The District 5340 Environmental Sustainability (DES) Committee held it's inaugural Environmental Solutions Summit on May 19 at the beautiful San Dieguito County Park. There were approximately 75 to 100 people in attendance for this 5-hour event. There were Rotarians, RYLArians, Rotaractors, Interactors from the entire district as well as appearances from DG Nominee Luis Carrranza and PDG Steve Weitzen.
There were also plenty of people from the community who stumbled onto the event at this busy park and were excited to see the work of Rotary and other organizations. Everyone left with a bit more hope for the future of the environment.
The core of the summit was made of five booths filled with great ideas for service projects and speakers and lead by Rotary Environmental Ambassadors (REA). The booths included Saving Pollinators with REA Jay Klopfenstein, Plastic Solutions with REA Mark O'Connor, Litter Cleanup with REA Scott Horst, Food Waste Solutions with REA Amelie Catheline, and Tree Planting and Revegetation with REA Jenny Parker. Each booth had representation from major environmental organizations in San Diego who partner with Rotary for impactful service projects and exciting educational speakers; the full list of organizations can be found on the summit website.
The summit also had a showcase of environmental projects led by various Rotarians, Rotaractors and Interactors. The showcase included projects from The Escondido Rotary Club, La Jolla Sunrise Rotary Club, Rotary Club of El Cajon Sunset, UCSD Rotaractors, Chula Vista Sunrise Rotary Club and the Hilltop High Interact Club, and Solana Beach Eco Rotary Club. The Judges Choice Award for $600 was won by RC El Cajon Sunset for their project helping to plant fruit trees in Kenya. The Public Choice Award for $400 was won by the Chula Vista Sunrise RC and Hilltop High Interact Club for their food waste diversion and education program.
The summit also involved a 1-hour service project to beautify the park and a wonderful tour through the park’s pollinator garden. Reusable cloth shopping bags (30) and metal water bottles (25) were collected to be repurposed with other charities. Plastic Beach collected a large amount of plastic film to be recycled appropriately. The event was, of course, a Zero Waste Event sponsored by Solana Beach Eco RC, EDCO and made possible with the help of Interactors and RYLArians of Hilltop High Interact Club and Youth for a Sustainable Future (Y4SF). The icing on the cake was the excellent vegan food and drinks from Scratch House San Diego.
A huge round of applause for the Solana Beach Eco Rotary Club and all organizers and volunteers from around the district who worked diligently to make this summit a success and inspiration for the community. A special thanks to Rotarian Amelie Catheline who was the driving force behind the summit. Lastly, this event would not have been possible without the financial support of Rotary District 5340, EDCO Disposal, Del Mar Solana Beach Rotary Club, Solana Beach Eco Rotary Club, Street Stewards, San Diego County Solar, and Jimbo’s.
