 Inspiration abounds for nurturing native plants in Iowa City, from public art downtown to the yards featured in Iowa City Lawn Love! In late May, the community celebrated a ribbon-cutting for a new mural. Titled "One Earth," the mural features native prairie plants beautifying the entire north wall of the Capitol St. ramp just inside the Clinton St. entrance.
A short walk away, the Northside Neighborhood Association Native Plant Group has transformed turfgrass into pollinator oases in demonstration yards, with funding from a City PIN (Program for Improving Neighborhoods) grant. See the story of their project at this video link.
 Climate change is bringing to our area higher summer temperatures that happen more often and last longer, even into the night. Make a plan to help yourself and others keep cool this summer.
Green Iowa AmeriCorps members and Climate Action staff will provide cooling stations at several community celebrations this month:
- Riverfront Rhythms at Riverfront Crossings Park on Sat. July 11, 6:30-9 p.m.
- Party in the Park at Mercer Park on Thurs. July 16, 6:30-8 p.m.
At the cooling stations, pick up supplies and information for high heat safety. Visit www.icgov.org/KeepCool for permanent cooling center locations and more information on ways to stay safe when temperatures climb.
 Plastic makes up about 14% of the materials going into the Iowa City Landfill, amounting to over 18,000 tons of plastic waste every year. Sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic are important because most plastic is not recyclable. Even recyclable plastic can only be recycled a few times before it needs to be landfilled.
To jump start your plastic reduction actions, the 100 Grannies will be handing out free sets of beeswax wraps at the July 11 Farmers Market; stop by their table to pick up one for your household and get additional information while there. Join the community-wide effort to reduce plastic use this July! Track simple, voluntary actions all month long to show the impact. To participate, visit icgov.org/reduce.
 Don't ditch; donate! During move-out season, all Johnson County residents are invited to bring items that can be rehomed. Mark your calendar for this year's event:
- Sun. July 19, 12-4 p.m.
- Chauncey Ramp lower level
Visit www.icgov.org/donate for all event information.
In addition, check out the Battery Recycling Pop-Up Event at the Iowa City Senior Center, July 27-31. Find details online. |
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 Harriet Yi Woodford
Climate Ambassador
 How do you take climate action?
I own a food service in Iowa City and I think a lot about food waste and also the take home containers that we use.
Why is it important to take climate action?
I was surprised by some of the information I learned through the Climate Ambassador program. Recycling, for example, is not the answer to the immense amount of trash that we make as consumers. I realized that even if we use recyclable products, there still is such a large use of energy to get them sorted to the appropriate recycling facilities. The curbside recycling that we use in Iowa City is just the beginning -- the materials get driven to the Quad Cities where they are sorted and transported elsewhere to be recycled. It just makes more sense to reuse when possible.
What can others do to take climate action?
The Ambassadors program really got me thinking about my immediate environment and what I could do in my own home and business and then also how I could help other organizations do similar work.
This month's reason for hope: seeds for sharing
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