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Tuesday, June 30, 2020 Virtual Sustainability Lab

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Published on Monday June 15th, 2020

The Lab will be held virtually this month!

Virtual Sustainability Lab via Zoom - 

Sustainability Start-Ups

3:35 - 3:45: Check-in join the Zoom webinar

3:45 - 4:45: Product Pitches and Panel

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/96990741389

Join Singularity U St Louis and OneSTL for another partnered, virtual Sustainability Lab on Tuesday, June 30 focused on using technology and innovation to advance sustainability!

The "pitch" format is intended 1.) for the tech and start-up community to use their expertise to offer solutions to problems and issues being encountered by the OneSTL Working Groups and 2.) for the OneSTL sustainability community to use their expertise to offer ideas and inspiration to the tech start-ups to make their products more successful and impactful.

Aya's

Aya's Market is an online marketplace of locally made ready-to-heat meals and groceries. Using a mission-driven business model, Aya's is helping end malnutrition in the Greater St. Louis Region by making healthy foods affordable, accessible, delicious, and easy to prepare. The market furthers sustainability by providing consumers a convenient way to source local foods delivered to their doorsteps.

Bio: Sarah Schlafly is the Executive Director at Aya's Market, an online market of local foods, and founder of Mighty Cricket, a clean protein manufacturing company. Sarah's work centers around food security, nutrition, and sustainability. She has 10 years experience working in the food industry as a chef, culinary instructor, and food brand marketer. One of Sarah's favorite things to do is to collaborate with St. Louisans doing inspirational work. She encourages you to connect with her anytime.

Pana Mina

Pana Mina creates sustainable, timeless clothing for women. Each piece is ethically made in Jaipur, India and has charming artisan touches like handpainted wooden buttons or traditional Indian block prints. As the world shifts away from toxic fast fashion, Pana Mina joined the growing movement of small, slow fashion brands-- encouraging "less but better" ethical and sustainable consumption. Pana Mina uses 100% eco-friendly materials, biodegradable packaging, and incorporates traditional / low impact fabric dyeing and treatment methods. Additionally, Pana Mina is growing at a steady, sustainable rate to ensure high quality garments and living wages throughout our supply chain. 

Bio: Eleanore Swanstrom was raised in Saint Louis, and received her B.S.B. in Marketing from the University of Minnesota. In the summer of 2019, she explored India solo as part of her post-college travels, and met her partner, Jay, while traveling in Goa. She and Jay set out on a journey to combine their cultures into an ethical clothing business, and relocated to the heart of India's textile and apparel manufacturing: Jaipur. Eleanore splits her time between Saint Louis and India, and focuses on Pana Mina's marketing and product development.

Accelerate Wind

Accelerate Wind creates a novel rooftop wind energy solution- one that operates quieter, cheaper, and more aesthetically pleasing than today's solutions.

Bio: Erika Boeing is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Accelerate Wind, a 2016 Arch Grants Recipient. Erika has worked previously as a Systems Engineer at DRS Technologies, studied the interrelations between technology, society, and sustainability as a Fulbright Scholar in the Netherlands, and worked as a Research Fellow at Project Drawdown. She holds an M.A in European Studies on Society, Science, and Technology, and a B.S. In Mechanical Engineering.

Acting and Recycling Responsibly in a COVID-19 World

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Published on Wednesday May 20th, 2020

With the recent increased spending on groceries, curbside food pick-up, and home delivery you are likely ending up with more and more items that need to be recycled. In particular, plastic bags. To prevent introducing outside contaminants, many retailers are not allowing customers to bring reuseable bags into stores. The good news is you still have environmentally friendly options during these times. 

Here are some ways you can make a difference as you navigate COVID-19

Read more...

Tuesday, May 26, 2020 Virtual Sustainability Lab

Details

Published on Tuesday May 12th, 2020

The Lab will be held virtually this month!

Virtual Sustainability Lab via Zoom

3:35 - 3:45: Check-in join the Zoom webinar (details coming soon)

3:45 - 4:45: Dance a Catalyst for Social Change, Consuming Kinetics Dance Company (CKDC)

CKDC will be presenting via a webinar on Zoom with presenting partner T-Rex.

CKDC hopes to model how every single person has the power to create change, and how they are using dance and performance arts as a vehicle for community organizing, culture-shifting, and public activism. CKDC will be exploring the interweaving of dance, performance art, and sustainability. They will discuss their season concerts (including the postponed Human Disturbance show), the organization's journey to achieving zero waste, and the community initiative, Kinetic Community Connections. 

The Spring 2021, performance Human Disturbance is an interrogation, through contemporary dance, of humankind's impact on the Earth. The choreographers will explore how the performance pieces address many challenges we face including climate change, over consumption, conservation, and natural disasters and approaches to addressing these concerns. 

Presenters include:

Arica Brown CKDC Founder/ Artistic and Executive Director, Ashreale McDowell, Assistant Artisitc Director and Resident Choreographer, Kat Norton, Associate Director and Resident Choreographer, Cyrus Coble, Company Educator, Dancer and Video Artist, Katrin Allen, Junior Company Dancer, and Rachel Strader, Company Educator and Dancer, and Co-Founder of a new nonprofit whose mission is to keep textiles out of landfills.

Zoom webinar details https://zoom.us/j/95584467265 meeting ID: 955 8446 7265 or call in at 1(929)436-2866, 9558446726#

Building Resilient Food Systems More Info and Resources

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Published on Monday May 11th, 2020

Did you miss the April Sustainability Lab?

No worries you can watch it by clicking the image below, or check out this great blog post Hungry for Change written by Jenn DeRose.

Are you interested in a more reslient food system?

Known & Grown STL is a great resource on how to get local, sustainably-raised food from environmentally-responsible farmers

Do you want to buy local food via curbside and delivery services?

Click here to see what farmers offer online ordering, deliveries, and pickups, and where to get local products during the pandemic.
This resource also includes information about CSAs, farmers markets, and restaurants that source locally who are offering curbside
and delivery services. It is updated regularly to stay as accurate as possible.

Slow Food STL offers this guide to farmers markets in the region.

How can you avoid "greenwashing" at the grocery store? 

Here is a great guide from Consumer Reports

Do you want to keep up to date with local food news? 

Of course you do! Sign up for the Known & Grown STL newsletter and follow them on Facebook!

Tuesday, April 28, 2020 Virtual Sustainability Lab

Details

Published on Monday April 13th, 2020

The Lab will be held virtually this month!

Virtual Sustainability Lab via Zoom

3:35 - 3:45: Check-in join the Zoom webinar (details below description)

3:45 - 4:30: Building Food System Resilience During and After Covid presented by Known & Grown STL

Jenn DeRose, Known & Grown STL Manager and Rae Miller Local Food Coordinator for Missouri Coalition for the Environment will be presenting via a webinar on Zoom with presenting partner T-Rex.

Join Known & Grown STL for a discussion about how local food has pivoted during the pandemic and how to help build a more resilient food system in the future.

The webinar will be best via a computer or tablet and can be accessed by clicking this link https://zoom.us/j/94604236504. 

Tuesday, March 31, 2020 Virtual Sustainability Lab

Details

Published on Thursday March 26th, 2020

The Lab will be held virtually this month!

Virtual Sustainability Lab via Zoom

3:35 - 3:45: Check-in join the zoom webinar (details below description)

3:45 - 4:30: iNaturalist Home Explorers Training Edition

Michael Dawson, Conservation Education Liaison for the St. Louis Zoo will be presenting an Training Edition session via a webinar on zoom with presenting partner Ecochallenge.org.

iNaturalist is an online and mobile platform to identify, collect, record, and share nature findings in your area and to meet other nature enthusiasts virtually. He will walk us through iNaturalist observations and how to get involved in a few local projects so that you can to be a citizen scientist and contribute to sharing knowledge on biodiversity in the region.

The webinar will be best via a computer or tablet and can be accessed by clicking this link https://zoom.us/j/861699977. 

You may also dial into the meeting at +1 646 876 9923 or +1 312 626 6799 and enter the webinar ID: 861 699 977.