Thu Oct 5, 2023 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM EDT
32 Old Slip, 10005, 2nd Fl
The Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board's "HEALTHY URBAN SOILS, HEALTHY PEOPLE, HEALTHY COMMUNITIES, AND THE BENEFITS OF COMPOST AND COMPOSTING" event will promote citywide organics collection and raise funds for both MSWAB’s composting grants and its "Reduce, Reuse, and Repair" grant, while also raising awareness about the importance of diverting organics from landfills. This is part of the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board's ongoing "ENVISIONING ORGANICS IN NYC" program and will include participation from the Brooklyn, Queens, and Bronx Solid Waste Advisory Boards.
Ticket prices are $20 for General Admission. (Light food and wine will be available)
Raymond Figueroa Jr. will deliver the keynote address, and Dr. Perl Egendorf will lead the panel discussion on "Healthy Urban Soils, Healthy People, Healthy Communities, and the Benefits of Compost and Composting." Dr. Perl Egendorf's panel will include representatives from New York City's community gardens and micro-haulers (to be announced October 2nd, 2023) who utilize food scraps for compost production.
Raymond Figueroa, Jr.
Raymond Figueroa, Jr. is a member of the Sustainable Environmental Systems Faculty at the Pratt Institute's Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment. He is also a Taconic Faculty Fellow with the Pratt Center for Community Development. His research project in collaboration with Earth Justice aimed to increase regulatory protections for community gardens, resulting in the unanimous passage of a legislative bill designating community gardens as Critical Environmental Areas in the 2023 State Legislature's session. Ray also serves as the President of the New York City Community Garden Coalition, dedicated to community organizing on behalf of community gardens. Ray has contributed to various publications, government bodies, and research institutions, including, most recently, Arizona State University: Food Energy Water Nexus, City As Lab, Research Coordination Network – Annual Convening – presenter: “Community Gardens as Critical Green Urban Infrastructure – Base-building for the Policy Opportunities.
S. Perl Egendorf, PhD
S. Perl Egendorf, PhD (they/them or she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Science at Pace University who uses systems approaches to study urban soils and their intersections with food-, environmental- and climate-justice. Perl’s PhD research focused on limiting exposure to contaminants in soil, particularly through conducting pilot studies of the NYC Clean Soil Bank, which is now the only free clean soil distribution system in the US. Perl is also a participatory researcher with the NYC Compost Project Hosted by Earth Matter, co-creating research with urban growers city-wide on the use of small-scale composts for growing crops. Perl’s aim as a scientist is to use the tools and resources of science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) to contribute to various scales of environmental justice.