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RCE North Texas
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RCE North Texas is a network of multidisciplinary stakeholders, including higher education institutions, businesses, non-governmental organisations, community associations, and local, regional, state and federal government agencies.
RCE North Texas comprises the sixteen counties of North Texas. Of the ten ecoregions within the state of Texas, the sixteen-county RCE North Texas is located predominantly in two of them. Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Navarro, Hunt, Rockwall and Kaufman counties are in what is known as the Blackland Prairies ecoregion; while Denton, Tarrant, Johnson, Wise, Parker, Hood, Somervell, Palo Pinto and Erath counties are in the Cross-Timber ecoregion. The proximate dividing line between the two is the main corridor of the Trinity River as it runs between Dallas and Fort Worth. The Blackland Prairies ecoregion spans 6.1 million hectares from the Red River on the Texas-Oklahoma border to near San Antonio in South Texas. The Cross Timbers ecoregion stretches from Kansas and Oklahoma to an area just south of the North Texas geographic region.
As the second most populous state in the nation, the region of North Texas has a larger population than most of the other fifty states. The sixteen counties of North Texas encompass a diverse and vibrant demographic and economic region. It is a region that has grown dramatically over the past forty years, and is set to get much more crowded, with growth projections indicating a more than doubling in population size from the current 7.2 million residents by the year 2050. In this rapid growth scenario, all sectors of the region have grave concerns and raise the question: How will North Texas fare and grow in a sustainable manner as it confronts exploding population projections and associated environmental, economic and social challenges. At this pivotal moment for North Texas, the formation of this RCE will be an influencer in the community as cities expand, providing the resources to maximise the potential economic opportunity that well-managed communities can offer.
RCE North Texas isĀ focused on the following SDGs, which are deemed as priorities for the region: Zero Hunger (SDG 2); Quality Education (SDG 4); Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9); Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), and Climate Action (SDG 13).
Photo credit: RCE North Texas
Mission: A healthy, equitable and resilient North Texas.
Vision: We connect organizations in North Texas to enable healthier communities, shared value and sustainable development through education, collaboration, and capacity building.
Goals:
- End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture in North Texas
- Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all in North Texas
- Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation in North Texas
- Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable in North Texas
- Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts in North Texas
University of Texas at Arlington
Name of organisation: University of Texas at Arlington
Role: Chief Sustainability Officer
Contact name: Meghna Tare
Contact email: mtare@uta.edu
Name of organisation: University of Texas at Dallas
Role: Associate Director
Contact name: Gary Cocke
Contact email: Gary.Cocke@utdallas.edu
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Engaging students/youth through volunteer opportunities and service-learning projects
- Collaboration and Capacity Building
- Creating a dashboard for food systems and asset mapping
- Organizing annual summit
- Promote communication and education through quarterly webinars / workshops / newsletter
- Biannual training for sustainability-related, hands-on citizen / social science projects
Photo credit: RCE North Texas
- Fellow Program
- Engagement between the public sector and university community
- Award program
- Create an asset map of the ecosystem of partners & projects
Photo credit: RCE North Texas
- RCE North Texas Launch on 28 March, 2019 with 60 stakeholders in attendance (article)
- Launch of North Texas Food Policy Alliance to support SDG #2
- Creation of Food System Dashboard
- Annual Summit to engage with 100+ stakeholders
- Upper Trinity Water Quality Report Card
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mtare@uta.edu
Gary.Cocke@utdallas.edu
University of Texas at Arlington
Campus Box 19333
Arlington, TX 76019-0333