Statements

Mission

At Urban Green Lab, we teach communities how to live sustainably. Founded in 2009, we work to ensure all of us have access to sustainable living education. Through a focus on classrooms, households, and workplaces -- places where culture begins -- Urban Green Lab transforms spaces into "labs" for learning what it means to live sustainably by training professionals, organizing and facilitating the exchange of best practices, connecting institutions with services, and encouraging people to feel good about being part of the solution.

Background

Urban Green Lab was founded in 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee, and incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2011. The organization began as a group of friends with a shared mission of sustainability education and an idea to build a brick-and-mortar center where the community could learn the basics of sustainable living. In 2013, Urban Green Lab hired its first executive director, and in 2016, shifted its outreach to a mobile laboratory that delivers sustainable living education to schools citywide. Today, our mission remains the same but thrives in unique, systemic ways throughout all areas of society.

Impact

The impact of Urban Green Lab can be seen and felt throughout our flourishing community, in the K-12 Metro Nashville Public School teachers we've trained citywide, in the sharing of best practices between hundreds of organizations who are members of our Nashville Sustainability Roundtable, and in the curricula we write in collaboration with educational experts, in the steering committees who advise our work, and in the countless and inspiring public-private partnerships that bring us together and make our work happen every day. At Urban Green Lab, a little change goes a long way, and we see positive changes in each and every person who joins our movement to live more sustainably helping to sustain our people, planet, and prosperity for the next generation.

In 2023, specifically, we launched new programs, reached exciting milestones in existing programs, and made an impact for the planet, people, and our prosperity, one Nashvillian at a time. The following program accomplishments go beyond the singular person trained or engaged; they represent systemic change being made in 36 classrooms, 34 households, and 52 workplaces.

In 2023, we trained 36 educators on bringing a sustainable lens into their K-12 classrooms and equipped them with our Sustainable Classrooms Curriculum. We trained 34 UGL Volunteers on sustainability and how to share sustainability with friends, family, or neighbors in the program's pilot year. We engaged 52 businesses across Middle Tennessee to create or improve a culture of learning about sustainability in their workplaces.

Needs

Our most pressing need now is to get more individuals involved in our organization - as program participants and donors. As our organization has matured and our programs gained traction, we see the largest area of potential growth in building a community of individuals who can help us build a culture of sustainable living in Nashville to support our people, planet, and prosperity for the next generation. To do that, we are working on a broader and more robust communication plan, and building bridges to all facets of the community. Each person's efforts, collectively, can move mountains.

CEO Statement

Thank you for your interest in Urban Green Lab and our mission of sustainable living education. Visiting us means you care about our mission as much as we do and feel equally responsible for ensuring that we protect our incredible resources by making better choices in our daily lives. Urban Green Lab depends on vibrant partnerships community-wide and people like you make us stronger every day. With your contributions to our work, we can make a lasting difference through the power of education, together. As we say at Urban Green Lab, your support means the world -- literally. Todd Lawrence, Executive Director, Urban Green Lab

Board Chair Statement

Urban Green Lab allows a singular person to join forces with others who are passionate about sustainability. They provide education on living sustainably and connect individuals and organizations with resources to create change and educate students, employees, families, and neighbors on living sustainably in Nashville. This year, I am privileged to be the president of the Urban Green Lab's Board of Directors. The challenges facing our generation (and future generations) can feel so vast that it is difficult to know how to help. However, through Urban Green Lab, you can find a way to contribute your support to change the future through volunteering, sharing your voice, and donating. Together with the UGL team members, board of directors, and citizens, we can shift the path we are on in Nashville. Thank you for your interest in the mission of Urban Green Lab.

Sabrina Powell
President, Board of Directors
Urban Green Lab

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Environment  - Environment NEC
Secondary Category:	Education  - Education N.E.C.
Tertiary Category:	Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy  - Civil Rights, Social Action, & Advocacy N.E.C.

Areas Served

Davidson County

TN - Davidson