2nd Annual Redlands Sustainability Festival on the Horizon

The Redlands Sustainability Network (RSN) and the University of Redlands are co- hosting the second annual Redlands Sustainability Festival on March 29, 2014, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. in the Stauffer Science Complex on the east end of the campus. Redlands Sustainability Network is a grassroots organization formed in 2011 to address how environmental concerns affect the needs of a healthy community. RSN believes that everyone can make more sustainable choices in their daily lives to benefit all of us and, in turn, generations to come. The group’s mission is to encourage people to make such choices. Members helped craft the sustainability plan the City of Redlands adopted in 2011 and supports the City’s subsequent efforts to implement it. The planners of the second annual Festival have sought broader support and participation from civic organizations and locally owned and operated businesses that contribute in their respective ways to making Redlands greener, healthier, and more economically viable for all. The 2014 Festival will include over eighty exhibitors. The majority are community and nonprofit organizations, but sustainable businesses will also be represented. There will be something of interest for all age groups: • Welcoming speeches by University President Ralph Kuncl and Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar; • Local school art contest awards and other school exhibits; • Redlands Animal Shelter adoptions; • A bounce house; • Face painting and other kids’ activities; • Chef Lee Burton and his smoothie-cycle kids; • The Gardening Corner with speakers and demonstrations; • Tours of the University’s community garden; • University Student groups offering a variety of activities; • Artists and art displays featuring sustainable themes and materials; • Plug-in hybrid cars; • Solar and retrofitting booths featuring the HERO financing program; • Some exotics, including Aveda Cosmetics and Fine Fleece; • Related student films; and • Bands and solo musicians. Since recycling in its broadest sense is a major sustainability practice, we are asking our guests to bring the following: eyeglasses (Lions Club), teen clothing (Angels Closet); clothing (The Blessing Center), books (Smiley Library); and to learn about the Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore. The Festival sponsors illustrate the breadth of sustainable concerns: Silver Sponsors: Beaver Medical Group, Dudek Environmental Consultants, and the Inland Empire Resources Conservation District. Bronze Sponsors: Best, Best &Krieger, Attorneys; Clark’s Nutrition; Tom Bell Chevrolet; Redlands Ford; Southern California Gas Co; Kaiser Permanente; and Redlands Area Democratic Club. Sponsors in Kind: Sierra Club and Skool Boiz Apparel.