DeCal class: a guide to zero waste, building a sustainable future

Sage Lenier, a fourth-year in conservation and resource studies, created the DeCal course, Zero Waste and Solutions for a Sustainable Future. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi) It was sitting in AP environmental science as a senior in high school that Sage Lenier, a fourth-year in conservation and resource studies, realized that it was her - and our - responsibility to find solutions to the planet's environmental destruction. "We were learning about food systems collapsing and water poisoning and all of these horrible things that were happening, and I was like, 'Wait, what do we do about this'' So, that's kind of how the momentum started." When Lenier first offered her course two years ago, there were 25 students enrolled. Now, there are more than 160 students in the class and another 45 on the waiting list. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)  When Lenier got to UC Berkeley, she knew she wanted to teach a student-led DeCal course. It was a big reason she chose Berkeley. At first, she thought she'd teach about how to live a zero waste lifestyle, but soon, her curriculum expanded to become what it is today: Zero Waste and Solutions for a Sustainable Future.