The Biodiversity and Landscaping Team is a group dedicated to enhancing the ecology of the UCLA campus. We believe that being ecologically sound and aesthetically pleasing are not mutually exclusive. UCLA was once a biodiversity hotspot along with the rest of the LA Basin. With our project, we hope to formulate a policy that the university can implement that will enhance the ecology of our campus. We believe the best way to bring about innovation is to improve the system that is currently used. Our project will aim to change the way the campus goes about various landscaping and design projects. It is not enough to implement low-water landscaping; if our campus is to truly become both water-wise and environmentally friendly, there needs to be a guideline for how to make an area native and ecologically sensitive. We would also like to stress that inclusivity should be a fundamental component of the development of any policy on campus, especially sustainability policy. We plan to incorporate and prioritize inclusivity by engaging with and educating a sample of students that is representative of our student population about potential sustainable policies through focus groups. We also hope to build a system of student and faculty support to bring forth in meetings with administration to try and lobby for our policies.
Just because it is, does not mean it should be. This is the spirit our team hopes to tap into with ecological landscaping at UCLA.
Stakeholder: Bonny Bentzin
Leaders: Hogan Fenster and Chloe Ney
Members: Mike Peters, Audrey Salinger, Kyle Crowley, Lea Le Rouzo, Peter Lee