Undergraduate Students
Recent efforts on the undergraduate level are far-reaching.
Student-Initiated Education
Some undergraduate groups have developed a number of peer-to-peer education programs, including the Education for Sustainable Living Program (ESLP), founded by E3, which brings world renowned authors, activists, and academics to the campus to speak on the interconnected and interdependent nature and challenges of the 21st century. During winter and spring quarters, ESLP students can participate in action research teams. Each team collaborates with members of the faculty and campus administration to guide and direct research intent on offering and implementing sustainable alternatives to current practices and policies. Other education programs, by both CalPIRG and Environmental Bruins, have focused on taking UCLA students into K-12 classrooms to teach environmental education, as well as taking UCLA students out into nature to learn about and gain appreciation for our local ecosystems.
- To learn more about the Education for Sustainable Living Program visit the visit the ESLP website
E3 and the California Student Sustainability Coalition
In 2003, it was a group of students who initiated the Green Building and Clean Energy Policy with the UC Regents, and out of that success, the California Student Sustainability Coalition (CSSC) was born. Since that time, the CSSC has been working with UC Office of the President on further expansions of that policy. The CSSC at UCLA, now known as E3 for ecology-economy-equity, requested the creation of the Campus Sustainability Committee in 2004, and has continued to be a driving force for sustainability throughout the university.
- Visit the CSSC at www.sustainabilitycoalition.org
- Learn about and join E3 at UCLA
FEED - Forum for Energy Economics and Development
The Forum for Energy Economics and Development (FEED) is a student-led organization whose mission is to learn about renewable energy resources. The group is interdisciplinary with fields including Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, Politics, Environmental Science, and Business. They meet weekly at UCLA and publish an academic journal in the spring.
- Find out more at renewablefeed.googlepages.com/
Associated Students of UCLA and the Undergraduate Student Association
Both the Undergraduate Student Association Council (USAC) and the Associated Students of UCLA (ASUCLA) have demonstrated their commitment to sustainability. USAC made sustainability a key area of concentration and has begun to promote sustainability efforts in the residence halls, as well as throughout the undergraduate student government offices. ASUCLA, the largest student-run student union in the country, agreed to develop a policy on sustainability as well as sustainability plan, all because of student efforts.
- To learn more about ASUCLA's sustainability efforts visit www.asucla.ucla.edu/sustainability/
Student Advocacy
Undergraduates have also campaigned for such things as sweatshop-free apparel and fair trade coffee in the student union, workers rights, climate change solutions such as solar, and an end to genocide in Darfur. Other undergraduate student groups also involved in the sustainability movement on campus, besides those mentioned above, include, but are not necessarily limited to the Social Justice Alliance, the Darfur Action Committee, the Bicycle Advocacy Committee, and Engineers without Borders.
Visible Success
Some of the other tangible successes of undergraduate students include the creation of two new gardens on campus, both at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center. The first, a native demonstration garden founded by Environmental Bruins, was designed and built in the spring of 2005. The other garden is UCLAs first organic vegetable garden, founded by E3, which broke ground on Earth Day (April 22) 2006. In addition, a group of students, as part of a student initiated research project, designed and built a solar test array on top of Boelter Hall. The array is currently plugged into UCLAs grid, producing renewable energy, and is available for further experimentation and tests, should future students decide to use it. These are only a few examples of the kinds of work undergrads are doing on campus.
Date Posted: 4/14/2008
