The Green Initiative Fund
Funding Available to Support Sustainability Projects
The Green Initiative Fund IRA provides funding for students to work on an annual sustainability-related project. Students are encouraged to develop cutting edge ideas that address goals such as lowering greenhouse gas emissions, promoting biodiversity, reducing waste, and conserving water while prioritizing diversity and social justice across campus. The Green Initiative Fund assists students in identifying budgets and timelines, as well as embodying sustainability leadership skills to promote a greener campus.
Proposals from Cal Poly students, faculty and staff are accepted once or twice a year, depending on available funds. Upcoming deadline to submit a proposal is April 26, 2024.
Please send any questions to: cfs@calpoly.edu
Guidelines
1. Funding is primarily for the purchase of supplies and equipment
2. Project is required to involve work by Cal Poly students
3. All appropriate campus approvals* must be obtained before the proposal is considered
4. Proposed budget should be under $5,000
5. A brief report is to be submitted within one year from the start of the project
To apply, send the following information about your project to cfs@calpoly.edu
- Name(s) of Main contact and team members
- Department affiliation of Main contact
- Email address of Main contact
- Title of project (30 words or less)
- Project description of up to 1,300 words, including proposed timeline -
Provide statement on how the project promotes or implements social equity, economic and environmental sustainability - General budget, including a rough estimate of items to be purchased
- Location of project, if applicable
* Applicants may be asked to provide follow-up information concerning safety procedures and required permissions before funding is awarded.
We look forward to learning about your great ideas!
Past Projects
2023-24
Bee Counter Project
The ultimate goal of the Bee Counter is to a) accurately provide a count of the bees going in and then b) to be discrete, weather- and bee-proof, and c) to be replicable and adaptable to different locations and hives. The Bee Counter will be run with solar or wireless battery and be a remote sensor in that its data can be tracked on a phone or computer, rather than having to go out into the field and observe data directly on the sensor. Monitoring hive entrance activity can give direct clues on hive health and stages of hive growth as well as external signals like orchard blossom development. Hive entrance activity can be one of the main indicators of mite infestations, viral infections, and swarming. An accurate, hands-off approach to bee counting will be greatly beneficial to the sustainability of the apiary industry.
2022-23
Cal Poly “P” Interpretive Sign
Thousands of students, faculty, and families hike to the P every year to take in some of the best views of the San Luis Obispo Valley from Cal Poly's campus but are often unfamiliar with the context behind the geographic location they inhabit. This sign will explain the Nine Sisters of San Luis Obispo, the traditional lands of the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini Northern Chumash Tribe that Cal Poly now sits on and mention native plants in the area. The main goals are to encourage a sense of place and bioregional awareness while acting as a step towards healing the damage that colonization has done to the native peoples that first inhabited this land.
2021-22
Building soil health in the Cal Poly lemon orchard with cover crops
2020-21
Riparian Insectary Project, and
Bee Pollinator Certified Campus Project
Final Report
The TGIF Network
TGIF @ Cal Poly is funded as one of many University IRAs - Instructionally Related Activity
