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Tennessee's 2nd Annual Food Waste Awareness Week
Tennessee's 2nd annual Food Waste Awareness Week is less than a week away! During the week (April 10-16), we will be sharing information and tips about reducing food waste, food diversion through donating food, and composting. Each day there will be a different theme, tips, resources, and food waste trivia.
Daily themes:
On Saturday, April 15th, we will have regional family-friendly events that will feature live chef cooking demos, food trucks, local resources, a statewide food drive, and specialty craft beer made from leftover bread that would have otherwise gone to waste. Events will be in Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville. You can find additional information about these events on our website, HERE.
Another opportunity to get involved is to donate to the Statewide Food Drive. We are partnering with the UT Ag Extension again this year to collect food items to fight food insecurity in Tennessee. The food drive will run from April 3rd to April 21st. You can find a location near you on our website, HERE.
For more information about Food Waste Awareness Week and/or to partner with us and help share information on food waste, visit our website.
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Spring has sprung, which means many people are looking forward to blooms, birds, and butterflies! If you are making selections for landscaping, please consider native plants. According to The American Society of Landscape Architects, “Natives require much less watering, fertilizer, and pesticides and can prevent water run-off and improve air quality.” Native plants and grasses help create a natural habitat for wildlife, like hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and smaller animals, that is beneficial to the environment as well as beautiful.
Some examples of flowering, native shrubs/trees include Eastern Redbuds, White Fringetree, Sweet Bay Magnolia, Buttonbush, Pasture Rose, and Purple Passionflower. You can find more information on natives specific to the southeast region from Plant Native and the Xerces Society!
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Nucor Memphis operates an electric arc furnace to melt down scrap metal to form new steel shapes. Nucor steel mills are already recognized for achieving a greenhouse gas intensity rating that is one-fourth the global average and one-fifth of a traditional integrated blast furnace steel mills. Nucor Memphis has taken greenhouse gas and energy savings one step further by collaborating with their local power utility to develop a strategy of "load shedding".
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Earth Day is an annual global celebration of our environment. On April 22nd, take the time to get outdoors and appreciate our state’s abundance of natural resources. Our Tennessee State Parks throughout the state will be offering educational, recreational, and volunteer events this Earth Day. Click here to find more information about these special activities.
TDEC staff will also be hosting environmental education booths at various community events during April. Check out these and other Earth Day celebrations going on across the state:
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Small Business Environmental Assistance Program
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Tennessee is the one of the wettest states in the United States, receiving an average of just over 51 inches of rain per year. While April showers bring May flowers, rain also has the potential to pollute our rivers and streams through stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff is the water that is generated from rain or snowmelt as it flows over impervious surfaces, like paved streets and building roofs, and does not soak into the ground. Stormwater runoff flows to surface waters either directly or indirectly through storm drains. Stormwater runoff does not have a filter or clean-up mechanism. Therefore, any pollutant you see on the ground, whether it is trash, cigarette butts, pet waste, chemicals, oil stains, or dirt, is a potential pollutant to surface waters. Whether you are a large business, small business, or individual, do your part to help prevent stormwater pollution during this rainy month!
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Strawberry season is approaching and you know what that means...more strawberries than you know what to do with. Use them in this fruit salsa!
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Deadline: April 15, 2023
Conferences/Workshops/Training Opportunities
Stay tuned as we receive updates about upcoming conferences.
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