Berkeley Unified School District’s Sustainability Plan
In 2018 I was hired by BUSD to write the District’s first Sustainability Plan, with the overarching vision of “ensure that all Berkeley students have access to healthy, green school buildings and grounds and hands-on environmental and outdoor education.” The year-long process included a series of topic-based meetings with teachers, parents and community members, focus groups with hundreds of middle and high school students, surveys that close to 500 participants completed. During the summer I coordinated an internship program, with 12 Berkeley High School students meeting weekly for two months to conduct research and write parts of the Sustainability Plan. The Sustainability Plan includes chapters on food, waste, climate literacy and transportation, adopted by the School Board in November 2018 and is currently being implemented by a Sustainability Coordinator, a role that was created by the District.
