G3CC Beautification Schedule May 20 - June 17
G3CC Beautification Schedule May 20 – June 17
First Sirena Festival highlights ocean conservation and culture
First Sirena Festival highlights ocean preservation and culture
The first ever Sirena Festival was held in the island’s capital of Hågatña and highlighted the importance of ocean conservation and cultural preservation.
The event organized by the Hågatña Restoration and Redevelopment Authority featured vendors from many local businesses and community groups.
Amongst them were the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability, UOG Sea Grant, Guam NSF EPSCoR, Guam Green Growth, NSF INCLUDES SEAS Islands Alliance, Guampedia and more.
“This is a really fun event and it is great to be outdoors with the family learning about some of the history of Guam,” said Yigo resident Judith Anderson. “It almost feels like we are back to normal.”
The UOG CIS outreach booth featured topics including ridge to reef education, sea turtle preservation, Sustainable Development Goal outreach along with recruitment for various fellowship and internship opportunities.
Guam Green Growth and Conservation Corps lead cleanup in Sinajana
Guam Green Growth and Conservation Corps lead cleanup in Sinajana
Member of the Guam Green Growth, UOG Center for Island Sustainability, UOG Sea Grant, Guam NSF EPSCoR and NSF INCLUDES SEAS Islands Alliance teams joined forces with the G3 Conservation Corps, the Red Horse Squadron and community volunteers for a cleanup in Sinajana.
Mayor Hofmann, Vice Mayor Iriarte, and their team from the Sinajaña mayor’s office hosted the group as a part of the ongoing beautification schedule for the Corps.
The team picked up 11 large bags of trash and about 2 large bags of aluminum cans to be recycled.
The Corps conducts weekly beautification activities on Fridays.
G3CC works with WERI
Guam Green Growth Conservation Corps works with WERI
Our G3 Conservation Corps, UOG Center for Island Sustainability, and UOG Sea Grant teams were with WERI at Mt. Alutom!
WERI is the Water and Environmental Research Institute of the Western Pacific based out of the University of Guam. Dr. John Jenson presented to the team about the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer (NGLA) and its importance as it provides drinking water to 80% of Guam’s population.
Mt. Alutom provides a great introduction to the characteristics of rock units and other natural features that determine where and how water is captured, stored, and transmitted in the NGLA.
The team helped clear the area to prepare the site for educational tours and will be back with WERI to learn more!
G3 Makerspace shines through CHamoru Village Night Market
G3 Makerspace shins through CHamoru Village Night Market
The Wednesday Night Market has returned and our G3 Circular Economy Makerspace and Innovation Hub team is happy to be part of the Chamoru Village familia!
Visit our three houses: the Green Store & Innovation Hub, our Plastics House, and our Makerspace and see all that we have to offer for makers, entrepreneurs, and anyone wanting to start and continue their sustainable journey!
The Corps provided outreach by educating attendees on proper waste disposal at the G3 and i*recycle bins and by assisting guests who visited the G3 Circular Economy Makerspace and Innovation Hub. Si Yu’os ma’åse’ to everyone who stopped by!
For membership information or workshop schedule check out the Makerspace website!
G3CC cleans up in Mangilao
G3CC Cleans Up in Mangilao
Mangilao Island Beautification
Si Yu’os ma’åse’ to Mayor Allan Ungacta, Vice Mayor Kevin Delgado, and their staff at Mangilao MO for hosting our G3 Conservation Corps and G3 team for last week’s island beautification event!
On Friday, the team picked up 18 large bags of trash, 2 large bags of aluminum cans to be recycled, and over 10 white good items along Back Road.
Join us for more of our island beautification events and help keep Guam clean! Stay tuned for details.
UOG CIS brings Guam Green Growth to Green Night
UOG CIS brings Guam Green Growth to Green Night
At the University of Guam’s Green Night event, the Center for Island Sustainability team highlighted the fun side of the circular economy loop with an activity that featured repurposing discarded materials and green waste into a creative fabric.
The College of Natural & Applied Sciences hosted Green Night on Wednesday, April 20, in celebration of the University’s 50 years as a land-grant institution.
The UOG CIS, Sea Grant, and EPSCoR teams shared information about the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals and distributed SDG stickers and the latest Sea Grant tide chart calendar.
At the event, CHamoru artist and Makerspace and Innovation Hub staff Joey Certeza demonstrated the textile printing process using an old blanket, paint, and leaves. Four distinct types of leaves were collected from the green waste pile at the CNAS garden for their distinct pattern — the lemmai (breadfruit), kåhlao (a type of fern), laguanå (soursop), and kaffo’ (a type of pandanus).
“We are textile printing with nature. We have collected four different leaves in our House 2 garden. We want the community to be involved in textile printing so we at Guam Green Growth can upcycle the fabric into different products that you will be able to purchase at the G3 Makerspace and Innovation Hub at the Chamoru Village,” Certeza said.
Myracle Mugol, Guam Green Growth circular economy coordinator added, “Whatever design we make we are going to turn it into a tote bag, pouches or any other product at the Makerspace and Innovation Hub. The proceeds (from the products) will support the Center for Island Sustainability.”
The circular economy closes the loop by prolonging the product life cycle and finding another purpose for waste that would otherwise end up in the landfill. Doing so keeps materials in use and, eventually, lessens the burden on natural resources and regenerates natural systems.
The Green Night event also featured food trucks, a farm animal petting zoo, after-hours yoga, cycad garden tours, snake wrangling, local produce and craft sales, plant sales, giveaways, and a glow-in-the-dark family fun run/walk.
‘Islands are still rising’: CSIN biannual gathering promotes policy framework, connections for climate change resiliency
‘Islands are still rising’: CSIN biannual gathering promotes policy framework, connections for climate change resiliency
Resolute in their undertaking to build communities resilient to the effects of climate change, dozens of representatives across the U.S. islands convened virtually for the sixth Climate Strong Islands Network (CSIN) Biannual Gathering, March 24.
At the core of the agenda was the introduction to and discussions surrounding the CSIN’s National Policy Framework presented by members of the network’s policy team and High Street Strategies, a government relations and consulting firm.
The framework indicated seven key issue areas common to island communities that will support climate change preparedness, if acted upon. The framework also offered corresponding policy recommendations to help guide the implementation of or amendments to policies.
“We’ve captured those issues and developed solutions,” said Jason Donofrio, CSIN Steering Committee advisor and external relations officer for The Ocean Foundation.
“We see the National Policy Framework as an outline to begin addressing islands’ needs and a pathway to becoming more climate resilient.”
The key needs were identified as clean energy, watershed planning, food security, disaster preparedness, marine economy, waste management, and transportation, as presented by CSIN policy team members, Matthew Mullin, High Street Strategies president and CEO; Norah Carlos, High Street Strategies associate; and Erin Gaines, High Street Strategies consultant.
The team determined that island representation in federal decision-making processes, development of island capacity through significant investments in its people, and access to affordable information and technology were cross-cutting themes that will enable sustainable action in response to the issues at hand.
Network members were encouraged to continue advocating for their islands and to present the framework to their local decision makers, while also supporting and elevating progressions in innovation and ingenuity.
“Our common purpose is to achieve a sustainable future together. The good news that I share with you today is that islands are still rising,” said Austin Shelton, CSIN Steering Committee co-chairperson and director of the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability (CIS) and UOG Sea Grant. “Despite the global pandemic physically separating us, we have not been isolated. We have strengthened our bonds through these networks, and now, we are building on our momentum of the past few years and sailing ahead. Please stick with us and encourage your island friends to join in this Climate Strong movement.”
“For a long time, people saw living on islands as a separation, a barrier, or a boundary. I am so proud to see how all of us from islands around the world have bonded together in this gathering to show that the whole planet is like an island itself, and our connections to each other are a lot closer than anyone could’ve imagined,” said Thomas Krise, UOG president. “Our efforts, through the work of the UOG CIS and the Guam Green Growth (G3) Initiative, and our other programs and partnerships, have motivated and inspired people all around our island to step up and do what they can to help this mission. We stand together with everyone here today, who believes, that, while as individual islands, we are firm and sturdy and rooted, together, as a network, we are really strong – island strong.”
This year’s gathering was hosted by the UOG CIS and G3.
The CSIN biannual gatherings fuse dozens of U.S. island community leaders and partners in philanthropy, business, academia, and government throughout the continental U.S., nation states, Caribbean Sea, and Pacific Ocean territories to expand their capacity to mitigate the impacts of extreme climate events. The CSIN is governed by an independent steering committee of island leaders, co-hosted by The Ocean Foundation and the Global Island Partnership as a member of the Local2030 Islands Network.
Guam contributes to sustainable future dialogue at Our Oceans Conference
Guam contributes to sustainable future dialogue at Our Oceans Conference
Guam’s position as a leader in the worldwide sustainability movement was evident at the Our Oceans Conference in Palau.
The conference hosted by the Republic of Palau and the United States consisted of five days of panel presentations, featured speakers and side events.
The Guam delegation attending the conference consisted of Governor Lou Leon Guerrero, longtime environmental advocate and the Governor’s Chief Advisor for Military and Regional Affairs, former Senator Carlotta Leon Guerrero along with members of the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant and Guam NSF EPSCoR.
The Governor addressed the congregation during a special welcoming reception alongside Palau President Surangel Whipps, Jr. and United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and former Secretary of State John Kerry.
“The bottom line is, through the (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) we are creating a sustainable community.” said Leon Guerrero. “Through these goals, we are going to lift people from poverty. We are going to try and eliminate hunger. We are going to have a better educated workforce. These are all the ingredients for a better quality of life for all of us.”
Kerry noted the importance of regional leadership taking part in the efforts for worldwide sustainability and to protect our oceans.
“It is fair to say that the ocean is our lifeblood, 51% of the oxygen we breathe comes from the ocean. So much of the food we eat, so many of the livelihoods that are provided to people come from the ocean,” explained Kerry. “We need the full-throated voice of the island states because you speak with a particular moral imperative, a particular capacity to be persuasive. We need you to make the difference.”
Guam was also represented as the governor was a featured panelist at a side event coordinated by the Micronesian Challenge, a groundbreaking commitment by the leaders of the five jurisdictions of Micronesia – Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
The Micronesian Challenge recently expanded their goals and now moves to effectively manage 50% of marine resources and 30% of terrestrial resources by 2030 after realizing great progress up to their first deadline in 2020.
“We feel like we are isolated out here and we just have each other to work with,” explained Leon Guerrero. “I do believe strength in unity and us having one voice is going to move us into success.”
Director for the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant Austin Shelton was a featured panelist in a special event hosted by the Local2030 Islands Network, of which Guam is a founding member, aimed at highlighting the successful use and implementation of a progress dashboard used by Hawaii Green Growth and recently launched with Guam Green Growth.
“Together with other islands around the world, we are tracking our local actions on sustainability through the island-wide Guam Green Growth initiative. The public and transparent G3 Dashboard demonstrates to how Guam is contributing to a global sustainable future,” said Shelton.
At the special event, it was also announced that the Government of Palau is committed to launching their own Palau Green Growth dashboard in alignment with Guam and Hawaii in hopes of sharing information and developing solutions across the network.
While heads of state, conservation leaders and sustainability activists from the biggest countries and governments around the world took to the main stage during the conference, the voice of University of Guam student and the founder of Deep Pacific Collective of Pacific Peoples Kalani Reyes, a youth delegate selected for this year’s conference, commanded the attention of the audience.
“I’ve made it a part of my life’s mission to advocate for and with the young people of the Pacific. To believe in their power through hearing other islands speak of their experiences especially in my home islands of the Marianas,” said Reyes.
Reyes closed her featured speaker presentation calling for the formation of a group to continue the focus on and expand youth inclusivity in future conferences.
“We propose the formation of a taskforce of previous Our Ocean youth delegates that facilitates the further integration of young people,” urged Reyes. “This will ensure the continuity and passing of knowledge from conference to conference and youth inclusion in the dialogues and decision-making processes.”
According to the conference website, the Our Oceans Conference closed with 410 commitments worth $16.35 billion across the six issue areas of the conference from countries, organizations, and attendees.
Full videos of panels and presentations can be viewed at https://ourocean2022.pw
G3CC Beautification Schedule now available
