Bright Green News from the Office of Sustainability

[Kira STOLL]

November 2020

 

Highlights from the Office

New Sustainability Staff Training & Certification Program Now unveiled, the Office of Sustainability has released its newly created Sustainability Training and Certification for UC Berkeley Staff. This certification program is composed of ten comprehensive modules, designed to allow you to work and complete at your own pace. Upon successful completion of the modules, UC Berkeley Staff can earn a Staff Sustainability Training Certification of Completion showing your gained knowledge in sustainability. We are also offering an optional discussion group,meeting two times, to help pace you to complete the certification by the end of January 2021. Begin your certification process here >> Access the website as a sustainability resource here >>		Sustainability Fellow Work-Study Opportunity  Calling for a Student Sustainability Fellow! Our office is looking to hire a work-study student assistant. The Fellow will engage and communicate about campus and UC-wide sustainability goals and programs with a focus on climate, zero waste, green building, SDGs, and related issues. (Remote work, 5-10 hours/week) If interested, please apply on the work-study site and search for job # 9819856633   Link to apply on work-study site  >>
Faculty sustainability curriculum workshop on Dec. 10th The Office in partnership with faculty from across campus disciplines are offering annual workshops to incentivize other faculty and lecturers to integrate the concept of sustainability into courses. The goal of the program is improving student learning and literacy in sustainability and climate.  The next free workshop will be offered on Thursday, December 10, 2020, 9am-12pm.  Register here >> Share the workshop flyer with others >>		Conversation on a Future Zero-Carbon Energy Campus, Dec. 8th Come hear about ideas to decarbonize the campus energy system with Vice Chancellor Marc Fisher, Associate Vice Chancellor Sally McGarrahan, and Chief Sustainability Officer Kira Stoll. UC Berkeley has completed three technical studies evaluating 12 new energy system replacement scenarios and has narrowed the viable replacement options to two decarbonizing models. These models move the campus to all-electrified systems powered by renewable sources both on-site and from utilities. We will start with a presentation followed by Q&A.  Please register for the event >>
CACS Projects & Open Meetings The Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS) promotes environmental management and sustainable development on campus-- meetings are open to everyone! The CACS Working Group on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion is working to identify and recommend policies, practices and strategies that elevate and integrate an intersectional approach towards diversity, equity, and inclusivity in campus sustainability initiatives.  The next CACS open meeting will be held on Dec. 9th from 9-10:30AM PT. Find CACS general meeting times >>  Learn more about CACS & the CACS Working Group on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion >>		OS Office Hours & CACS Communication form We’re excited to announce OS virtual office hours! Get feedback on your sustainability project, learn more about green initiatives on campus, or just talk sustainability with our Chief Sustainability & Carbon Solutions Officer. Sign up for office hours here >> Want to get in touch with the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS)?  Fill out the CACS Student Communication form here >>>

 

Events and Get Involved

Energy at Cal: Conversations on the Transition from Cogen Gas Plant to Sustainable Energy Hosted by SERC, this educational event will help community members understand Berkeley’s cogeneration energy system, carbon neutrality, and campus progress to climate resilience. The event will feature an informative presentation, followed by several speakers directly involved with Berkeley’s energy in a moderated panel. We will close with a Q and A session open to audience members. Date: Nov. 18, 6-7:15PM PT Click here for more info >>		Food Systems Career Panel Series Interested in a career in transforming food systems? Join the Berkeley Food Institute for a series of three career panel webinars that highlight different food and agriculture sectors. Speakers will share stories of how they built their job paths and offer insights into current trends in the field. Each session has a separate registration link and can be attended individually. Presented with the Berkeley Food Institute Student Councils. Register here >>
UC Green New Deal Town Hall on Nov. 19th The Office of ASUC Senator Bancroft is hosting a Town Hall to get YOUR input into a UC Green New Deal! You will get to hear about where the UC Green New Deal stands now and some possibilities for what it could accomplish. But the main goal of this first Town Hall will be to think big-- we want to hear all of your visions for a better future.  Date: Thurs, Nov. 19th from 5-7PM PT   RSVP >> Zoom link >> Facebook event >>		Get involved with Bee Campus USA UC Berkeley is an affiliate of Bee Campus USA, an initiative of the Xerces Society that 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. You can help lead the way towards increased environmental awareness and leave a lasting legacy on all of California by addressing pollinator decline and taking action to resolve one of the biggest threats to humankind. Fill out the Bee Campus USA Interest Form here >>

 

Engage in Environmental Justice; See New Research

Recordings from SERC Earth Justice Events If you wanted to re-watch any of the presentations or if you missed any of the events last month hosted by SERC and UC Berkeley’s environmental campus departments and organizations, you can still watch these events!  Access to presentation recordings >>		Environmental Justice Resources at Berkeley Learn more about resources, events, organizations, and trainings on environmental justice through the UC Berkeley EJ Work & Events living document.    Access the living document >>
Academics & Research Highlights Check out some of the highlights from Berkeley academics & research focused on sustainability: Berkeley researchers use 3D printer to make stronger, greener concrete Evidence shows the Clean Air Act has reduced racial disparities in exposure to pollution Drop in pandemic CO2 emissions previews world of electric vehicles

 

 

News & Announcements

Cal Student Carshare Pilot Program: The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) has graciously supported our new Cal Student Carshare Pilot Program with GIG Carshare and ZipCar where applicants who apply will receive a $45 credit for either service. Campus Transit Survey: The campus transit survey has been extended to December 4th! Please take 5 minutes out of your time to complete this brief confidential survey that will help us better serve the campus community for now and the future. Campus Bike Survey: UC Berkeley’s Parking and Transportation Department is working on a revision of the 2006 Campus Bike Plan and want your insight into biking at Cal! Adopt-a-Spot Program: UC Berkeley students team up with Berkeley Public Works and Parks Department to establish first ever Adopt-a-Spot Program. Funds from The Green Initiative Fund and the Chancellor’s Grant are being used to help fund the adopt-a-spot and bee city projects by covering costs for plants, informational material, and signage. Campus electricity use: Check out electricity use changes in your campus building, fewer people on campus = less energy use Campus Air Quality Map: This map is updated hourly and reports data as “Current AQI” using the EPA’s PM2.5 NowCast AQI algorithm Bay Area SunShares: Open to any Bay Area resident, SunShares offers rooftop solar and battery storage options with pre-negotiated pricing. Residents must sign up by November 30 to receive apples-to-apples, no-cost bids from up to three, pre-vetted solar companies (Infinity Energy, Skytech Solar, and SunPower by Solar Technologies). Electric Vehicles 101 Webinar: 12/9, 5:30-6:30 - Thinking about buying an electric car? Our EV101 webinar will discuss the wide variety of vehicles on the market today, and their respective ranges. Presented by the City of Albany, CA.    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.   Watch the “University of California Land Grab” recorded sessions to learn more about land acknowledgements and what else you can do to support the indigenous community.           To share feedback, please email sustain...@berkeley.edu.

 

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