Real Food Challenge Internship Opportunities

The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) Real Food Challenge Project

Call for Applicants


Research Interns (2-3 positions available)
Research interns will work with the Sustainable Food Coordinator to accomplish the following: gather data to measure the carbon footprint of dining services at UCSB; develop criteria for evaluating the greenhouse gas emissions of particular food items for the Real Food Calculator; investigate the relationship of agricultural and food systems to climate change; interview campus and community members regarding attitudes toward food and climate change.

Marketing and Outreach Interns

Internal (2 positions available)
Internal marketing and outreach coordinators will work with the Sustainable Food Coordinator and dining service directors to design materials and campaign strategies for communicating with residents and staff at the UCSB residence halls and clients of residential dining facilities around issues of food, dietary behaviors and climate change. Some experience and interest in design and/or artistic capabilities are preferred. First-year students are welcomed to apply.

External (3 positions available)
External marketing and outreach coordinators will work with the Sustainable Food Coordinator and dining service directors to design materials and campaign strategies for communicating with the broader UCSB community around issues of food, dietary behaviors and climate change. Some experience and interest in design and/or artistic capabilities are preferred. First-year students are welcomed to apply.

Education and Curriculum Development Interns (2 positions available)
Education and curriculum development interns will work with the Sustainable Food Coordinator and campus faculty to design and implement new educational programs and to integrate the topic of food and climate change with existing curriculum on campus.


Compensation: Combination of stipend and academic credit. Will be determined on an individual basis.

Duration: Minimum of two quarters commitment to internship required.

Deadline to apply and application materials: October 12, 2009 by 5pm. Send application materials to Megan Carney, at megcarney@gmail.com. In the email, applicants should attach a current resume/CV, indicate year in school and position(s) applying for.

CCBER Becomes Solarized!

The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER), which is tucked neatly under the bleechers at Harder Stadium, installed a 4.8 kWh photovoltaic system in early September.

The project is the first phase of powering their operations by renewable resources. They are looking to expand the system, so if you know anyone who would like to help ($) they would love to hear from them!

*The current panels were partially funded by the The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF).

National Campus Sustainability Day

The Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) has designated Wednesday, October 21 as National Campus Sustainability Day.

If you would like to get involved in planning activities for the UCSB campus on that day, please let me know (jill.richardson@vcadmin.ucsb.edu) -- we are in need of creative minds and able bodies!

Sustainability Events Calendar

Just a reminder that there is a sustainability events calendar posted on the sustainability web site. The Ecological Coalition tries to keep the calendar as up to date as possible, so check it out if you are wondering what sustainability events are going on in any given week.

Additionally, if you would like an event added to the calendar, please email ecoalition.ucsb@gmail.com with the name of the event, a brief description, location, time, and contact for more information.

UCOP Releases Its Updated Policy on Sustainable Practices

In August, President Mark Yudof approved the 2009 updates to the UCOP Policy on Sustainable Practices.

The biggest change to the document is the addition of a foodservice policy that will impact UCSB very little because Housing and the UCen are already doing a great job in this area!

To read the policy, please click here.

Campus-wide Sustainability Meetings Announced

Mark your calendars!

The quarterly campus-wide meetings for sustainability updates have been scheduled for:

Friday, October 30
Friday, January 29
Friday, April 30

All are scheduled from 10:00 am-12:00 pm.
Location: TBD

Agendas will be sent out over the list serve prior to each meeting.

How to Conduct an Energy Efficiency Site Survey

You are invited to attend a FREE training on "How to Conduct an Energy Efficiency Site Survey" being held Tuesday, October 27 from 8:30a to 3:00p at the Goleta Boys and Girls Club, 5701 Hollister Avenue Goleta, CA 93117.

This training class is being sponsored by the South County Energy Efficiency Partnership (SCEEP) -- local government agencies in partnership with Southern California Edison to help our community save money, energy and the environment. (www.SCEEP.org).

This course is designed to help building owners, maintenance professionals, business owners, and facility managers learn how to perform an on-site energy efficiency survey. Become familiar with common energy systems such as HVAC, lighting, and refrigeration, and field equipment such as, motors, fans, and pumps. Attendees will learn how to estimate the potential energy savings options through case studies. After the lecture, the class will perform an on-site survey of a facility.

This is a free event being held primarily for local professionals and there are limited seats available. If you are interested in attending, please register by contacting Catherine Bulak Catherine.Bulak@sce.com. Please direct questions to Megan Diaz at the Community Environmental Council at mdiaz@cecmail.org.