This was quite a big year for Lakewood Sustainability. We hosted our first ever Sustainable Neighborhoods Leadership Retreat, had another successful Earth Day Celebration and saw many more accomplishments that could not have been achieved without help from dedicated Lakewood residents, organizations and businesses. Let’s take a look at some of the exciting efforts of 2018!
 
January: The Lakewood Sustainability Cooperative or SCOOP kicked off the year with three workshops in January, in which community members helped staff work on recycling education and energy projects. This community-driven momentum helped carry us through the year with more than 10 opportunities for SCOOP members to use their skills and energy to contribute to sustainability in Lakewood.

February: We kicked off our “Recycle, It’s Good for Lakewood!” educational campaign to encourage folks to recycle in Lakewood.

March: We hosted our first-ever Sustainable Neighborhoods Leadership Retreat with our partners in Denver. Over 80 residents spent the retreat sharing their neighborhood success stories, learning from local sustainability experts and getting to know one another.

April: Our annual Earth Day Celebration was a wild, snowy success with over 1,200 attendees, live music, local food, vendors, fitness activities, art, and so much more.

May: Eight innovative and inspiring projects were celebrated as our 2018 Sustainability Award winners!

June: Eight outstanding Sustainable Neighborhoods were recognized by City Council for their accomplishments over the past year. In 2018 alone, these neighborhoods planned over 90 workshops, special events and projects and engaged approximately 1,400 residents.

July: The Lakewood Round Table brought us to a different community event every week to engage community members and better understand opinions about Lakewood's current residential trash collection system.

August: We worked with the Community Resources Department to launch compost collection in two more of our Head Start classrooms, which engage more than 30 students throughout the school year.

September: The Employees for a Sustainable Lakewood committee took a field trip to learn about Lakewood Parks’ efforts to conserve water, saving millions of gallons of water every year.

October: Students from Metro State University used their artistic talents to provide recommendations for making the Sustainability Plan Annual Report even more engaging in future years.

November: 71 City of Lakewood employees wrapped up the pilot program of the Employee Commuter Rewards Program, during which they logged 43,157 miles to and from work using sustainable modes of transportation (walk, bike, bus, carpool).

December: Students from Dunstan Middle School finished a kid-friendly version of the Sustainability Plan as their class project!

Other Accomplishments:

None of this would have been possible without dedicated employees, residents and organizations aiming to create a more sustainable and vibrant Lakewood for generations to come!