In order to advance campus-wide efforts to move towards a more sustainable future, FS Sustainability continuously communicates and collaborates with other departments on campus in addition to searching for innovative students who are eager to contribute fresh ideas, implement unique projects, and lead research initiatives. Students in the Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM) program take on Capstone research projects that often revolve around sustainability both on- and off-campus, along with many other academic programs including Art, Anthropology, Performing Arts, Sociology, Biology, Chemistry and more.
Here's what the CI community has been up to in the past year to help advance sustainability efforts:
Earth Week 2019
FS Sustainability collaborated with CI's Student Government on the coordination of Earth Week in Spring 2019. This year, Earth Week consisted of 5 days of activities, including:
Monday 4/22: Earth Day Festival brought to you by Green Generation Club
Tuesday 4/23: Arbor Day Tree Planting w/ Facilities Services Grounds
Wednesday 4/24: Sustainable Extravaganza
Thursday 4/25: Plant Your Own Herbs in the Student Union
All week: Plant-Based Meals in Islands Cafe
Intermediate GIS (ESRM 428)
In the Spring semester of 2019, Facilites Services Sustainability served as a 'client' for a group of Intermediate GIS students in Dr. Kiki Patsch's ESRM 428 class. Students Tanya Saxena and Mikayla McCulloh created "The Story of Sustainability" at CSUCI using ESRI Story Maps. A story map is a unique way to integrate multimedia elements, such as photos, videos and writing, with maps and data. Click HERE to see how campus sustainability has advanced since CI's conception in 2002!
Technical and Business Writing (ENGL 482)
Also during the Spring 2019 semester, student Zachary Lloyd worked with FS Sustainability to compile a report about campus energy management, which explored the background of Strategic Energy Management (SEM) and how the campus implements the ideals of SEM into its practices. Several of these practices and ideals are summarized in the infographic below.
Land Use Planning and Open Space Management (ESRM 464)
During the Fall 2018 semester, Facilities Services collaborated with Dr. Dan Reineman's ESRM 464 class on two service learning projects. One group created a "Walking Tour" of the campus, highlighting the cultural and social history of the land that CSUCI stands upon. The other group conducted an analysis on the current and potential usage of Channel Islands (CI) Park - the open space that resides adjacent to our campus. The Walking Tour group worked with Sustainability and Operations Analyst Coleen Barsley and Sustainability Student Assistant Lisa Noriega, and the CI Park group worked with Campus Architect Terry Tarr and Sustainability Student Assistant Sycora Powell.
We encourage you to take the survey created by the CI Park group so that we may have a more expansive database and thus more accurate survey results. Below, you will find the URL to take the survey as well as a QR code that links to the survey. For the QR code, all you need to do is scan it using the camera on your mobile phone. Thank you!
https://csuci.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5asMSvMJjy0fY0Z
Energy and Society (CHEM 344)
Students in CI's Energy and Society course (CHEM 344), instructed by Dr. Safa Khan, engage in a semester-long project that, when completed, may receive funding to be implemented on campus. These projects are based upon surveying the physical, chemical, and engineering principles involved in the production of energy from current and potential sources and the economical, environmental, and political issues surrounding energy production. Facilities Services often collaborates in the creation and implementation of these projects, many of which are listed below.
Sustainable Pollinator Gardens
Dr. Khan's Spring 2018 Energy and Society class designed and implemented a pollinator garden on the second floor of Sierra Hall. This garden includes multiple native plant species as well as drought-tolerant succulents and is specifically designed to give pollinators a "safe haven" here at CSUCI. Our campus community recognizes the vitality of pollinators and is making huge steps toward ensuring their health and abundance. More pollinator gardens are in the works in various other locations on campus. These pollinator gardens were instrumental in helping us to achieve our Bee Campus USA recognition!
Waste Signage Improvement
This project aims to further students' understanding of which materials are recyclable and which go into landfill. The signs, which were created by Dr. Safa Khan's CHEM 344 students, display common items that are often thrown away on campus. This way, when students approach a bin to dispose of something, they know exactly where it should go.
GreenScreens
Originating in Academic Affairs through a course section and funded via Instructionally Related Activites (IRA), GreenScreens were conceptualized to help reduce CSUCI's unnecessary paper consumption that resulted from printing and putting up informational posters in buildings around campus. By using these screens, we are able to efficiently post up-to-date information for our campus community in a more sustainable and efficient manner.
"No Single-Use Planet" Student-Led Campaign
During the Spring semester of 2018, a group of students created a campaign to raise campus awareness about the dangers of single-use plastics and their detriment to all living systems. The petition that was created to eventually eliminate all single-use plastics on campus got nearly 1000 student, staff and faculty signatures, which exemplifies the importance of sustainability to our entire campus community. The campaign was also created in alignment with the CSU-wide goal of moving toward zero waste set by the Chancellor's Office. Those who collaborated in this effort were the CI Art club, Santa Rosa Island Student Committee, Green Generation Club, Surfrider Foundation Club, and many CI faculty and staff. The campaign will continue on through the 2018-2019 academic year to work on creating and implementing the next steps for eliminating single-use plastics at CSUCI.
The first milestone of this campaign, a product of the meeting pictured above, is to put all single-use straws behind counters at dining locations on campus. As of Fall 2018, straws will not come with drinks unless customers specifically ask for them. Signage for this initiative has been provided by the Surfrider Club at CSUCI and the Surfrider Chapter of Ventura County.
Past Projects
Rain Barrel Capstone Project
View the full report.
This Capstone research project was created to help conserve water at CI! The water collected during the rainy seasons are then used by the Grounds Department of Facilities Services to water nearby plants.
Hydration Stations
This student-led project was completed in August of2014. Between their initial installation and December of 2015, hydration stations around campus have diverted over 4 million plastic water bottles! CI also has a sustainability map that displays the locations of these hydration stations on campus along with other sustainable features at CSUCI.
Get Involved
We have projects in the areas of energy conservation, waste minimization, water conservation, and landscaping. For more information on how you can contribute to CI’s sustainability efforts beyond the classroom, contact us:
Roxane Beigel-Coryell
Sustainability & Energy Director
Email: roxane.bc@csuci.edu, SustainableCI@csuci.edu
Phone: 805-437-3232
Located in Ironwood Hall