Nine-year-old Asvini Thivakaran has been tirelessly raising awareness about battery recycling in her community in Round Rock, Texas, for the past two years. Beginning with battery recycling in her home, she expanded her efforts to multiple locations in her community, diverting thousands of batteries from the landfill. Asvini was recently recognized for her efforts with the President’s Environmental Youth Award, which she accepted in Washington, D.C. Awarded by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the award recognizes outstanding environmental projects by K-12 youth. Asvini is a fourth grade…
I’m helping to make Austin Net-Zero by reinventing the urban school meal experience
When you picture school cafeteria food, what comes to mind? Many of us remember being served foods like pizza, chicken tenders, and tater tots — not exactly healthy food options. Anneliese Tanner is trying to change that. Anneliese is the Executive Director of Nutrition and Food Services at Austin ISD. Since…
I’m helping to make Austin Net-Zero by demonstrating the viability and advantages of an off-grid, solar-powered business
Meet Tom Myers, owner of a local shaved ice company called SolarSno. SolarSno's food trucks are the first in Austin to be powered entirely off the grid using renewable solar energy. While Tom was deployed as a Marine in Afghanistan, he saw firsthand the advantages that off-grid solar systems can have. Once he returned to Austin, he sought to take those lessons learned and apply them in the food tru…
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.
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