2024-2025 Sustainability Speaker Series Proposal
Prepared by the Sustainability Commission
April 2024
TH
EME AND TOPICS
Beyond the Shoreline
O
ccupying the narrow space between land and sea, our shoreline plays an outsized role in efforts to mitigate climate change and create a more sustainable world. Decades of misplaced priorities have damaged wetlands and led to the collapse of fisheries, including off the California coast. In contrast, healthy wetlands act as natural “sinks” that absorb more carbon than tropical rainforests, and our oceans, when managed correctly, can allow us to sustainably produce high-quality nutrition for people in the Bay Area and beyond. By emphasizing hands-on education and ensuring equitable access to our coastal areas, we can foster an ‘all- hands-on-deck' mindset regarding both the opportunities and the responsibilities of living near the shore. And by understanding the importance of advocating for healthy ecosystems on land and in our oceans, we can look “beyond the shoreline” for nature-based solutions to our most pressing environmental problems.
T
he topics proposed in Table 1 below are relevant to residents and businesses in Sunnyvale and are meant to both educate and motivate action. The Sustainability Commission Subcommittee has proposed topics for ranking in the following table. The table also lists potential event titles, speakers, and a brief description of the topics to be covered.
C
OSTS
The first five years of the Sustainability Speaker Series were funded through a project’s budget, set up specifically for the series. From Fiscal Year (FY) 2021/22 forward, the Sustainability Speaker Series is funded through the operating budget for Environmental Sustainability Program in the Environmental Services Department. Costs for the series vary depending on whether the series is held virtually or in person. It remains to be determined if these events will be held in a virtual or in-person setting which could result in differences in how the budget is spent. Typical costs incurred for in-person events include fees for travel costs, refreshments and staff time for set up and take down of event space. Virtual events accrue costs from staff time, advertising and speaker fees. Budget availability for FY 2024/25 is not yet available as the FY 2024/25 recommended budget has not yet been released. Budget for this program in the past has ranged from $16,000 to $25,000.
Attachment 1
Table 1: Proposed Topics and speakers
Commission
Rank
Topic Event Title Speaker Title / Affiliation Description Wetlands and
climate
resilience
Why Wetlands
Restoration
Matters
Christina Toms Ecological
Engineer at the
San Francisco Bay
Regional Water
Quality Control
Board
Coastal and inland wetlands, with their ability to
sequester more carbon than tropical forests, are
crucial to mitigating the effects of climate change.
The key to this ability, however, is the overall health of wetlands. Prioritizing wetlands restoration and
managing them effectively are important strategies
to reduce disaster risk and improve resiliency to a
warming planet.
Sustainable
fisheries and
aquaculture
of the future
What fish is this?
What fish is that?
Dr Ayana
Elizabeth
Johnson
Co-founder,
Urban Ocean Lab
The fish in the grocery store might not be what you
think they are— and the types of fish and their origins vary widely in terms of sustainability. The oceans also offer opportunities to more sustainably meet our
future global food needs, by using vertical integration of different food types to simultaneously sequester
carbon, clean the ocean, and promote resiliency
while meeting humans’ nutritional needs.
Equity in
coastal access
One Bay Area:
equal access for
all in our local
natural spaces
Anya Diamond Program
Director, Bay
Area Wilderness
Training
While many of us love our state beaches and
seashores for recreation and learning, these
ostensibly public institutions are not always
equitably accessible. This talk will discuss the
current inequities in access to natural spaces,
highlight the efforts of group(s) working to make it
more just, and provide residents with resources to
get involved.
Attachment 1
Commission
Rank
Topic Event Title Speaker Title / Affiliation Description Save the Bay:
a history of
advocacy and
lessons
learned
How the “Save
the Bay”
Movement
Started
Charlie
Onorati
Save the Bay Did you know the “Save the Bay” movement we know today was started in the 60’s by three Bay
Area women? The organization was founded in
1961 as the Save San Francisco Bay Association by
Sylvia McLaughlin, Kay Kerr and Esther Gulick. This
talk will highlight the 60+ years of efforts to save
the San Francisco Bay from excessive pollution and
how the lessons learned over the years will help
prepare our waterways for the effects of climate
change.
Empowering
youth to
become
ocean
stewards
What Lives in the
Bay?
Potential
speakers from:
Seymour
Marine
Discovery
Center,
Monterey Bay
Aquarium,
Marine
Science
Institute, or
Kids for the
Bay
A family-friendly community event where school-
aged youth and their families can come together to
learn about our interconnectedness with the oceans
and the wildlife within them. This interactive in
person event aims to inspire a sense of
responsibility towards protecting our oceans and
the marine life that call them home.
Keeping
pollution out
of the bay
Trash Free
Waters
Christy Kehoe California
Regional
Coordinator,
National Oceanic
and Atmospheric
Administration
(NOAA) Marine
Debris Program
Explore the challenges and successes of keeping our
rivers, bays and ocean free of marine debris. This
event will include updates on the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch and the latest on microplastics.
Attendees will learn actions they can take in their
own community to help make a difference in this
global problem.
Attachment 1
Commission
Rank
Topic Event Title Speaker Title / Affiliation Description Kelp forest
resiliency
The history and
future of
California abalone
Kristin
Aquilino
UC Davis Bodega
Marine Lab
The California kelp forest is an ecosystem unlike any
other, and its fate has been tied to California people
and economics for generations. This talk will inspire
our community with the importance of the kelp
forest to land-based California, and restoration
efforts to for its inhabitants (such as the endangered
abalone, or the sea otters) and how we can help
them to be more resilient in our changing climate.
Attachment 1
SCHEDULING
Up to four events will be spaced approximately every two to three months, coordinated by staff in consideration of speaker availability, staff time, budget, and other City events.
VENUE
The events held since January 2020 have been held in a virtual online environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Experience gained in hosting these events will allow flexibility for future events if, for whatever reason, an in-person event is not feasible. Online events allow more people to attend since seating capacity is not limited. If and when the events return to an in-person format, the Bay Conference Room (Room 145) at City Hall, is a first choice of venues because it allows for live broadcast on K-SUN TV as well as recording for later viewing. Other venues including the Sunnyvale Community Theater (capacity 200) and the Community Center Ballroom (capacity 300) are considered when a larger audience is expected. Refreshments will be provided at in- person events with a zero-waste goal.
PUBLICITY
The promotion and marketing of events will be similar to past series. It will include social media, email blasts, Sunnyvale Sun ads, and flyers posted at community businesses. With longer advance notice, the event notices could be printed in Horizon. Additional avenues for outreach to local schools, colleges and universities as well as the business/tech community should also be used.
VIDEO RECORDINGS
Each event will be videotaped and made available on the Community TV channel as well as on the City’s Sustainability website. If the venue is other than online or City Hall, some funding and coordination is needed for video recording services. If a particular speaker does not allow recording/posting of their talk, a summary of the key points will be written and posted online.
COMMUNITY FEEDBACK
Evaluation surveys will be administered, as done in past series, to collect feedback from attendees on the event experience, identify improvements, and gather suggestions for future topics and speakers.
HISTORY
For context, Table 2. below summarizes the history of prior Sustainability Speaker’s Series events.
The 2018-2019 series marks the shift between calendar year and fiscal year planning to align with Sunnyvale’s budgeting fiscal year.
Attachment 1
Table 2: Sustainability Speaker Series Event History since inception
Series
Year
Title Speaker Date General Topic
2017
Electrifying! Beyond Fossil
Fuels in Homes and
Businesses
Pierre Delforge May 31, 2017 Buildings
Electrifying Our
Transportation System
Rod Diridon, Sr. Aug. 2, 2017 Transportation
Zero Waste Home Bea Johnson Aug. 30, 2017 Waste
2018
Drawdown: 100
Substantive Solutions to
Global Warming
Chad Frischmann Jan. 31, 2018 Climate
Solutions
Hidden in Plain Bite Katie Cantrell May 16, 2018 Food
The Power of Stuff Annie Leonard Sept. 26. 2018 Consumption of Resources
Home Energy: Taking
Charge! Panel Discussion
Tom Kabat,
Doug Kunz,
Dave Edwards,
Steve Schmidt,
Marianna
Grossman
Oct. 25, 2018 Home Energy
2019
(added
to
2018
series)
Climate, Energy & Food: A
Recipe for Action
Dr. Eugene
Cordero
May 22, 2019 Carbon
Footprint
FY
2019-
2020
Electric Cars Demystified Jane Rosten,
Marc Geller,
Jim Barbera
Nov. 9, 2019 EV
Transportation
California's Rise to Water
Resilience: What will it
take?
Felicia Marcus Jan. 29, 2020 Water
Less Traffic, Better Places:
How do we get there?
Patrick Siegman Mar. 11, 2020 Transportation
FY
2020-
2021
California’s Equitable
Carbon Neutral Future
Jarod Blumenfeld
Secretary of
California EPA
Dec. 3, 2020 Adaptation and
CA Climate
Policy
Sustainability goes to
School
Nik Kaestner,
Director of
Sustainability at
San Francisco
Jan. 30, 2021 Decarbonizing
Buildings
Attachment 1
Unified School
District
What Moves You - Active,
Shared and Electric
Transportation
Terra Curtis &
Meghan Weir
Principals at
Nelson/Nygaard
March 17, 2021 Decarbonizing
Transportation
Recycling – Beyond the
Triangle
Mark Bowers
Former
Sunnyvale Solid
Waste Programs
Division Manager
May 19, 2021 Managing
Resources
Sustainably
FY
2021-
2022
This Old Zero-Emission
House: Climate Retrofits
on a Limited Budget
Sean Armstrong,
Zero Net Energy
Designer and
Managing
Principal,
Redwood Energy
February 2, 2022 Decarbonizing
Buildings
The Emissions that You
Purchase: Reducing Your
Carbon Footprint
Chris Jones,
Director of
CoolClimate
Network, UC
Berkeley
March 16, 2022 Consumption-
based
emissions
A Changing Climate:
Through the Lens of Equity
and Resiliency
Violet Saena,
Founder &
Executive
Director, Climate
Resilient
Communities
June 8, 2022 Climate Change
and Health
FY
2022-
2023
Sustainable Food
Gardening in Our Own
Backyards
Trinity Tomsic December 14,
2022
Food
Farm to Table: Busting the
Myths of our Food System
Dr. Sarah Taber January 25, 2023 Food
An Electric Dinner Party:
Induction Cooking
Chef Rachelle
Boucher
May 30, 2023 Decarbonizing
Buildings
FY
2023-
2024
Drought, Atmospheric
Rivers and Floods, Oh My!
Christine Shields
Erik Porse
January 24, 2024 Water
Microplastics? Macro
Problems
Dr. Imari Walker-
Franklin
February 7, 2024 Water
Make Every Drop Count:
Grey Water Reuse
Shreya
Ramachandran
April 17, 2024 Water
Attachment 1