California Higher Education Sustainability Conference 2012: Day 1

Earlier today, I arrived at the UC Davis campus for the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference. It's a week-long conference focusing on sustainability at the university/college level, and participants include students and staff from throughout California. According to the website,

"The California Higher Education Sustainability Conference highlights cutting-edge research, as well as case studies with proven successes in curriculum development, operational programs, and community partnerships. This unique event is jointly organized by independent/private colleges, California Community Colleges, California State Universities, and the University of California creating the opportunity for dialogue across institutions. The University of California, Davis envisions hosting a conference that deepens connections among sustainability practitioners, academic and adminitrative, across all sectors of high education, utilizing the Davis Campus as a living laboratory demonstration site for the conference."

As a student actively involved in campus sustainability at UC Santa Cruz, I am excited to spend the week learning from other universities and building connections with other students, as well as staff, who are working on sustainability at their campuses. For those who are new to my blog (and because I haven't updated the blog in awhile), I worked a lot this year on developing the UC Santa Cruz Sustainability Office newsletter, and next year I will be leading an Education & Outreach Team to raise awareness and support for the UCSC Campus Sustainability Office and for sustainability on the campus in general. This week, I hope to meet some students working on similar projects at their schools, and I hope to learn from the case studies about not only how to reach out to students on my own campus, but also how to reach out to students at other universities and find ways to learn from each other and support the innovative projects taking place beyond this week's conference.

Here are some of the interesting sustainability related things I've seen so far today. I will continue to post photos throughout the week. Enjoy!