Mission Statement

Path to a Greener Stevenson (PTAGS) is an environmentally conscious group of staff and students whose aim is to implement change towards sustainability through projects within our community. We see the Stevenson community as an environment to encourage students to turn their innovative thoughts into action.

Meeting Times: Tuesday at 8:00 p.m.

Meeting Location: Stevenson House 2 Lounge

CRE Advisor: Blake Redding

For questions contact Kristyn Glenn: kmglenn@ucsc.edu

Recent Events

Plans for Spring 2011:

• Greater involvement with other on campus organizations, Student Environmental Center, Sustainability Office, Green Campus Program, Sustainability Office etc. 
• more grant writing for student projects etc.
• more educational events regarding food waste & meatless mondays at the dining hall
• "Stevenson Community Garden" inaugural class w/ Dave Shaw
• Stevenson Environmental Film Festival
• Tabling at Earth Summit and other Earth Day events
• Annual Stevenson Swap Meet

Winter 2011

• Held several work parties to erect the Stevenson Community Garden
• Held an educational recycling event in Upper Quad
• Annual Resources Recovery/ Landfill trip
• Learned about the Campus Sustainability Plan

Fall 2011

• Began collaborating with Stevenson's Sustainability Themed House(s) co-cirricular program
• Held a joint meeting with Student Environmental Center about on campus student initiatives & gardens
• Annual Energy/Water Saving Competition in Res Halls and Apartment Participation in national contest via Dashboard
• Educated students about endemic & endangered species in Santa Cruz County at college night

Spring 2010

• Held annual Stevenson swap meet "Free for All" in conjunction with Cowell College
• Participated in Earth Day college night
• Was awarded Campus Sustainability Council grant for student projects
• Co-hosted annual Sustainability year-end Celebration in the Event Center w/ the campus Sustainability Office

Winter 2010

• Drafted grant proposals for Stevenson Community garden and secured college and campus support via staff, faculty, and other on-campus organizations

Fall 2009

• On site stewardship/cleanup project clearing brush from grassland in upper campus
• PICA tour
• Began development of instating a Stevenson garden

• Earth Day College Night
• Second "plate scraping" event in the dining hall to show how students' food consumption improved after the Winter event
• Swap Meet to help reduce waste produced on move-out day

• "Plate scraping" event in the Cowell/Stevenson dining hall to weigh the food and show students the environmental and social impact of their uneaten food
• Trip to the Santa Cruz landfill, view pictures at:http://s317.photobucket.com/albums/mm392/PTAGS/

• Distributed educational materials regarding paper towel waste in the residence halls, offering alternatives such as reusable towels
• Recycling contest between the residence halls with a "sustainable party" and the Planet Earth DVDs as the grand prizes
• Co-hosted the "Sustainable Advising" event with the Academic Preceptors

How to Get Involved!

Do you have more innovative ideas to help blaze the Path to a Greener Stevenson? Join us! E-mail bredding@ucsc.edu for more information.

10 Easy Things You Can Do to be a Greener Stevensonian Right Now!

• Pick up one piece of litter a day and throw it away.
• Turn off your computer every night.
• Put cigarette butts in the garbage.
• Avoid using paper towels.
• Print out essay drafts double-sided and use recycled paper.
• Keep recycling and trash separated! If you don’t have a bin for each, make it known!
• Compost! The composter is conveniently located on the Stevenson knoll.
• Switch your light bulbs to CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs.)
• Eat organically and locally as much as possible.
• Take a carbon footprint quiz, such as these ones:
  1) American Public Media
  http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/
  
  2) Nature Conservancy’s Carbon Footprint Calculator
  http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/
  
  3) UC Berkeley Institute of the Environment
  http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/
  
  4) Safe Climate Carbon Footprint Calculator (World Resources Institute)
  http://www.safeclimate.net/calculator/
  
  5) EPA Greenhouse Gas Household Emissions Calculator
  http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html
  
  6) Yahoo! Green Carbon Footprint Calculator
  http://green.yahoo.com/calculator/
  
  

Santa Cruz County is becoming increasingly short on water resources. To help in their efforts, here is a useful website suggesting water-saving tips, as well as a chart of the amount of water it takes to produce certain things you might use.