A Collaboration Between COCC & The Environmental Center
SUSTAIN Central Oregon is a month long a series of lectures, workshops, tours and films to celebrate Earth Month during April. The collaboration between the COCC Sustainability Committee and The Environmental Center aims toeducate and empower the Central Oregon community to embed sustainability into daily life. Focusing on a different theme each week (agriculture, energy, water, global consumption and waste) citizens will learn how personal actions impact the future of our environment.
The month of events kicked off on March 30 when OSU-C geologist Daniele McKay offered a geologic perspective on climate change focusing on past changes in Earth’s history and what that might mean for human populations.
Agriculture & Food Week brings the Spring Food and Farm Fair and the chance to get to know local Central Oregon farmers and ranchers and sign up for CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture — food direct from field to you). A lecture on vegetable seeds and the importance of biodiversity is followed by a garden planning workshop, healthy soils presentation and a hands-on cookie baking demonstration with heirloom grains. The permaculture film Inhabit and a tour of a regional irrigation facility round out the week.
Energy & Transportation Week is jam-packed with options: learn about your personal carbon footprint, alternative transportation options, solar power, green building, home performance upgrades, and tour a tiny home! Two pop-up Lighting Fairs (Bend and Redmond) provide an opportunity to purchase all shapes of energy efficient LED lights bulbs at deeply discounted prices, and the related film is Bikes vs. Cars.
Water Week includes tours of the Bend and Redmond water treatment plants, and lectures on the WaterWise program, how Bend and Redmond use water, and COID’s Habitat Restoration Plan. This week culminates with the annual Earth Day Parade and Fair on Saturday, April 23 and two days of environmentally-focused volunteer projects so residents can truly make a difference in hands-on ways!
The final week focuses on Global Consumption and Waste with lectures on consumption, waste, recycling, reuse, and composting. A landfill/recycling center tour, Repair Café to get things fixed instead of throwing them away, and the film Trashed fill out this week.
Check out the complete schedule and description of events at: https://envirocenter.org/sustainco/
The COCC Sustainability Committee will inspire and encourage COCC students, faculty and staff to embrace sustainable practices at COCC. The Committee facilitates integration of sustainability issues, science, socio/political debate and related elements into the instructional curriculum; fosters institutional operations which are environmentally sensitive and model sustainable practices; and integrates sustainability practices in a ways which are cost effective and make institutional operations simpler rather than more complex.
www.cocc.edu/sustainability, www.envirocenter.org, 16 NW Kansas Avenue in downtown Bend
