Current Project 2020-2021
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shelter-in-place orders, our team is working toward creating a virtual project based on the Student Farm project proposed last year. We are collaborating with the UC Davis Student Farm staff and Borah Lim (International Agricultural Development, M.S., Master Gardener) to develop a media campaign and workshop series that makes gardening more accessible, affordable, and fun for all students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, 1st generation students, and students of color at UC Davis. Our goal is to create a virtual space for the UC Davis community of gardeners (from any level of experience and background) to engage with each other and emerging gardeners during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
This project is still under development, so stay tuned for updates.
Funded by The Green Initiative Fund at UC Davis.
This project is still under development, so stay tuned for updates.
Funded by The Green Initiative Fund at UC Davis.
Year 4: 2019-2020 - Gold Status Chapter Achieved
This year, Net Impact Davis (NID) is continuing to work as a larger, more involved team to encourage emerging leaders to showcase their skills and gain experience managing a team. We have two primary projects going on this year: Up to Us and the Student Farm Project.
Up to Us 2019
This year, Net Impact Davis hosted the Up to Us Campaign, a national campus competition that aims at raising nonpartisan awareness about our country’s fiscal and economic challenges. We are one school out of 100 participating campuses across the country competition to win national recognition for the campaign to raise the most awareness about the U.S. national debt. In order to raise awareness and track our impact, we collected pledges. The pledges served to encourage representatives to be mindful of their budget decisions by proving to them that we, as a university, have a voice and that we care about the effect of the national debt on our lives. Last year, we collected over 140 pledges to send to the state and county representatives, and this year we collected nearly 200! We also ended up making one of the Top 20 Teams in the national competition! Feel free to view the press release or our certificate. You can also see a clip about our accomplishment on Good Day Sacramento.
Student Farm Project
Students are collectively working to create a video series that further advertises the Student Farm at UC Davis and educates students on how they can contribute or use the knowledge they gain from the Student Farm to further their own interests.
Update: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Winter-Spring Quarter, we were unable to maintain and effectively execute the Student Farm Project.
Up to Us 2019
This year, Net Impact Davis hosted the Up to Us Campaign, a national campus competition that aims at raising nonpartisan awareness about our country’s fiscal and economic challenges. We are one school out of 100 participating campuses across the country competition to win national recognition for the campaign to raise the most awareness about the U.S. national debt. In order to raise awareness and track our impact, we collected pledges. The pledges served to encourage representatives to be mindful of their budget decisions by proving to them that we, as a university, have a voice and that we care about the effect of the national debt on our lives. Last year, we collected over 140 pledges to send to the state and county representatives, and this year we collected nearly 200! We also ended up making one of the Top 20 Teams in the national competition! Feel free to view the press release or our certificate. You can also see a clip about our accomplishment on Good Day Sacramento.
Student Farm Project
Students are collectively working to create a video series that further advertises the Student Farm at UC Davis and educates students on how they can contribute or use the knowledge they gain from the Student Farm to further their own interests.
Update: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Winter-Spring Quarter, we were unable to maintain and effectively execute the Student Farm Project.
Year 3: 2018-2019 - Gold Status Chapter Achieved
Net Impact Davis (NID) has found itself reforming its project structure. Rather than having individual teams working towards separate projects, NID has created a larger, more involved team-based approach to encourage emerging leaders to showcase their skills and gain experience managing a team. Hence, the organization is working together towards a communal goal. In doing so, we have participated in the national Up to Us competition to raise awareness of the national debt, collecting over 140 pledges to send to the state and county representatives. The pledges served to encourage representatives to be mindful of their budget decisions by proving to them that we, as a university, have a voice and that we care about the effect of the national debt on our lives.
In Winter Quarter of the 2018-2019 school year, we shifted our focus to project design with a specific focus on plastic waste. Due to collaboration with Dixon Montessori Charter School (DMCS), we narrowed our focus to recycling and implemented a workshop series and recycling competition at DMCS. Our workshops can be found on our YouTube Channel as well as being uploaded below. The documents below summarize the progress we've made for the 2018-2019 school year. Ultimately, the workshop series consisted of 7 videos educating students about recycling. Additionally, the competition brought in 7985 recyclable items, profiting $440.22, which went to DMCS to support future projects geared towards sustainability.
In Winter Quarter of the 2018-2019 school year, we shifted our focus to project design with a specific focus on plastic waste. Due to collaboration with Dixon Montessori Charter School (DMCS), we narrowed our focus to recycling and implemented a workshop series and recycling competition at DMCS. Our workshops can be found on our YouTube Channel as well as being uploaded below. The documents below summarize the progress we've made for the 2018-2019 school year. Ultimately, the workshop series consisted of 7 videos educating students about recycling. Additionally, the competition brought in 7985 recyclable items, profiting $440.22, which went to DMCS to support future projects geared towards sustainability.
Year 2: 2017-2018 - Gold Status Chapter Achieved
This year Net Impact Davis is excited to announce we have created three teams focusing on one of three diverse themes: poverty, food waste, and waste management. Our teams had the opportunity to hear from various organizations such as Design For America, UC Davis Grad School of Management Big Bang, and the Graduate Net Impact Davis chapter. With help from advisors and the executive board, each team developed a valuable project proposal.
The Poverty team is in the process of developing and implementing a mentorship program that helps students of Grant Union High School in Sacramento, CA explore occupational and educational opportunities that they may seek after high school and help them overcome obstacles they face in pursuing these opportunities. This support system directly addresses and provides a solution to the cycle of poverty that many low-income children and young adults find themselves trapped in.
The Food Waste team aims to create a centralized online resource that provides transparent, accurate, and useful information on food help resources. Their hub will create a food-centered community that brings together related food help topics and issues spanning from open pantry times to food recovery etiquette. Their hub aims to not only feed people but also reduce food waste throughout our community. With the foundation of the website, they plan to build a local, campus-based food sharing platform in the future.
The Waste team is addressing the issue of massively generated waste by creating a smart trash can that can capture images of waste, process them and then automatically separate the waste into compost, recyclable, or landfill waste bins. They plan to create a prototype that implements Conventional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Computer Vision algorithms on a Raspberry Pi 3 to correctly identify and sort trash. Through their prototype they hope to pave the way for intelligent, inexpensive and sustainable waste management across a wide spectrum of commercial and residential facilities.
Our members' hard work proved valuable at the pitch fest, as the Food Waste team was funded and has now completed their project. Be sure to check out the app, Freebites (yellow dinner plate logo) created by Kim Quach. It is now available for download, so you can find out where all the free food on the UC Davis campus is located.
The Poverty team is in the process of developing and implementing a mentorship program that helps students of Grant Union High School in Sacramento, CA explore occupational and educational opportunities that they may seek after high school and help them overcome obstacles they face in pursuing these opportunities. This support system directly addresses and provides a solution to the cycle of poverty that many low-income children and young adults find themselves trapped in.
The Food Waste team aims to create a centralized online resource that provides transparent, accurate, and useful information on food help resources. Their hub will create a food-centered community that brings together related food help topics and issues spanning from open pantry times to food recovery etiquette. Their hub aims to not only feed people but also reduce food waste throughout our community. With the foundation of the website, they plan to build a local, campus-based food sharing platform in the future.
The Waste team is addressing the issue of massively generated waste by creating a smart trash can that can capture images of waste, process them and then automatically separate the waste into compost, recyclable, or landfill waste bins. They plan to create a prototype that implements Conventional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Computer Vision algorithms on a Raspberry Pi 3 to correctly identify and sort trash. Through their prototype they hope to pave the way for intelligent, inexpensive and sustainable waste management across a wide spectrum of commercial and residential facilities.
Our members' hard work proved valuable at the pitch fest, as the Food Waste team was funded and has now completed their project. Be sure to check out the app, Freebites (yellow dinner plate logo) created by Kim Quach. It is now available for download, so you can find out where all the free food on the UC Davis campus is located.
Year 1: 2016-2017
UC Davis' Net Impact Undergraduate Chapter kicked off for its very first year in Fall 2016. Its members agreed upon 3 central themes for the year: Water Management, Waste Management, and Education. With help from the Graduate Net Impact Davis chapter as well as support from its incredible staff advisory board, this dedicated team was able to develop project proposals and strategies for success to impact the Davis community.
The Water Management team has planned to start an initiative to connect soil science students with the UC Davis Student Farm by implementing an internship program that would benefit both parties. Students would gain exposure to best practices for water management in agriculture, and the Student Farm would have a more efficient way of monitoring and adapting its water use.
The Waste Management team is focused on increasing awareness and signage of composting around the UC Davis campus. They plan on working with designers to ultimately create materials for new student orientation regarding the importance of composting, and composting correctly.
The Education team intends to create a virtual program that allows UC Davis students in foreign language classes to communicate with a designated "buddy" abroad. They have put together a list of foreign language professors who would be interested in implementing their 10-week lesson plan as a learning supplement. Their goal is to foster cultural and social understanding across geographical borders, and examine similarities and differences in sustainability issues around the world.
The Education Team went on to pursue their project, creating Project Link, which has maintained itself as a course on the UC Davis campus.
The Water Management team has planned to start an initiative to connect soil science students with the UC Davis Student Farm by implementing an internship program that would benefit both parties. Students would gain exposure to best practices for water management in agriculture, and the Student Farm would have a more efficient way of monitoring and adapting its water use.
The Waste Management team is focused on increasing awareness and signage of composting around the UC Davis campus. They plan on working with designers to ultimately create materials for new student orientation regarding the importance of composting, and composting correctly.
The Education team intends to create a virtual program that allows UC Davis students in foreign language classes to communicate with a designated "buddy" abroad. They have put together a list of foreign language professors who would be interested in implementing their 10-week lesson plan as a learning supplement. Their goal is to foster cultural and social understanding across geographical borders, and examine similarities and differences in sustainability issues around the world.
The Education Team went on to pursue their project, creating Project Link, which has maintained itself as a course on the UC Davis campus.