[Recycling/Zero Waste] Last month’s Austin Recharge Challenge was a huge success! Throughout the campaign, Austin residents diverted 5,800 pounds of batteries from the landfill, largely by dropping them off at their local public libraries. The North Village Branch Library collected the most batteries and in return, won a $1,000 donation from Call2Recycle. Although the challenge has ended, old batteries can still be dropped off at most of Austin’s public libraries, as well as local retailers like Whole Foods and Wheatsville Co-op. A full list of battery drop-off locations is available here>>
[Recycling/Zero Waste] The State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR) is honoring the winners of their 2015 Texas Environmental Leadership Awards and you’re invited. The award ceremony will take place on November 5th at the Texas State Capitol Building and will honor some of the state’s brightest leaders in the world of recycling. The event is a great way to network and learn more about environmental initiatives happening across the state. Learn more and RSVP here>>
[Green Development] Interested in helping to shape the future of Austin? Have ideas about what your neighborhood should look like? The City of Austin invites you to attend one of their upcoming Community Walks, designed to connect members of the city’s CodeNEXT team with the general public. CodeNEXT is the city’s initiative to revise its Land Development Code, which determines how land can be used throughout the city – including what can be built, where it can be built, and how much can (and cannot) be built.
[Transportation] It’s time for Better Streets Week! From October 25th to October 31st there will be 15 free talks, tours, and socials co-hosted by over two dozen community nonprofits, professional groups, and city departments. The week will be focused around community conversations about making Austin’s streets safer, friendlier for bikers and pedestrians, greener, and more vibrant.
A few of the eco-focused events include:
- Bike Austin Better Streets for Cycling Tour on Sunday, October 25th from 2pm to 5pm, beginning at Royal Blue Grocery on Brazos Street
- Greening Our Streets at the South Central Waterfront on Tuesday, October 27th from 8am to 9am at the offices of Asakura Robinson on Congress Avenue
- Green Streets: Learning from Philadelphia on Wednesday, October 28th from 8am to 9am at St. David’s Episcopal Church
- Healthy Streets: Austin Talks with Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver on Friday, October 30th from 11:30am to 1pm at Central Health at East Caesar Chavez Street
A full schedule of events is available here>>
[Wildlife] How’s this for a fun way to celebrate 
Halloween? Bat Conservation International is involved in a nationwide effort to set a world record by building the most amount of bat houses in one day. In Austin, they will be at the Congress Avenue Bridge with materials and instructions for you to make a bat house of your very own. There will also be presentations from bat experts and a chance to meet live bats. In order to bring enough materials for everyone, event organizers are asking that you please RSVP in advance>>
[Outdoors] Weather forecasters are calling for several 
inches of rain in the Austin area this weekend, which unfortunately means that several outdoor events have been canceled. This includes the Austin Parks Foundation’s Park Improvement Education Series Trail Design Workshop, scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday.
Luckily, the workshop has been rescheduled for November 14th and 15th and there are still a few spaces available for people to sign up. The workshop will focus on all aspects of trail design management and stewardship activities. The entire group will also be participating in a trail stewardship project. More info>>
And don’t forget to mark your calendar for additional Park Improvement Education Series workshops! A full list is available here>>
