Feb 15, 2023 - View online

Sustainability Spotlights

National CSA Week

February 20-26 is National CSA Week! CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, which is like a subscription or membership to a local farm. Through CSAs, consumers get farm products on a weekly basis, supporting local farmers and making eating fresh, local foods a convenient choice.

Find the CSA that's right for you here, learn more at the Food Policy Council's Buy Local page, and contact the Food Policy Council to learn about setting up a CSA pickup at your workplace or community space.

Cincinnati 2030 District Hosts Virtual Webinar on Solar

The Cincinnati 2030 District is pleased to host Solar Now For Business and Home, a free virtual information session alongside experts from the District Marquee Sponsor IBEW Local 212 and 2030 District Partner PRO Lighting & Solar. At this meeting, 2030 District Building Members and residential & commercial property owners can learn about the benefits of installing solar panels, improved tax incentives to advance decarbonization, and the advantages of working with local union contractors from PRO Lighting & Solar Owner Matt Kolbinsky.

Small-Scale Composting for High-Yield Results

Join the Common Orchard Project Team to learn about composting with Johnson-Su Bioreactors, a passively aerated, no-turn composting system capable of composting up to 1,500 pounds of material. Receiving food scraps from Walnut Hills residents and Queen City Commons, the Walnut Hills gardens have diverted over 10 tons of food scraps from the landfill to create quality compost for gardens.

At this free workshop, you'll learn how to build the structure, fill it with materials, and harvest and sift finished compost.

Faith Communities Go Green Host Virtual Funding Webinar

The new Federal Energy Efficiency Pilot Program was created to set aside $50 million in grant money exclusively for non-profits. In this free, virtual webinar, learn what opportunities are available for you to help your religious facility fund efficiency upgrades this year.

Faith Communities Go Green is honored to have speaker Daniel Bresette, president of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI). Created by Congress and based in Washington D.C., EESI is as an independent, bi-partisan, non-profit organization that seeks to be a catalyst moving society away from fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future.

Does your organization have a green success story that you want to share? Email our Communications Coordinator at kelly@greenumbrella.org with details and you may be

featured here in Green News or on Green Umbrella's social media!

Sustainability in the Headlines

Green Umbrella to Host 10th Annual Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, NKY Tribune

Bridge Project Should Halt for More Environmental Study, New Coalition Says, The Enquirer

Group Concerned About Environmental Impacts of Brent Spence Bridge, Spectrum News 1

Leaders Make Final Push for Green Cincinnati Plan Public Feedback, Spectrum News 1

City Hall Considers Action After Viewing “Landslides” Documentary, Soapbox Cincinnati

UC Thrift Aims to Bring Sustainable Fashion Options to Students on Campus, The News Record

Fairfield Uses $4.5M in Pandemic-Relief Funds to Improve Traffic Safety and Parks, Journal News

Wendell Berry Farming Program's First Graduate Reflects on Lessons, Soapbox Cincinnati

Featured Events View our full events calendar

February 15:

Drug Discoveries from Plant Research 7:00-8:00 pm, Lloyd Library

February 16:

OEFFA Conference 2023 Feb 16-18, OEFFA

Earth as Common Ground: The Call for a Moral Voice (Virtual Webinar)

1:00-2:00 pm & 7:00-8:00 pm, Faith Communities Go Green

Pruning Trees and Shrubs 1:00-4:00 pm Boone County Arboretum

February 17:

Heartland FarmLink Mixer 5:00-6:30 pm, OEFFA

Maple in the Moonlight 7:00-9:00 pm, Great Parks

February 18: Maple Fest 1:00-5:00 pm, Cincinnati Nature Center

February 19:

Maple Syrup Making & Sap Collecting 12:00-3:00 pm, Cincinnati Nature Center

February 20: Whooo Goes there? 10:30 am, Great Parks

February 21:

Ohio Air Monitoring Roundtable 12:00, Green Energy Ohio

Connected Communities 6:00-8:00 pm, City of Cincinnati

Farm Preservation Seminar 6:00-8:30 pm Campbell County Conservation District

February 22: Cincinnati 2030 District New Year Kick-Off 4:00-7:00 pm, 2030 District

February 23:

Connected Communities 6:00-8:00 pm, City of Cincinnati

Forest Conservation at the Edge of Appalachia 7:00-8:00 pm, Lloyd Library

February 24:

USGBC OH Green Building Tour Series: Blue Ash Residence 4:30-6:30, USGBC

Rising Strong! - A Brene Brown Retreat Feb 24-25, Tikkun Farm

February 25:

Early Spring Waterfowl Migration 8:00 am, Oxbow Inc.

Great Tree Summit 8:00 am-12:00 pm, Taking Root

Northside Community Workshop: Knowltons Corner & Beyond 9:00 am-3:00 pm, AIA

Spring Training for Backpacking Series 11:00 am-1:00 pm, Great Parks

Historic Barn Walk 12:00-2:00 pm, Gorman Heritage Farm

Maple Fest 1:00-5:00 pm, Cincinnati Nature Center

February 26:

Nature Walk 10:00 am, The Cincinnati Chapter of National Audubon Society

Tools of the Sugar House 11:00-12:00 pm, Cincinnati Nature Center

Cincinnati Urban Farming Conference 12:00-2:00 pm, Great Parks

February 27: Mindful Monday: Sunset Sounds Walk 6:30 pm, Great Parks

February 28: Western Wildlife Corridor Update & Riparian Ecology Talk 7:00 pm, WWC
March 1:

Annual State of the Mill Creek Address 6:00-8:30 pm, Mill Creek Alliance

Connected Communities 6:00-8:00 pm, City of Cincinnati

Professional Development Opportunities

The 2023 OEFFA Conference will take place February 16-18, with more than 50 sustainable food and farming workshops, an exhibitor hall, and networking.

The Indiana Sustainability & Resilience Conference will take place on February 17 and feature speakers, panels, exhibits, trainings, and networking opportunities for climate and resilience advocates.

OKI Regional Council of Governments is asking for input to help partners identify areas with high transportation needs that are disconnected from transit services. The results will identify unserved and underserved areas in terms of access to job hubs via transit.

Miami University & the Cincinnati Zoo are accepting applications through February 28 for their 2023 Advanced Inquiry master's degree program (begins May 2023).

Cincinnati Permaculture Institute is offering an accelerated-format Permaculture Design Course over five weekends (from February 18 to March 19).

Co-Op Cincy is offering a Cooperative Management Certificate, which explores the power of cooperative structures to align incentives and make our businesses profoundly accountable to workers, environments, and communities! This 12-week, virtual course starts March 1.

OEFFA is offering a Discovering Resilience Workshop on March 3. This in-person event will provide farmers and ranchers with resources to resolve many of the obstacles they face.

Miami University is hosting Social Innovation Weekend from March 3-5, with a focus on climate change and its effect on our world. Mentors are invited to sign up to work with students to ideate, test, develop, and pitch plans for companies, projects, or initiatives to address a pressing social or environmental problem.

The Cincinnati Zoo is having their 12th Sustainable Urban Landscapes Symposium March 16.

The Greater Cincinnati Master Rain Gardener spring 2023 course will be a 6 week course that takes place in March-April.

Ohio EPA is offering free Ohio Environmental Education Fund (OEEF) grant writing workshops. The ones closest to our region are in Lima (April 27) and Circleville (September 14).