The second annual conference, organized by the Waste Reduction & Resource Awareness Program (WRRAP), is free and open to the public.
Visit the UC Quad on Friday, Feb. 9 at 10 a.m. for “Tinker Time,” a series of hands-on, interactive bicycling and zero waste activities continuing all day. Moon Cycles, SCRAP Humboldt, the Campus Center for Appropriate Technologies (CCAT), and Reusable Office Supply Exchange (ROSE) will host.
At 5:30 p.m. attend the free Zero Waste Banquet in the Kate Buchanan Room. Keynote speakers are Arcata Mayor Sofia Pereira and Environmental Protection Agency Food Recovery Specialist André Villaseñor. After the banquet is an exclusive screening of the critically acclaimed film, “Wasted: The Story of Food Waste.”
On Saturday, Feb. 10 starting at 10 a.m., attend a day filled with panels, workshops, and discussions on zero waste, environmental justice, and systems change. Keynote speakers are representatives of SF Environment’s Zero Waste program (2 p.m.) and Operation Yurok member and Ph.D. candidate Kaitlin Reed (6 p.m.). All Saturday events take place in the Kate Buchanan Room. More information on the conference can be found here.
About The Zero Waste Conference keynote speakers:
Sofia Pereira was elected to the Arcata City Council in 2014 and is currently the Mayor, as well as chair of the Humboldt Waste Management Authority.
During her tenure on the city council, Pereira has moved forward initiatives to make Arcata a zero waste city, strengthen collaboration with Humboldt State University, and leverage the use of technology to improve government.
She brings years of political organizing experience to She Should Run, a national organization dedicated to expanding the talent pool of women running for elected office. As the community manager, she oversees the Incubator, supporting thousands of women across the country. Prior to joining She Should Run, she was a field representative for Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (a champion for recycling and diversion) in Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity counties, and as a legislative analyst for the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services where she focused on state and federal policy.
André Villaseñor has been fulfilling the EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment since 2005. Prior to the EPA, he served in the Peace Corps in Ecuador as a habitat conservation specialist and small business coordinator. His experience also includes administering environmental impact studies for airport, mining and oil pipeline projects in Chile, and working as an environmental compliance specialist for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He currently implements the EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management initiative and underground storage tanks program.
Kaitlin Reed is a Ph.D. Candidate in Native American Studies at the University of California, Davis. She is an enrolled member of the Yurok Tribe. Her research interests include Native American land and water rights, traditional ecological knowledge, and environmental conflict.
Her dissertation research explores the impacts of marijuana cultivation on Yurok tribal lands, with a focus on tribal sovereignty and environmental justice. Following completion of her graduate work, Kaitlin will pursue an academic position and contribute to the emerging field of Native Environmental Studies through her teaching and scholarship.
About WRRAP
The Waste Reduction and Resource Awareness Program at Humboldt State University strives to encourage alternative perspectives on consumption and provide a means for landfill substitution in our campus community. WRRAP offers a diverse student outlet for handson learning experiences that helps students take responsibility for the campus’ waste flow and make a positive contribution to the quality of our campus environment.