Category: Ideas (Page 18 of 24)

Apr 20: Earth Day on the Greenway

April 5, 2012 / / 1 Comment

Celebrate Earth Day with all of Boston!

Friday, April 20, 2012, 11am – 1pm

Location Dewey Square Park (Summer St & Pearl St)
Summary Celebrate Earth Day while learning about sustainability and organic practices through free, fun, family activities in Dewey Square Park.

Join the Greenway Conservancy staff, YouthBuild Boston, North Bennett Street School and the EPA as we showcase the new Dewey Demonstration Gardens. In addition to learning about raised beds, rain gardens and composting, you can visit with representatives from Boston Natural Areas Network, WalkBoston, the Boston Tree Party and our own Green and Grow program. We’ll have interactive music making with the Ecology of Sound, face painting, games for kids and adults alike and great food from our resident food trucks. There’s also a rumor that the EPA volunteer band, the Hazardous Constituents, might make an appearance!

Apr 30: Massachusetts Sustainable Economy Conference

April 5, 2012 / / 1 Comment

The 3rd Annual Sustainable Economy Conference

REGISTER NOW!

April 30, 2012

8:15 am – 4:30 pm

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston


How Can Massachusetts Build Bridges to a 21st Century Economy?

The 3rd Annual SEC is designed to advance the knowledge, perspective and networks of all sector leaders and others working to create a sustainable economy, improve economic recovery and growth, reduce operation costs, drive job creation, build sustainable communities and expand the green economy in Massachusetts. This is achieved with interactive panels, roundtable discussions and single-leader sessions on diverse and relevant topics with distinguished Conversation Leaders and a networking reception.

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Massachusetts and the world economy face unprecedented challenges as well as opportunities in the 21st century. Developing sustainable communities and a sustainable economy in our current economic and environmental circumstances are major challenges and major opportunities of the 21st century. In response, the mission of the 3rd Annual SEC is to build bridges within and across Massachusetts’ government, business, academic, nonprofit and community sectors to a viable 21st century economy.

A key to creating a viable 21st century economy is for all sector organizations to systematically participate in the market shift to embed sustainability, as well as diversity and inclusion, into their business model while partnering in new ways within and across sectors.

The value of sustainability, as well as diversity and inclusion, in developing new opportunities, improving competitiveness, attracting and retaining skilled employees and residents and providing value added to customers, stakeholders and communities is the foundation for fostering a 21st century economy in Massachusetts.

The demand for sustainable solutions will be drivers for the 21st century economy. The 3rd Annual SEC is designed to:

  • Provide a platform to discuss new collaborations and partnerships for sustainable solutions within and across sectors
  • Serve as a resource on cutting edge “sustainable thinking” through experiences, case studies, and showcases
  • Promote diversity and inclusion to improve business performance in Massachusetts
  • Provide effective tools and approaches for meeting the challenges of the changing global market and encouraging businesses to meet the new market expectations
  • Promote an equitable and ecologically sustainable economy

The 3rd Annual SEC is designed to foster the development of new networks and business relationships.

The 3rd Annual SEC brings together the government, business, academic, nonprofit and community sectors for the purpose of creating sustainable communities and a sustainable economy in Massachusetts.

Professional Attire

No Refunds after April 1st 5pm EST

Apr 1: Cultivating Food Movement Webinar, Real Food Challenge

March 29, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Sunday, April 1, 2012 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EDT

There is an explosion of passion amongst young people dedicated to food system transformation — from young farmers to community organizers to policy advocates.
 

 

• How do you cultivate the relationships and skills necessary to pursue a lifelong career in the food movement?
• Where do you start?
• What should you do?

REGISTER HERE!

Join the Real Food Challenge Alumni Network with a panel of young food system change-makers to hear their stories and advice about how they got to where they are, and how you can get there too!

Cynthia Mathys is currently a Research Support Specialist in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University and works on a variety of projects related to food security, food aid, and index-based livestock insurance.

Sue DeBlieck is a Real Food alumni focused on farm to school and youth education projects.  As a student in the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture she helped initiate the Farm to ISU program at Iowa State University.  She later coordinated the Downeast Farm to School program working with 40 schools in Maine.  She is the program coordinator of the AgCulture Youth Food and Farm Program for Urban Dreams.

Hải Võ là người Việt Kinh, born in Iowa and raised by refugee parents in Orange County, California.  A queer, first-generation Vietnamese-American, Hải helps organize Live Real, CANFIT, and Nutrition by Tradition.  Based in southern California, Hải is passionate about traditional food(ways), (e)advocacy, popular education, and returning to Việt Nam in the very near future.

Drew Love currently works for NOFA/Mass (Northeast Organic Farming Association of Massachusetts) and Deans Beans, an organic fair trade coffee roaster. With NOFA, he coordinates workshops on local food production, preparation, and preservation, in addition to organizing a pilot project to connect low-income populations with MA CSA programs. His work with Dean’s Beans focuses on social media strategies and marketing.

The good news on reusable mugs and paper cups

March 26, 2012 / / 8 Comments

"Recycle meeeeee!"

You may have already heard the good news: paper cups are now recyclable! That’s right—the hot cups you use for tea or coffee can now be placed in paper recycling bins. All hot cups are made with a thin plastic lining that seals them and makes them waterproof, but since plastic only comprises less than 5% of the whole cup, the cup can be recycled as paper.

Some things to note:

  • Rinse out your cup before putting it into the recycling bin in order to remove residue that could be harmful in the recycling process.
  • Wax-lined cups are still not recyclable. In order to tell the difference between a wax and a paper-lined cup, you can simply scratch the lining of the cup with a fingernail and if anything comes off under your nail, the lining is likely wax.

Of course, while this is great news, the best way to lessen your impact with your morning coffee is to use a reusable mug. The Eco-Ambassadors at University Advancement (UA) are leading the charge.

Meaghan shows off her reusable glasses

Kim Moniz, Mini Jaikumar, and Marny Ashburne recently pioneered a UA Green Team and one of their goals is to convert their office to using only reusable mugs. The UA Green Team’s founding members have been recruiting others in Advancement to join them in thinking up ways to “make University Advancement more sustainable, raise awareness of green initiatives, and encourage people to adopt habits that will help make UA more eco-friendly.”

Their first program was a Mug Drive and Raffle. The Green Team asked office members to start the New Year by bringing in reusable cups and mugs to use at work. Every person who brought in a cup or mug could then register with a member of the Green Team and receive a sticker for their mug or glass announcing that “[Name] Thinks Green.” Then every Friday for a month, the UA Green Team pulled a name from the list of people with registered mugs to win a $25 Target gift card.

Andy's mug has something to say

At the time of the last drawing, 114 people had registered a mug or reusable cup. With 171 people in the office, about 67% of office staff participated! Some final steps in the plan included encouraging office members to bring in cups and mugs from home to donate to the office so that there would be enough reusable cups and mugs for everyone. The UA Green Team is now looking into discussing with senior management the idea of eliminating the purchase of paper cups in Advancement altogether.

The Eco-Ambassadors/UA Green Team’s success really shows how far a little initiative can go and how successful office environmental campaigns can be! However, it is important to note that although paper cups are now recyclable, they are still not the most sustainable option. It is best to still try to use reusable mugs and glasses whenever possible, but now if you cannot avoid using a paper cup, at least you can remember to recycle it.

Campus Sustainability Council update: Water Working Group kicks off

March 26, 2012 / / 3 Comments


Since the official announcement from President Tony Monaco last February, members of the Campus Sustainability Council have been getting busy as each of the three working groups (focusing on Water, Energy/Emissions and Waste) began holding their regular meetings.

The Water Working Group met for the first time on March 2nd and reviewed its roles and responsibilities, which include reviewing current usage, existing initiatives and goals, as well as creating recommendations for goals and implementation plans to present to the Campus Sustainability Council.

The group found that very few institutions of higher education have any public water-related goals.  In fact, Johns Hopkins is one of a rare few that have a specific goal (to decrease university wide potable water consumption by 3%). The members also learned that many water-saving initiatives at Tufts are already underway, including:

  • Efforts to use ground water for irrigation
  • Low-flow shower heads in all Medford and Boston residence halls
  • Bathroom upgrades in Medford residence halls which include dual flush or low flush toilets
  • On‐going Medford campus condensate loss reduction efforts
  • Front Load washing machines requiring less water, energy and detergent installed in most residence hall laundry rooms
  • Rain barrels installed at 520 Boston Avenue to capture roof run‐off for landscape irrigation

The working group members discussed the differences between Tufts’ campuses, regulatory and compliance issues, the environmental impact of wastewater, ways to evaluate proposed solutions and appropriate metrics for evaluation.

Scott Horsley, a lecturer in the Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning department, and Bob Burns, Director of Tufts Facilities Services, are the co-chairs of the water working group and will be working to guide the group towards specific “SMART” goals for the university over the coming months. Sustainability standards will be incorporated into all proposals for new construction and renovation projects.

As always, Tufts community members are welcome to add their own suggestions for the working group through the easy, on-line form available on the Office of Sustainability’s website.

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