Sustainability Spotlight:
|
|
|
Common Orchard Project to Become a GU Accelerator Project in 2021
|
|
|
We are excited to announce that we will be adding the Common Orchard Project as a Green Umbrella Accelerator Project in 2021. The Common Orchard Project plants and cares for fruit orchards on vacant and community lots, with the goal of supporting 50 orchards in the next 3 years. It provides increased food access, tree canopy, walkable greenspace and community building in neighborhoods that have experienced disinvestment. Common Orchard Project will be an affiliate of Giving Grove, which is supporting the development of little orchards across the country. We'll be welcoming Chris Smyth as a member of the Green Umbrella
|
|
|
staff in January to direct this project he has cultivated for the past 3 years into its next phase.
|
|
|
2030 District Re-Grants $65,000 for Energy Efficiency Improvements
|
|
|
Cincinnati 2030 District is excited to announce that is awarding $65,000 from the Duke Class Benefit Fund Business Incentive Grant to four of its building members. The projects selected demonstrated significant energy reductions and will be completed in partnership with at least one of the district's professional partners:
|
|
|
- Cincinnati Art Museum will make improvements to an air handling unit in the Fath auditorium with Siemens and CMTA.
- MCA Center will complete an LED lighting retrofit on the Mercantile Center office tower with Johnson Electric.
- Our Lady of Grace School will complete an LED lighting retrofit Paff Electric and Pro Lighting and Solar.
- Sleepy Bee Café will make improvements to their kitchen hood system with Melink.
|
|
|
Beyond 34 Toolkit: Seeking Businesses for Free Waste Audits in 2021
|
|
|
Green Umbrella is partnering with Hamilton County Recycling and the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation to create an exciting new Commercial Waste Audit toolkit for Greater Cincinnati (and beyond). We are seeking businesses across our 10-county region to help make this toolkit relevant to various industries and different size organizations. We are seeking:
|
|
|
- organizations that would like to participate in a free waste audit in 2021 and be documented case studies
- organizations who have already conducted waste audits to provide short video testimonials for the toolkit
- organizations willing to review the toolkit as it is developed and provide feedback
- volunteers to assist with conducting waste audits
Learn more about the business case for waste audits and our project plan for developing the toolkit. Please reach out to Mary Cropenbaker to participate.
|
|
|
Greenspace Gem: Riverside Natural Area
|
|
|
This 200-acre preserve in Butler County primarily consists of meadows and wetlands surrounding a pond in an old channel of the Great Miami River. An extensive trail system leads to the 17-acre pond, a 5-acre marsh, and an observation mound overlooking the meadows. Protected by Hamilton Parks Conservancy, most of this area sits on a sludge disposal site reclaimed by the City of Hamilton in the early 1990s. The Hamilton Conservation Corps, a volunteer organization whose purpose is to help preserve Hamilton’s Natural Areas, oversees this site. Discover our region's greenspace gems!
|
|
|
Sustainability in the Headlines
|
|
|
SustainableCincy Rolls Out New Six-Week Accelerator, Cincinnati Business Courier
Working in Neighborhoods Wins EPA Grant to Reduce Water Pollution, Soapbox Cincinnati Residents Hope MSD Study Can Help Prevent Further Sewer Backups, WCPO
Thomas More's Ohio River Research Center Earns Long-Term Financial Support, NKY Thrives Next Phase of Wasson Way Trail Now Open, FOX 19 Temporary Outdoor Dining Sites to Turn Permanent in OTR and Downtown, CityBeat
Cincinnati Unveils Court Street Overhaul Focused on Pedestrians, Cincinnati Business Courier Bills to Repeal or Change House Bill 6 Resurface in Ohio's Lame-Duck Session, CityBeat
Eight Mayors: We Need a Marshall Plan for Middle America, Washington Post
Ohio Groups Applaud "Seismic Shift" in Clean-Energy Landscape, CityBeat Heritage Acres: Our Area's Only Dedicated Natural Burial Preserve, Cincinnati Magazine Where to Recycle Unwanted Holiday Lights in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, WVXU
|
|
|
Featured Member Events View our full events calendar.
December 10:
Diversity Leadership Symposium 8:00 am-12:00 pm, Fifth Third Bank
Sentimental Science 7:00-8:00 pm, Lloyd Library & Museum
December 12:
Winter Tree Identification Hike 10:00-11:30 am, Cincinnati Parks
Early Winter Hike 10:30 am-12:00 pm, Cincinnati Parks
Winter Orienteering 11:00 am-1:00 pm, MetroParks of Butler County
Zero Waste Home Practices and Skills 1:00-4:00 pm, Community Solutions
December 14:
GU's 2020 Annual Meeting 9:30 am-10:30 am, Green Umbrella
Friends Virtual Meeting & Happy Hour 6:30-8:00 pm, Boone County Arboretum
December 15: No Shutoffs! Caroling & Letter Delivery 1:00 pm, Communities United For Action Sustainable City Seminar: Cincinnati's 2030 District 7:30-8:30 pm, Rotary Club of Cincinnati December 16: LEED Tour of White Castle Home Office 1:00-2:00 pm, USGBC Ohio December 19: Paper Shredder Days 8:00 am-12:00 pm, Boone County Solid Waste Christmas Bird Count 8:00 am-5:00 pm, MetroParks of Butler County Nearly Winter Solstice Hike 7:00-8:30 pm, Cincinnati Parks
|
|
Professional Opportunities
City Parks Alliance Equitable Park Funding Hub provides easy access to information on funding sources for parks and recreation in low-income communities and communities of color.
Boone County Conservation District is offering 2020-2021 Education Grants for teacher or student led school projects that foster learning about conservation and our environment.
Kids Gardening is offering a 2021 Youth Garden Grant to support school and youth educational garden projects. Applications due December 18. OPWC NRAC is offering grants to acquire greenspace and protect and enhance river and stream corridors in Hamilton County through the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund Program. Applications due January 15.
Boone County Conservation District is offering two $1,000 Student Scholarships to college students enrolled in a major related to the field of conservation. Applications due January 31.
Ohio EPA Recycling & Litter Prevention Program supports communities, nonprofits, businesses and academic institutions that initiate or expand recycling. Applications close February 5.
Like what you see in Green News You Can Use? Share it with friends or colleagues!
|
|
Act locally with Green Umbrella and make a difference.
Invest in our future. Become a member at greenumbrella.org.
|
|
|
Did you receive this email as a forward? Subscribe today to get Green News You Can Use delivered to your inbox every other Wednesday.
(513) 541-1538 | 5030 Oaklawn Drive | Cincinnati, OH 45227
|
|
|
|