Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 77.43
Liaison Elida Erickson
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of California, Santa Cruz
AC-5: Immersive Experience

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Elida Erickson
Sustainability Director
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution offer at least one immersive, sustainability-focused educational study program that is one week or more in length?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused immersive program(s) offered by the institution:
The Program in Community and Agroecology (PICA) is an experiential living-learning program located at the Village on the beautiful UCSC campus. PICA students address sustainability issues through hands-on community engagement, turning an old rock quarry into a sustainable garden. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors from across disciplines live cooperatively, study, grow, and prepare food together in the Village housing modules dedicated to PICA.

"PICA is about community, sustainability, and growth... there is an abundance of knowledge surrounding us all the time... PICA provides an atmosphere for each individual to explore that which they feel passionate about"
- Adam G, PICA resident

PICA students living in The Village community are committed to sustainable living and food systems. They grow organic food together, implement ecological landscaping projects around their housing units, and direct a Village wide composting program. Through PICA, students collaborate to create an intentional and conscious “eco-community” on campus. Leadership positions are open to PICA students in the form of paid student assistantships, which help offset student housing costs within The Village.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s immersive education programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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