Catalyst Communities Initiative hosting a series of webinars June-August 2025

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Register today for upcoming Catalyst Communities webinars

The Catalyst Communities Initiative is a comprehensive program to provide education, training, planning, and technical resources to local governments as they work toward their sustainability goals. This initiative offers an array of resources on various environmental, social, and economic topics, to help communities across Michigan make a just transition to decarbonization and meet our MI Healthy Climate Plan goals. The initiative aims to provide a range of resource options to meet communities wherever they are, regardless of geography, population size, or pre-existing knowledge. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy's (EGLE), Catalyst Communities Initiative is hosting this webinar series, which is free to communities.

Webinar recordings are posted online for future viewing on the Catalyst Communities Webinars Webpage, and anyone who registers will:

  • get notification when the recording is available,
  • receive a copy of the presentation handout, and
  • get resource and contact links for taking a deeper dive into each webinar topic.

Upcoming Webinars

June 24, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Food Waste Collection and Composting - How to develop a curbside pick-up and municipal drop-off program

Food waste is estimated to make up almost 24% of Michigan’s municipal solid waste, with a significant portion coming from the residential sector. One way to capture and recycle this valuable resource is through community drop-off programs, which offer a proven path to introduce food waste recycling to residents. Learn about developing and existing programs, the challenges and opportunities associated with food waste composting efforts and how pilot programs can be used to foster investments into curbside collection of food waste.

July 23, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Myth Busting - Food Loss and Waste Reduction

Misconceptions can often lead to barriers in implementing and growing food loss and waste reduction (FLWR) practices in our communities. In this session, Danielle Todd, Executive Director of Make Food Not Waste, will address and dispel common misconceptions in FLWR, including myths around sources of food waste, food consumption, food donation and food rescue, food in landfills, and composting. This session will include discussion on overcoming barriers to FLWR and provide information on how you can help reduce food waste in your community.

August 12, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Helping Catalyze Behavior Change In K-12 School Cafeterias Through Student Led Waste Audits, Projects & Experiential Learning

Join us for this session to learn about strategies aimed at assisting schools in effectively engaging K-12 students, our future leaders, in composting initiatives. This session will help parents, teachers, school administrators, and community leaders on their journey to enhance awareness on ways we all can all assist with diverting organic waste from landfills through composting. It will also provide tips on how to mitigate contamination and establish an efficient, cost-effective organics management program in schools and the community. Hear from Sara Covatta with Lunch Rescue & Recycle, Katelyn Kiskstra with EcoStrategies, and Christine Lakatos with Hayes Elementary (part of Livonia Public Schools) to learn details on strategies to reduce waste and promote behavioral change within K-12 cafeterias.

August 27, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Pathways to Preservation: Reforesting our streets and protecting our wild spaces

In this webinar, the city of Sterling Heights' Sustainability Team will discuss how the city is implementing the Pathways to Preservation and Play millage, which the voters approved in the 2024 general election. The mileage provides funding to reforest city streets that were devastated by the emerald ash borer and Dutch elm disease. The program also provides funds to purchase undeveloped land for preservation purposes. In this webinar, Ryan Fox, with the city of Sterling Heights, Office of Planning, will discuss the logistics of their large-scale tree planting program and how the city is reviewing parcels for preservation purposes. Attendees will also learn about the public engagement process that led to the passage of the millage, providing for the tree planting rollout and land preservation activities underway.

Michigan.gov/EGLEevents

PROGRAM QUESTIONS:
Ashley Thrush: ThrushA@Michigan.gov

REGISTRATION QUESTIONS:
Alana Berthold: BertholdA@Michigan.gov
Joel Roseberry: RoseberryJ@Michigan.gov

For more information 

Michigan.gov/EGLEevents

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