Originally published by UC Davis Health

(SACRAMENTO) The first-ever sustainability walking tour kicked off April 25, in honor of Earth Day and during the Health and Wellness Fair. The tour saw more than a dozen UC Davis Health employees join to learn about the health system’s sustainability efforts.

With eight stops total, participants heard about upcoming bike shelters aimed at encouraging staff to bike as their preferred – and zero emissions – commute method. Sustainability Officer Sarah Janus, Sustainability Director Kristina Cullen, and UC Davis students Natalie Aguilar and Annika Denyer led the tour, showcasing additional sustainable transportation efforts such as EV charging stations, Parksmart Certified parking structures and clean energy-producing solar panels.

On 2nd Avenue, tour goers learned about UC Davis Health’s central plant, the mitochondria of the campus, which produces 24/7 electricity, chilled water, hot water and steam for over four million square feet. The plant can produce enough power for over 26,000 homes.

Also along 2nd Avenue, the tour highlighted water reduction in non-functional turf areas, leaf waste composting, and the planting of fruit trees (you can pick and eat the fruit).

Aguilar and Denyer, also engagement fellows in the UC Climate Action Fellowship Program, assisted with creating the tour as their major engagement sustainability project.

“Not only do I want them to get credit for the work they put into this but also I want to highlight the involvement UC Davis Health has with our students when it comes to sustainability,” Cullen said. “They were not only tour guides. They also worked on crafting this tour behind the scenes and will be hugely responsible for the online map for the self-guided tour coming later.”

The Sustainability Team plans to launch the self-guided tour soon, complete with an overview of tour highlights and a map of all stops.