June 13, 2005
UCSC hosting 'green campus' conference
By Louise Donahue
Creating "greener" campuses won't be all talk and
no action when UCSC hosts the fourth annual statewide Sustainability
Conference, June 20-21.
The schedule of events for the conference is available
online.
Photo courtesy of Laurel Sprenger, A. Rocha USA
|
One of the exhibitors on hand, Biosystem Solutions, will compost
some of the food waste from the conference, turning it into
premium earthworm castings.
A wide range of other products--from water-saving plumbing
to "green" roofing to a car-sharing service--will
also be showcased.
"Building a Sustainable Campus Community" is the
theme for the conference, expected to draw more than 400 students,
staff, and faculty members. The conference is designed to provide
campus planners and other staff with the concrete tools and
knowledge for incorporating sustainability practices.
"California's universities and community colleges are
uniquely positioned to help make sustainability practices a
vital force in society," said Chancellor Denice D. Denton.
"UC Santa Cruz is proud to host this conference to highlight
best practices and new technologies in green building and energy
efficiency."
Chancellor Denton will speak at the opening of the conference,
planned by the UC Santa Cruz Chancellor's Sustainability Action
Council. Speakers from business, engineering, higher education,
and other fields will share their expertise on subjects ranging
from building design to how to make dining services more sustainable.
The conference includes participants from the University of
California and California State University systems as well as
representatives of private and community colleges, said organizer
Diane Behling, senior facilities analyst in Capital Planning
and Space Management at UC Santa Cruz.
"We want to build collaborations among all the higher
education campuses in the state so we can learn from each other's
experiences and share new technologies and best practices,"
Behling said.
In addition to the chancellor, UC Santa Cruz campus architect
Frank Zwart and Harrison Fraker, dean of the College of Environmental
Design at UC Berkeley, will address the opening session.
Students have been involved in the effort from the start, and
the list of topics reflects their concerns. In addition to such
subjects as energy, transportation, and composting, there will
also be sessions on ways of incorporating sustainability into
college curricula and examples of successful student-led sustainability
organizations.
The conference will be supplemented by extensive pre- and post-conference
events, including field trips to Long Marine Lab and the UC
Santa Cruz Farm & Garden on June 19, and workshops on June
22.
A June 22 workshop is offered by the U.S. Green Building Council,
which developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
standards now being applied to "green" building projects
around the world. This workshop at the Stevenson Event Center--for
building owners, facility managers, and design teams--will cover
the technical requirements and process for achieving certification
under the newly released standards for existing buildings.
The conference is sponsored in part by the University of California/California
State University/Investor-Owned Utility Energy Efficiency Partnership
under the auspices of the Public Utilities Commission.
A schedule of events, including demonstrations by exhibitors,
is available online at www2.ucsc.edu/sustainabilityconf2005/schedule.htm
Detailed information on the conference is online at
www2.ucsc.edu/sustainabilityconf2005/
Related link:
"Designing the Future" (Newsweek
article)
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