Awarding efforts focused on everything from composting and energy conservation to lighting retrofits and weed management, UC Santa Barbara’s The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) Grant Making Committee has selected its grant recipients for the 2013–2014 funding cycle.

The TGIF committee, composed primarily of undergraduate and graduate students, received 22 applications for various campus sustainability projects from UCSB students, staff and faculty. In the end, 14 projects were selected to receive awards totaling US$ 184,614. The initiatives are expected to produce major environmental savings across campus.

“Since the fund began eight years ago, TGIF has supported more than 90 projects that increase the amount of renewable energy used on campus, increase water and energy efficiency and reduce waste,” said Jewel Snavely, TGIF grants manager and UCSB sustainability coordinator. “The TGIF program empowers students to take direct action and come up with innovative solutions to solve our environmental problems.”

The Art Department LED Retrofit project was awarded US$ 25,995: The Art Department’s studios and museum will replace inefficient incandescent lights with 542 LED lamps, which is expected to save 1.5 million kWh of energy, 500 metric tons of CO2 and more than US$ 200,000 over the average lifespan of the higher-efficiency bulbs.