Sustainable Peralta

Many people are still not aware of the importance of recycling. And, despite the prevalence recycling at home in the Oakland Bay Area, many Peralta students and faculty remain confused about what exactly can be recycled in Peralta’s recycling bins. Even the handful of self-proclaimed recycling experts may pause to consider some everyday items. A juice-box, for example: paper exterior, plastic coated interior… does that mean it’s recyclable? Raising awareness and educating the community about recycling at Peralta is the mission of the Colleges’ 2nd class of Recycling Education Interns.

Brhett Skipper

Berkeley City College

Brhett Skipper currently takes courses at Berkeley City College to gain more skills to augment his experiences in music and massage therapy. He is a licensed massage therapist and envisions opening his own massage therapy practice one day.

Kathy Adams

College of Alameda

Kathy Adams has a love of singing jazz music. She currently attends classes at College of Alameda and works as a student employee at the Administration and Records building in the Cougar Village portables. She hopes to sing at Yoshi’s in the near future.

Ceressa Allen

Laney College

Ceressa has been an active member of Laney College for the last two years, earning in that time an AS and an AA. She has worked as an Instructional Aid in the Technology Center and the Writing Center. Ceressa loves dance and choreography, and has taken classes in jazz, modern. Ms. Allen plans to attend San Francisco State University for a B.A. in Health Education.

Tiana Drisker

Laney College

Tiana was a registered Dental Assistant with 1 year of experience when she enrolled received an AA in Liberal Arts from Laney College. She kept on working through her degree, splitting time between her role as a registered dental assistant, student, and EOPS student aid. Most recently, she has been able to utilize her 6+ years experience as an Instructor at Western Career College’s Dental Assistant Program.

Rainmaster DX2 controller receives weather information and limits irrigation watering.

This September, the Department of General Services Ground Crews, lead by Grounds Supervisor Sergio Angel, completed installation of modern irrigation controls that ration irrigation watering based on current weather conditions. The system garnered a $40,000 rebate from the Irrigation Upgrade Program through the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD).

On a daily basis, the Rainmaster software collects and analyzes data from monitoring stations at Laney, College of Alameda, and Merritt Colleges, then remotely programs the controllers at the colleges with that days irrigation allowance and schedule.

The system helps Peralta save water by … continue reading »

This past August, nearly $250,000 of indoor and outdoor recycling bins purchase by Peralta’s Department of General Services began appeared at all the Peralta Colleges’ in outdoor walkways and in classrooms. General Services had been collaborating, for over a year, with college custodial supervisors and business managers in designing a recycling protocol that would work with the staffing levels available in the District.

With a draft system agreed upon in August, General Services staff followed through on their long-standing intention to purchase and deploy the bins.

Sustainability Organizer Jack Lin and 10 temporary student employees — with funding by Director of Maintenance and Operations Bob Beckwith and with the support of Warehouse staff and the colleges’ custodial staff — spent three full weeks placing bins in every classroom, lab, and commons area. The work crews sorted and delivered nearly 1000 indoor recycling bins to … continue reading »