It’s only Monday and already we are thinking about what’s happening this weekend. So what is this Greentopia thing anyways? It sounds like some kind of dream, and in a sense it is. You can think of Greentopia as a vision of Rochester in its most sustainable form. The two day festival will be held in the historic High Falls district this coming weekend (September 17th and 18th) and will be featuring family friendly interactive activities, music, art, captivating speakers, workshops, local foods and vendors, and much more. It is a celebration of all things green in the greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region.
It is a “festival of ideas” where you can get inspired on how to live your greenest. Businesses will showcase their green products that save energy and natural resources, and maybe even a buck or two. Worried about green washing? Every vendor and exhibitor has been screened for a commitment to sustainable business practices, using green business standards developed by Green America and a local steering committee.
There will be a culinary series, a fashion show, a film festival, and a whole slew of featured speakers. The festival itself will be as green as it can be. The event creators thought of everything- even the event signs are made of earth-friendly materials with reuse in mind!
So what does the University of Rochester have to do with it all? Well for one thing, we are teaming up with many others like MCC, RIT, Wegmans, Stantec, NYSERDA, RG&E, and General Motors to sponsor the event. Many of our student groups, including Engineers for a Sustainable World, Grassroots, EcoReps, and dining’s Team Green, will be participating to show off their contributions and accomplishments. A handful of student volunteers along with recycling coordinator, Amy Kadrie, will also be acting as “recycling rangers” to ensure that everything capable of being recycled or composted at the festival ends up in the right place.
Think this is all great but not sure how to get there? On Sunday, the 18th the biodiesel bus will be shuttling students to the event, leaving outside of Rush Rhees Library from 10 am until 6 pm.
We really hope to see you there!
For the record, hardly any pesticides are used on commercially grown rice. I am involved in rice farming in Northeast Arkansas on the edge of one of highest rice producing counties in the country. More than anything else, herbicides are used on rice but the majority of those are hardly toxic in the amount that MIGHT make it to the end users kitchen.Report this comment as spam or abuse