Energy Team: Energy Reduction in UCLA Facilities
The 2023 Energy Team will work to optimize energy use in UCLA facilities on the basis of the occupants’ schedules to produce savings for Facilities Management. To accomplish this, we…
Projects
Field-testing innovative and sustainable agricultural technological solutions to improve employment for incarcerated youth in Cameroon
Within the West African country of Cameroon, intense food and job insecurity has led to an increase in crime as young Cameroonians resort to committing petty crimes as a means…
Impacts of domestic dogs on gray fox behaviors in the Santa Monica Mountains
Awardee: Madeleine Zuercher, Ph.D. candidate advised by Greg Grether and Debra Shier in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Madeleine is interested in how invasive species affect native carnivore behavior and ecology.
Improving the Environment in California’s Most Vulnerable Communities (Implementing SB 158 (2021-2022))
Senate Bill 158 – Hazardous Waste was adopted by the Legislature and approved by Governor Newsom in 2021. SB 158 made process and organizational improvements to DTSC, and increased allocations…
Incorporating sustainability and resiliency measures in large water utilities
Recurring droughts across the western United States have demonstrated a need for updated water management procedures across sectors, including for commercial businesses and residential communities. In Southern California, overreliance on…
Investigating Local Adaptation of Heteromeles arbutifolia using a Common Garden Approach.
Awardee: Laurel Thomas, undergraduate student completing her degree in Environmental Science with minors in Conservation Biology and Environmental Engineering. Laurel is passionate about conserving and increasing access to California native plants and their respective ecosystems
Irrigation Team: Investigating various irrigation types on campus and their corresponding water use savings
The 2023 Irrigation Team will investigate the water usage across various irrigation types at turf areas on campus and calculate water savings associated with converting these areas to native landscaping…
LENS.cast Season 3: Energy, Art Future
In Season 3 of the podcast of the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies, we speak to activists, experts, and artists working toward just futures for California’s Imperial Valley, Indigenous communities…
Leveraging community science and museum collections to evaluate impacts of wildfire smoke on California’s backyard birds and identify conservation opportunities
Dr. Olivia Sanderfoot is studying the impacts of air pollution on birds, including effects on behavior, species distributions, and detectability, working in collaboration with the National Park Service, the Natural…
Mindful Gas Decommissioning
California’s goal of decarbonizing the state’s energy sector by 2045 requires an accompanying strategic approach to the decommissioning of the extensive gas infrastructure, currently comprising over 11 million meters and spanning more than 100,000 miles.
Modeling the impact of invasive annual grasses on wildfire behaviors in Southern California.
Awardee: Bowen Wang, undergraduate student with majors in Climate Science and Geography. Bowen has a wide interest in both the physical and social impacts of anthropogenic climate change, particularly in droughts, floods, and wildfires in the Western US and tropical cyclones, and he likes to develop and run models to represent these processes.
Native Bees Team: Identifying and Increasing Native Bee Presence and Raising Awareness on UCLA’s Campus
Native pollinators contribute to ecosystem diversity by spreading pollen as they travel from plant to plant, increasing flower and plant populations and therefore encouraging species diversity. Since pollinators are such…