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| Backed by the rugged Santa Ynez Mountains and overlooking
the Pacific Ocean, Santa Barbara would seem the ideal setting for a green family
camp, and it is. Often considered the birthplace of modern environmentalism,
it was in Santa Barbara that the idea of a global Earth Day event
was first conceptualized in 1969. Is it coincidence that the UC Santa Barbara
Family Vacation Center welcomed its first visitors that same year? |
| UC Santa Barbara has been on the forefront of the sustainability
movement for several decades. The Donald Bren School Environmental Science
and Management, the only school in the Western United States to integrate
science, management, law, economics, and policy as part of an interdisciplinary
approach to environmental problem solving, has led the way. Bren Hall,
the Bren School’s flagship building, achieved LEED-Platinum certification
in 2002, making it the greenest laboratory building in the nation. Encouraged
by the success of this project, UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang signed the “Green
Building Policy,” which states that all buildings programmed after July
1, 2004 are committed to meeting a LEED NC Silver rating. |
| Not to be outdone, the UC Santa Barbara Family Vacation Center has
established its own priorities based on input from current and former vacationers,
staff members and the UC Santa Barbara community. Our energies are focused
into three main efforts: |
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(1) Reducing the amount of waste we generate through recycling
efforts and the reuse of materials. This summer we will have a staff-appointed “Recycling
Coordinator” that will help ensure that at least 95% of our recyclable
waste is properly recycled. Additionally, our Housekeeping staff uses only “clean” products
(chemical-free)
(2) Use of recycled products: From pens made from recycled material
to the use of recycled paper for all of our paper products, the UC Santa Barbara
Family Vacation Center is committed to using environmentally preferred products.
(3)
Lowering of our automobile emissions through strategic alternative modes of transportation. In
the spirit of reducing our carbon-footprint, John Lofthus and Adam Whiteley,
the Director and Assistant Director of the Family Vacation Center have entered
into the “Make a Thousand to Save
a Thousand” effort. |
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