City of St. Louis hosts Mayor’s Sustainability Summit.
Last week, the City of St. Louis, Mayor Francis Slay, and the Office of Sustainability hosted the Mayor’s Sustainability Summit III: Implement, the last of three conferences over a two-year planning process to develop a sustainability plan for the City of St. Louis. City officials have engaged stakeholders from the very beginning, getting feedback on what categories residents, businesses and area leaders think should receive priority.
The Summit kicked off on Wednesday evening with speaker Andrew Howard from Team Better Block, an innovative movement that demonstrates how small, temporary modifications within a single block can remove barriers and inspire long-term, large scale investments in sustainable infrastructure. Howard showed the audience how this grassroots model can breathe life into desolate spaces, renew local pride, and show naysayers what is possible with some imagine and basic urban planning principles.
On Thursday, leaders throughout the area were invited to listen to presentations from the City’s departments on baseline data and participate in facilitated discussions on how to accomplish the 29 Action Items identified in the Mayor’s Action Agenda. Participants were grouped according to their responses on a pre-event survey that identified their areas of expertise and interests, as well as items to which they could bring resources. Grouping led to excellent discussions and insights. St. Louis Earth Day weighed in under item # 5: Promote sustainability practices at all public and cultural events. Our main suggestion was that the City should change special event permit requirements so that recycling is required at all public events over a certain attendance number. Recycling On the Go will take care of the rest!
The best part about the workshop on Thursday was the rare opportunity to learn about the many fantastic things currently happening in the City and connecting with area leaders across disciplines. Opportunities for “cross pollination” were abundant!
The workshop was closed out by an excellent keynote presentation from Douglas Ladd, Director of Conservation Science for the Nature Conservancy. Ladd gave a comprehensive and engaging presentation on St. Louis’s environmental history, characterizing how humans have interacted with the elements and environment throughout the region since the first humans arrived in the area. He made the case that the natural elements, particularly the confluence of two great rivers (the Missouri and the Mississippi) have defined and determined how the City was planned and developed. We continue to rely on our environment, whether or not we take the time to acknowledge this critical dependence.
The last day of the Summit was held on Saturday and targeted local grassroots leaders who are creating and promoting sustainability at the neighborhood level. Catherine Werner, City of St. Louis Director of Sustainability, presented the Sustainable Neighborhood Toolkit in the morning, followed by several workshop sessions where participants could choose from many great options to train for their charge: to bring sustainability to their neighborhoods. The highlight of the day was hearing from the first-round of recipients of the Sustainable Neighborhood grants, whose projects were completed this fall.
St. Louis Earth Day commends the City on the comprehensive triple-bottom line Sustainability Plan and the Action Agenda for items to be completed within the next five years. It’s clear they cannot do it on their own – they have called on all stakeholders to do their part within the framework. It’s not just about environmental sustainability; there are goals for improved education, engaging youth, job creation, crime reduction, investments in the arts and more. There is something for everyone and the invitation to participate is open to all. Now let’s get to implementing!!
