UCI’s Summer Sustainability Series
Catalyzing a Culture of Sustainability
The Summer Sustainability Series at UCI is designed to catalyze a culture of sustainability on campus and beyond by training the next generation of sustainability leaders. The series is an offering of residential trainings, day-long programs and other learning opportunities that build skills and experience, strengthen community, and invite students, staff, faculty, and community members into a pathway of sustainability learning and leadership.
UCI is the first campus in the University of California system to offer these kinds of sustainability leadership training programs for incoming college students. This summer, the series includes programs for incoming students, continuing students, and community members. Read below to find out more, register, or apply online. Program offerings are subject to change; check back regularly as additional details and opportunities are frequently added. Most programs are free of charge or require a nominal fee.
Now Available: 2015 SISL Report
>> Download report (pdf)
Summer 2015 Opportunities Included:
SISL: Level 1 is a 3-day residential sustainability leadership program. Select incoming first-year and transfer students will have a chance to meet fellow student leaders and start building leadership skills while learning about sustainability on the UCI campus and around the world. The program includes workshops on sustainability, personal leadership development, fun team building activities and a deep dive into GSRC’s Sustainability Pathways.
This opportunity is available to incoming freshmen and transfer students only.
August 7-9
August 21-23
SISL: Level 2 is a 5.5 day residential experiential learning program for select current student and community leaders. It provides student and community sustainability leaders the skills for transformation, systems thinking, community visioning, and action planning. The retreat allows participants to develop not just sustainability-related knowledge but also the values, skills, and attitudes to allow them to be effective facilitators of transformational change and leaders of youth-driven sustainability initiatives on campus and beyond. This experience is a deep dive into what it really means to live, learn, lead and love sustainability.
Applicants must have a proven involvement (minimum 1 year) with sustainability-related issues, education, and/or actions on or around campus or in the wider community. Prior affiliation with one of the sustainability-related student organizations and/or the GSRC is desirable.
New Dates! October 16-18 and November 13-15
SISL: Level 3 is a 6 day residential immersion program held in Guatemala, in collaboration with our community partner SERES. The purpose of this program is to provide student sustainability leaders with an interest in international development with a unique south-north learning experience that helps to awaken and develop a critical lens on local-global solidarity. The program also provides tools for transformation to support student development into effective and impactful sustainability leaders.
This pilot program is delivered in Spanish, with a limited number of UCI students participating alongside their youth counterparts from Guatemala and El Salvador. Applicants must have an advanced level of Spanish, and a proven involvement (minimum 1 year) with sustainability-related issues, education, and/or actions. Prior affiliation with one of the sustainability-related student organizations and/or the GSRC is desirable. The selection period is now closed.
June 20-27
These offerings are non-residential, single or multi-day workshops and trainings designed to help you get more engaged with sustainability-related issues around campus and in the wider community. They also build practical skills to help you live a more sustainable lifestyle. This summer’s offerings include three focus areas: a 2-part introduction to sustainability in our local community; a series of food-to-plate learning experiences that include hands-on gardening skills, food journeys and real food cooking classes; and a series of skills workshops for student organizers. See below for more details and to enroll.
This training and retreat is offered to the 2014-15 student fellows of the UC President’s Carbon Neutrality and Global Food Initiatives. The event will take place Saturday, July 18, through Monday, July 20, immediately prior to the Fellows’ Symposium at the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference on Monday, July 20, 2015. It will be held in an accessible TBD location in the San Francisco Bay Area and is open to the first 20 fellows from across the UC system to successfully apply.
This opportunity is open to the 2014-15 student fellows of the UC President’s Carbon Neutrality and Global Food Initiatives only.
This opportunity is a 9 day residential immersion program held in El Salvador, in collaboration with our community partner SERES. The program is delivered in Spanish and translated to English, with UCI students participating alongside their youth counterparts from El Salvador. Applicants must have proven involvement (minimum 1-yr) with sustainability and food-related issues, education, and/or actions on or around campus. Prior affiliation with one of the sustainability/food-related student organizations and/or the GSRC is desirable.
The purpose of the program is to provide students with an interest in food systems, agriculture and sustainability-equity related challenges with a unique south-north learning experience that helps to awaken and develop a critical lens on local-global solidarity while providing a transformative learning experience that deeply informs student’s academic pursuits, career choices and lifestyles.
July 29 – August 6 (not including travel dates)
The Summer Sustainability Series is coordinated through the Global Sustainability Resource Center (GSRC), a project of the Sustainability Initiative in partnership with the Office of the Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs and Division of Undergraduate Education. GSRC partners with SERES, a pioneer in sustainability leadership training based in Central America, to deliver the Summer Sustainability Series. The visit of SERES principals Corrina Grace and Roger Feely at UCI this summer is supported by the Center for Living Peace.