By MARYAM ZAR | Contributing Writer
Photos courtesy of Resilient Palisades
This month, Palisades Podcast hosts three members of Resilient Palisades, a newly emergent environmental group that organically grew right here in the Palisades among residents who took action on preserving the environment and thought their singular commitment to change some of their habits could prompt others to do the same.
The result is a fast-growing nonprofit, which inspires Palisadians to look again at how our daily consumption impacts the environment.
Co-Founder Ingrid Steinberg, who channels her diverse experience in academia, education and social research to enable environmental activism by working within the community to catalyze change, joined the podcast in-studio along with volunteer extraordinaire Amanda Iyana Michaels and Co-Founder Ryan Craig to discuss the founding of Resilient Palisades and the unexpected ways it has grown, even through times of pandemic and Zoom gatherings.
Steinberg has been an environmental educator and advocate for several years. Born and raised in South Africa, she studied philosophy and received her doctorate from UCLA in ethics.
In addition to being the inspiration behind Resilient Palisades, she also serves on the advisory committee for the Resilient Santa Monica Mountains Project, which is spearheaded by Malibu Foundation.
Michaels is a writer, photographer and resident of Pacific Palisades and nearby Topanga Canyon. She received her BA from UCLA in study of world religions with emphases on Buddhist meditation traditions, world arts and cultures, and historical Christianity.
Michaels spoke about her lifelong passion for environmentalism, social justice and animal welfare, and how that has inspired her to take on a leading role at Resilient Palisades, which she hopes will becomes a model in community-based environmental activism.
Craig is a managing director at Achieve and University where he advises on critical higher education for the digital age and his book “A New U: Faster + Cheaper Alternatives to College,” which was named in Wall Street Journal as one of the Books of the Year for 2018.
Today, Resilient Palisades has four teams working on committees that address Clean Energy Resilience (working on the microgrid campaign), Clean Air and Water (working on zero-emissions landscaping and planning a native habitats campaign), Plant-Based Solutions (encouraging plant-based and vegan lifestyles), and Zero Waste (reducing waste and encouraging re-use and composting).
One of its programs is a microgrid campaign to reduce emissions and improve the resilience of the Palisades—which is underserved by LADWP, they believe—and lower electricity bills. These microgrids consist of solar storage and control, allowing the community to supplement its energy needs locally. To learn more, visit resilientpalisades.org/clean-energy-team.
In April, Resilient Palisades helped the community celebrate Earth Day with a number of events, including a Vegan Food Truck Event that was attended by around 300 people. The organization followed that up with a garden event that featured a demo of various kinds of electric blowers at a home in Pacific Palisades, where homeowners and gardeners attended to learn about switching from gas to electric yard equipment.
On May 25, Resilient Palisades is hosting an emergency preparedness event and planning for the refillery truck to come to the Palisades once per month, offering eco-friendly soaps, detergents, personal care products and more to refill containers and reduce waste.
In addition, they have an ongoing campaign in collaboration with Habits of Waste to cut use of disposable cutlery by asking them to only give out plastic cutlery if customers ask for it.
As things open up, Resilient Palisades leaders say they’re looking for ways to engage more community members with in-person events with speakers and activities ranging from a farmers market presence to a beach cleanup.
Until then, look for the weekly “Green Tip” in the Palisadian-Post and listen to the May edition of Palisades Podcast at palipost.com/palipodcast for more.
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