Invitation To Attend Sustainability Commission Meeting
Members of the public are invited to attend the May monthly meeting of the Sustainability Commission at 5:00 pm on Monday May 13th in room 103, Building A at City Hall. There will be presentations about Chula Vista’s Police Department using drones as first responders, urban/old growth timber rescue and the expanded polystyrene reduction pilot program for Chula Vista businesses. The Sustainability Commission meets the second Monday of each month and more information can be found
here
regarding the Commission.
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2019 CLEAN Sustainability Champions
Congratulations to the winners of the 2019 CLEAN Sustainability Champion Awards. At the April 16
th
Chula Vista City Council meeting, the Sustainability Commission announced the winners of the 2019 CLEAN Sustainability Champion Awards. The awards are designed to recognize individuals, groups and businesses that are helping to achieve clean air, clean water and clean land for future generations within Chula Vista and inspire others to keep Chula Vista CLEAN. Nominations were submitted by members of the public and City staff. And the winners are,
- Resident Category – Carolyn Scofield (honorable mention is Rita McIntyre)
- Business Category – San Diego Urban Timber
- Organization Category – Community Through Hope (honorable mention is South Bay Salt Works)
- Youth Category – Aaron Masikip (honorable mention Kate Anchondo, Rachal Hamilton, Kristian Rosas and Arlene Martinez)
- City Employee Category – Steve Knapp, Public Works Department
- Teacher Category – Megan Willis from High Tech High School (honorable mention is Kelly Leon from Bonita Vista High School)
- Community Contributor Category – Edilberto “Papa Ed” Samala
Congratulations again to all the CLEAN Sustainability Champion Awards recipients. The Sustainability Commission and the entire Chula Vista Community are truly grateful for your dedication to protecting our environment and our high quality of life.
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29th Annual SANDAG Bike To Work Day
Join thousands of commuters throughout the San Diego region to celebrate the 29
th
Annua
l
Bike to Work Day
on
Thursday, May 16
. GO by BIKE and see the difference it makes in your mood, health, and wallet! With thousands of miles of bikeways in the region biking gets you where you need to go.
Register for Bike to Work Day 2019
.
When you
register for Bike to Work Day
,
you can pick up a free t-shirt* at one of 100 pit stops throughout San Diego County from 6 to 9 a.m. *You must register online to claim your free t-shirt.
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Get ready to GO by BIKE and check out the resources on the
iCommute website
including the San Diego Regional Bike Map, riding and safety tips, secure bike parking and information about taking your bike on trans
it,
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Vacant Climate Change Working Group Members Seats
The Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) is a working group of the Sustainability Commission and provides stakeholders an opportunity to learn about the City’s efforts to fight climate change and to provide their input and guidance. There are currently two vacant seats that the working group is looking to fill, one representing Chula Vista residents and one representing existing buildings & infrastructure. If you have a background in one those areas and would like to volunteer to fill that seat, please send an email to
conservation@chulavistaca.gov
with some information about your background and why you would like to participate in the CCWG. All applications will be reviewed by the Sustainability Commission at their June 10
th
meeting where they will vote on new representatives. The CCWG meetings are open to the public and held quarterly. If you would like to be notified ato receive all meeting information, please email
conservation@chulavistaca.gov
and request to be added to the “Interested Parties” list. Information from past meetings can be found at:
chulavistaca.gov/clean.
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South Bay Botanical Garden Spring Plant Sale
Southwestern College will be holding their annual plant sale on Saturday, May 18 from 9 am to 3 pm at the South Bay Botanical Garden located at the college. As part of their studies, Landscape & Nursery Technology students will be selling plants they have grown. Drought-tolerant, California-friendly plants will be featured at the sale and will be sold at bargain prices. Students will also be available to answer questions and provide planting tips. The plant sale is open to the public. Follow the signs on campus that read “Garden Event.”
Conserving water is an important component in yard and garden maintenance. At the Plant Sale, the City of Chula Vista will also have its “Laundry to Landscape” display available to learn how graywater from your washing machine can be used to irrigate your yard. The Chula Vista Garden Club will be selling water-saving succulent plants and be present to answer gardening questions.
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Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Workshops
Interested in learning the basics about Community Choice Aggregation programs? Attend one of the two workshops the City will be hosting on May 28th at the Civic Center Library (365 F St, Chula Vista CA 91910) and 29th at the Hub at the Otay Ranch Center Library (2015 Birch Rd, Chula Vista CA 91915) from 5:30 until 7. City staff will be presenting about the background and connection to our Climate Action Plan followed by a presentation about CCAs including CCA background, current CCAs in the state, possible CCA approaches and an update on the City's ongoing study process. You can find existing CCA background information on the City's website here:
chulavistaca.gov/clean.
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California Net Zero Energy and Carbon Planning
As part of the San Diego Regional Energy Partnership (SDREP) Education Series, please join us for a conversation about the state of California's energy and carbon future. The workshop will take place on June 5
th
from 2:30 PM until 4:30 PM at the Civic Center Library (365 F St, Chula Vista, CA 91910) Auditorium. Speakers from the Rocky Mountain Institute, CA Building Decarbonization Coalition and Brummitt Energy Associates will talk about best practices, cost effective solutions and the state’s energy future. This is a FREE educational session. If you would like to learn more, please join City staff for a tour of the Library’s Smart City displays and Energy Lounge. If you have questions or would like to register, please contact
bridget@sd-gbc.org.
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Keep Chula Vista Clean By Recycling Your Used Motor Oil Its FREE And Easy!
Summertime is near and that means great weather, which means you might be out working on your car. If you change your own motor oil, did you know that you can take it to a used oil collection center for recycling? Many of these centers will accept used oil filters, as well. All for free! In fact, used oil collection centers will even pay you for recycling your used motor oil! You can request a $0.40 per gallon incentive payment for up to five (5) gallons of your used motor oil. Used oil collection centers also provide free drain pans. Please note that used motor oil will not be accepted if it is contaminated with water or other automotive fluids. For a list of used oil collection centers near you, or to find out how to dispose of contaminated used oil, visit
www.wastefreesd.org
or call 1-800-237-2583.
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Chula Vista Restaurants Will Soon Voluntarily Offer Options To Styrofoam Take-Out Containers
The City of Chula Vista’s Office of Sustainability will reach out to independently owned restaurants to offer technical support and guidance on how to transition from Styrofoam take-out products to recyclable or compostable food containers.
Local restaurants will be identified as early adopters who will then become champions to assist with later efforts to extend the program. Staff will work with the businesses to make the switch to Styrofoam products as easy as possible by providing a list of non-EPS alternative products with price comparisons along while identifying better purchasing strategies. The outreach will also educate the businesses on other factors that will make the change more appealing like customer support of sustainability-minded businesses and the additional positive marketing and promotion that comes with it. The program is free of costs and voluntary. If you operate a business or know of a business that could be a participant, please let us know via email at
environmentalservices@chulavistaca.gov
or by phone at (619) 691-5122.
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Perspective: San Diego State University's Spring Intern
My name is Gabriel and I have been at the City of Chula Vista’s Conservation Section since mid-February through San Diego State University’s internship program. During my time at the City, I learned what the department is about, how they promote their services to the public and how they take action to engage the community. The department encourages conservation efforts throughout City departments and has been working with others to have City facilities retrofitted with new LED lightbulbs, assist with plans to move ahead with a city-wide smart irrigation plan and promoting ways to transition to more efficient technology to allow for better water and energy efficiency at City facilities.
I gained a better understanding of how public entities serve and help the public through public outreach. Events such as the South Bay Mariachi festival, South Bay Earth Day and the Otay Ranch Town Center’s farmers market allowed me to gain a better understanding of how City departments provide information on how they serve the public and gave me an opportunity to engage with citizens one-on-one and discuss how they can save water and energy. Participating alongside fellow co-workers in the home check-up program and FREBE program for businesses helped me gain a better understanding on the no-cost services that the city of Chula Vista offers to its residents and businesses to help increase energy and water efficiency while increasing awareness. On my first day at work I got a chance to meet with the Mayor to confirm the City’s participation in the Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. For this challenge, I produced a flyer and assisted in creation of the script for the video we made with the Mayor which ran through the month of April. I also assisted in creating article binders for the NatureScape program for the mid-May workshop, which emphasizes gardening, water efficient landscaping and composting, among other things. I also had the opportunity to visit the regional landfill facility and observe the landfill process as well as the process on how organic mulch becomes compost. Visiting the landfill allowed me to gain a better understanding of how the land used for the landfill is affected and emphasized the importance of properly sorting our trash and not wasting consumables so that less of it ends up in the landfill.
My time interning with the City has helped me increase my own awareness in water and energy conservation, as well as sustainability, and has encouraged me to take action such as unplugging unused devices, switching to higher efficiency lighting and being more mindful in how much water I use at home. This internship experience has been great and I learned a lot about how the city operates and how they provide a variety of services to the residents and businesses of Chula Vista.
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