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. 

Capturing Energy Savings from VAV Box Minimums

Project Description

This project will move the campus towards carbon neutrality by reducing campus energy waste and the associated emissions, by reducing minimum airflows without changing the amount of ventilation (fresh) air entering the building.

Project Links

Project Application

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Sustainable Food and Farming Systems Education Mentorship Project

Project Description

The Berkeley Food Institute is an interdisciplinary research, education, and policy institute that works with communities on and off campus to advance a just and sustainable food and farm system. Our project, “Sustainable Food and Farming Systems Education Mentorship Project,” develops a replicable mentorship program supporting undergraduate and graduate students studying sustainable food and farming systems, providing wraparound support and targeted activities resulting...

Clark Kerr Rain Garden Community Garden Project

Project Description

Our focus will be on the Building 2 Courtyard at the Clark Kerr Campus. Currently, because of poor landscaping and irrigation, water is constantly flooding directly into the entrance of the building and off into the street. Recently, an orchard was planted in the courtyard; however, when it rains, the water flows directly down the side of the building to the door, rather than to the newly planted trees. It is vital that this area be modified, not only for functionality, but for sustainability purposes as well.

Please note due to permitting challenges...

Autoclave Replacement

Project Description

Proposed funding for this project will aid continued student research throughout the following academic year. Through an in-depth evaluation of the outdated autoclaves housed in the Life Sciences Addition (LSA) building, findings have since spurred a broader discussion among other campus labs and a desire to continue research on behalf of future sterilizer upgrades based on their autoclave needs.

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Residence Hall Education Program

Project Description

To continue the momentum of zero waste in Residence Halls after the bin system was implemented in 2015, the Residential Hall Education Program will aim to close the gap between our current progress and our zero waste goal. This project will develop an educational program to aid students in beginning to understand the basics of the zero waste. This program will focus not just on how to live a zero waste lifestyle, but also why it is important from a regional and global lens. Education at the start of students’ UC Berkeley experience will set the stage for...

Coastal Terrace Prairie Restoration

Project Description

UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station (RFS) contains the last intact, undisturbed native coastal terrace prairie adjacent to the San Francisco Bay shoreline. This prairie contains native bunchgrasses, “the old growth at our feet,” which are possibly thousands of years old. These seventeen acres of ancient, biodiverse prairie contain a rich community of native grasses and forbs (wildflowers), including a rare stand of slender wheatgrass (Elymus trachycaulus). UC Berkeley recognizes the value of the prairie, with portions protected for teaching and research....

Earth Action Initiative

Project Description

Our vision is to foster a community of people on and around campus to take direct climate action, and help reduce the barrier to action for others. The goal is to demonstrate meaningful climate action is possible, especially for students and community members, and provide a roadmap of how that can happen. To execute the Earth Action Initiative vision, EAI will organize a variety of events and actions that build community, leverage existing efforts, inspire new plans, and find innovative ways to communicate with each other. The work throughout the year will...

​Ethical and Accessible E-Waste Recycling at UC Berkeley

Project Description

This project seeks to implement and institutionalize a streamlined e-waste recycling system on campus where none was accessible to students before. Student staff will spearhead an education campaign detailing the environment and economic impacts of e-waste, meant to support the campus-wide Zero Waste by 2020 goals. The recycling system is meant to be modular, and will be highly responsive to feedback from facilities, faculty, students, and other stakeholders.

Project Links

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Integrated Plastics Recycling

Project Description

This research facility, located at the Richmond Field Station, north of Berkeley, will process the University's plastic and recycling waste through proper collection, sorting, and redistribution. This project will allow for the UC Berkeley to expand recycling and reuse programs, reduce its carbon footprint, and create research and education opportunities for students and the community of Richmond. The team is working to incorporate 3-D printing into the project by reprocessing our plastic waste into 3-D printing filament.

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Waste Diversion in University Village

Project Description

University Village will remedy the mismatch in messaging around the Zero Waste goal and public waste infrastructure by using TGIF funds to replace single-bin trash cans in the Village’s public spaces with three-compartment Max-R bins. These bins, which have prominent visual signage for each compartment and thus have high collective visual impact, will serve as a launch point for renewed and sustained educational outreach to improve waste separation and diversion.

Project Links

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