Frequently Asked Questions

Law students who want to get involved can fill out this form: https://forms.gle/pnkm35mx5JoSGNVr9

The purpose of EHGS is to provide a forum for graduate students in Environmental Health to share ideas about advancements and growth of the division, form collaborations with students and faculty, and to promote environmental health sciences interests. 

A major objective of EHGS is to promote environmental health interests within the School of Public Health- where there are many diverse interests and paths to promoting human health. One primary way EHGS will promote Environmental Health is by orchestrating the annual Environmental Health Symposium where current graduate student research is highlighted. Our ultimate goal is to develop a safe and inclusive space for EHS students by promoting community, diversity, and inclusivity among students in the School of Public Health.

The Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC) is a multidisciplinary network of UC Berkeley students, alumni, faculty, industry professionals, and advisors who seek to turn world-leading research into world-changing solutions by tackling tough and timely energy and environmental challenges.

More specifically, BERC’s mission is to connect, educate, and engage its members in order to foster innovation and action. To that end, BERC:

• Connects nearly 3,000 members as a part of a broad, cross-disciplinary network of students, faculty and professionals in the fields of energy and resources;

• Educates students about cutting edge work in energy and resources through organizing events, lectures, and treks; and

• Engages members by providing opportunities to address global energy and resources issues and collaborate on real-world projects.

Please signup at http://berc.berkeley.edu by clicking the 'join' button in the top right corner.

Find our full events calendar at http://berc.berkeley.edu/events

The purpose of BERC Law is to connect, educate, and engage law students with an interest in energy and resources law. It does this by (1) connecting students at Berkeley Law to energy-related education, opportunities, and resources at UC Berkeley, particularly through the campus-wide Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC) and (2) compiling special information, guidance and peer support to empower students to pursue their education and career goals in energy and resources law.

The Zero Waste Coalition aims to bring together waste-related organizations at UC Berkeley to improve communication between them, collaborate on initiatives, be a resource for zero waste on campus, and foster a zero waste community.)

The Vertical Farming Club at UC Berkeley is a student-led organization dedicated to developing sustainable and innovative solutions to address global food insecurity and environmental challenges. The club's mission is to create a technology that can revolutionize the way food is grown, produced, and distributed, with a focus on vertical farming. Vertical farming is a technique of growing crops in vertically stacked layers, using artificial lighting and a controlled environment to optimize growth and yield. The club believes that vertical farming can be a solution to many of the world's biggest problems, including climate change, water scarcity, and food insecurity. The club's primary goal is to design and implement a scalable vertical farming system that can provide fresh and nutritious produce to UC Berkeley's dining halls. By growing food on campus, the club hopes to reduce the university's carbon footprint and promote sustainable practices. To achieve this goal, the club brings together students from various disciplines, including engineering, agriculture, and environmental science. Members work together to develop and test prototypes, collect data, and optimize the system's efficiency and productivity. Members are also encouraged to develop and execute their own research projects, as well as collaborate with other members to create a community involved in the expansive field of research within UC Berkeley.  The club also collaborates with industry partners and academic institutions to stay up-to-date on the latest technologies and research in vertical farming. By sharing knowledge and resources, the club hopes to accelerate the development of sustainable agriculture practices and make a positive impact on the world.Overall, the Vertical Farming Club at UC Berkeley is a passionate and innovative community of students dedicated to using technology and science to solve some of the world's biggest problems

Our logging sports team focuses on learning and teaching old-time logging techniques while simultaneously building connections with professionals in the forestry field. Our practices are generally on the weekends, and no experience is necessary to join. Our team competes in timber sport competitions throughout California.

The objective of The Environmentalist magazine is to educate Berkeley students and locals about the various environmental issues in Berkeley and the greater Bay Area. The student-run magazine will cover student and University actions on these environmental issues through a multimedia format. It places an emphasis on investigative journalism that aims to give a voice to marginalized communities impacted by climate change and keep Berkeley students and University administration accountable for their ecological footprint and contribution to climate change. It also aims to cultivate a community of environmental reporters, photographers, and designers equipping them with the skills to become professional environmental journalists. 

California is home to gorgeous mountain ranges, coastal beaches, forests and deserts––yet there is constant lack of diversity and unequal access to nature/outdoor activities. Outsiders is a new outdoor club created by and for people of color. Noticing the lack of diversity and inclusion in outdoor activity spaces on campus, this club was created to break down racial barriers and enrich local experiences for POC-identifying folks looking to spend more time in nature. Outsiders encourages POC-identifying to partake in exciting trips, coordinate passions and hobbies, and connect with others that want to explore our gorgeous state and the outdoors. There will be coordinated trips that explore hiking, backpacking, climbing, kayaking or paddle boarding, and much more.

The Grizzly Peak Recycle Club is dedicated to preserving the natural beauty of Grizzly Peak and its surrounding open spaces by removing trash, promoting recycling, and raising awareness about environmental stewardship. We strive to inspire students and community members to take action in protecting our environment, fostering sustainability, and creating lasting positive change.

BOAA is UC Berkeley’s home for animal activism and plant-based community! 

We are open to all, regardless of diet. Our Instagram is @boaa_ucb.

WE SUPPORT A NEW GENERATION OF LEADERS AND ENTREPRENEURS TO LEAD SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL REGENERATION OF OUR BIO-REGIONS AND COMMUNITIES.

Through education work and demonstration, our mission is to support farmers, builders, entrepreneurs and designers to conduct socially and ecologically regenerative work. 

Join Regeneration Field Institute: a network of students, researchers, scientists, and leaders. Together we can take action for the regeneration of our world.

The Sustainability Team is a commission of the ASUC, and one of the oldest commissions in the ASUC. We create and implement a variety of projects that help establish sustainable practices and promote environmental awareness on campus. Project committees within STeam work as a tight unit to accomplish their goals, and leadership capacity is shared equally. We meet all together once a week to update each other on the progress of our projects and brainstorm strategies for successful implementation. The team also spends time outside of meetings through our STeam Socials a few times per semester.

The 2024-25 application period is closed. The 2025-26 applications will open in September 2025. Below is the timeline for the 2024 program for your reference. 

2024 Timeline

Applications Open: Monday, September 30, 2024

Applications Close: Friday,  November 1, 2024

Winners Finalized by: Late November

Scholarships Processed by: Late December

Yes! All students are eligible to apply for any and all SERC/TGIF funding opportunities, including scholarships, and can receive multiple awards within one academic year. You are also welcome to use the same essays or answers in both applications as seems fit.

You can email serc@berkeley.edu with any and all questions.

The SERC Team will administer the scholarship through CalLink. You will receive the scholarship as a check. Expect payment delays up to 1-2 months after scholarship award confirmation. Please contact us if you have any questions!

The Scholarship Review Committee is comprised of individuals from campus departments and registered student organizations. 

Yes! We encourage anyone who is passionate about environmentalism to apply. 

Yes! Previous work used for other scholarships, other classes, or anywhere else will be accepted.

No, applicants need not be a US Citizen or have a social security number to apply or to receive the scholarship award.

The Scholarship Review Committee is composed of friends, family and colleagues of Brian, and other representatives who are queer identifying and/or familiar with environmental issues and initiatives.

Yes! These questions are not meant to make you feel uncomfortable; we do not want you to share anything you do not want to share. You are not required or expected to lay out traumas, unless you feel it is important and you want to share those experiences. Please answer the questions in a way that makes you most comfortable and happiest. We want you to have fun with this! The questions are meant to be broad so applicants can have the freedom to interpret and answer as they choose.

Yes! Previous work used for other scholarships, other classes, or anywhere else will be accepted.

We are the only student group whose sole focus is wildland fire.

For questions, please contact carina_bilodeau@berkeley.edu

https://nature.berkeley.edu/stephenslab/student-association-for-fire-eco...

The ESPM Graduate Diversity Council is a graduate student group with a vested interest in the continued diversification of the students and faculty of the department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management. We work to increase the presence of underrepresented groups in environmental fields through recruitment and retention efforts including workshops, speakers, special presentations, and mentoring. We are committed to creating and maintaining a community among underrepresented groups in ESPM, while actively promoting and engaging in diversity initiatives in the campus community.

https://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/graduate-diversity-council

We host workshops, socials, & monthly meetings for the PMB graduate student community. Check your email or Slack for updates & communications.

https://plantandmicrobiology.berkeley.edu/ggm

The Food Institute Graduate Council (FIGC) at Berkeley was established to bring together students interested in studying and transforming food systems. We advocate for the needs of graduate students interested in this work, facilitate educational, professional, and advocacy opportunities, and seek to support the survival and success of the broader Food and Agriculture community at the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley). During the semester, FIGC hosts monthly meetings that include a speaker series with guest professors, cooking project workshops in the Berkeley Teaching Kitchen, farm volunteer days, and much more. FIGC also hosts the Land & Agrifood Research Collective, in which members convene to discuss and present literature and research related to food and agriculture.

*informally known as the BFI Graduate Council

https://food.berkeley.edu/for-students/for-students-overview/food-instit...

We are an interdisciplinary group of undergraduate and graduate students at UC Berkeley with a shared passion for sustainability in the built environment. SHAC is the result of a merger between the Solar Decathlon team and Tiny House in My Backyard (THIMBY), and includes an internal guiding project, SHAC Consulting.

Sustainable Efforts in Environmental Design (SEED) aims to build a strong community amongst the Sustainable Environmental Design major while creating connections in the professional field. Through community based projects, social events, and career building opportunities, one can join a community of SED majors.

We are the UC Berkeley chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, a nationally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves and beaches.

Our chapter works to host beach and campus cleanups, partners with the Bay Area Scientists Inspiring Students (BASIS) program, has certified UC Berkeley as the first college campus in the world with our dining halls registered as Ocean-Friendly Restaurants, runs a #NoSolo marketing initiative to make UC Berkeley the first college with plastic-free social events, and will soon have a Blue Water Task Force providing critical water quality information to protect public health in the Bay Area. linktr.ee/calsurfrider

This group is intended to be a healing space for students of color to seek refuge from white-dominated environmental and social justice spaces, to learn more about the intersections between environmental and social justice, and to raise conversation about environmental racism and justice on and off campus. If you self identify as a person of color, this is a space for you to share thoughts, experiences, ideas, and educational resources. It is also a space for venting, dialogue, and healing, as well as planning future events, organizing, and outreach.

https://callink.berkeley.edu/organization/scec

We're dedicated to providing fresh, local, healthy, environmentally sustainable, and ethically produced food at affordable prices to the Berkeley campus and greater community.

We seek to educate students about nutrition and food systems, empower new leaders, and train youth to work in and manage a sustainable business. Through inclusive, democratic decision-making, we operate a cooperative grocery market that promotes community-building and environmental stewardship.

https://www.foodcollective.org/ 

We blend cutting-edge research, policy analysis, and hands-on activism to tackle the pressing environmental issues of our time and their impacts on community health. Through producing digital archives that promote environmental research, engaging with local politics, prioritizing community outreach, and assisting with environmental clean-up efforts, we are here to make a difference in our local and global communities. Plus, we team up with various environmental organizations to engage in conservation research and education events, giving you the chance to network and gain real-world experience in the intersection of environmental research, policy, and activism!

Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability (SEEDS) is an education program of the Ecological Society of America. Our mission is to diversify & advance the ecology profession through hands-on, engaging experiences that nurture the interest of underrepresented students to participate, & lead in ecology. We provide opportunities to interact with a diverse group of ecologists & other motivated students to both broaden & deepen students’ understanding of ecology & potential careers.

instagram: @seedsberkeley

SDG Undergraduate Research Group is an undergraduate research group affiliated with the UC Berkeley Office of Sustainability and guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We strive to research local cross-cutting issues, empower undergraduate voices, and increase the accessibility of research on campus. Researchers will join working groups that tackle an area of sustainability tied to the UN SDGs that interests them, contribute to a collaborative research report, and present their findings to key stakeholders.

The only on-campus thrift store in the first floor of MLK Student Union! Donation-based, volunteer-based, non-profit organization that provides students affordable second-hand clothing, school supplies, and many other small knick-knacks!

Increasingly, young adults are recognizing the broad based potential of a plant-centric food system to (i) address the climate crisis directly and urgently, (ii) prevent and heal diet-related chronic diseases, and (iii) ease nutrition insecurity. Plant Futures Initiative aims to meet students at an opportune moment in their lives, helping them to become enlightened eaters and advocates for positive food systems transformation, and bridging education, advocacy, and right livelihood.

The Undergraduate Environmental Journal of Berkeley serves as an open and accessible platform to showcase the diverse work of UC Berkeley’s environmental community. Operating between the space of a traditional news magazine and a formal academic journal, Perennial publishes mainly two categories of content: original editorials written by Perennial’s staff and academic articles submitted by Berkeley undergraduates. Ultimately, Perennial seeks to raise awareness about environmental issues like climate change, environmental racism, and natural resource management and the creative solutions Cal students are using to tackle them.

Specifically this clubs hopes to:

• Foster individual scientific development and a community around mycology.

• Encourage every club member to interact with mycology how they desire. Our calendar will be populated with events from all other California mycological associations.

• Foster more of a Socratic learning experience in which it is encouraged to generate individual projects that will help interaction with mycology and the natural world. This could range from learning how to ID Fungi to making art!

H&DS (Housing and Dining Sustainability Office) is an organization that is part of Berkeley Dining and the Residential Student Services Program, composed of student staff and interns. We work on all things housing and dining sustainability, such as waste auditing and reduction, gardens, newsletters, research, move-out waste, water and energy, plant-based meals and sourcing, and sustainability education.

Our mission is to conduct collaborative community-driven research, education, and extension focused on ecological farming and food justice, and to foster equitable economies, a healthy environment, and increased resilience in vulnerable communities, both urban and rural.

https://www.gilltractfarm.org/

Welcome to the home of the Cal Foresters. The Cal Forestry Club began electing officers and became established in the spring of 1912. For over 100 years the Cal Forestry Club has complemented and enriched the students' classroom education. The club is known for its long history and traditions many of which are still carried on to this day. One such tradition is “Bean Feeds” that take place on campus throughout the semester. Bean Feeds are dinners made with the Forestry Club's own chili. Members often attend bean feeds, which include students, faculty, and alumni. Originally in the 1920s, Bean Feeds were held in the eucalyptus grove to the south of Mulford Hall. However, today Bean Feeds are now held right outside Mulford Hall. We are fortunate to have one of the most active alumni groups on campus. The Forestry Club is grateful for all the support the Cal Alumni Foresters have provided over the years. 

https://nature.berkeley.edu/forestryclub/about

EthiCal Apparel is a student-run and sustainably-driven social enterprise at UC Berkeley. We provide custom orders of high-quality screen printing and design services on sustainable, ethically-made clothing. In addition, we have our own line of apparel that we design and sell. The majority of our profits are donated to support a new local organization each semester.

Our team is comprised of 6 departments: Design; Finance and Operations; Marketing; Sales; Social Good; and Web Development. 

We handle all operations from strategic planning, customer insights, design, and event planning, to list a few. These opportunities create a unique environment where students stretch their creativity to drive the business forward with their impactful decisions.

If you’re interested in working in a professional business setting to build industry skills and gain real-world experience, we encourage you to keep an eye out for our recruitment at the beginning of each semester. 

https://callink.berkeley.edu/organization/ethicalapparel

Epsilon Eta is a gender-inclusive environmental service organization founded in 2017. We offer a community for undergraduate students interested in environmental service and incorporating environmentalism into their careers and everyday lives. Our members come from a variety of disciplines and majors as we aim for interdisciplinary and intersectional environmentalism. We actively promote community resource sharing for academic and professional success in the environmental realm and uplifting our members’ lived experiences. Epsilon Eta is a fraternity with multiple chapters across college campuses in the United States; we are not associated with traditional Greek life.

https://callink.berkeley.edu/organization/epsilon_eta

The Cal Environmental Team (Cal Enviro) is a civil engineering competition team that participates in the annual water treatment competition at the ASCE Mid-Pacific Student Conference (Mid-Pac). The goal of Cal Enviro is to impart the fundamentals of wastewater treatment and sustainable engineering design, give hands-on laboratory and construction experience, and provide opportunities for students to improve their public speaking and technical writing skills. During the school year, relevant knowledge and skills will be developed as the team works toward placing in Water Treatment at Mid-Pac.

Every year before Mid-Pac, teams are given a new scenario, wastewater recipe, material's list, and target water quality parameters. The team designs and practices constructing water filters from household materials. After a filtration system (including chemical treatment) has been finalized, the team also prepares a technical presentation, report, and poster--all of which are major components of the Mid-Pac scoring system. 

If you're interested in exploring water treatment practices, engineering design, or developing important presentation and technical report skills, you can contact us at calenviroteam@gmail.com or visit our instagram page @calenviro for more information.

Cal Environmental Team is sponsored by the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. Course credit available.

ESSA's main goal is to bring students interested in the environment together in a fun, academic, and social atmosphere. Membership is open to all UC Berkeley students. We organize guest speakers, workshops, nature hikes, book clubs, and much more! When possible, we also plan semesterly camping trips. 

For more information, https://essa.berkeley.edu/

https://grad.berkeley.edu/program/environmental-health-sciences/

DeTrash Berkeley was created in the summer of 2022 when a bunch of students got together to tackle the problem of litter around UC Berkeley. As a community that champions eco-consciousness, we believe that Berkeley students should strive to protect the environment and combat litter. We do this by hosting weekly street cleanups and spreading awareness of the trash pollution problem prevalent everywhere around us. If you'd like to join us on a cleanup, check out our Instagram: @detrash.berkeley

We are a team of undergraduate students who design, build, test, and races fully solar-powered vehicles at an international level, all while developing and raising awareness of clean energy technology.  

For more information, https://calsol.berkeley.edu/

Founded in 1990, CalSol, the UC Berkeley Solar Vehicle Team, is a student-run racing team that designs, builds, tests, and races next generation solar vehicles. CalSol provides its team members with real world engineering and project management experience while developing and raising awareness of clean energy technologies.

For more information, or if you're interested in joining, please visit our website, https://calsol.berkeley.edu/ 

BTC is a UC Berkeley RSO that seeks to move campus towards sustainable fuels created from campus resources. We are currently working to produce biodiesel using local waste cooking oil and on-campus algae farms and provide a carbon neutral fuel for the Berkeley community.

For more information, https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~btc/about/

We seek to provide a space where members of this community can learn how to maintain, operate and love their bicycles in an inclusive and friendly space. We offer free access to a variety of bike-specific tools and maintenance education in a positive environment

https://bicycal.studentorg.berkeley.edu/

BEEPS is a community of students of any major at Berkeley that fosters connections with peers, alumni, and relevant industry professionals while providing academic and social engagement resources. BEEPS creates spaces for students to critically engage in discussions regarding EEP, CNR, UC Berkeley, and the UC system to foster confidence and a sense of community during their time on campus and beyond.

Student Farms of Berkeley is an agro-ecological association based on land on and around the UC Berkeley Campus. Student Farms of Berkeley is a transparent and non-discriminatory organization that prioritizes coalition building, systematic inclusion, and equitable distribution of fruit and land through collective action and resistance. Our goal is to prioritize BI-POC/LGBTQ leadership and build alliances between marginalized community members inside and outside of the Cal community.

For more information on the organization and our gardens, check out our Instagram @BerkeleyStudentFarms.

BERCU is a community for undergraduates to plug into all the opportunities that BERC has to offer, addressing global and local energy & resources issues with respect to emerging energy technologies, environmental management, and policies. BERCU helps undergrads find their passion within energy and resources by offering educational events, industrial panels, graduate student mentorship programs, career fairs, and info-sessions, professional networking opportunities, as well as social events to find like-minded people.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/bercundergraduate?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/berc-undergraduate/

The purpose of BERC Law is to connect, educate, and engage law students with an interest in energy and resources law. It does this by (1) connecting students at Berkeley Law to energy-related education, opportunities, and resources at UC Berkeley, particularly through the campus-wide Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC) and (2) compiling special information, guidance and peer support to empower students to pursue their education and career goals in energy and resources law.

With birdwatching at its nexus, Bears for Birds aims to inspire a connection to the environment and species that we share it with. This club is a campus chapter of the National Audubon Society, a nonprofit with national acclaim that aims to empower citizens with scientific tools to educate themselves and others in their community about ecology. Our activities include weekly gatherings, birding excursions, and community projects such as the Berkeley Avian Biodiversity Survey.

https://callink.berkeley.edu/organization/bearsforbirds 

BEACN is a student-run consulting network rooted in sustainability work. We have collaborated with clients ranging from Fortune 500s to NGOs on projects relating to a variety of industries/disciplines; however, the core of our work is rooted in tackling sustainability issues. With members from any and all majors, we are united by our shared passion for the environment and sustainability.

Bella Santos is the thirteenth consecutive ASUC senator to have been elected on all environmental platforms, commonly referred to as the ‘Eco Senator’. This office will work to represent the interests of the environmental community in the ASUC Senate and create positive community change.

Our goals for this office are to center environmental justice on campus and in the environmental community through education, engagement, and advocacy. Environmentalism is intricately and explicitly linked to social, racial, political, and economic justice, and we will ensure that the office’s work centers around this intersectionality. We strive to uplift and empower student-driven community action to counter the many injustices UC Berkeley continues to perpetuate.

Our Instagram @ASUCEcoOffice has the latest updates on the Eco Office!

We are an undergraduate-led business association at focused on corporate social responsibility. We understand that you are interested in using business to create positive change but are afraid of locking yourself into a career you might end up not liking. By joining ASRB, we equip you with Career-Center backed professional development and a safe space to discover your personal social impact through on-campus, community, and consulting projects.

Website: asrbatberkeley.com

Instagram: instagram.com/asrbatberkeley

Details about specific scholarship opportunities can be found through the Brian Gialketsis SERQueer Scholarship page. 

No, there is no membership fee. SERQueer welcomes all interested individuals.

Yes! Whether you're an expert or just starting to learn, everyone is welcome at SERQueer. Join us regardless of your level of environmental knowledge!

No, SERQueer welcomes participants from all majors and years.

No, everyone including allies is welcome at SERQueer. Your support is crucial in creating an inclusive space. Join us in promoting diversity and equality!

No, the SERC Membership Program is open to all UC Berkeley students!

The SERC Membership Program recruits within the first month of every academic semester.

While it varies by team, the SERC members can expect to attend weekly hour-long meetings in addition with approximately 1-2 hours of additional sustainability-focused work outside of meetings.

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