Theme: Habitat Restoration & Native Landscaping

These projects focus on bettering the natural environments on or near campus, through native gardening/landscaping, education around habitat restoration, or other related projects that improve ecosystem health in or around campus. 

Sustainable Water Infrastructure Campus Tours

Project Description

Grant funding is requested to create a book and online tour with new material about sustainable water infrastructure on campus, innovative design features that treat and/or detain runoff, and campus ecological restoration projects that maintain creek water quality as well as provide habitat for native plants and animals on campus.

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Strawberry Creek Water Quality Probe

Project Description

This grant will be supplemented by funding from EH&S and allow the Strawberry Creek Restoration Team to purchase a water quality probe that will assist with sediment and erosion research along Strawberry Creek.

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SURG Redwood Restoration

Project Description

The overall goals of the project are to research Bay Area redwoods using Geospatial information systems and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. This research will focus on analyzing redwood environmental growth factors and forest management practices in order to determine the best locations for future redwood growth in the Bay Area. However, this research project is more than just its overall goals, it is also meant to be an introductory research experience for 14 students, some of which have not yet had the opportunity to take part in Berkeley research....

Composting at Blake Garden

Project Description

Grant funding is requested to purchase materials for building compost bins at Blake Garden to mix compost on-site (reduction in transport emissions and increase in reuse of green waste) and prevent worker injuries.

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Planting Native Milkweed Habitat for Monarch Butterflies

Project Description

This proposal seeks to plant native California milkweed plants in demonstration plots on Clark Kerr campus as an educational project as part of the Global Environment Theme House (GETH).

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Blake Garden Adaptive Restoration Project

Project Description

UC Berkeley’s Landscape Architecture Water Savvy Garden Design class is working on a design/build adaptive restoration project sited within Blake Garden – a design and research laboratory for students, open to the public, and owned and operated by the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning. The installation will include two separate components based on student-generated design and research: (1) slope-stabilization using sustainable methods and (2) a viewing platform made of locally-sourced materials, providing an inspiring...

Strawberry Creek Planting Resilience Project

Project Description

The goal of this project is to reduce the mortality rate of Strawberry Creek restoration plantings and increase awareness of creek restoration activities through the use of a plant protection system called Combi-guards. This system uses a biodegradable mat in conjunction with a recyclable plastic sleeve to help seedlings overcome many of the disturbances and barriers to survival that urban plants face including herbivory, wind, trampling, and desiccation. Increasing survival rates will decrease the economic and social costs plaguing campus creek...

The Pollinators of Campus Native Wildflower Gardens

Project Description

Our project aims to compare the presence and abundance of pollinator species at the native plant garden at mak-’amham (Cafe Ohlone) with other non-native gardens on the UC Berkeley campus. Two surveys will be conducted in March and April to capture species diversity, to promote sustainable gardening by showcasing how the native plant garden supports diverse pollinator populations, contributing to healthy ecosystems and food sovereignty. The project underscores the cultural and ecological significance of mak-’amham, supporting Ohlone identity and...

Reducing UC Berkeley’s Environmental Impact through Stormwater Management

Project Description

Designed to address lacking stormwater infrastructure and the pollution of Strawberry Creek during rain events, this project implements a stormwater infiltration basin on the north side of the A&E parking lot (directly east of Sather Gate) to reduce the volume of stormwater and pollutants entering Strawberry Creek. Throughout campus, impervious and semi-impervious surfaces such as sidewalks, parking lots, lawn fragments, and plazas accumulate harmful pollutants such as heavy metals, fertilizers, oil, gasoline, trash, and...

Valley Life Sciences Building (VLSB) Native Plant Restoration

Project Description

The Essig Museum and UCB Entomology Club propose to revitalize areas around the Valley Life Science Building with native vegetation. Currently many areas are covered by wood chip mulch where grass lawn was removed during the prolonged drought. As high visibility areas along major walkways, these revitalized landscapes will improve the aesthetic appearance of campus with flowering plants, minimize water usage by choosing locally adapted species, provide forage and habitat for native insects and birds, and provide educational...