I’m helping to make Austin Net-Zero by being involved in the UT sustainability community.
Meet Susan Ward, a student at the University of Texas working toward a degree in Urban Studies. Susan first became passionate about sustainability while attending high school in her hometown of El Paso. Since attending college at UT, her passion and drive for sustainability have only grown deeper. Susan has connected with organiza…
I’m helping to make Austin Net-Zero by celebrating chickens as zero waste heroes!
Meet Michelle Hernandez, Co-Founder of Austin’s Funky Chicken Coop Tour®. When Michelle first started raising chickens, she didn’t realize it would be a gateway to a zero-waste lifestyle. While raising and caring for her birds, her perspective on waste shifted as she realized all the great things her chickens could do — turn…
I’m helping to make Austin Net-Zero by walking or jogging to work every day — I'm living car-free!
Meet Juan Benitez, Events Specialist at The Q Austin, a program of AIDS Services of Austin. Juan contributes to Austin’s Net-Zero goal in several ways, including commuting on two feet! He does not own a car, so walking and jogging are his primary means of transportation. It takes Juan about 30 minutes to walk to work each way, where he connects with nature, clears his mind, and gets exercise.
We spoke with Juan a…
Just how beloved are Austin’s trails? Go take a stroll along Lady Bird Lake on a Saturday, and you’ll have all the evidence you need. In fact, some might say that this tree-lined 10-mile trail is one of our city’s best assets. But, the famous Butler Hike and Bike Trail shouldn’t get all the love. City staff and community partners have been hard at work building out key areas of trail all around town, enabling Austinites on two wheels — or two feet — to get from point A to B. Here’s a closer look at a few new trails you might not have heard about.
The Shoal Creek Trail “Gap”
Recently, the City finished a long-awaited section of the Shoal Creek Trail connecting West Avenue t…
On May 11, students and their proud teachers gathered in the atrium at City Hall to discuss the innovative sustainability projects they are implementing at their schools. The 4th Annual Central Texas Student Innovation Showcase provided the forum to highlight the resourcefulness and imagination of their hard work — and proved once again, that greener cities are on the rise. With more than 300 in attendance at the Showcase, these students are hopeful that their sustainability ideas will spread to the broader community!
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We're helping to make Austin Net-Zero by recycling Austin's bicycles!
Meet the Yellow Bike Project — a non-profit bike shop run entirely by volunteers. Yellow Bike Project was created in 1997 with the aim of empowering Austinites to ride bikes. Back then, the shop was…
In 1969, a massive oil spill occurred near Santa Barbara, California. Over 21,000 gallons of crude oil were dumped into the ocean, killing thousands of marine animals and igniting public outrage. It was this event that inspired the first Earth Day.
Founded on April 22, 1970, as a national “teach-in” to educate the public about environmental issues, this past Earth Day marked the 49th anniversary of the largest secular event on the planet. What started as a relatively “small” movement — 20 million people participated in that first Earth Day — has grown exponentially. It’s estimated that more than a billion people took part in Earth Day activities around the world this year.
N…
I'm helping to make Austin Net-Zero by changing the conversation about nature's role in keeping our city resilient
Meet Laura Huffman, Texas state director of The Nature Conservancy. In her role at TNC, Laura heads a statewide team of scientists, conservation experts, and support staff whose work protects Texas’s vast natural resources and most i…
I'm helping to make Austin Net-Zero by embarking on a Legacy of Good.
Meet Trisa Thompson, Senior Vice President and Chief Responsibility Officer at Dell. Trisa has been with Dell for almost 20 years, and has played a key part in social initiatives through her various roles as the founding co-chair of the Women’s Networking Group, PRIDE Executive Board, and Global Giving and Sustainability Councils. Along the way, Trisa has helped to shape initiatives that are cent…
Eastside Memorial High School is known for tackling environmental issues head-on. This became even more evident when they became the first high school in Texas to be recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as an Eco-Schools USA Green School.
The road to becoming a Green School began in 2014, when the school embarked on a campus-wide beautification project. The overall effort included building a garden, compost system, flow form, and wicking bed for plant propagation. They also built an outdoor learning area using grant funding from the City’s Bright Green Future Gran…