2016 The Green Initiative Fund. Spring Grant Application

Transcription

1 2016 The Green Initiative Fund Spring Grant Application Total amount requested from TGIF: $4,604 Amount Requested as: Grant Sponsoring Organization/Fiscal Agent: Cal Dining Project title: Cal Dining Garden Expansion Project Team: Name Natalia Semeraro Title and department Project Role Cal Dining Sustainability Team: Garden Coordinator Co-lead Phone Relevant experience or knowledge for this project Nutritional Science Major; Food Systems Minor; 2 years urban gardening experience in the Bay Area; plot construction and garden-based education as garden specialist at summer camp; Food Justice Alternative Breaks trip participant Lucy Nguyen Tate Name

2 Title and department Cal Dining Sustainability Team: Team Coordinator Phone Relevant experience or knowledge for this project Society and Environment Major, focus in food and labor; previously enrolled in ESPM 117 Urban Garden Ecosystems ; URAP Researcher for UC Gill Tract Farm; Educational Instructor for SOGA; Environmental Liaison for Environmental Senator Haley Broder (ASUC); consultant on Sustainable Landscapes Capstone in College of Environmental Design How did you hear about this grant? Our team, Cal Dining Sustainability, began as an internship funded by a TGIF grant. We ve also heard about TGIF grants via other organizations such as SOGA. Project Description 1. Please give a brief history of this project. Describe the overall goals of the project. The Clark Kerr Garden, a culinary garden, has been revitalized by the Cal Dining Sustainability Team and now hosts volunteers for educational workshops and has been improved through hands-on projects such as irrigation and seed-saving workshops. The local produce grown there is then implemented in student meals at the CKC dining hall by chefs. The goal of the Cal Dining Garden Expansion project is to build upon the Clark Kerr Garden s success to pursue additional inclusive, culinary garden spaces. The project will expand on the established working relationship with the Executive Chef, kitchen staff and groundskeeping at CKC by reaching out to the counterparts of these positions at Foothill. This will foster collaboration among Cal Dining, theme houses, students and staff as a means to sustainability and educational initiatives. Additional aspects such as a tool shed and visible signage in the dining hall and around the garden will promote and enhance student involvement in both spaces.

3 2. What will be the process for implementing your project? Describe the key steps of your project. We will finalize relationships with Foothill staff and students and continue meeting with these players to cultivate collaborative spaces for gardening and education. We have thus far formalized these relationships and ensured their commitment to move forward in this project. By working with these groups, we will then move to formulate a seeding and harvest timeline, draft plans to create garden beds, outline a list of educational workshops for the year and delegate tasks. The Cal Dining Sustainability Team will continue to hold weekday and weekend open hours and special events at the CKC and Foothill culinary gardens to garner volunteer support as well as train and educate participants about sustainable agricultural practices. Metrics and Measurability 3. Which aspects of campus sustainability will your project address, and why is addressing these issues important- does your project fulfill a specific campus need or goal? Does your project coincide with any current campus sustainability initiatives? Does your project go above and beyond the requirements already mandated by UC Berkeley? Our project aims to contribute holistically to campus sustainability efforts by including principles of agroecology, drought mitigation practices, efforts to localize meals, sustainability education as well as equity within the food system. We engage in practices such as intercropping and highlighting native plants to foster ecological benefits such as pollinators and natural pest management and also allow participants to engage in ecological design. Moreover, by growing herbs and native plants as well as utilizing drip irrigation, the garden both requires minimal water and uses water efficiently. We also create and hold weekly workshops to foster food literacy and practical training skills among volunteers. With both theory and hands-on experience, participants can learn sustainable agricultural skills and learn how to perform them. Volunteers will then carry these skills with them and educate others as well. In addition, we plan and maintain these edible landscapes to contribute to food security on campus. Lastly, by fostering collaboration among various players and maintaining an archive of information, the campus community will be able to better learn from and share tips and best practices. 4. What quantitative and/or qualitative sustainability metrics will your project have? Will there be cost savings for the campus (Please show)? How will you measure and report on these metrics during your project and upon completion of your project? Metrics from the Clark Kerr Garden this year (More details on the attached metrics spreadsheet) Qualitative: Beautification of residence grounds and productivity of edible landscaping

4 Quantitative: 4-6 Harvests through semester. Produce incorporated into dinner; around 600 students eating dishes with harvest from the garden that day; total impact: 2400 plates. Experiential learning impact: student volunteers participate in urban gardening and learn about crops, native plants, integrative pest management; gain skills: sheet mulching, harvest and transplanting techniques, drip irrigation installment Projected Metrics: 4800 plates, reach 1200 students Increase skill development and student involvement Increase productivity of green spaces in residence halls through conversion to edible landscapes Project Education, Outreach, and Publicity Plan 5. Do you have any specific outreach goals? If so, how will they be measured and reported? What is your plan for publicizing your project on campus and getting the campus community involved? Our goals include outreach to staff and students to expand our potential impact. This includes Cal Dining, groundskeeping, custodial, campus environmental groups, theme houses, and other residents. Outreach will be implemented by garden interns through social media, signage, newsletters and current volunteer networks. For instance, we will remain active on Facebook through event postings, communication with other environmental groups and regular page updates. Additionally, we will organize a large, kick-off event at the start of the semester to build interest and create garden committees that will make volunteers long-term stakeholders. We will continue to hold regular open hours each week for maintenance and harvests; this not only builds presence on the residence hall campus, but also encourages relationships with staff. Finally, we will reach out to Residence Assistants to spread awareness about the garden and ensure residents are aware of opportunities. Along with updated flyers, the grant will provide the funds necessary to purchase more permanent signs highlighting the goals of the garden spaces for visibility. 6. Will students be involved in this project and if so, what roles will they play? Does your project directly benefit the student population? Students will be involved as volunteers and participants at the garden, working on planning and implementing projects, as well as engaging in workshops. The produce grown at these culinary gardens will be implemented in meals at the CKC and Foothill dining halls that will benefit students with meal points. Other produce will be donated to the Bear Pantry, which will benefit students in need.

5 7. Do any aspects of your project require approval from an entity on or off campus? If yes, please list and explain. (For example, a project which affects campus grounds or buildings must be approved by the Vice Chancellor for Facilities Services) Our project requires approval from Cal Dining Executive Shawn LaPean, Environmental Initiatives Coordinator Sam Lubow as well as Executive Chefs Daniel Moreno, Hernandez Marcos and Jose Martinez in order to ensure that the produce grown at the culinary gardens will be implemented into the dining hall meals. We have already secured their commitment to move forward with this project. 8. Are you partnering with any on-campus or off-campus departments, student groups, or organizations, besides your fiscal sponsor? If yes, please list here and include their contact information. GETH (Global Environment Theme House)*; Naomi Primero, nprimero@berkeley.edu WISE (Women in Science and Engineering)*; Groundskeeping staff; Susanne Weismann, swiesman@berkeley.edu Custodial staff*; Charles Coleman: Principal Custodian Supervisor RSP (Residential Sustainability Program); Brandon Wong, bwong095@berkeley.edu Berkeley Student Food Pantry; Jocelyn Hsu, jhsu1105@berkeley.edu ECO Coalition*; Rigel Robinson, rigel.robinson@berkeley.edu *We have reached out to these groups and are in the process of formalizing our relationships, but have not finalized these talks yet. Budget & Sustaining the Project Long-Term 9. List all budget items for which funding is being requested under the appropriate category. Include cost and total amount for each item requested. Please be as detailed as possible. Item Cost per Item Quantity Total Request Equipment and Construction Costs Outdoor Tool Storage Boxes $100 2 $200 Drip Irrigation $40 1 $40 Elevated Planter for Raised Bed $279 1 $279

6 Construction Tools $200 1 $200 Publicity and Communication Weatherized, educational signs $ $30 Scale: for weighing harvest $130 2 $260 Seed saving materials kit $15 1 $15 Personnel and Wages Clark Kerr Garden Intern Foothill Garden Intern General Supplies and Other $12.50/hr 4 hrs/week for 30 weeks $12.50/hr 4 hrs/week for 30 weeks 1 $1,500 1 $1,500 Gardening tools: trowels, scissors, gloves $150 1 $150 Worm/compost Bin $110 2 $220 Seeds and starts $1 for seeds, $4 for starts 10 seeds, 50 starts $210 TOTAL $4, If your project is implemented, does is require any on-going funding after its completion? What is your strategy for supporting the project after this initial period to cover replacement, operational, and renewal costs? The gardens will need minimal, continual funding. The most costly items, such as garden beds, will be pursued upfront and at once, and can be maintained for the long-term. Other items, such as seeds and workshop materials, may require funding in the future, which Cal Dining has committed to provide.

7 11. List all non-tgif sources you are pursuing for funding, volunteer time, in-kind donations, etc. Source/Description Amount Date Request submitted Date received / date funding will be announced Cal Dining and the Sustainability Team Event assistance N/A Ongoing RSSP Groundskeeping Crop purchasing for plot at CK Workshop assistance/guidance 04/01/16 05/10/16 Student Organizations and theme housing Volunteer time N/A Ongoing B.A.S.I.L Seeds and educational resources N/A Ongoing Compost _Waterfront/Marina/Free_Compost_for _Berkeley_Residents.aspx Donation: one pickup truck load N/A Pick up 6:30am Saturday: 09/24/16 Project Timeline 12. Please complete the following table to describe your project timeline. List milestones chronologically. For the Timeframe column, please estimate how long each task will take to be completed. (Insert additional rows if necessary). Task Timeframe (# of wks to completion) Estimated completion date Summer: Identify vendors, finalize approvals 3 weeks 7/30/16 Initial planning meetings with Foothill staff 2 weeks 9/15/16

8 Crop Schedule and garden design meeting 1 week 9/20/16 Recruit volunteers, fall planting day at CK garden 2 weeks 9/30/16 First installment of funds: order signage, tools and bed materials 3 weeks 10/31/16 Build garden beds at foothill 4 weeks 11/15/16 Pick up compost and plants 1 week 11/15/16 Work day at Foothill 1 week 11/30/16 Fall Harvest Festival 3 weeks 12/15/16 Completion: set regular open hours and harvest dates for both gardens 1 week 12/15/16 Submit final report to TGIF 4 weeks 2/30/17