We teach communities
how to live sustainably.

We teach communities
how to live sustainably.

About Urban Green Lab

Urban Green Lab is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that exists to teach communities how to live sustainably in Nashville, TN and its surrounding counties. We organize teams, train them on making sustainable choices, and connect people with services and peers to walk with on their sustainable journey. We envision a Nashville where everyone has access to opportunities for learning about sustainable living.

Educating in places where culture begins

The Classrooms programs train educators and provide confidence, tools, and community to bring a sustainable lens into any classroom.

The Households division creates sustainable living education systems that inspire residents and families to be part of the solution.

The Workplaces branch educates and builds communities and cultures of sustainability in businesses throughout the Nashville area.

Special Initiatives

Our special initiatives are focus areas of sustainability education that Urban Green Lab has chosen to highlight and incorporate throughout the divisions.

The Nashville Environmental Justice Initiative is growing a movement of environmental justice learning that protects Nashville's marginalized communities.

The Nashville Food Waste Initiative develops tools and implements strategies for decreasing food waste and growing sustainable food consumption practices to serve as a model for other cities.

EVENTS

BLD Southeast

Join fellow B Corps and mission-driven businesses to learn & connect at the first ever in-person B Leadership Development (BLD) conference in the Southeast. September 21-22, 2023 in Raleigh, NC.

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Graphic promoting Sustainable in the City webinar about Nashville's Food Scrap Pickup Pilot on September 13 from noon to 1:15 p.m.

Nashville’s Food Scraps Pickup Pilot

Join us to get the dirt on composting from Jenn Harrman, Zero Waste Program Manager at Metro Nashville Waste Services. We will be discussing the Food Scraps Pickup Pilot and how this program fits into Nashville’s overall waste reduction goals.

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Graphic encouraging people to join the Nashville Sustainability Roundtable and attend our event at The Wond'ry

Nashville Sustainability Roundtable: September 21

Join us on Thursday, September 21 for the next Nashville Sustainability Roundtable with The Wond’ry. This event is by invitation only; to join the Roundtable email jacqueline@urbangreenlab.org.

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BLOG

A watermelon salad

5 Tips to Reduce Food Waste at Home

September 14, 2023

Food is beautiful. How can we waste less food at home? Read five tips to reduce food waste in your kitchen.

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Headshot of Megh Dixit

A Student’s Perspective: Cultivating Sustainability in the Classroom

September 7, 2023

Hear from Megh Dixit, a student at Merrol Hyde Magnet High School, who has been working with Urban Green Lab since the winter of 2022 to develop his own environmental science/sustainability course with guidance from our Director of Education, Christina Langone.

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Woman points to a slide on a presentation at the front of a classroom

Sustainability + Social and Emotional Learning

August 7, 2023

Urban Green Lab’s Classrooms Division hosted a session on how sustainability connects to social and emotional learning while focusing on empowering individuals to make informed decisions and take individual and collective action to address global challenges like climate change.

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In the News

A pile of metal waiting to be recycled at Rockwood Sustainable Solutions in Lebanon.

Construction debris is filling up landfills; Nashville is trying to do something about it

June 23, 2023

Today, Mayor John Cooper announced plans that starting on Monday, January 30, 2023, Nashville Metro Water Services (MWS) will provide Nashville residents with every other week curbside recycling pickup services.

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Mayor, Water Services Announce Start of Every Other Week Curbside Recycling for Nashville Residents

January 11, 2023

Today, Mayor John Cooper announced plans that starting on Monday, January 30, 2023, Nashville Metro Water Services (MWS) will provide Nashville residents with every other week curbside recycling pickup services.

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Mural that says "Food is Beautiful. Waste Less."

New Food Waste Mural Revealed in Green Hills

April 25, 2022

Urban Green Lab, in partnership with NRDC and Kroger, revealed a new mural on the Bandywood Drive side of the Kroger in Green Hills to celebrate the beauty of food and inspire shoppers to reduce food waste. Urban Green Lab is a local nonprofit that teaches communities to live sustainably.

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