Waste Not, Want Not: Zero Waste Week Returns to the Center
Free workshops celebrate creative reuse October 10–17
Sonoma, California. Sonoma Community Center is partnering with Zero Waste Sonoma to celebrate Zero Waste Week, Saturday, October 10, through Saturday, October 17, with four free workshops, sponsored by Zero Waste Sonoma, that turn flowers, kitchen scraps, worn-out sweaters, and discarded packaging into something new.
Sonoma Valley’s Zero Waste Week is part of North Bay Zero Waste Week, a grassroots effort uniting more than 25 organizations across the area to raise awareness about the environmental impacts of waste. The regional events, part of the annual global campaign Zero Waste Month, highlight creative solutions through reducing, reusing, recycling, repurposing, and composting.
“Zero Waste Week is about more than keeping things out of the landfill. It’s about rethinking what we value,” said Molly Spencer, Director of Sustainability & Trashion Fashion Sonoma for the Center. “By offering free workshops in repair, reuse, and creative repurposing, we’re building a circular economy and culture where materials get a second, third, or even tenth life. Creativity doesn’t have to start with something new; sometimes the most inspiring thing we can make is something we refuse to throw away.”
The sponsored workshops begin on Sunday, October 11, with Flower Pounding. In the Redwood Grove from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m., instructor Katie Vadasz teaches tataki-zomé, the Japanese art of pounding seasonal flowers into upcycled linen to make botanical prints. On Tuesday, October 13, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., Compost Kraut: Fermentation as Food Waste Solution & Climate Action with Sam Paone of Golden State Pickle Works shows how to turn kitchen scraps into probiotic-rich kraut. Everyone takes home their jar of kraut and a zero-waste recipe guide.
Later in the week, Vadasz returns on Thursday, October 15, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. for From Hole to Whole: Creative Sweater Repair with Needle Felting, turning holes in wool sweaters into colorful decoration. On Friday, October 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Zero Waste Print Lab: Upcycled Junk Journals with Bettina Pauly transforms food packaging, album covers, and paper scraps into handmade journals. To close the week, Sashiko Mending with Emily Marshall on Saturday, October 17, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. teaches how to patch, reinforce, and decorate garments with traditional Japanese stitching. Sashiko Mending is $60, including a $10 materials fee. No experience is needed for any workshop, and space is limited, so early registration is recommended.
“Through this week of events, Zero Waste Week organizers hope to illuminate the ways that individuals and families can participate in simple and creative actions that reduce landfill waste. From adding food scraps to your organics bin, to swapping children’s toys, to fixing a broken lamp, there are so many ways to join in,” said Sloane Pagal, Zero Waste Program Manager for Zero Waste Sonoma. “Zero Waste Week is a space to learn, explore, and grow your commitment to living in alignment with nature.”
The Center’s sustainability programs continue all year. The Sonoma Upcycled Fashion Club (SUFClub) for teens and young adults, led by upcycling designer Xochitl Hermosillo, meets for free on the second Tuesday of each month from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. for thrift flips and DIY fashion, including Tuesday, October 13, during Zero Waste Week. The Monthly Mending Bar, led by textile artist Nao Kobayashi, meets the fourth Tuesday of each month from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. on a $10–$40 sliding scale. The Center also hosts two free community clothing swaps each year with Refill Madness. Upstairs in Gallery 212, “Home Again, Home Again,” an exhibit by One Beach Plastic, shows artworks made from more than two tons of plastic collected on Kehoe Beach. It is free and open daily through Sunday, November 1.
Zero Waste Week runs Saturday, October 10, through Saturday, October 17, at Sonoma Community Center, 276 East Napa Street. The four workshops sponsored by Zero Waste Sonoma are free, with donations accepted. Sashiko Mending is $60, including materials. Registration is open now at SonomaCommunityCenter.org or by calling the Center at 707-938-4626. For all events happening during North Bay Zero Waste Week, visit northbayzerowasteweek.org.
About Sonoma Community Center
The Sonoma Community Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1953 to serve the communities of Sonoma Valley with the mission of cultivating a vibrant community through extraordinary creative, cultural, and learning experiences. Originally built as the Sonoma Grammar School which opened in 1916, the Center is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Community – Innovation – Creativity – Inclusion – Leadership
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Media Contact:
Molly Spencer, Director of Sustainability & Trashion Fashion Sonoma, Sonoma Community Center
[email protected]
707-931-4105
