SLCgreen is proud to be a part of the 8th annual Intermountain Sustainability Summit. Our Department Director Vicki Bennett and City Energy Project Advisor Wendy Lee will be speaking on the 17th. To register for the Summit click here to view student and professional registration rates.
Salt Lake City and Salt Lake Chamber partner on the Third Annual Skyline Challenge to accelerate commercial building energy efficiency
As part of her mission to improve air quality, reduce carbon emissions, and form strong partnerships with the business community, Mayor Jackie Biskupski is pleased to launch the Third Annual Skyline Challenge—this year with the Salt Lake Chamber joining the roster of partners.
The annual Skyline Challenge is a voluntary program to accelerate investment in energy efficiency from large commercial buildings and raise public awareness of building energy performance while creating jobs and fostering a stronger local economy.
Salt Lake City’s Open Space Lands Program seeks a highly motivated individual with background in environmental education and/or youth and outdoor leadership, to develop and administer outreach and education activities that connect diverse communities to urban natural lands.
The position is an individual placement Americorps Member position through the Utah Conservation Corps (UCC) – www.usu/edu/ucc/. The individual must complete 1,700 hours of service; the position requires 30-40 hours of service work per week and terminates no later than December 31, 2017. Salt Lake City is accepting applications through November 18, 2016, and will interview candidates and hire for the position in early December 2016. Job duties will begin approximately December 31, 2016.
Recycling? Check!
Bringing your reusable bag? Double-check!
Proudly displaying your idle-free sticker? Yup!
Mulching at home? Huh??
Did you know that one of sustainability’s best practices is to “leave leaves alone”?
In the fall, when autumn brings a chill to the air, and Salt Lake’s oaks and elms and other deciduous trees drop their leaves, many of us turn on the blowers, haul out the rakes, and get ready for some serious work.
But—have you considered an alternative? Using some or all of your leaves to mulch your yard or garden?
We’d like to invite you to do just that.
Feeding leaves back into your soil is a cost-effective and natural way to enrich your yard, as well as to protect fall plants and vegetables from the cold.
Curious? Here are some tips for making the most of our autumnal deluge:
VIDEO :[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jemBO0NnXXc&w=560&h=315]
PRESS:
Mayor Jackie Biskupski will officially launch a new program on Monday, June 27, to help some west side communities access more affordable and healthy food. The kick-off event and press conference begins at 10 a.m. at the Sorenson Unity Center. The Mayor and community partners will describe the new “Urban Greens Market,” then open the market for immediate business.
The Urban Greens Market is a creative concept to bring farm-fresh food to Glendale and Poplar Grove—neighborhoods classified as “food deserts” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Both Salt Lake City and the USDA found these areas lack grocery stores, have some of the lowest vehicle ownership rates in the country, and are home to an abundance of fast food outlets and convenience stores—all factors leading to the “food desert” designation.
To tackle this problem, in October 2015, the City’s Sustainability Department partnered with local non-profits Green Urban Lunch Box, Real Food Rising, a program of Utah Community Action and Utahns Against Hunger to win a USDA grant to create the Urban Greens Market.
“Ensuring that all Salt Lake City residents have access to healthy and affordable food is a major priority for my administration,” Mayor Biskupski said. “This can be a real challenge for our Glendale and Poplar Grove communities, which are situated in the largest food desert in Salt Lake City. The Urban Greens Market will make affordable, local produce more accessible to our residents in these neighborhoods.”
From now through November 14, the market will rotate through several locations every week in Glendale and Poplar Grove, providing locally grown and harvested produce. Each location will accept food stamp benefits and Double Up Food Bucks — a nutrition incentive program run by Utahns Against Hunger. The Double Up Food Bucks program will match food stamp benefits spent at the Urban Greens Market, up to $10 per market day, for fresh Utah-grown produce.
“We’re thrilled that Urban Greens Market is participating in the Double Up program this season. Double Up Food Bucks is a win-win-win for everyone. The program helps low-income families take home more fruits and vegetables, supports Utah farmers with new customers and more income, and strengthens the local economy by keeping food dollars circulating in the community,” said Brian Emerson, with Utahns Against Hunger.
The Market also provides practical job-training skills by employing teens from the Utah Community Action’s youth development program.
“If you visit an Urban Greens Market farm stand this summer, you may have a chance to meet one of our youth who are gaining skills in job readiness, communication, positive relationships, and healthy living as part of the Real Food Rising team,” said Haley Eckels, with Utah Community Action.
The produce is grown locally by farmers working with Green Urban Lunch Box (GULB) and Real Food Rising. Providing another venue for farmers to sell their produce is an important feature of the Urban Greens Market, which supports GULB’s incubator farm program.
“As we work to increase the number of farmers in the Salt Lake area,” said Shawn Peterson of Green Urban Lunch Box, “It’s very important to also increase the number of customers buying their produce. We hope this gets people hooked on delicious farm fresh food, creating more demand for new urban farmers, and, ultimately, driving up consumption of local food.”
The Urban Greens Market will be hosted by Sorenson Unity Center, Glendale-Mountain View Community Learning Center, Hartland Partnership Center, Neighborhood House, and Sherwood Park from now until November 14.
For more information on the program’s locations and hours please visit:
www.SLCgreen.com/urbangreens
Or register for text alerts by texting MARKET to 51555.
Salt Lake City Green recently launched Empower SLC, an in-house sustainability training platform available for all City employees. The twelve-month program will cover a variety of sustainability-related topics, including energy use at home, water conservation, renewable energy, and food. Empower SLC is designed to motivate behavior change at the individual level in order to reduce pollution, save resources, and enhance Salt Lake City.
Every week, short lessons are released under a larger monthly theme topic. Users can earn points by completing lessons, taking quizzes, and committing to actions each week. To encourage participation amongst all users, employees will earn a sustainability certification based on their level of participation. The Empower SLC certificate will be endorsed by the Mayor and the Sustainability Director at three levels: Basic, Gold, and Platinum.
To date, over 400 employees have registered with Empower SLC! The first month’s theme, Water Free SLC, covers waste management, recyclable materials, and hazardous and electronic waste, with simple tips on how to green your lifestyle at home and in the office. For a closer look into how each department is participating, check out the chart below.
What is Myrtle Spurge?
Myrtle Spurge (Class 2 Noxious Weed of Salt Lake County) grows in large, scattered colonies on our Open Space of Salt Lake City. So we are getting ready to start the yearly purge! This specific time of year is very significant to the plant’s reproduction. We must dig up these plants before their “flowers” (actually colorful bracts) produce seeds very soon. These seeds spread easily and this plant out-competes native species. Please check out our fact sheet about Myrtle Spurge HERE
How does the friendly competition work?
We will compare overall weights of Myrtle Spurge collected and bagged by each community. The winning Community Council will be given the annual title of “Top Myrtle Spurge Purger 2016” and some lucky group participants of that community council will receive prizes!
What will I need to bring/wear?
Did we mention to bring a shovel?
When?
Saturday, May 7th
9 am to 12 pm
Where?
Each Community Council has been assigned an Open Space that is within your community or as close as possible. Your exact location can be found when registering for the event HERE
Don’t see your Community Council listed? Adopt one for the day or . . . . watch for Open Space’s Puncturevine Pull Party happening this summer!
Last night, Mayor Jackie Biskupski presented her 2016-2017 Salt Lake City Budget to the City Council and reemphasized her commitment to improve air quality and protect our natural resources.
Sustainability highlights include:
The Mayor has proposed to elevate the Sustainability Division to a full department.
“Our natural resources and the quality of air we breathe are top priorities for Salt Lake City residents,” said Mayor Biskupski.
“Because the Office of Sustainability is appropriately staffed and financed by the city’s Refuse Enterprise Fund, this change will have limited impact on the general fund.”
The Mayor has committed to developing a long-term strategic plan for replacing the City’s aging fleet with cleaner, greener models, and emphasized “this plan will also include significant guidance from my proposed Department of Sustainability to ensure the new vehicles we purchase are the most fuel efficient and environmentally friendly of each model type.”
In her proposed budget, Mayor Biskupski has allocated $250,000 from realized fuel cost savings to replace some of our aging vehicles.
Mayor Biskupski expressed concern that high permit fees for residential solar installation projects are creating unnecessary barriers to residents who want to have cleaner, renewable energy. The proposed budget includes a suspension of the city’s solar permit fee. This suspension is in line with the goals of the new Department of Sustainability, and will make it more cost effective for homeowners to install solar panels.
Mayor Biskupski feels that as the Crossroads of the West, it is important that Salt Lake City invests in its aging infrastructure and increase accessibility. Mayor Biskupski has proposed, “… $300,000 in funding for a needed traffic light timing calibration, bus stop improvements, pavement overlays, ADA improvements, and sidewalk rehabilitation will help all of us move around our city more easily.”
Mayor Biskupski wrapped up her presentation by stressing, “Before you is a fiscally responsible budget which cares for our city employees, begins to address long-term problems, and finds funding for programs important to our identity as a city. A city for everyone.”
Follow this link, for the entire transcript of the Mayor’s 2016-2017 Salt Lake City Budget.
Today Salt Lake City launches a new partnership with Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) to become one of the organization’s first cohort of Bright Cities. The Bright Cities program is designed specifically to help reduce or eliminate neurotoxic chemical exposures in children when they are most vulnerable.
Exposure to toxic chemicals is so widespread and the impacts on brain development are so severe that leading scientists and doctors call it “a silent epidemic.” When exposure to neurotoxic or “brain drain” chemicals is higher, so are incidences of ADHD, behavioral problems, cognitive delays, and low birth weight.
Studies also show that disproportionately high exposure to these chemicals is one important reason why children below the poverty line are more likely to have intellectual disabilities. While toxic chemicals are not the sole cause for these lifelong effects, they are among the most preventable.
“Through our partnership with Healthy Babies Bright Futures, Salt Lake City is making a commitment to improve the health of our children and our entire community,” says Mayor Jackie Biskupski. “The positive steps we take today to protect our children will last a lifetime and ensure a healthier and brighter future for all.”
Today Salt Lake City will begin phase one of the program, called the Beacon City phase. With support from HBBF, the City will complete an assessment of the current risks, priorities and opportunities related to neurotoxic chemical exposures. The City will also engage in a public process to educate the community and gather stakeholder input on a final plan to reduce or eliminate the impact of these dangerous chemicals on babies’ brains.
For more information on Salt Lake City’s involvement contact Bridget Stuchly at bridget.stuchly@slcgov.com or (801) 535-6438.
Healthy Babies Bright Futures is an alliance of non-profit organizations, philanthropies and scientists that designs and implements projects to reduce babies’ exposure to toxic chemicals during the most vulnerable and significant periods of development: in utero and from birth to age two. M.ore information at https://hbbf.org/
Utah Clean Energy is thrilled to announce the launch of not one, but two more Community Solar programs; Mountain Town Community Solar and U Community Solar.
Community Solar makes putting solar on your roof simple and streamlined by helping neighbors team up and take advantage of a community network and volume pricing. See below for details of the two distinct Community Solar programs and find out which one will work for you.
Mountain Town Community Solar Launch Event, March 28
Summit and Wasatch Counties are giving new meaning to the phrase power in numbers. Community volunteers have come together with non-profit organizations Summit Community Power Works and Utah Clean Energy to launch Mountain Town Community Solar – a program to help residents tackle the solar process as a team, realize cost savings through bulk purchasing power, and energize their communities with clean energy.
Mountain Town Community Solar will host its launch event on Monday, March 28th at 6:00 pm at the Jim Santy Auditorium (1255 Park Ave., Park City, UT, 84060). RSVP here.
Workshop for U Community Solar, March 30
Back by popular demand, the University of Utah is once again partnering with Utah Clean Energy to bring members of the campus community in Salt Lake, Summit, and Davis Counties the opportunity to go solar.
Members of the University of Utah campus community (including alumni, faculty, staff, students, and campus guests) are eligible for a substantial discount on the cost of rooftop solar and a streamlined, simplified solar installation process.
The first workshop for U Community Solar will be held on Wednesday, March 30th at the A. Ray Olpin University of Utah Union, Union Theater, Salt Lake City, UT 83112. RSVP here.
