Sustainability Action Research (SAR) is a student-initiated, student-designed, and student-facilitated research program offered through the Institute of the Environment & Sustainability (IoES).
Become a leader and make a difference.
A UCLA student-initiated, student-led organization exemplifying sustainability in the 21st century.
Sustainability Action Research students have the opportunity to:
- Work towards sustainability goals for UCLA.
- Design sustainability projects and implement actionable solutions on campus.
- Establish unique relationships with UCLA faculty, staff, and fellow students who are passionate about human and environmental challenges.
- Develop leadership skills in an applied and professional setting
In the winter and spring quarters of each academic year, students on Sustainability Action Research Teams are partnered with a campus stakeholder to research, rethink, investigate, and tackle UCLA’s greatest sustainability issues.
“I enjoyed the close-knit, hard-working, and enthusiastic SAR community. Through SAR, it was also great to interact with other undergrads who are passionate about pursuing sustainability work in its various forms, not just on-campus, but also as future careers.”
– Mia Rosati, 2022 Native Plant Nursery Team Member
Action Research was the perfect opportunity for me to apply everything that I learned in the classroom to a real life context. Just like in my work today, I needed to hone my communication skills and creativity to find solutions for my stakeholder.
–Kyle Graycar
Check out our different platforms to stay up to date!
Our 2023 projects
Irrigation Team: Investigating various irrigation types on campus and their corresponding water use savings
Native Bees Team: Identifying and Increasing Native Bee Presence and Raising Awareness on UCLA’s Campus
Arts and Architecture Team: Resource Acquisition and Waste Management Analysis of UCLA’s School of Arts and Architecture
Sustainability Communications Team: Assessing Efforts to Educate the Campus Community About UCLA’s Sustainability Initiatives
Sustainable Food Team: Increasing Organic and Local Sustainable Food Across UCLA Dining
UCLA Health Team: Piloting a Sustainability Certification Process Within UCLA Health for Individual Departments
Contact Us
For SAR student and stakeholder inquiries, contact the Program Directors: Sam Trezona and Grace Salvestrin (ucla.sar@gmail.com).
For Communications, Media, and Press: contact the Communications Director: Joy Huang and Pam Nelson
For funding and donation inquiries, contact Cully Nordby (nordby@ucla.edu).