University of California, Davis
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Bonnie Reiss Climate Action Fellows (previously known as Climate Action Fellows) are selected annually to engage students and increase awareness about the UC-wide Carbon Neutrality Initiative (CNI), which set a goal for the entire UC system to be carbon neutral by 2025. At least one Fellow is designated to focus on student engagement around CNI, but all Fellows engage and educate the campus community through their work as Fellows. Climate Action Fellows attend mandatory orientation and training during their fellowship. During the school year they attend weekly meetings with their campus supervisor, bi-weekly meetings with their cohort of Climate Action Fellows at UC Davis, and at least one system-wide retreat. At the end of their fellowship, create and present posters on the projects they have undertaken and accomplished during their fellowship year.

The fellowship is open to both graduate students and undergraduates and their activities include tabling, focus groups, surveying stakeholders engaged with decarbonization efforts, sustainability tours, social media outreach, and collaborating with campus partners like Student Housing and Dining Services, Associated Students of UC Davis (ASUCD), and more.

The target audience includes students, both undergraduate and graduate, as well as UC Davis staff, faculty, and community partners.

Sustainability Peer Educators (SPEs) serve as sustainability liaisons for residents across the three residence hall areas. SPEs facilitate programs for residents, including weekly tabling in the Dining Commons and 1-2 workshops and programs in the residence hall areas per quarter (10 week cycle). SPEs plan the topics, activities, and education materials. Examples of activities include film screenings, waste sorting games, tours of on-campus gardens, sustainability themed cooking demos, and clothing upcycling workshops. SPEs share sustainability information covering topics such as sustainable food, energy, water, and waste. Information shared is targeted for residence hall students. The SPEs also facilitate the Community Advisor (CAs) Specialty Assignment, a workgroup with the CAs that live in the residence halls to learn more about and engage with sustainability, and serve as the sustainability ambassador for their residence hall. Activities incorporating both discussion and hands-on activities are hosted bi-weekly. Education and outreach programs are coordinated with the Nutrition Education and Outreach Program. Many programs are co-hosted together, or sustainability and nutrition talking points for activities are shared between the teams. SPEs also maintain sustainability communication materials, including dedicated sustainability bulletin boards in the Residence Halls and Dining Commons. Bulletin boards includes information about upcoming events, campaigns, and sustainability resources on topics such as sustainability best practices in the Residence Halls, how to identify sustainable food choices in the Dining Commons, and tips to save energy and water in the residence halls. SPEs also educate residents on SHDS waste diversion best practices and perform the quarterly FOH waste studies in the Dining Commons.

The Resident Garden Coordinators oversee the Resident Garden @ Segundo and the Resident Garden @ Tercero. They offer open volunteer hours for Student Housing Residents to gain hands-on experience and learn more about gardening and intersections with sustainability. The Garden Coordinator develops and facilitates at least one tabling activity and workshop per quarter focusing on a sustainable agriculture topic. Example programs include a bouquet making workshop, aromatherapy workshop, and composting workshop.

All sustainability student staff support sustainability programs for CAs. Students develop and provide program facilitation guides for CAs to host on variety of sustainability topics for their residence hall community. They also co-facilitate these programs with RAs, such as compost bin decorating or upcycled t-shirt bag making.

All student staff are trained on sustainability best practices within Student Housing and Dining Services and education and engagement best practices.

The education program is geared towards students living in the residence halls, the majority of which are in their first year. Approximately 6,500 students live in residence halls.

The Global Affairs SDG Internship provides an opportunity for UC Davis undergraduate students to actively contribute to campus engagement on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), gaining knowledge of organizational strategy, campus and external coordination, and communications and analytical skills to support this global agenda. The SDG Interns are an integral part of the SDG team in Global Affairs and provide student perspectives and leadership to promote the 2030 Agenda across campus. Since its formation in 2020, the SDG Internship has provided an opportunity for students from various disciplines and backgrounds to become experts on the 2030 Agenda on campus. Past projects included: assisting in research to identify university activities that contribute to the SDGs for the first UC Davis Voluntary University Review; planning virtual events to highlight faculty, staff and student projects that advance the SDGs; mapping student clubs to the SDGs and reaching out to share information on the SDGs, and conceptualizing and completing the first UC Davis Student Guide to the SDGs. SDG interns are trained primarily through on-the-job experience by performing research activities, organizing events, and speaking to student groups about how to get involved and contribute to the SDG agenda. SDG interns routinely participate in peer-to-peer education activities, including virtual and in-person outreach events to share information on the SDGs with other students.

Undergraduate students of all majors

Learning by Leading Program

Leadership skills and real-world experience combine to help students address the earth’s most important environmental issues. The Learning by Leading™ internship program offers quarter-long and school year-long internships in which students work in a team to solve real-world problems in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.

Student educators are trained via one-on-one interaction with staff mentors, as well as group training sessions using Clifton Strengths Finder books, and leadership strengths training sessions each quarter. Student leaders then run each internship, leading their peers in each respective horticultural or environmental area. Student co-coordinators lead the internships, and are leading the other students who are participating in the internship. Peer-to-peer education occurs in the field based on the topic of the internship, e.g. Habitat Restoration internships receive peer-to-peer education while conducting habitat restoration activities.

Internship teams include: Arboretum Ambassadors; California Center for Urban Horticulture (CCUH) SmartLandscape; Ecological Land Management; Habitat Horticulture; Nursery Management; Plant Records & Mapping; Sustainable Horticulture; Urban Tree Stewardship; Waterway Stewardship

Target audience: fellow students and community members


Student Farm:

The UC Davis Student Farm is a 23 acre, certified organic, educational production farm and garden. Students tour the farm as part of courses and work, intern, and volunteer at the farm as they explore sustainable agriculture and food systems. There are currently six major programs at the Student Farm: (1) the Market Garden where students learn about, grow, and sell organic produce as part of a mixed vegetable operation, (2) The SCOPE program where students are breeding new varieties of vegetables and beans for organic systems, (3) the Fresh Focus program which reduces farm food loss and addresses student food insecurity by gleaning and donating excess produce and explore the relationship between agriculture, food, and culture, (4) the Flower Project where students learn about, grow and sell sustainably grown cut-flowers, (5) the Ecological Garden where students learn backyard gardening skills, and (6) the Children’s Garden program where students lead educational tours for K-5 children.

Lead Student Farmers (paid student employees) act as peer mentors to student interns and volunteers. Lead Student Farmers work with and guide interns and volunteers in their learning. The outcomes of this relationship are sustainably or organically grown food and flowers and increased student understanding of sustainable food systems.

Lead Student Farmers and sometimes interns also do broader education events at the farm or with partners. This includes workshops on food access, how to start a plant, or general information about the Student Farm. They may also table at events on campus.

URL: https://asi.ucdavis.edu/programs/sf

Cora Ballek, Campus Sustainability Data Analyst in the Sustainability office, assisted in compiling this credit response.