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.
Category Archives: Living Green
Get Your Compost!
by Ardyn Ford, spring intern
Bring Your Own Beverage Bucket!
There is a great new way to get locally produced natural fertilizer for your home lawn or garden! The new “Buck a Bucket” program launched this spring by the Salt Lake Valley Landfill will sell five gallons of compost for $1 to anyone who supplies their own bucket. The promotion ends July 31, 2018.
Better yet, this compost is made from our very own green waste that’s put into the curbside compost cans every week.
It’s high-quality stuff and has been certified by the U.S. Composting Council.
Through July 31, bring a 5-gallon bucket and fill it with compost for $1!
Organic Ways to Care for Your Lawn & Soil
by Sydney Boogaard, SLCgreen intern
Maintaining a traditional green and lush lawn in Utah’s arid climate can be a real challenge. Utah’s extreme weather can place a significant amount of stress on our plants, grasses, and vegetables. But with a little proactive care, we can keep our yards healthy, happy, and pesticide free.
The key to this is to remember that our soils, lawns, and gardens are dynamic living systems that depend on a healthy ecosystem to thrive.
The suggestions below are sustainable and natural practices that can help maintain that healthy ecosystem– and thereby a strong flourishing yard.
Don’t forget to join our #PesticideFreeSLC campaign and pledge to keep our yards healthy and our bodies safe
Salt Lake County Seeking Local Farmers to Develop Agricultural Land
Do you know a local farmer or organization that is seeking agricultural land to develop?
As part of Salt Lake County’s vision to create more opportunities for locally produced food, the Open Space and Urban Farming programs are seeking local farmers to manage land at Wheadon Park and Big Cottonwood Regional Park. The three separate sites have a total of 20.3 farmable acres.
The County is soliciting proposals from qualified firms “Proposer / Contractor” to provide management and operation of commercial farming enterprise at Big Cottonwood Regional Park (7 acres) and at two parcels at Wheadon Park (3.4 and 9.9 acres).
Join the Pesticide Free SLC Campaign!
As you may know, Salt Lake City has partnered with the Healthy Babies Bright Futures alliance to conduct an assessment and implement approaches to reduce exposure to certain chemicals deemed most risky for babies in their first 1,000 days of development.
One of the ways we’re doing that is by piloting organic turf management at two Salt Lake City parks, with the goal of adding more City properties.
Now we’re asking you to join us! Take the pledge to be Pesticide Free in your landscaping. You’ll get a yard sign, as well as a helpful toolkit for how to use organic methods at your home or businesses.
“Pesticide Free SLC” is a public campaign to educate and encourage Salt Lake City residents and businesses to phase out chemical pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer use from their landscaping. Continue reading
Halloween Decorating! SLCgreen Style
Halloween is right around the corner! Have you finished your decorations yet?
The City & County Building is having a door decorating competition between departments (never mind that the building itself might be haunted….!)
Of course, here at the Sustainability Department we know it’s important to “walk our talk” in terms of decorating with reused, compostable, and recyclable goods to keep material out of the landfill.
In the process, we had a fun time using our creativity (and Google) to come up with some cool ways to spookishly decorate. Here are some tips for your home or office: Continue reading
Sustainability Saturday: Take Advantage of SLC’s Sustainability Assets
Does SLC’s commitment to sustainability improve your quality of life? Does it make Salt Lake City a better place to live and work? We think so! Check out our latest blog with SLC Economic Development on how and why businesses should seek out and take advantage of our city’s “sustainability assets.”
#e2business #SustainableBusiness #SustainableCity #LiveWorkPlay
It’s Leaf Season!
Fall is here in Salt Lake City and leaves are beginning to drop.
This is a friendly reminder to please use your brown compost bin to dispose of leaves. The brown bins go to the compost facility at the Salt Lake Valley landfill, keeping this methane-producing organic material out of the traditional landfill.
Keep Leaves Out of Your Gutter and the Storm Drains
“Live Electric” EV & E-Bike Discounts Through Sept. 30
Do you hate bad air days? We do too. Luckily, there are more and more options for cleaner transportation in Salt Lake City from Ride With Hive to the Live Electric EV & E-Bike discount program, a deal worth looking into if you have ever considered purchasing an electric vehicle.
UTA HIVE: Trax, Buses, and S-line Streetcar for $42/mo.
by Colin Green
Another summer has come and gone, can you believe it? The days are getting shorter and the fall equinox is right around the corner. Crisp morning air greets us as we step outside, sending kids off to school and beginning our morning commutes.
Autumn is a time of fresh starts and new routines. This transition is a great time to build positive habits that will carry smoothly into the busy year ahead.
We’d like to encourage you to consider integrating a lower emission commute into your routine this fall.
Around the globe, urban transit is the single greatest source of transportation related emissions and it’s growing. By riding public transit, even a few days a week, you can do your part to reduce emissions.
Driving alone in your vehicle is also a major source of local air pollution. Did you know that over 50% of Salt Lake City’s air pollution comes from transportation? By building public transit into your routine, you can make a difference on a local and global level.
The Hive Pass can help you do that! This Salt Lake City subsidized program, which launched several years ago, offers City residents half off the monthly UTA pass! Continue reading