By Vanessa Nguyen, Elias Platte-Bermeo, Riley Cooke, Diana Nguyen, Zachary Devereux, and Ryan Hallman. Edited by Melissa Ikeda.
The 2018 Sustainability Action Graduate Housing Team is off to a great start as they build off last year’s project to reduce waste and foster sustainable habits among the residents of the Graduate Housing facilities. Check out what they’ve been up to Spring Quarter 2018!
Week 1: Jumping back in!
The Grad Housing team started off the quarter meeting with the directors and Carl to discuss the status of our project and our plans to maximize the rest of our time in the program. Several members of our team then headed to E3’s Earth Month Sustainability Speaker Series which was coordinated by Vanessa and moderated by Chris Hunter, a former leader of the Grad Housing team!
Week 2: Installing Signage!
Riley spent his Friday evening at 720 and 824 Hilgard attaching some useful composting advice to the sides of the compost baggy dispensers. The double bag label was created by our resident designer, Diana Nguyen (not pictured).
Riley Cooke in the foreground composing a follow-up email to facilities manager Luis Munoz at our weekly stakeholder meeting just before we get acclimated to the new office at Weyburn. The meeting began with a game of pool, which Ryan Hallman is playing in the background. He lost. Either way, this was a productive meeting, as we sorted out Earth Day Fair issues and successfully had our marketing designs approved by Housing.
Week 3: Earth Day Fair!
Grad Housing Team members tabled at UCLA’s Earth Day Fair where they showed attendees how much waste that’s sent to landfill could be diverted to the recycle or compost. They also handed out fun stickers to remind students to always sort their waste.
At our team meeting, members planned our upcoming focus group with the residents of the Graduate Hilgard apartments.
Grad Housing Team member Diana printing and cutting the stickers used by the team tabling at the UCLA Earth Day Fair.
Week 4: SAR Field Trips!
Outside of Hilgard Graduate Housing Apartments, Team Leaders Vanessa Nguyen and Elias Bermeo explain the process of implementing a composting program to fellow SAR members.
Graduate Housing Waste Diversion Team chaperones a field trip to the waste diversion room at 720 Hilgard, illustrating challenges faced in facilitating proper waste sorting among residents.
Week 5: Touring compost systems!
UAN Principal Custodial Supervisor Silvia Coronel showing Vanessa the waste chute room in one of the 8 undergraduate apartment buildings that the team toured on Tuesday morning as a first foray into implementing compost systems into these buildings.
Riley on this same tour of another building taking descriptive notes on the trash room in the garage. Much of the logistics for candidate compost programs hinges on the designs of buildings’ waste rooms and whether or not there is space for a bin.
Week 6: Coastalong and stakeholder meetings!
The Grad Housing Team spent the sunny Friday afternoon bonding at Coastalong, UCLA’s bike-powered music festival!
Team member Riley Cooke performs on stage with his band, the Global Soul Collective!
At our weekly stakeholder’s meetings, we enjoy snacks baked by our lovely team member Zachary Devereux!
Week 7: Meetings with UCLA Housing & Maintenance
This week, our SAR team met with a stakeholder in the UCLA Housing & Maintenance department to talk about the logistics, feasibility, and possible challenges regarding the implementation of compost and waste diversion programs similar to the one we are working on at Hilgard right now. The team gained a lot of good information and insight, and is looking forward to drafting a report to present at an all-stakeholders meeting later this quarter.
After a day of touring the Ronald Reagan hospital, a couple of our members, along with other SAR members, got together at a social event on Thursday night and had a great bonding experience.
Week 8: Waste Diversion Magnets!
Grad Housing team members looking trashy and showing off our new waste diversion magnets.
Grad Housing bonding at Spring Sing while checking out their trash sorting methods.
Week 9: The Final Stretch!
Diana and Vanessa take a picture with their sadly half eaten pizza at their Focus Group!
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