Learn Al Fresco at New Green City 2012, Oct 10
Green thumbs out! GrowNYC—a nonprofit working to improve New Yorker’s quality of life through environmental awareness projects—has announced the schedule for New Green City 2012. Sponsored by The New School, this annual event featuring environmental workshops and activities will be held in Union Square on October 10 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. The event features some of The New School’s environmental leaders from programs like Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management, Food Studies and Design and Technology.
Now in its seventh year, New Green City is a unique opportunity for New Yorkers to engage with the city’s agencies, nonprofits, and green businesses and learn ways to make their city healthier and more sustainable. The daylong event includes over 40 hands-on demonstrations and discussions by New School graduate students and professors, as well as other experts on sustainability. Workshops with interactive exhibits, tutorials for decreasing energy consumption, instructions for cooking with local ingredients, recycling tips and more will be available to passersby and event attendees near the world famous Union Square Greenmarket.
At New Green City 2011, The New School helped to curate all-day mini lectures on a variety of subjects from design to urban policy and sustainability, catering to over 150,000 attendees.
See below for a list of this year’s activities.
- 11:00 a.m. – New Green City Kick-off
Bob Kafin, GrowNYC Chairman of the Board
Marcel Van Ooyen, Director GrowNYC
Carter Strickland, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection
GreeNYC launching of the Catalog Campaign
- 11:30 a.m. – “School Recycling 101”
Robbie Lock, Citywide School Recycling Coordinator GrowNYC, will lead a discussion on recycling strategies and best practices at NYC public schools as they contribute to the City’s PlaNYC goal of diverting 75% of NYC’s waste from landfills by 2030.
- 12 p.m. – “Sustainability and Community”
Graduate Students, The New School for Public Enagament, Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management
Stefanie Zatiz: Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)/Corbin Hill Farm
Sara Esquibel: What’s Organic? A farm-based experience
- 12:30 p.m. – “Community Engagement in Superfund Planning”
Kate Zidar, Rogue Planner Executive Director, Newtown Creek Alliance , Visiting Assistant Professor, Programs for Sustainable Planning & Development, Pratt Institute
- 1:00 p.m. – “Place, Names, and Sustainability”
Fabio Parasecoli, The New School, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Food Studies
Local food, global trade, and the future of rural communities.
- 1:30 p.m. – “Innovative Green Roofs”
Paul S. Mankiewicz, Ph.D. Executive Director, The Gaia Institute
Visiting Assistant Professor, Programs for Sustainable Planning & Development, Pratt Institute
Cooling, heating, biodiversifying and feeding the City through Green Roof-Green Infrastructure.
- 2:00 p.m. – “Don’t Flush Me
”
Leif Percifield, Design & Technology, MFA, Parsons The New School For Design
An innovative project that provides realtime sensing and alert systems to mitigate Combined Sewer Overflow events in NYC.
- 2:30 p.m. – “The Secret Lives of Shellfish”
Nate Woiwode, Policy Advisor, The Nature Conservancy
Shellfish: Is there anything they can’t do? They clean our waters, protect our coasts from storms, support local economies — and taste delicious.
- 3:00 p.m. – “The Ecological Benefits of Urban Vacant Lots”
Timon McPhearson, PhD, Assistant Professor, Urban Ecology, The New School for Public Engagement
Peleg Kremer, Postdoctoral Fellow in Urban Ecology, The New School for Public Engagement
In densely populated cities with sometimes few opportunities for new park or green space development, small vacant lots could provide green relief, especially in low-income areas with reduced access to urban parkland.
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4:30 p.m. – Super Sprowtz kids puppet show
“The Super Sprowtz are on a mission to make good food fun! Come see Colby Carrot, Brian Broccoli, Suzy Sweetpea, and the rest of the super-powered team for an afternoon of family fun complete with musical guests, puppet shows, healthy snacks, activities, prizes, and more!”