UCLA Sustainability

Bio Dynamic Principles and Gardening
2022-04-14 17:30 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | CA
Horticulturist Jill Morganelli will cover the principles, history, science and the relationship to stewardship of biodynamics. Biodynamics is a holistic, ecological, and ethical approach to farming, gardening, food, and nutrition. Biodynamics is rooted in the work of philosopher and scientist Dr. Rudolf Steiner. Biodynamics has continued to develop and evolve since the 1920s through the collaboration of many farmers and researchers. Around the world, biodynamics is alive in thousands of thriving gardens, farms, vineyards, ranches, and orchards. The principles and practices of biodynamics can be applied anywhere food is grown, with thoughtful adaptation to scale, landscape, climate, and culture.
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Climate Equity LA Series: Mitigating Climate Risks and Hazards
2022-04-14 18:00 - 19:00 | CA
In Part II of the Climate Equity LA Series, we will explore how we center equity & justice in the co-design and implementation of climate adaptation plans, tools, and community resilience investments, and how these must reflect the voices, experiences, and expertise of those impacted by climate change. We will also present the need for building capacity and social networks to strengthen climate resilience in the face of disaster, and the need for re-defining hazards and emergencies to address the more present and frequent climate hazards Los Angeles experiences. Further still, we are exploring recommendations that support a just recovery, jobs, and advocating for solutions that match the scale of the climate crisis.
Topics we will cover include Intro to climate resilience; mitigating climate risks and hazards; and community driven climate emergency preparedness over the course of the workshops on April 7, 14, and 21.
REGISTER HERE

Resilient Palisades Earth Day Festival
2022-04-16 10:00 - 15:00 | Will Rogers State Historic Park Polo Field, 1501 Will Rogers State Park Road, Pacific Palisades, CA, 90272, United States
Free Family Friendly Event

Food Trucks
DJs & Dancing
Children’s Activities
Green Tech Solutions
Yoga Classes
Sustainable Orgs & Vendors

Impact Week Conference 2022: The Future of LA
2022-04-18 - 2022-04-22 | CA
Impact Week 2022 will focus on the future of Los Angeles by examining what our extraordinarily diverse city looks like right now. We will consider the factors contributing to the life experience — and disparities — in L.A. and discuss how different sectors interconnect. We will examine the built environment, inequitable food access, public green spaces, the mayor’s Sustainable City Plan , the burgeoning tech economy of Silicon Beach, improvements in public transit alongside skyrocketing real estate prices, growing numbers of unhoused people and soaring temperatures amid worsening drought.
In six years, the world will be watching when Los Angeles takes center stage as host of the 2028 Summer Olympics. Will the city present itself as a thriving and healthy metropolis? How will the city showcase its willingness to innovate and incorporate diverse thoughts to create social action? Which local corporations are seeding positive changes now that will sow benefits come 2028?
To attempt to answer those questions and inspire discussion, we will hear from a range of panelists and keynote speakers from both the private and public sectors. We seek change-makers from the grassroots level to the heights of industry who recognize UCLA’s research, education and service missions as crucial to the future of our region. By examining different L.A. neighborhoods, Impact Week 2022 will train a lens on the business solutions best poised to improve the social determinants of health for Los Angelenos.
REGISTER HERE

Community as a Building Block of Resilience
2022-04-20 11:30 - 13:00 | CA
As American communities are confronted by compounded and systematic challenges, we need new models to build resilience for all people. Communities that are connected and empowered are better off today and more able to respond and recover when disaster strikes. Why are communities fundamental to resilience, and how do we find, connect and support our local communities? How does this translate to developing strong teams at work, and how can we leverage organizations and project teams to prepare for a changing world?
This 90-minute interactive virtual workshop will provide participants with real-world examples and strategies for understanding and supporting team building and community engagement as a key component of resilience.
REGISTER HERE
Presenters

Heather Rosenberg
Heather Rosenberg is an Associate Principal at Arup and leads its resilience discipline in the Americas. An ecologist by training, Heather is a USGB Ginsberg Fellow with 20 years of experience in sustainability and resilience in the built environment. Her practice focuses on a systemic approach to resilience to organizations, with a central focus on social justice.
Before joining Arup, Heather was the founder and president of her own successful resilience strategy firm, Building Resilience Network. She partnered with the USGBC-LA Chapter to create their Building Resilience-LA program, worked with GRESB to develop its Resilience Module and served as resilience advisor to Enterprise Community Partners.
Heather has served as a technical advisor to dozens of public, private and non-profit organizations, and served on a variety of commissions and boards, including the State of California Clean Energy Jobs Act Citizens Oversight Board, and is a former member the City of Los Angeles Innovation and Performance Commission (Mayoral appointee).

AI Earth Summit 2022
2022-04-21 11:30 - 19:00 | CA
As the cycle of climate tech innovation and investment accelerates, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning will continue to play a growing role in sustainable development. Join us for an engaging and inspiring day of conversations and collaboration centered around the planet and our technology’s place within it. This year’s Earth Summit will be hybrid—the first time in-person activities are returning since 2019’s event—there are even greater opportunities to collaborate with fellow sustainability-driven minds across the Southern California region and beyond.
In mid-March, AI LA kicked off an Open Innovation Challenge with LA County to invite geospatial scientists, machine learning engineers, and designers to build teams to solve a high-priority problem in LA County involving invasive pests destroying our trees. Teams are currently using satellite imagery to develop an alert system that could be used by LA County and other regions that are battling this growing issue of invasive pests killing our trees. During AI LA’s Earth Summit, teams will present their solutions and compete to win a $10,000 grant, office hours with Starburst Aerospace, free corporate services with Wilson Sonsini, and other ecosystem support.
Meanwhile, speaker panels at Earth Summit ranging from sustainable aerospace innovation to climate tech investment will inspire further conversations. LA County Board Supervisors Kuehl and Solis will be providing opening remarks about AI LA’s Open Innovation Challenge.
REGISTER HERE

Climate, Carbon and What Really Matters
2022-04-21 12:30 - 14:00 | Bruin Viewpoint Room, Ackerman Union at UCLA, 308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, United States
Dale Jamieson is a professor of environmental studies and philosophy at New York University, where he serves as director of the Center for Environmental and Animal Protection. He is affiliated with NYU’s schools of law, medicine and global public health, and has held visiting appointments at the National Center for Atmospheric Research as well as several universities in the United States and abroad. Jamieson’s recent work concerns the nature and uses of love, political theory for the anthropocene, the prospects for progressive consequentialism, and the various complex relationships between environmental and animal protection, especially in relation to food and conservation.
REGISTER HERE

Climate Equity LA Series: Community Driven Climate Emergency Preparedness
2022-04-21 18:00 - 19:00 | CA

Environmental Justice and Ecotherapy Conference 2022
2022-04-22 07:00 - 14:00 | CA
The UT Steve Hicks School of Social Work EJET student organization presents the first annual Environmental Justice and Eco-Therapy Conference. The goal of the conference is to bring awareness and education to the UT campus community around issues of sustainability through an environmental justice and mental health lens. The speakers presenting at this conference will consider this as they tie in their expertise on issues such as climate justice, environmental justice, ecotherapy, and climate resilience.
REGISTER HERE
Professionals can earn 4 CEUs by attending this conference
Friday April 22, 2022 Agenda
9-9:15am – Opening and Introduction – Erica Foster and Mark McKim, EJET Conference Co-Founders
9:15-10:30 – Keynote “Somos de la tierra: We are nature” – Rocío Villalobos, City of Austin Equity Office
10:30 -10:45 – Break
10:45-12:00 – Climate and Environmental Justice: Frontline perspectives to inform allies in social work. David Cortez, Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter, Dr. Tane Ward, Consultant and Community Organizer, and Andy Escobar, CEER Houston
12:00- 1:00 – Break for Lunch
1:00 – 2:15 – Redefining Resilience: Equity & Climate Justice – Carmen Llanes Pulido, Go Austin Vamos Austin (GAVA) and Kizzy Hanibal Xolani, Co-founder and Program Manager at EcoRise
2:15-2:30 – Break
2:30 – 3:45 – “Nature Heals: Reflections on Indigenous Practices & Ecotherapy for Well-being.” Starla Simmons, LCSW and Marika Alvarado, Indigenous Medicine Woman
For more information and conference agenda please visit: https://sites.utexas.edu/ejetconference/

1.5°C Symposium on Climate Change
2022-04-22 08:30 - 16:00 | CA
The 1.5°C Symposium on Climate Change inspires the AEC community to solve climate change issues and become more harmonious with nature by pinpointing techniques and methodologies to enhance and improve project approaches and better co-exist together.
Through expert speakers, we will explore diverse regenerative cultures, best practices for transitioning to a circular economy, re-examine how we conduct business, and highlight rapid and necessary shifts in culture and consumption. The goal is to better manage impacts between the built and natural environments, encourage ways for designers to create balance within these systems, and explore new ways in which we can actively seek to rebuild the social fabric of our cities.
Presentations will focus on building equity, emphasize human and environmental health, and instill future generations with a sense of empowerment and advocacy to influence designs as well as policy.
REGISTER HERE

UCLA Earth Day Fair
2022-04-22 13:00 - 16:00 | Sunken Gardens
UCLA’s annual Earth Day Fair is held by E3’s Earth Month Campaign. This year, our theme is Food Systems, and we aim to educate the community about food related issues and environmental concerns.
We would love for you to join us in dedicating April to advocate for the right to clean, safe, and healthy communities for us and our future generations.
Come to Zero Waste Ambassadors’ pop-up refillery open to all. Bring your own container and get shampoo, conditioner, dish soap, laundry detergent, body wash, hand sanitizer, and more refilled.

Saging The World Premiere
2022-04-22 19:00 - 21:00 | Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W 6th Street, San Pedro, CA, 90731, United States
“Saging” has become common in movies, TV shows, social media, and cleansing rituals –people burning sage bundles in the hope of purifying space and clearing bad energy. Instead of healing, the appropriated use of saging in popular culture is having a harmful effect. Indigenous communities have tended a relationship with white sage for thousands of generations. White sage (Salvia apiana) only occurs in southern California and northern Baja California, Mexico. Today, poachers are stealing metric tons of this plant from the wild to supply international demand. Saging the World spotlights the ecological and cultural issues intertwined with white sage, centering the voices of Native advocates who have long protected and cherished this plant.
Join us for the world premiere of Saging the World on Earth Day, Friday, April 22 at the Warner Grand Theatre is San Pedro. The screening will include a panel discussion with Native advocates from the film, as well as a white sage plant giveaway.
REGISTER HERE
The short documentary was produced by Rose Ramirez, Deborah Small, and the California Native Plant Society to foster awareness and inspire action for white sage. This Earth Day, go from smudging to seeding as we come together to see plants not just as “resources,” but as “relationships.” For more information on the documentary and campaign, visit cnps.org/sagingtheworld.
Guests are required to show proof of vaccination, a negative PCR test within 48 hours, or a negative antigen test within 24 hours. CNPS is requiring all guests to wear a mask during the event and is offering fewer tickets than the capacity of the theatre to provide additional spacing. COVID protocols are subject to change per local, state, and federal guidelines.
Co-sponsored by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy and the South Coast Chapter of CNPS.

Earth Day 2022 Bioblitz
2022-04-23 10:00 - 12:00 | Hansen Dam Rec Center, 11770 Foothill Blvd, Lake View Terrace, CA, 91342, United States
Biodiversity is the variety of plants, animals, and other species interacting with their environment to maintain the balance of nature.
The goal of the bioblitz is to engage the public in making observations of biodiversity in Los Angeles. This bioblitz event will encourage observations of all wild plants and animals on iNaturalist, a community science platform. All are welcome!
REGISTER HERE
Location:
Hansen Dam (near Lake View Terrace Branch Library & Children’s Playground Area)
Enter from Osborne Street and Dronfield Avenue
How to prepare for a bioblitz:

Click the green “register” button to RSVP
Download the iNaturalist app in Google Play or Apple Store
Wear comfortable walking shoes.
Bring a small bag with sunscreen, a hat, and water.
Make sure your cell phone is fully charged.

COVID-19 Precautions:
In an abundance of caution, we are restricting the number of attendees and asking everyone to maintain a distance of 6 feet from each other. Masks are not required, but you may of course wear one if it is your preference.

Sustainability in Cultures Art Gallery
2022-04-25 - 2022-04-29 | Kerckhoff Art Gallery, 308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Zero Waste UCLA and the Carbon Neutrality Initiative are partnering to highlight the different ways sustainability manifests in different cultures. We are soliciting art from the UCLA community that reflect what sustainability looks like across various cultures and communities. The art will be displayed in the Kerckhoff Art Gallery from April 25th – 29th.
Join us for the Opening Night on April 26th from 5 – 7pm at Kerckhoff Art Gallery for light refreshments, a chance to meet the artists, and an open mic night to share how you celebrate sustainability in your culture! Don’t forget to bring your own cup!

Free Produce Fair
2022-04-26 10:00 - 14:00 | Bruin Plaza, 308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States

Sustainability Open Mic Night
2022-04-26 17:00 - 19:00 | Kerckhoff Grand Salon, 308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Join us for the Opening Night on April 26th from 5 – 7pm at Kerckhoff Art Gallery for light refreshments, a chance to meet the artists, and an open mic night to share how you celebrate sustainability in your culture. Don’t forget to bring your own cup!

Climate Justice for Business: Reflections from B Corps
2022-04-28 10:00 - 11:15 | CA
As Earth Month comes to a close, join B Lab, B Corps and climate justice leaders as we reflect on lessons learned on our journey toward climate and environmental justice. We will discuss what climate justice means to us on the individual, organizational and community levels; hear from leaders in the space about what is working and where we are collectively falling short; and how we might work individually and collectively to create the change we seek. Most of this virtual event will include presentations from B Corp business and frontline community leaders. You’ll also have an opportunity to connect with your peers for shared learning and reflection as we celebrate our wins and identify opportunities for continued growth and leadership.
REGISTER HERE
Topics will include

What is climate justice? How do we define and talk about it?
How are frontline communities affected disproportionately by climate change?
How can businesses adopt a climate justice framework to guide their climate action?
Stories of B Corp partnerships around climate justice

Who should attend?
This interactive, informational session is designed for business and organizational leaders who want to learn more about climate justice and how to embed it into their work. It is particularly relevant to those in the B Corp business community looking to drive climate solutions and collective action that center people and justice.

City Nature Challenge 2022
2022-04-29 - 2022-05-02 | CA
Started in 2016 as a competition between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the City Nature Challenge (CNC) has grown into an international event, motivating people around the world to find and document wildlife in their cities. Run by the Community Science teams at the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the CNC is an annual four-day global bioblitz at the end of April, where cities are in a collaboration-meets-friendly-competition to see not only what can be accomplished when we all work toward a common goal, but also which city can gather the most observations of nature, find the most species, and engage the most people in the event.
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Festival of Trees
2022-04-29 12:00 - 14:00 | Botanical Garden, 707 Tiverton Dr
Visit the Botanical Garden any time from 12pm-2pm to participate in an interactive stamp rally where you will visit some of the most iconic trees in the Garden and learn more about the importance of plants to our health and sustainability. Collect all eight stamps and you will have the chance to take home a plant prize.
This event is free for everyone and will follow all current health protocols. No RSVP required. Prizes are limited to first 100 visitors or until supplies last.

LA City Council District 5: Climate & Sustainability Forum
2022-05-01 13:00 - 15:00 | Luskin School of Public Affairs, Room 2353
Join our LA City Council District 5 Candidates in a public forum to discuss policies on climate and sustainability where you can ask questions related to UCLA. Students, staff, and climate leaders are all welcome to attend.
REGISTER HERE
Candidate Forum: 1:00pm-2:30pm in Luskin School of Public Affairs Room 2353
Meet & Greet: 2:30pm-3:00pm at the Sculpture Garden

InterActions LA: Inclusive Approaches to Electric Carsharing
2022-05-06 10:00 - 11:00 | CA
Electric carsharing holds enormous potential for our cities — they can provide safe, clean, and convenient ways to travel and, for those unable to afford personal vehicles, they increase access to opportunities. Over the past five years, a new wave of carsharing services supported by public funding using electric vehicles has emerged. Nonprofit models have operated at a large scale in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, and elsewhere, while public and community-controlled programs are emerging in Sacramento and Los Angeles.
At this year’s InterActions LA event, we’ll hear how people have benefited from electric carsharing programs and how agencies of different types may want to get involved. Speakers will also discuss sustainable business models, operational approaches that can fill mobility gaps, and outreach strategies to ensure the programs are known to people who stand to benefit the most.
REGISTER HERE

Coastalong Festival
2022-05-07 14:30 - 20:00 | Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, 111 Easton Drive, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1370, United States
UCLA’s bike-powered festival.
https://www.coastalongmusicfestival.com/

The Quest for Environmental and Climate Justice
2022-05-12 18:15 - 19:30 | Bruin Viewpoint Room, Ackerman Union at UCLA, 308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, United States
Often described as the father of environmental justice, TCU professor Robert Bullard is a renowned advocate for those who suffer the earliest and most damaging setbacks from climate change simply because of where they live. His presentation will focus on empowering vulnerable populations in the United States and ensuring that climate change mitigation is fair and equitable. He’ll draw on his background in urban planning and public policy to discuss emergency management, community resilience and disaster recovery strategies, offering a framework to dismantle the systemic racism that perpetuates inequality and vulnerability.
REGISTER HERE

UCLA Bike Week 2022
2022-05-17 - 2022-05-19 | CA
May is National Bike Month, a time here at UCLA we use to highlight the many benefits of bicycling — to acknowledge our riding community and encourage more Bruins to give biking a try.
While the pandemic may have halted past celebrations on campus, UCLA Bike Week is back in motion! Join us at pit stops for goodies, giveaways, bike gear, and more. All are welcome, including seasoned cyclists and newcomers to biking.

Tuesday, May 17 from 7:30 am – 9:30 am at Westwood and Le Conte
Wednesday, May 18 from 8:30 am – 10:30 am at Lu Valle Commons

UCLA Transportation will also host a Bike Week Luncheon on Thursday, May 19, from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm at Wilson Plaza. Grab refreshments on us and get the new UCLA Bike Week t-shirt! Pre-registration is required for both the luncheon and to secure the free t-shirt. Sign up here for the lunch event and shirt, as space and supplies are limited. No registration is needed to drop by the pit stops.
Follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all month too as we share bicycling resources and host weekly social media contests with a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card!

"Saging the World" Movie Showing
2022-05-17 18:00 - 19:30 | CA
Sponsored by UCLA’s Special Advisor to the Chancellor on Native American and Indigenous Affairs Mishuana Goeman and California Native Plant Society and Indigenous advocates.
REGISTER HERE
PANELISTS:

Heidi Lucero (Acjachemen and Mustun Ohlone)
Samantha Morales Johnson (Gabrielino Tongva)
Kimberly Morales Johnson (Gabrielino Tongva)
Nick Rocha (Gabrielino Shoshone)
Craig Torres (Tongva)

Sage smudging has become a viral trend. What’s the truth behind the smoke?
“Saging” has become common in movies, TV shows, social media, and cleansing rituals–people burning sage bundles in the hope of purifying space and clearing bad energy. Instead of healing, the appropriated use of saging in popular culture is having a harmful effect.
Indigenous communities have tended a relationship with white sage for thousands of generations. White sage (Salvia apiana) only occurs in southern California and northernBaja California, Mexico. Today, poachers are stealing metric tons of this plant from the wild to supply international demand. Saging the World spotlights the ecological and cultural issues intertwined with white sage, centering the voices of Native advocates who have long protected and cherished this plant.
The short documentary was produced by Rose Ramirez, Deborah Small, and the California Native Plant Society to foster awareness and inspire action for white sage. For more information on the film and ways to support white sage, visit cnps.org/sagingtheworld.

A Talk on Heat, Health, & Design
2022-05-18 11:00 - 13:00 | CA
Heat is a rapidly escalating dimension of the climate change crisis, and requires creative, comprehensive and collaborative strategies to mitigate its negative impacts on human health. Hosted by the BEWell pod at the Semel Healthy Campus Initiative, this lecture series will highlight some of the ways in which UCLA scholars are advancing the discourse on heat, health and design through diverse approaches and in various fields.
This event will take place online. The zoom link will be shared with registrants prior to the event.
REGISTER HERE

My Green Building Conference & Expo (MyGBCE)
2022-05-20 - 2022-05-21 | CA
Since its inception in 2001, MyGBCE has become the longest-running and largest gathering of leading sustainability and green building advocates within both the public and private sectors in Southern California.
Attended by over 1500 people in 2021, this conference and trade show provides cutting-edge thought leadership, education, and networking opportunities to inform local government agencies, building industry professionals, and the general public about the principles, practices, and products associated with green building.
This year, we expect even more attendees across our two-day, hybrid event from local government agencies, the building industry, and the public gathering to learn about green building principles, practices, and products.
Join us for our new 2nd day of the event for the general public to learn and interact with the green building community through music, fun showcases and presentations, demonstrations, and virtual home and building tours!
REGISTER HERE

Cajetan Iheka on African Ecomedia
2022-05-24 12:30 - 14:00 | CA
Join us for a virtual talk by Professor Cajetan lheka on his new book African Ecomedia: Network Forms, Planetary Politics (Duke UP 2021), followed by a Q&A session.In African Ecomedia, Cajetan Iheka examines the ecological footprint of media in Africa alongside the representation of environmental issues in visual culture. Iheka shows how, through visual media such as film, photography, and sculpture, African artists deliver a unique perspective on the socioecological costs of media production, from mineral and oil extraction to the politics of animal conservation. These works highlight not only the exploitation of African workers and the vast scope of environmental degradation but also the resourcefulness and creativity of African media makers. They point to the unsustainability of current practices while acknowledging our planet’s finite natural resources. In foregrounding Africa’s centrality to the production and disposal of media technology, Iheka shows the important place visual media has in raising awareness of and documenting ecological disaster even as it remains complicit in it.
REGISTER HERE

Saving the Silversword: Native Species & Colonialism in Hawai'i
2022-05-26 17:00 - 18:30 | La Kretz Garden Pavilion, 707 Tiverton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
The Haleakalā silversword (or ‘ahinahina in Hawaiian) is one of the most striking and rare plants in Hawai‘i. Learn how efforts to save this plant have sparked a movement to preserve the islands’ unique flora while opening conversation about race, gender, and colonialism in the islands. Refreshments will be provided.
This event is free, but seating is limited—RSVP required to reserve a seat.
REGISTER HERE

Surplus Stop Move Out
2022-05-31 10:00 - 2022-06-02 12:00 | CA
Did you know that the average college student creates 640 pounds of trash annually, the majority of which accumulates at move-out? From clothes, to books, to food, to furniture, many students opt to throw away items to avoid bringing everything back home.
Many of these materials, which one Bruin may no longer need, are useful and reusable to another Bruin. The UCLA Surplus Stop is a space to give furniture, electronics, and other items a second life and keep items out of the landfill.
Join us next week on the Hill for a special Surplus Stop collection and give your stuff a second chance!
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