Dialogues this month tackle Ozarks sustainability

The public is invited to several discussions throughout the rest of the month on making the Ozarks a sustainable region.

Partnership for Sustainability, in conjunction with the Missouri State University communications department, is holding public dialogues starting Tuesday. The partnership - which includes a number of public and private groups that are working toward sustainability - will use community input from the events to develop its strategic plan and future events, programs and projects.

Scheduled discussions are: 7:15-9 a.m. Oct. 21 at the Discovery Center, 438 St. Louis St.; 7-9 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Discovery Center; 7:15-9 a.m. Oct. 23 at the Discovery Center; 7-9 p.m. Oct. 28 at Reed Middle School, 2000 N. Lyon Ave.; and 7-9 p.m. Oct. 30 at Wanda Gray Elementary School, 2101 W. FR 182.

Partnership for Sustainability member institutions include the city of Springfield, City Utilities, CoxHealth, Discovery Center, Drury University, Evangel University, Greene County, MSU, Ozarks Technical Community College, St. John's Health Systems, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Springfield Public Schools. They and participating local companies agreed to assess and improve their practices to lessen environmental impact, collaborate with other participants to support sustainable community policies and share information about their progress and the lessons learned through the process.[[In-content Ad]]