The Green Action Fund (GAF) General Committee held their monthly meeting on Nov. 3 in the Sustainability Demonstration House to review funding for two project proposals.
The funding for these projects will come from GAF reserves, which were reopened in spring 2024 after becoming a permanent fixture in student tuition fees. GAF is a student-run organization that awards research, seed, and project grants to students, faculty and staff to increase sustainability on the UCCS campus and benefit the UCCS community.
Every Bin Counts: Recycle Coach Launch at UCCS
Student Zachary Leach proposed the launch of the Recycle Coach app at UCCS to work alongside the Every Bin Counts Initiative to promote waste education and reduce recycling contamination.
The funding request for this project is $4,961 for a one-year pilot program with a UCCS campus specific version of the app. Leach will be the program manager through the GAF department.
The app intends to help users identify waste through AI recognition so it can be sorted properly. This aligns with the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic and social sustainability.
Economically, this project will work to reflect a practical funding strategy and long-term sustainability plan. According to Leach, they plan to have deliverables by using analytics to show the impact, hopefully leading to a second year of funding and long-term funding through administration.
In line with the environmental and social sustainability pillars, the goal is to reduce landfill waste by improving sorting accuracy and reducing contamination.
“We’re going to engage students through interactive learning, tabling events and surveys, and promote shared responsibility and visibility across campus,” Leach said.
Sigma Delta PI National Hispanic Honors Society: Sustainability in Peru
Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (NHHS) President Raul Venzor and Vice President Luis Lewis presented a proposal requesting funding for the study abroad trip to Peru in March.
According to Venzor and Lewis, the overall budget for this trip is approximately $33,000 and NHHS is requesting $5,000 in funding from GAF. NHHS has raised approximately $17,000. This funding will support 10 travelers, including Professor Edgar Cota-Torres and support student members of the Spanish Honor Society.
Aligning with the three sustainability pillars, this study abroad program intends to focus on learning from the Indigenous communities in Peru about sustainable practices despite the lack of access to resources and connect the Spanish and science communities at UCCS.
During this trip, they intend to be hands-on with the community and bring back documentation and practices to implement into sustainability at UCCS that they will present at the sustainability showcase and community showcase in May.
“This project is focused on working with indigenous communities, farmers, learning about sustainability in a different country. The goal is to learn and bring this information back to UCCS and hopefully strengthen the community and create a culture of sustainability at UCCS,” Venzor said.
Last month’s project proposals
At the Oct. 6 meeting, Basic Needs Coordinator Amber Gilson, Senator of Letters, Arts, and Sciences Sam Kopessa and Senior Director of Student Life Brad Bayer requested $40,000 to fund 2,000 Mountain Metro bus passes for UCCS.
GAF approved the proposal with a 75 percent vote.
Photo via The Scribe archive.