Theme: Environmental Justice

These projects emphasize the disproportionate impacts of environmental injustices on historically marginalized communities, the ways in which communities impacted by environmental injustices organize to protect their community's health and well-being, or otherwise education our campus community about environmental justice topics. 

Please note that not all Environmental Justice themed-projects may be funded as Environmental Justice projects. 

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...

Community Climate Healing Circle

Project Description

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...

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...

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...

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...

Carbon Crew: A Diversified Approach to Carbon Neutrality

Project Description

Carbon Crew was established in Fall 2018 to redefine the role of carbon neutrality in campus engagement through the work of three teams: Food Team, Campus Engagement Team, and CO2RE (CO2 Reduction and Education Team). Focused on institutionalizing plant-forward dishes that are healthy, cheap, and less carbon intensive than regular meals, Food Team hosts regular plant-based sampling events geared towards redefining Cal Dining’s menu cycle by incorporating student interest, chef experience, and Cal Dining leadership to lower our carbon emissions. The CO2RE team is working...

Increasing Diversity in the Environmental Workforce Through Education and Training

Project Description

Despite an increase in the amount of students receiving a Bachelor’s degree, underrepresented students are still underrepresented in the fields of Science and Engineering. This disparity can be due to a couple of reasons: guidance, resources, and mentorship. This project aims to increase diversity in the environmental sector and STEM fields by providing first generation and underrepresented students technical environmental training often needed for jobs in environmental fields.

Project Links

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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.

Project Links...

Phase II: Decolonize the Environment: A Series of Workshops on Environmental Intersectionality

Project Description

A Series of Workshops on Environmental Intersectionality is an educational project created to introduce and explore systems of oppression that creates both environmental racism as well as social injustices.

Project Links

Project Application

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