• 
  • Overview
  • Letter from the Directors
  • Core Research Areas

• 
  • 
    Strategic Collaborations
    1.     » Center for Ocean Solutions
    2.     » Food Security & the Environment
    3.     » Natural Capital Project
  • Environmental Venture Projects
  • Affiliates Program
  • Public Opinion Surveys
  • 
    Uncommon Dialogues
    1.     » Biofuels
    2.     » California Ecosystem Services
    3.     » Carbon Offsets
    4.     » California & Climate Change
    5.     » Climate & Conservation
    6.     » Global Water Workshop
    7.     » Groundwater Dialogue
    8.     » Pacific Salmon
    9.     » U.S. Farm Bill
    10.     » Water Banking
    11.     » Water, Health, & Development
    12.     » Water in the West

• 
  • 
    Environmental Leadership
    1.     »Leopold Leadership Program
    2.     »Stanford Training Workshops
    3.     »First Nations Futures Institute
    4.     »Fisheries Leadership and
             Sustainability Forum
  • 
    Environmental Education
    1.     »K-12 Project
    2.     »Goldman Honors Program
    3.     »Energy Seminar
    4.     »Mel Lane Student
             Program Grants
    5.     »VPUE Grant Program

• 
  • Staff
  • Woods Faculty
  • Advisory Council
  • Environmental Faculty Database
  • Leopold Leadership Fellows

• 
  • Woods News
  • Headlines
  • Newsletters

• 
  • 
    Featured Events
    1.     »Energy Seminar
    2.     »Environmental Forum
    3.     »Sustainable Built Environment Seminars
  • Environmental Calendar

In honor of environmental leader Mel Lane, the Woods Institute has established the Mel Lane Student Program Grants, providing funding to Stanford students for group projects on the environment. To be considered, proposals must offer broad university relevance and involvement. Preference is given to projects meeting one or more of the following criteria:

• A focus on climate and energy; oceans and estuaries; freshwater; sustainable built environment, or land use and conservation.
• An education and communication component.
• An effort to find solutions to environmental problems.
• Additional funding sources (or a plan to secure sources) that will share in the total cost.

The program has funded dozens of student projects to date, including:

• The Energy Crossroads conference, "From Vision to Action: Sparking Global Change" http://stanford.energycrossroads.org
• Engineers for a Sustainable World's Biodiesel Workshop http://www.stanford.edu/group/esw/wiki/Main_Page
• Simply Reduce Program to reduce the use of disposable cups and bottled water on campus http://refusepact.googlepages.com/

Other group projects have focused on working with teenagers to promote energy awareness, helping the Stanford community understand the connection between food and sustainable agriculture, and establishing a solar-powered computer lab in Zambia.

"We are very excited about these projects," notes Woods Institute co-director Jeff Koseff. "They show an incredible breadth of interests and creativity, and an impressive commitment to sustainability-ensuring we are able to meet the resource needs of people today without compromising the ability to do so for future generations."

"One of the institute's most important roles on the campus is to support and encourage students' interest in addressing real-world environmental issues," adds Buzz Thompson, Woods co-director. "The student project funding provides a terrific way to do that."

Information on project funding
Two rounds of funding are available for group projects on the environment. Deadlines are October 19, 2009 and February 8, 2010.

• Criteria for student group project funding 2009/10 (pdf)

Student projects recently funded by the Woods Institute:

• Fall 2009 Student Project Grantees (pdf)
• 2008/09 Student Project Grantees (pdf)
• 2007/08 Student Project Grantees (pdf)