Sachiko Hanks | Ecology Center

An Interview with Gabriel Cortez—Ecology Center Poet-in-Resident

May 13, 2024 by Sachiko Hanks

Gabriel Cortez is a unique Bay Area transplant—raised in Maryland, Virginia, and Los Angeles and of Afro-Panamanian descent, his childhood trained him in navigating the contradictions between his Panamanian and United States cultures. But when you are young and don’t yet have the words to express the daily challenges you face, you just deal with… Read more »

Plastics vs. Planet: Upcoming Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations

April 17, 2024 by Sachiko Hanks

The Ecology Center has a decades-long record of battling disposable plastic packaging. From the nation’s first styrofoam foodware ban (1988) to the Report of the Berkeley Plastics Task Force (1996), to Berkeley’s Disposable Foodware Reduction Ordinance (2019), the Ecology Center has led the way for our community, the environment, and the nation. We have locked… Read more »

Against All Odds—Could a Global Plastic Treaty Be a Reality in 2024?

December 12, 2023 by Sachiko Hanks

An Interview with Ecology Center Executive Director Martin Bourque on the United Nations Plastic Treaty meetings in Nairobi, Kenya, November 13–19, 2023 This past November, Ecology Center Executive Director Martin Bourque returned from the United Nations Environmental Programme Plastic Treaty meetings in Nairobi, Kenya with the latest news in the global fight to end plastic… Read more »

Berkeley Mayor and City Council Recognize Ecology Center’s 50 Years of Community Leadership and Service

October 8, 2020 by Sachiko Hanks

September 22, 2020 was a proud day for the Ecology Center, when the Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín and the City Council recognized “The Ecology Center’s 50 Years of Community Leadership and Service.” Ecology Center’s Executive Director Martin Bourque accepted the recognition in an online ceremony that was both heartwarming and inspiring for staff and community… Read more »