UCSC Recognized for Higher Ed Sustainability Achievements

If there were a class in sustainability higher education, UCSC would be getting an A+. In the last few months, UC Santa Cruz received recognition from three institutions that rate universities and colleges for their higher education sustainability efforts.

In June, we earned a gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking and Rating System (STARS)--up from a silver rating in 2015--for our commitment to sustainability. STARS is designed by AASHE to be a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. Learn more about our Gold STARS rating here.

Then, just last month, the Sierra Club's Sierra magazine released its 10th annual “Cool Schools” ranking of America’s greenest colleges and universities. More than 200 schools participated in Sierra’s extensive survey about sustainability practices on their campus, and UC Santa Cruz is one of three UCs to be in the top 20! Coming in at #18, the ranking underscored UC Santa Cruz’s strong commitment to protecting the environment, addressing climate change, and encouraging sustainability. Read why Sierra says we're #18 in the nation here.

Finally, we are also on the Princeton Review's Green Colleges Honor Roll again this year, coming in at #32. The listing cites UC Santa Cruz for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, ‘greening’ design and construction projects on campus, and integrating sustainability at every level. Read the full story here.

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.

June 2015: Contests & Funding

UCSC Residential Housing Survey on Energy: Deadline June 11
PowerSave is supporting the overall campus Climate and Energy Strategy project by collecting data related to energy use in residential housing units. Please take the short 3 minute survey here and be sure to provide your UCSC email address to be entered into a raffle for one $100 and four $50 bookstore gift certificates! The information collected in this survey will be used to help prioritize investment in energy conservation projects and programs. Deadline to participate is July 11th at midnight.

Carbon Fund Crowdfunding: Deadline June 18th
The Carbon Fund is currently featured as one of UCSC’s Crowdfund projects and you can make a donation that will have a tremendous impact on the UCSC campus! Every contribution made will be used to support student projects that reduce our campus’ carbon footprint. Help the Carbon Fund reach their goal of raising $20,000 by donating here.

Sustainability Film & Art Contest: Deadline July 13
Calling all filmmakers and artists! Are you interested in having your short film or artwork displayed at a film festival series this fall? The Sustainability Office invites you to create a sustainability-related short film or poster. The winner(s) of the competition will have their films and posters shown at the Sustainability Film Festival to celebrate the campus’s 50th Anniversary! Learn more here.

Energy Dept. $2.5M for Collegiate Clean Energy Tech: Deadline June 7
The newly announced $2.5 million in funding for the Cleantech University Prize (Cleantech UP) aims to support the commercialization of promising technologies for sectors such as solar and wind that reduce carbon pollution and grow the clean energy economy. The Cleantech UP Collegiate Competitions will provide prizes for eight individual university-focused competitions that will equip students with business skills to move clean energy technologies from the discovery phase to the marketplace.

AASHE Sustainability Awards: Deadline June 11
Applications for the Tenth Annual AASHE Sustainability Awards are now being accepted for outstanding ideas and initiatives that are furthering the higher education sustainability transformation. Award winners will receive one complimentary AASHE 2015 Conference & Expo pass, one invitation to a special reception during the 2015 conference, an opportunity to present submissions at the 2015 conference, and featured in Sustainability: The Journal of Record. Deadline to apply is June 11, 2015.

Tools of Change Landmark Designation: Deadline June 12
Tools of Change is now soliciting nominations for its 2015 Landmark behavior change case studies in two topic areas - (1) home / building energy conservation and (2) sustainable transportation. If you know of anyone working on a particularly effective, innovative or impactful approach for changing energy or transportation behaviors, please consider nominating them - or yourself. All nominations must include measured impact results. The Nominations Form must be submitted by June 12, 2015. Designations will be announced by October 2015, and case study webinars will be presented between February and May 2016.

Biomimicry Global Design Challenge: Deadline August 3
The Biomimicry Institute and the Ray C. Anderson Foundation announced the opening of the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge. Students are invited to submit commercially viable, nature-inspired solutions to global food system challenges. All participants get access to the Design Challenge Toolbox and supporting resources, including sessions with mentors and biomimicry professionals. The grand prize, to be awarded in 2016, is $100,000. The deadline for submissions is August 3rd.

PowerSave Campus Wins CIWEA Employer of the Year Award

The Alliance to Save Energy’s (Alliance) PowerSave Campus program was presented with the California Internship & Work Experience Association (CIWEA) Employer of the Year Award today at the 2014 Professional Development Conference in Long Beach, California.

PowerSave Campus is a student-driven energy efficiency education program that employs over 100 interns each year on 16 college campuses. Students in the program collaborate with faculty, staff and administrators to work on campus projects ranging from energy audits and energy saving competitions to green career fairs.

Accepting the award on behalf of the Alliance, Renee Lafrenz, Senior Program Manager of the PowerSave Campus program noted, “We are honored to be recognized by the CIWEA for the PowerSave Campus program and thank all of our industry and utility partners who help sustain the program throughout the state of California. PowerSave Campus fosters a commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency that transcends graduation; we’re proud to say that 83% of PowerSave Campus intern graduates work in the “green” job sector and 98% of alumni support sustainability in some form.”

The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, economy and national security.

Alumni Sustainability Achievements

UCSC Alumni Photographers Focus on Environment for Exhibition
Beginning April 9th, Three Lives in Photography will be a new exhibition on campus at the Sesnon Gallery. Three UC Santa Cruz alumni, Robert Dawson, Joel Leivick, and David Pace, will present their work as artists, environmentalists, and educators at the show, which will run through May 10th. The opening reception will be on Wednesday, April 9, at 5 p.m., followed by an artists’ lecture at 7 p.m. The work in Three Lives in Photography--curated by Sesnon director Shelby Graham--uses traditional format photography to reveal the severe impact of industry on the contemporary landscape.

If you are interested in knowing more about the artists, check out this article.

UCSC alumnus Hoyt Peckham awarded Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation
UC Santa Cruz alumnus Hoyt Peckham has been awarded a 2014 Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation to expand on his work with coastal communities in Mexico to support sustainable fishing practices.

The Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation awards recipients $150,000 for a three-year project to address conservation challenges facing our oceans. Peckham developed SmartFish, a nonprofit social enterprise that enables small-scale fishermen to produce high quality, sustainably-caught seafood by using ocean-friendly practices, such as hand lines and other gear that reduce bycatch. Pew's award will allow him to expand this program, first developed in southern Baja California, throughout northwest Mexico and to determine its international feasibility.

Read on at this article.

UCSC Sustainability Spring Fest

SUSTAINABILITY 

SPRING FEST CELEBRATION

May 22nd, 11:45am-3:00pm

Stevenson Event Center

Mark your calendars! On May 22nd, we will be celebrating the sustainability projects that occurred this year by students, staff, and faculty in a poster symposium and an awards ceremony. If you are interested in attending this year's Spring Fest, please RSVP on the google calendar event. If you cannot find the event on your google calendar, please contact Darlene Khalafi at dkhalafi [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

Interested in Volunteering? Contact Darlene Khalafi at dkhalafi [at] ucsc [dot] edu. Volunteers will be needed at the event and can also help with outreaching to organizations about the event. There will also be an opportunity for volunteers to help create the decorations for the event - this day will be determined once we have a list of volunteers. If you are interested, please email Darlene.

Awards Ceremony: At this year's event we will be hosting an awards ceremony to recognize some of the outstanding projects of the year. If you are interested in voting for these projects, vote here! Other than cutting the cake, the Chancellor will also be presenting the winner of the Chancellor's Sustainability Challenge Impact Award. Lastly, for those of you that will have a poster at the event representing your projects, there will be a "Best Poster" Award that all attendees will vote for at the event, so make your posters beautiful and engaging!

If you have any general questions about the event, email Melina Meseroll at mmeserol [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

March 2014: Contests & Funding

CHESC Award Nominations Due March 7
The California Higher Education Sustainability Conference (CHESC), hosted by the Associated Students of San Diego State University invites students, faculty, staff and administrators from campuses throughout California to submit a proposal to speak; present a poster; or receive an award at this year's conference.

The Higher Education Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Best Practice Awards aim to:

1. Highlight the achievements that California campuses have made through innovative and effective energy efficiency projects and sustainable operations;
2. Showcase specific projects as models to be used by other campuses to achieve energy efficiency and sustainability goals; and
3. Provide campus staff with a compendium of Best Practice projects that could be transferable to their campus. 

Award Nominations are due March 7. For more information about the different nominating categories and to fill out a nomination form, check out their website.

Walk to Class Challenge Day
Save the date! Walk to Class Challenge Day is taking place on April 22. Help reach campus sustainability goals and promote healthy choices. Sign up April 1st-22nd to challenge yourself to walk while on campus rather than use transit. Contact Jessica Pearson, jrpearso [at] ucsc [dot] edu for more information and if you're interested in volunteering on the day of the event!

Call for Papers! Ecomusicologies 2014
The Ecomusicologies 2014: Dialogues is a multi-day conference on the topic of music, culture and the environment. Students and faculty may submit proposals on topics such as musical collaboration with the environment, the sound of green, acoustic ecology, race, class, gender, and academic-as-activist. Proposals are due April 30. For more information and for submissions, contact ecomusicologies [at] gmail [dot] com. You can also check out their website here for a more extensive list of possible topics for the proposals and guidelines.

December 2013: Contests & Funding

Free Winter Quarter Bike Library Rentals: Deadline January 15
Need a bike? The UCSC Bike Library has a fleet of Kona Dew hybrid bikes available to be rented for the whole quarter for free by students, staff, and faculty. The bikes come with a helmet, lock, cable, and lights. Bike Library recipients must attend a one-day bike safety class that covers bike traffic safety, maintenance, and reviews challenging roadway situations in Santa Cruz and how to best approach them. The class will be offered January 18 and 19, and it is open to any UCSC affiliate, even if they are not getting a Bike Library bike. To RSVP for the class, please email taps [at] ucsc [dot] edu. Bike Library applications for winter quarter are due January 15. Visit the website for details, and to apply for a bike click here.

Call for Papers: 'Just Sustainability: Hope for the Commons' Conference
Seattle University's Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability invites papers and proposals for talks, workshops and panel presentations for its inaugural conference “Just Sustainability: Hope for the Commons” to be held Aug. 7-9, 2014. Topic areas are environmental justice and sustainability from all fields of discourse, including but not limited to environmental studies, theology, business, philosophy, engineering, education, law, the arts, international development, anthropology, religious studies, geography and the natural sciences. Submissions are due by Jan. 27, 2014.

Call for Papers: BioCycle West Coast Conference
Abstracts are now being accepted for the 14th annual Renewable Energy from Organic Recycling (REFOR14 WEST) conference in the areas of renewable energy, and food recovery and recycling tracks. Deadline for abstract submission is December 31.

Call for Proposals: Solar Decathlon 2015
The U.S. Department of Energy is now taking proposals for collegiate entrants in its 2015 student competition. Up to 20 teams will be selected to begin a two-year project to build solar-powered, highly energy-efficient houses that combine affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence. Proposals are due Dec. 20, 2013.

Call for Proposals: 2014 Agricultural Innovation Prize
Launched by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the 2014 Agricultural Innovation Prize encourages student teams to develop innovative plans to address social and agricultural challenges within food systems, improving the standard of living and quality of life for the world’s population. The competition is open to U.S. undergraduate and graduate students across all academic disciplines and runs through spring 2014, when teams will compete for the chance to win $215,000 in prize money, with a grand prize of $100,000.

Call for Submissions: Real Food Media Film Contest
Real Food Media Project is seeking 30-second to four minute short films from students about U.S. food, farming and sustainability. Cash prizes will be given to the best 10 films and the audience choice winner, including a $5,000 grand prize and a chance for a screening at the Food and Farm Film Festival in San Francisco in April 2014. Deadline for submissions is February 3, 2014.

Call for Submissions: Innovative, Sustainable Projects
The Campus Consciousness Challenge, hosted by REVERB Inc., is accepting U.S. undergraduate proposals that aim to have a direct or indirect positive effect on the environment. The winner will receive $10,000 for development of the proposal. Entries are due by noon Eastern on Feb. 17, 2014.

Earthzine Seeks Student Juror for Science Competition
The online scientific journal seeks a university or college student as a juror to assist in scoring entries for NASA 2013 Earth Science Technology Showcase, an online presentation of technology developments for the earth science community.

Call for Submissions: Green Living Project Student Film Competition
Green Living Project invites submissions for its Student Film Project. The competition encourages students to submit films of five minutes or less that share a unique, creative and compelling story about a local or global sustainability-related project. Winning films will be screened at GLP Films' events throughout the year, and winners also receive gear and prizes up to $1,000 in value. Deadline for submissions is Jan. 17, 2014.

Recently Green Certified Payroll Office Writes Song

Congratulations to the Payroll office for their completion of the Green Office Certification Program! They earned a "Sapling" rating for their sustainable practices and created a commitment plan as a guide to help them improve their behavior and become a "Tree."

They also wrote an incredible song about their experiences and overall feelings about sustainability on campus. Check it out!

To the tune of "Yakko's Universe" from The Animaniacs.

Everybody works in a cubie or an office
or a lab on location for what it's worth.
And we all report to a division which is part of a department
that works at a University known as UCSC.

And UCSC is a college full of oceanographers and lit majors
and students silently analyzing data deep in space.
And working at UCSC are the students and employees
striving to insure the living planet is keeping pace.

It's a great big University
and we’ve all heard the call:
Zero Waste by 2020,
“We can do it!” says George Blumenthal.
You might think it won’t mean much
but shut your lights off on the way to lunch.
It's a big University and we’re Green!

Going Green is super easy; it can start with a towel

that you bring from home to dry your cups and hands.

And as you are leaving work, flip off all the lights in sight,

don’t forget about your computers and the monitor screens, too!

Across the entire campus, we’re opening up the blinds

and finding carpool buddies for our daily drives

and there’s a bunch of folks riding bikes up Bay Avenue

in a beautifully Go Green parade!

Take a look around the campus, you will find recycle bins

of blue and green and brown to put your recycling in.

Stop buying bottled water and compost your banana peel!

We can make our goal a little at a time.
‘Cause education starts with action, and we all can do it:

UCSC – full of students, faculty and staff

doing our part to be sure the universe extends to a place that never ends.
Going Green is not a passing trend!

It's a great big University
and we’ve all heard the call:
Zero Waste by 2020,
“We can do it!” says George Blumenthal.
You might think it won’t mean much
but shut your lights off on the way to lunch.
It's a big University and we’re Green!

The Green Office Certification Team has loved working with you Payroll! Thank you for your enthusiasm.

To learn more about the Green Office Certification Team and to have your office green certified next, visit the website.

November 2013: Contests & Funding

The UCSC Carbon Fund Wants You!: Applications due November 15
The Carbon Fund is accepting applications for project funding! The Carbon Fund is a student-passed fee measure that raises $3 per student per quarter totaling up to ~$100,000 per year to allocate to students, faculty, and staff for their project ideas! This year they have over $200,000 to allocate in funding due to rollover from previous years! If you have any project ideas that reduce the carbon footprint of UCSC, from energy and water conversation to more efficient composting and zero waste techniques, the Carbon Fund has money for your project! For more information, email the Carbon Fund at carbonfund.ucsc@gmail.com and check out their website. Abstracts are due November 15th.

Impact Award: Beyond the Personal Challenge
Reducing waste for the Chancellor's Sustainability Challenge requires building awareness and educating yourself and others. The Chancellor is sponsoring an Impact Award, which includes a cash prize of up to $300 and recognition by the Chancellor for implementing a project or experience that raise awareness about the need to reduce waste at UCSC. More information, ideas and award details are available here.

Net Impact's "Small Steps, Big Wins" Campus Challenge: Ends December 1
Small Steps, Big Wins is a university-focused national student competition to spark undergraduates into doing positive social and environmental actions such as donating blood, recycling or organizing a volunteer day. Join your school and participate in the challenge here. The competition closes on December 1.

Agricultural Innovation Prize 
Interested in participating in the largest agriculture-focused student competition in the world? Share your agricultural challenges and compete for a chance to win the Agricultural Innovational Prize and up to $100,000. The competition is open to U.S. undergraduate and graduate students across all academic disciplines and runs through spring 2014. The contest encourages student teams to develop innovative plans to address social and agricultural challenges within food systems, improving the standard of living and quality of life for the world's population. Additional information about how to participate is available on the website.

Challenge Your Perspectives – The Swedish Scholarship Awards 2014
Two winners will be awarded with full tuition waivers for Master’s of Science programs at two prestigious Swedish universities: Stockholm University and Lund University. If you are interested, enter the challenge here and begin to fill out the application for a chance to win a full tuition fee waiver for either of the Swedish schools.

Zipcar Seeks "Students With Drive"
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. In 2013, Alpha Phi Omega won $5,000 in driving credit to help students get to their community service events and in 2013, the Sabrosura Dance Troupe won $1,000 to take their dance shows into the community. Learn more about how your group can get involved on the contest website.

UCSC Named to the 2014 Green Honor Roll by Princeton Review

The Princeton Review recently reported its sixth annual "Green Ratings" of colleges, a measure of how environmentally friendly many colleges and universities are on a scale of 60 to 99. 832 institutions were tallied a rating based on the Princeton Review's institutional surveys of colleges in 2012-13 concerning their environmentally related practices, policies, and academic offerings. UC Santa Cruz, who has received this honor many years in a row, received a score of 99 this year, the highest possible score, along with 22 other colleges including UC Los Angeles, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Irvine! Congratulations, Banana Slugs!

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.

UCSC Receives Sustainability Best Practice Awards

UCSC will be recognized with two Best Practice Awards at the statewide Higher Education Sustainability Conference this summer in the categories of Monitoring-Based Commissioning and Sustainability Innovations.

The Monitoring-Based Commissioning award goes to the Earth & Marine Sciences Building project, which significantly reduced the carbon impact of the Earth and Marine Sciences Building through a process known as MBCx (commissioning). This project was made possible by the diligent efforts of campus facilities staff, including (below): Dan Miceli (HVAC supervisor), Dave Ciolino (Project Management), Gabe Sandoval (bldg tech) and Patrick Testoni (Energy Manager).

The Sustainability Innovations award goes to the UCSC College Dorm Bi-Level Stairwell Lighting Retrofit and Green Revolving Loan Fund. Together, these projects are sustainably innovative because our campus was able to reduce energy consumption and utilize associated cost savings to fund future energy efficiency projects. The revolving aspect of the loan is an innovative solution to funding sustainability projects on campus that can generate quantifiable monetary savings and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. The Green Revolving Loan and Bi-level Stairwell Retrofit were made possible through the collaborative efforts of representatives from the UCSC Carbon Fund, Physical Plant and Facilities, Planning and Budget Department, the Sustainability Office, Alliance to Save Energy PowerSave Green Campus Program, and College Housing and Educational Services.

Read the list of best practice awards state-wide here, and find out more about the conference on the website.

PowerSave Green Campus Wins Energy Project Award

UC Santa Cruz's PowerSave Green Campus Team showcased their College 9 and 10 Bi-Level Stairwell Retrofit Project at the Alliance to Save Energy Summit in Los Angeles in February and tied with Cal Poly San Luis Obisbo for the best poster. Congratulations! The competition for best poster and presentation was judged by a panel of representatives from the California utilities companies, California Public Utilities Commission, campus stakeholders, and Alliance staff.

About the Project
The stairwell lights in the six College 9 and College 10 dorm buildings are constantly lit, consuming almost 83% more energy than needed. Erin Linney, a PowerSave Project Coordinator, wrote a grant to propose that the current fixtures be replaced with bi-level occupancy sensor fixtures. Bi-level lighting has two different levels of light output from a fixture and an occupancy sensor, which determines when an area is occupied and when it is empty. Tthe new sensors will reduce the lighting to 3% of the normal light output.

Educating users

This quarter, interns for UC Santa Cruz PowerSave Green Campus are planning an educational outreach campaign in the College 9 and 10 dorms to promote the College 9 and 10 Bi-Level Stairwell Retrofit Project. They plan to display signs and posters in the dorms to educate the students about the energy savings from the project. Furthermore, they hope to collaborate with the R.A.’s in the colleges to host personal energy audit training events with the dorm residents.

To find out more about the program and this project, please email Erin Linney.

Global Village Cafe Receives Green Business Certification

Congratulations! Global Village Café located at the McHenry Library is the first contracted food vendor on campus to receive their Green Business Certification from the City of Santa Cruz. This intensive program focuses on pollution prevention, water and energy conservation, solid waste and recycling, equipment and facility upgrades as well as staff training are part of this comprehensive City of Santa Cruz Green Business Program.

With the assistance from campus dining (which currently have all 13 locations certified) this 6 month implementation process was achieved in early December. 

Victoria Salas, Adam Hoffman, and Clint Jeffries in the Global Village Cafe at McHenry Library

“I felt it was a major priority to become a certified Green Business. Given the transitional environmental/sustainability issues our generation is facing, I believe our certification will help lead the way for other independent food vendors to demonstrate their commitment to support local agriculture, food waste awareness, and energy efficiency. Going through this process of being certified has revealed several minor measures that all of us can take to make a major difference in the food industry. Thanks to all who helped along the way!" said Adam Hoffman, General Manager at Global Village Cafe. 

“Collaborating with campus vendors to achieve certification is one of the dining department goals from the current 3 year campus sustainability plan and Adam was enthusiastic and motivated from the first contact,” stated Clint Jeffries, Green Business Manager for UC Santa Cruz Dining. 

Assisting Adam in the detailed process was the Chancellor's Undergraduate Intern for Dining, Victoria Salas.  If you want to make change happen on this campus and get involved in UCSC as more than just a student, you should apply for the Chancellor's Undergraduate Internship Program, which is currently accepting submissions until February 13. Find out more about the campus-wide internship program here.

To learn more about the Green Business Certification of Global Village Cafe, please contact Candy Berlin.

Procurement and Business Contracts Office Certified Green as a "Tree" by PROPS

PROPS (Program Recognizing Offices Practicing Sustainability) has just awarded the Green Office Certification level of “Tree” to the Procurement and Business Contracts office. This is the highest award level currently available and it is the first time it has been awarded. The first certification for the Procurement Office was “Sapling,” awarded in August of 2011.

The Procurement Office received its original "Sapling" award in August 2011. They have just been certified "Tree" level, the highest level PROPS recognizes.

In addition to the initial assessment and award, Procurement was given a set of improvement recommendations that could increase the certification rating. The Procurement Office committed to these on-going improvements and future re-assessment.

With the help of PROPS, Procurement was able to achieve the new certification by successfully fulfilling multiple goals for improvement in areas such as waste reduction, energy conservation, and purchasing environmentally preferred products.

Great work, Procurement and Business Contracts Office!

To find out more about the Green Office Certification Program (formerly PROPS), click here.

May 2012: Contests & Funding

CSC Grants: Deadline May 11th
The Campus Sustainability Council is now accepting grant proposals for 2012-2013 sustainability projects. If you work within on of the student organization on campus and want to implement your own project relating to the Blueprint for a Sustainable Campus, this is the place to get funding! Make sure to attend one of the required trainings, dates provided on the website, and to turn in your application by May 11th! For more information please email CSC.

Call for Submissions: Student Sustainability Film Festival
The Media Institute for Social Change invites submissions for its third annual Student Sustainability Film Festival. Students can submit short films about what their campus or community is doing to make it more sustainable for a chance to receive cash prizes and be shown at various campus and conference screenings. Entries are due by May 17, 2012. For more information please visit the website.

Call for Entries: Green Living Project Student Film Competition - Deadline May 25
Green Living Project invites submissions for its Student Film Project. The competition encourages students to submit films of five minutes or less that share a unique, creative and compelling story about a local or global sustainability-related project. Sample sustainability topics include wildlife conservation, sustainable food, resource conservation, community development, renewable energy, sustainability-related education and sustainable travel and tourism. The submission deadline is May 25, 2012. Winners will be screened at Green Living Project's Washington D.C. Film Premiere in June. For more information please visit the website!

Drop Your Own Drip
Drop Your Own Drip is a campus campaign working to create educational monthly water-use statements for on-campus apartment residents that encourage conservation. Water conservation is further incentivized for residents through a campus-wide water-use reduction competition and challenge for each resident to use no more than the target-level of daily water-use of 60 gallons per person. The competition will reward the college residents from one of the ten main apartment complexes on campus who successfully reduce water-use per capita the most between the months of February to April 2012. Water statements were successfully sent out for February and March, and the final weeks of the conservation competition are upon us! The final round of statements will be sent out May 14-18 and that's when we will know the winner! If you live in the on-campus apartments, do your part and reduce your water consumption at home! With any questions, please email Drop Your Own Drip . GET A GRIP & DROP YOUR OWN DRIP!

Accepting Applications: AASHE 2012 Awards Program
AASHE invites applications for its 2012 sustainability awards. AASHE will present four Campus Sustainability Case Study Awards, one Student Sustainability Leadership Award, two Student Research on Campus Sustainability Awards and one Faculty Leadership Award. All winners will be announced at the AASHE 2012 conference and will be featured in Sustainability: The Journal of Record. Applications will be accepted through July 2. Please visit the website for more information.

Carbon Fund's Winter Projects

Do you have a creative greenhouse gas reduction idea? Let the Carbon Fund help it grow! The Carbon fund will be accepting applications next year, but now is the time to prepare your project idea. This past winter quarter the UCSC Carbon Fund granted over $26,000 to three staff and student run greenhouse gas reduction projects, including the installation of solar tubes at Natural Bridges Green School, a lighting retrofit at Watsonville High School (WHS), and a “greenovation” of the study lounge at Porter College. For a complete list of projects and information on how to get involved, visit the website or email the Carbon Fund.

Food Justice Communities on the Move Video Challenge

San Jose State University has been working on a food justice campaign in east San Jose, which encourages families teaching their children how to eat, increases access to CalFresh SNAP benefits, and teaches families how to use these benefits at farmers' markets, emphasizes eating culturally relevant and familiar foods in healthy ways. They have partnered with local farms like Veggielution, Second Harvest Food Bank, various faith and cultural groups, and more. They have leaders from the university, but and from the local community who reach out to their peers on these issues. If their video wins, the group gets $1000 and two representatives get to go to the White House. This is part of First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign against childhood obesity. These are our neighbors both geographically and allies in food justice. You can vote daily with Facebook. Voting closes on May 11. Vote now!