Long Beach State’s Sustainability Fair provided resources for students to practice eco-friendly living. During the fair, organizations in the Long Beach community offered opportunities for volunteer and fellowship programs.
Jessica Garcia, business MBA student at Cal State Long Beach, went over sustainable practices that she uses on a daily basis.
“I bike and walk to school every day,” Garcia said. “I also walk to get my groceries and use reusable bags at the store.”
Long Beach Community Compost is a volunteer organization that allows Long Beach residents to contribute to a community compost.
Volunteer Dain Lopez said community members can drop off food waste such as fruit, vegetables and eggshells. They can also pick up bags of compost in exchange for a small donation or volunteer contribution.
Compost contributors can find the community compost on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Downtown Long Beach Farmer’s Market and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the farm lot on 2714 California Ave.
The City of Long Beach Office of Climate Action and Sustainability was at the fair with a variety of ongoing events in their program that students can get involved in.
For Long Beach homeowners, OCAS has a free tree planting program where they plant a sapling around the home of Long Beach residents. The OCAS want to plant around homes in areas with less trees, such as North, Downtown and West Long Beach.
Emilie Estrada, fellow for the California Climate Action Corp, encourages Long Beach students to get involved in the program.
“We hope to reach our goal of planting 1,000 trees this year,” Estrada said. “Spread the word.”
Restoration Fridays are when the group restores the trails surrounding the 14-acre Willows Springs Park by weeding invasive plants, raking the trails and pruning and trimming the trees.
Environmentalists can take action by applying to be a fellow in the upcoming year. The position entails engagement in volunteer climate action projects and a $23,000 living allowance, health insurance and other benefits spread evenly across a seven month period.
Julia Garcia, sustainable transportation coordinator at Long Beach State, represented Parking and Transportation Services at the fair. Garcia discussed the different transportation options available to students and faculty.
Students can purchase discounted bus passes for $40 a month or $100 a semester as an alternative to a parking pass. EV charging stations are also available to students and faculty. Stations are located in the E8 and G7 lots.
This fall, Long Beach State implemented “Passio Go”, a new app with GPS tracking of the campus shuttles. The app will help draw new conclusions for better routes.
Long Beach State also has Long Beach Bike Share, which costs $7.50 per month for students to rent bikes. Parking and transportation updates are regularly posted on the program’s social media and the sustainable transportation portion of its website.
Long Beach Recycles is an organization run by the city of Long Beach. Their booth had a game for students to determine what items on the table were recyclable
Dalia Gonzalez, waste diversion and recycling specialist, showed students the components of a composting bin.
“Red worms can eat half of their body weight per day,” Gonzalez said. “This bin has one pound of worms, so they produce a half pound of compost each day.”
For compost enthusiasts interested in becoming ambassadors, students can participate in an eight-week program in March 2024 to learn about waste reduction strategies, recycling practices and backyard composting.
For bee loving students interested, there is the Long Beach Beekeepers. Mike Pack, honey bee ambassador for the beekeepers, went over some life lessons from bee hives.
“Everything is connected more than we know,” Pack said. “As college students, you need community more than ever, and you can learn a lot about that from bees.”
Pack said the United States is losing a large population of honey bees due to habitat loss and pesticides. To help combat this, students can plant perennial basil in their home gardens to attract honey bees.
Students can become members of the organization or attend classes on how to become a backyard beekeeper.