Category Archives: Living Green

Community Gardens

By Nicole Muehle, SLCgreen Intern

Community gardens are starting to play a more vital role in the lives of those that live in Salt Lake City. The City has eight City-owned or managed sites with the appropriate sun exposure, waterlines, and conditions to create sustainable community gardens. A high demand of community gardens downtown highlights their importance to a strong, local food system and healthy food access.  Growing food in a community garden gives those with little to no land the ability to have fresh organic produce.

One of the newest gardens, Off Broadway Community Garden, is located at 337 South 400 East. What is now a flourishing garden used to be a vacant lot!  The history of Plot 337 is unique in that it was temporarily an art exhibit, created with the knowledge that demolition would ensue.  From one art form to another, the parking lot has transformed into a vibrant and flourishing community garden.  Some of the SLCgreen interns had the privilege of getting a tour of the garden.

If you are interested in learning more or having your own plot at one of the community gardens around the city, visit our webpage.

Here are some before and after photos of the Off Broadway Community Garden.

Cottonwood Canyons Foundation Mountain Clean-up at Alta Ski Area, July 11th

By Nicole Muehle, SLCgreen Intern

Come out to Alta on Saturday, July 11th from 8:00am to noon, and help clean-up Albion Basin. Volunteers will be able to ride the ski lift up to the top, and then hike down while picking up the winter’s trash. All volunteers are required to register by calling either (801) 466-6411 or emailing volunteer@cottonwoodcanyons.org.

For more information on events that Cottonwood Canyons Foundation will be holding, see the flyer below.

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Downtown Farmers Market Opens this Saturday!

By SLCgreen Intern Nicole Muehle

The Downtown Salt Lake City Farmers Market begins this Saturday, June 13th at Pioneer Park and will continue through the end of the summer. This year the market will be offering everything from canning classes to musical performances from local artists. See the full list of market events happening this summer!

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Attending the Downtown Farmers Market is a great way to eat sustainably and get to know the local vendors. Spring and early summer crops include greens, strawberries, herbs, and spinach. There will also be baked goods, jams, and spreads.

Downtown Salt Lake City Farmers Market

Saturdays: 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. (June 13th-October 24th)

Tuesdays: 4:00 p.m.-Dusk (August 4th-October 20th)

Located at Pioneer Park, 300 S. 300 W.

Idle Free Signs

New #IdleFree signs are going up around the city.  Do you know of a location that could use a sign?  To suggest sign locations or to learn more, click here.

Help to make your workplace or child’s after school/summer program idle free! Contact Olivia Juarez at 801-535-7761 or Olivia.Juarez@slcgov.com for more information or to request a FREE sign.

Check out these great photos from businesses around town that have put up new signs:

Thanks to UCAIR for your generous support of an Idle Free City.

“Your Utah, Your Future” Survey

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How do you envision the future of Utah?  By 2050, our population will nearly double, and Utah will add an estimated 2.5 million residents. Will we have enough water to drink? Will our air be clean? How will we educate twice as many students? Will our economy remain strong? What kind of future will we leave for our children and grandchildren?

Envision Utah has created a survey called “Your Utah, Your Future” commissioned by Governor Herbert.  The survey gives five scenarios for the future of Utah.  Each scenario includes 11 topics affected by our population growth.  In the survey you select the choices you want to make in each topic area and then choose an overall scenario for Utah in 2050.

The survey will close on May 31, and at over 31,000 recorded responses, it is already the single largest community visioning effort ever undertaken in the US.  The goal is 50,000 participants.  Take the survey!

Please consider sharing it with your employees and coworkers, family and friends, and encourage them to take it, also.

Additionally, over 300 schools have registered across the state.  You can earn money for your local schools- $1 for every response collected!YourUtah

e2 Business Best Practice: Future of Food Waste

On Tuesday, e2 Business members gathered at the Central Valley Water Reclamation facility to learn about anaerobic digestion and how it can help solve the long standing issue of what to do to “recycle” food waste and prevent it from ending up in our valley’s landfills. And by food waste they mean just about anything — from bread, to fish, to expired milk and everything in between!
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Glen Perry is Vice President of ALPRO Energy & Water, the project development firm that has partnered with Momentum Recycling and Central Valley Water Reclamation facility to develop the proposed food waste anaerobic digester.

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The group noshed on delicious vegan sandwiches, salads and burritos from Bud’s Sandwich Company as they learned the ins and outs of anaerobic digestion (and its similarities to human digestion — interesting lunch talk!)

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Kate Whitbeck with Momentum Recycling shared how their organization plans to play a roll in providing the “feedstock” for the anaerobic digester in the form of post-consumer food waste, primarily from restaurants.

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Following the discussion, the group took a tour of the Central Valley Water Reclamation facility, highlights including a rooftop view of the reactors and waste digesters. Learn more about the waste operations at the facility.

Green your business with the help of Salt Lake City’s e2 business program!

Earth Day, Every Day!

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Here are some #EarthDayEveryDay tips for Earth week!

Monday– Meatless Mondays!

Tuesday– Transportation Tuesdays

Wednesday– Wildlife Wednesdays

Thursday– Green Thumb Thursdays

  • Tend to your garden today. Or start a garden! Spring is the perfect time to plant in Salt Lake City!
  • Need gardening space? Consider community gardening! 

Friday– Idle Free Fridays

Saturday– Crafty Saturday- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

  • Go to a yard sale, host a clothing swap, find a new use for something you were going to throw away, buy a used item instead of a new item!
  • Crafty Saturday upcycle ideas! 

Sunday– Solar SUNdays

  • Try to abstain from using one thing that depends on fossil fuels today (like your car or heater)!
  • Learn something new about solar power today:

“Obama touts solar initiative” 

“The world is now adding more capacity for renewable power each year than coal, natural gas, and oil combined.” 

Vancouver commits to 100% renewable energy use! 

On the cost of renewable energy. 

Happy Earth Day from SLCgreen!  #EarthDayEveryDay

Exchange your old gas can (for free!) on Saturday, April 11

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Exchange your old empty 2.5 or 5 gallon gas can for a free, brand new, environmentally friendly can of equal size!

UCAIR and Chevron are exchanging over 4,500 gas cans. That’s equivalent to eliminating 540 cars off Utah’s roads per day over the 5-year life of each gas can. Making this small change can have large impact on our air quality. Together we can make a difference in Utah’s air quality.

The Gas Can Exchange Program will be the first of its kind in Utah and help our state come into compliance with the EPA standard.

The event will be held on April 11, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the following locations:

  • 2100 S. 300 W., Salt Lake City, Chevron Station
  • 1997 E. 3500 N., Layton, Davis Landfill
  • 1855 Skyline Dr., South Ogden, Chevron Station
  • 1200 Towne Center Blvd., Provo Towne Center Mall

Why exchange your old can? Old gas cans contribute to volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by:

  • Permeation of vapors through walls of containers.
  • Escaping fumes while fuel is being dispensed.
  • Spillage and over filling as fuel is being poured into equipment.
  • Spillage and evaporation through secondary vent holes.
  • Evaporation through inadequately capped spouts.

The new cans have several improvements including:

  • Automatic shut-off feature to prevent overfilling.
  • Automatic closing feature.
    • Sealed when it is not in use.
    • Prevents leaking vapors.
    • Protects children from accidental spills and ingestion.
    • Secondary venting holes are eliminated to stop venting of fumes into the air.
    • Thicker walls to reduce vapor permeation.

Please contact Angie at coordinator@ucair.org if you have any questions about the gas can exchange.

Source: http://www.ucair.org/hot_topics/ucair-chevron-gas-can-exchange/

SLCgreen Highlights from 2014

Happy New Year! It’s been a busy year for the Salt Lake City Green team, and we look forward to an exciting 2015 with your ongoing support. Since we’re in a reflective mood, take a look at some of our highlights from 2014.

Climate Task Force

We started the year with Mayor Ralph Becker’s appointment to the White House’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. Both Mayor Becker and Sustainability Director Vicki Bennett attended a series of round tables throughout the year, which culminated in the presentation of recommendations to the President in Washington D.C.

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Project Skyline

In May, Salt Lake City hosted EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy for a historic visit. In addition to a round table discussion with key partners, Administrator McCarthy joined Mayor Becker to kick off Project Skyline and the Mayor’s Skyline Challenge, a new initiative to curb energy waste from our city’s commercial buildings. SLCgov.com/ProjectSkyline

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SmartTrips Sugar House

During the summer, we kicked off a new year of SmartTrips in the Sugar House/S-Line neighborhood. The program focused on encouraging residents to walk, bike and take public transit to reduce their vehicle trips and impact on air quality. It was a great success! Over 500 households participated, increasing their alternative transit trips by 46% during the height of the program. SmartTripsSLC.com

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SLC Goes Solar

In June, we flipped the switch on Salt Lake City’s new solar farm. The farm produces 1.2 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually for our net zero Public Safety Building. We also celebrated two other important solar projects at the event, rooftop installations on the Public Safety Building and Plaza 349. Over 4,000 solar panels were installed on the three project sites, which will generate 1.7 million kilowatt-hours annually. SLCgreenBlog.com

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Popperton Plots Community Garden

In August we celebrated the successful opening and dedication of the Popperton Plots Community Garden in the Avenues. Popperton is one of the first community gardens to open on a parcel of city-owned land, made available through an expanded Green City Growers program. Popperton was also the receipient of a Partners for Places grant to support their development. It was a wonderful harvest celebration and an important milestone! More plots are available for development: SLCgreenblog.com

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Sustainable Business Leadership Award

In November, Sustainability Director Vicki Bennett was recognized by Utah Business Magazine with a Sustainable Leadership Award, and the whole SLCgreen team was there to help her celebrate! Vicki has led Salt Lake City’s award-winning Salt Lake City Green program for 13 years, spearheading initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality and divert waste from the landfill. Congratulations, Vicki! SLCgreenblog.com

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Green Your Holiday Celebrations This Season

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Photo Credit: m01229 via Flickr

Despite the unusually high temperatures, holiday season is upon us. Instead of being bogged down by the “buy, buy, buy,” we’re offering suggestions to help green your holidays.

Here are tips on creating your own gifts and reducing waste.

Gifts: ‘Tis the season for spending. But you can still give amazing gifts without draining your bank account. Consider donating to a non-profit organization on behalf of a loved one, upcycle items into trendy new gifts, or make your own lotions or soaps. From “Do It Yourself” green gifts to sustainable wrapping, our Green Holiday Pinterest board has suggestions to help create a more sustainable holiday season.

Another idea, create a SoKind Registry, which allows you to ask for secondhand, gently used and handmade items, you can even request something as simple as a helping hand. SoKind has a fun tagline to keep in mind this holiday season – “More fun, less stuff!”

When you do head out to the stores, make a point of supporting local businesses. When you shop local, more of your dollars stay in the community. Local First Utah has a wonderful directory of Utah businesses on their website. Check out our list of Salt Lake City e2 businesses and consider supporting both a local AND green business!

Holiday Meals: The principles are evergreen, so check out our “recycled” Five Quick Tips for A Greener Thanksgiving blog post and our Green Thanksgiving Pinterest board to green your holiday meals.

Additionally, our Green Holiday Pinterest board has pins for minimizing the use of meat in recipes — vegetarian dishes have a lower environmental impact. And buy local! Pick up your local fresh vegetables from the Winter Farmer’s Market on December 20th, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Setting Your Table: Resist the urge to purchase single-use table settings. After their one use, they go right to the landfill where they take years to degrade (if they ever!) If you’re hosting, ask your guests to pitch in to help wash dishes. If you’re headed to a celebration away from your home, pack up some silverware, plates, and cups (or a water bottle) and bring them along. The extra ten seconds it takes to pack up your own dishes saves landfill space and energy.