Pando Days ’23 Premieres recap

Pando Days ‘23 premiere week concluded last month with a series of back-to-back project premieres showcasing sixteen initiatives from twelve Southland colleges and universities focused on helping to meet LA County sustainability goals.

This is the fourth Pando Days season, during which schools dedicated full courses, studios, or labs over the fall term to create actionable community-based projects.

Initiatives developed for the 2023 season run the sustainability gamut — from a project designed to help make the natural world more accessible to blind people to personal hygiene solutions when water is in short supply, such as during times of disaster. From a visionary look at transportation to planning a lab focused on all things mushroom-related.

There’s a project about endangered sea turtles, a pilgrimage along the Los Angeles River, and a tabletop alternative to solar panels. 

One Pando Days project focuses on sea trash; another on shade structures. There’s an app that’s been developed to make food distribution more efficient for the food insecure and a project on food-scrap composting. Multiple projects address themes of biodiversity, native and drought-tolerant landscaping, and water conservation — including our relationship to LA waterways. 

Four projects build upon their Pando Days work from previous seasons, ensuring that ideas conceived in the classroom are positioned to deliver real-world impact. It’s been an ingenious season.

At the premiere events, school teams are given 15 minutes apiece to present their work, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A from CSO Taskforce members and other specialists serving as respondents. All presentations are recorded.

Next, a panel of distinguished judges assesses the premiere recordings and project deliverables. Cash prizes are awarded at The Pando Sustainability Awards, April 14, based on judges’ decisions.  

Go here to see all Pando Days ’23 projects, the full range of project-related materials, and premiere presentation recordings. 

CONGRATULATIONS to Pando Days ’23 school teams!