Upcoming Campus and Community Events

 

 

View other upcoming sustainability events being hosted across the UCSC community.


ONGOING:

Thursdays, from 10:30 am to 12 pm: Young Lagoon Reserve Tour
Take a tour of Younger Lagoon Reserve!  This 90-minute, behind-the-scenes hiking tour takes visitors into the 25-acre lagoon and beach area. Come and see what scientists are doing to track local mammals, restore native habitats, and learn about the workings of one of California’s rare coastal lagoons.  

 

 

January 2025
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From the Institute of Arts and Sciences -  Seeing through Stone Series: 

Jan 8 - Crochet & Community Conversation

Jan 15 - Sewing. Up-cycling & Fast Fashion Teach-in

Jan 29 - AAPI Culture Share & Fashion Impacts

Feb 12 - Solidarity with All Survivors: Letter Writing to incarcerated Survivors

Feb 19 - Latinx & Indigenous Influences on Fashion

Feb 26 - Black & African Liberation through Self Expression

March 5 - Celebrating Queer Identities through Media


Jan 8 - KRAW Lecture Series: Science and Technology: Marine Mammal Science & Sanctuaries - Wed, 5:30-7PM - in person (Santa Clara) or Virtually
Marine mammals are sentinels of changing oceans. Baleen whales, due to their massive size and energetic needs, can only thrive in regions where ocean conditions support exceptional productivity. The presence of these majestic creatures signals robust marine ecosystems, while their absence may warn of declining ocean health.
In-person reception: 5:30 pm, Lecture 6 - 7 pm.
For questions please contact the University Events Team at specialevents@ucsc.edu


January 15, 11:30 - 1pm: UCSC Community Connections (CC) Speaker Meeting with George Ow
Goerge Ow will speak about the history of Chinatown in Santa Cruz and his childhood in Santa Cruz.
The Arboretum, Horticulture Building 2.


January 30th, 4:30pm - 7pm: Innovative Women in Climate & Tech
At the Hay Barn.
By Baskin School of Engineering, Genomics Institute, Innovation and Business Engagement Hub
An evening with women entrepreneurs, funders, and founders to discuss innovation and opportunities to create change.
Discussion panel followed by networking and light refreshments.
Moderator: Sri Kurniawan, Professor of Computational Media, Baskin School of Engineering


January 30, 6:30 - 8pm: 41st Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Convocation
Kaiser Permanente Arena
This annual convocation celebrates the life and dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with presentations about equality, freedom, justice, and opportunity. This year we welcome WNBA icon, Chamique Holdsclaw.
Doors open at 6 p.m., program begins at 6:30 p.m.
By Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

 
Past events....

 

December 2024
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December 4, 2024, 5 PM - 7 PM: Justice & Sustainability in Higher Ed - Panel Discussion!
Join us at the Namaste Lounge for a panel discussion about PoCSC’s past work and ongoing efforts to create a more diverse, just, and equitable environmental movement on campus! ☀️

This event will highlight past publications, as well as ongoing research and community activities of the People of Color Sustainability Collective (PoCSC) at UCSC, an award-winning initiative founded in 2015. PoCSC is a collaboration between the Ethnic Resource Centers, Sustainability Office, College Nine, and John R. Lewis College that aims to recognize, highlight, and institutionalize the sustainability practices of communities of color and redefine sustainability to include diverse cultural approaches.
Dinner will be provided! 🍽️

December 6, 2024, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Danza a la Rebeldía Mural Unveiling
Join us for the mural unveiling at the Art Department Open Studios. This campus mural celebrates the cultural heritage of Black, Indigenous, and Latiné communities in honor of El Centro’s 30th anniversary. Created by students in Art 139: Murals and Movements, guided by Professor John Jota Leaños and muralists Irene Juarez-O’Connell and Victor Cervantes, this mural honors our shared history of resilience, creativity, and resistance.

December 7, 2-5pm: State of the Grape 2024
Come sip wine at the Hay Barn while we hear from Central Coast wine grape growers who practice a range of viticulture methods including organic, regenerative, and sustainable vineyard management and wine making.

December 11th, 2024, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Housing Solutions Reimagined: Process Exhibition
We invite you to a unique exhibition of design plans, at the Namaste lounge, that explore communal housing principles and the next life of UCSC’s Camper Park. As part of a 3-quarter long IDEASS sequence through the Sustainability Minor, join us workshopping our ideas, and collectively imagining!

December 14th, 4-7 PM: Palabra Campesina: Stories from Watsonville's Farmworker Communities
Join us on Saturday, December 14th, 2024, at the Watsonville Public Library from 4-7 PM for Palabra Campesina, an evening dedicated to the stories and experiences of Watsonville’s farmworker communities and the history of its labor camps. The event will feature live storytelling, a photo gallery, historical presentations, performances, and dinner will be provided. Celebrate the resilience and rich cultural heritage of local farmworker families. All are welcome!

 

November 2024
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Friday, November 1, 2024 5-7PM: Ken Norris Center for Natural History Presents Day of the Dead Crafts
The Ken Norris Center for Natural History will be hosting a Dia De Los Muertos Celebration! Join us in Natural Sciences 2 Room 239 from 5-7PM for crafts, treats, and community. Bring art supplies, treats or an ofrenda for our mini altar!

Friday, November 1, 5:00 pm: First Friday at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences
Join us for First Friday at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences (100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, CA) and enjoy an after-hours viewing of Seeing through Stone with student-led exhibition tours at 5:30 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. Seeing through Stone invites viewers to see beyond the current global realities of the prison complex, drawing attention to already existing practices of imagining the world otherwise. The exhibition includes more than eighty national and international artists and collectives, sixteen newly commissioned projects, as well as works of video, painting, sculpture, installation, sound and performance. Seeing Through Stone is a collaboration between the Institute of the Arts and Sciences at University of California, Santa Cruz, San José Museum of Art, and Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos, and works are on view at all three sites.

Saturday, November 2, 2:00 pm- 3:30 pm: Solitary Garden 5 Year Anniversary Celebration
For this anniversary celebration of Solitary Garden, join us to reflect on the past 5 years of tending to this participatory public sculpture and garden project with award-winning artist jackie sumell and Tim Young.
The event will include refreshments, an opportunity to plant new bulbs at the garden, and some words from Tim Young. We will also have free t-shirts, booklets, and tulip bulbs for participants to bring home.
This event is located at Elena Baskin Visual Arts Center (UC Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA). Free and open to the public.
Saturday, November 2, 2024 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM: El Centro Presents - Dia de los Muertos Ceremonia!
Join us for our annual Día De Los Muertos Ceremonia! This event will be a space to collectively honor and celebrate the lives of past loved ones. It will be a night of performances, hands-on activities, music, food, and community. This cultural event is FREE for everyone to enjoy!

Sunday, November 3rd, 12pm: Pajaro Photovoice Exhibition: Seymour Edition
Join us for our opening reception of the Pajaro Resident Photovoice Project at UCSC's Seymour Marine Discovery Center. This project is an opportunity for Residents of Pajaro to tell personal stories using images about the impact of climate change on their lives, their families and their community. The participants of the project (youth and mothers) used images and text to tell their own stories about the short and long term impacts of flooding, heavy rains, drought, heat, air quality due to wildfires, etc. The goal of the project is to use photojournalism techniques to help give individuals in the underinvested community of Pajaro an opportunity to tell lasting stories and express their fears, hopes, and dreams in the real face of climate change.

Monday, November 4, 2024 5:00 PM: Bollywood Movie Night
Hello everyone, we are so excited to announce our Bollywood movie night that will be taking place on November 4th at the Cervantes and Velasquez Conference Room on the third floor of Bay Tree! Heads up there is a maximum capacity, people will be let in on a first come first serve basis and please RSVP.

Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 12 PM - 1:30 PM: UndocuSlugs Presents - Entrepreneurship Mindset Workshop!
Juan Ruiz, USS Graduate Student Fellow, will be hosting the 1st workshop of the Entrepreneurship Series, "Entrepreneur Mindset". This workshop will be an informative session about embracing the idea of developing a business, monetizing a passion, and the steps it takes to embrace entrepreneurship. Join UndocuSlugs for an informative session on developing a business, monetizing your passion, and becoming an independent contractor or business owner, while enjoying lunch with your USS peers. 

Thursday, November 7, 6:00pm- 8:00pm: Explode! Platform’s “Passagem” Activation: Exu, Orality and Ritual with Moisés Patrício
Moisés Patrício is a renowned babalorixá and multi-media artist based in Brazil whose practice engages the sacred elements of Amerindian and Afro-Brazilian culture.
Patrício will present a lecture performance as a ritual related to Afro-Brazilian culture and its Afro-rooted spirituality. The performance will be based on oral traditions, rituals, drums, and songs. This gathering emphasizes the importance of spirituality for the abolition movement in Brazil. The focal point of this presentation will be the deity Exu, the orisha associated with communication and the crossroads. Exu symbolizes opening paths, transformation, and possible negotiation between opposing forces. In the context of slavery, Candomblé temples, where Exu plays a central role, became sanctuaries of resistance.

This performance will activate Explode! Platform’s artwork, Passagem, 2024, currently on view in Seeing through Stone. Passagem transforms the IAS’s library into an area of ongoing dialogue between Brazil and the U.S. about the movement for prison abolition and Black liberation. This event is part of a series of Passagem activations this Fall.

Saturday, November 9, 2024 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM: Amah Mutsun Speaker Series: We Will Protect Juristac!
The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of Costanoan/Ohlone Indians and the University of California-Santa Cruz's American Indian Resource Center and other distinct departments invite our UCSC affiliates and the greater community to the Amah Mutsun Speaker Series - Protect Jurastic Project (Sargent Ranch) Community Gathering. Chairman Val Lopez, along with other special guest speakers will share past, current and future information regarding the progress of the Protect Juristac Project (Sargent Ranch). Please join us in the discussion to learn how and what you can do to support us all in the journey. Juristac (Huris-tak) lies at the heart of the ancestral lands of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band near Gilroy, California. For thousands of years, our Mutsun ancestors lived and held sacred ceremonies at this location in the southern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, above the confluence of the Pajaro and San Benito rivers.

Monday, November 11, 2024, 7 PM: Lakota Nation vs the United States (2022)
Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with us! We’ll be watching films written and/or directed by Native American creatives at Subrosa Community Space 703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Popcorn and refreshments will be offered for $2+ donations. All proceeds will be donated to the Amah Mutsun Tribe and Uniting Natives Culturally & Intertribally (UNCI).

Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 6pm: Wildfire Vegetation Management Plan Virtual Open House/Webinar
UC Santa Cruz is developing a Wildfire Vegetation Management Plan for its Main Residential and Coastal Science Campuses. The plan focuses on managing vegetation to strengthen ecosystems against wildfires and climate change, as well as creating fire-adapted environments while protecting the campus community and forest health.

The webinar will provide an opportunity to learn about the proposed plan and to help shape the wildfire resilience strategy for UC Santa Cruz.

Thursday, November 21, 2024 7pm to 8pm: Charging Forward: A clarion call for justice in the quest for clean energy
Bookshop welcomes Chris Brenner and Manuel Pastor for a reading and signing of their new book Charging Forward: Lithium Valley, Electric Vehicles, and a Just Future—a clarion call for justice in the quest for clean energy. Institute for Social Transformation faculty director Chris Benner just published his latest book with co-author and Solidarity Economics partner Manuel Pastor, which explores the environmental questions raised by lithium extraction in the Salton Sea region. By examining politics, policy, and labor issues, the book argues that resource development comes at a cost to the planet and its people, furthering social and racial inequities. In the quest for clean energy, the authors call for resource development and economic development to include justice and democracy, in order to minimize the social and climate challenges ahead.

Thursday, November 21, 2024, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Indigithanx
Join us at the Hay Barn for our biggest event of the fall quarter: Indigethanx!
You are invited to join the American Indian Resource Center, Cowell Coffee Shop: for the Peoples and the Center for Agroecology for an alternative Thanksgiving meal. Dressy casual dress code encouraged, dress to express. Registration is REQUIRED, space is limited! Register by Thursday, November 14th, 2024. Spots may fill by this date, in that event, we will create a waiting list.

November 22, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm: Art, Technology, and Activism in Brazil: 20 years of Frente 3 de Fevereiro
Frente 3 de Fevereiro is a Brazilian collective founded in 2004 following the murder of Flávio Ferreira Sant’Ana, a Black dentist, by São Paulo military police. Based in São Paulo, the group uses different artistic languages to denounce the brutal situation faced by racialized people in Brazil while creating a new reality.

November 23, 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm: Frente 3 de Fevereiro/Seeing Through Stone – Block Party at Barrios Unidos
Join us on Saturday, November 23, 2024 for a party at Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos, hosted by Brazilian group Frente 3 de Fevereiro. With three live DJs and a poetic performance, Afro-diasporic rhythms from the US, Brazil, Latin America and the Caribbean all come together in a musical ode to so-called street culture. Hip-Hop was born at a party. A block party, which inevitably brings with it the forces present in a popular party held in a public space: self-representation, celebration and diversity. A party that appears as a possibility of life in the face of death planned for an entire community of excluded people, a unique moment of communion. And from that origin, Hip-Hop culture expanded and connected to millions of young people who faced the exclusions around the world. The party is the strength of the promise, the kingdom of conferred utopia and the space where everything that exists in social life can change meaning and prolong itself. Reflect, create, transform, free the mind and body to be part of the musical mosaic that street culture provides. Fight for our right to celebrate. Frente 3 de Fevereiro is a transdisciplinary research and direct action group focused on racism in Brazilian society. Their approach creates new interpretations and contextualizes data that often reaches the public in a fragmented way through the media.

Monday, November 24, 2024, 7 PM: Fancy Dance (2023)
Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with us! We’ll be watching films written and/or directed by Native American creatives at Subrosa Community Space 703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Popcorn and refreshments will be offered for $2+ donations. All proceeds will be donated to the Amah Mutsun Tribe and Uniting Natives Culturally & Intertribally (UNCI).

 

 

October 2024
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October 1-31 Biketober Challenge 2024
Join thousands of dedicated folks into making Santa Cruz "greener" and more fun.

Saturday, October 5th from 1 PM to 5 PM - QTBIPOC Orientation 2024
The Cantú Queer Center, in partnership with the Ethnic Resource Centers (ERC) and the CoCurricular Program Offices (the CoCo), is excited to offer our 4th annual QTBIPOC Orientation for incoming queer and trans freshmen, transfer students, returning students, and graduate students who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. The orientation will take place on: Saturday, October 5th from 1 PM to 5 PM Stevenson Event Center This year's theme is Seeds & Roots: Germinating and Sustaining Communities of Interdependence. Drawing on lessons learned from seeds, roots, and mycelial networks, our theme reflects the core values we hold as co-creators of QTBIPOC Orientation.

October 9, 2024, Wednesday, 12 - 2 pm: Fall Open House - Wildlife Vegetation Management Plan
The University has started preparing a Wildfire Vegetation Management Plan (Plan) for the Main
Residential Campus and the Coastal Science Campus. The Plan is being prepared to address wildfire
risk DQGLVrequired mitigation in the 2021 Long Range Development Plan Environmental Impact Report
(LRDP EIR).
University Center
(Second floor of the College Nine/John R. Lewis Dining Hall)
Directions: https://ucenter.ucsc.edu/location/index.html
For additional information, please contact Erika Carpenter at (831) 212-0187 or escarpen@ucsc.edu.

Thursday, October 10 - Walk and Roll to School Day
Walk and Roll to School Day (participating schools) - Activation Day

Thursday, October 10, 2024 12:00 PM: Community Bike Lunch & Learn @ Cowell/Stevenson
This session provides a foundation for people getting started riding, or people interested in honing their safe (e)biking skills. We'll cover pre-ride preparation, bike sizing, helmet fitting, bike lights, rules of the road, navigating traffic, route planning, riding at night and more. Plus, we'll have bike trivia for prizes.

Ecology Action staff will run through all the basics of cycling for transportation and e-bike safety and guide curious cyclists of all levels and backgrounds. This workshop is interactive, includes bike safety trivia, and there will be time for participant Q&A.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WORKSHOP WILL BE OFFERED BOTH IN-PERSON @ COWELL/STEVENSON (exact location TBA), AND VIA ZOOM. 
Food from New Leaf will be provided. Please let us know below how you plan to attend.
All participants will be entered in a giveaway for a chance to receive a BIKE COMMUTER GEAR KIT!

October 11 - 7 - 9pm: Santa Cruz Bike Party
Just show up at the Depot Park

October 11, Friday, 6 pm : Bilingual California California Bilingue: Fronteras Y Futuros
From the Humanities Institute
Join us as we welcome Professor Ana Celia Zentella (professor emerita, UC San Diego) to discuss the political, social, and educational barriers that California’s Spanish-English bilinguals must overcome to ensure a bilingual future for themselves and their children. She suggests ways that students, parents, teachers, university faculty and community groups can contribute successfully.
Musical Recital Hall - Free and open to the public
Register at thi.ucsc.edu

Saturday, October 12, 2024, 10 am: Conectados en el bienestar: Conversations on Indigenous Health
Please join us on Saturday, Oct. 12th at 10 am for a dialogue focused on Indigenous social networks and health in California followed by lunch. This event will bring together researchers, students, community leaders, and members of the public to talk about the role of social networks in Indigenous communities in California and their impact in decisions about health. All are welcome to join Connect/Conectados - The Indigenous Social Networks and Health Research Collaborative for two groups of lighting talks (in English and Spanish) focusing on paths to Indigenous community leadership, the importance of social networks among Native American and Indigenous migrant communities, and learnings from the pandemic and beyond. 

This bilingual dialogue will take place on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 at the Namaste Lounge on the UC Santa Cruz campus from 10 am – 12 pm . Lunch will be provided immediately following the dialogue. The event is free and open to the University community and the public. Please join us!

Sunday, October 13, 2024, 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM: Una Dulce Bienvenida 2024
To kick off the year, El Centro is hosting: La Bienvenida 2024 at the Quarry Amphitheater. The purpose of this event is to introduce and connect students to El Centro, a variety of Chicane and Latiné student organizations, and campus resources. Free food, community building, music, and student performances are part of the afternoon fun! All students, staff, and faculty are welcomed.

Sunday, October 13, 2024, 9am - 12pm: Fall Volunteer Workday at the UCSC Farm
Spend a morning working on the UCSC Farm with fellow volunteers and Center for Agroecology staff. Tasks may include weeding, harvesting, transplanting, or pruning. Please come prepared with adequate shoes, water, and sun protection. We will provide all necessary tools and light snacks. Heavy rain will cancel. Meet at HayBarn.

Questions can be directed to Maddie Holtkamp (mholtkam@ucsc.edu). To participate in volunteer workdays, all volunteers must have volunteer waivers on file with the Center for Agroecology (does not apply to currently employed staff or students).

Tuesday, 5 - 7 pm October 15, 2024: Sazón y Cultura: The Stories Behind the SalviSoul Cookbook
"In celebration of Latine Heritage Month, join us for a book talk with Karla Tatiana Vasquez, author of  “The SalviSoul Cookbook” — the first Salvadoran cookbook traditionally published in the U.S.! Karla shares her story being born in El Salvador and raised in Los Angeles after her family fled during the 1980s amid the country’s civil war and how food has allowed her to stay connected to her roots...."

Thursday, October 17th, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m: Electrify Your Ride
Come test a variety of Gazelle e-bike models at different price points, and check out the new BCycle e-bikes. See why e-bikes are shaking up the transportation landscape at the Quarry Plaza.

Saturday, October 19th, 2024, 11:00 am - 3:00 pm: American Indian Resource Center's Fall Harvest Welcome
The American Indian Resource Center invites all UCSC affiliates to join us for our first Fall Harvest Welcome at the UCSC Farm on Saturday, October 19th, 2024! Welcome Back, Banana Slugs! This Fall Welcome will be all about community building, learning about flora/fauna indigenous to Santa Cruz County, Native storytelling, and will feature a land blessing and dance from the White Hawk Indian Council for Children. Lunch will be provided!

Thursday, October 24th, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m: Fall Group Ride!
October is a great time to explore campus by bike and see all the autumn sights. Join Slug Bike Life for a fun and informative group ride around campus starting at the Quarry Plaza. BCycle will have bikes on hand to check out if you need to borrow a bike.

Tuesday, October 29th 2024, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Finding Jobs & Internships in Environment & Sustainability
This workshop will highlight upcoming job and internship opportunities in industries related to the Environment & Sustainability, with a special focus on food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences. Learn how to find opportunities on and off campus that will support your career development and help you gain essential skills for working in careers related to Environment & Sustainability

 

 

 

September 2024
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Thursdays, 12:30-6pm untill September 26, 2024: Weekly Farmstand
at the Hay Barn
Center for Agroecology's Farmstand is open to all and features organic vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers grown at the UCSC Farm and Chadwick Garden. Note: Our Farmstand will not occur on July 4, 2024 due to the holiday.

Thursday, 6:30 - 8 pm September 26, 2024: Screening & Conversation - Plantations & Prisons: a History of Forced Labor in Louisiana
From the Institute of Arts and Science
Join us next Thursday, September 26, for a screening and conversation at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences with Dr. Gina Dent, Rachel Nelson, Sara Gozalo, Engrid Hamilton, and Willow Katz.
The speakers will discuss the short documentary film Plantations and Prisons: a History of Forced Labor in Louisiana, which explores the direct link between slavery and mass incarceration, focused on Angola State Prison & the state of Louisiana. 

This event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. RSVP is required.