Student Clubs & Competitions

Students at Cal Poly care about sustainability. They take initiative outside the classroom to organize, take action, and make a difference. To view all the sustainability related clubs and competition opportunities visit: clubs.calpoly.edu/clubs-directory and search the “environmental” list. Or review the list below for some of the more active sustainability clubs and competition groups on campus:

Clubs

• Real Food Collaborative focuses on advocating for and creating community around real, local, sustainable, ethical, equitably sourced food for all. They run a veggie box subscription program with local produce from the Cal Poly Organic Farm and host event such as potlucks and fundraisers.
• Cal Poly Surfrider Foundation is a student chapter of Surfrider Foundation, a national non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, beaches, and waves. They have a variety of programs and initiatives that focus on education, outreach, activism, and advocacy for our coastlines.
• Zero Waste Club focuses on creating a more sustainable and waste-free campus and community. They host events such as waste audits, clothing swaps, and workshops.
• Cal Poly Garden Club strives to make a difference in the community by growing healthy, local, and sustainable food. They hold garden workdays at the Cal Poly Student Experimental Farm and host fundraisers for community action initiatives.
• Sunrise SLO is a team of students working to build a movement for a Green New Deal and a livable future. They organize events such as climate strikes, rallies, and art builds.
• Net Impact believes in the power of business to bring positive change to the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges. The club empowers a community of conscious business leaders by providing hands-on experiences with consulting and fair trade committees, bringing in captivating guest speakers, and creating opportunities to learn more about ethical business with other club members.
• Eco Reps is an environmental outreach club that educates and empowers people to incorporate sustainability into their lives with the mission of “Growing Greener Minds.” They host environmental film screenings and discussions, educational workshops, and other outreach events that promote sustainable living.
• Cal Poly Wind Power Club, a student-led competition team united by their enthusiasm for wind energy and sustainable solutions, collaborates to design, test, and manufacture a wind turbine as part of the Turbine Development portion of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC). They also plan a theoretical large-scale utility wind farm, connect with wind industry professionals, and educate the local community about wind power for the Project Development and Connection Creation competitions within the CWC.

Competitions

• Solar Decathlon- A small interdisciplinary team comprised of Cal Poly faculty and students from the Colleges of Architecture and Engineering, design and construct a solar house as part of the annual Solar Decathlon, a US Department of Energy (DOE)/National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) competition.
• Design Village- In the Design Village Competition, teams from across the United States design and build a theme-based structure that meets several requirements: the structure's parts must be hand carried up a mile trail into Poly Canyon; the structure must be assembled in 12 hours, without the use of plugged electricity; the team members must live in their structure for the entire weekend.