Bright Green News from the Office of Sustainability

[Kira STOLL]

April 2021 Happy Earth Month

 

    Highlights from the Office

Earth Week 2021 Join SERC and campus partners for Earth Week programming! The calendar will include a diverse range of events offered via their website and Instagram and through other sponsor venues..  Highlighted Earth Week Events The Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS) Sustainability Awards- Join us formally recognizing contributions of those graduating seniors who have helped the campus to meet its sustainability goals (4/23, 1-2 pm via Zoom - register here) Discover Cal- Researchers and practitioners at Berkeley are tackling clean energy, biodiversity, sustainability, and other climate concerns: Blue + Gold = Green! Featuring speakers: Arthur Middleton, Philip Stark and Kira Stoll (4/22, 5:30 pm via Zoom - register here) CALPIRG Students Summit: Action for a Change- bringing diverse voices in the movement to fight climate change together for a day of panels and discussions, as well as advocacy workshops and campaign actions, with 300 passionate activists! (4/22, 10 am)

Highlights from the Staff Sustainability Training  This month, we’re highlighting the Ecosystems and Biodiversity module of UC Berkeley’s Staff Sustainability Training. This module covers the impacts of climate change and human activity on ecosystems within California and beyond. Check out the Staff Sustainability Training to read more, and access the other 9 modules.  Engage in Module 5 here >> Complete the Staff Sustainability Training, including this module, here >>  Sustainability Community of Practice The Office of Sustainability & campus partners are re-establishing  the Sustainability and Carbon Solutions Community of Practice (CoP) for campus staff focused on environmental interests, peer-to-peer education, and action on campus environmental priorities. With a plan to launch in Fall 2021, this CoP will include monthly lunchtime gatherings covering different topical areas, with a focus on a sustainable future in our campus work. For staff who are interested in joining, fill out the interest form here >>

 

    Events & Get Involved

UC Center for Climate Justice Launch Event On April 22 and 23, join the launch event for the UC Center for Climate Justice, where we will hear from food sovereignty scholar-activist Vandana Shiva and DOE Deputy of Energy Justice Shalanda Baker,  as well as discussion panels on topics like Just Transitions and Indigenous Climate Action. The weekend will also feature Green New Deal architect Rihana Gunn-Wright, as well as breakout room activities and a celebration of the launch at then end of the weekend. The Center will be the first UC initiative to address climate change as a social justice and equity issue.   Find more information & register here >>		Climate Justice Symposium for Transforming Education Hosted by CSU and UC April 28th to May 1st, the Climate Justice Symposium for Transforming Education will be exploring how to integrate climate justice into higher education curriculum, including medical schools. Topics to be covered include how to scale up climate justice efforts efforts; community engagement through learning; just and transformative pedagogies; and the role of health in the climate crisis dialogue. There is an opportunity for both UC Students and Faculty to give lightning talks on any of the core topics, with a chance of winning monetary awards of up to $1,000. Register here to attend and present a lightning talk>>
Bee Friendly Campus Restores a Garden UC Berkeley is an affiliate of Bee Campus USA, which aims to foster ongoing dialogue to raise awareness of the role pollinators play in our communities and how each of us can take action to create healthy habitat. This month, students worked on the Hearst Women’s Gym restoration project adding native plants for the bee ecosystem and educational signage explaining the importance of the Pollinator Garden. When you get back to campus check out the garden and the new educational signing. Read more about Bee Free Campus & ways to get involved here >>		Wild and Scenic Film Festival for Berkeley Earth Day Hosted by the Citizens Climate Lobby, the 2021 Wild and Scenic Film Festival will offer a live virtual event on April 22 at 7 pm, Earth Day, and then provide access to on-demand films for the rest of the week about local and global communities fighting for environmental justice and restoration. This event will be co-hosted by Communities for a Better Environment, The David Brower Center, Earth Island Institute, and Green the Church.  Watch the trailer & learn more here >> Buy tickets to the event here >>
SERC is Hiring! SERC, the Student Environmental Resource Center, has opened applications for 9 new on-campus work opportunities for the upcoming semester. Three of the nine positions are available now, and six of the positions will begin over the summer. The positions are exciting and essential to the day-to-day work of SERC, including a Community Engagement Associate, who will work to create programming and engagement for the environmental community, Green Team Associate, who will work with the Zero Waste Research Center team, and many more! Find more details about how to apply & available positions >>  See the full list of positions & descriptions >>		Introduction to the Environmental Community at Cal  On Tuesday, April 13th from 6 to 7:30 PM, SERC is hosting an Introduction to the Environmental Community at Cal, featuring representatives from different student-run environmental groups on campus. Representatives will also share what their groups are currently working on, and ways to get involved! This event is perfect for anyone new to Cal, or just wanting to get more involved in campus environmentalism.  Register here >>

 

    Environmental Research & News

Wildfire’s devastation can linger long after the smoke has cleared Researchers provide "social cost of carbon" roadmap Berkeley Student Farms grows more than food at UC Berkeley Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Monitoring Capabilities Still in Use 10 Years After Fukushima Earthquake and Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

Academics & Research Highlights Check out some of the highlights from Berkeley academics & research focused on sustainability. Our earliest primate ancestors rapidly spread after dinosaur extinction Ensuring Equity in California’s Energy Transition New map shows which neighborhoods have the most, and the fewest, trees   It’s a falcon egg foursome for UC Berkeley’s Annie and Grinnel

 

 

    News & Announcements; Engage in Social Justice 

Disrupting the Model Minority Myth: A Conversation on Anti-Asian Racism in the Global Pandemic: This event is sponsored by People and Culture. The featured speaker is Dr. Dawn Tu, Professor and Equity and Social Justice Strategist. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from the University of California at Davis where her research focused on diversity initiatives and Asian American student engagement in college. Monday, April 19th from 12:00 - 1:00 PM, Zoom Race and Responsibility: A conversation on Black-Jewish relations and the fight for equal justice: The discussion of “Race and Responsibility: Black-Jewish Relations and the Fight for Equal Justice” will be moderated by Professor Tina Sacks of the School of Social Welfare, and will feature Eric K. Ward, a leading expert on the relationship between racism, antisemitism, and authoritarian movements; and Michael Rothberg, an eminent scholar of historical exclusion and its legacies. Introductory remarks will be made by Chancellor Carol Christ. Live webcast: Monday, April 12 5–7 p.m The Politics of Racial Reparations: Japanese American and Black American Intersections: A conversation with John Tateishi, former Chair, Japanese American Citizens League National Committee for Redress and author of Redress: The Inside Story of the Successful Campaign for Japanese American Reparations, and Charles P. Henry, Professor Emeritus, UC Berkeley Department of African American Studies and author of Long Overdue: The Politics of Racial Reparations. Wednesday, April 21st, 2-3pm, Online only Berkeley Maintains its Gold Level Bicycle Friendly University designation: University campuses are ideal settings for a bicycling lifestyle. College and university campuses are unique environments for their high density, stimulating atmosphere and defined boundaries. The Bicycle Friendly University (BFU℠) program recognizes institutions of higher education for promoting and providing a more bikeable campus for students, staff and visitors.  Department spring cleaning: unused and surplus materials: As we make plans to return to campus, now is an opportune time to assess what furniture, equipment, and supplies you can part with to free up space in your department and return funds to your department and the University. Two Rausser College affiliates join Biden administration: Congratulations to Jane A. Flegal, an alumna of the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, and Catherine D. Wolfram, an affiliate faculty member in both the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and the Energy and Resources Group, on their recent appointments to the Biden administration. Rachel Morello-Frosch joins White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council Rachel Morello-Frosch, a professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and the School of Public Health, has joined the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC). The council will provide recommendations and advice to the Biden Administration on how to confront current and historic environmental injustices. Student Spotlight: Violet Henderson: Violet Henderson has had a long career in zero waste and municipal waste reduction. Before retiring in 2018 to attend Berkeley full-time, she worked as Zero Waste Coordinator for San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA).  Penn Climate Ventures Prize: Get a chance to pitch your ideas to battle some of the most pressing environmental issues. On top of prizes, you will have the opportunity to be mentored by some of the brightest climate leaders and network with leading venture capitalists. Open to students globally (March 30th-April 24) UCB Parking and Transportation- Berkeley Moves Survey: In preparation for Fall 2021, the UCB Parking & Transportation Department will be conducting a usability study about our Berkeley Moves! website beginning Monday, April 12th through Monday, April 19th.  StudentPIRGS positions: The Student PIRGs are hiring Campus Organizers to lead and train the next generation of activists! Our team organizes campaigns across the country getting students involved and trains them to run campaigns that make an impact in the community, at the local, state, or federal levels, and wherever it will make the greatest impact. (Contact Kathryn Gonzalez-Valle; kgonzal...@calpirgstudents.org) AASHE is hiring 3 paid internship positions: The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education is hiring internships. Deadline to apply is 4/16 Become a Climate Solutions Fellow: Community Climate Solutions is offering fellowships to college students with an interest in taking action to help advance climate solutions and work with local community and city sustainability leaders. The Fellowship is an unpaid, 10 hours/week program running 10 weeks.     Acknowledgement of Land and Place We acknowledge that UC Berkeley sits on the territory of xučyun (Huichin), the ancestral and unceded land of the Chochenyo speaking Ohlone people, the successors of the sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County. We recognize that every member of the Berkeley community has, and continues to benefit from, the use and occupation of this land, since the institution’s founding in 1868. Consistent with our values of community, inclusion, and diversity we have a responsibility to acknowledge and make visible the university’s relationship to Native peoples. As members of the Berkeley community, it is vitally important that we not only recognize the history of the land on which we stand but also, we recognize that the Muwekma Ohlone people are alive and flourishing members of the Berkeley and broader Bay Area communities today. This acknowledgment was co-created with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and Native American Student Development and is a living document. Learn more about the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.             To share feedback, please email sustain...@berkeley.edu.

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