RSO Sponsor

These projects were sponsored by a registered student organization

Housing and Dining Sustainability Advocates (HADSA) Covid Relief

Project Description

For the last several years, HADSA was funded directly by the RSSP department through housing contracts and meal plans. With reduced occupancy in the resident halls this year caused by the COVID pandemic, HADSA was cut from 11 funded positions to 1 funded position. Although RSSP expects to make a full recovery as the pandemic subsides, TGIF funding for five positions in the 2021- 2022 fiscal year would help HADSA continue providing much-needed outreach and sustainability initiatives for the housing & dining department. These positions are especially critical at...

Heated and cooled chairs for comfort

Project Description

Demonstrate the comfort effects of heated/cooled chairs for UCB students, and also their energy benefit, in a total of three campus buildings. The goal is to encourage campus-wide adoption of PCS. The approach is: 1) design and fabricate 10 battery-powered heating/cooling cassettes that attach to chairs on UCB’s purchase list; 2) demonstrate comfort effects for students in a library and a common room in a dorm; 3) quantify the HVAC energy savings potential in one open-plan office space.

Project Links

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Project RISHI Rainwater Harvesting

Project Description

The first goal for our proposed project is hosting a sustainable design and development-focused summit where we will invite UC Berkeley students from diverse backgrounds. This will serve as an opportunity for Berkeley students to apply their skills and knowledge about sustainability to a real-world project, and to raise awareness about water-insecurity projects, development, and technology. Through collaboration with students and organizations across campus, we will redesign our RH system and implementation process, improving their longevity, cost-efficiency, and...

Summer Agroecology and Sustainability

Project Description

This project seeks to maintain the functionality of Berkeley Student Farms during the upcoming summer, when we expect volunteer numbers to decrease and gardens to be left unattended; last summer we averaged 3 volunteers per workday compared to 62 in the fall. Through the support of TGIF, BSF aims to hire 5 summer Garden Managers who will continue the essential farm work needed to maintain critical garden operations: growing organic produce, leading student volunteers, coordinating food donations, and maintaining our compost systems, as well as renovating our...

Circularity

Project Description

Circularity fills this void by providing environmental justice learning materials for free -- centering accessibility and actionable steps towards incorporating EJ fundamentals into everyone’s work. In this way, campus organizations have access to readily available tools that move past basic education and engage all students on campus with concrete environmental justice organizing and action, allowing for collaboration that leads to impactful projects. We will provide this access through a free social app, recurring guides available for purchase, and a website,...

Bechtel Terrace Technological and Educational Rooftop Garden

Project Description

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...

ASUC Eco-Office Stipends

Project Description
The ASUC Eco-Office is comprised of 7 departments, including Pour out Pepsi, UC Green New Deal, Environmental Education, Environmental Justice Campaigns, Eco-Community Development, Social Media & Graphics, and Legislative Affairs. Each are headed by directors who coordinate and organize their respective departments. The directors are all undergraduate students who are passionate about sustainability and environmental justice and have chosen to lead the projects that they are working on. The Head of Staff position is adjacent to the director positions as they...

Berkeley Student Native Plant Nursery

Project Description

Community-led greening projects can benefit through the establishment of a low-cost, accessible native plant nursery that will also serve as a demonstration site where members of the local and student community will learn how to: responsibly harvest native seeds; create plant specific soil or “soil-free” potting mixtures; propagate plants from seed; identify native plants; troubleshoot native plant care. This space will also “bridge the gap” between native ecosystem restoration projects and the local indigenous communities whose ancestors were the original...

SCEC Retention Events

Project Description

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...

THIMBY: Richmond Backyard Home

Project Description

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...