A project called “Reframing Topeka” is looking to make the city a better place. It’s a series of open conversations and anyone is welcome to attend. Leaders from the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library guide the discussions. Their goal is to spark real conversations about practical solutions to make Topeka better. People who attend the event are placed into small groups. Within those groups, they discuss the issues they see throughout the Topeka community and share ideas and suggestions. The talks are broken up into categories such as how to make Topeka safer, fairer, more successful or more fun. “When we talk about it we talk about the trade-offs of each idea,” Lissa Staley with the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library said. “So if we did something, what else might happen and can we accept that?”
Source: KSNT News

The Topeka Zoo and the city have teamed up to create the “Waterways Protection Project.” This new project is centered around the creation of colorful, painted storm drains that will help raise awareness of the pollution going down them. Storm drains in Topeka lead out to the Kansas River, which eventually leads to the Mississippi River, which then goes out to the ocean. This means that if the number of pollution going into storm drain’s in Topeka drops, so will the amount of pollution going into the ocean. According to Dennis Dinwiddie, the Director of Conservation and Education at Topeka Zoo, it takes only a gallon of oil to contaminate up to a million gallons of river water. By creating these colorful storm drains, the zoo is hoping to attract attention to the issue of pollution going down the drains and thus affecting wildlife and the quality of our drinking water.
Source: KSNT News