 Food Waste Wednesdays, an event-style pilot program, offers a no-cost food waste drop-off option for local residents who do not have access to City of Iowa City curbside composting.
-
When: 7 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays, until September 27, 2023.
-
Where: East Side Recycling Center, 2401 Scott Blvd. SE.
-
What: Each resident may drop off up to 10 gallons of food waste per Wednesday. Not accepted: yard waste, animal waste, and any items that are not food parts or accepted paper products.
-
Who: This service is available to Johnson County residents that do not have on-site composting where they live.
Questions? Reach out to the Recycling Coordinator at jwilch@iowa-city.org.
 Want to get started with backyard composting? A group-buy program makes backyard composters available for only $25 each. To claim yours, contact Engagement Specialist Megan Hill at mhill@iowa-city.org.
 Mark your calendar for Iowa City's Fourth Annual Climate Fest, September 18-23, 2023. More info to come in next month's newsletter.
EV drivers are needed! Bring your vehicle to be part of the EV Show on Saturday, September 23 and tell others about why you love driving electric. Please sign up on this registration link.
 Pollinator Park Prowl launched on Saturday, July 1 and runs through Sunday, August 13, 2023.
Pollinator Park Prowl stations have been placed at 16 different parks throughout Iowa City. Each one contains a hidden, painted wooden pollinator, and clues to find it! With every hidden pollinator found and submitted to the contest, you are entered into a raffle for all sorts of cool prizes from local businesses and other organizations. Correctly identify the pollinator at the station you've found and get a bonus raffle entry!
This program is a collaboration between the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department and The LENA Project. To get started, visit the Recreation page and click on the Pollinator Park Prowl section. Find additional details and instructions, and download the full site maps to plan your adventure.
 Jamie Gade
Climate Action Commissioner
 How do you take climate action?
My favorite way to take climate action has been through my work in public health! Public health as a whole is largely moving to take more action in climate efforts. We know climate change will impact health in a variety of ways from an increase in vector borne illnesses to higher heat days impacting quality of life. In 2021, my team measured how heat may impact health for folks living in Johnson County. There was a lot of data collected, but one of the things we found was that about 1 in 3 respondents had experienced symptoms of heat exhaustion during hotter temperature days in Johnson County, with a couple respondents reporting needing medical attention. With the increase in temperature alone, it is important we educate the public on ways to stay cool, and even provide better access to temperature-regulated places to visit for folks who need it. Much of the focus on actions to be taken following the assessment are climate adaptation related.
I will also add that another favorite way to take action is through voting!
Why is it important to take climate action?
Climate action is important to me because we only have one Earth and it is struggling. The projections are very grim if we don’t take action now. I would like to leave the world better than I found it, especially for future generations (my daughter included).
What can others do to take climate action?
I do think smaller actions such as recycling, planting trees, riding your bike to work when possible, etc. are a great place to start for many folks. I think it’s easy to get started if you are an Iowa City resident as well due to the many programs the climate action team has going on – like Root for Trees for example. Like I mentioned previously, voting for candidates that take climate matters seriously is also a great way to take action.
Iowa City’s Climate Action Commission meets monthly
Access upcoming and past meeting packets at the Climate Action Commission web page.
|
|
