Climate Fest puts local efforts in focus
Iowa City hosted its seventh annual Climate Fest this year. What first started as a virtual, one day event is now a week-long lineup of in-person activities.
Climate Fest acts as both a report on Iowa City’s actions toward its climate goals, and as a place for citizens to discuss the environment. This year’s Climate Fest celebrated many things, including the recent expansion of the compost facility.
Sarah Gardner, the Iowa City climate action coordinator, said after the city received an EPA grant to upgrade waste management, reuse, and recycling systems, the compost facility has been at full capacity.
“We have used [the grant] to both expand the footprint of the compost facility, but also purchase a special piece of equipment called a turner,” Gardner said. “That introduces a lot more oxygen into the mix so that compost can be made a lot faster.”
She said this has multiple benefits for the climate, including eliminating organic matter, which releases methane gas, from going to the landfill and instead putting it through compost. It also can increase soil’s water holding capacity, which is helpful when heavy rainfall occurs.
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Diane Platte, Climate Action communication assistant, said while rain itself isn’t unusual, the amount of precipitation Iowa City received this September was.
Climate Fest also focuses on species impacted by the changing climate. One specific event was the Birds and Bees and Trees Tour on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
Iowa City resident Cindy Seyfer said she was interested in pollinators specifically and ways people in the community can support them.
“I think they’re important to us as a culture and as a nation,” she said. “I think it’s fun to plant things that support and interact with those birds and bees. I have grandkids right now, so I enjoy reading them books that help them understand the importance of supporting birds and bees and what happens if they don’t.”
In 2022, the UI was designated a bee-friendly campus because of its sustainable landscaping and limited use of pesticides.
UI Instructional Services Specialist Mandy Duffey attended the event and said bees and birds’ populations are dwindling because they cannot adjust to the changing climate. She also said making people aware about this is important.
“When we do events like this, anything that we can do to connect the public to the thing we’re trying to communicate about and let them see it, study it, and experience it, is always a great opportunity,” she said.
Platte agreed, and said simply having a space for people to talk about the environment can help raise knowledge and initiate change.
“It also creates a community which is what we need for resilience, and as climate events make life more challenging, having a stronger, more integrated community makes us more able to adapt,” she said.
Climate Fest isn’t just about highlighting the city’s improvements, but also creating discussions about how to adjust to the changing climate. Many residents have seen this change impact their own backyards.
Seyfer said she’s seen less lightning bugs in recent years, which is caused by human-driven changes like light pollution and habitat loss. Resident Mary Duffey also said she used to have owls in her backyard until recent land developments impacted them.
“We used to have owls in our yard that would call to each other almost every night, and the next year there was just one owl calling and the other two were gone,” she said. “Even in my own neighborhood there’s been a lot of changes that have affected the wildlife.”
In Iowa City’s Climate Actions and Adaptation Annual Update, the city reported almost half as much community-wide carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in 2025 as 2010. Also, in 2020 and 2025 the emissions were lower than the 2030 target.
Gardner and Platte said this may be a big issue, but each person’s efforts count.
“I wish that people wouldn’t feel hopeless or wouldn’t give up so easily because everything we do matters,” Platte said.