Completed Projects

These projects have been completed and are no longer being directly funded by TGIF.

Graduate Assembly Environmental Sustainbility Conference

Project Description

This project is to conduct a one-day environmental and climate science, policy, and advocacy conference for graduate students to engage with these issues in a manner outside their academic focus, building cross-disciplinary skills and collaborative efforts.

Project Links

Project Application

...

Elimination of Single-Pass Water Cooling Systems in Support of the UCOP Sustainability Policy

Project Description

Scientific instruments that go to low temperatures generate large amounts of waste heat along the way. Water-cooling is the primary method used to cool such equipment. Water-cooling is often open loop (also called "single pass"), meaning all the cooling water used runs through the system only once, with a continuous supply and drain of water through the system, leading to enormous water waste. In contrast, recirculating water systems, which consist of a water chiller that uses common refrigerants to cool a recirculating, closed water loop, use the same quantity of...

Building Sustainability Curriculum and Learning at Berkeley

Project Description

Our overall objective is to boost climate neutrality and sustainability education at UC Berkeley, especially targeting faculty and students for whom sustainability may not be a focus. This project will not only impact the faculty and departments involved, but the countless students that will benefit from having sustainability education integrated into a variety of disciplines. A pilot project was implemented in 2015‐2016, as part of the UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative. With funding from the UC Office of the President (UCOP), each UC campus organized a course...

EPA University Challenge 2017

Project Description

As an extension of the services provided by UCB College of Chemistry's Chemical ReUse Facility (CRF), high quality chemistry & chemical safety information has been compiled into a "Safety Sheet" format that is user-friendly and readily comprehensible to researchers, EH&S professionals, and the graduate & undergraduate students, which is available to those that have access to the CRF searchable database. Unlike more traditional Safety Data Sheets (SDS's) made available by chemical manufacturers, these Safety Sheets provide many active weblinks in their...

Gill Tract Community Farm Student Coalition

Project Description

GTCFSC will expand upon the efforts made from Phase I of this project, the Agroecological Fellows Program. It will also develop new initiatives and gain permanent funding for the program. GTCFSC has two main components: 1) Student fellowships and 2) student-initiated projects. The fellowship positions include two coordinators and nine student fellowships: Farm Management, Volunteer Management, Data Management, Food Distribution, Research, Food Justice, Communications & Outreach, and two Fundraising Fellows. The student-initiated projects are intended to...

Rainwater Harvesting Program

Project Description

The Rainwater Harvesting Project was founded with the ideals of sustainability and conservation firmly rooted in mind. It aims to address two issues: UC Berkeley mostly uses municipally supplied water that is treated to the standards of drinking water for irrigation, while rainwater from many campus-building rooftops is diverted directly into Strawberry Creek without filtration. Additional money and energy resources are wasted when potable water is consumed for non-potable demands and excess chlorine from treated water runs off into the stream during rain...

Vermicomposting

Project Description

In efforts to better campus' waste management practices and improve waste-related knowledge and transparency, UC Berkeley affiliates are working towards developing the capacity to process all of campus’ organic waste matter in-house. Due partially to permitting restrictions, but also to ensure diverse methodology and research opportunities, the group will be introducing the following three different composting systems: 1) The first is an experimental aquaponics system, inspired by Sacramento State's. This innovative and newly developed system offers research...

Reducing BearWALK Wait Times and Fuel Emissions

Project Description

Working with ASUC and the Graduate Assembly, UCPD collaborated to enhance BearWALK on the three free campus Night Safety Services. Since BearWALK is a walking service where UCPD student officers walk in between escort requests, feedback showed that clients wanted a reduced wait time. When BearWALK staffing was low (due to employees being a student first and an employee second), UCPD allowed the use of a patrol vehicle. As a way to reduce BearWALK wait times and fuel emissions, the idea of an electric bicycle was proposed so that the BearWALK employee could travel...

The Wildlife Society at UC Berkeley

Project Description

The Wildlife Society at Berkeley is a student organization created to provide students at UC Berkeley with a community of wildlife enthusiasts.

Project Links

Project Application

Project...

#OurEnvironmentalism

Project Description

The #OurEnvironmentalism campaign seeks to reclaim the legacies of environmentalism and sustainability for communities of color and challenge the white-dominated, inaccessible narrative of modern environmentalism by sharing personal stories of sustainability, highlighting EJ-focused students and activists of color on Cal’s campus

Project Links

Project Application...