Sustainability Education Week

So if you don’t know, this is the second annual national Sustainability Education Week! Portland State University and my classmates have organized a diverse group of activities, films, speakers, sessions, and fun around the topic.

Here are my top choices which I’ve shared on the calendar (for a full list of the week’s events click here):

Learn to make Kimchi and Drinking Vinegars! Here’s why you should go: One, The Fermentation Society is hosting it and well fermentation is amazing and weird, and I can’t wait to meet the folks who are part of this group. Two, its free and you’ve been wanting to make Kimchi anyway and here’s a chance to support something awesome (sustainability edu), and go home with a big mason jar of free kimchi and future know-how. If that’s not reason enough, read this book and go next year.

The Wild and Scenic Film Festival is on tour in Portland for this week, and will be featuring 10 films at the Bagdad on Nov. 11th. So many look good but I’m particularly excited about Big River, the follow up to KingCorn (2009). Watch the trailer on the calendar. The monoculture farms of Iowa scare me. The skies of Iowa are my favorite in the world. Let’s find out what these guys found out about the environmental consequences of their one acre of corn.

Get outside and plant some trees! The garden work party event of Sustainability Education Week has already passed by, but that’s no reason not to do some volunteer gardening anyway. Friends of Trees has a ton of volunteer dates coming up and if you’ve never done it; the experience is great. First of all, you’re adding trees to your community, which is basically like getting new trees for yourself. You’re cleaning the air, beautifying the land, and connecting with your neighbors in a group activity. Killer. No experience is necessary, and its nice to have a reason to get up early on gray days anyway (I promise once you’re out of bed and breathing in fresh air you’ll agree with me – for those of you who don’t, some sessions start at noon). Just click on their calendar, pick a planting day, and show up wearing comfy shoes!

If nothing else go for a walk in the forest, eat something that grew in your neighborhood, and drink from the tap.

xo