University of California, Irvine
ER-T2-1: Student Group

Students affiliated with Anteaters for Conservation and Recycling seek to educate fellow students about the effects of consumption, development, and pollution occurring on Earth. They hope to spread ideas of how people can reduce the amount of resources they use from Earth, and how each individual can reduce their ecological footprint. They also advocate and participate in community based events such as ecosystem cleanups and restorations. See: http://www.clubs.uci.edu/recycle/ CLEAN is founded on the belief that education is the essential foundation for global climate change solutions. Through a program designed by active climate science researchers to supplement existing science education, CLEAN seeks to provide children with the fundamental scientific background, tools and support they need to take positive action. See: http://www.ess.uci.edu/researchgrp/clean/home Engineers Without Borders - USA (EWB-USA) is a volunteer-based non-profit organization committed to partnering with developing communities to help meet their basics needs. Engineers Without Borders at UC Irvine is a unique multidisciplinary chapter committed to empowering these communities through leadership, sustainable engineering, public health and various other disciplines. See: http://www.ewb-uci.org/calendar.html Global Brigades is the world’s largest student-led global health and sustainable development organization. Environmental Brigade volunteers work with rural families and community leaders to improve environmental sustainability and livelihood in biodiverse, but at risk regions. The main 3 projects that volunteers implement are reforestation, agricultural sustainability, and management of organic and inorganic wastes. A one-week Environmental Brigade to Panama in the summer provides volunteers an opportunity to work alongside community members to promote and implement environmentally sustainable development solutions. Volunteers work in a variety of landscapes, ranging from virgin rainforests to urban beaches, each presenting different challenges for the survival of native species and future generations. See: https://sites.google.com/site/gebucirvine/ Irvine Students Against Animal Cruelty (ISAAC) is a club dedicated to raising awareness about and actively trying to change the plight of non-human animals in our society. Through campus and community outreach,promoting veg*ism, volunteering and activism, the group aims to inform people about the various ways animals are used in our society and the cruelties involved in consuming animal products. The group similarly aims to produce humane alternatives to animal products, inform people about how raising animals for food affects the environment, and to stress the health benefits associated with veg*ism. OCSCB is a local chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB). "An international professional organization dedicated to promoting the scientific study of the phenomena that affect the maintenance, loss, and restoration of biological diversity." As a chapter of the larger organization, members share the vision and values of SCB, and try to focus on how to apply them locally by increasing the involvement of Orange County citizens in local conservation-based science through guest lectures, outdoor activities, and research opportunities. See: http://www.ocscb.org/whoweare.shtml The Real Food Challenge is a national student movement advocating for a more sustainable food system. We want to see more "real" food in our college eateries -- food that is ecologically sound, community-based, humane, and fair. The purpose of this organization is to create and implement clear guidelines that prioritize community based, ecologically sound, fair, and humane food purchasing; waste reduction; and green dining facility standards at UC Irvine. In turn, this supports the health of consumers, laborers, local economies, and the environment. See: http://ucirealfoodchallenge.weebly.com/ Established in 2009, The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) is a student led fee referendum designed to empower undergraduate students with the financial resources to fund projects regarding the 3 main aspects of sustainability: • Economy • Ethics • Environment Funded by a $3.50 per quarter student fee beginning in Fall 2009, The Green Initiative Fund is a grant-making fund for sustainability projects on UC Irvine's campus. About $120,000 per academic year is available for grants for any undergraduate students, organizations, or collaborative between organizations/departments are eligible to submit project proposals. The principle goal of the Green Initiative Fund is to provide funding for projects, which produces an outcome, that campus more sustainable by reducing the University’s impact on the environment. See: http://www.asuci.uci.edu/admin-affairs/tgif/ Theta Psi is a co-ed professional sustainability fraternity dedicated to empowering innovative leaders, who are passionate about alleviating the current sustainability crises through an economically reasonable, socially just, and environmentally responsible approach. See: http://thetapsi.wordpress.com/ The Alliance to Save Energy's Green Campus Program is a student-driven energy efficiency workforce education and training program that generates actual energy savings and trains the next generation of energy efficiency professionals. 2 unit for-credit internships are available. See: http://www.facebook.com/pages/UCI-PowerSave-Campus/135137183195982

CLEAN created a presentation on "Environmental Issues" in the world's oceans that explained sea level rise, ocean acidification, nitrogen pollution, and plastics in the ocean with demonstrations for each of these topics. This new lesson and the group's existing "Water Cycle in California" lesson were both taught at the Orange County Water District's 2013 Children's Water Education Festival, held March 27-28, 2013, on the UCI campus. In the water cycle presentation, kids are split into "cities" and given a certain amount of money with which to buy enough water, energy, and enivronmental conservation for their towns. They learn the importance of sharing limited water resources. CLEAN volunteers presented to a total of about 300 elementary school kids over the course of two days. PowerSave Green Campus assembled a team of 10 students who represented UC Irvine at the Better Buildings Challenge Case Competition in Washington, D.C., on March 8, 2013. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the competition challenges university teams to develop and present real-world business and technical solutions to cut energy waste and improve the efficiency in commercial buildings across the country. The team, calling itself the Energy Warriors, was among 14 university teams that competed to find the best solutions to energy efficiency challenges presented in four case studies. The case studies consisted of real scenarios, background information, and data provided by organizations in the Better Buildings Challenge program—a broad public-private partnership working to make America's commercial and industrial buildings 20 percent more efficient by 2020. See: http://www.eng.uci.edu/news/2013/3/uci-energy-warriors-go-washington. The Mesa Court Irrigation Retrofit project is sponsored by UCI Student Housing, the Metropolitan Water District, and two student groups: The Green Initiative Fund and PowerSave Green Campus. Student volunteers are trained to perform irrigation audits throughout the UCI housing communities during Winter and Spring quarters. The Mesa Court retrofit project involves replacing conventional turf sprinkler nozzles with high-efficiency nozzles and is taking place during the month of April 2013. The average water costs for Mesa Court are approximately $18,000 per year, for irrigation of turf and shrub areas. The project covers the turf area. Applying the 20% reduction estimated by the Metropolitan Water District is applied, the annual savings is approximately $3,000 per year. A more precise estimate can be made upon completion of the field audits. Housing will apply savings to other conservation projects. In May 2013, a workshop will be geared towards the student community, educating them about landscaping and water management. As the interactive components of the workshop, the students will be tested on their prior knowledge of water facts and given a survey at the end to see how much they have learned after the workshop. There is a do-it-yourself component, where students learn how to propagate and tend to their own cactus or succulent plants, which they get to take home at the end of the workshop. UC Irvine came in fourth place in the PowerSave Green Campus League (which includes 10 campuses) in the 2013 Campus Conservation Nationals (CNN), the largest nationwide electricity and water reduction competition on college and university campuses. Now in its third year, CCN gives a common voice and motivation to hundreds of thousands of students, all working together to reduce consumption and mitigate the impacts of climate change. UC Irvine came in second place among University of California campuses participating in the League, with a 7.8% energy reduction over the three-week period beginning Feb. 15, 2013. With combined savings of 34,269 KWh, UC Irvine was able to achieve $4,455 in savings.