RCE North Texas is one of the 179 RCE’s worldwide founded in March 2019. RCE North Texas is a network of multidisciplinary stakeholders, including higher education institutions, businesses, non-governmental organizations, community associations, and local, regional, state and federal government agencies. Our region has grown dramatically over the past forty years, with growth projections indicating a more than doubling in population size from the current 7.2 million residents by the year 2050. In this rapid growth scenario, how will North Texas fare and grow in a sustainable manner as it confronts exploding population projections and associated environmental, economic and social challenges? RCE North Texas is an influencer in the community as cities expand, providing the resources to maximize the potential economic opportunity that well-managed communities can offer and be a conduit for trans-formative education in North Texas. We are focused on the following SDGs, deemed priority for our region: Good Health and Well-Being (3); Quality Education (4); Sustainable Cities and Communities (11).
Sustainability Education has been recognized as a critical tool for the transition to sustainable development. George Bernard Shaw once said, “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” Sharing ideas and best practices and educating through the RCE gives everyone a chance to gain from the process. RCEs have the potential to tie together economic, environmental and social aspects that reflect the complexity of the pressing issues faced by a region. It also draws people together: The success of sustainability initiatives requires engagement, participation, and collaboration at all levels of the university, across campus and beyond. Working together is vital in any successful endeavor, and sharing ideas is especially important in education.
RCE North Texas is hosting its first Annual Summit on March 31st. Attendees will learn from experts that are advancing Sustainable Development Goals in North Texas, network and collaborate with sustainability leaders, and receive hands-on training to address pressing issues of sustainability in the region. We are excited to share that the keynote for the event is Satya S. Tripathi, UN Assistant Secretary General. We also have planned for an afternoon keynote by Garrick E. Louis
Associate Professor, University of Virginia. He is a member of an expert committee under the Board on Higher Education and Workforce and the Science and Technology for Sustainability Program. The committee released a report on Strengthening Sustainability Programs and Curricula at the Undergraduate and Graduate Levels. Professor Garrick will be presenting the findings of the report.
Please join us on March 31st. Program agenda, speaker information, and registration can be found in the link below.
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SDGs Cities Challenge Cohort
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Offered by RCE North Texas in partnership with ICLEI USA
https://icleiusa.org/cohorts/sustainable-development-goals-cohort/
The SDGs Cities Challenge is a collaborative project that seeks to contribute to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level, through supporting cities as they engage with and localize the SDGs targets and indicators. In partnership with ICLEI Oceania, University of Melbourne and University of Texas-Arlington’s Regional Center of Expertise on the SDGs, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability offering training to local government on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) data tracking, community engagement processes, and international collaboration.
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Resiliently Return from our Year of Concern!
By Teresa Wagner, DrPH, MS, CPH, RD/LD, CPPS, CHWI, DipACLM, CHWC
Assistant Professor, Department of Lifestyle Health Sciences
University of North Texas Health Science Center, School of Health Professions
Clinical Executive for Health Literacy, SaferCare Texas
Fellow and Project Director, Texas Center for Health Disparities
We’ve all had our world turned upside down acting to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Now we must re-emerge safely as we return to activities such as work, school and extracurricular activities still aware of the risk of this highly contagious disease.
Therefore, we should continue to adhere to the “W’s,” 1) Wear a Mask; 2) Wash your Hands (At least 20 seconds); and 3) Watch your Distance – (Stay 6 feet apart).
Equally important, we must maintain health and wellness to promote a strong immune system and good mental health. Follow these tips from UNT Health Science Center’s Lifestyle Health Sciences Health Coaching Program.
Lifestyle Medicine recommends that we pay attention to our Forks, Fingers, Feet, Sleep, Stress and Social Connections. These tips work every day not just during social distancing. During this time, maintain a regular schedule although regular activities may be on hold.
First, Forks: What you put on your fork matters!
Good nutrition is the foundation to good health and sets the tone for all of the other recommended activities to feel great.
- Remember Regular Meals – It is important to maintain a regular eating routine of three meals and scheduled snacks. This will help avoid mindless snacking. For scheduled snacks, choose nutritious foods such as popcorn, fruit & yogurt or nuts.
This is especially important for people living with chronic diseases like diabetes or high blood pressure who need to tend to nutrition on a daily basis.
- Careful with canned fruits in sugar for people with diabetes or gestational diabetes (look for juice packed or low- or no-sugar).
- Careful with prepared foods and canned foods due to high salt content for people with heart disease or high blood pressure.
- Provide Plants - Use shelf stable ingredients to cook healthy meals. It may be hard to find or keep fresh fruits and vegetables or you may be cooking more. Canned, frozen and dried fruits and vegetables, dried grains (such as oatmeal or rice), beans and other plant-based foods are great shelf-stable items to have on hand for recipes.
The American Heart Association (AHA) has lots of healthy recipes such as Vegetarian 3-Bean Chili and Slow Cooker Bar-B-Q Chicken. If your busy working from home and home-schooling children, a slow cooker makes an easy option for healthy meals!
You can find a variety of recipes online and substitute any ingredients you don’t have on hand. Don’t normally cook? The AHA also has tutorials on basic cooking skills.
- Maintain MyPlate Balance – Although, you might not have a wide variety of foods on hand during this time, MyPlate can help you keep a balanced diet while minding your personal restrictions or preferences with what you have on hand.
Protein helps build your body's immune system, especially for healing and recovery. Eat a variety of protein foods such as seafood, lean meat, poultry, eggs, beans and peas, soy products and unsalted nuts and seeds.
Plant-based proteins are low-cost, easy to store and easy to use: Red Beans/Rice, Corn/Black-Eyed Peas, Pea Soup/Bread, Refried Beans/Tortillas, Hummus/Bread or Crackers, Tofu/Rice, Corn/Lima Beans, Wheat such as Bulgur/Lentils.
Remember that nutrients work together. Plant foods provide vitamins and minerals that act with protein to build your ability to fight off sickness such as viruses.
Second, Fingers: Keep your fingers busy washing your hands rather than using tobacco! According to the CDC, patients with COVID-19 have had mild to severe shortness of breath. Avoid smoking, vaping, or inhaling any substance, which can be toxic to the lungs.
Third, Feet: Use your feet to stay active!
Regular, moderate physical activity helps keep the immune system strong! Physical Activity Guidelines say get at least 30 minutes, 5 days a week. Take a walk outside or create an at home circuit workout. Choose three or four exercises you can do at home like jumping jacks, lunges or jogging in place. Staying active helps your body fight off sickness such as viruses.
Fourth, Sleep: Sleep helps the body repair and be fit and ready for another day!
Lifestyle Medicine recommends 7 to 9 hours of sleep using these tips:
- Maintain regular sleep: Set an alarm for when to go to sleep and when to wake up.
- Prepare a cool, dark, quiet, and comfortable room to improve sleep.
- Avoid screens at least 90 minutes before bedtime.
- “Wind down” before bed (listen to soft music, write in a journal, or read a book).
Fifth, Stress: The stress hormone, cortisol, suppresses your immune response.
Lifestyle Medicine also recommends managing your stress. Stress management may include:
- Taking a pause or meditating.
- Take a few seconds to consider your breathing.
- Listen to a favorite song or watch a funny video.
- Being mindful, even in small doses, reduces stress and as a result, cortisol production.
Lastly, Social Connections: Social distancing does not need to feel isolated or lonely!
Lifestyle Medicine says connect with friends and family via FaceTime, Zoom, texting, and phone calls. Positive emotions can help improve immunity and arise from even brief, virtual social connections. And, if you do start visiting in person soon, be sure to where a mask and limit time indoors to less than 15 minutes. Even if you’ve had the vaccine, you can still be a carrier and make others sick.
An unexpected change in circumstance is stressful. Easing back into our usual activities provides opportunity to start or maintain good health habits. Take a few minutes each day to eat right, wash your hands, move your body, improve your sleep, manage your stress and reach out to friends and family to stay socially connected virtually or safely. Although these tips cannot guarantee against Covid-19 infection, they can help improve your health and wellness!
To learn more about Lifestyle Health Sciences at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, visit our website. Find out how you can become a Health and Wellness Coach!
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March Sustainable U Webinars
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Food Justice: When and Where I Enter
Tuesday, March 9
Noon to 1:00 p.m.
After 20 years working in community-based retail pharmacy settings throughout the state of Texas, it became very apparent to Dr. Richard Broussard that health inequities were directly linked to the problems of persistent poverty. The economic wealth gap contributes negatively to the total average life expectancy, ranging from lack of access to affordable health care to inadequate and poor nutrition.
About the speakers
- Dr. Richard D. Broussard PharmD , CEO & Co-founder Reach Out Rise Up (non-profit), National Medical Director, Peter Johnson Institute for Non-Violence
- Candace Thompson, Community Outreach Manager, Baylor Scott & White Health and Wellness Center and Community Advocate and Catalyst
- Carlos A Martinez , Founder of Occupy Food and SOL Food Austin, LULAC Social Media Director
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Walkability and Equity in Dallas: Neighborhood Infrastructure in My Backyard
Tuesday, March 23
Noon to 1:00 p.m.
Learn the results of this SMU research project on infrastructure equity that connected DISD students with SMU graduate student researchers. The DISD students compared their own neighborhoods to other areas in Dallas. They used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools called StoryMap and Survey123 to evaluate infrastructure, join research and communicate their research results and conclusions. The geospatial education curriculum developed by SMU emphasized community-driven data collection.
About the speakers
- Jessie Zarazaga, PhD – Program director of the MA in Sustainability & Development in the Lyle school of Engineering, and the Initiative for Spatial Literacy (GIS@SMU), Zarazaga focuses on the development of educational structures which integrate community research into project-based learning. Her teaching brings together GIS mapping and global sustainable urban principles to support a range of projects in support of social and environmental equity in engineering. A landscape-urbanist and architect working across the fields of GIS, landscape, urbanism and theatre, Dr Jessie Marshall Zarazaga has both worked and taught in Hong Kong, Tanzania, Finland, Chile and the UK, as well as in the US, focusing on the operation of the infrastructures of landscape, and their impact on urban space.
- Zheng Li, PhD - Candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering; with minor in computer science at SMU. His research topics include deep learning with Google Map API, statistical inference on categorical data, geospatial analysis. Programming languages: Python, R, Matlab, SQL.
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A Soil Primer for the Urban Gardener
Tuesday, March 30
Noon to 1:00 p.m.
What is soil? How is it formed? How do healthy soils interact with plants in nature? How can urban/suburban gardeners use nature as a guide to grow healthy, organic food without any chemical fertilizers and pest-control agents? How can you examine your own soil using simple techniques and tools? How can you fix many of the soil problems experienced in urban gardens? You’ll get the answers to these questions and more.
About the speaker
- Paul Day, Dallas College Eastfield Geology Instructor
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