R'Garden

The future of R’Garden

tomwt — Fri, 23 May 2025 18:47:26 +0000

The future of R’Garden tomwt Fri, 05/23/2025 - 11:47 More College News May 23, 2025

Dear R’Garden supporters,

Thank you sincerely for reaching out regarding the future of the R'Garden. We share in the disappointment that the recent student referendum to secure ongoing support for R’Garden did not meet the minimum 20% voter participation threshold for approval, despite majority support from those who voted.

Although the R'Garden referendum did not pass, the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) and campus leadership remain committed to the values that R’Garden represents: supporting basic needs, advancing sustainability, enriching educational experiences, and fostering community engagement.

In the short term, CNAS is working with campus leadership to explore bridge funding options that could sustain operations through the next academic year. CNAS is also prepared to continue supporting R’Garden by extending the use of land, water and other agricultural resources such that the operation of R’Garden can continue until a new referendum can be put to a student body vote in 2025-26.

The responses over the past week reflect strong support for the R'Garden. We look forward to continued dialogue with the campus community as we work toward a sustainable path forward.

Sincerely,

Peter

Peter W. Atkinson
Dean
College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences

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R'Garden

UC Riverside named to Top 50 Green Colleges list

ilseu — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 18:42:20 +0000

UC Riverside named to Top 50 Green Colleges list ilseu Wed, 10/28/2020 - 11:42 More College News John Warren | UCR News October 28, 2020

UC Riverside was recently named among the Top 50 Green Colleges by the Princeton Review; ranking No. 16 among public universities and No. 48 overall in the nation.

The Top 50 list is chosen from school-reported data and student opinions collected from online surveys. The survey questions canvass whether students experience a healthy, sustainable quality of life; how well the university is preparing students for “green” jobs; and the school’s environmental policies.

“This recognition shows the progress that UCR has made in relation to sustainability initiatives on campus,” said Fortino Morales, UCR’s sustainability officer. “It’s important to note that they require the passion and effort of the entire campus to achieve, from students concerned about climate change, to staff who are working every day to make the campus better, and to faculty who share their knowledge and insights.”

UCR has won green accolades in the past. In 2016, The Sierra Club ranked UCR No. 27 among 201 universities on its “Cool Schools” green-friendly list, and No. 35 of 227 universities in 2017. The campus was No. 16 on a list among the nation’s most environmentally friendly campuses in a ranking in the GreenMetric World University Rankings 2018, conducted by Universitas Indonesia.

In the past few years, UCR’s green projects included placing 9,600 solar panels in parking lots 30 and 32 on campus, providing 6.9 million kilowatt-hours of energy over a 13-month period. It also achieved an LEED Platinum designation for the new Multidisciplinary Building.

Director of Agricultural Operations Peggy Mauk also pointed to the efforts of UC Riverside’s R’Garden, which supplied 20,000 pounds of produce to the campus community during the pandemic. “UCR’s efforts are paying dividends,” she said.

The University of California announced in 2013 that it aims for 100% reliance on clean electricity supplies across its campuses and medical centers by 2025 — the same year it has pledged to become operationally carbon neutral.

The 10-campus system said it would meet those goals with clean energy, green building design, sustainable procurement, and waste reduction.

On Oct. 21, the UC Office of the President announced it is nearly halfway toward its carbon neutrality goal. The announcement came with construction of two large-scale solar energy projects that will generate renewable electricity for all 10 campuses.

“Out of the nearly 700 schools we considered for this project, the Top 50 Green Colleges are, in our opinion, truly up to the task of training the next generation of leaders, who will be responsible for putting green ideas into practice,” the Princeton Review top 50 report reads. Princeton Review editor Rob Franek added: “We recommend them highly to all students seeking to live and learn at a green college.”

The Princeton Review publishes a companion list to the Top 50 listing 416 universities. Between 125 to 370 students complete the surveys on each campus.

The Princeton Review, which is not affiliated with Princeton University, is a tutoring, test prep, and college admission services company.

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R'Garden

Peggy Mauk

Thank you to those lending hearts and minds to California’s recovery

ilseu — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 21:08:19 +0000

Thank you to those lending hearts and minds to California’s recovery ilseu Fri, 06/05/2020 - 14:08 More CNAS in the Media Nicole Freeling | University of California June 04, 2020

UCOP - As the world continues to confront the global pandemic, the University of California community has stepped up like never before, drawing on the spirit of ingenuity and service that defines us.

From hospitals and labs to neighborhoods across California, UC staff, faculty, alumni and students are putting their creativity and compassion to work to help their neighbors and save lives. Here are a few of their inspiring stories:

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R'Garden

From UCR’s garden to students’ tables

ilseu — Mon, 11 May 2020 21:01:30 +0000

From UCR’s garden to students’ tables ilseu Mon, 05/11/2020 - 14:01 More College News Sandra Baltazar Martinez | UCR News May 11, 2020

On a recent Thursday morning, about 500 pounds of yellow and purple cauliflower filled the bed of a work truck.

Two staff members and two student interns moved through the rows, picking the day’s harvest at UC Riverside’s R’Garden. A three-hour shift yielded 90 pounds of green and purple kale, and 10 pounds of strawberries — the first strawberry harvest. A few weeks ago they cultivated broccoli.

“Everything here is free food for the students,” said Richard Zapien, R’Garden manager. Zapien oversees 8 acres of land, which includes free community garden plots. He and the three others harvest two to three times a week.

The strawberries, kale, and cauliflower to R’Pantry, the campus’ food pantry, the day’s harvest was rinsed and quickly delivered to the pantry where it could be refrigerated. Undergraduate and graduate students who remain living on campus benefit from the fresh groceries.

COVID-19 has left most of the campus closed, but the harvesting continues. Zapien and his small team were at the garden by 7 a.m. to beat the heat wearing face masks in addition to their usual work clothes. As each moved down the rows, they played their own music, occasionally chatting with each other and commenting on the crisp veggies they were pulling from the ground.

Richard Zapien, R’Garden manager and Crystal Brachetti, student activity programmer, on April 30, 2020. (UCR/Stan Lim)

Crystal Brachetti, ’19, R’Garden’s student activity programmer, said COVID-19 has highlighted the disparity in food access here and around the globe.

“To me, it’s important to secure food for our students,” said Brachetti, the other of the garden’s two staff members. The fruit and vegetables the team harvested were planted in January, she said. “It’s a special experience to harvest something you planted.”

That is especially true when the students receive fresh staples, said Daniel Lopez Salas, R’Pantry coordinator. Since the campus closed about six weeks ago, R’Pantry has provided groceries to more than 1,200 students, including 400 first-time visitors.

Many are graduate students, student-parents, and international students, Lopez Salas said. “The partnership with the R’Garden has really helped our programming,” he said. “The majority of the students request fresh produce from us and this allows us to deliver.”

Anthony “Tony” Ruiz, one of two Green Campus Action Plan interns, said he feels enormous pride when he sees students picking R’Pantry grocery bags that include fruit or vegetables he helped harvest.

“It’s really good to know that none of it is going to waste, that it’s going to our students and community,” said Ruiz, 26, a fourth-year student majoring in ethnic studies. Also known as GCAP, the Green Campus Action Plan provides sustainability projects for undergrads at UCR.

Julia Perez, 21, is the other GCAP intern, gently moves from cauliflower to cauliflower, making sure she cuts off the perfect sized stem from the golden and purple heads, pilling them in a plastic crate she carries to the truck at the end of the row.

“We started planting before the pandemic, so now it’s time to clean up,” said Perez, a fourth-year entomology major. “It’s good work. People need to eat, and we have food.”

The team is ready to keep harvesting. In several weeks they’ll have zucchinis, tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, watermelon, and more strawberries.

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