The City of Ames
Statement from the Mayor:
The Ames City Council has made a commitment to environmental sustainability. There are many City of Ames programs that support this goal. Some may not be things you are aware of so we use this Earth Day celebration as an opportunity to highlight various departments, projects, and programs, as well as rebate opportunities for you.
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Ames Fire Chief Rich Higgins describes how the Ames Fire Department has practices to increase sustainability.
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Jake Moore, Stormwater Specialist, describes the Ames Resource Recovery Plant.
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Jake Morre, Stormwater specialist, tells you about rebates available to you for Spring landscaping.
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John Dunn, Director of Ames Water and Pollution Control, describes various projects for sustainability in managing water.
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Joshua Thompson, Parks and Facilities Superintendent, Ames Parks and Recreation, describes how prairie landscapes are introduced in city greenspaces.
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Kayley Lain, Ames Energy Services Coordinator, tells you about rebates available to you for electrical service.
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John Dunn, Director of Ames Water and Pollution Control, describes Ames Water Pollution Control Facility.
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John Dunn, Director of Ames Water and Pollution Control, describes Ames Water Treatment Plant practices.
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Mayor John Haila welcomes you to Earth Day Appreciation and looks at how the City of Ames plans to address environmental challenges in 2021.
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Mike Brown, Ames Electric Distribution Manager, describes sources of electricity.
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Neil Weiss, Ames Assistant Water & Pollution Control Director, Describes Water management and pollution control.
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Tracy Peterson, Ames Municipal Engineer, describes flood mitigation; particularly, the project currently underway along the Iwoay Creek.
ISU
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ISU's Sustainability Committee described by: Dr. Bill Gutowski, Professor of Geological and Atmospheric Science, Chair of the University Sustainability Committee and a member of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007) and student members of the University Sustainability Committee Jennifer Seth, undergraduate student in Environmental Science and Aline Milach Teixeira, undergraduate student in Chemical Engineering.
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A discussion of carbon sequestration by Dr. Robert Brown, Director of the ISU Bioeconomy Institute and Professor of Engineering - Mechanical, Chemical and Biological and Agricultural and Biosystems.
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Plans for recycling plexiglass used as barriers during the pandemic: Ayodeji Oluwalana, ISU Recycling Coordinator and Special Events Coordinator, Daniel Neubauer, Assistant Teaching Professor in Industrial Design, Micah Lantz, undergraduate student in Industrial Design, Katie Baumgarn, Classroom Scheduling Specialist
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Ayodeji Oluwalana, ISU Recycling Coordinator and Special Events Coordinator, Michelle Lenkaitis, Senior Manager of Custodial Services describe paper towel composting at ISU
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Engineers for a Sustainable World Compost Team student members - Carissa Moyna, Sara Thimmesch, Andrew Frank and Julian Canabal, describe their project to introduce composting at student housing, with comments from Ayodeji Oluwalana, ISU Recycling Coordinator and Special Events Coordinator
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Hannah Bartel, ISU grad student in Architecture and Interior Design - Intro...Each day we all interact with spaces and find enjoyment in some over others. Identifying what ensures that enjoyment is quickly gaining interest among businesses, in museums and within planning and design departments. In our next segment, Merry Rankin talks with Hannah Bartel, ISU graduate student in Architecture and Interior Design, about her thesis work - Bridging Instagrammable Moments to Interior Design.
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Belinda Heckman, President of THE SHOP student organization and undergraduate student in Global Resource Systems and Caitlin Tipping, former President of The Food Recovery Network and undergraduate student in Global Resource Systems
Earth Day Poems
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MFA candidate in Creative Writing and Environment at ISU, Allison Boyd Justus, reads original poetry in honor of Earth Day.
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MFA candidate in Creative Writing and Environment at ISU, Kelsey Zimmerman, reads original poetry in honor of Earth Day.
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MFA candidate in Creative Writing and Environment at ISU, Nancy Hayes, reads original poetry in honor of Earth Day.
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MFA candidate in Creative Writing and Environment at ISU, Taylor Sklenar, reads original poetry in honor of Earth Day
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MFA candidate in Creative Writing and Environment at ISU, Zoë Fay-Stindt, reads original poetry in honor of Earth Day
ISU Ignite Innovation Week
Casey Nature Reserve Virtual Art Walk
Did you know that the MFA Program in Creative Writing & Environment stewards a 76-acre wilderness tract in Boone County? Join us for a virtual tour of the Casey Nature Reserve, accompanied by readings of poems by students in the MFA Program.
Create With Us!
Do you love to be inspired and create something new? This is your time to shine! Create with us when you join these interactive sessions of environmental writing prompts and creative activities led by writers, performers, and visual artists.
World Making & Re-making with Zoë Fay-Stindt:
Visualizing and Embodying the Environment with Lena Menefee-Cook and Vivian M Cook
Playwriting with Taylor Sklenar
Climate Change Theatre Action Panel
View this panel discussion with the producers and past team members of ISU's contribution to the international Climate Change Theatre Action project. Learn about ISU’s Climate Change Theatre Action contributions in 2017 and 2019 and how you, as a member of the Ames and ISU community, can become involved in Fall 2021!
Arts, Environment, & Sustainability Visual Art Exhibit
Virtually tour an exhibit of visual art, created by talented Iowa State undergraduate and graduate students, that explores the natural world and human relationships with the environment. For more, visit the website here!
FLYWAY Editors Feature
FLYWAY: JOURNAL OF WRITING & ENVIRONMENT is an online national literary journal managed by students in the MFA Program in Creative Writing & Environment. Join us to gain insights into the editing and content of FLYWAY, which publishes written and visual art that explores all facets of the environmental imagination.
The EcoTheatre Lab and FLYWAY Present New Eco Plays
The EcoTheatre Lab and FLYWAY: JOURNAL OF WRITING & ENVIRONMENT present rehearsed readings of short eco-plays that have been selected for publication in Iowa State University’s international literary journal.
Ames Youth: Arts and Environmental Communication
Ames youth are calling us to action! View this video to see brand new environmental artwork by Ames middle and high school students.
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Nine middle and high schoolers describe their creative environmental projects (including the projects featured in the video above!).
MFA Program in Creative Writing & Environment's Emerging Writers Series
Live reading with MFA graduate students, featuring a performance of the Ignite Innovation Showcase's collaborative poetry project.
Climate Stories Contest
Join this session to hear and see winning submissions from the Midwest Climate Summit's Climate Stories Contest, a multimedia art competition for undergraduate and graduate students featuring visual arts, film/photography, written word, and performing arts. Learn more about the Midwest Climate Summit here.
Ames High School Care
Students that CARE—Compost and Recycle for the Enviroment is an upcoming club at Ames High School. Their mission is to create a plan with the support of the Ames High students and staff to implement a sustainable recycling and composting system for our school. Through this initiative, the CARE team strive to educate and empower students to be environmentally conscious.
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David Lee, Leslie Kim, and Soraya Cohen presents the challenges with the City of Ames' waste management system and introduces the mission and purpose of CARE: to improve the enviromental sustainability of the community through recycling and composting.
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The AHS CARE team’s crash course to how to compost & recycle in your own homes! We invite you to join us on our journey to live a more sustainable life even after Earth Week!
Hear Our Plea: Sincerely, Your Future
Follow CARE on their social medias:
Twitter: @ameshighcare
Instagram: @ahs.care
Facebook Page: @ahscare
Email: ameshigh.care@gmail.com
Central Iowa
Iowa Climate Action Planning: What Ames Can Learn from Its Neighbors in Des Moines, Iowa City, and Linn County
Ames is starting a climate action planning process THIS year!
What is a climate action plan? Why do cities create climate action plans? What might Ames’ greenhouse gas reduction goals look like? How can we make sure to center equity in our climate action planning process?
Explore these topics virtually with climate action experts from neighboring cities and counties who have been addressing these and similar questions.
Moderator:
Panelists:
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Tamara Marcus, Sustainability Program Manager, Linn County Board of Supervisors
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Dr. William Gutowski, ISU Professor in Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group 1 Author
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Josh Mandelbaum, DSM City Council Member
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Sarah Gardner, Climate Action Engagement Specialist, Climate Action and Outreach Division of Iowa City
Community Voices
Listen here! Bob Furguson Executive Director of Sustainable Living Coalition and Sue Delost, board member of the Sustainable Living Coalition in Fairfield IA in Jefferson County, speak with KHOI, together with Leland Searles ecological and restoration consultant from Marshalltown, describe a project they conducted in Jefferson County. The Project addressed an issue that is still on the forefront - wildness. The project they conducted, looking at the issue of wildlife crossings of roads, was sponsored by the BeWild ReWild Program of the Natural Heritage Foundation.
Story County Conservation holds an annual photography contest that is open to amateur photographers only. Submitted images may show animal behavior, portraits of wildlife in their natural habitat, plant life, natural landscapes, or people interacting with nature. Images will be used to enhance SCC's photo library and encourage people to enjoy Story County Conservation parks and natural areas. Photos entered in categories A and D must be taken in Story County parks or natural areas. All photos must be taken in Iowa. Photographs of non-native plants or animals will not be accepted. Please do not include portraits of pets or domestic animals. Images of captive animals photographed in game farms will be disqualified.
Exhibition
"Picnic," by Ann Evans.
"Basking in the Afterglow," by Arthur Davis.
"Sunset on the lake," by Barb McBreen.
"Call me beautiful," by Nancy Berns.
"Pure Joy," by Jason Seelow.
"Yellow is my favorite color," by Janet Binder.
"Winter on the Skunk River," by Janet Binder.
"As far as the eye can see," by Stephanie Steelow.
"Bubble fun," by Darla Knutson.
"Pretty in purple," Rita Apel.
