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. 

Island Justice Fellows Program at the Critical Pacific Island Studies Collective

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 programs supports a team of graduate and undergraduate students to address multiple gaps on the UC Berkeley campus: (1) the lack of institutional support for...

Water Metering and Conservation

Project Description

Install water meters in 8 more buildings and increase water publicity/education.

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Project Application

Project Poster

Bottle Refill Station Installation and Design Guidelines for Existing Buildings

Project Description

Develop design guidelines and install two bottle refill stations in Dwinelle and MLK Union.

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Project Poster

Bike to Work Day Regional Sponsorship - 2010

Project Description

Fund regional sponsorship for Bike to Work Day 2010.

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Incorporation of Waste Streams into Algal Bioethanol for Sustainable Energy on Campus

Project Description

For the past decade, the Biofuels Technology Club has been collecting waste cooking oil from campus dining halls to convert it into biodiesel. This process has significant pitfalls such as waste glycerol production and variable diesel quality. This project aims to solve these issues by using algal biomass as a secondary source for both biodiesel and bioethanol. The waste glycerol serves as nutrient-rich feedstock for the algae boosting intracellular lipid content that can be converted into diesel. The leftover algal biomass after lipid extraction can be further...

Vermicomposting Implementation Project

Project Description

The Vermicompost Implementation Project heightens the impact of our existing Continuous-Flow-Through Vermicomposting Bin by unifying our material flows and expanding our educational offerings. First, we will relocate our Bin to the Clark Kerr Campus (CKC) Garden, where we will continue processing CKC Kitchen food waste and producing nutrient-rich vermicast to benefit the CKC Garden. By tightening our project’s geographic scope we will become a clear educational example of organics resource circularity. Second, this new location will form the foundation of...

Farm to Fork: Creating a Circular Food System at UC Berkeley

Project Description

To develop a circular food system and advance internal sustainable procurement goals within Berkeley Dining, the Housing and Dining Sustainability (H&DS) Office is partnering with Berkeley Student Farms to procure local, organic produce, grown at Oxford Tract, for Berkeley Dining restaurants. The Oxford Tract is an on-campus farm managed by UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources. H&DS strives to pioneer a hyperlocal, circular food system in campus procurement by incorporating produce grown on-site. This furthers our sustainable procurement goal to...

Building Student Capacity at the UC Gill Tract Community Farm

Project Description

“Building Student Capacity at the UC Gill Tract Community Farm'' is a partnership between the UC Gill Tract Community Farm and the Food Institute Graduate Council. The project will establish an undergraduate internship program facilitated by graduate students and Gill Tract Farmers to increase campus engagement with the Farm. The project will strengthen the UC Berkeley community's role in the local food system as both contributors to urban farming and consumers of local food by promoting volunteering at the Farm and utilizing the Farm's farm stand. Building...

Sustainable Menstrual Products Program (SMPP)

Project Description

The Zero Waste Coalition (ZWC) is seeking funding to expand their research from the initial pilot in Fall 2023, providing free access to eco-friendly, body-safe period products in the University Health Services wellness area and at community events. ZWC will hold best practices and care workshops, community events, and conduct outreach efforts to educate the UC Berkeley campus around the intersectional issues around environmental justice and menstrual equity.

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BSC Garden Revitalization Plan

Project Description

The Berkeley Student Cooperatives (BSC) Garden Revitalization Plan seeks to materially support and educationally empower BSC’s student Garden Managers in stewarding over two acres of urban forest, vegetable gardens and backyard spaces enjoyed by 1,200+ BSC student residents. In order to cultivate native biodiversity, food sovereignty and build community, a "Garden Manager Hub'' including a greenhouse, seed library, and landscape materials center will be collectively constructed. Agency over plant procurement methods will remove major barriers to achieving Garden...