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Projects
Plastic2Food
Breaking Down Polystyrene in a Sustainable Pathway
Our Mealworm team is dedicated to the research of polystyrene-consuming mealworms and the net carbon-negative impact that turning the various waste products of the mealworm’s life cycle into food will have on the world. This year, our mealworm team has expanded their plastic to food objective by partnering with UCLA’s Dr. Kym F. Faull, PhD for toxicity testing on the safety of mealworm consumption, and conducting independent research on the productivity of frass-fertilized soil, and the dietary sufficiency of mealworm-based fish food.
Aquaponics
Combination of Hydroponics and Aquaculture
The Luskin Hydroponics Project is a research initiative to study urban food production that uses less resources than convention farming and produces zero waste. BHS designed, installed, and is now operating an automated hydroponics farm on the roof of the Luskin School of Public Affairs. Our goal is to increase the availability of nutritious produce for students and bolster food security on campus. Accordingly, the farm is growing salad greens and herbs that are donated to the UCLA Central Programming Office’s (CPO) Food Closet and offered at on-campus farmers markets.
Bruin Builders
Designing and Building Sustainable Houses in the Solar Decathlon
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon® is a collegiate competition, comprising 10 Contests, that challenge student teams to design and build highly efficient and innovative buildings powered by renewable energy. Our project competes in this competition using knowledge of research, architecture, CAD, rendering, and physics
Bruin Beekeepers
Beekeeping and Awareness
The main purpose of the Bruin Beekeepers is the build a bee loving community and educate students about the basics of bees. Currently, this project runs 4 bee hives on the top of the Life Science Building. Departmental updates are relayed at the beginning of each meeting with the latest events and announcements relevant to the general members. The club has promoted sustainability, awareness, and celebrates honeybees and native bees alike on and around campus.
Restroom Audit Program (RAP)
Auditing Restrooms Around Campus to Save Water
After becoming LEED accredited, BHS members are conducting a series of water audits on the UCLA campus. We are assessing building water usage to identify opportunities to replace fixtures and improve efficiency. In the 2017-18 school year, our team collected data on Powell Library, Boelter Hall, Murphy Hall, and the John R. Wooden Recreation and Sports Center.
EV Conversion
Conversion of a VW Bug to Electric Power
In order to provide practical education for the rapidly growing Electric Vehicle (EV) industry and promote UCLA sustainability, BHS is transforming a classic 1974 Special Edition Volkswagen Beetle into a fully functioning electric car. We have completed a full exterior restoration and are now turning our attention to electrical system and powertrain.
Data Grid
Development of Open-source Platform for Aggregation of Audit Data
An open-source free web and mobile app that provides tools to streamline the internal operations of resource usage audit organizations and foster collaboration between them. It provides functionality for data collection, storage, management, and analysis of audit data as well as for outreach/recruitment, public education, and audit program development. It is independent of any school or organization, designed to be used by any organization worldwide.
Africa Ready For Climate Change (ARCC)
Planning and Participation in the ARCC Forum
The annual ARCC Forum brings sustainability leaders from Africa and African Diaspora to UCLA to promote public/private international discussion and partnerships on solving climate change. BHS serves as the student connection to get the student body involved. This includes getting other sustainability clubs and departments involved, promoting the conference, and hosting our own student-led events within allotted slots in the program schedule.
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