Filed under: 11505682, Community Service/Volunteer, Los Angeles, Santa Monica Bay, Spring 2009, Student Projects, UCLA Sustainability | Tags: IOE, Santa Monica Baykeepers, stone caynon creek, volunteer
Related Links
Restoration and Community Service,
UCLA’s Natural History : a PDF file that identifies the past and present Nature — Biology and Land use at UCLA.
Santa Monica Baykeepers Organization: Facilitators’ blog of the Stone Canyon Creek restoration project.
Bird of Westwood. See what activities birds are up to in Westwood
Filed under: Watershed Restoration | Tags: stone canyon creek, stone canyon creek October 2008
Some photos from Stone Canyon Creek
Welcome to Stone Canyon Creek - weeding invasive species
Anderson Hillside - removing invasive plants
Baykeepers
Removing invasive (non-native) plant species. What’s the science behind this activity?
Filed under: permaculture | Tags: cob, ECHS, Green Ambassadors, Lawndale, permaculture, straw
Community Service with the Environmental Charter High School and its Green Ambassadors
Mixing cob: sand, clay, and straw
Building and finishing a cob mushroom bench
Cob cookies... sample the texture; do not eat!
Filed under: 11505682
Lecture by Fran Pavley, California State Senate Candidate
October 29, 2008, 12:15 PM-1:30 PM
UCLA School of Law, Room 1457
“A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Politics of California’s Landmark Global Warming Laws”
Fran Pavley authored AB 1493, the landmark tailpipe emission reduction bill and the first global warming law in the nation. Eleven other states have adopted the “Pavley Clean Car Regulations”. She also co-authored California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32. She has served three terms in the California State Assembly and is currently running for State Senate in the 23rd District. She is known as one of the most effective legislators in Sacramento–over 70 of her bills and resolutions have become law. She has been widely recognized for her leadership on the most important environmental issue facing our world, receiving (among others) Scientific American’s Top Technology Leaders in Transportation award and, together with Al Gore, the 2006 California League of Conservation Voters “Global Warming Leadership Award.”
This lecture is co-sponsored by the Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment, the Evan Frankel Environmental Law and Policy Program and the Environmental Law Society. Food will be provided.
Filed under: 11505682 | Tags: clean up, community service, Heal the Bay, Restoration, trash
Community Service Day, November 15th with Heal the Bay
Beach Clean-up Team
Attached to this ‘posting’ is the registration form each volunteer will need to fill out. Please bring your Heal the Bay waiver form as well. The clean up waiver.
Note that students have to register through the CS website at http://www.usaccsc.org Fill out the registration form, as a team, also available at the CS website if that’s easier. You will be able to note there that you are signed up as a group.
Please turn the registration form in to Kerckhoff 405 (the CS office) or email the filled out form to Fiona Poon [fionapoon120@gmail.com] no later than Tuesday November 11th by 5 pm.
***Everyone participating in CS Day: Be a Hero for a Day on 11/15/2008 from 8-4 will receive free breakfast, lunch and a free T shirt!
Check out our ad in the Daily Bruin and get more information online !
The idea of urban green seems to be a growing trend throughout the United States in the past decade, but what I find more amazing is the urban green happening elsewhere. The video on permaculture in Cuba really surprised me, not only due to the economic crisis faced by Cuba after the collapse of the Soviet Empire, but how the people were able to resort back to such a natural way of living to minimize the effect of the famine within their country. Urban grown agriculture became the solution for some of Cuba’s problems, but the more I looked into permaculture the more I find that it may be the way to help our own country as well.
The reality of it is that, at least in the city of Los Angeles, many people don’t even have a backyard to their name to grown their own produce. This is where farmers markets come into play. With such local grown produce the effect of carbon emissions due to transporting the food is greatly reduced. Also, a lot of these products are grown organically without pesticides and unnatural fertilizers, which reduce wastewater run-off into our oceans. Many people do not realize that agriculture produces a great deal of the pollution in today’s world. Fertilizer run-off into the ocean creates a large array of algae blooms that effect local flora and fauna of the coastal areas. This produces a large amount of the human caused ocean desiccation today. Also, by growing and shopping locally emissions from transportation are also greatly reduced. Transport diesel trucks produce most of the vehicle carbon emission, and even when they are transporting organically grown food the impact is still negative for our environment.
Also, another factor that would add to the push of permaculture is the appreciation gained from harvesting your own food, even in small amounts. Growing, processing, and packing the foods our population eats on a day to day basis is being done by a deceasing percent of our population, 2 percent I believe. Getting into farming isn’t something that is really possible now days, due to the large cost to buy land, but because of industrialized farming the public have forgotten the value of food all together. When I was growing up I lived in an area considered agricultural land, not because people had farms or anything like them, but because you could have agricultural animals on your land, like horses and goats. A lot of people grew things on their land as well. I had about two and a half acres of backyard growing up; my next-door neighbor had horses, goats, and pigs, and just about everyone had large dogs. We grew pumpkins for Halloween, had fruit trees, and I was always trying to plant some sort of seed when I was little. I feel like growing up where is did is very different than a lot of people’s upbringings. I would actually eat things grown in my own yard, and especially in the city sections, that is almost impossible for a lot of individuals today. Having that appreciation for life and growth, I feel, is important, even if the only way you can stay connected in through shopping at a farmers market, it still gives you that experience, while helping to fight maladies of our environment.
-Ellen Dempsey
I was intrigued by the way that Mr. Smith decided to approach and expand his business, Urban Green. By using the 3 permaculture ‘core ethics:’ care for the people, care for the earth, and fair share, Mr. Smith has built a food business based on sustainability and the “human connection.” I was impressed by Urban Green’s use of only personally grown food that was supplemented by farmers markets, and if needed vendors only within a 10 mile radius. Food distribution is an area of great concern for the sustainability of our environment, and Mr. Smith’s use of farmers markets shows us just one of the many possible solutions for that problem. Additionally, by buying specifically from farmers markets he is not only being more environmentally friendly, but is also stimulating the business for farmers in these farmers markets, helping to ensure that they stick around through the high competition prevalent in the food industry today. Though he does mention that the extensive use of farmers markets is something unique to California I think we need to work on spreading farmers markets around the US in areas where the climate and fertility permit. The land use solutions presented also appealed to me, particularly the usage of foreclosed homes as areas that could be made into edible gardens, at least until the real estate agencies were able to sell them to a new homeowner. Though Mr. Smith did acknowledge that he’s experienced some issues with the complaints that it would be a waste or urban land, I find conversely that the idea is an incredibly creative solution to a growing land-availability issue as well as the problems of what to do with the mass quantities of foreclosed homes. Similarly, the use of rooftops and state parks helps to increase available, usable land without the need to create more space in this extremely urbanized environment. Overall, I was impressed by the steps Mr. Smith has made to create a sustainable, green business and in the additional ‘green work’ he has done through the nonprofits he couples with as well as his work with using architectural devices, such as the prefab homes. With even the packaging of his products being compostable (banana and tea leaves) he is exemplifying what the next step is for many businesses to be more environmentally friendly. If more businessmen approached their businesses in similar ways to Mr. Smith we would be working more efficiently toward a green economy.
Sarah Y
Filed under: Santa Monica Bay
Hello everyone!
For those of you interested in doing more community service, in need of a service project for this class, or just a beach and nature lover overall, then please check out the details on our Beach Clean-Up on Saturday, November 15 and come along!
Join the Google Group http://groups.google.com/group/communityserviceday-beachcleanup?hl=en
and check in for details on where to meet, what to bring, and more!
Environmental Science students clean up the beach … Venice Beach, Santa Monica Bay
Combing the beach for trash, hazardous to marine life
Trash findings, Santa Monica Beach 11/08
Environment 170 Fall Community Service @ Santa Monica Beach
News on cigarette butts in beach sand and related toxic hazards to you and coastal life
Stop Smoking, Stop Littering
4.5 Trillion Cigarette Butts are Littered Worldwide Annually
© Amy Bower Doucette [directly link to the article on suite101.com]
Apr 30, 2007
Cigarette butts are the most polluted item on the planet. Help protect the environment by disposing of cigarettes properly and becoming aware of the littering problem.
Take a look down when you walk down any city street. What do you see? Chances are, you will see one item over and over again: cigarette butts. About 4.5 trillion are littered annually worldwide. A cigarette butt littered on land is not just a terrestrial problem: a strong rain will wash that butt into the storm drains and straight into the water system.
As the Earth’s population slowly becomes aware of the crisis facing the planet, the cigarette epidemic is gaining notice. Organizations like the Surfriders in California have long tried to clean up cigarette litter from the beaches along the west coast. Cleaning up cigarette litter on a beach is often a frustrating task. One beach clean-up group, the Sand Sifters of Boynton Beach, FL, finds that picking up cigarette butts takes up most of their time.
“During a monthly cleanup, we collect four to five thousand cigarette butts in one day,” Founder Gary Solomon said.
That is just one small stretch of beach. Multiply that by the hundreds of thousands of miles of shoreline worldwide and the enormity of the problem starts to take shape. Cigarette butts are not just a benign annoyance. They are made from toxic chemicals. Surfrider.org listed the dangerous ingredients found in a cigarette butt:
1. Arsenic: a pesticide that causes diarrhea, cramps, anemia, paralysis and malignant skin tumors.
2. Acetone: It’s one of the active ingredients in nail polish remover.
3. Lead: Lead poisoning stunts growth, causes vomiting, and causes brain damage.
4. Formaldehyde: causes cancer, can damage lungs, skin, and digestive systems. Embalmers use it to preserve dead bodies.
5. Toluene: highly toxic, commonly use as an ingredient in paint thinner.
6. Butane: highly flammable butane is one of the key components in gasoline.
7. Cadmium: cause damage to the liver, kidneys and brain, and stays in the body for years.
8. Ammonia: causes individuals to absorb more nicotine, keeping them hooked on smoking.
9. Benzene: found in pesticides and gasoline.
All of the chemicals seep out of the cigarette butt almost immediately after it comes into contact with water, making it deadly to marine life.
Cigarette smokers appear to believe that tossing their butt out of their car window, snubbing it out on the sidewalk and throwing it into the storm drains are not littering. Perhaps smokers believe that cigarette butts are made of biodegradable cotton. Such is not the case. The butts are made from Cellulose Acetate. The fiber takes years to break down, but it never fully biodegrades.
Keep America Beautiful states that cigarette butts made up 34% of the total litter the group picked up in 2003. Food wrappers were a distant second at 10%. The ban on smoking indoors in many states makes the problem worse. Smokers must discard their cigarette before going inside. If there is no ashtray readily available at these “transition points”, most smokers will just toss the cigarette onto the ground.
A few ways people can curb the cigarette litter problem are:
1. Start a cigarette litter prevention awareness campaign in your town. Bumper stickers are easy to make online.
2. SPEAK UP! When you see someone throwing a cigarette on the ground, let them know that it’s not OK. Sure, you might be labaled a “tree hugger,” but chances are the smoker will think twice before tossing their butt next time. Most smokers are not aware that cigarette butts are litter.
3. Encourage businesses and local governments to provide smokers with ash receptacles at “transition points” like bus stops, store entrances and walkways.
4. For smokers: Use portable ash trays in your car if you use the built-in ashtray for coins or keys. They are found easily online by typing in “portable ashtray” into any search engine. Zippo, the lighter company and pop culture phenomenon, has a stylish model available on their website.
5. Start a beach or litter clean-up, or adopt a highway in your area
With awareness, the cigarette litter problem can be curbed. It just takes awareness and a little effort.
The copyright of the article Stop Smoking, Stop Littering in Pollution Control is owned by Amy Bower Doucette. Permission to republish Stop Smoking, Stop Littering in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Filed under: Watershed Restoration
Community Service Day and Environment 170 students engaged a day of uprooting ivy vines and planting native species along the Stone Canyon Creek Watershed.
Turning soil and planting natives along the creeks' eastern bank. Adjacent to the Anderson School
Turning the soil, planting natives
Native berries in
Site for information on California natives
The Theodore Payne Foundation
Filed under: Watershed Restoration | Tags: bruincast, community service, podcast, stone canyon creek, vodpod
Restoration work in progress
Filed under: Alternative Agriculture and Food | Tags: Alternative Agriculture, CSA, fair trade, local, locavore, organic, South Central Los Angeles Farmers
It is true. UCLA doesn’t have a farm, but farmers are coming to UCLA.
Weyburn Terrace welcomes the South Central Farmers Association! Get over to Weyburn Terrace, meet the residents and the South Central Los Angeles Farmers.
What’s a CSA? It’s community supported agriculture. It’s direct trade between you and the farmers. It’s a face to face producer-consumer relationship. You’ll meet and know who plans and plants, who cultivates and grows your food, and where and how your food is grown.
At the CSA, you can order baskets of produce on a weekly basis. First drop-off scheduled for Thanksgiving week. For further info, visit the Weyburn Terrace CSA Facebook site.
See something of the South Central Farmers’ history; view the documentary film The Garden.
Video Trailer
Associated Links
Sustainable Farmers blogsite.
I thoroughly enjoyed Wolfgang Buermann’s discussion about ecological biodiversity. I found the topic to be interesting as well as pertinent to the kind of study I would like to be doing in my post-graduate work. One of the most pressing issues of our time is our incredibly loss of biodiversity in many regions around the world, especially the tropics. The statistics that Professor Buermann brought up about the complete loss of all species in 500-1000 years and one species per hour (simply 2/3 of THIS class time!) if current rates are kept up is a humbling one. The thought that the earth is over 4.5 billion years old, and that vertebrates have been around for over ½ billion years makes this statistic even more boggling and further encourages myself and others to take immediate action. Because the main driving forces to the decrease in biodiversity (whether referring to species or genetic diversity) has been habitat change and loss, invasive species, hunting, and climate change I feel as though it is our responsibility to become proactive and improve environmental conditions. As Buermann discussed, the Endangered Species Act has been a positive step toward that improvement, it is by no means soundproof, and more needs to be done. Unfortunately, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 been pushed aside in many areas simply due to economic and financial reasons. Though I believe this act has done a lot of good (in that it not only protects the species specifically, but also their overall environment), it is also very insufficient in other areas. Buermann’s new approach to researching biodiversity problems through biogeography and the use of satellite images is a great step in the correct direction for the future. Without further work and research towards decreasing the rate of extinction the environmental conditions will worsen and worsen until there is nothing left worth saving. As more and more research, such as Buermann’s is done I think that we will slowly begin to make the right steps toward intelligent conservation.
Filed under: Student Projects | Tags: citizenship, residential life, sustainability, UCLA
Don’t Smoke it, Wear it!
December 4, 2008
As Resident Assistants at UCLA, we program to build community, challenge our residents, and support the Office of Residential Life’s (ORL) core values, including supporting the academic mission, creating safe environments, promoting responsible citizenship, and fostering student development. Sustainability, in my opinion, is a concept that is not only relevant, but also vital for young adults to learn about, contribute to, and be innovative with. Sustainability is something that is consistent with the mission of ORL, so for my service project I put on a program called “don’t smoke it, wear it!” for my residents in Sproul Hall.
This program was about hemp, and how it is a much more sustainable option that cotton, the world’s ‘dirtiest’ industry in terms of pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer use. Hemp grows naturally without the use of harmful chemicals commonly used in agriculture, can grow in diverse soil types, and nourishes, rather than depletes, nutrients in the soil that it grows in. Hemp has a much smaller negative impact on the environment than cotton, as well as less adverse health effects for those who farm it.
The program started off with a presentation about hemp, its viability as a sustainable crop, and what we can do promote more sustainable agricultural practices. To actively engage students, I taught the participants how to weave hemp bracelets, allowing them to take home a product of their own creation as a reminder to think green. In the end I hope that residents were encouraged to spread awareness and be actively engaged in greening our campus and community.
*Acknowledgements:
Gracelyn Valdez Resident Assistant for program collaboration
Earth Day and associated events, upcoming.
Green Apple Festival – volunteering and concert information
Earth Day @ UCLA
Earth Day Fair For 101 ways to make your life more Earth-friendly, stop by the Earth Day Fair! Drop in on informative workshops, listen to live music, and chat with members of student groups that are working to make UCLA greener. Sponsored by SWC, SUN/EAP, E3, ESLP, and the Rainforest Action Network. Wednesday, April 22, 2009 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM De Neve Plaza Link to Earth Day Calendar for UCLA events
Earth Day in Greater Los Angeles
Various Earth Day Events and Volunteer Opportunities in Greater Los Angeles
World Fest 2009
Volunteer for this event on May 16. Contact here now
Filed under: Spring 2009, Student Projects | Tags: Santa Monica Bay, state beach, volunteer opportunities
The Green Social Network
The Green Social Network(the new club that just formed) will be having a beach clean-up at Dockweiler Beach on May 16 at 5pm. Anyone interested can either email me at jdoi@ucla.edu or call me at
585-748-3566.
Place: Dockweiler State Beach
Date: May 16, Saturday
Time: 5 p.m.
Contact: Janelle Doi
Email: jdoi@ucla.edu
Tel: 585-748-3566.
I completed my community service event for this class through the community service fraternity I am a part of called Alpha Phi Omega. I did many different community service related activities throughout the quarter, two of which related to the environment.
The first took place on Saturday April 4th during a retreat to the beach. This took place at Point Mugu not far past Malibu. The second day of camping we walked a couple miles down the road to the nearby beach and did a beach cleanup. There we a lot of us there (about 45) so we ended up picking up much of the trash that was strewn across the beach. Some of the items we found included car parts, bottles, cans, food wrappers, and old construction material. The purpose of this event was to clean up a beach and help to preserve the habitat of the wildlife as well as promote awareness about how our actions affect the environment around us. The waste that we cleaned came not only from the beach dwellers who left their trash there, but also from the sewage systems that empty their contents into the beach. This has disastrous effects on ocean ecosystems as the pollution from chemicals kills the natural wildlife and objects that can also be found in the sewage can be swallowed by animals and kill them. It is important for us to remember this and accordingly change our actions to prevent damaging the ocean. This activity was effective in that we picked up much of the trash lying on the beach, but it was ineffective in several ways. One, we only tackled the surface of what was polluting that beach. We did not venture into the water to see what was lying underneath nor could we clean up the chemicals in the water itself. Also, we may have become more aware of the dangers beaches are facing, but our group is miniscule compared to the millions of other people on earth who are as of yet unaware of their actions. To fix this awareness must be spread throughout the population.
The other event took place on Sunday May 3rd on Hollywood Boulevard at a local shrine. The name of the even I attended was “Big Sunday.” It was basically an event where we took materials people donated such as overstocked books from local bookstores and clothed that were donated and packed them into boxes to give out to families who are less fortunate and have come across hard times and need the help.
-Ashton Yoon
Filed under: Community Service/Volunteer, Eating, Food, Spring 2009, Waist Watchers
On Wednesday, May 27, the Action Research Team at UCLA held group presentations about eco-friendly experiments and suggestions for improving human activities and the environment. Of the 8 research programs presented, I wanted to focus on one, Waste Watchers, because I found it most interesting and insightful to my own daily practices.
Through sampling of the De Neve Dining Hall at UCLA, Waste Watchers found that the average student in the dinning hall (for dinner hour) wastes about 0.18 pounds of food, the equivalent of three slices of bread. Because 20,000 people a day are served in the dining hall, that equals to about 3,600 pounds of food per every dinner session! This project started, I believe, 4 years back, and has continued this year into the Action Research Teams to help create ways for students to be more conscious of their wasteful tendencies in the dining halls, for both the benefit of the dining hall budget and the environment.
While weighing in the dining hall scraps, the members of this group found that most of the waste consisted of side dishes, such as peas and carrots. To implement this data into service, De Neve dining hall has plans to offer dishes to students without side dishes. While customizing your food order is already in place, may students don’t realize it or are to lazy to wait for their own personal plate.
Currently, the team is also working with ORL to get pictures of wasted food up on the TV screens outside the dining halls, to remind students not to waste. The team conducted a All-Hill challenge to curb waste one night in the dining halls to raise awareness as well, which resulted in a substantial decrease in food waste for the night.
Food waste is an important issues to our school, both economically and environmentally. Most students don’t realize that the dining hall is a non-profit organization. By wasting this large amount of food, and money, the dining hall is less able to incorporate organic or locally grown food into the dining hall diet. Incorporation of these foods not only supports local economy, but also lowers pollution due to shipping and pesticide use. Environmentally, food waste plays a major role in the bulk mass that is destined for landfills. Currently, the closest landfill to UCLA is about to close within the next few years, so transport costs to move waste to the landfill will drastically increase. My wasting less (or by composting, as other groups mentioned) students can play an active role in reducing costs and the environmental impact of wasted material.
Overall, I found Waste Watchers presentation an eye opener. I have noticed that the dining halls do tend to have a lot of food waste (because it is like all you can eat buffet every day) but I didn’t realize just how much waste there was, and what the impact of this waste would be.
-Ellen Dempsey 703452670
Filed under: 11505682, Community Service/Volunteer, Lecture Series, Spring 2009
This is a review of the talk with Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathi and her effort in community environmental restoration and awareness in her country of Kenya and the whole of Africa itself. Her background as a biologist and founder of the Green Belt Movement as well as her election into Kenyan parliament have garnered her many accolades and prestige. Her initial foray into environmental conservation began with the first United Nations women’s conference in Mexico in 1975; at this summit, her and her fellow colleagues realized the environment was drastically changing and began a program led by women to plant tree’s. This became the Green Belt Movement. However, since then he has met with vigorous opposition from her government, because she began looking into environmental causes and asking questions about how government had been managing resources. Her fight has been devoted to make both government and citizens aware about the destruction and mismanagement of environment and resources. However, her restoration of the environment started from the top down with the need for a responsible government and “bottlenecks” in the development of Kenya. She spoke of how ill left mother countries had left their colonies, which beget a cycle of disrepair and elite uncommitted to the welfare of the people and the natural resources. Another topic that tied into mismanagement was the constant debt of the countries, the lack of fair trade and failures in accountability for the government. During the question portion of the talk, she spoke of the role of women in environmental reconstruction. Her point was that while men and women clearly had a role, women had a larger and perhaps more important role as they where closely tied to agriculture and the land. In the Green Belt Movement, women mostly plant the tree’s and use the money they earn to supplant the household. Maathi also promoted the idea of resource conservation and organizing scientific methods to conserve water in times of draught now more frequent due to depleting resources.
I found that a great deal of Wangari Maathi’s lecture dealt more with political aspects in terms of the pit falls she had to overcome for environmental restoration rather than the how her programs have been implemented. Concurrently, she spoke of the history of her country and the recurring theme of how indebt and her country has been because of previous government which has forced the country to sell its raw resources at extremely low prices to the same countries the owe money to thus creating a vicious cycle they can never get out of. In terms of women’s role in environment conservation, her comments reminded me of the lecture given by Dr. Sandra Harding whom spoke of feminist science and the different role that women take in environmental study and the different methodologies. Both Dr. Harding and Maathi view the role of women in science and more specifically environmental science as working closer to the land and the agriculture which I found to be a very interesting correlation. Overall, her lecture and the question and answer portion was geared to her general philosophy on how to better Kenya and all of Africa via not just environment but socio-political change. However, she successfully tied all the topics back to the inherent problem the there is indeed a need to reform the environments of Kenya as the majority f the land is becoming deserts and draughts much more frequent because of mismanagement relating to and begetting the severe poverty of the country. She did a rather concise and thorough job of explaining the environmental hardships facing her country and some of the possible resolutions.
Bryan Ali
Sustainability at UCLA
UCLA used to be a campus only composed of four buildings some 75 years ago. Now, the campus is composed of over 190 building and parking structures and still preserves a scenic garden-like environment. UCLA has the larges campus population out of all of the UCs; comprised of more than 60,000 on a daily basis. For over a decade now, UCLA has taken sustainability to a new level, diverting wastes and becoming more energy efficient, and, in 2005, UCLA took it to another level by establishing the sustainability committee on campus after some student brought it to Chancellor Carnesale’s attention back in 2004. This committee, Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability, is composed of faculty, administration, student affairs, capital programs, general services, communications, chancellor’s office, along with two graduate and two undergraduate student representatives. Their mission is to create a culture of sustainability at UCLA.
A sustainable society is one that is environmentally viable, economically robust, and socially just and equitable one that meets the needs of the present without compromising the resources for future generation. Superior sustainable practices simultaneously consider ecology, economy, social equity, and aesthetic elegance.
With efforts in preserving the ideals of sustainability, UCLA has even brought sustainable practices to the residents who like in the dorms. UCLA Residential Life and Housing are hosting a Sustainability Themed floor in Sproul Hall. This Green Sustainability Theme program offers a living and learning environment for students who are interested in maybe one day entering a career in sustainability and environmental justice. One of the goals of the program is to bring students and faculty together in a variety of structured and informal ways to explore issues such as global environmental change, policy, and management of natural resources, sustainable rural and urban environments, and environmental leadership. These experiences provide students and faculty with way to exchange ideas and to challenge each other. The Green, Sustainable Theme is located in Sproul Hall, second floor.
April 18, 2009:
Heal the Bay Beach Clean-Up in Santa Monica
Heal the Bay was having a beach clean-up on Saturday April 18, 2009, and my friend and I decided to rally some people to go with us. No one ended up showing up at 9am, so we took the bus over to Santa Monica beach and were given plastic bags and gloves. The beach was extremely clean already in the close proximity so we made an adventure out of going two miles down the beach where there is a roped off area for bird habitat. To our dismay there were piles of trash; plastic bottle caps, straws, balloons, plastic toys, etc, among the piles of seaweed. It was a little bit confusing as to why Heal the Bay did not designate the protected bird area as part of their clean-up because it takes priority over the unprotected areas.
Nonetheless, we stayed until we had picked up every single piece of trash from the area. We then returned to the Heal the Bay tents only to find them already packed up and taken away. The only thing that remained was a giant pile of about 25 black trash bags stacked up and waiting to be hauled away.
Essentially beach clean-ups are a pathetic attempt at environmental remediation. Realistically speaking there is a great pile of garbage circulating around the Pacific Ocean that is about the area of Texas and is responsible for much of the trash that washes ashore. Not to belittle the gallant effort of beach clean-ups because they’re a great way to get communities involved; however, they’re triage approaches to a greater environmental problem. In this day and age, environmental degradation needs to be handled using larger-scale techniques. Again, essentially beach-cleanups are designed to take trash from one place and put it into a landfill. In a landfill, the trash is able to further continue its degradation of the environment by leeching toxins into groundwater and being blown back into the ocean to repeat the cycle.
We achieved our goal by cleaning up the bird habitat, which I’m sure the birds greatly appreciated. However, I would be much more content to participate in a project that is responsible for massive-scale environmental remediation.
Aubrey Michi
On Friday, May 22, I organized an event with people on my floor of Rieber Terrace to clean up the visitor section of Will Rogers Beach Cleanup. We realized that a lot of organizations tend to target Santa Monica as a cleanup beach which is likely due to the proximity of Santa Monica. We felt that we should take it upon ourselves to initiate a cleanup of a beach that is not that target of attention. We arrived at the beach in the afternoon where there was little visitation by the public, this allowed us to easily scope out the beach and target areas of high trash density that would benefit from our cleanup. We picked out trash and recyclables and put them in the necessary bins. For the most part, the areas next to the shoreline were very clean, as visitors appeared to be very conscience about their trash. However, as we migrated back to the parking lot, we noticed an extensive amount of waste near plants adjacent to the parking lot and around the trashcans despite the trash cans being so close. When asked what were doing by visitors, we simply stated that we were Environmental Science UCLA students that decided to organize a beach cleanup. Most people who interacted with us were very happy to hear students taking initiatives like this. They applauded us for our contributions and volunteer work. We explained any questions they had regarding trash, pollution, etc, in hoping that they take that back home with them and practice methods that they learned from us. It was an inspiring event, as not only did we help clean a beach that we hear little of, but we also got to spread out knowledge to the community.
Andrew Guerra
Filed under: Beach Clean-ups, Community Service/Volunteer, Santa Monica Bay, Spring 2009, UCLA Sustainability
Amrit Otal
On May 25th, my fellow classmates and I went to Santa Monica beach to take part in a beach clean-up. As we began walking on the sand, we immediately began to see pieces of litter strewn all across the beach. As we picked up the trash and made our way toward the shore, we began to see more pieces of plastic in addition to aluminum cans. Plastic in particular was the most heavily present. This beach clean-up reinforced that it is imperative that everyone take an active role to clean and preserve the environment in order to ensure that wildlife and its diversity is preserved. Plastic (and other trash) that enters the ocean is difficult for fish to digest. It results in a decline in the fish population because the fish are unable to eat and digest substantial food sources properly due to the wastes that have entered the ocean and our causing their digestive systems to deteriorate or become impaired. Although picking up trash and wastes on the beach and near the shore keeps that trash from entering the ocean, it does not target the root of the problem and eliminate waste from entirely polluting oceans. In order to accomplish this, people need to take personal initiative and participate in eco-friendly activities and simply exercise their role as good citizens and clean up after themselves. This is beneficial not only for the variety of wildlife that is present in oceans but also for us so that our water supply is clean and free of contaminants. In addition, policies and laws aimed at controlling the dispense of waste need to be passed and enforced properly so that future generations can be guaranteed a safe and clean environment.
Filed under: Beach Clean-ups, Community Service/Volunteer, Dockweiler State Beach
Janelle Doi
Beach Clean-Up
On May 16, 2009, I participated in a beach clean-up at Dockweiler State Beach Park with a small group of students from the Environment 170 class. The club that three other students and I recently organized (the Green Social Network) was hosting the event as a kickoff, and it seemed only natural to invite people from the 170 class to join, considering that most of them are environmental science majors and needed to fulfill the volunteer requirement. After getting the word out about both the club and the beach clean-up, I put together a list of interested people and sent out emails to everyone. I organized carpools so that we could be more environmentally friendly in our transportation mode, and also to encourage everyone to get to know each other. After all, this was intended to be a social event as well as a productive one. We arrived at Dockweiler at about 5pm on Saturday, and the other club leaders and I provided all of the gloves and trashbags needed. We set out, and immediately realized that we had our work cut out for us!
Dockweiler is the only local beach that allows bonfires because it has designated pit areas. While this is great for the beachgoing public, it can be devastating for the marine life if trash is not disposed of in a safe manner. Sadly, we found that very few people clean up after themselves. As we walked along the sand, we picked up trash of all shapes and sizes. We found cigarette butts, plastic bottles, paper plates, napkins, childrens’ toys, balloons, straws, and Styrofoam containers to name a few of the more frequent items. It was unbelievable how much was scattered around, and we only covered a couple miles. We managed to fill at least six large garbage bags in the two hours that we were there.
Beach clean-ups are incredibly important for the health of our oceans. Small pieces of plastic can appear to be food to many fish and other marine animals, but once they’ve ingested them, their systems cannot digest them. Their stomachs fill with this plastic and eventually they starve to death because real food cannot fit. Large pieces of trash can trap small creatures, and some of the things that people discard contain toxins that can pollute the water. If we can catch some of these harmful pieces of rubbish before they make it into the ocean, we are saving thousands of lives. Clean-ups are also important in raising awareness. While we were combing the beach, people were paying attention to us. It’s not every day you see a group of college students volunteering and having fun while doing it! We set a really great example for all of the families who were at the beach enjoying their bonfires. In fact, I actually saw one woman turn back towards the pit that she was leaving and clean up her area after she saw us coming through. She even encouraged her children to help. It felt amazing to know that we were making a difference, and that we had just taught someone the value of picking up their trash. I sincerely hope that the next time her and her family decide to go to the beach, they will remember that experience and maybe even set an example for somebody else.
Jae Suh
Having our mind towards cleaner environment can exponentially fix our nature’s degradation. From critically thinking of ways to assist that goal from our opportunity, we figured that cleaning up the beach would be a great idea since the beach is a well known area for having pollutions. So we’ve decided to visit Santa Monica beach for our obligation on May 22, 2009. From trying to clean up the beach will not only formulate it cleaner, but it’ll induce the water quality, which eventually comes back to us indirectly. From the visit, we’ve realized that our beaches can furthermore be preserved to keep its beauty. Thus, we began picking up trash along the shore to put in our effort to help as much as possible.
Although we know our ability to clean up the beach is limited due to much needed help by others combined, it is always best to assist in increasing our possibility of better sustainability for the environment. As we know, oceans occupy approximately 70% of our planet’s plane, which coincide our idea of focusing the sustainability along the beaches. In having our beach clean will further improve our water quality because more than 97% of all our water resource contains in the ocean. In addition, preserving our biodiversity will correspond with increasing nature perseveration. Since more than 90 % of the habitats are within the oceanic surface, it is one of the best ideas to preserve the conditions of the beach, thus saving much wildlife. Saving our biodiversity will not only help the natural habitat, but also help us. Materials from marine plants and animals can provide medicine for human health issues and polluting our ocean environment will result in eliminating the species of which contains cures for human diseases. Besides these factors about the oceans, there are many other things the oceans effect upon. By studying ocean sediments, we can learn more about our historical climate and how it has changed throughout time, in which we can prosper our knowledge about present climate.
Policies from our bureaucrats and policy makers for protecting the ocean can strongly help to better our ocean conditions. With their help, pollutants can be decreased by tremendous amount. With a concept of our beach clean up activity as a foundation, we can further narrow down other actions that can be provided for the sustainable ocean (e.g., discontinue dirty fishing, harsh trawling, seafood contamination, protection for the sea turtles for species maintenance , further research on ocean conservation, and eliminate ship pollutions.) These policies can be great leading solutions for our future sustainability for the oceans.
Jae Suh
Here at UCLA, students have an amazing opportunity to research different environmental topics with peers and share them with other students and activists in hopes of bringing about change and improving the conditions of the environment from local to global levels. Eight of these action research teams participated in a presentation session in Reiber Fireside Lounge on May 27th which was put on by UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and the Education for Sustainable Living Program. It was free to students and there was a huge variety of topics that were addressed by these research teams, which offered attendees a wide range of ideas to think about and get interested in pursuing as well.
I am the Delta Gamma Director of Intramural Sports, so the presentation on whether or not the installation of Astroturf on the Intramural Field was particularly interesting to me, and the sustainability effects that would result from this effort surprised me. The main argument in favor of laying turf on the field is the amount of water that would be saved since Astroturf does not require watering for its up keeping. As Southern California is constantly in a state of drought and Los Angeles has no local source of fresh water, being smart with our water usage is imperative in keeping the environment strong and respecting its resources. Although the production of Astroturf uses other resources like crude oil to make the plastic that the turf is made of, and the purchase and installation itself can be pricy, the research team showed that it is a smart investment in the long run. In one year, UCLA facilities management would save billions of gallons of water just by ending the need to water the Intramural Fields on a daily basis. Not only does this proposition save immense amounts of water, but it also saves money. California has decided to raise the price of water, so UCLA will save money on its water bills every year after the turf installation. Additionally, the University will save on its human resources as it will require much less maintenance to keep the field alive and functioning for all of the activities that are held on the grass.
This team not only conducted research in regards to the environmental sustainability that will result from Astroturf, but they surveyed the individuals that will be directly affected by this change; the students and athletes of UCLA. They randomly surveyed almost 300 students and found that 71% did not mind or they fully endorsed the installation of turf. They also performed a more narrow survey of the athletes who use the field most often, the rugby, lacrosse, and soccer teams, and the results were almost the same with 70% of these student athletes who do not mind or who support the change to turf.
As long as UCLA has the funds, or can raise enough money to enact this eco-friendly project, it should definitely be considered and worked towards in the near future. As a soccer player, I always enjoy playing games on Astroturf with its divot-free surface and fast pace, but knowing that the Intramural Field’s turf is saving water, money, and the environment would make the game that much better. Thanks to environmentally conscious students and researchers, the University of California Los Angeles is well on it way towards a more sustainable campus and a better future.
Shannon Skelton
