Connecting the UNLEASH Lab Themes
Hello world! This is Jen Walsh and I am excited and honored to be participating in the UNLEASH LAB 2017 in Denmark. I currently work as a wastewater design engineer for a fantastic company Hazen and Sawyer and I feel incredibly lucky that my work has a direct and positive impact on protecting public health in Virginia and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. That said, I have the luxury of living and working in a place where we understand the value of water and are willing to support and invest in jobs, infrastructure, and academic research that further support a thriving and sustainable industry. I am most excited to contemplate and engage with fellow UNLEASH Lab-mates on how we can bring awareness to the value of water. There is an incredible amount of untapped potential waiting to be discovered through collaboration, education, training, and infrastructure investment in the water sector. I believe that the great minds attending the UNLEASH LAB will develop new and innovative ideas for improving peoples access to clean water and sanitation services the result will be a framework for a sustainable industry that provides high quality jobs in across the globe.
As I get ready to attend the inaugural UNLEASH Lab, I’ve been fascinated to read all the social media posts and commentary from fellow attendees and individuals who are focused on making the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals a reality. While my focus is water, the themes for UNLEASH Lab 2017 are intertwined. I find myself continually asking questions and learning about the incredible work people are initiating on around the globe. I’d like to share a few of the recent questions I’ve asked myself and answers I’ve found as a way to introduce some of the topics I am interested in.
Education and Water: Are there ways to improve the quality of education for children while introducing topics like sanitation, hygiene, or the water cycle? I’ve found that Yoke Pean Thye has started to work on this.
Food Security and Wastewater Byproducts: Are there safe and sustainable ways to process biosolids so it can be used as fertilizer for enhanced crop production? A public/private partnership is Ghana is doing just that check, out the Fortifier project.
Sustainable Consumption and Water Reuse: How do we promote sustainable consumption of water for both personal and industrial uses to reduce the strain on freshwater sources? A report from ING has some ideas: Think Circular Economies.
Urban Sustainability and Water Management: As mega-cities continue to grow, can storm water management, and coastal resiliency become the foundation of urban sustainability? The Great Water Cities summits are bring fresh ideas to the industry.
I’ve come to realize that water quality and treatment, water security, and water/wastewater management play a key role in each of the UNLEASH Lab 2017 themes. I believe that if we can identify paths to network among our teams we will be able to collectively address the challenges outlined by the SDGs. I look forward to joining my global peers in Copenhagen!
