We are so thrilled to have been able to participate in two events for the 2019 National Night Out initiative, which encourages communities to come together to reduce crime by hosting neighborhood events and keeping their porch lights on later than normal.

My name is Tamara Mrad I’m a rising junior Biology major on the Pre-med track at Davidson, and this summer I worked as a Sustainability Scholar. I was lucky enough to get paired with Sustain Charlotte, where I learned a lot about the effects of transportation on the environment, and its consequences on health more specifically.

My name is Jaire Clarida and I spent this summer interning with Sustain Charlotte through the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation internship program. My internship experience has been an amazing experience this summer! I was able to learn many new things about the non-profit world by being a part of Sustain Charlotte. I learned many new things about sustainability, including the seriousness and impact of making sure that we all value the environment in which we live.

On Wednesday July 17th, we hosted our 3rd annual Youth Quake Transportation Fair and it was yet again... a resounding SUCCESS! The fair was organized in partnership with the Progressive Baptist Church’s summer camp, YouthQuake.

You may have heard that we just moved offices, from our previous location along the Rail Trail to a cute little office with views of Bank of America Stadium. Now that we're settled in, we’re excited to share the little things that we’re doing in our new space to make our office more sustainable. Check out the list below, and then give them a try at your own office!

When I started at Sustain Charlotte in February of 2019, I was living in Huntersville and commuting down to our office in South End. With one infant and two dogs at home, taking the 77-Express bus (while a fantastic option for those in North Mecklenburg County) proved to be too unpredictable and didn't provide me with the flexibility needed to get home to my family in case of emergency.

We are excited to have recently received a grant from AARP to help connect the neighborhoods of Charlotte’s North End with trails and signage. North End has the lowest street connectivity index and sidewalk availability for areas surrounding Uptown Charlotte. Gaps in the sidewalk network and lack of crosswalks put people in danger and prevent them from walking and biking.

Last year Charlotte City Council approved a plan that aims to make Charlotte a low carbon city by 2050. And last week 75 people gathered with us at Triple C Brewing to hear more about how this plan is getting off the ground.

“You can’t talk about sustainability without talking about equity,” according to Ray McKinnon, the pastor of South Tryon Community United Methodist Church, and keynote speaker at our Charlotte Sustainability Summit.

The message was clear from attendees at our May Grow Smart CLT event: People want to live in a place where they can easily access amenities, and they want to feel safe doing that, no matter how they choose to get around.