Green Bay Sustainability Commission

ATTENTION!!! Friends of the Green Bay Sustainability Commission, we would like to invite you to follow the Sustainable Green Bay page for the latest and greatest information on sustainability within Green Bay! We will no longer be providing updates and information on this existing Green Bay Sustainability Commission page so be sure to connect with the new page to stay informed about the Commission's efforts.

Tonight, the Sustainability Commission reviewed this cooperative opportunity and discussed how we can connect with community partners to reduce food waste. Thanks to members of Green Bay Botanical Gardens, Sisters of St. Francis, and Greener Bay Compost for attending meetings to discuss this important topic.

Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) Cooperative Agreements Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) cooperative agreements assist local and municipal governments with projects that develop and test strategies for planning and implementing municipal compost plans and food waste reduction plans. Implementation activities will increase access to compost for....

Our alder representative to the commission, Mark Steuer, volunteered some green theme ideas for each month of the year. Have some different theme ideas of your own? Please share! Thanks for sharing, Mark!
-January ("Snow Shoveling Exercise for Torso and Thighs" - January)

-February ("With Haste, Stop Food Waste" - February)

-March ("Saving With Solar for Temperate and Polar" - March)

-April ("Adopt a Storm Drain for Spring Rain" - April)

-May ("No Mow" - May)

-June ("Startin' a Butterfly Garden" - June) or ("Monarchs Rule in a Garden Jewel" - June)

-July ("Open a Door with the Conservation Corps" - July)

-August ("Slow Go on the H2O" - August)

-September ("Plug a Smartplug" - September)

-October ("Create Recycling Centers for Owners and Renters" - October)

-November ("Do the Bus or Carpool When It's Cool" - November)

-December ("Save on Heating and Cooling . . . No Fooling" - December)

If you are interested in learning more about Green Infrastructure in Wisconsin as a tool to manage stormwater runoff, this is a comprehensive document that has been referenced by the city of Green Bay.

seagrant.wisc.edu

Please take and share the city sustainability survey!

DNR holiday season waste reduction ideas.

DNR Offers Tips On Reducing, Reusing And Recycling Waste This Holiday Season | Wisconsin DNR The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) encourages the public to recycle and reduce waste during the holiday season.

Recent presenter to GBSC, Greener Bay Compost is now accepting cooked meat and solid dairy as an alternative to landfilling food waste.

Acceptable & Not Acceptable Materials for Inclusion in Our Compost Buckets – Greener Bay Compost Greener Bay Compost is Green Bay's premier compost company, serving Northeastern Wisconsin with our Award-Winning Residential and Small Business Compost Pickup & Drop-Off Services, plus sales of our finely sifted, premium compost.

Local food systems efforts from New Leaf Foods.
https://newleaffoods.org/about-new-food-forum
NEW FOOD FORUM IS AN INITIATIVE CONSISTING OF FOOD AND HEALTH BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS PARTNERING TO IDENTIFY THE ENTITIES IN OUR WORKING LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM AND STRENGTHEN THE RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN IT.

New Leaf Foods Now and for Generations.

There is a more environmentally friendly alternative to fall leaf collection. See options here.

Presentation from Greener Bay Compost at tonight's meeting.

Commission member Julia Noordyk of the UW Sea Grant program recently presented to City Council regarding East River flooding and resiliency. To learn more about the work being done by the East River Collaborative, visit their website.

About The East River is the largest undammed tributary feeding the Green Bay estuary, a critical freshwater ecosystem in Northeastern Wisconsin. Beginning in southern Brown County surrounded by farmland, the East River flows northward with increasing suburban and urban development along the shores as the....

Brown, Outagamie, and Winnebago Counties have recently started using the Better Bin app. Use the app to scan an item's barcode to see if it's recyclable in our area. (You can also complete challenges and earn points!)

Betterbin Front Page - Betterbin makes it easy for consumers to properly recycle and compost based on local guidelines. Scan the UPC barcode or text search for any product to get local disposal instructions. Recycle right; Compost more; Buy responsibly; Get rewarded.

The Green Bay Conservation Corps is up and running. If you are interested in working with the GBCC, check the available job listings.

Conservation Corps | Green Bay, WI With 2,658 acres of recreational space and greenways in the City of Green Bay, the Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department is planning an AmeriCorps program to bring more conservation efforts to Green Bay.

Is there a city park or trail you and your family love and would be willing to help with? Please sign up for Adopt A Park/Trail program.

Adopt-A-Park/Trail | Green Bay, WI Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about.   

A good short video on how fall leaves and yard debris in storm drains contribute to phosphorus problems in our waters. Please help keep our neighborhood storm drains clear this year!

Angie Hong on TikTok Replying to yard waste has a lot of phosphorus so we want to keep it out of our lakes. People can compost at home or send it to a community compost facility. Only the litter gets thrown away.

First permeable pavement going in at Eliza and Madison. https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/2022/08/24/green-bays-first-permeable-pavement-street-reduce-stomwater-runoff-flooding/7821209001/?fbclid=IwAR0sX4d8us8ff0DnFyTvJ5kAfGXEoskMt44VgI70mWJUNdg3CtjfkJZt2Wk

Green Bay's use of 'green infrastructure' to manage stormater runoff will grow with first permeable pavement street Permeable pavement is just one kind of green infrastructure that cities are using more for stormwater management.

Throwback to last summer and the plastic bag challenge.

Green Bay needs your plastic bag for a new challenge GREEN BAY (WLUK) -- The city of Green Bay is taking part in the NexTrex Recycling Challenge. The goal is to reduce the number of plastic bags and film in landfills by collecting 500 lbs of plastic or about 40,500 plastic bags. The city needs to collect the plastic before Dec. 1, to receive a bench m...

What is happening in the Webster Avenue median?

You may have noticed some changes in the Webster Avenue median north of University Avenue. In 2018, the City installed a series of vegetated swales in the median. The purpose of the swales is to slow the flow of stormwater and increase the uptake of water into the soil, which helps to filter out pollutants that would otherwise discharge to our waterways. This is best achieved using native vegetation rather than traditionally low-cut turf grass.

This year, the Public Works Department has contracted for evaluation and maintenance of the current swale vegetation along with a pilot study of new plantings in one of the swales. Coming out of the 2018 construction, the desired vegetation did not establish itself and has led to a lot of undesirable vegetation. Our goal is to eventually have all of the Webster Avenue swales function as intended with native vegetation. This process will take time, so we appreciate your ongoing patience throughout the duration of this project.

Register here for your free rain barrel.

The City of Green Bay is introducing its first Residential Rain Barrel Pilot Program!

Green Bay homeowners are eligible for one FREE rain barrel while supplies last.

To learn the eligibility requirements and to register for a rain barrel, visit the City’s website (https://greenbaywi.gov/1355/Rain-Barrels) and be on the lookout for our upcoming series of informational posts on Facebook.

Members of the Sustainability Commission in the news for Earth Day.

Earth Day sprouts in Brown County, Mayor Genrich announces $87K grant BROWN COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) – Residents of Brown County celebrated the 52nd Earth Day with grants and actions enforcing community-wide sustainability. Earth Day in Brown County kicked off brigh…

As a reminder, Sustainability Commission meets at 5:00 on the 3rd Wednesday of each month, unless otherwise noted.

Meetings, Agendas & Minutes | Green Bay, WI Access easily searchable meeting agendas and minutes for various boards, commissions, and committees.

This conversation, which began in Sustainability Commission, went through several layers of discussion and approval over the last two years. Signs are now ready for residents to pick up!

Green Bay, WI No Mow May

♻️ NexTrex Recycling Challenge Update! ♻️
We’ve hit our goal of 500 lbs of plastic (520 lbs, to be exact 🙌) and we are thrilled! We are still collecting plastic through June 1, 2022. You may drop off your recyclable plastics at City Hall or Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. We ask that your plastics be in CLEAR garbage bags so we can easily verify there is no trash or unacceptable materials in your dropped off bags.
♻️ For information on this program and to see a list of acceptable and unacceptable items, visit: https://recycle.trex.com/view/educate
Thank you for everyone who has helped us reach our goal to earn a bench through the NexTrex Recycling Program!

If you'd like to view the solar electricity production data from the panel projects directed by the Sustainability Commission and city council click the following links:
Leicht Park (May 2020): https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/pv/public_systems/cNcv1845906/overview
Green Bay Fire Station 5 (August 2021): https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/pv/public_systems/bWzk2358620/overview

Leicht Park Use Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari to access the fresh new look of MyEnlighten with the exciting new features.

Sustainability Commission meeting this Wednesday at 5:00. Agenda includes plastic film collection bins, municipal native plant requirement discussion, dark sky discussion, green infrastructure discussion. https://greenbaywi.gov/961/Sustainability-Commission

Tonight’s commission meeting has been canceled.

RESOLUTION TO VALUE AND PROTECT LOCAL WATERS
In an effort to set a tone for how we engage with our local waters, and to make our city more attractive for funding opportunities related to water quality, the sustainability commission forwarded this resolution to city council. Council passed it on March 2, making it one of the first such resolutions at a municipal level in the nation. https://civicclerk.blob.core.windows.net/stream/GREENBAYWI/91ec5f6f44.pdf?sv=2015-12-11&sr=b&sig=IshfqBnl6FtoPTMpzuzsVroyqF%2BI6blKWjlC9C9XVVw%3D&st=2021-03-16T13%3A20%3A03Z&se=2022-03-16T13%3A25%3A03Z&sp=r

civicclerk.blob.core.windows.net

Community Garden Virtual Conference featuring a partnership with Brown County Community Gardens and Groundwork Milwaukee. Feb 12-13. https://danegardens.net/conference/

2021 Virtual WIsconsin Community Garden Conference In 2021, the Dane County Gardens Network will be partnering with Brown County Community Gardens and Groundwork Milwaukee to host a Wisconsin – wide Community Garden Conference, held online o…

The commission meets at 5:00 tonight. Agendas can be found at this link. https://greenbaywi.gov/129/Meetings-Agendas-Minutes

Meetings, Agendas & Minutes | Green Bay, WI Access easily searchable meeting agendas and minutes for various boards, commissions, and committees.