Author Archives: slcgreen

Don’t Miss “Bee Fest” on June 16!

Welcome to SLCgreen Connections, an occasional series highlighting SLCgreen’s fantastic local partners—the people and organizations with whom we work closely to make Salt Lake City a greener, more vibrant, and sustainable city!

CATALYST Magazine is a long-time community asset in Salt Lake City, featuring frequent news and tips for sustainability-minded folks. After recently receiving their 501(c)3 status, CATALYST now helps organize community events, including the upcoming Bee Fest.

By Ardyn Ford, SLCgreen intern

Mark your calendars for the 8^th Annual Bee Fest in Salt Lake City on June 16!

Organized for the first time by the team at CATALYST Magazine, this year the festival will celebrate all pollinators, including bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and the plants that they love.

For the past seven years, Bee Fest has been organized by the folks at Slow Food Utah. However, change was afoot and Greta deJong, the editor and publisher of CATALYST, decided to take it on. Coincidentally, Greta had been in the process of planning a Dandelion Festival, so agreeing to take on Bee Fest was only natural.

After all, the golden flower is one of the first sources of food for bees in the spring. Continue reading →

It’s Farmers’ Market Season!

Two vegetable vendors at a market selling green beans, sweet carrots, beans and other vegetables.

Vendors for a local Salt Lake City Market. Photo courtesy of Utahs Against Hunger.

by Emily Seang, SLCgreen intern

There’s no better way to enjoy the summer than to visit a farmers’ market!

All throughout Salt Lake City there are many opportunities to join communities in celebrating locally grown foods. Supporting our farmers’ markets is a great way not only to purchase fresh, healthy fare, but also to support local farmers and the important role they play in our community.

We’ve got good news . . . the season has started and many markets begin this week!

Continue reading →

The Salt Lake City School District Saves Energy and Conserves Resources

By Ardyn Ford, SLCgreen intern

Greg Libecci of the Salt Lake City School District chronicles some of the achievements he’s helped realize after nine years as the Energy and Resource Manager for dozens of schools. His work led to the school district receiving a 2015 Mayor’s Skyline Challenge Award from Salt Lake City. Thanks for all you do Greg!

Greg Libecci, right, stands near solar panels being installed at Hillside Middle School in Salt Lake City.

School’s out this week, but that doesn’t mean Greg Libecci takes the summer off.

His role as Energy and Resource Manager means he works year-round to identify and implement energy efficiency projects to save the Salt Lake City School District energy and money.

What led him to this role?

After several years of working in corporate sales for a telecom company, Greg began to notice energy waste everywhere. Things that were not being used were often left on, racking up unnecessary expenses and negatively impacting the environment.

He was certainly on to something with these observations, since the excessive consumption of energy resources worldwide is recognized as an important contributor to climate change.

Greg was drawn into the sustainability field because he saw how simple it could be to prevent unnecessary energy use. He was excited by the solvable nature of the problem.

When the Salt Lake City School District (SLCSD) created the Energy and Resource Manager position nine years ago in an effort to save the District money on utility costs, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Greg to pursue his newfound passion for energy conservation.

Not only would he have the opportunity to directly implement important sustainability initiatives at a large organization, but he would also have the chance to work with students, something that remains an extremely rewarding part of his job.

Since Greg took the position, the school district has seen huge reductions in energy and natural gas use. In comparison with their baseline year of 2009, 2017 saw an 11% decrease in electricity use and a 23% decrease in natural gas usage.

This translates to a 4,400 ton reduction of CO2 emissions for 2017! Continue reading →

Check Out our New Trucks!

Help us make SLC Plastic Free by keeping plastic bags out of curbside containers. Say no to single-use bags and yes to reusable!

By Jack Hurty, SLCgreen intern

Salt Lake City’s often under-appreciated workhorses are getting a makeover – and an educational one at that. Six of our recycling trucks recently received a new body wrap, pictured above.

Their visibility is key to educating the public about what can and cannot be recycled.

There have been big changes rocking the recycling world lately and plastic bags are one of the most significant sources of “contamination.”

Besides these bright new wraps, the trucks are state-of-the-art waste management machines.

Not only do they run on low-emission Clean Natural Gas (CNG) and clean diesel, but they are equipped with an on-board trash compactor, an array of cameras, and a mechanical arm to pick up and empty recycling bins.

Every week, these trucks travel to all corners of the city, making sure that our waste is taken care of.

Continue reading →

Help Salt Lake City Advance Our Energy Goals

The Salt Lake City Sustainability Department is excited to launch a new pilot energy efficiency project for households and small businesses.

We are seeking an organization to partner and help lead this effort in our community.

Learn more about the project vision (referenced in the Mayor’s 2017 budget speech), along with details on how interested organizations can respond, through the below Request for Proposal (RFP) details.

Salt Lake City Corporation Request for Proposal (RFP)

Continue reading →

Salt Lake City Opens the First Net Zero Fire Station in the Country

Did you see the news about Salt Lake City’s grand opening of Fire Station 14 earlier this month?

We are thrilled our fire crews have a new home base from which to work, rest, and recover.

This building is also notable for its sustainability features.

It’s not just a model for the state of Utah, but for the country. In fact, Fire Station 14 is the first Net Zero energy fire station in the U.S! Continue reading →

Utahns Against Hunger Strives for a More Sustainable Food System

Welcome to SLCgreen Connections, an occasional series highlighting SLCgreen’s fantastic local partners—the people and organizations with whom we work closely to make Salt Lake City a greener, more vibrant, and sustainable city!

By Ardyn Ford, SLCgreen intern

Hunger. It is desperate and overpowering. Everyone has experienced it, but for some, it is extreme and long-term. Weeks go by with a deep, gnawing sensation inside, a pain so fierce that it almost feels alive.

This is a reality for more than 1 in 9 Utahns.

Food insecurity occurs when people cannot afford to buy enough food. It has significant impacts on productivity, happiness, and health, and because it impacts low-income families and individuals, it is often accompanied by threats to other basic needs such as shelter and clothing.

Continue reading →

Be(e) Pesticide Free for Pollinators!

by Sydney Boogaard, SLCgreen intern

Spring and summer weather is welcomed with open arms after cold grey winters. Maybe, it’s getting back into the mountains to hike, bike, and sightsee; or spending time in the yard gardening, barbecuing, and playing fetch.

Whatever it is you enjoy outside this season we hope you have the privilege of seeing some beautiful pearl crescent butterflies, ruby-throated hummingbirds, or fuzzy honeybees. We encourage you to admire and celebrate their presence—for they provide us with vital plant reproduction and are essential to our natural and agricultural ecosystems.

Unfortunately, the population of these important pollinators is on a troublesome decline. In 2007, the National Research Council reported on that one of the sources of this decline is connected to pesticide exposure. Pesticides contain many chemicals that reduce pollinators’ defense systems, disrupt digestion, impair their navigation abilities, and limit their ability to reproduce.

Thus, we hope you will joins us in protecting our honeybees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and all pollinators by going Pesticide Free! Join us in thanking them for their crucial services by giving them the best shot at a healthy and productive life — say no to pesticides and take the Pesticide Free Pledge.

The Honeybee

Honeybees have been around for millions and millions of years. During this time they have provided humans with their wax, honey, and pollinating services.

Did you know honeybees are the only insect that produce food that humans eat? They travel up to six miles in a trip and fly up to 15 miles per hour, all while beating their wings 200 times per second—talk about a workout. Over time, bees have also learned to communicate with one another through dance. They communicate a sense of time, direction, and distance to convey the location of promising pollen and nectar. Needless to say, these creatures are incredibly impressive. Continue reading →

Salt Lake City’s Sustainable Food Initiatives

Why does Salt Lake City have a food policy program? Community gardens, an incubator kitchen, pesticide free resources, farmers’ markets… it all helps foster a healthy city and flourishing economy. Watch the video and then scroll through the blog post to find more details about the programs and initiatives mentioned by our program manager Bridget Stuchly.

Continue reading →

Coming Together on Climate

Mayor Biskupski meets with local elected officials from across Utah to discuss policies to address climate change.

Last week, Mayor Biskupski brought together mayors and councilmembers from nine other Utah communities to discuss what local government can do to address climate change.

The latest data about fossil fuel consumption and associated pollution is deeply troubling. For the first time in hundreds of thousands of years, the Earth hit a monthly average of 410 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 in the atmosphere.

But we still have a window to act. That’s why it’s critical for local governments to drive policies that reduce energy consumption, catalyze renewable energy development, and transform our transportation sector.

In addition to creating our own plan, Climate Positive SLC, we need to work together to achieve the kind of change our planet and future requires.

That’s why the Mayor has taken leadership roles in a number of high-profile networks, including Sierra Club’s Mayors for 100% Clean Energy, Climate Mayors, and locally with Path to Positive Utah. She was also recently appointed to chair the Alliance for a Sustainable Future Committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

It’s also important, as Utah’s capital city, for us to lead locally and share the expertise and experience we have with other cities and towns. We can and must be stronger together.

That was the intention behind last week’s meeting, which was co-hosted with the Salt Lake City chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. It garnered interest from mayors and councilmembers from Utah cities and towns representing 750,000 residents which is 24 percent of the state’s total population.