University of California, Los Angeles
PAE-19: Community Sustainability Partnerships

UCLA programs engage the local community on a number of issues, from health to poverty to education. A number of UCLA’s sustainability and climate related projects involve engaging and educating the local community. UCLA has partnered with the non-profit organization Santa Monica Baykeeper to restore the natural habitat of a section of Stone Canyon Creek, which is located on UCLA's campus. Restoration is made possible by volunteers and will continue until all non-native plants are removed, replaced by native plants, and when the habitat can sustain itself. http://www.smbaykeeper.org/riversandcreeks.html Another initiative involving the community is a Community Supported Agriculture program, led by the UCLA Graduate Student Association Sustainable Resource Center (SRC). Community Supported Agriculture allows members to buy sustainable farm-fresh, locally grown organic produce for a fraction of the cost of a grocery store or farmers market by creating a direct relationship with farmers. http://www.environment.ucla.edu/news/article.asp?parentid=2589 The Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability (LARC) is a network designed to encourage greater coordination and cooperation at the local and regional levels by bringing together leadership from government, the business community, academia, labor, environmental and community groups. The purpose of this collaboration is to share information, foster partnerships, and develop system-wide strategies to address climate change and promote a green economy through sustainable communities. LARC is a collaborative organization, based on the principles of dialogue and shared purpose. It is housed at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, but governed by its Membership. http://www.environment.ucla.edu/larc/index.asp The Luskin Center for Innovation unites the intellectual capital of UCLA with forward-looking civic leaders to address the most pressing issues confronting our community, nation and world. 

As one of the world’s leading research universities located in one of the world’s most dynamic metropolitan regions, UCLA has an opportunity, indeed a responsibility, to create a new model of “problem solving” to permanently alter how scholarship impacts society. Working closely with elected officials, non-profit, community and business leaders, the Luskin Center for Innovation will address the problem of environmental sustainability in Los Angeles through a mixture of scholarship, research and community engagement. http://luskin.ucla.edu/ UCLA is also leading a consortium of partners that include University of Southern California, California Institute of Technology, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, in the creation of an organization dedicated to promoting the development of the clean technology sector in Los Angeles. This consortium has formed a non-profit organization with the mission of promoting Los Angeles clean tech companies to a global audience. http://www.cleantechlosangeles.org