Written by: Genesisgalilea Herrera, Campus Sustainability Fund Committee member.
Happy end of the semester Wildcats! This fall, the Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF) has been busy reviewing Mini Grant applications and has funded four new projects!
The APIDA Outdoors Initiative project was awarded $4,500 to host a series of events that address the relationship between the APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) community and outdoor recreation through a unique lens of historical context, legal rights, accessibility and spiritual practice. A Day of Remembrance event will honor the legal and generational impacts of Japanese incarceration during World War II. Carolynn Classen will be a guest speaker and will present on the story of how Executive Order 9066 affects generations of Japanese Americans and her role in the passing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Following this guest speaker, students will have the opportunity to join APASA’s Gordon Hirabayashi Excursion. During World War II, some prisoners of this camp protested the Japanese American relocation. Gordon Hirabayashi was a senior at the University of Washington in 1942. He turned himself in to the FBI rather than report for relocation and was convicted and sentenced to serve at the Federal Honor Camp in the Santa Catalina Mountains, now named after him. This excursion will give students of color the opportunity to learn the history of Hirabayashi vs the United States case by visiting the camp and hiking a trail after taking part in a discussion led by guest speaker Kenny Wong.
The Campus Pantry Reusable Bags project team is hoping to incentivize and educate Campus Pantry users to bring a reusable tote to distribution days to limit the number of plastic bags the Pantry gives away each week. To kick start this, they will use their grant award of $5,000 to provide those who visit the Campus Pantry with a cute reusable tote bag upon request. The project will further promote sustainability awareness of decreasing single use plastic bags by teaching those who receive a tote bag about the benefits in using a reusable bag and hopefully inspire students to make a positive habit change.
The College of Engineering was awarded $4,200 to subsidize three certificate programs through the Project Certified to Sustain. The certificates offered include Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP), LEED Green Associate, and Green Globes Emerging Professional. The project team will promote student participation through learning specialized knowledge in sustainable development. The project will offer further professional development opportunities and provide study groups to participants to ensure their certification is complete. Students who complete the certificates will be equipped with skills and credentials necessary to lead environmentally responsible projects while fostering a culture of sustainability on campus, entirely free of charge.
The Sustainable Mushroom Cultivation on Buffelgrass project will explore the use of buffelgrass, an invasive grass species in Arizona, as a sustainable substrate for cultivating mushrooms. Led by the student club MycoCats alongside Sonoran Desert Weedwackers, the students will regularly collect buffelgrass, transport it to the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (CEAC) and process the pullings for mushroom cultivation. Any successful mushroom growths will be donated to the Campus Pantry and the Cooking on Campus program.
These projects will have the opportunity to engage the U of A community through sustainable activities in Spring 2025. With a wide range from cultural events to mushroom cultivation, the CSF committee is looking forward to these projects coming to life. Make sure to keep an eye out for these projects around campus to get involved with them!