June: Jake Baechle

SUSTAINABLE PITTSBURGH
Sustainable Business Fellow

During the first week in June Jake had the opportunity to attend many of the World Environment Day Events including the Water Matters Conference and the Paddle at the Point World Record setting. He was able to volunteer and participate in both of these events. He also attended the New Pittsburgh Collaborative water conference debrief and a Smart Transportation event.

Throughout June Jake has been focusing on two key projects: the Green Office Challenge and the Transportation Transformation. The Green Office Challenge will engage the region’s business community in a fair and friendly competition that promotes sustainable business practices. The competition will provide a guide of measurable actions for businesses and property owners to implement, and therefore result in measurable change.

The Transportation Transformation is based around an article in the National Geographic Magazine that looked at Pittsburgh’s commuting data and the massive impact small changes in our habits could make. This event will try to realize the goals set forth in the article and promote using alternative modes of transportation. Jake has worked to structure and present both of these projects on behalf of Sustainable Pittsburgh and the PCI. A key focus in July will be securing funding for these projects.

Outside of Sustainable Pittsburgh Jake has been working with the other Green Cities fellows to prepare for their Community Day in Hazelwood. He attended a Hazelwood Initiative meeting where he Miriam and Adam asked the community what they would like to see happen on the day of the event. He has also continued to spend time working with the Hazelwood Food Forest planting shrubs and pulling weeds. He will be spending time in July working with the Food Forest to plan for the Community Day happenings.