2008 Funded Projects Earth Week 2012
Created a week-long schedule of events, including an Earth Week Kick-Off concert featuring Big Tree, the "Do One Thing" Pledge, a Strawberry Creek Restoration event, a screening of Bananas, an Environmental Major panel, and more! Created a YouTube Video Created a Facebook page that reached over 9,000 people at its peak Created an Earth Week website Partnered with 13 different on-campus and off-campus groups during the week's events Received sponsorship in the form of funding and sustainable prizes from 19 different sponsors Gave away over 50 Klean Kanteens as part of a Take Back the Tap educational campaign
2012 Earth Week photos 2012 Final Report Next Steps: The 2012 Coordinators created a helpful planning guide for future Cal Earth Week Coordinators. Earth Week's 2008 TGIF grant will also cover Earth Week 2013.
University Hall: Going Green! LEED Certification Finished installations of window film in offices throughout University Hall with the help of Green Campus. Project leader Rebecca Anderson is in the process of finishing the Final Report to close the project.
Strawberry Creek Native Plant Nursery & Garden The main goals of a establishing the native plant nursery & garden were to maintain a seed stock for restoring the creek's riparian zone with native plants, to preserve species endemic to Strawberry Creek, whose existence are threatened by the spread of invasive species, to provide ecosystem services to the campus landscape, and to serve as an effective site for environmental education. TGIF funds were used to purchase construction materials and equipment, and to support a work-study student for one year to oversee project development. The now completed project is composed of an outdoor nursery of seedlings, a demonstration garden of native plants designed to attract local pollinators, and signage illustrating plant species and project motivation to community members. The project team envisioned an architecturally integrated garden with curvilinear walking paths that separate raised beds of native species. Visitors to the nursery and garden are be encouraged to visit the Strawberry Creek riparian zone, where they can compare exotic and rehabilitated regions and see locally native plants functioning in restored habitat. The mission of using the nursery and garden as an educational resource has been accomplished both through the DeCal course taught by paid Cal student Restoration Leaders as well as hosting many classes, clubs and day camps such as the Kids for the Bay summer camp. The location is also a frequent stop on campus tours given by EH&S Environmental Protection staff focusing on UC Berkeley sustainability efforts. The nursery is presently being used by ESPM grad and undergrad students as part of a another TGIF grant to study the characteristics of native and non-native vegetation and the suitability of these plants for use in local habitat restoration while continuing to propagate plants for use within the Campus Natural Areas. Project leader Tim Pine is in the process of finishing the Final Report to close the project.
UC Campus Dashboard Summary of Project Highlights: 15 minute interval building electricity, water, and steam data with daily updates for 40+ campus building along with several types of visualization and display for each building available through http://dashboard.berkeley.edu since late 2008. As an indication that this was an idea whose time had come, this system have been joined in the years that have followed by the Berkeley Campus Energy Portal at http://berkeley.openbms.org/map/ and the official My Power website at http://mypower.berkeley.edu/.