Grant aims for a greener, shadier SDSU Imperial Valley
The Imperial Irrigation District has put up $5,400 for trees and shaded seating in the brutal heat of both the Calexico and Brawley campuses.
This fall, SDSU Imperial Valley is taking steps toward combating regional heat and limited shading spaces by installing more trees and shaded seating areas across its Calexico and Brawley locations.
The greenery and shaded seating project is part of a $5,400 grant from the Imperial Irrigation District to create safe, comfortable outdoor spaces where students, staff and faculty can study, gather and relax in a location where average daily high temperatures exceed 99° F nearly four months out of the year. These spaces will also include durable, UV-resistant benches and umbrellas.
The project is aimed to directly enhance campus life activities and public engagement events around campus and supports the irrigation district’s Tree for All program; an initiative where they help plant hundreds of desert-adapted shade trees for residential customers.
“As we are located in a region where we experience high temperatures during the spring, summer and fall time, we want to provide more green spaces and shade for our campus community to get together,” said Guillermina Gina Nuñez-Mchiri, SDSU Imperial Valley dean. “It also provides us more space for events to take place at our university and for vendors and local businesses to be part of our community. We want to make our campus a more inviting and inclusive space.”
Regular cleaning, safety inspections and fabric replacement cycles are planned to ensure that the shaded areas will remain vibrant and accessible for years to come.
“We will soon have our new student housing site available in fall 2026, which will give our students on campus more spaces to study at or hold extracurricular activities during the academic year,” said Nuñez-Mchiri.
The SDSU Imperial Valley and Imperial Valley College (IVC) joint student housing project which will host 40 single- or double-occupancy rooms at SDSU Imperial Valley, Calexico, will be ready for students enrolled at either SDSU Imperial Valley or IVC in fall 2026.
“Through these combined efforts, SDSU Imperial Valley is a vibrant campus where we create a healthier, more inclusive space,” said Maribel Madero, campus administrator at SDSU Imperial Valley. “We are environmentally responsible to create spaces where our campus community can benefit from and for our local community who visit us year round.”
