Field Lab Sites

The FEW Management in Urban Systems Field Lab course (syllabus) will offer trainees a first-hand look at complex connections between food, energy, water, and the environment, encompassing scientific and social factors in a large urban system like Los Angeles and the UCLA campus.

Issues such as biodiversity loss, nutrient cycling, land conversion, climate change, sustainable energy technologies, chemical pollution, fresh water quality and quantity, equitable access to healthy food, and dietary trends will be discussed. Concepts associated with FEWS economics and policies, featuring a broad set of techniques for evaluating emerging food, energy, and water technologies at different scales from the perspectives of ecological, economic, and social sustainability, will be evaluated. Check out our blog Few and Far Between for details of our fall 2018 site visits.

LADWP AQUEDUCT FILTRATION PLANT

Observe the water treatment process: screening, fluoridation, ozonation, flocculation, filtration, UV disinfection, and chloramination.

VETERANS’ GARDEN

Volunteer at the garden and help to revitalize this 15-acre site into a community space for cultivating food, recreation, leisure, and environmental programs and activities to benefit veterans and their families.

UCLA CAMPUS FACILITIES

Walking tour of the UCLA cogeneration chiller facility, storm water capture, solar electric vehicle charging stations, and hydroponics garden with Bonny Bentzin, UCLA Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer.

LA CLEANTECH INCUBATOR (LACI)

Non-profit organization in partnership with public, private and educational sectors to provide a space where entrepreneurs, engineers, scientists and policymakers can collaborate, promote and support the development of clean technologies and LA’s innovation economy.

HYPERION WATER RECLAMATION PLANT

Tour the plant and notice all the treatment processes at the plants designed to separate solids from water, and to turn solids into energy resources, soil amendments and fertilizer.

CHEVRON REFINERY

First hand look into the facility’s operations and a chance to speak with the refinery’s executive group.

WATTS COMMUNITY HEALING GARDENS

In partnership with Los Angeles Unified School District and Los Angeles CleanTech Incubator, this orchard on the Markham Middle School campus has become a safe, tactile learning environment for students to develop a passion for healthy living while providing access to fresh nutrient dense foods.

PORT OF LOS ANGELES

Boat tour of the busiest container port in the nation with its record-setting cargo operations and groundbreaking environmental initiatives.