Congratulations to the 2026 Green Generation Showcase Winners!
On April 23rd, the Office of Sustainability, Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden, Southern California Edison, the Port of Ƶ, and the President's Commission on Sustainability hosted the 15th Annual Green Generation Showcase! This event brought together over 20 community organizations who engaged over 270 attendees with ways to become involved in climate action. The campus and Ƶ community members enjoyed evening of mingling, music, food, sustainability-focused student projects, and a visit from Wall-E!
Congratulations to the 2026 Green Generation Showcase Winners!
1st Place: LoopLB
Leyna Nguyen, Kateleen Ganzon, Pranav Sharma
This project explores sustainability and climate justice through circular economy practices that address plastic waste in Ƶ, California. Coastal communities face increasing environmental and economic pressures from plastic pollution, which disproportionately impacts public health, local ecosystems, and access to clean public spaces. Aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals 11, 12, and 14, this project emphasizes the need for community-centered, equitable solutions.
The purpose of this project is to reduce coastal plastic pollution while strengthening local economic systems through an incentivized recycling model. Using design research and community-based strategy, LoopLB was developed as a smart recycling initiative that rewards users with “LoopPoints” redeemable at local businesses.
The project demonstrates that incentivized recycling can increase participation while supporting small businesses and promoting a circular economy. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions by diverting waste from landfills, lowering demand for new material production, and encouraging sustainable consumption. LoopLB also addresses environmental burdens in underserved communities by improving access to recycling, reducing pollution in shared spaces, and strengthening local economic resilience.
By integrating technology, the system allows users to track their environmental impact, reinforcing accountability and long-term behavior change. The reward-based model inspires community action by linking individual efforts to tangible benefits and visible outcomes.
This project contributes to sustainability discourse by presenting a scalable, community-driven model that connects environmental responsibility with economic incentives, demonstrating how local solutions can advance climate justice and foster collective action.
1st Place: Sustainability in Film - Costume Design
Morgan Bowen, Brian Arrieta, Jackson Wilfong
For the “Sustainability in Film - Costume Design” project, our goal is to introduce the concept of sustainability in costume design for youth engaged in filmmaking. By partnering with the Ƶ YMCA’s film program, Change Agent Productions, we will initiate conversation regarding how wardrobe choices affect character and story, and how these can still be impactful through methods such as upcycling, second hand sourcing, and flips. After our discussion, we will present participants with the opportunity to create their own costume based on a story/character of their choice, using donated material and second hand items.
To display our project, we will be creating a mini documentary showing our journey to connection with a second hand craft store that has donated to us (Remainders Creative), the preparatory stage of collecting fabric and clothing donations, and the creation project of the YMCA youth. We plan to include interviews to explain the impact of sustainability in costume design and how participants came to understand the possibilities of green wardrobe solutions.
The purpose of this exercise and discussion is to emphasize the amount of waste that comes out of Hollywood. In the case of costume design, it is estimated that 2.5 million pieces of clothing are sent into limbo after wrap annually. By generating curiosity around the possibilities for green wardrobe solutions, we can empower filmmaking youth to push for and establish sustainability initiatives in their own work.
Honorable Mention: Reclaimed Flight: Transforming Textile Waste Into Clothing
Marissa Cerda
This project explores sustainability in fashion by transforming textile waste into a garment inspired by the organic structure of feathers. As a fashion design student, I am responding to pollution and the environmental impact of fast fashion by reusing discarded textiles and turning them into a new design.
My research into the fashion industry has shown how large amounts of fabric and clothing are discarded each year, contributing to ocean pollution, landfill overflow, and greenhouse gas emissions. In response, my project repurposes fabric waste from old jeans and other discarded clothing to create a unique garment. The materials are cut and layered to create a feather-like appearance, allowing the garment to express ideas of rebirth and regeneration. Through this process, I want to show that previously used materials can still be transformed into something visually compelling without creating more waste.
The design process emphasizes experimentation, material exploration, and low-waste production. By using reclaimed materials instead of new fabric, the project reduces resource consumption and highlights alternative approaches to fashion making. This piece aims to show that sustainability can be both accessible and creative. Through this project, I hope to present new possibilities for the fashion industry and inspire more environmentally conscious ways of designing and creating clothing.
1st Place: Proof of Purchase
Lesley Loucks
This project explores the relationship between consumer culture, corporate responsibility, and environmental sustainability through the lens of everyday waste. Packaging waste is a major contributor to landfill accumulation and environmental degradation, raising questions about both corporate production practices and consumer participation in disposable systems.
The purpose of this project is to reflect on the shared responsibility between corporations and consumers in producing large amounts of packaging waste while encouraging viewers to consider their own role within this cycle.
Over a two year period, I collected and saved packaging from products I purchased and transformed these materials into a large tapestry-like installation composed entirely of discarded marketing and product packaging.
The finished piece visually demonstrates the sheer volume of waste generated through everyday consumption, turning what would normally be discarded into a physical record of personal purchasing habits. Through this work, I hope viewers experience both reflection and discomfort as they confront the cumulative environmental impact of routine consumer choices.
This project contributes to sustainability discourse by using art as a medium to spark dialogue about waste, responsibility, and environmental accountability. By transforming packaging waste into a visual narrative, the piece encourages community awareness and inspires individuals to reconsider consumption habits while also prompting broader discussions about corporate packaging practices and environmental justice.
1st Place: Mapping Farming Inequality: A Geospatial Analysis of Agricultural Impacts and Agrovoltaic Solutions in California’s Central Valley
Micah Serna
California’s Central Valley, also known as the “breadbasket of the world”, is one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the United States. More than 250 different crops are grown annually, with an export revenue valued at about $24 billion as of 2024. The environmental consequences associated with this productivity, however, disproportionally burden the region’s underserved communities. This project aims to visualize the spatial relationship between conventional agricultural activity and environmental inequities, focusing on groundwater depletion, water quality degradation, and exposure to agricultural pollutants. Using publicly available geospatial datasets, this study maps the intersection between cropland use, water quality, and community vulnerability across the San Joaquin Valley. Through spatial overlay and analysis, the project identifies areas where environmental risks and socioeconomic vulnerability meet, highlighting patterns of environmental injustice.
This research also considers agrovoltaics, the coupling of solar energy systems and agriculture, as a possible solution. If implemented successfully, agrovoltaics could address some of the environmental and social challenges that have strained the Valley for decades. These dual-use structures have the capacity to reduce water loss and mitigate heat stress in a notoriously arid climate, all while generating renewable energy. The project evaluates how a developing idea like agrovoltaics could be administered in high-need areas to promote more equitable agricultural practices. By integrating geospatial analysis with sustainable land-use strategies, this exploration contributes to discussions on climate justice and sustainable agricultural reform. Ultimately, it calls for community-centered solutions that prioritize underserved populations in the transition toward a more sustainable and equitable future.
Honorable Mention: Climate Change and Food Insecurity in Marginalized US Communities
Lauren Dobbert, Aaron Iniguez, Joe Sawamura, Claire Castillo
Food insecurity is a growing problem in the United States, with some groups affected far more than others. While many people have reliable access to fresh and healthy food, others, especially those in low income and marginalized communities, struggle to afford even basic nutritious foods. This gap in food access has deep roots socially and environmentally, and is shaped by much larger forces like climate change and economic inequality. This project examines how and why food insecurity disproportionately affects vulnerable communities and explores potential solutions. Our central question is: “How does climate change impact food access for marginalized communities, and what challenges will it pose for food security across the United States?” As extreme weather becomes more frequent, crops are harder to grow and food prices rise, yet the communities least responsible for climate change are often hit hardest. To explore this issue, we draw on existing data and our own service learning experiences. Our group has volunteered at the ƵBeach Pantry and Grow Beach Garden, which provide students with free food and fresh produce. This hands-on work has deepened our understanding of how food insecurity affects people on our campus and in our community. By examining the root causes of food insecurity and its connection to climate change, we aim to identify sustainable solutions that improve food access for all.
1st Place: Food Justice is Disability Justice: A Toolkit on the Violence of Food Apartheid in the United States
Vanessa Polk
The US food system produces enough food to feed its entire population multiple times over. Yet millions of households lack access to this basic need. Organizations and advocates are working to address food insecurity. However, substantially fewer resources are utilized to improve nutrition security. Who is affected by nutrition insecurity is, at its roots, a disability justice issue. Using a disability, environmental, and food justice (DEFJ) lens, this toolkit uncovers the intersections between food apartheid, nutrition insecurity, and ableism.
The toolkit’s insights are derived from intersectional DEFJ theories, such as food apartheid (created by Karen Washington), debility (Jasbir Puar), and sacrifice zones (Dr. Robert Bullard).
Oppressive systems reinforcing food apartheid in the US include settler colonialism, slavery, capitalism, and racial discrimination. These systems simultaneously uphold ableism by weaponizing malnutrition to disable marginalized bodies. The current food system fails to address nutrition insecurity. Instead, it prioritizes the sale of ultra-processed foods, increasing rates of chronic disabilities, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The disproportionate burden of malnutrition on marginalized bodies evokes the questions “Whose bodies are worthy of nourishment?” and “Which bodies are deemed expendable for the agro-industrial complex?”
Leaders in food policy are recommended to improve the representation of disability in leadership roles at local, state, and federal levels. Community members or allies can support local mutual aid organizations working to bring nourishing foods to low-income, elderly, or disabled people. To change policy, advocate for and provide public comments on policies improving access to nourishing foods for food-insecure populations.
Honorable Mention: Your Love Should Be Everlasting: Embracing Sustainable Wedding Alternatives
Corrina Kitchen, Meera Dubey, Jordan Chalmers, Jenifer Perez
Weddings are one of the most environmentally impactful single-day events in most people’s lives. However, even eco-friendly couples tend to not consider their wedding’s carbon footprint during the planning process. There is immense social and cultural pressure that encourages couples towards large and ecologically detrimental celebrations, while resources for sustainable alternatives remain scarce. Our project examines how to shift these cultural expectations around what a wedding “should be” and how to meaningfully reduce greenhouse gas emissions for their beautiful occasion.
The goal of this project is to create a user-friendly website that would be a comprehensive resource for eco-conscious couples at various planning stages of their wedding. Through extensive research into the environmental impacts of the average American wedding, we were able to identify the key contributors. This includes attire, guest size list, venue selection, catering, and floral arrangements, and for each element we offer sustainable alternatives.
The website is not meant to provide all-or-nothing suggestions, but rather to provide flexible choices that couples can integrate without compromising the kind of celebration they have envisioned. Personal anecdotes from a couple who have planned a sustainable wedding are also highlighted as inspiring. This project matters because it normalizes sustainable wedding choices, and by making the information easily accessible, we hope couples will embrace some of our recommendations. In doing so, couples would become examples within their communities, proving that being sustainable and having a memorable moment are not mutually exclusive.
1st Place: Irrigation System for Small Gardens
Jhoselyn Quispe
Urban lifestyles and increasing climate variability have made consistent plant care more difficult, particularly for individuals with limited time to maintain small gardens. At the same time, inefficient watering practices contribute to unnecessary water waste, highlighting the need for sustainable and accessible irrigation solutions.
This project aims to design a low-cost, user-friendly irrigation system that automates plant watering while promoting efficient water use.
The system was developed using a gravity-fed approach with adjustable valves to regulate flow, ensuring consistent water distribution without requiring external power. Future iterations include integrating soil moisture sensors and renewable energy sources such as solar power to enhance system adaptability and efficiency.
Results demonstrate that the system provides reliable watering while reducing water waste compared to manual methods. Its simple and affordable design increases accessibility, enabling users with limited time or resources to maintain healthy plants more effectively.
This project contributes to sustainability by encouraging water conservation and reducing overwatering. It also supports underserved communities by offering an affordable and easy-to-use solution for home gardening. By simplifying plant care, the system has the potential to inspire community engagement in sustainable practices and promote environmentally conscious behaviors in everyday life.
Honorable Mention: BinWise: Intelligent Waste Sorting for a Smarter Planet
Miguel Mier, Dominic Gonzales, Cristina Godinez
The improper disposal and sorting of materials have made the recycling process less effective and more expensive. As global waste production increases, improper recycling has contributed to environmental damage. The project sought to address these issues by improving how individuals sort waste to preserve recyclable materials through positive affirmation and ensuring these materials did not end up in the landfill. By combining technology and education, the project aims to increase recycling efficiency and reduce contamination by classifying the item based on recycling, compost, or waste, and sorting different materials accurately. We developed a device that can scan the item the user is discarding, and the user guesses which bin it should be sorted in; then it tells them whether they were right or wrong, and the item is sorted based on the machine learning model we have developed into the correct bin. The system is designed to improve recycling accuracy by removing human error and using interactive features to encourage proper disposal habits. In doing so, we hope the individuals who interact with our device become more aware of the importance of proper recycling habits and how they can directly affect the efficiency of the recycling process. The field of engineering strives to innovate and create solutions to problems in the real world. This project demonstrates how electrical engineering solutions and processes can be used to solve sustainability challenges through energy-efficient technology at a small scale.
