Sustainable Living and Learning Communities

On June 1st, the Sustainable Living & Learning Communities (SLLC) celebrated the progress and achievements of the past year at the annual Spring Showcase. The afternoon event commemorated the three Green Fellows, Tim Z. Burton, Emmanuel Momoh, and Maria Kanwal, who had just wrapped up their year-long projects. The showcase also highlighted many other SLLC developments and member programs. 

2023-2024 SLLC Green Fellow Emmanuel Momoh and third-year PhD candidate within the Geography Graduate Group shares his project updates below.

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In the Fall of 2023, the SLLC welcomed a new cohort of Sacramento Valley College Corp Fellows, who are aiding in the construction of paths, patio spaces, and general upkeep and stewardship of our property. Through the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program, students engage with community-based programs focused on K-12 education, climate action, or food insecurity. Fellows are matched with hosts through the program and earn a living stipend upon completion of 450 hours.

Since 2019, students and staff working in the programs of the SLLC have worked with student designers in the project-based Landscape Design Architecture 141 course to create an integrated, accessible pathway network for the North half of the SLLC’s approximately 40 acres. In close collaboration with UCD Grounds and Campus Planning, the project will connect existing sidewalks in West Campus with vital open space resources and core academic programs of the SLLC. As West Campus continues to develop and densify, the need for (equitable) access to gardens and open space will only increase.

SLLC Community Coordinator (UCD Sustainable Living/Learning Communities)
(Student Assistant III paid at $15.25/hour, ~6 hours per week)

Desired Start: Winter quarter

Seeking: An Undergraduate (2nd year and above) or Graduate student

In December 2021, the SLLC, in collaboration with the Solar Community Housing Organization (SCHA) and The UC Davis Green Initiative Fund (TGIF), hired a team of three student coordinators to develop and sustainably maintain a North Entry to the SLLC. The project site is located in an area known as “the Back 40,” West of the Domes along Blue Ridge Road. The team consists of three coordinators, each with a different area of specialization. Our student coordinators are:

On Thursday, October 8, the UC Davis Student Farm had their Fall Welcome Day, an event to introduce students to all parts of the student farm. Students were greeted by friendly staff, offered a tour of the space, and gifted many tasty fruits and vegetables. On the tour, students were shown a few of their many programs: the Ecological (Eco) Garden, Market Garden, and Flower Project. The Ecological Garden is used to learn about horticulture, seed saving, and other related topics.

Are you a graduate or undergraduate student at UC Davis who is passionate about stewarding green spaces, especially on campus?

Do you see yourself working with community land trusts, community gardens, cooperatives or neighborhood councils for a more sustainable future? 

Consider applying to an internship position with the Sustainable Living and Learning Community!

Student Woods Stewardship Plan Coordinator Lucy Yuan and Grounds Management Coordinator Suraya Akhenaton put together a video tour of the 1.5 acre Woods / East Entry SLLC project development space.  Now our communities can get a glimpse of the progress and potential for the space as this project continues, and so much has changed since March!  

2019 Green Fellowship alumna Gabriela Fontanesi produced a paid internship opportunity for descendants of California vineyard workers on the UC Davis Student Farm, along with educational opportunities as a part of her fellowship project. 

Amidst the outbreak of a global pandemic, she worked collaboratively to adapt workshops on sustainable vineyard management with help from mentor James R Muck, Field Operations Coordinator at the UC Davis Student Farm.