Sustainability festival challenges community to find solutions

The first-ever Sustainability Solutions Festival kicked off Feb. 17 at the Arizona Science Center. During the festival's Sustainability Solutions Family Day, thousands of young students explored sustainability in exhibits and educational booths like ASU LightWorks' algae table.

Several Walton Sustainability Solutions Fellows pitched in at the recycling table to teach Family Day attendees what items can be recycled, and which ones go to the landfill.

Children created recycled binoculars out of toilet paper rolls and eco-friendly stickers at Valley company Box Play for Kids' table during Family Day.

At the Arizona Science Center's climate exhibit, attendees identified bark beetle impacts on local ponderosa pine forests using tree ring research compiled by ASU and the Arizona Science Center.

ASU President Michael Crow addressed the crowd of sustainability professionals at the first day of the GreenBiz Forum on Feb. 18 in Scottsdale. Held here for the first time, the nice weather and hot topics drew in record crowds for the forum.

Also for the first time, the GreenBiz Forum came to ASU's Tempe campus in a live simulcast version for students, faculty and staff. Additional speakers, like SEED Spot's Courtney Klein and Greenpeace's Phil Radford, conducted special Q&A sessions in between simulcasts.

On Feb. 19 the Festival hosted its Sustainability Solutions Celebration at the historic Heard Museum for GreenBiz Forum and The Sustainability Consortium meeting participants. Native hoop dancers entertained the crowd throughout the evening.

Patricia Reiter (left), Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives director, and Gary Dirks, Global Institute of Sustainability director, outside the Heard Museum during the celebration.

Julie Ann Wrigley (left) and GreenBiz.com founder Joel Makower mingled with the crowd of sustainability professionals, CEOs, inventors and changemakers during the celebration at the Heard Museum.

The Heard Museum's Southwestern exhibits and surroundings provided an excellent backdrop for professionals to network, share ideas and talk about the latest sustainable business trends during the celebration.

During the celebration's program, local middle school students were recognized by Rob and Melani Walton (far left) and ASU President Michael Crow (far right) for their Future Cities of Arizona projects. These students were among 25 innovators honored by the festival for their sustainability solutions developed over the past year.

Also among the celebration's awardees was writer Mary Heather Noble (third from left), whose essay, "Acts of Courage," won the Festival and Creative Nonfiction's contest, "The Human Face of Sustainability." Noble's essay explores her personal experience with contaminants and resulting cancers that are now so prolific in everyday life.

Artist Marcy Miranda Janes was awarded for her depiction of "The Human Face of Sustainability," using thin paper cuttings that convey the interconnectedness of the world. Janes (far right) gifts Rob and Melani Walton with an original art piece from her entry's collection.

AZ Solar Summit IV, held in conjunction with the festival on Feb. 20, organized policy and decision-makers to discuss Arizona's newest energy plan, "Empower Arizona: Executive Energy Assessment and Pathways."

The festival partnered with AZ SciTech Fest and the City of Tempe for Geeks' Night Out, Feb. 20. Local high school students and geeks of all ages learned about sustainability and showed off their latest technologies.

Little superheroes united during Tempe's Geeks' Night Out, held in conjunction with the festival.

On Feb. 22, the last day of the festival ended with a Picnic in the Park in Tempe. Local food trucks, bands and community partners filled City Hall's park to celebrate how far we've come in creating a sustainable future.

ASU students from Campus Student Sustainability Initiatives were a big help in sorting through picnic-goers' trash, making sure recyclables and compostables were separated for collection during the zero waste event.

Weatherman Paul Horton from CBS 5 kicked off the picnic's live bands after Patricia Reiter, director of the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, welcomed picnic-goers.

Local band Huckleberry entertained the picnic's crowd with their Americana music.

Kids colored the festival's logo, a CFL light bulb, during the Picnic in the Park, reminding attendees of the festival's mission: now's the time to find a better way.