June 2015: Classes, Trainings and Community

Poetry and Music in the Alan Chadwick Garden: June 6
Join CASFS for this annual free poetry reading and music from noon-2pm onJune 6th in the "Up Garden" at UCSC. More details here.

The Homeslice CSA: Registration Now Open
The Pie Ranch in Pescadero is expanding their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to include Santa Cruz and Davenport. As a CSA member, you will receive a weekly delivery of organically grown produce. You can either sign up for half a season for $312 or a full season for $600. The boxes come with vegetables, leafy greens, herbs, wheat flour or berries, dry beans, seasonal fruit and eggs available on request. Register to be a CSA here.

Carbon Fund Crowdfunding Project

Climate change is one of the greatest concerns to our worldwide community. As a university, UC Santa Cruz students, staff, and faculty have advocated for a greener campus. One of the ways we support sustainability is with the Carbon Fund, a granting body that provides funding for a variety of projects that decrease our carbon footprint and conserve resources. Though the fund is primarily funded through student fee measure 44, in recent years this fund has received far more qualified funding requests than we can actually fund, with a gap of $430,000. To begin to close this gap, we are hosting a crowdfunding campaign through UCSC's crowdfund platform to try and raise $10,000!

The Carbon Fund continually works as a granting body to provide funds for projects that will reduce UC Santa Cruz’s carbon footprint. The Carbon Fund Committee is comprised of staff, students, faculty, and community members knowledgeable about sustainable practices and the implementation of carbon reduction strategies.

The Carbon Fund has supported 62 projects since its inaugural funding year in 2010. Each one of the projects has either directly reduced energy consumption or provided invaluable education and outreach to our on- and off-campus communities regarding sustainability efforts. The breadth of project topics is vast. They include funding efforts from campus lighting retrofits, to bike commuter programs, composting, and solar energy.

Each year, both lower- and higher-cost projects are supported. Last year, the micro projects were allocated an average of $2,365.57, while the macro projects were granted an average of $15,076.68.

Five thousand dollars was awarded to the Santa Cruz High Garden Renaissance project this year, supporting the construction of a shed, garden, and compost system at the high school. This project provided an impactful learning experience for UC Santa Cruz students, creating an opportunity to collaborate with youth in the local community, as well as spread invaluable knowledge about environmentally-friendly practices.

As support for a carbon neutral UC Santa Cruz rises, so does the demand for the limited resources of the Carbon Fund. This year, there was a $430,000 discrepancy between requested and awarded funds. That is why we are asking for your help; we would like to raise $10,000 to start to close this gap. Every dollar supports a cleaner environment, student engagement, and brings UC Santa Cruz one step closer to a greener and more sustainable future. Make a donation to the Carbon Fund today by visiting crowdfund.ucsc.edu/carbonfund.

New Wellness Center Rainwater Harvesting

This recently completed project consists of a rainwater catchment system that will serve as the primary water source for toilet use at the UCSC Wellness Center. It is intended to be a small scale pilot project that will give the UCSC community the opportunity to monitor the effectiveness of rainwater harvesting and re-use and provide a working prototype for future rainwater catchment systems. The goal is to learn from this application and be able to apply it to future large-scale systems.

The location was chosen not only for the small-scale applicability but because the site is accessible to most campus users. This project has the potential to provide many educational benefits. Already, UCSC students in the Impact Designs: Engineering & Sustainability through Student Service program, with the help of a local engineering mentor, completed a large portion of the calculations, design, and estimate.

Storm Water Programs Manager Courtney Trask oversaw the project implementation and hopes to increase awareness about water conservation rainwater catchment systems, and sustainability by educating students, faculty, and staff and ultimately reducing municipal water consumption and energy use.

With the use of rainwater harvesting UCSC could reduce the following:

• use of domestic water 
• energy used to treat the water to drinking water standards 
• energy used to pump the water to the treatment plant and then the extra pumping to reach UCSC's elevation 
• chemicals used to treat domestic water

June 2015 Sustainability Profile: Erin Linney

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month features Erin Linney, UCSC alumna and former PowerSave Campus member, who now works at ADM Associates, a company that provides energy efficiency evaluations.

Education Background
I graduated from UCSC in 2013 with a BA in Environmental Studies and a BA in Politics.

What's your favorite green tip?
Bill McKibben is a personal hero of mine and I believe the 350.org and other similar divestment movements can have a powerful impact on the future of fossil fuels. I recently attended a workshop hosted by Women in Cleantech & Sustainability called “Kicking Coal out of your portfolio - Sustainable Investment”. I have always viewed the divestment movement as a strategy to apply pressure to universities and businesses to divest. However, I learned that I can do research on which mutual funds, ETFs and stocks reflect my values and will return a profit from a sustainable investing professional. As you graduate and begin your career, I encourage you to sustainability invest your money, because I am convinced our generation can make the change towards a fossil free world.

What does "sustainability" mean to you?
I grew up in an intentional community in the hills of Santa Rosa, called Monan’s Rill. My family’s electricity was mainly supplied by solar panels. We dried our clothes in the sunshine, and grew most of our own food. The community members all shared a common intention-- a society that emphasizes competition, materialism, and self-enhancement encourages isolation and alienation. The community views cooperation and a spirit of mutual support are highly desirable alternatives. I believe sustainability requires an intentional commitment, and sustainable change requires working together, sharing resources, supporting each other.

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life?
As a young girl, I loved tracking the family’s energy usage and learning how solar panels capture the sun’s energy to generate electricity. Our solar panels sparked my interest in implementing sustainable energy solutions, and was the main reason I decided to major in Environmental Studies and begin a career in energy efficiency. Every day I work to improve the energy use in buildings throughout the U.S. I am also passionate about water quality issues, renewable energy policy, and green building. I plan to get a masters in environmental public policy soon, and will continue to find tangible and feasible solutions to the major environmental problems that we face as a society today.

When you were at UCSC, how did sustainability relate to your role?
I worked with the UCSC PowerSave Campus for three years, where I designed and implemented multifaceted behavior change programs and energy efficiency projects. Through my role as Team Manager, I supported student interns in developing leadership skills such as communicating effectively with campus stakeholders, managing project deliverables, and implementing educational outreach campaigns. I also had the opportunity to present at several higher education conferences, where I learned about best practices in sustainability and was inspired to continue working in this field post- graduation.

Did you have a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC?
I always enjoyed Earth Summit. I loved how every sustainability organization came together to showcase their projects, outreach to students, and brainstorm ways to implement sustainability within the UCSC community. It was inspiring to hear all the creative ideas for future projects outlined in the UCSC Blueprint for Sustainability.

Can you tell us about your work at ADM Associates?
Currently, I work with an energy efficiency program evaluation firm in Fremont. I help manage commercial and residential energy efficiency programs for utilities across the US and suggest innovative solutions to increase energy savings. I analyze energy retrofits using monitoring data and information about the building operations. Each site analysis is unique and requires critical thinking as well as attention to detail to calculate the energy savings. In addition, I synthesize the complex site analyses to communicate the results to a diverse audience. I couldn’t have landed the role I have today without the training and education I received through PowerSave Campus and the Sustainability Office.

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.

June 2015: Internships, Employment & Volunteering

EMPLOYMENT

University of Southern California Seeking Sustainability Coordinator
USC Auxiliary Services is seeking a Sustainability Coordinator to join its USC Housing Team. This individual would be responsible for creating sustainable activities geared towards achieving buy-in and habit transformation, coordinate program services and activities, and assist the Director of Housing in defining goals, performance metrics and long range plans for sustainability, to name a few. Applicant must have a Bachelor's degree, 1 year combined education/experience, and experience with administrative support services. For more information, please click here.

UC Riverside Hiring Energy & Sustainability Manager
This is a full-time position located in Riverside, CA. The Energy & Sustainability Manager works to decrease energy cost, examines mechanical, electrical, water and gas systems to make sure they are functioning at the highest level possible. For more information about position requirements, and to apply, click here.

Conservation Corps Seeking College Students and Recent Graduates
Conservation Corps North Bay currently has three open positions: 1) Community Education and Event Associate (20-30 hours/week, flexible schedule, $11/hour). 2) Community Recycling Crew Staff Driver (M-F, 7:00am-3:30pm, scheduled weekend dates, $13/hour). 3) Natural Resource Crew Seasonal Corpsmember (M-F, 7:00-3:30pm, $10/hour). To see the full descriptions and to apply, click here.

Bike Santa Cruz is Seeking Part-time Bookkeeper/Membership Coordinator
Bike Santa Cruz is looking for an awesome, enthusiastic individual to work 5 hours/week tracking Bike Santa Cruz finances, handling member correspondence, and maintaining their membership database. Please read posting for more information.

Seeking Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center Program Assistant
This individual will open and close the center, troubleshoot computer equipment, greet and receive visitors, assist in tours, assist Volunteer Coordinator, data entry and management, and much more. Please send a cover letter, resume and three professional references to explorationcenter [at] noaa [dot] gov and indicate SEC Program Assistant Job in subject line.

Alliance to Save Energy Seeking Programs Associate
The Alliance to Save Energy is seeking a full-time Program Associate to assist with implementing PowerSave Campus. Applicant must have a Bachelor's degree in environmental studies, energy, education and 1-2 years of work experience is preferred. For more information, click here.

University of Utah Hiring Sustainability Communication and Outreach Coordinator
The Sustainability Office at U of Utah is seeking a Communication and Outreach Coordinator. This individual will support the campus mission by acting as a resource to faculty and staff within the Sustainability Office and coordinating internal and external communications with other public outreach efforts. For more information and to apply, click here.

INTERNSHIPS

IDEASS Internship Program Accepting Applications for 2015-16

Impact Designs Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service is a 9-month upper division service-learning class that fulfills the ENVS (and other majors) senior exit/thesis requirement by allowing entrepreneurial students to work on experimental sustainable designs and keep on the cusp of innovation. The potential projects span a cornucopia of topics, including: energy, water, food, transportation, and waste. IDEASS encourages students of all disciplines to apply. Applications are now being accepted for the 2015-2016 year. To apply, visit the application page here. 

Food Systems Internships Available

The Food Systems Working Group has an exciting new cadre of student leaders working across their partnerships with Dining, the Farm, and Garden efforts. Are you looking for an internship to join them? Email ucscfswg [at] gmail [dot] com if you'd like to find out more!

CASFS Farm Seeking Interns for Summer
If you're interested in working on the farm this summer, and supporting ongoing student engagement efforts in agroecology and ecological horticulture please email Damian Parr at dmparr [at] ucsc [dot] edu for more details. 

FSWG Leadership and Recruitment Seeking Interns 
Are you a continuing student who is passionate about food and farming systems? Look no further than an intership with FSWG (Food Systems Working Group). Please email Crystal and Alyssa at ucscfswg [at] gmail [dot] com to find out more. Or, join in during a weekly meeting, which takes place on Fridays from 11am-12pm in Oakes Room 220. 

Summer Bike Advocacy Internships Available
Bike Santa Cruz County is looking for summer interns to help with bicycle advocacy, event planning, and outreach. Bike Santa Cruz County advocates for better bicycling around the county, plans fun bike events, and participates in local planning for bike projects and policies. For more information, contact Amelia Conlen at director [at] bikesantacruzcounty [dot] org.

Writers & Social Media Interns Wanted for Hilltromper
Hilltromper, the one-stop outdoor recreation web resource for Santa Cruz County, is looking for an intern to help run the calendar, write about recreation and the environment and contribute to social media. Tromping strongly encouraged! If interested, please email Traci [at] hilltromper [dot] com.

Coastal Watershed Council Internships Available
The Coastal Watershed Council (CWC) has many great internship opportunities to learn about local watersheds, build your resume, and contribute to cleaner, healthier watersheds in Santa Cruz. They're looking for motivated college and high school students. For more information, call (831) 464-9200 and view a full list of internship opportunities here.

VOLUNTEERING

Volunteer at a Campus Garden

Want to get your hands dirty and nurture the plants in our campus gardens? Visit the calendar to find out when garden work days are happening here.

Green Building Student Alliance

Have you ever wondered what goes into making a building energy, water, and waste efficient? How can UCSC support sustainability in building designs and retrofits? Tatiana Gefter (Green Building Campaign Coordinator for the Student Environmental Center), Grant Waldron (Provost's Sustainability Intern for Climate Action), and other students are collaborating to create a Green Building Student Alliance. This group will serve as a student advising resource to campus architects and project managers with a goal of increasing student participation in campus infrastructure design to keep the environment in mind. Email Tatiana at tgefter[at]ucsc[dot]edu for more information and to join!

Get Involved with UC Global Food Initiative

The UC Global Food Initiative aims to address global issues in the food system. All 10 UCs are working collectively towards this effort to support sustainable agriculture, healthy eating, and food security. UCSC is playing a critical role in this effort with the support of the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. Join a subcommittee and get involved by contacting ucscfswg [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

Get Involved with Integrated Climate & Energy Study

Interested in climate and energy sustainability? Want to get hands-on experience exploring these topics in relation to our campus? Chrissy Thomure, Climate Action Manager in the Sustainability Office, is coordinating an Integrated Climate & Energy Study with key stakeholders and a consultant. The study launches this year, and students are encouraged to participate! Email Chrissy at cthomure [at] ucsc [dot] edu to find out more information.

Volunteer at the Homeless Garden Project Downtown Store
Volunteer in the store, on the register, for merchandising, and providing customer service. New volunteers receive orientation during their first shift. Click here to see the schedule, then contact Jes at jesw [at] homelessgardenproject [dot] org to sign-up. 

Call for Students! Conduct Free Local Business Energy Audits

Interested in greening offices and energy conservation? The Green Impact Campaign is a national student-powered movement working to raise awareness of energy consumption. Become part of the movement today and join Green Impact Campaign, here.

Global Student Embassy Seeking Garden Leader
Global Student Embassy (GSE) Santa Cruz initiates and runs several high school garden projects here in Santa Cruz county. GSE is seeking a Garden Leader who will commit to meeting one to two times/month, plan community workdays, lead after school workdays, and facilitate discussion-based workshops. Contact Wyeth Wunderlich at wyeth [at] globalstudent embassy [dot] org to participate in this awesome program.

Sprout Up Environmental Education Opportunity

Sprout Up Santa Cruz is seeking college student-instructors instructors to deliver free environmental education to 1st and 2nd graders in the Santa Cruz community, cultivating the next generation of passionate caretakers of the earth. Commitment is maximum 3 hours/week for 8 weeks, by UCSC academic quarter. For more information, please contact directorsc[at]sproutup[dot]org, and visit their website at www.SproutUp.org.

The Bike Church Community Repair Shop Seeking Volunteers
Have a knack for cycling, biking and learning to maintain bikes? Interested in learning to divert bike parts from the waste stream? Then this is the opportunity for you! Click here for more information. 

Community Engagement with San Lorenzo River Alliance
Help the San Lorenzo River Alliance have more positive attention on and more positive engagement with the San Lorenzo River by signing up to be a community engagement volunteer. To learn more or volunteer, email Laurie Egan at legan [at] coastal-watershed [dot] org. Also, check out their website here.

Teach K-12 Watershed Conservation Lessons
Coastal Watershed Council presents lessons to K-12 grade students at public schools throughout the county. Volunteer to present lessons on the link between watersheds and our water supply, recycling and composting, water pollution prevention, how to pack a trash free lunch, wise energy use, and many other topics related to climate change and wise resource use. To learn more and sign up, email Stew Jenkins at sjenkins [at] coastal-watershed [dot] org or call him at (831) 464-9200. Learn more here.

Carneros Creek Winter Monitoring
Want to gain field experience in beautiful wetland areas? Volunteer with the Carneros Creek Water Quality Monitoring Program to help monitor seasonal Carneros Creek, a primary freshwater tributary to Elkhorn Slough. You'll be professionally trained to test for field measurements and flow, including how to collect water samples that will be analyzed at a certified lab for bacteria, nutrients, total suspended solids, and pesticides. Contact Debie Chirco-Macdonald at djchirco [at] coastal-watershed [dot] org or (831) 464-9200 to get involved. Learn more here.

Carbon Fund Crowdfunding

Hello all,

The Carbon Fund team is proud to announce that we have just launched a crowdfunding project through our university. Our goal is raise $10,000 in five weeks, but we need your help to make that happen! Your generous donations will be used to help fund climate action and sustainability projects led by UCSC students. UC Santa Cruz is a leader in sustainability and known to be one of the “greenest” universities in the nation. Student organizations, such as the Carbon Fund, work towards making our university's vision of becoming a carbon neutral campus a reality. The Carbon Fund provides funding for student, staff, faculty, and community projects that mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on campus and in the community. In 2010, students passed Measure 44, which allocated $3 per student per quarter to the Carbon Fund. Every year, Measure 44 generates $110,000 to be used for campus sustainability projects that decrease our carbon footprint. Although this is a large amount of money, it is not nearly enough.

In 2014, applicants asked the Carbon Fund for $604,393 in funding for their projects. The Carbon Fund granted $177,002, resulting in a $427,391 funding gap! The Carbon Fund's lack of funds is majorly inhibiting applicants from completing incredible projects that reduce our campus' carbon footprint. We are asking for your help to close this funding gap and support our goal of becoming a carbon neutral campus by 2025! Your donation, whether big or small, will have a tremendous impact on the UCSC campus and global environment. Visit crowdfund.ucsc.edu/carbonfund to donate. We greatly appreciate your gift, and so does our earth, atmosphere, and every other living organism on the planet. Lastly, please feel free to forward this information to your networks and spread the word! Thank you!!!

Cheers, The UCSC Carbon Fund Team