“How do we change the way we design our cities’ energy systems?”

In Buffalo’s Renewable Energy Future from PechaKucha Buffalo Vol. 19, Sustainability Engagement Coordinator for the University at Buffalo (UB), Derek Nichols, describes a renewable energy initiative aiming to invest in the Buffalo, New York region while reducing energy costs for some of Buffalo’s largest institutions. This initiative is not just about the creation of power, but also empowering a new cohort of change agents through curriculum development and community engagement.  

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

In Our Outer Harbor from PechaKucha Buffalo Vol. 19, writer, naturalist, and environmental activist, Jay Burney, recalls the activism of Margaret Mead to remind us we have the power to advocate for public lands and sustainable development. Buffalo's Outer Harbor has been used, abused, targeted, developed, abandoned, and targeted again. Legacy contamination remains. Burney and the Our Outer Harbor advocacy group are on the front lines resisting the privatization of public land through protests, workshops, public meetings and hearings, media production, and community engagement.

"Amid a dense urban environment, a beautiful ribbon of green stretches off into the distance…”

In Ribbon of Green: DL&W Rail Trail from PechaKucha Buffalo Vol. 19, Deputy Executive Director of the Western New York Land Conservancy, Jajean Burney, describes the vision of a 1.5-mile elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail on the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad corridor in Buffalo, New York. Similar to the High Line park in Manhattan, where an abandoned stretch of the New York Central Railroad has been transformed to a vibrant public space, the goal of the DL&W Rail Trail is to redevelop an obsolete infrastructure as public space to encourage human connection with nature and neighborhoods. 

"This is the Black-throated Green Warbler. I know how to do the birdcall for this, but I'll do it afterwards, I promise."

In Why Forests Matter from PechaKucha Buffalo Vol. 19, Deputy Executive Director of the Nature Conservancy of Central & Western New York, Jim Howe, explains the three-part mission of organization: to protect land and water (120 million acres around the world, including 100,000 acres in Western and Central New York), to transform policy and practice for sustainability and to inspire people to connect with nature. Why do forests matter? Howe leads us on a tour of protected forest lands that provide imporved healthed and mental outlook, as well as critical habitats for wildlife. And Howe's Black-throated Green Warbler call was a show stopper! 

"When sustainabilty is framed in a different way that connects with peoples' core needs and values, it unleashes empowerment." 

In CoRE Sustainability from PechaKucha Buffalo Vol. 19, Tyra Johnson, Founder and President or Blue Sky Design Supply and Alexandra McPherson, Founder and Principal of Niagara Share, present a new sustainability program in Buffalo, the Collaboratory for the Regenerative Economy (CoRE). The CoRE initiative is a research and education partnership led by the University at Buffalo Department of Materials Design and Innovation, in partnership with Clean Production Action and Niagara Share, that brings together complementary expertise – in research, market analysis, policy formulation, and social innovation -- to support the transition towards a safer materials economy.

"It takes a village."

Sometimes rules are meant to be broken. We abandoned the rule book for this free-form, "20x20 ish" team presentation, Champions for Change, at PechaKucha Buffalo Vol. 19. Elizabeth Walsh, Professor at the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning, shared her mic with a team of members of the Champion for Change program. Champions for Change (an initiative of One Region Forward in Buffalo) is a community innovation laboratory that integrates university and community resources to ignite bright ideas and inspired leadership for a flourishing region. In this celebration of community change-makers, one presenter even broke out into song. We guarantee this will make you smile!

In Smart & Connected from PechaKucha Buffalo Vol. 19, Assistant Professor in the University at Buffalo Department of Urban & Regional Planning, Zoé Hamstead, describes a linked practice-research endeavor that addresses how cities manage heat and cold events. Localized differences in exposure and coping capacity impact the effectiveness of public agencies, organizations and individuals to respond to episodic thermal events. Since thermal vulnerability is shaped by complex interactions across environmental, social and technological variability, addressing this challenge will require integration of traditionally siloed disciplinary knowledge and agency management strategies. As part of a National Science Foundation-funded Smart & Connected Communities (S&CC) planning grant, collaborators in Buffalo/Erie County, New York and Tempe/Maricopa County, Arizona are working together to build capacity for integrating research with practice for managing thermal extremes.

"We can do it. We can change the world."

In Project Rainfall from PechaKucha Buffalo Vol. 19, CEO of NeuWater & Associates, LLC, Rita Hubbard-Robinson, talks about the development of an urban aquaponics farm and farmer’s market on Buffalo's East Side. The project is being proposed in an area of the city that is considered a food desert, void of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole foods due to lack of easily accessible grocery stores or farmer’s markets. Project Rainfall's priorities are to improve the health of a disenfranchised community through access to fresh food and education.