The goals of this project are to pilot new technologies for rooftop gardening and to enrich educational experiences in environmental sustainability at Cal. The pace of research in the science and engineering of rooftop gardens has increased as urban agriculture has become increasingly popular over the last decade. These technologies have the potential to contribute in important ways to more green and equitable cities. A successful rooftop garden pilot study at the Bechtel Terrace site would be the first demonstration site at UC Berkeley for rooftop...
We want to make a documentary on the transformation of Treasure Island from a historical sacrifice zone to a site of intense development and gentrification. We are interested in the impacts that the development plan will have on current residents of the island, as well as businesses and organizations located there. We recognize that this case is likely one of environmental injustice, as the low-income, underserved, predominantly African-American and Latinx communities are going to be the first to face the repercussions of this gentrification. Our documentary will...
The SCEC Retention Events will provide direct resources related to self-care and professional development for our members through student-led workshops and guest presentations. Examples of potential projects include BIPOC Environmental Mixers where BIPOC students and faculty have space to form a community with people of shared interests, while also focusing on intersectionality and resource sharing. Other potential retention events include professional development workshops on graduate school applications, networking events, and professional...
As a senior studying Conservation with a focus on agroecology and rural development, I would like to incorporate the knowledge I have acquired from the past several years of classes on environmental justice as well as conversations from within the agroecology community on campus. 1. Garden for Ohlone foods and other Bay Area/Northern California indigenous foods would be added to the North American section. 2. There are various agroecological methods that could be replicated on a smaller scale within the garden as a display, including intercropping, no...
The vision of Mobilize Berkeley is to lead an intergenerational citywide sustained mobilization towards stopping climate destruction and participating in a just transition toward sustainable, more equitable and healthier ways of living and working. SERC has been in partnership with Mobilize Berkeley for the last three years, and we hope to continue our partnership with them for many years to come. QTPOC students and community members organize and facilitate the circles. Within the Healing Circles QTPOC students' healing and voices are centered and...
Tiny House in My Backyard (THIMBY) is an interdisciplinary team of 27 UC Berkeley graduate and undergraduate students designing and constructing affordable, ecologically sustainable, tiny homes. THIMBY 3.0, the third home constructed by the THIMBY organization, will be piloting Richmond’s “Tiny House on Wheels Pilot Project” ordinance, which the team recently helped renew, by constructing and leasing an affordable, net-zero-energy 240 sq ft. house in the backyard of a predetermined single-family residence in Richmond. In collaboration with the City...
By bridging academics, community leaders, consumers, and other vital actors within our food system, FIGC seeks to reinforce the goal of the Berkeley Food Institute (BFI): to understand and transform food systems in a cross-disciplinary manner in order to build a more resilient and equitable future within and beyond academic institutions. In 2022, FIGC ran a free-to the-public hybrid 2022 Conference, “Food Relatives: Decolonizing and Indigenizing the Global Food System” to connect scholars, community members, artists, and policy makers through varying...
The Collective serves over ten thousand student patrons each year with affordable, healthy, sustainable and local foods from minority vendors and farmers — including over 150 weekly student member-volunteers each semester — out of a small space never intended for food service with a highly-limited but functional grocery selection. We're returning to the Green Initiative Fund — the single most significant funder in building the Collective's skill sets and capacity over the past 12 years — to support us in fulfilling the longtime student vision for a dedicated...
We propose to bring a cohort of 10 students and 2 staff or faculty members to participate in the COP 27 as representatives of UC Berkeley. SERC would like to give an opportunity to those actively working at the intersections of race, identity, class, ability, and the environment, and will support students who may not have had opportunities to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime global conference for free (prioritization will be for low-income students, students of color, and other marginalized and underrepresented students).
We request $45,975 to hire student interns to sustain environmental justice work being done by Berkeley engineering students with the Stockton AB 617 community to improve local air quality and address climate change. The AB 617 community in Southwest Stockton, CA ranks in the top 5% of the most disadvantaged communities in California. It is ranked in the worst 1% for overall pollution burden, and in the worst 4% for asthma rates. In Spring 2021, I developed a new community engaged design class (CE 105 Design for Global Transformation) where we worked with...
