Reaching Greener Heights: Building Sustainability Lifestyles at UC San Diego by Jonathan K. Lee
UC San Diego has much to celebrate this year. As the campus commemorates its 50th anniversary, it is also chronicling significant achievements and commitments to sustainability and green living practices.
The latest addition to the campus’ impressive sustainability record is the East Village apartments, which will immerse over 800 residents in a completely comfortable, environmentally friendly lifestyle this coming fall. The complex, formerly a parking lot, now encompasses a single high-rise and four smaller “Ecoflats,” all surrounded by low-irrigation landscaping.
Residential units promote alternative transportation with close proximity to bus stops and convenient bike parking. There are over 100 bike racks throughout the complex, including a secure indoor bike storage room. Windows and buildings are strategically designed to expose public spaces and residences with natural light and to optimize natural wind ventilation from the ocean breezes. All units are equipped with energy-efficient appliances and low-flow plumbing. Additionally, occupancy sensors shut off lights and appliances when rooms are unoccupied.
Additional services, such as a market, bistro, and mail station, are located within the complex to reduce the need to travel. Complement that with stunning views of Torrey Pines and the San Diego coast, and you’ve got creature-comfort sustainability. From design to construction, these buildings surely set a new standard for future housing developments on campus.
The building’s advanced solar water-heating system is gaining national attention among universities. Solar panels doubling as sun shades on the apartments absorb solar energy to heat the residents’ water for showers and baths, instead of relying on electricity or natural gas. The system is touted as one of the largest installations at a North American university.
“Housing • Dining • Hospitality takes the long-term view. We know that these buildings will outlive us, and we want to leave a sustainable legacy for the campus to enjoy,” says Krista Mays, HDH Sustainability Manager. “We listen to what our current student residents say about the housing that we have, and we work with our architects to build those ideas into the next housing that we build.”
Sustainable living on campus couldn’t be any classier. All the features are seamlessly embedded into the residents’ lifestyles, promoting residents to adopt an environmentally conscious mind, especially when they move off campus.
A few other housing projects are expected to be completed by Fall 2011. Revelle College and Muir College are building new undergraduate apartment buildings that will also feature sustainable designs. Both are working to be LEED certified.
“As a result of grass root campaigns and administrative sustainability champions, this campus has greened our fleet services, food operations, course curriculums, and even LEED certified several buildings such as the Sustainability Resource Center (SRC),” notes Kristin Hansen, sustainability analyst at the SRC.
In February, the SRC was awarded a LEED Gold certification for incorporating extensive energy- and resource-efficient innovations in its building design and operations. The SRC showcases reclaimed and recycled furniture and artwork in a practical environment. The center opened its doors to the campus community just a year and a half ago as the central hub of sustainability activity, largely thanks to committed efforts from the student body and administrators.
Student advisory committees and organizations have been, and continue to play, an integral part of the sustainability initiatives on campus. The Student Sustainability Collective (SSC) is the student-managed subset of the SRC, and has been the central voice of many student campaigns to institutionalize sustainability at the university. The SSC addresses various aspects of the movement, from energy and waste to food and water policies to civil and human rights.
In collaboration with numerous university officials, faculty members, and student groups like the SSC and One Earth One Justice, UC San Diego recently gained national recognition for adopting the nation’s strongest fair trade policy in pursuit of becoming a Fair Trade University. The policy, a result of over five years of advocacy, requires all future food and vendor contracts at the campus to sell 100 percent fair trade coffee, tea, and sugar at all locations.
Funding and support for sustainability initiatives are strong at all levels of the campus. A number of working groups have been formed to support feasibility studies of campus initiatives. For example, the Sustainability Solutions Institute brings together multidisciplinary teams to facilitate inter-departmental research, education, and outreach. It also hosts Greenovation Forums, which provide opportunities for creative collaborations between the campus community and members of the green technology sector.
HDH offers Green Grants, made available to residents and staff to promote sustainability innovation related to housing and dining. Toby’s Spot is a product of a student’s Green Grants project; it established conveniently located carts around housing units that allow residents to return permaware dishes to the dining halls, in turn allowing Dining Services to eliminate plastic and Styrofoam take-away.
In 2009, students approved the Sustainability Referendum, increasing undergraduate student fees to provide funding for both the SSC and The Green Initiative Fund. Grants have been allocated to a number of student-initiated projects, including the Neighborhood Community Garden and smart water meters, a pilot program that allowed residents to check their building’s water usage periodically online.
The extent of green living perpetuates itself far into the curriculum. Programs like the Environmental Systems major and the Environmental Studies minor have gained prominent interest among students in recent years. Sustainability courses and seminars are available from a range of perspectives, including Environmental Economics, Wilderness and Human Values, Local and Global Perspectives on Ethical Food Consumption, and Environmental Engineering. The Scripps Institute of Oceanography has also been a center of scientific sustainability research, allowing collaboration among undergraduates, graduates, and researchers to further environmental studies.
The campus environment fosters a strong sense of green living and strives to make it an accessible habit for its students, staff, and faculty. Members from a multitude of disciplines and departments continue to fight for more aggressive sustainability policies on campus. Goals include completing the on-campus Pepper Canyon Farm and expanding alternative transportation options like the trolley extension.
Additionally, the Associated Students are working towards the creation of an Associate Vice President of Sustainability to enhance student efforts. The campus’ Climate Action Plan, drafted in 2008, has goals to be zero waste by 2020 and to reach climate neutrality by 2025.
For more information on sustainability at UC San Diego, visit http://hdh.ucsd.edu/majorplanet or http://sustainability.ucsd.edu.
Jonathan “Dante” Lee is a graduate from UC San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Systems. He holds a strong enthusiasm for the environment, and reminds people that the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) can go a long way.