Action Research Team Application
Action Research Teams
The Action Research Teams (ART) program is a sub-division of the Education for Sustainable LIving Program (ESLP). Through the Action Research Team component of the program, students form research teams to tackle issues of campus sustainability including energy efficiency, transportation, waste stream management, sustainable food practices and more. The goal of Action Research Teams is to generate a coalition of student researchers that, together with faculty members and UCLA staff, strive to make UCLA a model campus and national leader in sustainability. Each Action Research Team is comprised of 1 or 2 team leaders, 3-6 team members, and a UCLA faculty or staff member that serves as the project stakeholder. The stakeholder is responsible for helping students target their research by serving as a mentor, while acting as a liaison to their respective Action Research Team by offering logistical support and advice on behalf of the University’s interests.
Over the course of two quarters, the students are expected to frame their research topic, develop a hypothesis and research plan, compile and analyze data, and finish with a 15 to 20 page group report on their findings. During the entire process, students meet with their stakeholders to continually refine their research and identify targets of possible change through new information gained from action research. The two-quarter time frame allows for an in-depth journey that enables a thorough analysis of the research project. The Action Research projects also provide stakeholders with invaluable information that is used to make UCLA more sustainable.
Check out some past ART projects below (click to download)!
Waste Watchers worked to promote awareness about dining hall food waste, by measuring every morsel of food wasted during the dinner rush at DeNeve Dining Hall. They found out that every students wastes 0.18 pounds of food at every meal! Check out their Daily Bruin Article- April 15th, 2009
This team looked into the feasability and cost/benefit analysis of having composting be apart of ASUCLA run restaurants on campus. They found that only 5% of a typical trash bag is filled with "land-fill items", everything else is compostable or recyclable!
UCLA is undertaking many sustainable measures, and this team worked on getting UCLA to complete its first Sustainability Assessment (specifically one known as STARS). The team was granted $32,000 from TGIF for student stipends to complete the assessment by end of '09.
Green Labs
The Green Lab was a continuation of an ART team last year. This year they found out that materials being recycled, did not actually get recycled. This was a major breakthrough in communication between our waste hauler and our labs.
The Dorm Waste Team piloted three "Zero-Waste" floors in On-Campus Residence Halls, and determined that nearly 90% of residential waste could be diverted as compost or recycling. Check out their Daily Bruin Article- March 9th, 2009
The Water Consumption Team's main objective was to quantify the amount of water used per day per student living in the On-Campus Residence Halls, while determining strategies to minimize water usage- this number ended up being 117.6 Liters of water per student per day! Check out their Daily Bruin Article-August 3rd, 2009
The Energy Consumption Team focused on quantifying the amount and types of energy consumed by students in On-Campus Residence Halls. They found that over 2/3's of students do not use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)!
Spaulding Field is already partially turfed, and this team did a cost/benefit analysis on partially turfing the IM Field. They found that 6.4 million gallons of water are used every year on the IM Field!
If these projects sound fun and interesting, YOU should get involved with Action Research!
The ART projects for 2010 will be decided this fall 2009.
Remember everything is student-run, so you have the power to create your own project!
Please contact us to get involved or for more information
Contact us: la.eslp@gmail.com
(c) 2009 The Education for Sustainable Living ProgramInstitute of the Environment