April is Earth Month and the City of San Luis Obispo is celebrating the planet throughout the month. The city is highlighting local organizations working on the climate crisis by providing information on steps toward sustainability, according to a city news release.
The repair race, where teams can compete to disassemble an electronic device after learning how repairing old devices impacts the planet, will take place on Saturday at the SLO Library.
The race is hosted by IFixIt, a local company that repairs devices and writes repair manuals. According to their website, IFixIt is a participant in the Right to Repair movement, which explains that people should be able to repair their devices without intervention from the manufacturer. According to their website, this reduces waste and is a sustainable practice
IFixIt donated repair kits to the SLO library, so the necessary tools are available to check out, according to Lucia Pohlman, the sustainability and natural resources analyst at the City of San Luis Obispo and an active participant in Earth Month.
The event series will hit its peak with the SLO County Earth Fest, according to City Sustainability and Natural Resources analyst Lucia Pohlman. The fest will include live music, local food and drink and exhibitors from local businesses and non-profits.
“I am excited for Earth Fest,” said Pohlman. “[It’s] really a chance for all community members, families and kids to get together and learn.”
Pohlman added that she is looking forward to a community seed swap, where residents are invited to bring vegetable, herbs and native plant seeds to share paired with a lecture on good fire and the history of cultural burning in Indigenous communities.
According to the release, the Earth Month events are part of a larger movement toward a greener city. So far, the city of SLO is focused on creating environmentally friendly transportation and buildings, as these are the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
The initiative is beginning by replacing SLO Transit buses with entirely electric buses. According to Pohlman, one electric bus is in rotation and another will soon join it. There are currently six more buses are in production.
“It turns out that really nice, new electric buses take a long time to manufacture, so I think the delivery of those buses is still over a year away,” Pohlman said.
Pohlman said events like the ones in the Earth Month series are a good way to confront climate issues.
“These opportunities to bring the community together, not only to talk about climate change but really to learn about local solutions that are having an impact can be a really, really, inspiring way to confront an overwhelmingly challenging crisis,” Pohlman said.
More information about upcoming Earth Month events is available on the Sustainable SLO website.