Community members explored the potential and future of sustainability in the Valley Saturday at Sustival, an event at Civic Space Park hosted by Arizona State University and the City of Phoenix.
Sustival was the final event of the 2015 Sustainability Solutions Festival, which included a variety of events at various Phoenix locations, and centered on the idea that one person can create an impact in the community.
One of the most prominent topics at Sustival was water preservation, which presenters and attendees said is an especially pressing issue in Arizona.
“When I reimagine the future of Phoenix, I hope to see a city that reinvents itself as a place that is livable and makes mindful choices to achieve that state,” said ASU Sustainability student Annika Andersen. “One of those choices needs to be applied to smarter water consumption because Phoenix is water poor.”
Many booths, including one for Watershed Management Group, focused on water conservation.
“75 percent of the average person’s water consumption is spent on landscaping,” Watershed representative Zack Richards said. “By switching to more sustainable landscaping techniques, such as getting rid of grass, you can save a tremendous amount of water.”
Richards said a huge contributing factor to our scarce water supply is the fact that water is so cheap here in Arizona. Other states like California are trying to ration water supply and are charging people who exceed their limit, he said.
Presenters at the event also explored ways to combat soil erosion, which is a result of deforestation, conventional agriculture, drought and other harsh practices that eradicate biomass. Several organizations gave demonstrations to show how they are dealing with the challenges of soil erosion that affect agriculture and water supply.
Other presenters focused on the topic of composting, and ways communities can grow food locally.
Recycled City, a Phoenix-area composting organization, has a four-step system for recycling food waste. First, they require their clients to collect food waste and sprinkle it with Bokashi — a mixture of foods and microorganisms that aids the composting process.
“Once a brewery has made beer, we get their spent grain and add water, molasses and microorganisms, which creates Bokashi,” said Tiera Allen, co-owner of Recycled City. “Bokashi speeds the process of turning your waste into soil.”
She said the company then picks up the bin of waste and turns it into soil to grow fresh and local produce.
“The grow local movement has gotten pretty popular and we want to be sure that we have healthy soil to sustain the movement,” Allen said.
Sustival attendee Brigitte Bavousett was the first ever graduate of ASU’s School of Sustainability. She said it is easy to get discouraged with such large issues of sustainability.
“Sometimes we get lost in the doom and gloom associated with such a large concern regarding sustainability and we feel powerless, but we have to remember that one person really can make a difference,” she said.
Contact the reporter at catherineann.nolen@asu.edu
