ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS !

by Barbara Hirsch and Katie Maynard

Students, staff, faculty, and local community members have come together over the years to envision and create a more sustainable campus. In roughly the last decade, the Transportation Alternatives Program of Parking Services, A.S.Bikes, Campus and A.S. Recycling, UC Go Solar, the Community Environmental Council, California Student Sustainability Coalition (CSSC), Shoreline Preservation Fund, Green Campus Council, Education for Sustainable Living, and Isla Vista’s chapter of the Surfrider foundation have each worked to address the issue of how to create a collaborative environment in the university directed towards environmental change.

In Transportation, A.S. Bikes has worked hand in hand with the Office of Sustainability, and Transportation Staff to develop a good series of bike paths through campus. Examples are the restoration and redesign of the Goleta Beach Bike Path and the current project to complete the bike loop around campus through the creation of the Broida Bike Path. Students can travel via bus throughout the community for free using their student ID and can travel to farther reaching communities by using Associated Student’s online rideboard. The campus has also worked with the Metropolitan Transit District to influence their bus routes and scheduling, particularly around campus. There is currently a UCSB undergraduate student on the board.

In Recycling, Campus Offices, A.S. Recycling, and local recycling organizations and waste disposal businesses are working towards institutionalizing recycling on campus. Bins are available around campus for newspaper, glass, plastic, and aluminum, buildings have both cardboard and paper dumpsters. A new program has drop off places variously located for safe battery disposal, A.S. Recycling has begun to offer a “technotrash” program for cds, cellphones, etc. and there is a toxic materials drop off that serves the entire community located on campus. A.S. recycling also runs a notebook recycling drive at the end of each quarter.

These are only a few accomplishments. Much more has been achieved such as the agreement of the university to strive for LEED Silver or equivalent buildings (LEED is a nationally recognized system for evaluating the sustainability of buildings), saving energy throughout the campus and creating healthier working environments; Explosion of native habitat restoration and educational programs; the creation of a fully booked beach clean-up program. Students are making change through more open communication and building relationships; learning what is prohibiting the university from becoming more sustainable and brainstorming with staff and faculty about how to get around these barriers.

This coming year the campus will be continuing work on its Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). This document will guide decisions related to land use, building construction, landscaping, and much more over the next thirty years! With increased student involvement and collaboration we can: recycle more than we send to the landfill, reduce energy usage, conserve water, and have a major impact on the long-term health of the places where we live and learn.