How blue and gold can go green: Getting involved for Earth Month

Are you interested in making Earth-friendly adjustments but aren't sure where to start? Every eco-friendly change contributes to a healthier planet and a better future. As we celebrate Earth Month, Newsroom is sharing ways Bruins can be greener, starting with learning about UCLA's efforts in operations and other initiatives to advance sustainability.

April is an opportunity to highlight climate action on campus, with activities scheduled throughout the month. The celebration will culminate in an Earth Day event April 22 from noon to 5 p.m. on Wilson Plaza, spotlighting campus sustainability and showing how the blue and gold are green.

Here are some of the areas where Bruins can make a difference and ways to get involved.

Calculate your footprint

As defined by the Global Footprint Network, the ecological footprint compares the resource demand of individuals, governments and businesses against Earth's capacity for biological regeneration.

Zero waste

One of the easiest ways to make an impact is to produce less garbage, whether it's skipping takeout boxes in favor of reusable containers, bringing your own bottle, and generally reducing single-use plastics in your daily life. UCLA offers several simple options that help eliminate waste and keep resources circulating.

In partnership with the software platform company Reusables, a technology-driven system offers hungry Bruins a sustainable alternative for grabbing food at five campus spots: Greenhouse and Sambazon at Ackerman Union; Cafe Synapse at the Gonda Neuroscience Building; and Anderson Café and Northern Lights across UCLA's North Campus area. The free program, through Associated Students UCLA, enables Bruins to create a Reuser ID, grab and fill a non-toxic container with food and return it to designated bins.

Craving coffee or tea? Check out a ceramic mug through the Reuzzi Dine-In Mug program at Kerchhoff Coffeehouse.

UCLA is committed to reducing the university's environmental impact and developed a Single-Use Plastics Policy. The policy will phase out food accessory items such as plastic utensils, cups, lids, bowls, plastic bags and ultimately eliminate single-use plastic water bottles while increasing access to water-refilling hydration stations.

Moving out at the end of the school year? Students who live on and off-campus can take part in the third annual Sustainable Bruin Move Out on Thursday, June 11. Over one ton has been diverted each year away from the landfills toward student or nonprofit partners reuse.

Food waste

UCLA Dining fuels Bruins with locally sourced, fresh and healthy meal options, including environmentally friendly vegetarian fare. UCLA has a student-run farmers market in Bruin Plaza, and Westwood Village hosts a Farmers' Market every Thursday on Broxton Ave.

Volunteer with student-run Bruin Dine, which recovers leftover food from the Epicuria, De Neve and B-Plate dining halls, Kerckhoff Coffeehouse and the Anderson Café and distributes it for free to all Bruins. Food recovery events for students and staff are held every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10 p.m. in the Student Activities Center basement. Founded in 2017, Bruin Dine works to tackle food insecurity and food waste. Here are additional food accessibility resources.

From your individual diet to global food systems, you've probably seen headlines about sustainable agriculture, cultured meat and alternative proteins, the dangers of ultra-processed foods, how far your food travels and other buzzy concepts. Decision-making can feel overwhelming - but it doesn't have to be.

"Instead of looking at them as good or bad, or right or wrong, it's just a continuum of sustainability," said Jack Bobo, executive director of the UCLA Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies. Bobo spoke with Newsroom about our food system's impact on the environment and people, and how and where we can find solutions that make a difference.

Transportation

The Bruin community continues to adopt more environmentally friendly ways of travel. Bruins are going green to get to campus for school and work in greater numbers. While the campus population has continued to grow, automobile commutes by employees and students have declined significantly. More than 20,400 Bruin U-Passes were distributed to undergraduate students for fall quarter, allowing unlimited-use, fare-free rides on the seven transit agencies serving the campus, plus several others in the Los Angeles area. Those who are new to riding transit may be eligible for a free quarterly Bruin Commuter Transit pass.

Enjoy award-winning nature-based solutions

Stroll through the student-spearheaded Hummingbird Canyon between Franz Hall and the Geology Building, maintained by the Bruin Birding Club. Or visit Sage Hill, UCLA's largest patch of native habitat, to help restoration efforts on Friday afternoons. Located between Bellagio Drive and Veteran Avenue, Sage Hill is a 3.5-acre section of coastal sage scrub on the northwest corner of the campus. The Birding Club hosts weekly bird walks on Wednesdays at 8 a.m., rotating between Sage Hill, the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden and north campus.

UCLA is the first school in the state to earn the Green Grounds Certification from Re:wild Your Campus, a youth-founded, women-led nonprofit organization. Over 30,000 square feet of turf has been transformed into a California native, drought-tolerant landscape - an effort in large part informed by collaboration with members of the Gabrielino/Tongva tribe, the traditional caretakers of the land where the campus sits.

Healthy campus, healthy Bruins

The Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center is a comprehensive initiative working to boost campus health and to integrate planetary and human. Its online focus areas offer meetings, webinars, resource guides and additional resources for physical, emotional and social well-being, while workgroups, called "pods," look to bridge departments and bring about innovations in clean air, the built environment, food and research.

How to get involved

UCLA has a long history of sustainability leadership - from early energy efficiency efforts and the formation of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability in the 1990s, to the establishment of the Sustainability Committee in 2004 and the launch of the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge in 2013. In support of these efforts, UCLA has developed a Sustainability Plan that incorporates transportation, carbon neutrality, water action and zero waste.

You can read the full plan or executive summary, and you can follow the progress in this dashboard.

If you are interested in more information, UCLA offers continuing education in sustainability, the UCLA Extension Sustainability Certificate Program.

On campus, join a student club or organization,study sustainability, attend a green event, and follow UCLA Sustainability on Facebook,X, and Instagram for news and other resources throughout the year. Subscribe to the e-newsletter featuring regular content during Earth Month.