For Immediate Release – For May’s Bike Month Melissa Ott Puts the Spotlight on Santa Cruz’s Leading Female Bicycle Advocates
Date: April 29, 2014
Contact: Melissa Ott/UC Santa Cruz undergraduate student/Bicycle Intern
Tel. (925) 918-3425 Email: mott@ucsc.edu
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Santa Cruz, CA – To celebrate National Bike Month this May and recognize those who work to support a thriving and diverse bicycle culture in Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz undergraduate student Melissa Ott is writing a series of profiles of seven of the community’s female bicycle advocates for the Women on Bikes California initiative and its website Pedal Love, a new media communications platform dedicated to sharing “dynamic and compelling stories of how ordinary people are making extraordinary changes to their lives with bicycles.” Though much of the bicycling world’s focus has been on men and the sport of bicycling, these engaging profiles demonstrate that in Santa Cruz, bicycle advocacy is strongly supported and promoted by women passionate about all forms of riding a bike. To read the profiles go to: www.pedallove.org/its-wheely-easy-being-green.
In Santa Cruz, the week of May 2-9 is Bike Week, and many of the women profiled in the Pedal Love series are instrumental to planning, promoting, and celebrating more than a dozen bicycle-related events, rides, and workshops taking place during Bike Week and throughout May. To learn more, including the fifteen free Bike to Work Day breakfast sites visit http://santacruztransportationsolutions.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html.
A new member of the Pedal Love creative team, Melissa chose to write her first series of pieces on the women who are inspiring her in the local bike advocacy scene. The result is a glimpse of the diverse and thriving bicycle community in Santa Cruz from environmental program directors to college students to recreational club leaders, and more. The interviews feature the following women:
• Amelia Conlen (Director of People Power of Santa Cruz County)
• Maura Noel (President of the Santa Cruz County Cycling Club)
• Elise Ehrheart (Coordinator of Ecology Action’s Bike Smart! Program)
• Emily Glanville (Ecology Action’s Transportation Group Program Specialist)
• Myrna Sherman (Santa Cruz County Cycling Club)
• Hasti Afsarifard (UC Santa Cruz undergrad & volunteer with People Power)
• Alyssa Tyree (UCSC undergrad & intern with People Power)
In bringing them all together in a series of interviews, Melissa hopes to support awareness of Santa Cruz’s connected bicycle community that spans the varied interests represented by these seven women. She also hopes to continue her bicycle advocacy work after she graduates in June by staying involved in the Santa Cruz bicycling community and writing stories that she hopes will connect more people with the beauty and freedom of the bicycle. To read the profiles go to: http://www.pedallove.org/its-wheely-easy-being-green/
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About Melissa Ott
Melissa Ott is an undergraduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz studying English Literature. She has been actively involved with the sustainability community on campus since 2011. In high school, Melissa served on the City of Pleasanton's Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and she has never owned a car. In her current advocacy work, Melissa strives to empower women, young people, and all members of her community to discover the magic of bike riding--not only to reduce carbon emissions, but also to increase happiness, health, and engagement with one's community. To learn more about the bicycle advocacy work she’s currently doing in Santa Cruz, visit http://santacruztransportationsolutions.blogspot.com/p/ideass-bicycle-transit-planning-team.html.
About Women on Bikes California & Pedal Love
An initiative of the California Bicycle Coalition, the mission of Women on Bikes California focuses on the bike as a tool for optimism in the lives of women. We work to engage, connect and cultivate opportunity for women of all ages, races and walks of life interested in bicycling, active living advocacy and bike-related/bike-friendly industries. Key to our strategy is elevating the voice of women passionate about bicycling via engaging storytelling and proactive media outreach through our “Pedal Love” project website and our series of “Active Living Plugged In” trainings. Learn more about us at http://www.pedallove.org/.
Showing posts with label UCSC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UCSC. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Friday, April 25, 2014
UC Santa Cruz Bike Month Events 2014
Many UC Santa Cruz banana slugs bicycle year-round, but during May, which is National Bike Month, these banana slugs not only bike but also celebrate the greatest two wheeled invention known to humankind. Join the UCSC community in celebrating the bicycle at these upcoming events, and see a full listing of Bike Month events here.
Stevenson Bikes & Food Justice Fest - May 3 at 12pm - 4pm
Stevenson Main Quad, UC Santa Cruz.
Join us for a bike & food justice fest featuring free bike maintenance, bicycle education and history, bike-generated strawberry smoothies with education about strawberry production, music, bike part art, a food justice & transportation board game, and more! At 2 PM, there will be a speaker panel and discussion about the intersections of transportation and food justice in the Stevenson Fireside Lounge.
Slug Bike Party Ride Around Campus – May 3 at 3:30pm
Meet in Stevenson Main Quad, UC Santa Cruz.
During the Bike & Food Justice Festival, a group will be heading off on bikes to explore easy and secret routes around campus while also touring some of the campus gardens. Bring a bicycle in good working condition, a helmet, and comfortable shoes. Bike party!
Bike Week World Cafe - May 5 at 5pm - 7pm
Kresge Piazzetta, outside Kresge Seminar Room at Porter-Kresge Rd, UC Santa Cruz.
The World Cafe is a weekly potluck of both food and ideas that takes place in Kresge College. The theme for this week is bicycles to celebrate the beginning of Bike Week in Santa Cruz! Join us for conversations about the revolutionary role of bicycles to empower and free people in our community, enjoy some bike generated smoothies and music, and learn some basic bike maintenance.
UCSC Bike Helmet Giveaway - May 6 at 1:30pm - 4pm
Base of UCSC campus, corner of Bay & High.
In celebration of Bike Week, Transportation and Parking Services is hosting the Bicycle Safety Campaign! TAPS will be surveying cyclists and handing out 200 free helmets to members of the UCSC community on first come first serve basis. Proof of UCSC affiliation required. Invite your friends if you care about them staying safe on the road! If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Julie.
Bike to Work/School Day! - May 8, 2014 at 6:30am - 9:30am
Have you ever wished someone would celebrate your bike commute with free food? Well that’s what Bike to Work Day is all about! There will be 15 public breakfast sites for people who bike to work/school this day, with three sites at UC Santa Cruz: base of campus, top of the Bike Path, and Quarry Plaza. For more information, visit the website.
Edge of Eden Music Festival (Free Bike Valet) - May 10 at 2pm - 10pm
Take your bike to this music festival at the UCSC East Field and receive free bike parking! Parking is limited for the event anyway, and you won’t have to worry about your bike while you enjoy the show. Learn more here.
Free Bike Commuting Workshop at UCSC - May 14 at 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Science and Engineering Library Room 332, UC Santa Cruz.
Come to a free one-hour workshop for UCSC bike commuters of all skill levels hosted by People Power of Santa Cruz County. We’ll cover best practices for commuting to campus, including gears, laws, and routes.
Endless Summer Bike Ride - May 18, 2014 at 11am to 3pm
Soak in the sun, practice your cycling skills and explore little-known routes around Santa Cruz on this easy 8-10 mile bike ride. $6 cost includes a picnic lunch at Twin Lakes Beach. Bring a helmet and bike in good working condition. Register online here.
Stevenson Bikes & Food Justice Fest - May 3 at 12pm - 4pm
Stevenson Main Quad, UC Santa Cruz.
Join us for a bike & food justice fest featuring free bike maintenance, bicycle education and history, bike-generated strawberry smoothies with education about strawberry production, music, bike part art, a food justice & transportation board game, and more! At 2 PM, there will be a speaker panel and discussion about the intersections of transportation and food justice in the Stevenson Fireside Lounge.
Slug Bike Party Ride Around Campus – May 3 at 3:30pm
Meet in Stevenson Main Quad, UC Santa Cruz.
During the Bike & Food Justice Festival, a group will be heading off on bikes to explore easy and secret routes around campus while also touring some of the campus gardens. Bring a bicycle in good working condition, a helmet, and comfortable shoes. Bike party!
Bike Week World Cafe - May 5 at 5pm - 7pm
Kresge Piazzetta, outside Kresge Seminar Room at Porter-Kresge Rd, UC Santa Cruz.
The World Cafe is a weekly potluck of both food and ideas that takes place in Kresge College. The theme for this week is bicycles to celebrate the beginning of Bike Week in Santa Cruz! Join us for conversations about the revolutionary role of bicycles to empower and free people in our community, enjoy some bike generated smoothies and music, and learn some basic bike maintenance.
UCSC Bike Helmet Giveaway - May 6 at 1:30pm - 4pm
Base of UCSC campus, corner of Bay & High.
In celebration of Bike Week, Transportation and Parking Services is hosting the Bicycle Safety Campaign! TAPS will be surveying cyclists and handing out 200 free helmets to members of the UCSC community on first come first serve basis. Proof of UCSC affiliation required. Invite your friends if you care about them staying safe on the road! If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Julie.
Bike to Work/School Day! - May 8, 2014 at 6:30am - 9:30am
Have you ever wished someone would celebrate your bike commute with free food? Well that’s what Bike to Work Day is all about! There will be 15 public breakfast sites for people who bike to work/school this day, with three sites at UC Santa Cruz: base of campus, top of the Bike Path, and Quarry Plaza. For more information, visit the website.
Take your bike to this music festival at the UCSC East Field and receive free bike parking! Parking is limited for the event anyway, and you won’t have to worry about your bike while you enjoy the show. Learn more here.
Free Bike Commuting Workshop at UCSC - May 14 at 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Science and Engineering Library Room 332, UC Santa Cruz.
Come to a free one-hour workshop for UCSC bike commuters of all skill levels hosted by People Power of Santa Cruz County. We’ll cover best practices for commuting to campus, including gears, laws, and routes.
Endless Summer Bike Ride - May 18, 2014 at 11am to 3pm
Soak in the sun, practice your cycling skills and explore little-known routes around Santa Cruz on this easy 8-10 mile bike ride. $6 cost includes a picnic lunch at Twin Lakes Beach. Bring a helmet and bike in good working condition. Register online here.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Walk to Class Challenge & Dr. Paul Lee (February 7, 2014)
A few weeks ago on February 7, our class focused on walking. We had two guest speakers, Jessica Pearson (Provost's Sustainability Intern for Transportation and Parking Services) and Dr. Paul Lee (founder of the UCSC Chadwick Garden and Santa Cruz Homeless Garden Project and former philosophy professor in the History of Consciousness department at UCSC in the 1960s).
After going over this presentation and talking about the readings, Jessica shared about her Walk to Class Challenge that's happening on April 22. There will be stations around campus and encouragement to walk to class that day instead of taking the bus. We look forward to the challenge, and we wish Jessica the best of luck in promoting it!
We were also fortunate enough that day to have a guest presentation by Dr. Paul Lee. We invited Dr. Lee because he supported the creation of a project called the Circle Trail Project and also helped preserve the land that is now Pogonip park.
Dr. Lee talked about the history of the Chadwick Garden and what it was like to work with Alan Chadwick. He shared that Alan Chadwick was "crazy" and the "hardest person to work with" but that he was integral to the organic movement. Dr. Lee called the Chadwick Garden "the spiritual center of the University" and said that "Chadwick taught students how to work" in a way that they hadn't been expected to do before.
He also shared about the Green Belt Initiative in 1977 to save Pogonip, explaining that he wanted it to become a botanic garden and horticulture belt along with the Chadwick Garden and Farm so close by. His original idea was to have the Homeless Garden Project (HGP) within Pogonip, though the HPG is now located near Long Marine Lab. The HPG came about because there were a number of homeless people in Santa Cruz in the 1980s and the first public homeless shelter was created. Dr. Lee said that there were 100s of homeless people then, but they only had room for 50. The question became what to have people do during the day, and the answer came in the form of the HPG, which provides a small stipend for working in the garden and is a safe haven for rehabilitation. Today, there are around 4000 homeless people in the area, according to Lee, and the HPG is thriving. Learn more about it here.
Finally, Dr. Lee shared about the Circle Trail Project, which was the idea of a woman who approached Lee in the 1990s. The website for the Project states that "Sylvia Knapton conceived of a trail through the Santa Cruz Greenbelt that would showcase the area’s natural beauty and ecological diversity." Dr. Lee shared his experience trying to inaugurate the project, which essentially creates a walking trail between various destination points of interest in Santa Cruz, including the HGP, Long Marine Lab, the UCSC Arboretum, and Chadwick Garden, among others.
The inauguration celebration was not as successful as he had hoped due to extremely hot weather. Despite this, Dr. Lee has been working on the Project again with a graduate student from the UCSC Digital Arts and New Media Department. They hope to design a phone application that people can install for a virtual tour of the Circle Trail so that when they visit these locations in Santa Cruz, they can learn the natural and human history of the sites. They are currently seeking people interested in working on this project You can learn more about the Circle Trail Project here and contact them through the website.
After presenting about these histories, one of the students in our class, Maryam, asked how we can pursue projects and plan things in the face of all of the red tape and obstacles to overcome in creating meaningful projects. Dr. Lee's answer was simple: "Ignore all that and just do it. Don't think about all the obstacles because if you do, you'll ask yourself 'are you out of your mind?' Don't plan, don't ask anybody first, just do it."
His point is well taken that we must take action on projects before we lose the courage to face the obstacles. My recommendation would be to take that mentality and pursue projects, finding those with the skills and ability to plan if you lack in those areas. It's about balance. In Dr. Lee's case, Alan Chadwick had the organic gardening knowledge to help design the garden. It was Dr. Lee's enthusiasm and ready-set-go attitude that got the project going. We could probably all do well with a measured dose of Dr. Lee's advice to "just do it."
Thanks, Jessica and Dr. Lee for visiting our class! We appreciated learning from both of you about projects that help support walking in Santa Cruz, and we wish you both the best of luck in your endeavors.
After going over this presentation and talking about the readings, Jessica shared about her Walk to Class Challenge that's happening on April 22. There will be stations around campus and encouragement to walk to class that day instead of taking the bus. We look forward to the challenge, and we wish Jessica the best of luck in promoting it!
We were also fortunate enough that day to have a guest presentation by Dr. Paul Lee. We invited Dr. Lee because he supported the creation of a project called the Circle Trail Project and also helped preserve the land that is now Pogonip park.
Dr. Lee talked about the history of the Chadwick Garden and what it was like to work with Alan Chadwick. He shared that Alan Chadwick was "crazy" and the "hardest person to work with" but that he was integral to the organic movement. Dr. Lee called the Chadwick Garden "the spiritual center of the University" and said that "Chadwick taught students how to work" in a way that they hadn't been expected to do before.
Side note & fun fact: Growing up in Los Gatos, my dad always saw signs that read "Save Pogonip" when he'd drive over the hill to Santa Cruz. He never knew what it meant until he grew up and realized it was the name of a land preserve. To him, it was just a funny name with no understanding behind it. I was able to tell him the other day that I met a man who helped support the "Save Pogonip" initiative. It's so fun going to college near where my dad grew up and be able to have common understandings of places that he explored when he was young.
Finally, Dr. Lee shared about the Circle Trail Project, which was the idea of a woman who approached Lee in the 1990s. The website for the Project states that "Sylvia Knapton conceived of a trail through the Santa Cruz Greenbelt that would showcase the area’s natural beauty and ecological diversity." Dr. Lee shared his experience trying to inaugurate the project, which essentially creates a walking trail between various destination points of interest in Santa Cruz, including the HGP, Long Marine Lab, the UCSC Arboretum, and Chadwick Garden, among others.
The pamphlet from Circle Trail Day in 1997.
The inauguration celebration was not as successful as he had hoped due to extremely hot weather. Despite this, Dr. Lee has been working on the Project again with a graduate student from the UCSC Digital Arts and New Media Department. They hope to design a phone application that people can install for a virtual tour of the Circle Trail so that when they visit these locations in Santa Cruz, they can learn the natural and human history of the sites. They are currently seeking people interested in working on this project You can learn more about the Circle Trail Project here and contact them through the website.
After presenting about these histories, one of the students in our class, Maryam, asked how we can pursue projects and plan things in the face of all of the red tape and obstacles to overcome in creating meaningful projects. Dr. Lee's answer was simple: "Ignore all that and just do it. Don't think about all the obstacles because if you do, you'll ask yourself 'are you out of your mind?' Don't plan, don't ask anybody first, just do it."
Thanks, Jessica and Dr. Lee for visiting our class! We appreciated learning from both of you about projects that help support walking in Santa Cruz, and we wish you both the best of luck in your endeavors.
Monday, February 17, 2014
People Power of Santa Cruz County Offering Free Bike Commuting Workshops to Local Businesses and the Community
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 17, 2014
PRESS CONTACT - Amelia Conlen, (831) 425-0665, director@peoplepowersc.org
People Power of Santa Cruz County Offering Free Bike Commuting Workshops to Local Businesses and the Community
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, February 17, 2014 – People Power of Santa Cruz County is partnering with two interns from the UC Santa Cruz Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) program to create and host bicycle commuting workshops throughout Santa Cruz County. They seek ten local businesses that would like to provide lunchtime workshops to their employees, available between March and July of 2014. There will also be free community workshops offered monthly, starting March 17th from 6-7PM at the People Power office, 703 Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz.
Making your daily commute by bicycle can be a daunting prospect – what do you wear? How do you transport kids, laptop or a change of clothes? What about when it rains? The workshops are designed to answer all those questions and more, including rules of the road, basic skills and maintenance and how to choose the best route. By offering workshops at local businesses, employees can ask questions and get feedback specific to their daily commute, such as the best nearby routes and where to safely park and lock their bike.
People Power is seeking businesses that are willing to host a workshop, with a goal of having at least 10 employees at each one. Smaller businesses are encouraged to participate and reach out to businesses nearby to invite others to fill the workshop. In the coming weeks, the team will be reaching out to local businesses, but interested employers are encouraged to contact People Power directly.
If you are an employer looking to host a bike commuting workshop at your business, please contact Amelia Conlen, Director of People Power, at (831) 425-0665 or send her an email at director [at] peoplepowersc.org
Community workshops will take place monthly from 6-7PM on the 3rd Monday of the month, starting March 17th. Workshops will be held at the People Power office, 703 Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz. To register for a workshop, visit http://www.peoplepowersc.org/
Funding for the workshops is provided by the UC Santa Cruz Carbon Fund, which awards grants to local projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, research methods for doing so, or educate the community through behavior change programs. For more information about the Carbon Fund, visit http://sustainability.ucsc.edu/get-involved/funding/carbon-fund/index.html
About People Power
Since its inception in 1991, People Power has been improving the quality of life in Santa Cruz County by promoting bicycling and other forms of sustainable transportation. More information about the organization’s work can be found online at http://www.peoplepowersc.org/
About UC Santa Cruz IDEASS Program
UC Santa Cruz Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) is a service-learning program designed to empower students as change agents to face the challenges of the 21st century. In this yearlong upper-division course, students work together in teams with professional mentors to design and implement a project related to sustainability. For more information, visit the website at http://sustainability.ucsc.edu/get-involved/jobsinternships/ideass/index.html
PRESS CONTACT - Amelia Conlen, (831) 425-0665, director@peoplepowersc.org
People Power of Santa Cruz County Offering Free Bike Commuting Workshops to Local Businesses and the Community
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, February 17, 2014 – People Power of Santa Cruz County is partnering with two interns from the UC Santa Cruz Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) program to create and host bicycle commuting workshops throughout Santa Cruz County. They seek ten local businesses that would like to provide lunchtime workshops to their employees, available between March and July of 2014. There will also be free community workshops offered monthly, starting March 17th from 6-7PM at the People Power office, 703 Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz.
Making your daily commute by bicycle can be a daunting prospect – what do you wear? How do you transport kids, laptop or a change of clothes? What about when it rains? The workshops are designed to answer all those questions and more, including rules of the road, basic skills and maintenance and how to choose the best route. By offering workshops at local businesses, employees can ask questions and get feedback specific to their daily commute, such as the best nearby routes and where to safely park and lock their bike.
People Power is seeking businesses that are willing to host a workshop, with a goal of having at least 10 employees at each one. Smaller businesses are encouraged to participate and reach out to businesses nearby to invite others to fill the workshop. In the coming weeks, the team will be reaching out to local businesses, but interested employers are encouraged to contact People Power directly.
If you are an employer looking to host a bike commuting workshop at your business, please contact Amelia Conlen, Director of People Power, at (831) 425-0665 or send her an email at director [at] peoplepowersc.org
Community workshops will take place monthly from 6-7PM on the 3rd Monday of the month, starting March 17th. Workshops will be held at the People Power office, 703 Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz. To register for a workshop, visit http://www.peoplepowersc.org/
Funding for the workshops is provided by the UC Santa Cruz Carbon Fund, which awards grants to local projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, research methods for doing so, or educate the community through behavior change programs. For more information about the Carbon Fund, visit http://sustainability.ucsc.edu/get-involved/funding/carbon-fund/index.html
About People Power
Since its inception in 1991, People Power has been improving the quality of life in Santa Cruz County by promoting bicycling and other forms of sustainable transportation. More information about the organization’s work can be found online at http://www.peoplepowersc.org/
About UC Santa Cruz IDEASS Program
UC Santa Cruz Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) is a service-learning program designed to empower students as change agents to face the challenges of the 21st century. In this yearlong upper-division course, students work together in teams with professional mentors to design and implement a project related to sustainability. For more information, visit the website at http://sustainability.ucsc.edu/get-involved/jobsinternships/ideass/index.html
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Recap of the Last Couple Weeks
We're overdue for a recap of class! Between reading for class and preparing the lesson plans and learning about the awesome projects everyone's doing, Alex and I haven't had a chance to write about what we've been doing in class--which is important so that people who aren't there can learn about the cool stuff we're doing.
Two weeks ago, Amelia Conlen, Director of People Power of Santa Cruz County, and Tawn Kennedy, Director of Green Ways to School, visited our class to talk about the work that they do in the community and how students in the class can get involved. It was awesome to learn about the projects they're currently working on. Both of them spoke about transportation issues in general, as well, which framed their work within the larger issues of transportation that we're facing. Tawn spoke about climate change and the importance of encouraging young people to bike. Thank you both for attending and sharing with us!
After hearing from Tawn and Amelia, Alex presented about bikes, which is evidently our class's favorite topics since we talk about it every week even when we aren't focusing on bikes. The presentation that Alex showed is here if you want to review it.
Last week, we focused on public transportation. We started class by going around and sharing the funniest, best, or most interesting experiences we've had on public transportation. The stories ranged from drunk, boisterous men on buses in the Central Valley to silent connections made by eye contact on buses to realizations about socioeconomic inequalities and why we feel how we feel when we take public transportation. (If anyone from class wants to share what their story was, please do so in the comments!)
We transitioned into talking about the readings and reviewing a presentation that I put together the night before. You can review it here. We ended that portion of class with a TED Talk by Enrique Peñalosa titled "Why buses represent democracy in action."
After this, we welcomed a guest presentation by Erich Friedrich, Senior Transportation Planner with Santa Cruz METRO. He spoke about the history of METRO, current struggles the transit district faces, and exciting opportunities happening in the future. Students had many questions, and it led to an interesting conversation about Santa Cruz transportation issues and possible solutions. We may have more details on this coming soon in a blog post from Alex!
As always, you can look over our syllabus to see what readings we're doing each week and what the topic and plans are for future weeks. Tomorrow, we're discussing walking, and we have two guest speakers, Jessica Pearson from Transportation & Parking Services and Dr. Paul Lee, founder of the Chadwick Garden and Homeless Garden Project and advocate for trails like Pogonip. You're welcome to join us any Friday from 8 - 10:40 AM in the Kresge Seminar Room 159.
Enjoy this rain!
Two weeks ago, Amelia Conlen, Director of People Power of Santa Cruz County, and Tawn Kennedy, Director of Green Ways to School, visited our class to talk about the work that they do in the community and how students in the class can get involved. It was awesome to learn about the projects they're currently working on. Both of them spoke about transportation issues in general, as well, which framed their work within the larger issues of transportation that we're facing. Tawn spoke about climate change and the importance of encouraging young people to bike. Thank you both for attending and sharing with us!
Tawn speaking about his work with Green Ways to School.
After hearing from Tawn and Amelia, Alex presented about bikes, which is evidently our class's favorite topics since we talk about it every week even when we aren't focusing on bikes. The presentation that Alex showed is here if you want to review it.
Last week, we focused on public transportation. We started class by going around and sharing the funniest, best, or most interesting experiences we've had on public transportation. The stories ranged from drunk, boisterous men on buses in the Central Valley to silent connections made by eye contact on buses to realizations about socioeconomic inequalities and why we feel how we feel when we take public transportation. (If anyone from class wants to share what their story was, please do so in the comments!)
We transitioned into talking about the readings and reviewing a presentation that I put together the night before. You can review it here. We ended that portion of class with a TED Talk by Enrique Peñalosa titled "Why buses represent democracy in action."
After this, we welcomed a guest presentation by Erich Friedrich, Senior Transportation Planner with Santa Cruz METRO. He spoke about the history of METRO, current struggles the transit district faces, and exciting opportunities happening in the future. Students had many questions, and it led to an interesting conversation about Santa Cruz transportation issues and possible solutions. We may have more details on this coming soon in a blog post from Alex!
As always, you can look over our syllabus to see what readings we're doing each week and what the topic and plans are for future weeks. Tomorrow, we're discussing walking, and we have two guest speakers, Jessica Pearson from Transportation & Parking Services and Dr. Paul Lee, founder of the Chadwick Garden and Homeless Garden Project and advocate for trails like Pogonip. You're welcome to join us any Friday from 8 - 10:40 AM in the Kresge Seminar Room 159.
Enjoy this rain!
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Hiking: A Social Cure for a Disconnected World (A re-post from Green Gal)
This was originally posted on Melissa's Green Gal blog here on March 27, 2013. It relates to walking and the power of walking with others, so it ties into this week's theme. It's also a love story!
In addition to being great exercise and a way to get to really awesome places in the world, hiking is also one of my favorite social activities. Since the time I was old enough to hike around Pinecrest Lake, I was making the trek with my family, trying to keep up with uncles and cousins in my little hiking boots and sunhat. I've always been a hiker, and I continue to be one, especially since I live in a hilly forest off the coast of the Pacific Ocean. How can you not be a hiker when you live two minutes from hiking trails and views of the ocean?
Given this interest in hiking and the opportunities for social engagement and community building that it offers, this past fall, a fellow student sustainability leader at UC Santa Cruz and I organized a hike into the Upper Campus trails that meander through forest and meadow above our university home. The goal was to bring together students, staff, faculty, community members interested in sustainability at UC Santa Cruz for a day hike to explore the natural space where we live, learn, and work.
My fellow sustainability hike leader and I had met at the Harvest Festival at the campus farm at the beginning of the quarter, where he served me countless bike-pedal-generated smoothies that he had made himself as I sat tabling for the Sustainability Office in the sweltering September heat.
A few days later, we spoke during dinner at the Student Environmental Center's General Gathering, and we realized we both had an interest in getting students from sustainability orgs on campus to spend more time together outside of org events. We swapped numbers, met in the library a couple times to draft an email, and then sent it out to everyone involved with sustainability work on campus, using the list-servs and email addresses that I have access to as the Education & Outreach Coordinator for the Sustainability Office (not an abuse of power, given that these hikes serve to further the aims of my job, even if I don't count those hours toward work). We even made a Facebook event for the hike. We were stoked.
The day came to meet up in the North Remote Parking Lot. I showed up first with my hiking shorts and hiking boots and reusable water bottle. No sign of anyone.
A few minutes later, I got a text message from my co-leader, who is the Transportation Coordinator for the organzation who hosted the General Gathering. He was on his way, and walked up from his redwood-surrounded apartment a few minutes later.
We waited. And waited.
"Well, it's time to go. Should we just start hiking?" No one else had shown up, and I'd received at least one text message from a friend who wasn't coming after all.
"Yeah, let's go."
We hiked up into the forest, just the two of us, on what would become not only the first of many sustainability inter-organizational hikes, but our first hike together, our first date, and our first chance to get to know each other through awesome conversation on the trail.
Hiking is a great social activity with both people you don't know well and people you do know well. You're moving around, exercising and getting high on endorphins, immersed in wild places that feed your soul, and there aren't really awkward silences. You're hiking outdoors, and silence is never awkward in the outdoors--there is so much to hear and experience and learn from when you are silent in a natural space.
We ended up hiking through Wilder Ranch State Park and all the way to the Highway 1, crossing the asphalt to reach our destination: the coast of the Pacific Ocean. We settled into some cliffs by a little cove, where the water rushed in at every wave and then receded. The sounds were soothing, the sun was warm, and we ate our lunch, enjoying the day, kind of glad that no one else showed up on the hike because of the opportunity it gave us to spend time together.
"I heard that some study found that chocolate is detected in the brain to cause more pleasure than kisses," he said to me. "But I don't really think so. What do you think?" I thought people only said those kinds of things in romantic movies, but I guess I was wrong. We had to test the theory, of course, so he shared an M&M with me, and then we shared a kiss. Like I said, hikes really are the best way to get to know someone.
Since then, he and I have organized a few other hikes, bringing together our friends, coworkers, and people who heard about the hike from Facebook or campus newsletters. I've had interesting conversations on the trail with people I never would have met otherwise, and I've realized how simple and worthwhile organizing hikes can be. People in the sustainability world of UC Santa Cruz now know about the hikes, and many who haven't come before have expressed interest in coming in the future. I cannot wait for spring quarter and the sunlight and flowers, which will hopefully draw even more people out to our hikes.
As for hiking dates with my transportation coordinator friend, who has since become my boyfriend, we definitely continue to hike together, getting to know each other better every time. We just went on a gorgeous hike yesterday at a county park near San Jose, and we had a really good time enjoying the view from the top of a hill.
I believe that in addition to the conditions for conversation that hiking creates, the energies and connections that happen in nature between self and wilderness transform human social interactions into deeper connections when you spend time outdoors with someone one-on-one. Observing natural space, viewing the soil and vegetation and ecosystems, getting to know the environment, talking about where we would choose to live if we had been people living there thousands of years ago, and having moments of connection with nature together--all of this connects us to nature and ourselves.
Ultimately, hiking is a connecting activity, and in this digital age of social and human disconnection through overconnection with technology, hiking is a cure that I cannot get enough of. I encourage you to consider organizing a hike with your friends, significant other, or family. It's easy, fun, really inexpensive, and the opportunities for engagement with yourself, nature, and others are so rewarding!
Thanks for reading!
Green Gal
In addition to being great exercise and a way to get to really awesome places in the world, hiking is also one of my favorite social activities. Since the time I was old enough to hike around Pinecrest Lake, I was making the trek with my family, trying to keep up with uncles and cousins in my little hiking boots and sunhat. I've always been a hiker, and I continue to be one, especially since I live in a hilly forest off the coast of the Pacific Ocean. How can you not be a hiker when you live two minutes from hiking trails and views of the ocean?
Given this interest in hiking and the opportunities for social engagement and community building that it offers, this past fall, a fellow student sustainability leader at UC Santa Cruz and I organized a hike into the Upper Campus trails that meander through forest and meadow above our university home. The goal was to bring together students, staff, faculty, community members interested in sustainability at UC Santa Cruz for a day hike to explore the natural space where we live, learn, and work.
My fellow sustainability hike leader and I had met at the Harvest Festival at the campus farm at the beginning of the quarter, where he served me countless bike-pedal-generated smoothies that he had made himself as I sat tabling for the Sustainability Office in the sweltering September heat.
A few days later, we spoke during dinner at the Student Environmental Center's General Gathering, and we realized we both had an interest in getting students from sustainability orgs on campus to spend more time together outside of org events. We swapped numbers, met in the library a couple times to draft an email, and then sent it out to everyone involved with sustainability work on campus, using the list-servs and email addresses that I have access to as the Education & Outreach Coordinator for the Sustainability Office (not an abuse of power, given that these hikes serve to further the aims of my job, even if I don't count those hours toward work). We even made a Facebook event for the hike. We were stoked.
The day came to meet up in the North Remote Parking Lot. I showed up first with my hiking shorts and hiking boots and reusable water bottle. No sign of anyone.
A few minutes later, I got a text message from my co-leader, who is the Transportation Coordinator for the organzation who hosted the General Gathering. He was on his way, and walked up from his redwood-surrounded apartment a few minutes later.
We waited. And waited.
"Well, it's time to go. Should we just start hiking?" No one else had shown up, and I'd received at least one text message from a friend who wasn't coming after all.
"Yeah, let's go."
We hiked up into the forest, just the two of us, on what would become not only the first of many sustainability inter-organizational hikes, but our first hike together, our first date, and our first chance to get to know each other through awesome conversation on the trail.
Hiking is a great social activity with both people you don't know well and people you do know well. You're moving around, exercising and getting high on endorphins, immersed in wild places that feed your soul, and there aren't really awkward silences. You're hiking outdoors, and silence is never awkward in the outdoors--there is so much to hear and experience and learn from when you are silent in a natural space.
We ended up hiking through Wilder Ranch State Park and all the way to the Highway 1, crossing the asphalt to reach our destination: the coast of the Pacific Ocean. We settled into some cliffs by a little cove, where the water rushed in at every wave and then receded. The sounds were soothing, the sun was warm, and we ate our lunch, enjoying the day, kind of glad that no one else showed up on the hike because of the opportunity it gave us to spend time together.
"I heard that some study found that chocolate is detected in the brain to cause more pleasure than kisses," he said to me. "But I don't really think so. What do you think?" I thought people only said those kinds of things in romantic movies, but I guess I was wrong. We had to test the theory, of course, so he shared an M&M with me, and then we shared a kiss. Like I said, hikes really are the best way to get to know someone.
Since then, he and I have organized a few other hikes, bringing together our friends, coworkers, and people who heard about the hike from Facebook or campus newsletters. I've had interesting conversations on the trail with people I never would have met otherwise, and I've realized how simple and worthwhile organizing hikes can be. People in the sustainability world of UC Santa Cruz now know about the hikes, and many who haven't come before have expressed interest in coming in the future. I cannot wait for spring quarter and the sunlight and flowers, which will hopefully draw even more people out to our hikes.
A photo of the fantastic group who came on our second inter-organizational sustainability community hike. I got to know some people on this hike who have brightened my life, and they continue to remain in my life either in person or through the perspectives I gained from talking with them.
As for hiking dates with my transportation coordinator friend, who has since become my boyfriend, we definitely continue to hike together, getting to know each other better every time. We just went on a gorgeous hike yesterday at a county park near San Jose, and we had a really good time enjoying the view from the top of a hill.
I believe that in addition to the conditions for conversation that hiking creates, the energies and connections that happen in nature between self and wilderness transform human social interactions into deeper connections when you spend time outdoors with someone one-on-one. Observing natural space, viewing the soil and vegetation and ecosystems, getting to know the environment, talking about where we would choose to live if we had been people living there thousands of years ago, and having moments of connection with nature together--all of this connects us to nature and ourselves.
Ultimately, hiking is a connecting activity, and in this digital age of social and human disconnection through overconnection with technology, hiking is a cure that I cannot get enough of. I encourage you to consider organizing a hike with your friends, significant other, or family. It's easy, fun, really inexpensive, and the opportunities for engagement with yourself, nature, and others are so rewarding!
Thanks for reading!
Green Gal
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Sneak Routes Bike Ride in Santa Cruz
People Power recently led a 10 mile bike ride around Santa Cruz through the lesser-known routes. It was fun biking around town in a big group. Many pedestrians were curious why there were so many bicyclists of all ages and different types of bikes, including one covered in fur (see below).
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Bicycle safety overview
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The road less traveled
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The Coastal Rail Trail will start here
http://www.peoplepowersc.org/news/2013/10/27/santa_cruz_approves_funding_application_for_coastal_rail_trail
Handing out bike maps of Santa Cruz County
It was a beautiful day for a group bike ride!
~ Thank you Tawn Kennedy for taking these photos ~
&
~ Thank you People Power for organizing this sneaky bike ride ~
&
~ Thank you People Power for organizing this sneaky bike ride ~
Monday, January 27, 2014
Hasti's Relationship with Her Bicycle
When I travel, my favorite way to explore a new area is by bicycle...
Paris was the first place I experienced a bike sharing program. There are numerous stations around the city where you can pick up or drop off rental bikes (14,000 bicycles and 1,230 stations). I'm excited San Francisco and Palo Alto recently added similar bike sharing stations!
Barcelona also has a bike sharing system; however, it was locals only since you needed to have a residential address to rent out the bikes on the street. We rented cruisers through a bike shop and coasted by the beach!
Biking around the Grand Canyon with my cousins is one of my most memorable bike rides. The weather in Arizona is so unpredictable. Towards the end of the bike ride, the clouds rolled in and it began pouring for a brief moment. It was exhilarating to cool off in the rain after biking in the heat!
As a freshman
at UCSC, I was intimidated by the terrain and didn't think it would be
practical to bring my bike. I brought my bike to Santa Cruz Winter quarter of
my Freshman year, and began to discover new routes and new areas of
campus. Getting around campus and town became much more exciting and enjoyable.
My first 3
years at Santa Cruz Bay Street
Currently, I
take the bike shuttle to campus, which drops off at one of the
highest point on campus at Science Hill. This makes is easy to cruise downhill to wherever I
need to go. My favorite and most frequent route in Santa Cruz is West Cliff. I love biking along the coast and anytime I need some fresh air, I'll head to my favorite scenic route.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Engaged Discussions on Santa Cruz Transportation 1/17/14
Last Friday, our class met in the Common Ground Center, Kresge Room 166. Our normal classroom, the Kresge Seminar Room, was full of California Student Sustainability Coalition students who were at UC Santa Cruz for their winter convergence. Having class in the smaller space allowed for a more intimate discussion on Santa Cruz-specific transportation issues, and although we'll return to the Kresge Seminar Room for most other weeks, we may venture back into that space if we feel that our discussions on particular days require that closer intimacy.
We spoke about Santa Cruz transportation statistics, things to celebrate, issues to find solutions to, and also discussed our first blog post experience of writing our transportation histories, which can all be found on this blog. Students expressed having trouble getting started writing about transportation history because it's such an integral and typically changing history of our lives. Most people discussed the multiple modes they've used in their lives--cars, bikes, buses being the most common methods. We discussed how our experiences, comfortability, and perceptions of each mode affects how we view other modes and other people using other modes.
After spending some time reviewing local Santa Cruz information and hearing a brief presentation by Brenden Fant, a UCSC alum, former Impact Designs: Engineering & Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) bike transit intern, and former Student Environmental Center Transportation Campaign Coordinator. Brenden went through his report from his IDEASS project that surveyed people who bike to and from the UCSC campus to identify where people are riding and what the barriers are to people riding bikes more. Brenden had us brainstorm the benefits of cycling since we had touched upon the reasons why bicycling is an effective and healthy mode of transportation, but we hadn't articulated in one place what those reasons were. Here's what we came up with (click the image for a larger view):
Then we brainstormed as a class what kinds of visions we have for the future of transportation at UC Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz in general. This ranged from more people perceiving walking as a good way to get around to double decker bridges for bikes on campus to zip lines to less crowded buses. I took some photos of the board before class ended so we could review them later:
Thank you everyone for participating in great conversation and bringing your perspectives and experiences to class to share! We look forward to seeing you tomorrow, when we select project topics and hear from Amelia Conlen and Tawn Kennedy of People Power of Santa Cruz County about the work that they do and how you can get involved!
Documents from January 17 class:
We spoke about Santa Cruz transportation statistics, things to celebrate, issues to find solutions to, and also discussed our first blog post experience of writing our transportation histories, which can all be found on this blog. Students expressed having trouble getting started writing about transportation history because it's such an integral and typically changing history of our lives. Most people discussed the multiple modes they've used in their lives--cars, bikes, buses being the most common methods. We discussed how our experiences, comfortability, and perceptions of each mode affects how we view other modes and other people using other modes.
After spending some time reviewing local Santa Cruz information and hearing a brief presentation by Brenden Fant, a UCSC alum, former Impact Designs: Engineering & Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) bike transit intern, and former Student Environmental Center Transportation Campaign Coordinator. Brenden went through his report from his IDEASS project that surveyed people who bike to and from the UCSC campus to identify where people are riding and what the barriers are to people riding bikes more. Brenden had us brainstorm the benefits of cycling since we had touched upon the reasons why bicycling is an effective and healthy mode of transportation, but we hadn't articulated in one place what those reasons were. Here's what we came up with (click the image for a larger view):
Then we brainstormed as a class what kinds of visions we have for the future of transportation at UC Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz in general. This ranged from more people perceiving walking as a good way to get around to double decker bridges for bikes on campus to zip lines to less crowded buses. I took some photos of the board before class ended so we could review them later:
Thank you everyone for participating in great conversation and bringing your perspectives and experiences to class to share! We look forward to seeing you tomorrow, when we select project topics and hear from Amelia Conlen and Tawn Kennedy of People Power of Santa Cruz County about the work that they do and how you can get involved!
Documents from January 17 class:
- View the presentation slides from 1/17
- 2012-13 IDEASS Bicycle Transit Study (Brenden's project)
- Read the Community Assessment Project, which contains statistics about Santa Cruz issues
Monday, January 13, 2014
Announcements, Assignments, Updates from 1/10 Class
Hi Sustainable Transportation Advocates!
Thank you so much to those who attended our first class Friday morning. We had a great discussion about large-scale issues in our transportation system, watched some awesome videos, and learned from each other about the value of studying transportation. The presentation from yesterday can be found here.
For those who weren't there but want to receive credit, please email me right away! For those who are just interested in our class and want to attend on occasion, we hope to see you next week!
After each class, I'll send out an email with upcoming events/announcements, the assignment that's due next Friday, and a brief summary of what we'll be doing next week. Starting next week, I'll just send out a link to the blog post version of the email (this email will be posted there soon!).
Announcements
What's coming up next week
Thank you so much to those who attended our first class Friday morning. We had a great discussion about large-scale issues in our transportation system, watched some awesome videos, and learned from each other about the value of studying transportation. The presentation from yesterday can be found here.
For those who weren't there but want to receive credit, please email me right away! For those who are just interested in our class and want to attend on occasion, we hope to see you next week!
After each class, I'll send out an email with upcoming events/announcements, the assignment that's due next Friday, and a brief summary of what we'll be doing next week. Starting next week, I'll just send out a link to the blog post version of the email (this email will be posted there soon!).
Announcements
- LOCATION CHANGE: Just for next class, we're meeting in Kresge 166, the Common Ground Center! It's across the hallway from Kresge Seminar Room.
- Blueprint for a Sustainable Campus Breakout Discussion on Sustainable Transportation, hosted by the Student Environmental Center (SEC). this Wednesday, January 15. 5:30 - 8:30 PM in the College 8 Red Room. (Free vegetarian meal!)
- Applications for a free bike for winter quarter are due to the Bike Library by January 15. Details can be found here.
- Free bike safety classes taught by an instructor from the League of American Bicyclists will be taking place January 18 and 19. Email taps [at] ucsc [dot] edu to register and find out the locations and times.
- People Power Sneak Routes & Secret Places Bike Ride. Saturday, January 25, 11 AM – 3 PM. $6 includes a homemade lunch! Sign up here. Join People Power to explore little-known routes on the Westside of Santa Cruz! Practice your cycling skills on this easy 8–10 mile bike ride that includes a lunch of homemade soup. Riders will receive a free local bike map and information on gear and safe riding practices. Bus options available for the trip back up the hill! For more information contact People Power at info [at] peoplepowersc [dot] org or (831) 425–0665.
- Please mark your calendars for other events (listed on the syllabus) that relate to transportation.
- Blog post 1, posted to this blog: Write your transportation history - Think about the various modes of transportation that you've used in your life at different times and places. How do your experiences with these modes affect your perception of the world, your community, etc.? Have you had pivotal moments on buses, bike rides, car trips, etc. that have changed how you see the world? Explore this topic in a 300-words-or-more blog post (see syllabus for instructions on blog posts).
- Readings (please complete BEFORE class on Friday 1/17):
- All: Schmitt, C.,Wilson, C., & Garza, J. (2008). City of Santa Cruz Bicycle Transportation Plan (including UCSC Bike Plan). Download the PDF to view the full document.
- Pages 35-46: Clark, R., Streight, C., & Lewis, C. (2012). Chapter 5: Sustainable Transportation & Land Use Planning. City of Santa Cruz 2020 Climate Action Plan.
- Pages 3-7, 30-32: Student Environmental Center. (2013). Blueprint for a Sustainable Campus.
In addition to coffee & some snacks, we'll have a chance to share about what we wrote in our blog posts. We'll also talk about local Santa Cruz transportation issues and participate in an activity related to the project topics so you can find out more about them to inform your internship selection. Remember that if you want to propose your own project topic to be coming up with a description to present to us so we can help you make the project a possibility.
If you have questions, let me or Alex know.
See you next Friday!
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