Here are our Workshops and Presentations from 2013:

“Becoming Carbon Positive” with Interfaith Environmental Network (12:00pm, Stage 2)
Come celebrate the launch of Becoming Carbon Positive, a remarkable collaborative document from members of the Interfaith Environmenal Network of Austin (IEN), the IEN Energy Action Team, local clergy, and ClimateBuddies.org.

“Becoming Carbon Positive” is the world’s first community-drafted “how to manual” for religious congregations looking to reduce their contributions to the climate problem. Becoming Carbon Positive offers participants a free congregational assessment, discusses the religious rationale for action from numerous faith and spiritual practice perspectives, provides a host of religious, scientific, and educational resources, and includes an excellent guide for forming, leading and growing a congregational action team. Becoming Carbon Positive was written over a 12 month period by collective input from the Interfaith Environmental Network of Austin’s Energy Action Team. The group plans to follow up this 1st Edition with a 2nd Edition in 2014, which will include even broader input from Austin’s faith-based community. To learn more visit: http://climatebuddies.org/ieneat/

How to lose 5000 lbs of your carbon diet?  (12:30pm, Stage 2)

Do you know your carbon footprint? Do you know what the most important climate change choices that you make are? Did you know that it is really easy to lose 10% of your carbon diet? Come join us for a fun, pop-quiz-style workshop where we focus on you and your household. At climate buddies we want to help you become a Carbon Diet Champion and make it fun, positive, social and action-oriented. We will try to inspire you to sign up for actions that you can do yourself at home, with your family or friends. Our goal is to work with 1,000 people in 2013 aiming to lose 10% of their carbon diet. That is about 5000 lbs per average American. Do you want to know how this works and start to shed those massive amounts of carbon pollution? Discover how the program works, what you can do and how you can get involved. Everybody can do this. The ultimate goal is to be carbon positive. It may surprise you, but some people are already very much on their way of becoming carbon positive and ready to share their experiences.

¬†Zero Waste Basics & Navigating Austin’s New Bag Ordinance ¬† ¬†

w/ Austin Zero Waste Alliance (1:00pm, Stage 2)

Learn how Austin is leading the way to a Zero Waste (…or darn close) economy in Texas and how the city’s comprehensive Single-use Bag Ordinance will protect the environment and our tax dollars. Stacy Guidry and Andrew Dobbs of the Austin Zero Waste Alliance will be on hand to answer important questions for Austin residents.

The Austin Zero Waste Alliance (AZWA), a local chapter of the Central Texas Zero Waste Alliance (CTZWA), was established in 2009 to educate and engage Austin residents on Zero Waste policies and strategies. AZWA assists local government in maintaining alignment with the state’s first Zero Waste Master Plan which dictates 90% of Austin’s waste will be diverted from area landfills by 2030, and 95% by 2040, through recycling, composting and other diversion techniques. Through grassroots citizen organizing, city policy input and community education, AZWA is leading the way in helping bring about sustainable growth, more diverse job streams and a bolstered tax base through a Zero Waste economy.

The City of Austin will be giving away FREE reusable bags at these workshops!

Creating Micro Climates (1:30pm, Stage 2)

with Adams Kirkpatrick, Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems

Adding plants can keep your yard cooler. Tall trees shade medium trees ‚Äì that shade small trees ‚Äì and so on. If the sun hardly hits the ground, then your yard feels cooler and uses far less water. Combine plantings with simple drainage ideas and you can have less bugs, save money, use far less water, do less maintenance, never need fertilizers or chemicals, and cool your yard by up to 20 degrees in the heat of the summer…that‚Äôs cool!

Adams is an Associate Designer with The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems (CMPBS) and owner of SunflowerDESIGN. He’s been a student of sustainability for over 20 years.

 

Natural Building: Playing in the Mud and other Strategies for Building a Beautiful Future
with Kindra Welch and John Curry of Design Build Live (2:00pm, Stage 2)

The earth under our feet makes amazing structures! it is structural, sculptural, non-toxic, recyclable and plentiful. Come see, feel and learn about construction with natural materials straight from the earth.
Design~Build~Live has been promoting natural building and sustainable living in the Austin area for over 20 years. They offer monthly educational presentations, hands on workshops and connections to regional natural building events.

A Crash Course in Composting:
Everything you Need to Know to Start Feeding the Earth Instead of the Landfill (2:30pm, Stage 2)
Did you know that over 30% of the waste coming out of the Average American household is compostable? But what does compostable even mean anyway? This informative and interactive workshop will answer all of your compost questions and show you just how easy it is to start using your organic waste to make natural fertilizer instead of stinky landfills.
The East Side Compost Pedallers is a 100% bike-powered compost recycling program that uses bicycles to deliver organic waste from east side homes and businesses to urban farms and gardens to grow more food. Their goal is to make composting accessible and fun for everyone.

 

 Discover the Commons: The Hidden Path to a Sharing Renaissance (5:00pm, Stage 2)

The commons are the ecological, cultural, economic, and information resources that we both inherit and create and that we must learn to see, protect and pass along to future generations undiminished. Learn how working together to reclaim the commons can address the critical issues of our time and spark a renaissance.
Come prepared for inspiring, interactive fun! “Discovering the commons is like looking through a microscope for the first time and suddenly seeing what was there all along.”

 

Let’s Build a Rain Barrel (6:00pm, Stage 2)

Recycling food-grade 55 gallon drums into rain barrels is economical and easy to do. Even the closed top barrels can now be converted entirely from the outside of the barrel with Uniseals, This “Magic Plug” makes watertight connections and are inexpensive compared to traditional bulkhead fittings. Dick Peterson initiated the rainwater harvesting and rain barrel programs while at Austin Water Conservation, then retired from the City after 9 years with Austin Energy Green Building. He now consults on rainwater systems through his website, www.DickPeterson.com and encourages water conservation with presentations to local interest groups.

 You’re Doing What to that Book?  (6:30pm, Stage 2)

At Recycled Reads, the Austin Public Library’s used bookstore, we have come to understand that not all books are created equal. Sure, we want to hold onto our favorite copy of Little Women and we want to make sure everyone reads Moby Dick or To Kill a Mocking Bird. But what can be done with How to Invest in Wall Street from the 1980s or 1990s or even a decade ago? How many copies of the Reader’s Digest Condensed books does your grandma have? Is that 1997 book on buying cosmetics any more relevant than that tube of lipstick you bought the same year? Books cannot (and should not) be thrown in the trash, and because of the glue, bindings and hard covers they are difficult to recycle. But they can be repurposed into letter holders, planters, end tables and other decorative and useful pieces.  We’ll show you new and fun ways to continuing loving books while you love the planet.

 

See Features & Attractions for Live Music at Earth Day.  Also check out our Featured Speakers.