TGIF 2017-18 Funding Cycle: Another year of great projects

The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) Grant Making Committee is pleased to announce the selected projects for the 2017/18 funding cycle! The Committee awarded funds to 21 projects, totaling $180,378. Below is a summary of the projects that you can expect to see completed within the next academic year:

 

Department of Theater and Dance Rehearsal Space Lighting Retrofit ($27,165)

Funding will be used for a  lighting retrofit of the dance rehearsal space in the Department of Theater and Dance. This is the most widely used space in the department. The lighting retrofit project will cut the energy consumption in rehearsal spaces by 70%.

 

UCen Dining Herb and Teaching Garden ($4,287)

TGIF Funding will be used to help the UCen grow their own organic herbs in a container garden located on the side of the University Center. The garden will increase local and organic produce in a fiscally sustainable way, increase the visibility of food production on campus, and provide an educational opportunity to the UCSB community.

 

Reducing Energy Consumption at UCSB’s Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserves ($3,850)

The proposed project is part of a comprehensive energy conservation and generation strategy for the reserve. The funding will be used to purchase and replace 350 fluorescent and 100 incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs, resulting in saving of 17,385 pounds of CO2.

 

UCSB Bookstore LED ($27,935)

The TGIF grant will be used to replace the fluorescent lighting at the UCSB Bookstore in the University Center with LED fixtures. University Center Governance Board is also offering matching funds for this project. Changing the lighting in the UCSB Bookstore will save 72,663.9
kilowatt-hours per year, saving upwards of $10,000 annually.

 

Measuring and Reducing the Life-Cycle Impacts of Food Purchases by UCSB’s Residential Dining Services ($2,831)

The grant will fund one summer internship. The intern will work with UCSB’s Residential Dining Services to measure the life cycle impacts of UCSB’s food purchases by Residential Dining Services, using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework. The objectives of the project is to identify the food categories purchased by UCSB with the greatest sustainability impacts, or “hot spots”. The intern will then evaluate and recommend strategies to reduce life cycle impacts of food purchases, and develop measurable targets and a roadmap for more sustainable food procurement and sustainability information.    

 

Model Offices for Sustainability ($6,546)  

In the summer of 2018, the Geography department will be remodeling two office spaces — one new faculty office and one existing administrative office – with new carpeting and paint using their own budget. The money from the TGIF grant will be used to fund PACES (Program for the Assessment and Certification of the Environment and Sustainability) office recommendations that are not matched by the department’s existing budget. This includes LED overhead lighting for the 2 office spaces, furniture alternatives that meet criteria for recycled content, as well as suggested supplies and peripherals to demonstrate the department’s commitment to sustainability. By recreating the office spaces so that they utilize sustainable products, the geography office can serve as a model for campus departments to follow.

 

The Future is Electric: Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Expansion ($12,000)

UC Santa Barbara’s electric vehicle drivers have unmet needs for more Level 1 Electric
Vehicle Charging infrastructure than we currently have in supply. Funding will be used to convert some of the existing 135 make-ready Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure already installed from Level 2-readiness to Level-1 functionality. Slower charging is less expensive to provide and increases productivity for faculty, staff, and students on campus parked for a full day.

 

San Clemente Pilot Composting Project ($1,830)

TGIF funding will be used to launch a pilot composting program in San Clemente Graduate student housing. Currently at San Clemente, there is no formal option for residents to compost food scraps. This pilot project will provide composting solutions to two of the five San Clemente villages, diverting up to 200,000 pounds of organic material from landfills over the next year. Funding will specifically be used to purchase 158 household composting bins to pilot the program in the Arrowhead and Bradbury villages.  

 

PACES: Sporting Sustainability ($8,910)

Launched in the Fall of 2017, the PACES Green Event Certification Program offers resources and recommendations to event hosts for decreasing the environmental impacts of their events. With this grant, PACES will extend the certification process to sporting events, which are not supported by their current model. TGIF funding will go towards hiring an intern who can perform the research to create separate checklists, criteria for certification, and reference materials for sports teams, as well as seek feedback from key stakeholders. Additional funding will go towards covering the costs of AS Recycling waste audits for the first five sporting events that are certified.

 

Single Pass Cooling & Autoclave Replacement Effort ($20,000)

2015-2016 TGIF funded a single pass cooling replacement project. This was led by LabRATS who, with EH&S, determined labs on campus that still used single pass cooled condensers. While LabRATS were able to replace around 50 condensers, there are still labs on campus that have not made the switch. With this year’s funding, LabRATS will order additional units to further their replacement effort. LabRATS will also install autoclave ecosavers which can save 200 gallons of water a day. 

 

TGIF Alternative Vehicle Incentive Program ($10,000)

Personal vehicles account for more than 25% of California’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs). An Electric Vehicle (EV) in California emits 4,000 lbs. of CO2 equivalent, compared to a gas powered car which emits 15,000 lbs. Making a transition to electrified or hybrid transportation is needed as soon as possible in order for us to meet global climate change mitigation targets. Unfortunately, EV/hybrid adoption in California (which has the highest adoption rate in the US) remains low. High upfront costs, commonly referred to as “sticker shock,” are often cited as common obstacles preventing car buyers from choosing an EV.

Funding from this grant will be used to continue our Alternative Vehicle Incentive program which offers incentives to departments buying electric or ultra efficient vehicles.

 

LEED Exam Scholarship ($2,000)

TGIF funding is intended to encourage students studying green building and sustainability to become LEED accredited by subsidizing LEED certification fees for students in the Environmental Studies Green Building course (ES 194GB).

 

Building Sustainability Leaders Through Green Building ($3,500)

LEED Lab is an undergraduate course in the Environmental Studies department that is designed for students interested in green building and sustainability. The objective of this course is to provide students with hands-on experience in LEED certification by giving them the opportunity to manage part of the project, communicate with stakeholders, draft feasibility reports, and analyze collected data in a team-oriented environment. The funding will be used for building registration and certification costs, so that students can work on feasible buildings on campus that are ready for LEED certification.

 

The Fly Project ($14,264)

The Craig and Denise Montell labs together constitute the largest Drosophila facility on
campus and likely among the largest in the UC system. Through a multi-faceted approach, this project aims to reduce the environmental impact and energy use of Drosophila stock-keeping practices. The central focus of the proposal is the replacement of standard refrigeration incubators with thermoelectric units. Based on data collected through the 2017 TGIF-funded pilot study, this transition corresponds to a reduction in energy consumption by 35,828 kWh/yr. TGIF funding will be used as matching funds to purchase and install two thermoelectric incubators. TGIF has also provided funding for the purchase of 8 foot pedals and reusable trays for the lab stocks.

 

CHESC Scholarships ($10,000)

TGIF grant will provide financial support for a group of students and staff from UCSB to attend the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference (CHESC) July 9th-12th at UC Santa Barbara. $7,500 has been awarded for full student scholarships, and $2,500 has been awarded for partial staff scholarships. CHESC brings together campus sustainability leaders from close to 90 campuses in any given year totaling close to 1,000 people. This funding provides our students and campus stakeholders a chance to explore and learn from professionals in the field about new practices in sustainability.

 

Enabling Active Transportation; Bike Lockers ($3,289)

This proposal would fund three additional bike lockers on campus to support students and campus employees who bike to work. Currently there are 40 bike lockers on campus, which are well utilized.

 

TGIF Equipment Rebate Program ($10,000)

TGIF is piloting a new equipment rebate program to encourage departments considering replacing old or buying new equipment (refrigerators, washers and dryers, dishwashers, etc.) to purchase the most efficient model. TGIF is offering a efficiency rebate of up to $1,000 to departments purchasing new equipment and or replacing old equipment with an energy or water efficient model. The rebate program requirements, terms and conditions, and application can be found here.  

 

Uprising Leaders Immersion Program ($2,000)

This project aims to provide students from low income, first-generation and/or underrepresented communities who have never had an internship before the opportunity of attaining professional development training and experience through a week long spring break immersion program. During this one-week training, students will be able to explore how they fit into the sustainability movement by exploring the intersectionality between their identities and its connection to the environment. The training will allow students to develop a short-term project of their own. The TGIF funding will be used to fund an intern to help with curriculum development for this new program.

 

Installation of Hydration stations throughout Campus

  • SSMS 3rd Floor Hydration Station ($3,310)
    TGIF Funding will go towards converting an existing water fountain into a hydration station.
  • Childcare Center ($6,000)
    Funding will be used to install one hydration station at the the Orfalea Family
    Childcare Center located on the west campus and one at the Student Resource Building Childcare Center on the main campus.