The event organizers and keynote speakers, (from left to right) Mayor Sofia Pereira, Katie Koscielak from Zero Waste Humboldt, André Villaseñor, Morgan King, the WRRAP faculty advisor and WRRAP's education coordinator Shanti Belaustegui Pockell.
The event organizers and keynote speakers, (from left to right) Mayor Sofia Pereira, Katie Koscielak from Zero Waste Humboldt, André Villaseñor, Morgan King, the WRRAP faculty advisor and WRRAP's education coordinator Shanti Belaustegui Pockell.
The theme of the Zero Waste Conference held this past weekend on the Humboldt State campus was “beyond barriers.”
Hosted by the Waste Reduction & Resource Awareness Program, or WRRAP, their goal is to help make sustainability accessible to everyone.
The event featured different panels during its two-day run.
Friday started with tinker time, where there was a clothing swap and different stations for students to learn how to sew, make their own deodorant or fix a flat bike tire. Later that night, WRRAP hosted a free vegan banquet for students and the community. It featured two keynote speakers.
The mayor of Arcata explained her 10-step plan to transition into a zero waste city. The second speaker was André Villaseñor, an environmental protection specialist for the EPA, who spoke about his specialty of reducing food waste. The night finished with a showing of Anthony Bourdain’s film, “Wasted! The Story of Food Waste.”
A group of students learn how to sew in the UC Quad.
During the conference’s first block, local Arcata businesses tabled to share skills with students.
Shanti Belaustegui Pockell, WRRAP’s education coordinator, helped plan the event and worked at the information booth to tell students everything they need to know about sustainability.
A visual aid in the UC Quad to explain how our trash system on the HSU campus works.
Irán Ortiz, Take Back the Tap director, provided the salad dressing at the event’s free banquet.
