Sustainable Living and Learning Communities

In the Fall of 2023, the SLLC welcomed a new cohort of Sacramento Valley College Corp Fellows, who are aiding in the construction of paths, patio spaces, and general upkeep and stewardship of our property. Through the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program, students engage with community-based programs focused on K-12 education, climate action, or food insecurity. Fellows are matched with hosts through the program and earn a living stipend upon completion of 450 hours.

Since 2019, students and staff working in the programs of the SLLC have worked with student designers in the project-based Landscape Design Architecture 141 course to create an integrated, accessible pathway network for the North half of the SLLC’s approximately 40 acres. In close collaboration with UCD Grounds and Campus Planning, the project will connect existing sidewalks in West Campus with vital open space resources and core academic programs of the SLLC. As West Campus continues to develop and densify, the need for (equitable) access to gardens and open space will only increase.

In December 2021, the SLLC, in collaboration with the Solar Community Housing Organization (SCHA) and The UC Davis Green Initiative Fund (TGIF), hired a team of three student coordinators to develop and sustainably maintain a North Entry to the SLLC. The project site is located in an area known as “the Back 40,” West of the Domes along Blue Ridge Road. The team consists of three coordinators, each with a different area of specialization. Our student coordinators are:

Are you a graduate or undergraduate student at UC Davis who is passionate about stewarding green spaces, especially on campus?

Do you see yourself working with community land trusts, community gardens, cooperatives or neighborhood councils for a more sustainable future? 

Consider applying to an internship position with the Sustainable Living and Learning Community!

Student Woods Stewardship Plan Coordinator Lucy Yuan and Grounds Management Coordinator Suraya Akhenaton put together a video tour of the 1.5 acre Woods / East Entry SLLC project development space.  Now our communities can get a glimpse of the progress and potential for the space as this project continues, and so much has changed since March!  

The “East Entryway Project”, or more commonly known to SLLC members and affiliates as “The Woods Project”, aims to make space for student-centered design and sustainable stewardship of a space marked by tall trees and vines at the crossroads of the Ecological Community Gardens, the Feminist Research Institute, the Domes cooperative student residence and the Student Farm. A crucial connecting piece, the Woods has the potential to form a natural accessible link between SLLC communities and preserve mature habitats of plants and animals.