Leon County Hosts Most Engaging Sustainable Community Summit Ever

Leon County Government held its most engaged Sustainable Community Summit ever the week of April 5. Eight virtual and two in-person events were held in conjunction with local community leaders and organizers who discussed a range of topics including beekeeping, composting, and integrating sustainability into your career. The County’s Summit guided citizens through actionable, hands-on actions they can take to inspire sustainable progress in their careers, at home, and in their community.

If you missed the summit, but are interested in sustainability topics, videos from the sessions are available now at GrowingGreen.org/Summit.

The in-person composting event was held at Compost Community (compostcommunity.org)

The most popular session of the Summit touched on how to compost at home and the recent launch of the County’s first pilot drop off composting location and bin giveaway. Two composting sessions were held, one virtual and one in-person. Interest in at-home bins has been so significant that the County is currently working to purchase a second round of bins for distribution after 100 were given away to members of the community. More details about how citizens can get a composting bin can be found at GrowingGreen.org/Composting.

Tobias Raether, Leon County Sustainability Programs Coordinator with a leftover kit including carrots, greens, and more local vegetables.

The Live Cooking Class featured locally sourced produce from Red Hills Small Farm Alliance and demonstrated how residents can make healthy meals with minimal food waste. Participants could purchase produce bundles from Red Hills Online Market that supplied nearly all the produce used in the cooking class. The produce bundles were also offered to income-eligible citizens for free, and leftover bundles were distributed throughout the community by community partners.

“Our biannual Sustainable Community Summit is a great way for community members, groups, businesses, and people from all walks of life to help advance our efforts towards a sustainable community for all,” said Leon County Sustainability Manager Tessa Schreiner. “While we are continuing to monitor our public health concerns, the County is devoted to educating and informing the community on our ongoing sustainability plans for the future.” 

Leon County Sustainability is dedicated to continuing the conversation around Sustainability in Action. Again, if you missed the summit, but are interested in sustainability topics, videos from the sessions are available now at GrowingGreen.org/Summit.

For more information, please contact Tessa Schreiner, Leon County Office of Sustainability at (850) 606-5000 / SchreinerT@LeonCountyFL.gov, or Mathieu Cavell, Leon County Community and Media Relations at (850) 606-5300 / CMR@LeonCountyFL.gov.