The Successes of Campus Clean-Up Day!

Amidst Alumni weekend and 50th Anniversary events, students were working hard to maintain the aesthetic beauty and ecosystem health of our unique campus. Almost 100 volunteers from Greek life, the Sustainability Office, the Student Union Assembly, and other student organizations turned up early Sunday morning for the first Annual Campus Cleanup Day. Volunteers broke up into teams all throughout campus to collect over 200 pounds of litter - this was all material that hadn't made it into a nearby trash can or dumpster!

Many of these items weren't even destined for the landfill, but were able to be recycled or composted. Even more shocking - and a credit to the diligence of our participants - were the 3 pounds worth of cigarette butts, amounting to roughly 1.5% of the total litter collected. We hope to make Campus Cleanup Days a recurring event, so if you have a passion for getting wasted and staying trashy, look out for future newsletters to get involved!

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!

Food

Six Vermont Schools Participate in Food System Tour
As part of an effort to study local and global food systems, students from around the U.S. will visit Green Mountain College, Middlebury College, Sterling College, University of Vermont, Vermont Law School, and Vermont Technical College. The 21-day tour explores urban food systems, the local dairy industry and carbon economy, food system advocacy in the context of genetically-modified food, conservation, and climate change and its impacts on global food system.

Transportation

GMR Institute of Tech Imposes Vehicle Restrictions on Campus (India)
In an effort to curb noise and air pollution at the institution, the university recently banned vehicles on campus every Thursday whereby all faculty, staff and students park their motorized vehicles in assigned locations and reach campus by foot.

USA Today: Campus Bike Reuse Programs
The recently released article points out some universities and colleges that are collecting unwanted bikes, repairing them to working order, and lending them to students who might not otherwise be able to afford a bicycle.

Nashville, TN Walk Bike University Free Public Bike Classes
Walk/Bike Nashville's Walk Bike University (WBU) seeks to grow the number of Nashvillians biking and walking through education, raising awareness, and cultivating bicycle and pedestrian leaders. They host workshops on bicycle skills, bicycle maintenance, pedestrian advocacy, and various other bicycle and pedestrian issues. Classes are fun, informative, and open to the public.Some classes include: Adult Learn to Ride a Bike; Bicycling 123 refresher course; Basic Bike Skills on off-street (parking-lot) skills course; and City Cycling.

Ohio State U Enters Negotiations with Bike Sharing Company 
The recent negotiations, if agreed upon, will bring Zagster, a bicycle-sharing system, to campus with 115 bicycles including tandem, hand cycle, electric assist, heavy duty, and three-wheeled cargo bikes.

Big Idea: $1 To Save Bicycling on Campus
A graduate student studying urban planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign successfully lead a campaign on campus to institute a $1 semesterly fee for bicycle programs and infrastructure. The fee not only passed, but it sailed through a vote with 73% of students in support.

Awareness, Education, and Engagement

California State U Monterey Bay Opens New Sustainable Degree
The new bachelor of science in sustainable hospitality management provides students with local, regional and global perspectives on current and pressing sustainability issues and problems within the hospitality industry. Concentrations exist in sustainable hotel, resort and event management, and sustainable ecotourism management.

Portland State U Launches Graduate Certificate in Public Design
The university's School of Architecture's new certificate in Public Interest Design aims to prepare students in sustainability, community development and architecture to aid underserved populations through sustainable, human-centered design methods via in-classroom studies and hands-on field experience, working directly with communities in need.

U Virginia Begins Employee Sustainability Program
Seeking to reduce its environmental impact by building more efficient spaces, the university's sustainability committee has started its new, self-reporting Green Workplace Program, which uses a checklist of 60 actions that workplaces can implement to improve operations and reduce cost, and includes eight categories: energy, transportation, purchasing, zero waste, community, health, food and bonus credits. If UCSC held sustainability trainings for employees, would you attend? Comment below!

Maharishi U Offers Masters Program in Sustainable Living
During the first year of the program, beginning fall 2015, students will spend half their time in class and half in the community addressing challenges. The second year will be entirely devoted to a major community project, with one option being a 25-month hitch in the Peace Corps.

U North Carolina Chapel Hill Announces Campus Climate Dialogues 
Inspired by the rising level of national and local discourse surrounding events and issues of equity and inclusion related to race, intellectual diversity, religion, identity and culture, the university recently began Carolina Conversations, a coordinated effort that gives the campus community an avenue to share thoughts and opinions with the administration. The campaign includes an interactive website, a calendar of all campus events related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and a series of ongoing events to encourage dialogue.

Waste

Fitchburg State U Removes Drinking Straw Option
In an attempt to improve waste reduction, recycling and composting, the university removed the straws, which are hard to spot when conducting post-consumer, dish room garbage separation.

University of Washington Students Hold Trashion Show
The first annual UW "Trashion" Show was hosted by EcoReps to celebrate Earth Day and beckon audience members to reimagine and critically think about "waste."All clothing made through upcycling scavenged materials. Something like this would be a great opportunity for the Theater and Art and Environmental Studies departments to collaborate on something environmentally creative.

Energy

Cambridge U Studies Plant-Powered Bus Shelter (U.K.)
The prototype hub at the university's botanical garden has walls of plants in pockets made of carbon fiber that receive electrons, produced as a byproduct of photosynthesis, that power a light in the shelter.

Climate Change

Stanford U Students Hold Panel on Climate Change Education
Students for a Sustainable Stanford and the Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences recently held a panel to raise public awareness of the interdisciplinary importance of global climate change.

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

February 2015: Classes, Training, and Community

Future Campus Housing Plans: February 10 and 11
Plans are underway to expand student housing at UCSC with a focus on the west campus. Although these plans won’t be realized for several years, your experiences as a UCSC student, the reasons behind your current housing selections, and anything else you’d like to suggest that would enhance student satisfaction regarding housing are extremely important. This housing development will have possible effects to Family Student Housing, the Porter Meadow, and the Trailer Park.  It would be a great place to express the need of sustainability within new housing and planning. All are encouraged to attend. Please contact jimgrove [at] ucsc [dot] edu to participate. Click here for more information about upcoming stakeholder engagement sessions to provide your input.

March for Real Climate Leadership: February 7
On February 7th, thousands of people from all corners of the state will take to the streets of Oakland to call on Governor Jerry Brown to protect all Californians from dangerous oil activities that harm our water, our health and our communities. As he took office on January 5th for his fourth and final term, Governor Brown declared he wants California to be an international leader in the fight against climate change. But California can’t be a leader in the fight against climate change while we unabashedly push extreme extraction methods like fracking that worsen climate change and seriously endanger the health of our communities. Details about the march here. Sign up for the bus from Santa Cruz here.

Winter Food System Learning Journeys
Join OPERS on the journey through our local food system here in Santa Cruz. Food Systems Learning Journeys will take you from the classroom and the halls of campus into a not too distant world of farming, distributing, cooking, consuming, and composting food! You will have the opportunity to taste, touch, listen, and look into a world that we are all connected to. FSLJs that are offered this quarter are listed below Viticulture and Regional Terroir (Thursday, 2/12/15); Fruit Tree Pruning (Friday, 2/20/15); The Pie's the Limit (Wednesday, 2/25/15); and The Craft of Fermentation (Saturday 2/28/15). Registration and more information here.

El Intercambio: February 17, 19 and 20
Join FoCAN and youth from Central America at the Intercambio event. On February 17th from 5-8 P.M., there will be a gathering with free food about the Scales of Labor in the Food System at the College Eight Red Room. On February 19 from 2-4:30 P.M., there will be a panel about the International Youth Network for Food Sovereignty at the UCSC Kresge Town Hall. The last event will be on February 20 from 9-11 A.M at New Leaf (located at 1101 Fair Ave.) for an AgroEco Coffee Tasting.

Education for Sustainable Living Program Spring Classes

Are you interested in social justice, food systems, renewable energy or any other Blueprint for a Sustainable Campus topics? Take the ESLP class for 2 or 5 units next quarter! Designed and led by undergraduate students. Go to eslp.enviroslug.org to learn more about class offerings and how to enroll.

LEED Green Building Accreditation Training
The UCSC Sustainability Office will again be hosting LEED green building training to prepare students, staff and faculty for taking the Green Associate (GA) and/or the Accredited Professional (AP) exams. These classes are free with a provided lunch! Draft course agenda can be viewed here. If you are interested, please email Chrissy at cthomure [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

Where the Health Can You Eat Around Here: February 25
Meet our Chefs at the Healthy Monday Tasting Event. Free to everyone, you do not need to have a meal plan! Wednesday, February 25th, 2015 3:30pm-5:00pm @ Terra Fresca Restaurant above the College 9 &10 Dining Hall. Sample selections from our new Healthy Monday's dining hall menu! Find out about healthy alternatives in our cafes. The Health Center, SHOP, OPERS Cruz Fit, along with several other campus departments are going to be on site to talk about healthy lifestyle resources available right here on campus for Slugs. Campus chefs are anxious to get your feedback too on new dishes and hear ideas for future cafe and dining hall menus! Door Prizes and Freebies too!

3rd Annual Zero Waste Youth Convergence Deadline for Speakers: February 15
The UC Berkeley Zero Waste Research Center is pleased to announce it will be hosting Zero Waste Youth USA's 3rd Annual Zero Waste Youth Convergence at UC Berkeley on Sunday, March 15, 2015. The Convergence is the kick-off event for the annual Bay Area Zero Waste Week. The call for speakers/presenters is now open. If you are interested in presenting, please apply here. The deadline to apply is February 15, 2015. Questions should be directed to info [at] zerowasteyouthusa [dot] org

Launch of new PICA website
Please take a few moments to check out PICA's new features, including a calendar of upcoming events, a food justice focus and a link where you can make a donation directly to PICA. 

Winter PICA Workdays
Come out and get your hands dirty at the PICA Garden Workdays! Every Saturday, January 17 to March 7 from 10 A.M. - 2 P.M a free garden grown lunch will be served. For more information contact Ariel Wexler: awexler [at] ucsc [dot] edu

PICA Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop: February 20
Have you ever wanted to learn fruit tree pruning? PICA is offering an opportunity to do so on Friday, February 20th with Orin Martin from 1 - 4P.M. PICA will be leaving the OPERS Recreational Porch at 1pm. RSVP here -- spots are limited! If you experience any problems signing up or have any questions, please email kemjones [at] ucsc [dot] edu

Fall 2015 Natural History Course: applications due February 2

A new program launching in Fall 2015 will immerse students from across the UC system in the outdoor classrooms of the UC Natural Reserve System. The NRS Field Quarter Program will give students opportunities to closely observe California habitats, practice hands-on field research, and gain a deeper understanding of the natural world. California Ecology and Conservation will be the only course students enroll in for the term, and it yields a full complement of quarter units. As they visit up to six of the 39 reserves in the NRS, students will master standard field techniques and get to know a broad range of California habitats, climate regimes, and species. The deadline is February 2, 2015 and instruction begins in the fall. Visit the website for more information.

Agroecology, A Global Movement: Tracing Our Roots and Looking Forward

The 16th Annual Agroecology Shortcourse will explore the roots of agroecology as a global movement as well as a science and a practice from July 12-25, 2015. Santa Cruz offers the ideal context to examine historical and current issues of social and environmental equity and sustainability that agroecology movements confront all over the world. The course aims to introduce agroecology and strategically connect the diverse and powerful agroecology experiences and movements active worldwide and create a collective overarching view of the current global situation. The course will end with a vision of how to better facilitate cross-fertilization across agroecology movements and overcome obstacles to convergence. For more information, contact can.shortcourse [at] gmail [dot] com or visit the website.

Maui Wowi: Food Systems, Agriculture, and Outdoor Adventure Spring Break Trip
Though this is fall quarter, registration is open (and will fill) for the annual experiential learning and food system engagement spring break trip. Join the Food Systems Working Group & Rec Department on Maui to explore traditional food and farming sites, explore different aspects of culture, and adventure into bamboo forests, ranch lands, and marine sanctuaries to explore the ecological aspects of the island. This trip will also include a 2-unit Environmental Studies internship in winter quarter to prepare the group for different concepts and frameworks of food system engagement they will explore in March. Sign up on the OPERS Recreation website this quarter to reserve your spot!

February 2015 Green Tip: Recycling E-waste

We went to the experts to find out the best way to recycle e-waste materials. All of the following information is from the Environmental Health & Safety UCSC webpage here. Much of e-waste is disposed of incorrectly, which is very devastating for the communities living around landfills, so it is very important that everyone on campus contributes in disposing of e-waste properly.

Electronic waste (E-waste): what is it and how do we get rid of it?

This term applies to consumer and business electronic equipment that is near or at the end of its useful life. There is no clear definition for electronic waste (e-waste) at this time, but if you can plug it in to an electrical outlet or it contains circuit boards or chips, it is most likely e-waste. These products can contain heavy metals like cadmium, lead, copper, and chromium that can contaminate the environment. DO NOT dispose of these items in the trash or your recycling bins.

Examples of electronic waste include, but are not limited to:

• TVs, computer monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, cables, circuit boards, lamps, clocks, flashlight, calculators, phones, answering machines, digital/video cameras, radios, VCRs, DVD players, MP3 and CD players 
•  Kitchen equipment (toasters, coffee makers, microwave ovens)
•  Laboratory equipment** (hot plates, microscopes, calorimeters) 
•  Broken computer monitors, television tubes (CRTs) 

 **Any laboratory equipment that has the possibility of being contaminated with chemical, biological, or radioactive substances must be cleared through EH&S and Departmental Facilities Office before disposal.
 **For PBSci laboratory equipment disposal procedure click here.

Student E-waste Recycling Options 

If you live on-campus you can dispose of your electronic waste easily and conveniently by creating a Fix It Ticket or contacting your college maintenance office.

If you live off-campus, learn more about the Santa Cruz County electronic waste disposal program:

• EcoAct.org 
• SantaCruzCountyRecycles.org (be sure to click Household Hazardous Waste in the right column and check under Universal Waste) 

Additional information on disposal / recycling of e-waste and other regulated items can be found in all college mailrooms, Graduate Student Housing Mailroom and the Village Laundry Community room. Multibins are blue cabinets built to collect batteries, small electronics, printer cartridges, and CDs. They are located in every college mailroom.

New Assessment Criteria for Green Labs Certification Program

The UC Santa Cruz Sustainability Office's Green Labs program is proud to announce the implementation a new of a new scorecard for their certification program on campus, which promotes sustainability in our research labs. The Green Labs certification program rewards research labs that continuously practice sustainability in their work and encourage these practices throughout the year. In collaboration with other UC Green Labs programs throughout the UC system, a new detailed set of assessment criteria has been created in order to properly certify on-campus labs. After a walk-through and assessment based on this criteria, labs that have met sustainable standards are granted a Green Labs certification.

The new assessment has made drastic improvements to ensure proper certification, evaluating such criteria as proper waste disposal, water management, and sustainable lab protocol (i.e closing fume hoods when not in use, decreasing plug loads). The goals of the new certification process are not only to acknowledge current sustainable practices in labs, but also to suggest improvements and recommend new sustainable practices. By offering lab sustainability guidelines and feedback, the program directly supports campus sustainability goals related to waste, water and energy reductions.

 

Through the original assessment criteria used in the past couple of years, the Green Labs programs has certified two labs on campus. Their goals for the coming year are to outreach and certify as many labs as possible. Labs that become certified will soon be eligible for certification incentives (e.g. equipment upgrades) in the coming year. Using the new assessment process, the Green Labs team hopes to be efficient and effective when certifying labs and create a trend among campus to pursue environmentally sustainable practices.

If you work in a lab on campus and would like to speak with a Green Labs team member, please email Lily at lurmann [at] ucsc [dot] edu. To learn more about the program, please visit their website.

UCSC 2014 Waste Assessment

In continuing efforts to be a leading institution in sustainable practices, Chancellor Blumenthal initiated the Chancellor's Sustainability Challenge this year to students, staff, and faculty to reduce campus waste, in hopes of reaching the official UC-wide goal of Zero Waste by 2020. Part of realizing that goal is tracking all material flowing from campus, including the material we produce, the categories of these materials, and whether or not each material type is being disposed of appropriately. To accomplish this the Sustainability Office and Ground Services partnered to conduct a campus-wide assessment.

The assessment was conducted at the university’s 2300 Delaware location, headed and organized by students and staff from the Sustainability Office and Ground Services. This committee planned and coordinated the manual sorting of 10,463 pounds of material, from 50 randomly selected university dumpsters, over the course of two days. The material was delivered to the site in loads from campus kitchens, lab/office areas, and housing, and analyzed separately by location. With the help of temporarily hired workers, the dumpster contents was sorted into categories, including clean recyclable paper, mixed recycle containers, food scraps, soiled paper towels, other compostables, cardboard, plastic bags, styrofoam, and unsalvageable waste. Each category was weighed, and their percentage in the overall material composition calculated.

We were amazed at the amounts of compostable and recyclable materials that were ending up in the dumpster, all of whose contents are regularly transported to the landfill. With a majority of the items in the dumpster being recyclable or compostable, we predict that reaching Zero Waste by 2020 could be feasible! Our intentions now are to use this information to educate and outreach to university members, as well as reassess campus facilities, so that we can properly redirect the campus’s material stream. If you are interested in more detailed information regarding the campus-wide waste assessment, the official results will be shared by the Chancellor at the Sustainability Spring Fest event to be held at the Stevenson Event Center on May 22nd.

If you have not already, help our campus reach its Zero Waste Goal by 2020 and 

take the Chancellor's Sustainability Pledge! 

It only takes a couple minutes.

April 2014 Sustainability Profile: Financial Affairs Green Team

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month features the Financial Affairs Green Team, who hosted "A Year in Waste" this past year in order to encourage use of sustainable practices in their office.

We asked the Financial Affairs Green Team about the Year in Waste and their strategies for spearheading sustainable practices in departments.

Financial Affairs is deeply entrenched in sustainability and hosting a year in waste. Tell us a little about what the "Year In Waste" is and how financial affairs has worked to green their business practices:

In response to the Chancellor’s Sustainability Challenge and to support the university’s goal to be zero waste by the year 2020, the Financial Affairs Green Team kicked off this effort by presenting "A Year in Waste". The Green Team hosted a fall "Year in Waste" event as a creative and fun way to build awareness of waste generated by Financial Affairs activities and to encourage more sustainable and ecologically-friendly practices. This event included a humorous skit by the Financial Affairs Actors Pool, a raffle of donated "green items", food, a debut of the Dimeo Lane Video - sharing what was learned from visiting the Dimeo Lane Landfill about trash management and sustainability, and an inspirational talk and call to action by Director of Sustainability, Lacey Raak.

Financial Affairs was also a collaborator on a four week pilot waste stream project including Waste and Recycling, Grounds Services, Custodial, and 2300 Delaware Facilities Managements. During this pilot, a baseline measurement of waste was collected and will be used to compare against future waste measurements. Through education, conservation and increased composting, our goal this year is to divert at least 10% of our waste from going to the Dimeo Lane Landfill. With the help of a carbon fund grant, a second worm bin has been installed and is in use.

Another event featured as part of our "Year in Waste" was a Bring your Hand Towel to Work Week. Eighty-two percent of Financial Affairs employees pledged to stop using paper towels for at least a week. In addition, employees took the Chancellor’s Challenge with a prize given to units with the highest participation levels. This was a wonderful opportunity to educate and engage people in discussions about campus sustainability and living a greener lifestyle - encouraging us all to be mindful of the amount of waste we generate. To that end, educational events related to a waste reduction theme have been scheduled for the year: Worm Composting with David Shaw, Preparing Green Lunches by Culinary Educator Talya Lutzker, and an E-waste Recycling Presentation by Hannah Hodgson.

All eight units of financial affairs have undergone green office certification.

There are so many other departments and units on campus-- what is one strategy that you would suggest to those that are interested in spearheading sustainability efforts and greening their business practices?
Critical to the success of the Financial Affairs Green Team has been the level of commitment, engagement and support for sustainability from Financial Affairs Management and The Chancellor. The creation of a Mission Statement helped to clarify our focus and work more effectively towards reaching our goals. The "Green Team" used project plans to share goals and objectives with actionable steps for management approval prior to execution.

The creation of a clear vision and mission along with a commitment to educate others is a great starting place for any department interested in enacting change and greening their practices. Clear communication is key – providing all participants with opportunities for discussion, education and engagement. It is important to have "stakeholders" rather than passive observers to truly effect change.

Waste Not: Consumption and Waste at UCSC with Annie Leonard

On the morning of Wednesday, February 12, the Permaculture and Whole Systems Design class in Kresge College welcomed Annie Leonard, the creator of The Story of Stuff, to campus for a lively class period, including tales from her travels to waste sites around the world, information about impactful environmental work being done to solve waste issues, and some inspiring advice to students on making change. Students engaged in asking questions and discussion and left feeling entertained, informed, and inspired.

That afternoon, Annie Leonard and students, faculty, and staff attended a zero waste luncheon hosted by the Program in Community & Agroecology. There, they filled themselves with delicious homegrown and homemade spring rolls and salads as they casually conversed about various topics such as composting and renewable energy.

That evening, Annie's Story of Stuff video was shown, and following this, Annie Leonard spoke with panelists from the UCSC sustainability community about the "stuff" that enters and leaves our campus and how we can be more conscious about consumption and waste. Panelists included Ben Crow (Sociology Professor), Kathryn Cunningham (a Buyer with Procurement Services), Brad Angell (Planned Maintenance Coordinator with Physical Plant), and Gabi Kirk (Alumna, Environmental Studies 2012, Former student sustainability organizer).

More than 120 people attended this discussion and gained insight on global inequality, sustainable procurement, and grounds services. Attendees were encouraged to ask questions and get involved with an interactive Q&A.

At the end of the day, there was a reception and book signing, where people socialized and connected over appetizing hors d'oeuvres.

Thank you to all who came to the event. And thank you to the UCSC Sustainability Office, Common Ground Center, Education for Sustainable Living Program, and the Student Environmental Center for hosting this event!

College Eight/Oakes Dining Hall Reduces Food Waste by 14 Pounds

Congratulations to the College Eight/Oakes Dining Hall and residents for reducing their food waste to 49 pounds total during dinner service on January 24th! Since students decreased their food waste from 63 pounds during a dinner service waste audit last quarter, Dining celebrated with a delicious ice cream party.

When we reduce the amount of food waste, we reduce the amount of waste that needs to be hauled to a composting facility, thus saving money and reducing transportation carbon emissions. In addition to reducing our impact on the climate, this money in turn can be used to purchase more interesting and delicious food in the dining halls!

"Bring Your Hand Towel to Work Week" at UCSC Financial Affairs Office

By Lori Van Briggle, Data Entry Supervisor for UCSC Payroll

The Financial Affairs Green Team's second annual "Bring Your Hand Towel To Work Week" wrapped up on February 7. This year we set up a table in the mezzanine of 2300 Delaware for the week of February 3-7 with a whiteboard asking Financial Affairs staff to pledge to take the Chancellor's survey and to use a hand towel for one week. If you took the pledge, your name and unit were written on a leaf and the unit with the highest percentage of participants won treats from Kelly's Bakery.

The participation was amazing! Not only did we have volunteers manning the table (sacrificing half hour of their lunchtime) for 2 hours each day, but we also had 82% of our staff take the pledge! Our hope is that after using a cloth towel for a week, staff would realize it is not a difficult change to make in order to save resources and put fewer paper towels into the landfill.

Awesome work, Financial Affairs Office! To learn more about what the Financial Affairs Green Team is doing to make UCSC a more sustainable place, email Kirk Lew at kllew [at] ucsc [dot] edu to join their newsletter list!

February 2014: Internships, Employment, & Volunteering

Chancellor's Undergraduate Internship Program - $8200!
The CUIP program is now accepting applications for the 2014-2015 academic year! CUIP provides on-campus internships in programs and departments throughout the campus, and there are many sustainability CUIP positions with offices on campus like Dining, the Student Environmental Center, and the Sustainability Office. Interns work with a mentor to develop personal and professional skills and take a leading role in a project. A two-unit leadership seminar class is required for fall, winter and spring quarters, and a stipend of $8,200 is paid towards the intern’s registration fees for the academic year. CUIP is a unique opportunity to learn, earn, and serve. For details on the list of internships and to apply please visit this website. The application deadline is Thursday, February 13. If you have questions email cuip [at] ucsc [dot] edu or call 459-3973.

Early Bird Applications for IDEASS Internship Program Open February 15
Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) will be accepting early bird applications for 2014/2015 on February 15. If you have a novel green-tech solution in mind, please fill out the application here and submit your idea. IDEASS can fulfill senior exit credit for some majors--including ENVS--and many alumni have been offered jobs related to their projects when they graduate. Project topics compatible with the IDEASS model must: A) Include a build/design track leading to some kind of deliverable; B) Be relevant to community stakeholders; C) Be attractive to off-campus / professional talent so that we can recruit a mentor; D) Be appropriate for a fall-planning winter/spring-implementation cycle. For more information, please email ideass [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

Volunteer to Help Plan and Table at Earth Summit
The Student Environmental Center is excited to announce the 13th Annual Earth Summit on March 6th, 2014! The Earth Summit is a space for students, staff, faculty, administrators, and community members to come together and celebrate the history and current actions in campus sustainability, plan for future projects, and strengthen student involvement. There will be empowering speakers, exciting workshops, delicious local food, and opportunities to table! If you would like to be involved in the planning, host a workshop, table, or volunteer at this great event, email Lily Urmann at lurmann [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

ESLP 2-Unit Internship Opportunity
The Education for Sustainable Living Program (ESLP) is looking for 2-unit interns for winter quarter. ESLP is a student organized and facilitated class that is put on in the spring at UCSC based on the Blueprint for Sustainable Campus. Interns will take part in planning and organizing the class. Tasks will include attending meetings, assisting with student outreach, going to conferences, and deepening the understanding of student involvement in campus sustainability efforts. If you are interested or have any questions about this opportunity, please email eslp [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

Santa Cruz METRO Seeks Volunteers for Advisory Committee - Cycling Bus Riders Needed
Santa Cruz METRO is seeking volunteers to serve on the METRO Advisory Committee (MAC). The Santa Cruz Metro Board of Directors looks to this citizen advisory board for policy and operational issues that impact Metro riders. Meetings are the third Wednesday of every month at 6 PM at Pacific Station in downtown Santa Cruz. MAC members are nominated by each Santa Cruz METRO Director and appointed by the Santa Cruz METRO Board of Directors. Santa Cruz METRO strives to balance the membership to reflect the ethnic, gender and geographic diversity of the County of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz METRO’s service area. At this time, residents of Capitola, Scotts Valley, and Aptos are encouraged to apply for open positions on MAC. People who combine bikes with transit should be represented on this board because there are currently no cyclists who also use buses serving on MAC, according to Richard Masoner here. If you are interested, please apply for MAC.

IDEASS Seeks Waste Team Member
Do you want professional experience or an opportunity to fulfill senior exit credit through an innovative sustainable design project? Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) is looking for a few more passionate and hardworking student leaders to join a project team working on a waste reduction project with the Kresge Owl's Nest! Winter admissions to IDEASS requires a winter - spring (2 quarter) commitment. Students can expect to work in interdisciplinary teams with a professional mentor. For more information, or to apply email ideass [at] ucsc [dot] edu and check out the IDEASS homepage on the sustainability office website.

Gain Volunteer Experience Sorting Waste 
The IDEASS team project working on waste reduction at the Owl's Nest (described above) is seeking volunteers for a waste audit on Thursday, February 13. They need all the help they can get to sort through the different waste streams to measure and assess levels of cross-contamination in the different waste streams. Snacks will be provided, and they'll be listening to groovy tunes! To sign up, email Kelsey Smith at khsmith [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

Volunteer with Take Back the Tap
Are you interested in water justice? Do you appreciate every drop that flows out of the tap? Then you might be interested in joining the Take Back the Tap team, a social and environmental justice campaign aimed to end the sale of single use plastic water bottles on our campus. They meet every Thursday evening, 6:15 to 7:15 PM at the Common Ground Center, Kresge 166. Email takebackthetapucsc [at] gmail [dot] com for more information.

Alliance to Save Energy Seeks Program Associate
The Alliance to Save Energy is seeking a full-time Program Associate to assist with implementation of its PowerSave Campus Program. The program employs and manages paid student interns to develop and implement projects that promote careers in the sustainability field, generate energy savings on campus, increase awareness of the importance of energy efficiency, and encourage the infusion of sustainability concepts into academic curricula. The Program Associate will work in the Alliance's Oakland, CA office. For more information about the position and about the PowerSave Campus Program, check out their website here. Please apply via the following link, uploading your resume and cover letter in one single pdf when prompted. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis through February 5. The position is open until filled.

ZipCar Paid Internship
ZipCar is offering a paid internship to students at UCSC.  Some responsibilities will include: Communicating and working with campus-wide contacts to grow awareness on campus, Location management, Vehicle auditing, and Writing and executing a marketing plan.  To apply, and for more information check out this website here for more information.

Apply to Volunteer with Sprout Up
Sprout Up is a non-profit program that looks for undergraduate volunteers to help bring lessons of environmental science and sustainability to local elementary school classrooms. They are college student founded and operated non-profit that is always seeking new instructors. For more information about potential volunteering opportunities with them check out their website.

Internships with WaterLab Research Facility

The WaterLab Research Facility studies wastewater recycling and how to use recycled water to conserve unused water reserves. Though still in progress of becoming a full-fledged research facility, internship opportunities exist and will be expanding as the facility grows. UCSC students can learn more about WaterLab and internships by contacting Eli Weintraub at etweintr [at] ucsc [dot] edu and via the Center for Integrated Water Research website.

Find or Upload Projects to Sustainability Project Clearinghouse
Interested in getting involved in a campus sustainability project, but don't know how? Are you looking for partners for your current project? Have you completed a project that you would like others to learn from? Visit the Sustainability Project Clearinghouse, a centralized database of UCSC sustainability projects, today! You can view published projects or upload your own projects and ideas. For training on how to upload a project, please contact Shauna Casey at scasey [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

Individual Building Styrofoam Collection Now Available

Does your building produce styrofoam waste? Physical Plant is now willing to start collecting styrofoam in individual buildings! To identify a collection location for pick up, talk to your building manager and contact Bill Alderson at walderso [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

Financial Affairs - A Year in Waste

In response to the Chancellor’s Sustainability Challenge to reduce waste in 2013-14, the Financial Affairs Green Team kicked off this effort by presenting “A Year in Waste.“ This event was promoted to build awareness of waste generated by Financial Affairs and to encourage more sustainable and ecologically friendly practices. “A Year in Waste” was held October 23 to a standing room-only group of employees and included a skit by the Financial Affairs Actors Pool, a raffle of donated “green items," a debut of the Dimeo Lane Video (featuring a guest appearance by Chancellor Blumenthal), food, and an informative presentation and call to action by Director of Sustainability, Lacey Raak.

The Dimeo Lane Video shown at this event was created in an attempt to better understand what happens to the waste Financial Affairs generates and to explore avenues for diverting waste from the landfill wherever possible. As part of this endeavor, the Dimeo Lane project team donned hard hats to tour the landfill and interviewed the management about waste diversion opportunities for UCSC. This video offered an opportunity to share what was learned from this project and to create greater awareness within Financial Affairs about trash management and sustainability.

Another “Year in Waste” project, the Financial Affairs Waste Reduction Initiative, is currently underway. Collaborators on this four-week pilot waste stream project included Waste and Recycling, Grounds Services, Custodial, Financial Affairs, and 2300 Delaware Facilities Managements. During this pilot program, a baseline measurement of waste was collected. Six waste streams were identified: white paper, mixed paper, compost, garbage, cardboard and containers. The data recovered in this pilot program will be used to compare against future waste measurements to be taken at year end. In addition, this information can be extrapolated to other similar environments to help identify resource and infrastructure needs to achieve zero waste.

The Financial Affairs Green Team looks forward to continued efforts in environmental leadership, collaboration, education and meeting the Chancellor’s Challenge by reducing waste, improving sustainability practices and implementing environmental solutions.

December 2013 Green Tips: Gift Giving

'Tis the season for green presents! Now, I don't want to seem like your typical drug store or supermarket, blasting "Frosty the Snowman" and selling ornaments right as the pumpkins roll out the door, but it's never too early to start thinking about making this season's gift-giving sustainable.

Tip Number One - Shop Local
Shopping local is a great way to make your gift giving more sustainable. When you buy a locally made gift you are supporting the local economy and avoiding the commercialism of the holidays that stores like Target and Walmart provide. If you are heading downtown to buy a friend or family member a gift try checking out a local candy shop, bookstore, or gallery for unique sustainable gifts.

photo source

Tip Number Two - Reusable Wrapping
Newspaper, old gift bags, a cardboard box you found in the garage; these are all excellent choices for wrapping up your gifts this year. Why not use up all those paper bags you got before you started remembering to bring your reusable shopping bags to the store? It's cheap, fun, and better for the environment. And who knows? Maybe the person you give the gift to will even reuse your wrapping for something else!

Tip Number Three - A Gift that Will Last
Now I'm not saying you need to buy everyone a reusable water bottle this year (even though that would be wonderful) but think before you buy! Ask yourself a few questions before you make a purchase:

1. Is this something the person you are buying for will actually use and want?
2. Is there a more sustainable version of this product? (Store bought cookies vs Homemade)
3. How likely is it that this gift will end up in the trash before summer begins?

Tip Number Four - Create a Memory Instead
Honestly most "things" you can buy are not going to last forever. Why not create a memory with or for someone instead. Buy a spa day or a sea kayaking adventure! Buy a giftcard to a new restaurant you guys have been wanting to try. These things last forever in our hearts and make for an environmentally friendly gift.

Styrofoam Collection Program

In 2012, the Sustainability Office, Grounds, and Environmental Health & Safety collaborated to set up a quarterly Styrofoam Collection Program for labs and all other departments who may have high influxes of Styrofoam. We have diverted 75-100 yards of Styrofoam since this collection program began. That's almost one football field of Styrofoam! 

If you or your lab have a Styrofoam waste stream, store your waste until the following 2013-14 collection dates:

• Winter Quarter:  January 7 from 11-2 PM
• Spring Quarter:  March 4 from 11-2 PM

During the above dates and times, a roll-off bin will be located at the Physical Science Building loading dock with volunteers ready to assist with drop-offs. 

The Sustainability Office hopes that all labs will participate in the collection and recycling of our large Styrofoam waste stream. For any questions, please contact Green Labs Associate, Caitlin Jetter at cjetter [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

Call for Your Waste Reduction Stories!

Calling all students, staff, and faculty! Help us tell the whole story about waste reduction at UCSC. Please send us your waste reduction success stories so we can share them with the campus community in our newsletter and on the Chancellor's Sustainability Challenge website.

November 2013 Green Tip: Sustainable Fall

The leaves are changing into those beautiful fall colors, morning runs are a little harder to get out of bed for, scarves and cozy sweaters are breaking out of the back of the closet. Fall is officially on its way, so to welcome it in Sustainability Office style, we've come up with some tips for the season:

1. Reusable mugs for seasonal drinks: Pumpkin spice lattes are pretty much the best tasting thing coffee culture has ever come up with, and during this season, they are everywhere! Keep your travel mug with you when you head to your favorite coffee shop to avoid generating waste with a paper cup, plastic lid, and cardboard sleeve. Forgot your mug? Many cafes have ceramic mugs "for here," so request one and enjoy the cafe. You could also ask for soy or almond milk for a treat that's animal product-free!


2. Compost those leftover Jack-O-Lanterns from Halloween!

3. Thrift for shop Fall clothing: There is nothing better than bundling up super warm when the weather turn cold, windy, or rainy. Gloves, scarves, hats, the whole shebang are perfect for fall. Instead of buying brand new fall wear, hit up one of the local thrift stores. There are so many funky, unique, cozy clothes. Why buy new things when you can reuse! Also, keep in mind that you are typically wearing sweaters outside of your other clothes, meaning you can wash them less often and reduce the number of laundry loads you need to make, saving energy and water.

4. Thanksgiving: Invest in a certified humane turkey, get veggies from the Farmers Market, and try and buy organic. This won't only taste better but it'll also be better for you.

5. Keep your head up. Sometimes when the weather starts to get gloomy, so do we. Put on your favorite fall tunes, bake a pumpkin pie, and smile to keep your personal sustainability going. The sun will always come out again!

Move-In 2013 Diverts 41% of Waste from Landfill

After students move in to their dorms and apartments at UC Santa Cruz, their lives settle in among all of the redwood trees and the many things they brought to their rooms in boxes. But what happens to all of those cardboard boxes, Styrofoam containers, and plastic film after they're unpacked for the year?

This year, 41.71% of the 38,189.84 total pounds of move-in waste containing those boxes and other materials was diverted away from landfill, with the largest portion containing 7.51 tons of cardboard.

Let's break down the diversion numbers into recognizable amounts.

Campus zero waste efforts this September diverted 15,013 pounds of cardboard from the landfill, which is the equivalent of 3.23 Tesla Model S electric sports cars by weight.

The second largest amount of diverted material from Move-In was 494 pounds of polystyrene foam, or Styrofoam. In average-sized, ten-pound pumpkins, that's nearly 50 pumpkins--and Styrofoam is really lightweight!

The third major recycled material was plastic film, which weighs even less than Styrofoam. 423 pounds of plastic film were diverted, the equivalent of nearly 17 average, 25-pound bicycles.

That's a lot of recyclable materials that were fortunately rescued from the landfill and sent off to be recycled! But what does waste diversion actually look like on move-in day? We asked some Student Sustainability Advisors (SSA) to share their experiences.

"This year, the Student Sustainability Advisors assisted Residential Life and Physical Plant staff in their recycling of a range of materials as new and continuing students moved in this September," shared Nuttha Mahakanchanakul, the SSA for Family Student Housing. "We asked parents and students to help us sort and break down cardboard boxes and even taught them a few tips on how to recycle different materials." 

The SSAs worked at all of the different move-in stations throughout Welcome Week. Nuttha Mahakanchanakul also shared that "staff were a great help and we had a good time learning how to make a real  difference in keeping the 'streams' of recycling clean as they are heading to the City's Resource and Recovery Facility."

"Cardboard corrals," stations designated for cardboard, plastic film, and Styrofoam collection, were stationed throughout the colleges so that residents and families could easily sort recycling after moving in. Stephanie Lara, the SSA for Porter and Kresge Colleges shared about her experience with parents during move-in: "After mistakenly putting a cardboard box in the trash dumpster, a parent was kind enough to hop in and retrieve it! It was an amazing bit of dumpster diving skill... Quite a few parents were also interested in what UCSC does regarding sustainability and waste management. I was more than happy to give a small overview--it felt so good to provide a link to our behind-the-scenes activities that help us near our larger waste goals on campus!"

Congratulations to everyone who participated in helping divert move-in waste away from the landfill! This diversion was possible thanks to a collaboration between Grounds Services and Colleges, Housing & Educational Services (CHES), including Residential Life staff at each of the residential colleges and the new Student Sustainability Advisors at each sister college.