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.

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.

December 2013: Classes, Training, and Community

CAN Announces the XV International Agroecology Shortcourse Nicaragua
The Community Agroecology Network (CAN) and the Social Development Organization of Nicaragua (ASDENIC), along with an interdisciplinary coordinating committee, announce the XV International Agroecology Shortcourse which will be held in the Parque de las Ciencias Estelimar, located near the city of Estelí in the north of Nicaragua from July 6-18, 2014. The main topic of the course is Agroecology and Social Transformation: transdisciplinarity, health, and human development. Applications are due April 15th, 2014. See the announcement and event poster for full information.

Demeter Seed Library
At Demeter Seed Library, it is the time of year to plant peas, fava beans, artichokes, radishes, garlic and lettuce! They will be hosting office hours at Oakes 307 on Wednesdays from 2pm-3pm so you can come by to pick up seeds, and talk to them about backyard gardening and sustainable agriculture. They would love to assist any of you in starting a garden so that you can have access to fresh produce and your own seeds! So go connect with them!

Maui Wowie: Alternative Spring Break to Hawaii
Step into spring break to engage and explore the island food system of Maui from production, research, and education to alternative market sites. Bridging service learning on island agriculture-education sites with hands-on tours of coffee farms and native gardens, participants will be immersed in a land rich with historical struggles and ripe with culture and community efforts to foster sustainability. Learn more here.

Common Ground Center Courses: Winter 2014
This Winter, Common Ground Center is pleased to offer four courses through Kresge College. Permaculture and Whole Systems Design (Kresge 161) is a new course that focuses on concepts, principles, and practices of permaculture and whole systems design. Transformative Action (Kresge 62) is a course on personal and societal transformation. Starting with the self, students examine past experiences, personal growth, passions, and the desire to make a difference in the world and participate in a civic engagement project for four hours per week. Tools for World Changers (Kresge 64) is a 2-unit course for developing life skills that benefit you in college and beyond through studying the most commonly used and effective methods for personal productivity, project management, interpersonal communication, event hosting, and regenerative community design. 2 and 5 unit internships are also available. A fourth course offering is a 2-unit internship with People Power of Santa Cruz County paired with a weekly class focused on transportation and its relationship to social justice, sustainability, and community. Email commonground [at] ucsc [dot] edu for more information, or check out their newsletter. 

Waste Awareness
Where does your dining hall weigh in this quarter? Check out the results from recent Waste Awareness events conducted by Dining, Sustainability Office's Zero Waste Team, and volunteers from the Student Environmental Center.

• College 8/Oakes: 2.1oz per person
• Cowell/Stevenson: 2.0oz per person
• Crown/Merrill: 1.6oz per person

Thank you students we are getting better at wasting less food! One plate at a time! Look out for the final two Waste Awareness Events of the quarter at Colleges 9 &10 and Porter/Kresge! If you'd like to get involved with food waste efforts and become a Waste Warrior on campus email Crystal Owings, Dining's Sustainability Intern, at cowings [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

Winter People Power Bike Ride through OPERS
If you like riding bikes for fun or for commute, want to find new routes, and enjoy making friends while riding along, be on the lookout for a bike ride opportunity through the Recreation guide this winter! The winter Rec guide will be posted here December 15 and registration begins on January 9 at 9 AM.

Seymour Center Behind-the-Scenes Tours
Learn more about exciting marine research behind the scenes and experience the spectacular surroundings of the Seymour Center at one of the tours offered each week, including Marine Mammal Research Tours, Younger Lagoon Reserve Tours, and Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf Tours. For details, please visit the website.

TAPS seeks to connect with Electric Vehicle (EV) drivers
Interested in learning more about electric vehicle charging developments planned for UCSC? Want to know of potential electrical shutdowns at Core West? Transportation and Parking Services is wanting to be in better touch with our electric vehicle user community at UCSC – please send an email to Teresa at tabuika [at] ucsc [dot] edu to be added to the list of current electric vehicle users. Learn more about UCSC's current EV accomodations on the TAPS website.

Crowdfunding for the Provost's Sustainability Internship (PSI)

The Provost's Sustainability Internship (PSI) is fundraising to help develop and expand the opportunities students and staff have to get involved in sustainability.

Sustainability and the Grateful Dead Library were identified as pilot projects to test a new UCSC crowdfunding program. PSI was specifically identified as an opportunity for fundraising because the program serves the broader sustainability efforts on campus, it supports the campus sustainability plan, and contributes to a transformative student experience by partnering students with staff to complete projects related to sustainability.

Our goal is to raise $3,000 in one month. (Grateful Dead Library exceeded its goal of $10,000 in one month earlier this Fall) $3,000 will fund 2 PSI positions for a year. These funds will directly support students and staff, it will allow the program to diversify its funding stream creating space for new opportunities to grow and encourage participation by departments that have not participated in PSI in the past.

There are two ways you can support this effort.

• First, please considering donating, at whatever level you are comfortable. One of the amazing things about crowdfunding is watching small donation of $10 or $25 add up! 
• Second, we encourage you to share this opportunity with your networks, whether is is through sending an email, posting on Facebook, or talking to friend and/or colleagues. The broader the spread of outreach the greater the opportunity for success. These funds will directly support students and staff making tangible and positive contributions to sustainability on campus, as well as encourage participation by departments that have not participated in PSI in the past but who would benefit from the organizational and financial support the program provides. If this effort is successful, we anticipate future fundraising efforts for other sustainability opportunities and we look forward to working with many of you to develop what those opportunities might be!

Thank you for supporting campus sustainability!

UCSC Students Biking the Coast to Raise Funds, Awareness for Clean Drinking Water

On December 13, with fall quarter behind them and finals all finished, two UC Santa Cruz students will be hopping onto their bicycles to embark on a 300-mile journey from Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara in the name of clean drinking water for all people.

Christopher Otte (Porter, Proposed Global Economics) and Randy Miller (Kresge, Proposed Literature) will be riding their bikes along Highway 1 for nearly 300 miles to raise money and awareness for clean drinking water projects. They are seeking sponsorship for the trip from friends, family, and the Santa Cruz community, either as a flat donation or an amount per mile they ride. All funds generated will be donated to Viva con Agua, a charitable organization based in Germany that campaigns for clean drinking water worldwide. They have already raised over $200 as of November 30!

Christopher Otte (left) and Randy Miller (right), pictured here with another friend, will be biking the coast to raise money for clean water projects.

This ride is part of a new on-campus organization called the Love Foundation, whose mission is to sponsor events that are fun and appealing with the ultimate aim of fundraising for clean water projects. A current clean water project that the organization is working to fund through Viva con Agua is in India. Find out more about the Love Foundation on their Facebook page.

Christopher and Randy invite you to join them if you are up for the fun challenge. Because the ultimate purpose is to raise money, anyone joining them needs to be willing to make some phone calls to find sponsors. People joining also need to be competent cyclists that can successfully ride 40-60 miles per day so the group can stay more or less together.

For more information about the project, to inquire about joining the ride, or to donate funds to their cause, please email Christopher Otte at ctotte [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

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.

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.