Join us for our November Sustainability Spotlight: David Eisenberg, a native Tucsonan, will share stories and insights from over three decades of building, including his involvement in strawbale and earthen building, the US Green Building Council, and building codes and standards. The successes and challenges of the work provide useful lessons for working on meaningful things in the face of changing climates — not just the weather, but politics, economics, and resilience. Following David’s presentation, there will be time for questions and discussion.
David co-founded the Development Center for Appropriate Technology, co-authored the Straw Bale House book, and has been a leading figure in getting innovative, sustainable materials incorporated into building codes used across the country. He serves on the Sustainable Tucson board of directors, and is a founding member of the Investing in People & Infrastructure project. A photographer and poet as well, he is much sought-after as a speaker at professional conferences and visionary gatherings.
Our local economy and on-going localization of community life have long been supported by Sustainable Tucson as key to building a sustainable city and region. Lately, however, it often seems that those efforts are under direct threat from federal and even some state policies.
As such, this seems like a good time for a “refresher” review of what a strong local economy needs to look like in Tucson/SAZ and why it is so important to our region’s resilience. Please join us for our September Sustainability Spotlight, when we are excited to present a conversation with Kimber Lanning, founder and Executive Director of Local First Arizona. Kimber will explore those issues with us, along with a look at some impacts of recent policy changes and how our community can push back and work to protect our local, sustainable future. There will then be ample time for your questions and ideas on how we can each support localization efforts.
Kimber Lanning is Founder and Executive Director of Local First Arizona, a statewide organization implementing innovative strategies for new models of economic development that create vibrant local economies. An entrepreneur, business leader, and community development specialist, Lanning has grown
Local First Arizona into a widely respected organization that is leading the nation in implementing systems and policies to ensure a level playing field for entrepreneurial endeavors of all sizes.
With over 3,000 business members and four statewide offices, Lanning leads a team of 60 staff who work on a diverse array of programs ranging from healthy local food access, entrepreneurial development in under resourced communities, and rural community development, each of which plays a part in building sustainable and resilient local economies. Her passions, which are seen throughout her work, include fostering cultural diversity and inclusion, economic resilience, and responsible growth for Arizona.
Tucson is seen as a leader in the movement for green infrastructure across the nation. For shade and beauty, carbon capture, and traffic calming, we can see that cooling the urban heat island with rainwater-fed trees and shrubs brings life to our landscape and lifts the hearts of residents and visitors alike. What have we accomplished since Mayor Regina Romero announced the Million Trees campaign? What more needs to be done? What obstacles must we face?
Join us for a deep look at the promise, the progress, and what we can do to support this vital part of making Tucson sustainable. Our panel will feature:
Nichole Casebeer: Project Manager and Landscape Designer, Pima County Regional Flood Control District
Nicole Gillett: Tucson Urban Forestry Program Manager
Mead Mier: Planning Manager, Pima Association of Governments
Prior to the arrival of European settlers in the desert Southwest, native tribes had farmed the land for centuries. European methods, and the sheer number of their population, led to sometimes devastating effects on the land, but now, new ideas in urban gardens and farming have emerged and may play an important role in our future sustainability.
Join us for our next Sustainability Spotlight program, Urban Agriculture & Tucson’s Local Food Scene, presenting a panel discussion with three experts in the field, Tuesday, May 13, 6:00-7:30 pm. The program will highlight some of the options for producing healthy, delicious, hyper-local food in Tucson. Our panel will share the joys and the challenges of growing food in the desert, including a consideration of impacts from the changing climate and what we can expect for Tucson’s local food future.
Our Panelists: Lorien Tersey is the founder and proprietor of Dreamflower Garden, a lovely midtown half-acre overflowing with flowers and all manner of native and edible plants, enough to provide 40% of her diet. She is a frequent vendor of produce and locally adapted plant starts at the Santa Cruz Farmers’ Market. Lorien has encyclopedic knowledge of trees, native plants, and produce that can thrive in our Sonoran Desert setting, all grown organically.
Dominika Heusinkveld writes occasional articles on nature and gardening for the Arizona Daily Star, and produces the Tucson Garden Guide, a biweekly email newsletter. Her focus is on native plants and creating urban habitat for wildlife. She also works part-time at
Strategic Habitat Enhancements, a local, woman-owned small business focusing on landscaping design with native plants. Dominika is a former Family Medicine physician with extensive experience serving underserved populations, with a special interest in the intersection between public health, individual health, and ecological health.
Erik Stanford, founder of Pivot Produce, came to Tucson in 2011. In 2014 he started as a chef at 5 Points Market & Restaurant, which emphasizes local/community-based sourcing in southern Arizona. As Erik gradually got to know the small-scale local growers that supplied 5 Points, he wanted to find a way to connect growers like them with restaurants that also recognized the benefits of a commitment to locally sourced food. To that end, he founded Pivot Produce, which enables restaurants and other food institutions to easily source products from local/regional growers and producers. Currently, he aggregates from 25+ small producers in southern Arizona and distributes to over 20
Arizona has long been known and treasured for its beautiful scenic wild places, many of which are held sacred by indigenous peoples of the state. At the same time, many of those scenic places are also sources for one of Arizona’s distinctive “5 Cs”: Copper. Because copper is increasingly in demand for production of many electronics and clean energy devices, a sharp conflict arises between environmentalists intent on preserving wild places and businesses interested in profiting from mining. Quite a few communities in the state, including several near Tucson, are grappling with this conflict, the subject of our next Sustainability Spotlight program.
Join us for an overview of some of the actual or potential impacts of mining in Southern Arizona and the conflict between environmental risks and destruction caused by mining and the need for metals used for clean energy to fight destructive climate warming. Our panel will present an overview of some of the mining laws we all should understand (e.g., the 1872 law, still in effect) and what kinds of reform are long overdue, as well as an update on the recently proposed Mining Regulatory Clarity Act. We’ll also get a rundown of mining impacts that communities are particularly concerned about — health risks, effects on water supply, air pollution from particulates and toxins, and more. Then we’ll focus on the area closest to Tucson where the mining/environment conflict can be seen, namely, the Santa Rita Mountains, with a look at legal current challenges against Hudbay and Copper World, as well as state agencies. We’ll learn how we, as concerned citizens, can help. There will then be time for Q&A.
Our panelists will be two representatives of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas: Rob Peters, Executive Director, and Anna Darian, Director of Advocacy & Community Engagement, and Curt Shannon, Interim Director, Arizona Mining Reform Coalition.
2025 is the year for TEP to renew its franchise agreement with Tucson.
According to Joe Salkowski, Senior Director, Communications and Public Affairs at TEP, the franchise agreement “isn’t a contract to provide service in the city; it just sets terms for [TEP’s] use of public rights-of-way within city limits. We’d like a new agreement, since those terms make our operations easier and less costly for customers.”
The agreement, of course, will be negotiated in the context of a swiftly warming planet. With energy requirements climbing in the summertime as demands on air-cooling increase, and with energy uses increasing year-round to power more online servers, does TEP’s current business model chart the best possible path to a sustainable future?
Are there alternatives to that model that could soften the global-warming impacts of energy production in southern Arizona? Developing the upcoming Franchise Agreement is an opportunity to consider these questions and fine-tune our models for the benefit of all.
Our speakers on March 11 will address the prospects for a strong partnership between the community and TEP. Strategic investments can increase resilience and sustainability in our city. Renewing the franchise agreement is an opportunity to align on those objectives. In this dialogue, we hope to shed light on the potential of franchise agreements to build stronger, sustainable partnerships.
Ron Proctor is a legally documented seasonal migrant moving between Tucson and Maine. He is a sustainability practitioner tempered by local positions he has held, including Mountain/1st Ave Neighborhood Association President, founding member of Lend A Hand Senior Outreach, recipient of a Master’s Degree in Architecture from the U of A, Core team member of Sustainable Tucson, past lead of Tucson’s Citizen’s Climate Lobby, member of Greater Tucson Climate Coalition, and past Co-Chair of the City of Tucson’s Climate Change Committee during the Rothschild Administration.
Garrett Weaver is a lifelong resident of Southern Arizona and Tucson. He works as an engineer and also volunteers his time for Citizens’ Climate Lobby of Greater Tucson and serves on the Tucson Commission on Climate, Energy, and Sustainability. He holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from the University of Arizona.
Garrett works towards sustainability solutions in Arizona by increasing public participation in government, advocating for policies to increase renewable energy production and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. He believes voting is very important, and that a strong democracy depends on an informed electorate.
As Director of Public Affairs for Tucson Electric Power, Steven Eddy represents and advances company and utility policies through relations with government agencies, trade associations, and community stakeholders.
A native Tucsonan and University of Arizona graduate, Eddy has been with TEP for 13 years. Prior
to that, he held positions in land use planning, real estate development and economic development. Eddy is active in the Tucson Conquistadores and the Centurions. He also serves as chairman of the District Four Board of Adjustments.
An avid outdoor enthusiast, Eddy believes that young people who enjoy nature will appreciate that Tucson is “a bicyclist paradise that offers two of the most treasured assets in America for cyclists, runners and hikers: Mount Lemmon and The Loop.” The environmentally aware will appreciate, he adds, that TEP is at the center of clean energy transformation.
Join us for an end-of-year celebration of a very exciting local climate achievement, thanks to the students in the Arizona Youth Climate Coalition (AZYCC).
On October 29, the Tucson Unified School District adopted a far-reaching and bold Climate Action Resolution, researched and written by members of AZYCC, including some who were TUSD students.
Our December Sustainability Spotlight will feature AZYCC co-leads Ojas Sanghi and Owen Brosanders, who will present an overview of the Resolution, describing the process that AZYCC undertook in developing the document, garnering community support, and advocating for its passage by the board. TUSD now has adopted the most comprehensive climate action plan in the country, but the work is not over for members of AZYCC and the many community members and organizations that want to see TUSD implement the Resolution.
We’ll hear what comes next and how we can support the students in those next steps. After a year filled with climate disasters, heat stresses, and contentious climate-policy meetings, we are indeed fortunate to have this opportunity to recognize and congratulate the determination and courage of these youth fighting for their future.
You won’t want to miss what is sure to be an inspiring presentation and discussion with Ojas & Owen.
When was the last time you had to wash your windshield at least once a week? What happened to all the butterflies we used to see? Do you remember when the night air was filled with moths and the sounds of crickets? “Something’s happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear.” (Buffalo Springfield).
Alarming headlines proclaim the “insect apocalypse,” and many scientists and others announce the need for changes to avoid great peril. On the other hand, many studies report no change or uncertain conclusions. For Sustainable Tucson’s November Sustainability Spotlight program, entomologist Dr. Kenneth Kingsley will review what is known and not known about the “Insect Crisis.” He’ll explain the reasons why YOU should care and what you can do.
We’ll then look into what we can do locally to support insects and other important pollinators that bring beauty to our world and also are so crucial to our future food supply. Robin Motzer, chair of Sustainable Tucson’s Habitat Restoration Committee, will describe the committee’s mission and its work planting pollinator gardens, outlining why they are valuable neighborhood features and looking ahead to planned efforts for more pollinator gardens. We’ll then hear from Lauren Jankowski, currently an intern with AZ Game and Fish Department in the small mammal program, who was grant coauthor and a project manager for the Pollinator Equity Project (PEP). She will give an overview of PEP, its goals and objectives, and a look at what’s going on in the Project’s pollinator garden. Both will indicate how interested folks can get involved.
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Kenneth J. Kingsley, Ph.D.Dr. Kingsley earned his Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of Arizona in 1985. His career has combined conservation biology and integrated pest management as a consultant for private industry and government agencies from local to national. He has had an adventurous career exploring wildlife and plants in a range of habitats from Hawaiian burial caves to mountain tops in Nevada. He has worked in 11 National Parks and 10 states, under water, in deserts, riparian woodlands, and in mountain talus fields. He has conducted surveys for organisms ranging from bacteria to bighorn sheep. His work has led him to the understanding that people have made a terrible mess of things, but that we can change and make the world safe for ourselves and most other living beings.
In-Person: Ward 6 office, 3202 E 1st St Tuesday, September 10, 6:30-8:00 pm
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Did you know that the Santa Cruz River is the 4th most endangered river in the United States? Learn how we can protect this precious river by working to establish the Santa Cruz River Urban National Wildlife Refuge.
Designation as an urban national wildlife refuge protects crucial green space, improves and maintains wildlife habitat connectivity, ensures equitable access to the river and surrounding landscape for local communities, and honors the rich cultural and historical connections to the revitalized river. Urban refuges also improve equitable access to the outdoors for local residents by protecting green spaces that support community health and well-being. An urban wildlife refuge designation can protect threatened open space in perpetuity.
The ecologically and culturally vibrant Santa Cruz River flows through the heart of Tucson. The proposed refuge boundary would run through both Santa Cruz and Pima Counties. It would include multiple properties along the river to maximize outdoor access and enable holistic habitat protection. The refuge would include several access points along the river where it parallels downtown Tucson.
Our speaker will be Luke Cole, director of the Santa Cruz River program in Sonoran Institute’s Resilient Communities and Watersheds team. Luke joined Sonoran Institute in 2018 and manages the ongoing projects on the Santa Cruz River, working with staff and collaborators to restore and enhance this Living River in the heart of southern Arizona and northern Sonora. Prior to joining the Sonoran Institute, Luke worked for the Washington, D.C. city government tracking the District’s green infrastructure and water quality improvement programs with a focus on coordinating tree planting programs and policy. Luke has a Ph.D. in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia, an M.S. in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island, and a B.A. in biology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Luke will present on this community-led conservation project to protect the health of the Santa Cruz River and the native and endangered species that rely on the river. He will provide an update on how this important project is progressing and provide an opportunity for people attending the meeting to write their support for the establishment of the Santa Cruz River Urban National Wildlife Refuge.
We are again on Zoom, in order to accommodate our out-of-town speaker. See you on Zoom.
Nature does it. Can we do it,?
The average American produces 4.9 pounds of waste per day. Landfill space may seem abundant, but even now, municipalities worry that their landfills are overfilled. Increasingly, governments and individuals are looking for ways to reduce or eliminate waste, with concurrent goals of conserving resources, reducing pollution, and fighting climate change.
Key to these efforts is switching to a circular economy – extending the life cycle of products and materials through integrated strategies of repairing, sharing, reusing, refurbishing, and recycling.
Join us for a conversation with two local leaders in this movement.
Topics will include:Seven pillars of the circular economyThe three models of resource use:linear, reuse, and circularHow circularity can save not only materials but also our climateStrategies for circularity – local, regional, and nationalThe global $4.5 trillion economic opportunityOur Presenters:
Rocky Baier graduated from the UA in 2020 with a B.A. in Journalism, having spent her undergraduate career reporting for The Arizona Republic, The Daily Star, The Jerusalem Post, and the Wall Street Journal. She now serves as the Sustainability Analyst and Reporting Coordinator for the University of Texas in Austin. Since co-founding the Tucson Repair Cafe, she & Stephen have started Eco Lizard, a reusable takeout container service.
