Sustainable Tucson

The current pandemic is a bit like living in a Category 5 hurricane we didn’t prepare for. It won’t be the last emergency we face, and probably not the worst. According to Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego – “You cannot anticipate everything that will happen and one crisis does not wait for the other one to finish.” 

Join us for “Strong Communities & Beautiful Neighborhoods”, where we will explore some of the tools we have available to prepare for the next pandemic, the next local climate disruption. We need to prepare for the future we have already set in motion and explore ways we can use the tools at hand to build a more resilient Tucson and a sustainable future.

What sorts of tools? They include:

• “Complete Streets” to transform our streets into living public spaces that connect people to places and to each other.
• “Shade Tucson” to plant a million rain- and gray-watered trees.
• “Neighbors Care Alliance” to build neighborhood support networks for the elderly.
• Partnerships between schools and neighborhoods to create safe venues for experiential and service learning – and to connect students to their community.
• Neighborhood and market gardens to provide fresh and delicious local food.
• Distributed solar power to guarantee uninterruptible power for cooling and water.

“Strong Communities & Beautiful Neighborhoods” will feature a panel of community experts who will discuss some of the many ways we can employ these and other tools to create the beautiful, resilient, and sustainable community we want – and deserve – if we can come together to create it.
 
Join us to explore ways to create a sustainable and resilient Tucson built on strong communities and beautiful neighborhoods and get ready for the Tucson for the World workshop starting on August 24.

Tuesday, August 11th, at 6pm PDT/MST
https://meet.google.com/wmr-fjhx-fdo

This meeting supports Sustainable Development Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

The ongoing viral pandemic isn’t the only threat we need to address. Shortages of resources, waste, pollution, and an addiction to fossil fuels that is overheating the planet are causing unprecedented damage to the environment our way of life depends on.

Fortunately, it’s not too late. Renewable energy deployments are accelerating globally, promising the ability to live a meaningful and satisfying life without increasing the burden on our planet.

Join us to review progress and priorities in flattening the carbon curve.  Our aim is for everyone present in our virtual meeting to leave with a desire, a plan, and a commitment to take some kind of positive action.

Tuesday, July 14 at 6pm PDT
Join us online at https://meet.google.com/euk-avzh-sga

This event addresses Sustainable Development Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.

Join Sustainable Tucson for a special Juneteenth community discussion:

1. Watch the movie The Long Shadow, a documentary by Frances Causey. The filmmakers have made the movie available to Sustainable Tucson to view for FREE from Monday, June 15th through Sunday, June 21st at http://www.thelongshadowfilm.com/sustainabletucson
2. Join us for a discussion about the film with the filmmaker, Frances Causey, on Juneteenth (Friday, June 19th) at 6pm MST. The discussion will be online at https://meet.google.com/ccp-hugo-ccy

Of all the divisions in America, none is as insidious and destructive as racism. In this powerful documentary, the filmmakers, both privileged daughters of the South, who were haunted by their families slave owning pasts, passionately seek the hidden truth and the untold stories of how America—guided by the South’s powerful political influence—steadily, deliberately and at times secretly, established white privilege in our institutions, laws, culture and economy.

This event addresses Sustainable Development Goals 10, Reduce inequality within and among countries, and 16, Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.

The City of Tucson is preparing a city-wide transportation master plan that will create a mobility blueprint for the City’s future in a rapidly-changing world. The plan will be innovative, creative, and inclusive. By working together, we can commit ourselves to create a mobility future that works for all of us.

How can streets be made safer? How can we expand travel options so more people can walk, bike, or take public transit? How do we improve reliability of travel time, particularly as we grow? We need your help shaping the City’s vision and action plan to answer these questions and more. Together, we can create the city we want to be.

The outcome of the planning process will be a document that informs the Mayor and Council’s decisions in the very near future about policy, resources, and how welcoming and livable our city is to visitors, residents, and business owners.

Join us at the next Sustainable Tucson Topical Issue Meeting to learn more about the Move Tucson public input process and make your voice heard!

Tuesday, June 9th, at 6pm
Join with Google Meet: meet.google.com/ehf-xquo-uso
Join by phone‪: +1 252-696-1240‬ PIN: ‪465 615 840‬#

This topic relates to Sustainable Development Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

A conversation with Mike Peel of Local First Arizona about ways to create a resilient local economy here in Southern Arizona.

The coronavirus pandemic response has highlighted a number of weaknesses in our economy. How can we create a vibrant, sustainable, and equitable local economy? We will be asking Mike that question in this conversation about steps we can be taking now and in the future to ensure we can weather this crisis and the inevitable shocks to the economy that climate change will bring.

Join us for this virtual topical issue meeting about Sustainable Development Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020 from 6-8pm
https://bit.ly/STLocalEconomy

We’re still dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic, which is why this month’s topical issue meeting will be online. We will have a presentation and discussion of known and suspected links between climate change and pandemics, what we know at this point about the current strain of Coronavirus (COVID-19), and the impacts of the pandemic worldwide, in the United States, and especially here in Arizona and Pima County. We’ll highlight the issues and vulnerabilities this ongoing pandemic has revealed in our society and community in order to focus on addressing these concerns through our future efforts to build a Sustainable Tucson. Sign in for this very important socially-distant discussion!

This TIM addresses Sustainable Development Goal #3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages and Sustainable Development Goal #13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020
6:00-8:00pm
https://meet.google.com/gao-oquu-cwq

Join Sustainable Tucson to dive in to watershed restoration efforts, at the scale of watersheds and streamsheds. We’ll have an expert panel with a wide range of backgrounds discussing how we can bring back some of the riparian environments our ancestors enjoyed here in Tucson. The panel will include:

• Claire Zugmeyer, Sonoran Institute
• Evan Canfield, Pima County Regional Flood Control District
• Natalie Wilson, United States Geological Survey
• Trevor Hare, Watershed Management Group

Tuesday, March 10, 2020
6-8pm (Doors open at 5:30)
Tucson City Council Ward 6 Office

This program addresses Sustainable Development Goal 6: ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all; and Sustainable Development Goal 15: protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

“A new bottom-up movement for inspiring massive action on sustainability issues at the individual and neighborhood level.”

Join us this month to learn about One Weekend for the World – a new initiative from Shane Reiser, serial entrepreneur and former COO of Startup Weekend, in a special session about organizing for grassroots action.

The program will start with a recap of Hack Tucson, the design sprint for sustainability hosted by Sustainable Tucson and Code for Tucson as part of the 2019 TENWEST Impact Festival.

This program supports Sustainable Development Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Tuesday, February 11, 2020
6:00-8:00pm
Tucson Ward 6 Office

A sustainable future is going to require some innovative thinking – especially about where we live and work. This month we’ll hear from a panel of innovators building the sustainable buildings of the future today. Join us to be inspired by what the future could bring to Tucson.

This presentation is related to Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020
6-8pm (Doors open at 5:30)
Ward 6 Community Room

Confirmed panelists include:

• Bart Santello – Filmmaker and dome house builder
• David Eisenberg – 2030 District
• Janelle Briggs – Co-founder of Stackhouse
• Joe Silins – Owner/Operator of Tierra Buena Home and Garden
• Robin Motzer – Vision House Tucson

Celebrate the holidays with Sustainable Tucson! Our family-friendly end-of-year celebration will include a vegetarian potluck dinner, storytelling performance, games, and activities. Don’t forget to bring your own plate, silverware, and cup or mug – no single use flatware at this party!

St. Mark's Presbyterian
Geneva Room
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
6-8pm