Campus Sustainability Planning & Blueprint for a Sustainable Campus

Want to share your thoughts, visions, and project ideas related to sustainability at UCSC? The Blueprint for a Sustainable Campus and the Campus Sustainability Plan are two campus-wide sustainability goal and vision documents that are currently being updated, and input is needed from everyone for both plans.

The Campus Sustainability Plan is a document that identifies goals for UCSC to incorporate sustainability into all aspects of campus operations. Each topic area has targeted goals for the coming years, and it is time to revisit and update the document so we are seeking input from staff, faculty, and students. If you are interested in getting involved, please email Elida Erickson at ekericks(at)ucsc.edu. Click here to view the Campus Sustainability Plan.

The Blueprint for a Sustainable Campus is overseen Student Environmental Center, and it is a document encompassing current visions of students, faculty, staff, and community members who share their ideas and goals for the future of UCSC during a series of Blueprint Breakout sessions throughout the year, culminating with the Earth Summit event in spring. There will be two Blueprint Breakout sessions this month on November 14 and 28 in the College 8 Red Room from 5:30-8:00 PM, and staff, faculty, and students are encouraged to attend and provide input. Find out more about the Blueprint and view past versions here, and to find out more about the topics of upcoming sessions, please view our calendar and scroll to November 14 and 28. For more information, please contact Katie Lippus at klippus(at)ucsc.edu.

UCSC Students Committed to Sustainability

A team of four UCSC students competing in Project Green Challenge, a global eco-challenge in October, consistently ranked among the top twenty of participants (out of 2484 total) for their engagement in daily challenges that encouraged sustainable behavior change. Students read about each day's sustainability theme, reflected on what they learned, and then acted upon it, uploading photos, write-ups, videos, and more to the challenge website to earn points for engagement and creativity.

Chad Oliver, a second year environmental studies/ecology and evolution major who helped organized the BananaSlugs team poses with some locally grown fruit at the UCSC Chadwick Garden during a challenge for Project Green Challenge. His team won many of the daily challenges and was ranked among the top twenty challenge participants throughout October. 

Almost 50 students and 1 staff member affiliated with UCSC signed up for the challenge this year. UCSC is one of 460 schools participating this year, and this total includes representation from 49 U.S. states and 33 countries around the world. Most participants we spoke with at UCSC said they struggled to participate daily because of the time commitment, but many participated by reading the information provided and reflecting on it during the day.

"Being a college student I am often limited on time, so I found it helpful to browse the project sites of the challenge winners," said Darya Soofi, an senior environmental studies major and the Waste Prevention Coordinator for Student Environmental Center. "This gave me a chance to learn about the specific challenge and stay involved."

One group of students, UCSC Team BananaSlugs, worked actively to participate every day, combining team members' efforts to upload content that was creative enough that they placed among the top twenty of participating teams.

The challenge itself presented a motivating opportunity to participate in something larger than one's isolated personal actions, and the sense of competition was fun. By providing information about sustainability issues each day, the Challenge motivated BananaSlugs team member Kilee Forbes, a junior transfer environmental studies/bio double major, to make a lifestyle change. "This has changed how I look at things, and it convinced me to go vegetarian," she said. "My family has an organic garden and we raise animals, but I wasn't fully aware of what farming does on a large scale."

How we connect with the world around us and find reasons to lead more conscious lives is a journey that anyone looking to be more sustainable must take. To start that journey, challenge yourself to take small steps that are meaningful to you. And tell us about it! What are you doing to make small but important changes in your life? We'd love to hear from you!
Project Green Challenge is over for this year, but the UCSC Simply Committed campaign will continue throughout the year. How will you Simply Commit to sustainability? It starts with one tangible, measurable, and specific commitment that has meaning to you. To see some examples of commitments that have been made at UCSC, please visit our Facebook photo albums.

Green Tip #7: Ride-sharing and Public Transportation

November is here--do you know how you are getting home for Thanksgiving? Ride-sharing is a great way to get home without using a personal car, saving you money and reducing your pollution. Zimride is a website that posts rides for UCSC students, and all you have to do is pitch in for gas! If you have a car you can post your ride and Zimride can help you get people to pitch in for gas. It's a great way for travelers to reduce their carbon footprint. Zimride is available throughout the year so it can be helpful when going home for a weekend. During the month of November, Zimride is raffling off a new iPad to those who add a ride as either a passenger or a driver. For more information click here.

Are you trying to get to Los Angeles/Orange County for Thanksgiving and or Winter Break? The UCSC Recreation Department is offering a LA Turkey Express bus for Thanksgiving that leaves Wednesday, November 21 at noon and returns to Santa Cruz on Sunday, November 25. There is also a LA Polar Express that leaves on Thursday, December 13 at noon and returns Sunday, January 6. For more information click here.

Another great resource for heading up to San Jose (where there's a train station and airport that can take you elsewhere) is the 17 Express. This bus leaves from the local metro station in Santa Cruz. For only 5 dollars you can ride to San Jose. For a full bus schedule click here.

While we are talking about transportation here are some other great resources:

• Rent a car with friends and use Zipcar
• Bike library click here.
• Bike shuttle click here.

How do you travel? What's your favorite form of public transit? Post in the comments!

November 2012: 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 it's something that UCSC could potentially implement in some form. If you see something here that you want to make a reality at UCSC, contact the Sustainability Office and we will help you direct your ideas toward fruition!

DePauw University pilots free bike rental program 

UCSC has a bike library from which you can borrow a bike for the quarter. Wouldn't it be cool if we also had a bike rental program so you could rent a bike for the day or a weekend?

DePauw University of Greencastle, Indiana, is piloting a free community bike rental program in an effort to discourage students, faculty, staff, and visitors from using cars on campus. Starting off with a fleet of 20 bicycles, rentals will be available to all on a 24/7 basis. Did you know UCSC has a bike library? Students, staff, and faculty can borrow a bike for the quarter by filling out an application. Learn more about the UCSC Bike Library here.

Replacing "Trash" Label with "Landfill" at Princeton
In an effort to change recycling behavior, Building Services have replaced “Trash” labels on disposal bins with “Landfill” labels. The university hopes the change in labels will encourage students to think more carefully about their consumption choices. Building Services, the Office of Sustainability and Green Leaders will be gauging the results of this program and its potential effects on disposal over the next few months. Does seeing the word "landfill" give you more pause than the word "trash"? Tell us what makes you think twice about waste and recycling in the comments below.

November 2012: Classes, Training, & Community

ESLP Seeking Facilitators 

Education for Sustainable Living Program (ESLP) is looking for facilitators interested in developing a class focused on environmental sustainability, social justice, and project-based education. Previous classes have included topics such as permaculture, green building, environmental art, aquaponics, waste prevention, and many more. All majors welcome. To get involved, send them an email.

Join the Kresge Natural Foods Co-op
The Kresge Community Natural Foods Co-op is a non-profit student-run food store located on the south side of Kresge College. It has been a Kresge College tradition for over twenty years, supporting small farmers, the UCSC Farm Project, and the Kresge Organic Garden. While anyone can buy food at the Food Co-op, members receive a discount. The Co-op operates as a collective and a variety of membership options are available. Special pricing is available on bulk orders. Come in for groceries, lunch, snacks, hot coffee, tea, or just to spend time with your friends.

To contact the Food Co-op, call 426-1506, or attend the bi-weekly meetings every other Sunday at 11 am in the Student Lounge. (Hours: Weekdays 9 AM - 6 PM)

Drop Your Own Drip (DYOD) has found a new home!
The 2012 Education for Sustainable Living Program (ESLP) 5-unit class project has been adopted by the Student Environmental Center (SEC). That means that there are exciting new ways to earn credit through the the ENVS department and be involved with facilitating the annual campus-wide water-use competition. Interested? Check us DYOD out online here and find out how you can get involved by emailing the new Organizer, Sarah Angulo.

Heard about other sustainability related classes, trainings, or community opportunities around Santa Cruz or the campus? Post in the comments!

November 2012: News & Achievements

TAPS installs new bike maintenance stations on campus

A UCSC student demonstrates use of the newest TAPS "Fix-It" bike maintenance station. Read more about bike-related news below.

The Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) recently installed the first public self-service bike maintenance station at UCSC. The first of many to come, the new station is located at OPERS and includes a tire pump and eight tools necessary to perform basic repairs and maintenance. The Quick Read (QR) code on the front of the Fixit Station provides detailed instructions through your smart phone on how to make repairs. The stations are free to all and are available 24/7. For more information, contact Teresa Buika at tabuika@ucsc.edu. View photos of the stations on our Facebook page here.

UCSC awarded $4.5 million NSF grant for renewable energy research and education

Researchers at UCSC (in conjunction with researchers at UC Davis and two international universities) recently received a $4.5 million, 5-year grant to fund a sustainable energy study. The study will focus on the use of microgrids for energy production at the community level, and will fund opportunities for UCSC engineering students to work at the institutions that share the grant. Read about one of the researchers, Professor Isaacson, in this month's sustainability profile here.

UCSC PowerSave Green Campus Yearly Summary
UCSC's PowerSave Green Campus Program works on energy efficiency and water conservation projects throughout the campus. Check out some of their metrics showing the impact they've made in the last year:

Total kWh (kilowatt hours) savings: 1,609,339.50 kWh
Total Potential savings: 1,988,131.95 kWh

Total CO2 lbs savings: 843,293.9 lbs
Total potential savings: 1,121,097.3 lbs

Total $ savings: $209,214.14
Total potenital savings: $265,474.85
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       See the PowerSave Green Campus Facebook page or website for more information.

What are your thoughts about this month's news? What are you most proud of related to campus sustainability at UCSC? What do you want to see happen here? Post in the comments! 

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.