Spring Grants

These projects were funded during our Spring grant cycle, where projects receive more than $5,000 for projects that take between one to three years to complete. 

Campus for Landscape Decarbonization

Project Description

Urban landscapes are an understudied source of carbon emissions and water consumption, yet their environmental impacts remain largely unmeasured. At UC Berkeley, where 40% of the campus is covered by landscaped spaces, hardscaping materials like concrete, steel, and asphalt contribute to embodied carbon and resource use. This project develops a life cycle assessment (LCA) framework to quantify these impacts, identify high- and low-impact landscape elements, and propose sustainable design strategies for impact reduction. By integrating LCA into...

Accessible Household Refill Station

Project Description

The Student Environmental Resource Center (SERC), in collaboration with the ASUC Student Union and Zero Waste Coalition, proposes the creation of The Bear Necessities Refill Station, an automated refill station that would provide convenient, accessible and affordable zero waste options for everyday personal care and cleaning products. The station will be powered by Wonderfil, a refill station provider whose mission is to eliminate single-use plastics at the source. Centrally located within the MLK Student Union, this refill station will be in proximity to...

Crops of the World Innovative Interpretation

Project Description

We aim to make more evidence-driven, inclusive and deeply educational signage for UC Botanical Garden’s Crops of the World Garden. This will promote thinking about sustainability in food systems among visitors and student groups. We are pairing this with a database of botanical garden signage from around the world to link gardens and inspire further innovation in this field. Communication with the public is an essential function of these living museums. We strive to make environmental justice messaging accessible and inspiring in a site that brings joy to visitors...

Island Justice Fellows Program II

Project Description

The Island Justice Fellows Program at the Critical Pacific Island Studies Collective (CPISC) enables UC Berkeley students to contribute to environmental justice practice, research, and campus community engagement opportunities concerning issues facing Pacific Islander (PI) communities, both residing in the Pacific Island region and in the diaspora in California. This year-long fellowship program supports a team of graduate and undergraduate students to address multiple gaps on the UC Berkeley campus: (1) the lack of institutional support for scholarship on the PI region...

Rainwater Harvesting System III

Project Description

Project RISHI is a nonprofit organization committed to the sustainable development of rural Indian communities. Since 2013, the UC Berkeley chapter has worked in Bharog Baneri, Himachal Pradesh to address the key challenge of agricultural water stress. Our Water and Sanitation project group focuses on Rainwater Harvesting Systems (RHS), which collect and store rainwater for use during dry seasons, ensuring reliable water access for subsistence farmers. These systems support water justice, food security, and stable livelihoods. Since 2018 we have installed 29...

Repair for ReUSE Clinic

Project Description

Inspired by Patagonia’s Worn Wear program and Bay Area Fixit Clinics, Cal Zero Waste, in partnership with UC Berkeley’s student organization ReUSE, proposes to establish a Repair clinic housed in the ReUSE store located at Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union building beginning August 2018 for primarily UC Berkeley affiliated students, staff, and faculty. In compliance with the UCwide Zero Waste by 2020 goal, this project aims to reduce the amount of textile waste accruing from clothing damage by hiring a team under CZW to operate the clinic and collaborate with...

People of Color Sustainability Campaign

Project Description

The People of Color sustainability campaign aims to facilitate sustainable and environmental justice education for POCTH residents and Berkeley Student Cooperative students of color. Targeted outreach will be led by a paid resident from POCTH who will facilitate conversations, coordinate workshops and conduct outreach. The campaign will host a series of eight workshops in Fall and Spring, four per semester, devoted to topics of: indigenous food systems and sovereignty, zero-waste and compost, urban agriculture, and decapitalizing your health. Activists, students...

Equity & Inclusion in Campus Gardens and Land Use Decisions

Project Description

UC Berkeley is home to a growing network of gardens that capture student interest in urban agriculture and greening and respond to urban sustainability, food security, environmental health, and climate change resilience. Many of these gardens are student led and maintained with specific functions for food production, education, research, and/or cultural representation. In 2016-2017, a strategic plan for campus farms and gardens was conducted across campus that revealed challenges of equity and inclusion in gardening spaces that...

Brown's Cafe Herbal Garden

Project Description

The Cal Dining Sustainability Team Garden Coordinators proposes a project to develop a new herbal garden with both raised bed and in-ground features at the site of the Brown’s California Cafe in the College of Natural Resource (CNR). Representatives from the Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) department, Campus Grounds department, Campus Access Services, and Campus Sustainability Office have been and will continue to be consulted throughout the process. The team proposes that educational signage be created to transform the space into not only a...

Fannie Lou Hamer Black Resource Center Garden Project

Project Description

This project will be a student/community-led garden maintained to provide fresh food, as well as a platform to introduce students to different ways that we can sustain ourselves while improving lifestyle choices.

Project Links

Project Application

Project Poster