Sustainability

Recognizing food as both sustenance and a cultural experience that can evoke memories, cross boundaries and bring people together, seasoned chef and media personality Ed Porter recently brought his latest short film to UC Merced for an exclusive screening.

“The Food that Fuels” is a documentary that highlights the San Joaquin Valley and its role as a global supplier of fresh produce. It features a section on UC Merced’s Experimental Smart Farm and regional farms participating in Dining Services’ award-winning BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) Produce Buying Program.

Student employees in UC Merced’s dining centers got an up-close look at the sustainable techniques at a family almond farm and were challenged to create locally sourced dishes as part of a workshop inspired by an internationally famous chef. The workshop was presented by the Alice Waters Institute for Edible Education in collaboration with UC Merced Executive Chefs Anthony Pangelina and Mitchell Vanagten.

As California lawmakers consider a package of bills aimed at increasing the production of clean energy, a major question arises: How would we store all this new power?

Cattle are a fairly regular sight around the UC Merced campus. They graze along the 6,500-acre Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve and the 40-acre Experimental Smart Farm, and an annual student-run spring event is even named "Cowtopia."

But cattle, as effective as they are, can't get everywhere to graze, so this summer the campus has received a visit from their smaller, more nimble colleagues: goats.

Hundreds of goats are grazing large swaths of land on the northeast side of the campus.

A tree planting ceremony was held on campus to commemorate Arbor Day 2024. Various campus groups planted and dedicated 14 trees, each type representing a different tenet of the university. Volunteers planted olive trees to symbolize peace and hope, red maple trees to symbolize vibrancy and endurance and oak trees to symbolize strength and resilience.

What does the greater Merced community need to know about climate change? How might the Central Valley play a significant role in discussions and solutions about carbon dioxide removal? What new projects are on the horizon, and can they bring economic and community benefits to the region?

Graduate student Samuel Leventini comes from a long line of educators, and the tribology researcher thinks he might want to follow in those footsteps.

Thanks to a new supplemental grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Leventini will get the opportunity to find out if teaching is really the path for his life.

Distinguished rankings, new academic offerings, world-class research and campus expansions were among the highlights of the UC Merced State of the University address delivered by Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz.

"The state of this 20-year-old institution is unparalleled in the history of American higher education," said Muñoz. "And now I would like to invite you to join me in imagining an even more impactful future for our campus, faculty, staff and students."

Compelling storytelling is vital to ensuring the action needed to secure a habitable planet for future generations, according to an increasing amount of research.

UC Merced is recruiting students now to become the next environmental storytellers.

Students who are interested in creatively conveying the urgency of environmental issues can make that mission the focus of their studies when the new environmental humanities (EH) major begins at UC Merced in fall 2024.

Four UC Merced researchers will share in the new California Climate Action Seed Grants and Matching Grants, which are the result of an historic partnership between the University of California and the state of California.

The University today announced it is awarding over $80 million in climate action grants to spur implementation of solutions that directly address state climate priorities.