Carbon Fund Info Session: October 22
The UCSC Carbon Fund is a granting body that funds student, staff, and community sustainability projects. If you have a project geared towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions on campus or in the community, consider applying for a Carbon Fund grant! There will be an info session to learn more on October 22 from 6-7:30pm. The meeting location has not been finalized, so please check the Carbon Fund website here or email carbonfund [at] ucsc [dot] edu for updates.
Cool Campus Challenge: October 6 - December 10
The first ever Cool Campus Challenge aims to engage UC campuses with our carbon neutrality initiative through a bit of friendly competition. Join the challenge, pledge to reduce your carbon footprint, and help us prove that UCSC is the coolest campus! Sign up here.
H&M Conscious Foundation Global Change Award: Deadline October 31
Students and faculty are invited to submit ideas that share the future of how fashion is designed and produced, shipped, bought, used and recycled with a focus on protecting the planet. The Global Change Award, by H&M Conscious Foundation, seeks to create fashion for a growing population while reducing its impact on the environment. The aim of the challenge is to close the loop in the fashion industry. Five winners will share a grant of $1 million euros ($1.1 million), get access to a tailor-made innovation accelerator, and fashion industry access. Deadline to submit is October 31.
President Napolitano’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative agreed to fund the extension to all UC campuses of a student ideas contest started at Berkeley. Student teams from any UC campus can now compete for cash prizes and mentoring and other support for ideas related to carbon neutrality at the campus, national, or international scale.
Got a big idea? Save the world and win prizes. For more information about rules, categories, resources, funding and contact information, visit the Big Ideas website at http://bigideas.berkeley.edu/energy/
Monday, September 28, 2015
Open Streets Santa Cruz on West Cliff Drive
Sunday, October 11, 2015, 9am-2pm
Come bicycle, walk and play in the 2-mile Pop-up Street Park with no cars!
West Cliff will be closed to traffic from Lighthouse Field to Natural Bridges State Park (just before Swanton Boulevard, which will remain open).
Bring your picnic and play equipment to this do-it-yourself FREE event. Also, enjoy activities, music and information booths, including:
Folklorico dance, Watsonville Taiko, Sadza Marimba, San Lorenzo River Alliance, Sierra Club, Teen Center, bicycle obstacle course, swing and Centeotl Mexican
The theme this year is Explore the Coast and highlights coastal access and protection.
Welcome Back Monarch's Day at Natural Bridges State Park will be taking place the same day 11am-4pm. Be sure to take advantage of the two-for-one free and family-friendly events!
Open Streets is organized by Open Streets Santa Cruz County and sponsored by the City of Santa Cruz, California Coastal Commission, Ecology Action, Good Times and Clif KIDS.
Learn more: www.scopenstreets.org
Connect: Facebook.com/OpenStreetsSantaCruzCounty
See you in the street on Sunday, October 11th!
Bicycle Traffic School
Did you receive a ticket while on
a bicycle? This information is
for you!
Bicycle Traffic School (BTS) is for cyclists that have been given a ticket for a traffic citation while riding a bike. BTS gives cyclists a one-time option of attending a two-hour bicycle safety class for a fee of $35 instead of paying the violation fine. A court order to attend BTS must be granted by the Traffic Court Judge.
In order to participate in BTS you must:
For more information call (831) 454-7551 or log on to www.sctrafficsafety.org.
Bicycle Traffic School (BTS) is for cyclists that have been given a ticket for a traffic citation while riding a bike. BTS gives cyclists a one-time option of attending a two-hour bicycle safety class for a fee of $35 instead of paying the violation fine. A court order to attend BTS must be granted by the Traffic Court Judge.
In order to participate in BTS you must:
- Appear in traffic court on your scheduled court date and ask the judge for a court order to attend Bicycle Traffic School.
- Obtain a BTS registration form from the court clerk.
- Follow the instructions on the form for paying the $35 fee.
- Register for a class within 30 days of your court referral date.
For more information call (831) 454-7551 or log on to www.sctrafficsafety.org.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - Santa Cruz County Bike Smart Rodeos - Fall 2015
Although it still feels very much like summer, you may be surprised to learn that it is in fact, FALL. And, of course, that means that school is back in session and Bike Smart bicycle safety education team is ready for weekly rodeos. They've been hard at work for the last few weeks in preparation for the rodeos, but the schools and students are so grateful to get the chance to experience the Bike Smart program!
Here are the events scheduled for Santa Cruz County:
Sunday, October 11th - Santa Cruz Open Streets Public
Rodeo Event 9:00AM - 2:00PM
Wednesday, October 14th - Bay View Elementary
Rodeo #1 8:20AM - 10:20AM
Rodeo #2 11:20AM - 12:40PM
Thursday, October 15th - Bay View Elementary
Rodeo #1 10:40AM - 12:20PM
Monday, October 19th - Mar Vista Elementary
Rodeo #1 8:05AM - 10:05AM
Rodeo #2 10:20AM - 12:20PM
Tuesday, October 20th - Mar Vista Elementary
Rodeo #1 8:05AM - 10:05AM
Please RSVP with Kira Ticus at kticus [at] ecoact [dot] org with the rodeos you're available to assist with. Once you've signed up for the rodeo time slots, she'll send a follow up email with relevant information about the school site and event details as the event date gets closer.
Here are the events scheduled for Santa Cruz County:
Sunday, October 11th - Santa Cruz Open Streets Public
Rodeo Event 9:00AM - 2:00PM
Wednesday, October 14th - Bay View Elementary
Rodeo #1 8:20AM - 10:20AM
Rodeo #2 11:20AM - 12:40PM
Thursday, October 15th - Bay View Elementary
Rodeo #1 10:40AM - 12:20PM
Monday, October 19th - Mar Vista Elementary
Rodeo #1 8:05AM - 10:05AM
Rodeo #2 10:20AM - 12:20PM
Tuesday, October 20th - Mar Vista Elementary
Rodeo #1 8:05AM - 10:05AM
Please RSVP with Kira Ticus at kticus [at] ecoact [dot] org with the rodeos you're available to assist with. Once you've signed up for the rodeo time slots, she'll send a follow up email with relevant information about the school site and event details as the event date gets closer.
Procurement Services Receives Gift for Sustainability Efforts
Procurement's Strategic Sourcing Team is proud to report that they have received a $5,000 gift from The Dreaming Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham to expand on their vendor sustainability program. Their benefactor selected Strategic Sourcing's initiative from among more than a dozen proposals from students, staff, and research groups.
Last year, Strategic Sourcing initiated a program to improve sustainability efforts on the part of their suppliers. Strategic Sourcing's goal, keeping with the Procurement's Strategic Sourcing Team's commitment to the Campus Sustainability Plan (CSP), is to engage suppliers to develop strategies that promote sustainable procurement practices within the supply chain and measure those suppliers to agreed standards. To that end, Procurement's Strategic Sourcing Team applied to the Provost's Sustainability Internship (PSI) program, and recruited a dynamic and capable UCSC student named Marissa Meisterling to develop the process.
Throughout FY15, Marissa contacted 17 select suppliers and developed a method for benchmarking suppliers’ sustainability efforts. This information acts as a baseline and a framework for encouraging vendors to take additional steps to improve their "sustainability profile." To expand on these efforts, they have retained another engaging and brilliant PSI student intern, William Watson. Our goals for this year are to establish an online method to better engage suppliers, work with Procurement Buyers to incorporate sustainability into their daily interactions with vendors, and significantly increase the number of participating suppliers.
That's where their benefactor comes in. To accomplish these goals, they will need to move to an online database that the suppliers can access and update themselves, providing them with additional information, and exhibiting their progress as an incentive to participate in the program. Further, the Procurement's Strategic Sourcing Team will need training and marketing materials for both their own staff and their vendors. These items cost money, and they now have a $5,000 budget to work with.
They are extremely grateful to the benefactor for supporting this effort. There has never been funding for this kind of effort before. By encouraging their suppliers to make more sustainable choices, they can enhance UC Santa Cruz's excellent reputation as a green campus, and promote real-world actions that support a healthy environment.
Last year, Strategic Sourcing initiated a program to improve sustainability efforts on the part of their suppliers. Strategic Sourcing's goal, keeping with the Procurement's Strategic Sourcing Team's commitment to the Campus Sustainability Plan (CSP), is to engage suppliers to develop strategies that promote sustainable procurement practices within the supply chain and measure those suppliers to agreed standards. To that end, Procurement's Strategic Sourcing Team applied to the Provost's Sustainability Internship (PSI) program, and recruited a dynamic and capable UCSC student named Marissa Meisterling to develop the process.
Throughout FY15, Marissa contacted 17 select suppliers and developed a method for benchmarking suppliers’ sustainability efforts. This information acts as a baseline and a framework for encouraging vendors to take additional steps to improve their "sustainability profile." To expand on these efforts, they have retained another engaging and brilliant PSI student intern, William Watson. Our goals for this year are to establish an online method to better engage suppliers, work with Procurement Buyers to incorporate sustainability into their daily interactions with vendors, and significantly increase the number of participating suppliers.
That's where their benefactor comes in. To accomplish these goals, they will need to move to an online database that the suppliers can access and update themselves, providing them with additional information, and exhibiting their progress as an incentive to participate in the program. Further, the Procurement's Strategic Sourcing Team will need training and marketing materials for both their own staff and their vendors. These items cost money, and they now have a $5,000 budget to work with.
They are extremely grateful to the benefactor for supporting this effort. There has never been funding for this kind of effort before. By encouraging their suppliers to make more sustainable choices, they can enhance UC Santa Cruz's excellent reputation as a green campus, and promote real-world actions that support a healthy environment.
UCSC Farm featured in the New York Times
Mark Bittman, the New York Times lead food columnist, visited the farm at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California, Santa Cruz and interviewed Daniel Press, the center’s executive director and Tim Galarneau, a coordinator with Food Systems Working Group. The interview highlighted the apprenticeship program that has been active since 1967. Check out the article accompanied with a video, 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.
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.
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.
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