organized our tips by the "basic," "progressive," and "hard core" things you can do to make significant reduction in your water use footprint. Can these individual actions add up to enough savings? Shortening showers by 5 minutes can save 12 gallons or more, and turning off the faucet while washing your hands can save 1/2 gallon. If everyone saved a gallon of water a day at UCSC, weekly campus use could be reduced by around 24,000 gallons!

Basic 

• Turn off the faucet while washing hands and brushing teeth (rinse, turn off water, soap up, turn water back on to rinse).
• If it's yellow, let it mellow! Depending upon the flow rate of your toilet, you could save nearly 2 gallons of water each time you let it mellow.
• Reduce your shower length to 5 minutes or less. For an average showerhead with a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute, a 5 minute shower only uses 12.5 gallons of water. Compare that to a 15 minute shower, which uses a whopping 37.5 gallons. 

Progressive 

• If you live off campus consider getting a low-flow shower head and an aerator for your sink to reduce the amount of water that comes out of the tap. These are reversible changes, so even if you rent you can make these alterations. The Santa Cruz Water Conservation office can provide you with these for free! Learn more here.
• Turn the water off in the shower when you shampoo, lather up, and shave. Sometimes called a "Navy Shower," you can conserve additional water with this method during your five-minute-or-less shower.

Hard Core

• One thing you might not have thought about is the amount of water that goes into producing the food for your diet. According to an article in the LA Times, "It takes more than 1,000 gallons of water a day per person to produce the food (and drinks) in the average U.S. diet." The food we eat requires a lot of water to produce, especially the meat we eat. In order to save water, think about skipping the meat once a week or look into alternatives to the meat option at the dining halls. If you're not willing to give up the meat, any amount of reduction can help. Skip dessert one night a week, cut back on the coffee, anything can help!
• You can also use the same dishes twice. Unless you just ate something really messy and smelly you can most likely use the plate you used to eat lunch on, for dinner as well! No need to wash in between!

More information can be found on the National Geographic website here. How do you conserve?

Carbon Fund Receives Highest Number of Applicants Yet, Funds Over 20 Projects

The UC Santa Cruz Carbon Fund has had a successful and record-breaking funding round this year. In the fall quarter, the Carbon Fund Committee was pleased to receive a total of 40 project applications, the most the Committee has ever received in its four years of existence. The Carbon Fund, which is funded through student fee measure 44, is a valuable resource for students, staff, and faculty to receive funding for their projects that work to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions either on campus or in the Santa Cruz community.

This school year, the Carbon Fund has allocated over $200,000 in funds to over 20 new projects that work for reduce the carbon footprint both on campus and in the Santa Cruz community. Here are just three of the projects that received funding for the 2013-14 funding round:

Green Labs Certification Program
Allocated Funds: $1,500.00
The Green Labs Program strives to reduce energy use and waste from laboratories at UC Santa Cruz. They will be monitoring the energy use in labs and laboratory buildings that are part of their certification program in order to assess the efficacy of the energy conservation efforts they are encouraging. By monitoring, analyzing, and acting upon the electricity usage data gathered, they will be able to share actual energy consumption of the labs with personnel and improve their strategies for reducing energy consumption. Such efforts toward energy conservation will directly decrease the amounts of greenhouse gasses emitted at UC Santa Cruz.

UCSC Transit System Electric Vehicle Conversation Feasibility Study
Allocated Funds: $3,600.00
This project will conduct a feasibility study of a phased conversion of the current campus shuttle and vanpool system from gasoline and diesel to electric vehicles recharged by a campus solar PV system. Because the fleet vehicles must be replaced at the end of their useful lifetimes, an analysis of the costs, benefits and possibilities of purchasing smaller EV or hybrid vehicles--20 person vehicles and 6-8 person commuter vans--could show significant emission reductions. In combination with (a) a destination-demand system and (b) autonomous vehicles, the fuel use and operating costs of the system might also be significantly reduced. The present carbon footprint of UCSC's existing transportation shuttle system (buses and vans) is considerable. If properly designed and incentivized, a solar-powered EV shuttle and carpool system would offer an alternative to the current transportation fleet. The success of this new transit plan will cut down on independent car emissions as well as road congestion.

Compost Heated Water System

Allocated Funds: $5,000.00
The purpose of this project, taking place through the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UCSC, is to investigate the possibility of energy production and waste mitigation through compost, as repurposing waste is crucial to fulfilling campus commitments to goals of zero waste by 2020. This project explores the possibility of composting woody biomass and other plant debris or “green-waste” in aerobic conditions at high heat, which is then used to heat water for cleaning and washing. The hot water produced by the composting process will reduce the campus carbon footprint by offsetting fuel or energy traditionally used to heat water. In addition to energy use reductions, this project will support other campus goals. The production of compost will improve the water-retention properties of soil, thereby reducing the demand for irrigation and helping the campus towards its goal of water-neutrality. The compost will be applied to PICA garden beds, increasing yield of the PICA garden beds by boosting soil fertility. This will help the campus achieve its 40 percent “Real Food” by 2020 goal.

To see a full list of the 2013-14 Carbon Fund Awards, visit project descriptions page on the Carbon Fund website.

California's water crisis, from Chancellor Blumenthal

February 4, 2014

To: UCSC Community
From: Chancellor George Blumenthal
Re: California's water crisis

As I'm sure you know, California is in the throes of a serious drought.

Representatives from every local water agency gathered last week, collectively calling attention to a situation that becomes more worrisome with each passing sunny day (see Santa Cruz Sentinel story). In support of Gov. Brown's recent designation of a statewide drought, members of the Santa Cruz City Council have asked residents to voluntarily reduce water consumption by 20 percent.

As members of the Santa Cruz community, it's critical that we participate in the city's call for this reduction.
Many of you may have already taken steps in recent weeks or months to reduce your water intake. Whether you live on campus or off, there are a number of ways you can do so; tips are available online at this campus web site. Imagine the collective impact if we all step up to this challenge. It would make a real difference.
Institutionally, the campus has integrated water conservation into our campus planning efforts and sustainability goals, and we are committed to meeting UC's systemwide goals for water use.

Water is precious, and this drought serves to remind us of the necessity to use it wisely. With no relief in sight, please do your part to immediately reduce demand on the city's water system. Thank you.

UCSC’s Cold Water Wash Campaign Pilot

By: Kristiahn Alvarado

To reach the PowerSave Campus goal of 600 therms of natural gas saved, UCSC PowerSave thought of a fun and creative project to save the necessary amount of natural gas! We came up with a Cold Water Wash competition in which residents of College Eight were asked to switch their laundry wash to cold water for a chance to individually win $5.00 gift cards and a chance to win a doughnut party for their entire quad by reducing their quad’s natural gas usage the most. Meetings were held with all of the residents of the College Eight dorms to educate the students about why we wanted them to switch to cold water and the importance of reducing natural gas. We also posted signs to remind the students to change their wash temperature!

Every week, one of UCSC’s PowerSave interns went to read the gas meters at each building in the College Eight Residential Dorms. We compiled all of the data into an excel sheet that would show us the weekly changes (increases and decreases) of natural gas usage of each of the four quads (A, B, C, & D quads). We also had random walkthroughs in which we placed tickets redeemable for gift cards on the washing machines that were turned to the cold setting.

At the end of the eight-week competition, “A quad” had reduced their natural gas usage by 12%! We threw the winning quad a donut party as requested by the students themselves in a pre-survey. Overall, the entire eight-week campaign ended up saving UC Santa Cruz’s campus 14,301.20 therms of natural gas. This amount is equivalent to 75.9 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is the emissions from 10.4 average homes' electricity use for one year (according to the Environmental Protection Agency)!


We hope to continue this campaign at other colleges here at UCSC in the future!

Over 120 students collaborate at the Sustainability Inter-Org Retreat

The 4th Annual Inter-Organizational Retreat on January 10-11 brought together campus sustainability organizations for a collaborative, fun, and inspirational adventure. This year's theme was "Beyond the Campus and Ourselves: Creating Impact Through Collaboration." There were over 120 attendees at the retreat stemming from all sorts of organizations, including, for the first time, the Brain, Mind, and Consciousness Society and Sea Slugs.

On Friday, January 10th, we enjoyed a dinner that was made by a team of students led by Tim Galarneau, Food Systems Education & Research Program Specialist for the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS). After we stuffed our stomachs with delicious food, we imitated animals in a team building activity designed to have fun and get to know each other better and played other teambuilding games. Finally, at the end of the night, we were all inspired by Brock Dolman's keynote presentation entitled "Basins of Relations: Restoring Our Watershed!"

After a great night, bright and early the next morning, we all packed our belongings and headed to Camp Campbell, a YMCA camp a half hour up Empire Grade, to enjoy the rest of the weekend. There was hiking, workshops, an Open Space Technology, and even a campfire talent show, where we were intelligently told that everything that happens at the campfire, stays at the campfire - but, let's just say it was truly magical. Who knew that so many people could bond and become a family in such a short amount of time?

To those that came to the retreat, thank you so much for contributing to the sustainability movement and UCSC and for sharing your ideas and accomplishments at the retreat.

And thank you so much to all of the students, staff, and faculty that helped plan the best Inter-Org Retreat thus far!

Pictures by Lily Urmann (Student Environmental Center)

To read a student perspective that mentions the retreat and discusses UC Santa Cruz sustainability work in general, read this post on the Civinomics blog by Melanie Fornes, a UCSC Campus Sustainability Council member.