GREEN NEWS
Sustainability Team Diverts Waste in our "BAC" Yard.
The Bioconversion and Agricultural Collaborative (BAC) Yard is a new facility here at Sac State that is dedicated to helping our University "close the loop" and turning portions of our campus' waste into gold! Hundreds of tons of organic materials in the form of food waste and green waste are diverted from the landfill and taken to the BAC 
Yard where they are converted instead into rich and healthy compost.
This compost is then used to beautify our campus grounds and shared with campus neighbors at Capital Public Radio and the Children’s Center to be used in their own gardens. Through a partnership with Sacramento Unified School District and the Green Sports Alliance, approximately 10 yards of compost were donated to a local area elementary to help beautify their school grounds and add much needed greenery.
So much compost is generated that Sac State Sustainability, the facilitators of the BAC Yard, have teamed up with ASI and the Resident Housing Association to create a garden at the BAC Yard as well. Our campus is gaining in awareness on issues such as food scarcity and food deserts. Better yet, the food grown in the BAC Yard is then donated to the ASI Pop-Up Pantry. This is another example of Sac State having closed the loop by using its waste to create compost, which in turn is used to help grow food for our campus community.
This has been a true collaborative effort. In addition to the agencies mentioned above, Facilities Management’s Sign Shop, Electric Shop and others, have come together with Sac State Sustainability to truly grow the BAC Yard. Grounds and Landscaping has even changed its operational procedures and now diverts much of the University’s fallen leaves and cut grass to the facility instead of having it hauled away by carbon emitting vehicles. Now it stays here at Sac State reducing our greenhouse gas output even more.
These efforts have had a tremendous impact for our students too. Working with several academic departments, Sac State Sustainability now oversees a facility which has truly become a living laboratory for students. Curriculums have been redesigned to incorporate lessons and lab hours at the BAC Yard where students learn about composting and bioconversions on an institution-wide level. The leaders of tomorrow’s waste diversion industry have a working, practical environment to learn and understand the complexities of this blossoming industry.
The BAC Yard is located in Lot 10 near the gravel parking lot by Hornet Stadium. All are welcome to stop in for a visit if the gates are open. To schedule a tour, please contact Sac State Sustainability at sustainability@csus.edu
"We Are Still In" Campaign Keeps Rolling
In conjunction with the recently showcased BAC Yard, Sac State Sustainability hosted a "We Are Still In" event on behalf of the University, including an appearance by President Nelsen. President Nelsen has been a tremendous advocate for our campus sustainability efforts, and committed to the University’s first ever carbon reduction pledge. This pledge, while still in the planning stage, will help Sac State permanently reduce its carbon output to more climate-friendly levels.
Additionally, President Nelsen has signed the "We Are Still In" commitment. This national conglomerate of educators, mayors, governors, industry leaders and more, have banded together to show
unity for support of the United Nations’ Paris Accord, the international agreement to reduce carbon emissions. Currently, every country in the world besides the United States has agreed to the accord, the US, a previous signatory, pulled out of the agreement earlier this year.
At the request of President Nelsen, Sac State hosted the “We Are Still In” event on November 14 and invited the entire campus community. Attendees were treated to large informational panels explaining the campaign, as well as tours of the BAC Yard, and were given complimentary bags of Made at Sac State compost.
Sac State Recognized as Bike Friendly Campus
Have you noticed more and more bicycles on campus in the last few years? Perhaps they have zipped past you on your way to a meeting or you have noticed more and more traffic in the newly established bike compounds. Well, if you ask our colleagues in University Transportation, Parking & Support Services, that is not by accident.
In fact, the staff in UTAPS, and their campus partners, have spent the last several years devoted to building awareness of the benefits of cycling to campus. Not only have they encouraged more students and staff to utilize alternative transportation, but they also have been working behind the scenes to create a bicycle friendly environment in which riders and pedestrians also feel safe and welcome.
In recognition of their efforts, the League of American Bicyclists awarded Sac State with a Silver ranking, as a bicycle friendly university. The League recognizes less than 200 universities for their effort in transforming their campus and community to meet the greater needs of bicyclists. Sacramento State was one of only 54 silver placings.
“Sac State is located along the American River Bike Trail, one of the Top 10 bicycle and recreation trails in the nation, and we encourage our campus community to take advantage of its beauty and utility,” says Tony Lucas, senior director for UTAPS (University Transportation & Parking Services.) “Biking to campus is sustainable, affordable, and it’s good for your health.”
It should be no surprise that the Silver ranking as a Bicycle Friendly Campus is a campus effort. In fact, several families in ABA have been directly connected to the infrastructure and continued support of creating a bicycle friendly campus. 
- Have you seen the green bike lanes all over campus? This effort has increased the visibility of bicycles as well increased the awareness of Sacramento State in the biking community.
- This summer our Facilities Management family collaborated with the City of Sacramento to make improvements on the J Street and Carlson Drive intersections. You probably have noticed the left turn lane and the “bike boxes” – these are just two things that make it safer for bikes in this interchange.
- We now have three well-lit and monitored bike and board compounds, which includes free parking for up to 750 bicycles. What is even better is that through the Police Department’s Community Service Officers Program, in which criminal justice students can work as CSO’s and gain value experience in law enforcement, the compounds are patrolled Monday through Friday.
- UTAPS and the Police Department collaborate throughout the year to offer free bike registration campaigns and will assist students with loaner bike pumps and tool kits.
- The Peak Adventures bike shop, at the WELL, performs competitively priced tune-ups, repairs, and maintenance services for the campus community.
It should be no surprise that ABA's great teams prepared the campus so well to win such a grand distinction. It is another example of all of us working together to make goodthings happen.
Green Game
On September 23, Sac State Sustainability teamed up with Hornet Athletics for the 2nd Annual Green Game. Each year a Hornet football game is set aside to remind our Sac State community of the sustainable intentions and accomplishments of the University.
The theme for this year's game was, "The Green Game." During the event, all aspects of the University’s sustainability program were on display. Several videos run throughout the event on the scoreboard to provide attendees with a glimpse into how Sac State became number one in the CSU for sustainability. The hornet faithful also got to witness sustainability in action from the solar panels atop the WELL to Environmental Studies students acting as waste docents, helping to direct all in attendance in how to properly dispose of their waste—recycle, compost, and if necessary, landfill.
A special feature this year highlighted Sac State Sustainability’s standing partnership with the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD). The two agencies have collaborated on multiple events geared towards enlightening students of the greater Sacramento area about some of the sustainable opportunities and education going on right here at Sacramento State. Students chosen by SCUSD officers for their sustainable accomplishments and commitment were invited onto the field to help lead our fighting Hornet football team into their contest. Another "win" for Sac State!
