Long Beach Sustainability Fall Newsletter, October 2020
LB Sustainability Quarterly Newsletter
Dear Friend,

Each quarter we create a newsletter with updates on sustainable programs, projects, and events from our office and others in the City of Long Beach.
Long Beach Sustainability is proud to partner with Pacific Gateway on the new PATH program providing work experience for unhoused individuals in Long Beach. The program began its first cohort in July and placed five participants with LB Sustainability field staff to work in the restoration area at Willow Springs Park. 

“Our approach at Willow Springs is to empower our crew, we hope that connecting them to the land will remind them of their strength and value,” Blanca Diaz, Willow Springs Coordinator said. “We not only tend to the land, but we tend to those who work the land through education, empowerment, team building, and native plants.”
Long Beach, CA - The City of Long Beach has launched Tree Yourself, an online tool that helps residents select and plant trees in their yard or parkway. The Office of Sustainability created the new web page as a one-stop resource for all things urban forest, including step-by-step instructions for planting and caring for young trees.

“We hope this campaign inspires residents to plant more trees,” said Sustainability Coordinator Larry Rich. “Trees provide so many benefits to our city when it comes to fighting climate change and its impacts like increased urban heat. Residents can make a huge impact if everyone who is able would plant one tree.”
New Recycling Standards

The City of Long Beach is excited to announce new updates to the curbside recycling program! These updates will help make recycling easier for residents and include what can and cannot be recycled as well as how to properly prepare your recyclables for your Purple Cart.

For a detailed list of recycling program updates, please view the new Recycling/Refuse Guidelines.

Follow @LBRecycles on Instagram to learn what can and cannot be recycled.
Business Resources Event

The Long Beach Green Business Program hosted a virtual networking event focused on how businesses have and can adapt to COVID-19, as well as resources available to help.

We heard from Economic Development on resources for businesses and discussed adaptation strategies with a panel of Long Beach’s Certified Green Businesses.

Password: Adapt2020
Sustainability Workshops
Our workshops have gone online! Check out our Workshops Playlist on Facebook to view all our workshop videos.
Join us for our virtual Native Plant Workshops on Facebook and Instagram @LBSustainability. View upcoming workshops at:

Check out these Native Plant workshop videos:
Join us on Facebook and Instagram @ LBSustainability for our virtual Edible Garden Workshops! View upcoming workshops at:

Check out these Edible Garden workshop videos:
Meet Our Fall Interns
Natalie Pistole is working toward a degree in Conservation & Resource Studies at UC Berkeley, with the goal of becoming an environmental educator. She is looking forward to developing relationships with the native plants at Willow Springs and observing the processes, large and small, that take place within the ecosystem. One of her hobbies is sewing; she is currently working on a small scarecrow made out of fabric scraps.
Brandon Contreras is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Geography with a minor in Environmental Science and Policy at CSULB. His focus point going into the Green Business Internship will be waste reduction and communications, and he is motivated to learn about the best practices to communicate the nuanced issues of climate change. He enjoys meditating in his free time, believing mindfulness is an essential tool when navigating such an emotional topic like climate change. Together we can #KeepLBClean!
Melissa Uribe is a Northeast Los Angeles community member that has grown up alongside CA native flora and fauna. For the past decade Melissa has worked in housing justice and anti-displacement efforts which she believes is also connected to land and ecological issues. She studied Sociology and Chicanx Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara. Melissa applied for the CA native plant restoration internship to further learn from and support the land, feathered relatives, pollinators and more.
Sophia Fukuda has a BFA in Design and Sustainability and is excited to be working for the City of Long Beach. She is currently learning how to use GIS (Geographic Imaging Systems) to analyze data related to the city's Watersheds. She loves compost, and in 2021 she is planning to try her hand at growing broccoli, brussel sprouts, and potatos!
Jackson Driscoll has a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources with a focus on Restoration Ecology. During the native plant internship at Willow Springs Park, he is looking forward to learning about native southern California flora to understand their ecological and indigenous cultural importance. He is also a musician, and released a self-produced acoustic album called "Soul Days" this past summer.
Join us for the next Sustainable City Commission meeting: 
Thursday October 22 at 4pm via teleconference
Presentations: Public Works on the Long Beach Municipal Urban Stormwater Treatment (LB-MUST) Project, and Long Beach Transit on their Sustainability Programs and Emissions Reductions