Developing tangible solutions to sustainability challenges within our island region.
The Guam Green Growth Conservation Corps joined the CHamoru Village community in the cleanup efforts at the Hagatna landmark.
The group helped remove blown down trees and shrubbery along with other debris that blew into the iconic area.
CHamoru Village is also the home to the Guam Green Growth Circular Economy Makerspace and Innovation Hub.
The Guam Green Growth Conservation Corps has been hard at work assisting with the cleanup efforts through the island.
This week, the team assisted the Department of Parks and Recreation with some of our island’s parks. Here is a gallery of some of the Before and After shots the team took while out in the field.
The group along with all the hard working members of the community and government were hard at work while the island recovered in the aftermath of the strongest storm Guam has seen in decades.
The Guam Green Growth Conservation Corps volunteered alongside the Guam Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers at the debris and waste collection site in Tiyan, Barrigada.
The site collected household debris from Typhoon Mawar as residents continued cleanup efforts following the storm.
Members of the Corps assisted in check-in of residents, offering directions to proper drop-off points and classification of debris.
They also assisted community members with offloading their debris at the site.
The Guam Green Growth Conservation Corps volunteered at the site for the whole week.
“(The Guam Green Growth Conservation Corps) were very helpful. They were assisting the manamko and other people with their dumping,” said Barrigada resident Ryan Shayne.
A day after typhoon Mawar left a trail of destruction all over the island, the Guam Green Growth Conservation Corps (G3CC) got down to work by helping out with on-campus cleanup at the University of Guam.
All 12 members of the current G3CC cohort collected felled branches, organic matter, and debris that littered the campus grounds. They also cleared portions of the road where cars and pedestrians pass through, opening access to areas within the university.
G3 Conservation Corps member Ciara “CiCi” Taijeron said, “Today, it is sad to see so many trees without leaves on them and all the organic matter is everywhere…I am very relieved that my team and I are safe and everybody on Guam is trying to recover from this unfortunate natural disaster.”
Every Friday, G3 Conservation Corps members usually assist in village beautification activities. With post-typhoon recovery in full swing all over the island, the team recognized the need to refocus their energy and contribute to these ongoing efforts.
UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant Sustainability Coordinator Phil Cruz said, “The G3 Conservation Corps is our workforce development program, where participants are exposed to jobs related to sustainability. We are shifting gears a bit, focusing on beautification of our island in terms of post-typhoon cleanup.”
Cruz added, “Because Guam Green Growth is a community-based organization, it is essential to our G3 Conservation Corps to engage with the community in such a time where we need so much assistance as possible.
According to UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant Director Austin Shelton, PhD, the G3 Conservation Corps will also contribute to other aspects of the recovery efforts.
“Right now, we are clearing roads in the Mangilao area and the University of Guam campus. We will get moving around the island and help with some of our response activities,” he said.
Shelton also encouraged the community to reach out to the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant.
“If there is any way that you think we can assist, please feel free to reach out to us. We are looking forward to getting through this together and helping out as much as we can,” he added.
For more information about the G3 Conservation Corps’ post-typhoon recovery activities, follow us on social media @guamgreengrowth
What is G3 and the G3 Conservation Corps?
The UOG Center for Island Sustainability facilitates Guam Green Growth, or G3, in cooperation with the Office of the Governor of Guam and the G3 Working Group, whose members represent all sectors of society. With the SDGs and G3 Action Framework as a guide, G3 develops tangible solutions to sustainability challenges and contributes to a green economy for the island region.
The G3 Conservation Corps program prepares the community for the emerging green economy. For the duration of the program, the 12 conservation corps members participate in workforce development training covering various sustainability topics, such as agriculture and aquaculture, island beautification, invasive species removal, reforestation, circular economy, recycling, to renewable energy.
As part of recovery efforts post super typhoon Mawar, the University of Guam Sea Grant’s aquaculture program stepped up to help its own community by donating fresh tilapia to the Mangilao Mayor’s Office on Friday, May 26.
UOG Sea Grant harvested the fish stocks from its recirculating aquaculture system adjacent to the UOG Center for Island Sustainability nursery. The system serves as a model for non-profit and community-based organizations who are interested in starting their own backyard aquaculture systems.
UOG Sea Grant also partnered with the UOG Cooperative Extension and Outreach Office, whose team harvested tilapia from their own aquaculture tanks for the community donation.
UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant director Austin Shelton said that while the aquaculture program was launched to increase food security on island, program efforts are also focused on providing urgent relief for communities affected by a typhoon or any disaster.
“After a super typhoon, this is the time that the island needs food security the most. We are happy to get our tilapia fish out into the community to those who need it most, in this time of need” he said.
After the team harvested and prepared the tilapia, UOG Sea Grant aquaculture specialist Dave Crisostomo said, “This is our way of trying to give back and make sure that we don’t waste what we have and provide some food to the people in the community,” Crisostomo said.
“Food security and resiliency has come out to be the top priority now. So, all of these projects that we are doing for aquaculture and aquaponics are geared towards this goal,” Crisostomo added.
After receiving the donation, Mangilao Vice Mayor Kevin Delgado said “Programs are devised to prepare the people for something greater — to provide food and sustainability — at times when it matters the most, especially, during a storm. And to share the fruits of their labor makes the program very rewarding. We are honored that we are able to avail of the harvest.”
“When we announced it, they (the community) were excited. Not because it was free but because it was something that they could provide for their family,” Delgado added.
UOG Sea Grant started the aquaculture program to accelerate the local aquaculture industry by promoting practices that combine traditional knowledge with modern techniques.
The long-term goal of the program is to contribute to the island’s food security and sustainability. The Office of the Governor and the Governor’s Aquaculture Task Force are strategic partners in achieving this goal.
UOG Sea Grant’s aquaculture program promotes Goal 14 (Life Below Water) of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which aims to conserve and sustainably use the ocean and marine resources for development. In addition, sustainable and long-term growth in the aquaculture industry could also contribute to achieving Goals 2 (Zero Hunger) and 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) of the UN SDGs.
The G3 Conservation Corps had another week packed with diverse activities designed to enhance and protect Guahan’s natural resources.
A highlight for several of the members was assisting the G3 Art Corps with preparation of walls in Dededo, Yona, Malesso, Sinajana for the artists to paint their murals. “We pressure washed and primed the walls so the artists would have a good foundation in place when they start the murals,” said Ciara Taijeron.
“All the activities we took part in this week were equally important and needed,” explained Cassie Bordallo. She also mentioned she finds some of the activities challenging and that she feels blessed to have this opportunity be a part of the Corps.
The best part of the week for Zeraih Blas was working with the Art Corps team preparing walls for the murals and learning the basics of what it takes to paint one. “It will be exciting to see the murals completed and to be able to say we helped set it up,” he said.
Jace Blas really enjoyed working with Kie Susuico and Joey Certeza from the Art Corps at the Sinajana mayor’s office. “Meeting the new artisans and working with them to provide beautiful artwork for the community and the island was the best.”
Michael Herbert found working with Teddy and the GROW team in the Ugum watershed restoration very important. “We see the need to stay consistent with the work there. We have seen the progress and the potential of bringing back native plants,” he enthused.
Connor Law really appreciated the kindness and support from the community when they were in Sinajana with the Art Corps. “We get a chance to meet a whole range of people working with G3; political leaders, artists, conservationists, people who care about the environment, and people who want to learn more about what we are doing,” Law said.
This week’s amazing opportunity for Michael Torres was cleaning the area of an ancient latte site. “It wasn’t something the Corps usually does, but we enjoyed it very much. The haligi and the tasa were huge. We visited three or four sets of latte houses. It was an awesome experience to have with the Corps. We would love to experience more things like that around the cultural aspects of sustainability and conservation,” he said.
The epic moment for Laura Layan was when she created a firebreak by clearing vegetation to reduce the spread of wildfires in the Ugum watershed for the GROW team.
Ken Manibusan, who handles maintenance for the Ordot-Chalan Pago Mayor’s Office, assisted the G3 Conservation Corps with the village cleanup on Friday. He said, “This is my first time to experience doing a cleanup with these guys. Honestly, I am proud that they are helping Guam stay clean and I am happy to assist them.”
The Guam Green Growth (G3) initiative and the University of Guam launched their inaugural Art Corps program at the G3 Makerspace and Innovation Hub. The G3 Art Corps aims to provide a platform for artistic expression while promoting island sustainability.
For the program’s first cohort, G3 selected eight talented artists to collectively design, plan, and execute public murals on Guam. These murals will highlight the island’s journey towards achieving sustainability by 2030, as outlined by the G3 Action Framework and the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The chosen artists include Ariel Dimalanta, Kamaka Aquino, Frank “Kie” Susuico, Corina Benavente, Baptist Bell, Ha’ani Bettis, Geraldine Datuin, and Lucille Ronquillo.
Dimalanta has decades of experience as an artist, sculptor, and publisher. While semi-retired, he decided to join the Art Corps to make a difference. “It is time to give back to the community,” he said.
Each artist will receive a stipend in exchange for participating in capacity-building activities and collaborating with the team to create the murals. For two years, two cohorts will paint 17 murals to disseminate the message of sustainability and sustainable development to a broader audience.
UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant Director Austin Shelton stated that art is crucial for community engagement. “Today, we are bringing something new to the table; we have previously talked about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, Technology, Engineering, and Math before. That is about figuring out the science of our natural resources. But now we add an A in between. Art is important because this is the way that we can connect with our community.”
Meanwhile, UOG President Thomas Krise emphasized that the murals would encourage people to consider their environmental and sustainability impact. “This is another great G3 initiative,” he added.
Lt. Governor Josh Tenorio said that the project engages people and draws attention to the natural resources and beauty of the island, especially for younger generations.
The G3 Art Corps aligns with several UN SDGs, including Goal 4, which seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, and Goal 11, which focuses on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
The Governor’s Educational Assistance and Youth Empowerment Grant [Project Award S425H210004] provides support for the G3 Art Corps program.
The UOG Center for Island Sustainability was awarded $840,311.00 for the Guam Green Growth Education and G3 Circular Economy Makerspace and Innovation Hub program as part of the Governor’s Education Assistance and Youth Empowerment Grant Program.
About G3
The UOG Center for Island Sustainability facilitates Guam Green Growth, or G3, in cooperation with the Office of the Governor of Guam and the G3 Working Group, whose members represent all sectors of society. With the UN SDGs and G3 Action Framework as a guide, G3 develops tangible solutions to sustainability challenges and contributes to a green economy for the island region.
The University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant welcomes Clémentine Turgeon Schnabel, who brings a wealth of experience to the team and will be working on the regional Micronesian Challenge as the project coordinator for Guam. She will be working closely with Fran Castro and Vangie Lujan to coordinate conservation projects in Guam. She will also be working on the recently awarded US Fish & Wildlife Foundation grant of 1.5 million for watershed restoration with GROW planting trees in order to establish carbon credits for eligible companies.
With a background in international relations and sustainable development focusing on social issues and the environment, her experiences working with NGOs in the Philippines and India demonstrate her adventurous spirit and commitment to making a difference for people and the planet.
Originally from the island of Tahiti, she is grateful to be living in the islands once again. “Guam feels really like home, there are many similarities between Guam and Tahiti,” she enthused. Her husband’s family connections with Guam brought them to the island that they will now call home. She is hoping her connection with French Polynesia will allow for a cross pollination of sustainability practices between Guam and Tahiti.
Meeting her husband-to-be while studying in China, they married and moved to his hometown, Manila. There she worked with the Life Project 4 Youth Foundation in creating partnerships between businesses and traditionally excluded youth to bring more opportunities for professional inclusion for youth living in poverty. Advocating for youth who have access to few resources and connecting them with educational centers in their environs that allowed them to learn basic professional and technical skills and find work was very gratifying for Schnabel.
She believes the strengths she has acquired from working in small entrepreneurial and multicultural environments where it was important to think quickly to find innovative solutions to address issues will benefit her work with the Micronesian Challenge and other projects.
The UOG CIS and SG team continues to attract talented individuals with a commitment to making a difference for the environment.
The University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant will soon embark on a renewable energy project that would support the construction of the first public solar carport charging facility for electric vehicles on Guam.
The Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) has appropriated $1,539,436 under the Energizing Insular Communities (EIC) program for the initiative. The EIC program (formerly called the Empowering Insular Communities program) provides grant funding for energy strategies that reduce the cost of electricity and reduce the dependence on foreign fuels.
With the grant funding, the University will install a solar photovoltaic (PV) carport structure to offset operations of the G3 Circular Economy Makerspace and Innovation Hub at CHamoru Village. Several electric vehicle charging stations will be installed at CHamoru Village on on the UOG Campus.
Once completed, the charging stations will offer the community a convenient and publicly accessible location to power their electric vehicles, according to Austin Shelton, PhD, the director of UOG Sea Grant and Center for Island Sustainability. Strategically, he says, it could also cause a positive ripple effect in the community.
Shelton added that the new grant funding complements current program efforts to update the Guam strategic energy action plan. Last year, the EIC selected the UOG Guam Green Growth (G3) initiative to update the plan in partnership with the Guam Energy Office.
“Now we will be able to lead the development of a plan to create our island’s road map to one hundred percent renewal energy by 2045 to meet the ambitious mandate of Public Law 35-46 that Governor Lou Leon Guerrero signed into law in 2019,” Shelton said at a G3 meeting.
Public Law 35-46 boosts the island’s renewable energy portfolio standard by calling for increased energy production from solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources to power public and private infrastructure.
For fiscal year 2022, the OIA has appropriated a total of $9,998,823 in EIC grants for Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).
According to OIA, the agency has also signed an interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to provide technical assistance in support of the territories’ continued efforts to deploy clean energy systems, improve energy security and resilience, reduce energy costs, and diversify away from dependence on petroleum-based fuels.
On March 2nd, 2023, the University of Guam held its 55th Charter Day celebration and the Center for Island Sustainability (CIS) and Sea Grant were there to initiate and implement a zero-waste festivity.
Phil Cruz, outreach coordinator with CIS and Sea Grant, was the mastermind behind the plan with execution by CIS and Sea Grant staff and volunteers from AmeriCorps UOG, EPSCoR/INCLUDES students, environmental biology students and other UOG classes.
Green and blue bins were distributed around campus labeled as to what they would hold: paper and compostable items, aluminum cans, steel cans, and landfill items. Buckets were provided for food waste and volunteers were on hand to assist people in knowing what goes where. A total of 33 volunteers from UOG classes, student organizations, and Guam EPSCoR GRAs monitored the bins.
The zero-waste fun really began in the afternoon, when AmeriCorps UOG volunteers sorted and consolidated the various types of waste. The next step was to transfer it to the appropriate locations. Bio-waste will be shredded with a wood chipper and given to the UOG CNAS Sustainable Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources program to use as compost for their campus demonstration gardens. Local pig farmers got the food waste, with metal cans to be recycled through the Guam Solid Waste Authority. Aluminum cans were placed in the i*recycle bin located at the School of Education parking lot where we can all add our aluminum to recycle and make money for Guam schools. Trash destined for the landfill was gathered and left for UOG maintenance employees to remove.
“Although I couldn’t participate physically during the event due to a recent tonsillectomy, I’m so grateful to my awesome team at CIS, Sea Grant, and EPSCoR for stepping up and executing the zero waste initiative. I’m also very grateful for the support of AmeriCorps UOG Volunteer Center. Although we didn’t reach the zero waste goal (divert at least 80% of waste from the landfill), we made an impact on our fellow Tritons, visitors, and vendors through our waste diversion efforts,” said Cruz, who directed the event remotely.
AmeriCorps UOG volunteers sorted and bagged the collected waste in 55-gal bags. The total count was as follows:
· 8 bags of biodegradables
· 3 bags of aluminum cans
· 8 bags of landfill waste
· 6 5-gallon buckets of food waste.
The winners of this successful operation are many. First, the people who attended the 55th Charter Day and witnessed the attention to detail of solid waste disposal and how it can be processed so that only the bare minimum makes it to our landfill. Second, everyone onGuam benefits from having less waste traveling to our landfill so that it will be in service for many years to come and limit the need to clear additional acres of savanna.
