Strategies for Supporting Student Sustainability Grant Projects Nicole Leung Grants Coordinator The Green Initiative Fund, UC Berkeley
AASHE 2010 Conference, Denver CO
Framing the Issue
How do you advise students on making their grant projects successful while also being realistic about what they can accomplish in a limited time frame?
Berkeley Campus Culture • ~35,000 students • Over 30 sustainability student groups • Many institutional barriers
Student Sustainability Forum, Fall 2009 TGIF Grantee 2009 - $18,250
• 33 projects granted money since 2008 (over $700,000) • Ongoing Challenges – Realistic expectations – Time and workload
BicyCal Mobile Bike Repair Days TGIF Grantee 2009 - $12,000
The campus as a learning laboratory
Establish Realistic Expectations • Figure out how to start the conversation early • Help students navigate the campus • Continue to follow up and revise expectations Photo: Students help build the Strawberry Creek Native Plant Nursery TGIF Grantee 2008 - $12,865
Encourage students as change agents
The UC Berkeley Dashboard interactive display, Wurster Hall TGIF Grantee 2008 - $76,750
Berkeley Energy Resources Collective (BERC) Energy Symposium TGIF Grantee 2010 - $5,000
Bridge the Administrative Gap • Facilitate communication between project teams and staff • Leverage committee membership to inform this process Campus and student groups tabling together, Fall 2009
Continuity Leadership development
Nicole Leung nleung1@andrew.cmu.edu 281.702.7133
UC Berkeley TGIF http://tgif.berkeley.edu tgif_info@berkeley.edu 510.643.2992