Sustainability

Professor and Environmental Champion Bales Retires, But Research and Advocacy Continue

November 10, 2025

Professors Roger Bales and Martha Conklin arrived in Merced in 2003, the first non-administrative faculty members at UC Merced. They came with a vision: to create a research university that would serve California’s future. Now, after more than 22 years of building institutions, mentoring...

UC Merced Earns Perfect Score, Ranks 7th in Nation on Princeton Review’s ‘Top 50 Green Colleges’ List

UC Merced was recognized again as a national leader in sustainability, earning a perfect Green Rating score and ranking No. 7 in the nation on The Princeton Review’s 2025 list of Top 50 Green...

Photo depicts a bee on a blossom at UC Merced.

UC Merced Joins Program Promoting Bees Around Campus

UC Merced has long been a place where students can thrive. Now the university has been recognized for its commitment to increase the abundance of native and other pollinators. The campus has...

From Soil to Climate Solutions: Berhe Leads Sierra Nevada Research Institute into its Next Chapter

When Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe arrived at UC Merced in 2009, she and her husband, Professor Teamrat Ghezzehei, were leaving major research institutions to join a brand-new campus in California...

UC Merced Gifted New Bicycle Fleet

Thanks to a bicycle fleet donation to the campus, UC Merced students will soon have more transportation options and access to bike riding and safety programs. The generous gift of 50 fully...

Chef’s Film Highlights Regional Farmers, Collaboration with Campus Dining

Recognizing food as both sustenance and a cultural experience that can evoke memories, cross boundaries and bring people together, seasoned chef and media personality Ed Porter recently brought his...

Alice Waters Institute Challenges Student Chefs to Get Creative

Student employees in UC Merced’s dining centers got an up-close look at the sustainable techniques at a family almond farm and were challenged to create locally sourced dishes as part of a...

Lab members Zabir Mahmud and Farzan ZareAfifi are pictured on either side of electrical engineering Professor Sarah Kurtz.

As California Develops More Clean Energy, Researchers Delve Into How to Store it

As California lawmakers consider a package of bills aimed at increasing the production of clean energy, a major question arises: How would we store all this new power? Storage is a vital...

Two goats eating tall grasses are depicted.

Goats Visit UC Merced to Reduce Fire Fuels, Abate Weeds — and Look Super Cute

Cattle are a fairly regular sight around the UC Merced campus. They graze along the 6,500-acre Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve and the 40-acre Experimental Smart Farm, and an annual student...

Arbor Day Tree Planting Event (Slideshow)

A tree planting ceremony was held on campus to commemorate Arbor Day 2024. Various campus groups planted and dedicated 14 trees, each type representing a different tenet of the university. Volunteers...