The View from the Summit: A Day at the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit

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Eight-foot-long, black-clothed tables, covered in hundreds of shiny name badges. Clusters of people with ceramic coffee cups crowded around exhibitors. And me, Green Umbrella’s Communications Manager, eating a plate of scrambled eggs and fruit, writing it all down. The 12th annual Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, the largest conference on sustainability in the Midwest, has begun!

Let’s back up a bit. I’ve been working for Green Umbrella, Greater Cincinnati’s Regional Climate Collaborative and host of the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, for about three years now. I wanted to try something a little different for this year’s Summit: instead of just taking pictures and posting on social media, I decided to do that PLUS take overly-detailed notes throughout the Summit to compile into a blog post so that people who have never attended can really understand what it’s like to experience the largest sustainability conference in the Midwest. And how incredibly awesome, inspiring, and motivating it is.

Fair warning – this is long (in my defense, it was a big day!). Below are the different sections, please feel free to jump to the ones that interest you the most.

Electric Vehicle Showcase
Breakfast & Overall Vibes
Programming Start & Keynote Speaker
Morning Breakout 1: Beyond the Box
Morning Breakout 2: Short Talk Series: Food & Agriculture
Lunch, Summit Awards, & Plenary Panel
Grounding & Meditation Space
Afternoon Breakout Session 2: Community-Led Research: The Power of Lived Experiences as Data for Policy Change
Performance Showcase
Final Thoughts & Takeaway

So here was my day, from start to finish, attending the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, hosted by Green Umbrella, at Sharonville Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 4, 2025.

The Electric Vehicle Showcase, presented by Drive Electric Dayton

There were a lot of new things this year, including the EV Showcase, which took place first thing in the morning. Drive Electric Dayton set up 4 cars in the front of the convention center, car doors wide open, letting people explore what an EV is really like. My partner has an EV car so I’m already familiar, but it was really cool seeing the EV trucks in person. They looked gorgeous, with tons of storage space, to the point where I was thinking there was no way an EV truck was going to be affordable. But the owner of my favorite of the trucks (the Ford F150) told me it was $42k (??!!) which is waaaay less than I had expected. If I needed a new truck, that’s the one I’d pick. Thanks, Drive Electric Dayton, for introducing me to my newest dream car!

Walking into the Summit space, plus breakfast

Past the Drive Electric Dayton tent and into the convention center lobby, Green Umbrella staff and Summit volunteers checked in attendees and handed out name badges. To the left, an open space was lined with art pieces before opening into a hallway that led to the convention space. I took my time down the hallway to look at the art, which included a crystal-studded rain chain with a bucket of flowers, an enormous sphere made of a collage of plastics, a live artist moving like water in a miniature pool, and a walk-through tunnel with plastic and glass chips hanging from strings that dangled and swung like wind chimes.

In the convention space, I was immediately struck by how many people were there so early. Exhibitors lined the walls and bordered an array of round tables covered in black table cloths. A stage at the front of the room was flanked by two large screens lit with rotating slides that thanked sponsors and promoted different Summit programming. Long tables on either side of the event space were set up with iced tea, water, orange juice, and locally roasted coffee from Deeper Roots and La Terza. I grabbed an iced tea and chose a table on the far right side in the very front row before the stage (close to the action but off to the side enough so that I could get up and move around for pictures without being disruptive). I put down my bags and headed to that most magical of food arrangements: the breakfast buffet.

To the far left of the room, several white-clothed tables held steaming chafing dishes, plates of fruit, and bowls of yogurt and oatmeal. I loaded a plate with scrambled eggs, sauteed vegetables, yogurt, granola, and fruit. People who attend conferences know that food made en masse tends to be subpar taste- and texture-wise, but everything was really tasty. I planned on going back for seconds, but then Charlie stepped up to the microphone, and I stayed in my seat – I didn’t want to miss a moment of the program.

Introduction & Keynote

Charlie Gonzalez is the Corporate Engagement & Events Manager at Green Umbrella, which is a long title that means Charlie is always in the middle of everything, making things smoother and easier. He’s in charge of the Summit Planning Team and I swear, he’s done a better job every year that I’ve attended.

Charlie opened by asking us to put down our phones to take a moment and center ourselves (I feel attacked!). A thoughtful silence fell over the crowd, and I suddenly felt lighter, remembering how much I love this event and how inspired I felt at previous Summits. After a moment, Charlie spoke on Sustainable Stories, the theme of this year’s Summit:

“Stories are how we make meaning out of the world around us – and within us … The stories we tell communicate our values. They convey our fears, sadness, and despair; our dreams, hopes, and aspirations.

There’s one meta-narrative in particular that comes to mind that has had a profound influence on the relationship between humans and nature. We have built a civilization based on the story that we are separate from and superior to nature. … It is a story that has taken us to the brink of an unimaginable existential and ecological crisis.

Once we see and understand how narratives are built into the framework of our existence, we can work to reimagine and change the story. Let’s tell stories of the world we aspire to create. And let’s live a life that helps bridge the gap. – Charlie Gonzales

… Indigenous people have long been champions of environmental stewardship, with a worldview rooted in a deep sense of interconnectedness and respect for all beings. I’m thrilled that this year’s Summit centers Indigenous perspectives on living in harmony with nature and the rhythms of local ecosystems.

Once we see and understand how narratives are built into the framework of our existence, we can work to reimagine and change the story. Let’s tell stories of the world we aspire to create. And let’s live a life that helps bridge the gap.”

*Full disclosure, I cheated here a bit. I asked Charlie for a copy of his comments, so those are actual quotes. The rest of the notes I took from speakers and session are summations/my own words.

There were a couple more introductions before the keynote: 

  • Ryan Mooney-Bullock, Executive Director of Green Umbrella
  • Words from Summit sponsors: Fifth Third Bank, Duke Energy and Xavier University’s Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue
  • Rachel Crammer, Climate Fellow and Climate Futurist (she talked about how we need positive climate fiction, not just dystopias, because it changes the way we think in a negative way. She described a concept that was new to me: Solarpunk, which is an aesthetic and philosophy that imagines the future through a lens of environmental justice) 
  • And Brianna Mazzolini-Blanchard, Executive Director of the Urban Native Collective, who introduces the Keynote Speaker: Dr. Lyla June Johnston 

“Greetings, my kin and my people,” began Dr. Lyla June. That’s my favorite opening from any speaker ever. I was immediately at ease.

The first thing she did was myth-busting: 

  1. The Indigenous peoples in Ohio were not primarily hunter gatherers. They were cultivators of the land. The abundance that the colonizers stumbled upon was not an accident, but designed and cultivated over generations of Indigenous peoples.
  2. There were not just a few Indigenous people living in the space found by the colonizers. There were large populations of established communities.
  3. The Indigenous communities weren’t there for a “few thousand years”. They were around for at least 23,000 years.

Next, Dr. Lyla June dove into her slide deck, which was packed with examples of Indigenous regenerative ecosystem design from around the world. Regenerative ecosystem design is the intentional planning of crop and livestock production around how the environment already functions – like if you know a certain area floods every time it rains, planting a native crop there that thrives with intermittent and heavy watering. This sort of design requires much less maintenance and creates a lasting, flourishing area that feeds the whole ecosystem. Some of my favorite examples she mentioned were: 

  • North American grasslands pyro-management – intentional burning of old grasses to mineralize the plants’ nutrients and revitalize the soil. Because the native grasses had deep root systems, they would survive the burn and grow through. Now, the grasslands are covered with invasive species that are not adapted to burning. If and when it burns, the fire is destructive instead of restorative. 
  • Floodplain aquaculture in Bolivia – during times of flood, the Baure people would build berms and pools that would funnel the fish into weirs that would remain as the water receded, essentially farming the fish and creating a natural fishery.
  • Kwakwaka’wakw clam gardens – around Quadra Island, right above Vancouver on the Northwest Coast of North America, the Indigenous peoples would use empty shells to build up a sort of wall along shoreline waters that would cultivate a healthy ecosystem for new shellfish. They’d remove intrusive stones and destructive debris, resulting in a clam garden designed to feed the entire biosphere.

She had a lot of examples – like, a lot – and stressed that just because these techniques were used in the past, that does NOT mean they were primitive. These techniques were cultivated over time, designed with intention, and successful in helping both the Indigenous peoples AND the entire ecosystem thrive. “With the way we’re managing the Earth,” Dr. Lyla June said, “I don’t know that we’ve ever been more primitive than we are now.”

Then Dr. Lyla June brought up something that really had an impact on me, something I’ve been thinking about ever since. Humans are good at supporting systems. Humans grow, clear, and nourish. What if humans are a keystone species? What if our ability to reason, plan, and design makes us perfect stewards of our Earth? 

If I’m being honest, I’ve been pretty pessimistic about humans and our role in the world lately. There are so many examples of humans bringing about destruction in nature, I’ve been harboring resentment against my own species. But the idea of being a keystone species, one that ties an ecosystem together by creating an environment that encourages life and abundance, is a compelling one. I think of my little backyard – with pockets of flowering bushes crowded with pollinators, a compost pile teeming with regeneration, a peach tree beloved by neighborhood squirrels – and realize every choice I’ve made to make our yard a nicer place for our family has also brought more life and food into the entire backyard mini-ecosystem. Maybe we can learn to view the Earth not as a resource to pillage, but as a living, breathing home to cultivate for all life.  

Dr. Lyla June received a well-deserved standing ovation from the Summit crowd at the end of her talk. Throughout the rest of the day, I heard people talking about how moved and inspired they were. I’m still thinking about it, weeks later, and planning more about how I can encourage more life around me. I think I’ll start, as Dr. Lyla June suggested, with simply filling the water in my birdbath.

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Morning Breakout Session 1 – Beyond the Box

And now for something completely different: for my first morning breakout session, I chose Beyond the Box: A Journey in Innovation and Sustainability in Packaging.

I decided to check out this one because it made me think of all those times my family ordered online, seeing all that packaging, and regretting it immediately as my recycling and trash cans filled up. The session’s speakers were:

  • Joey Beyersdorfer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Clear Packaging
  • Emily Williams, Sustainability And Innovation Partnerships Leader, TC Transcontinental Packaging
  • Jeff Snyder, Senior VP of Recycling & Sustainability, Rumpke Waste & Recycling
  • Nathan Mckee, Sustainability Analyst Manager, Trayak
  • Molly Spitzer (Moderator), Sustainability Analyst, Trayak

In this session, I learned that when analyzing a product’s environmental impact, brands look at a life cycle assessment. This includes the sustainability impacts of the product throughout its entire life, from idea to manufacturing to consumer and beyond, plus transport throughout the process. The “carbon footprint” is just one lens they look through. Does processing put out emissions? How much water is being used in production or growth, and how does it impact water quality afterwards? Does making something recyclable make the production journey worse? 

Jeff Snyder from Rumpke had a lot of stats ready about how much opportunity we’re missing as far as recycling. In Ohio: 

  • 31% of corrugated cardboard is recycled
  • 24% of paper is recycled
  • 22% of glass is recycled (This one kills me! Glass is such a great material to recycle!)

Overall, 70-75% of recyclable material goes into landfill, and Rumpke does NOT want that. Landfill space is not a limitless resource. What can be recycled, they want recycled. Rumpke uses AI and x-rays to distinguish among different plastics, even down to the specific brand the material came from – like, they could tell you how many Dasani water bottles Cincinnati recycles, which is crazy to me. The new technology can also help identify dangerous materials to pull out of waste before it heads to the landfill, like lithium ion batteries (NEVER throw those in the trash, y’all!!). 

Then there’s compostability testing in packaging. If something is designed to be compostable, does it break down enough? If it breaks down, does it add microplastics or hazardous materials to the soil? Will the compost created from the material actually sprout seeds? And there are different types of composting: commercial composting, at-home composting, “natural” composting (like tossing a banana peel out of your car window), freshwater composting (like tossing a banana peel into a lake), saltwater composting (like tossing a – you know what, stop throwing your garbage everywhere, people). So there have to be different types of compost testing. The path to market for a new “compostable” product is very expensive, and it takes a long time to get there. Plus, compostable packaging is only compostable if people *actually* compost it. If you put compostables in the recycling bin, it goes to the landfill where it takes 50-60 years to break down. Landfills are just not set up for effective composting.

The session was just about over when Nathan Mckee from Trayak brought up something I was really excited about: refill and reuse! I wish we’d gotten to this part sooner, because Nathan had an excellent point – up until that moment, we’d only been learning about and discussing single-use items like plastic bags and shipping materials. What could really make a difference in sustainability is moving away from a linear production line and starting to focus on the opportunities of refillable and reusable items. Think about it – what if anytime you went to Starbucks, you got a reusable cup that you just gave back the next time you went? Think of all the cups, lids, and little green drink stoppers you’d save from landfill. Closed systems like schools, hospitals, and stadiums have huge possibilities. There’s a long way to go, but there are opportunities ahead.

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Morning Breakout session 2 – Short Talk Series: food systems & agriculture

This was a different type of breakout session than Beyond the box, which was a panel of industry professionals discussing the same topic. Hosted by Chris Smyth from the Common Orchard Project, the short talk series had seven different people give a mini presentation on their area of expertise. To compare, it felt like a YouTube playlist of videos vs a full episode of a tv show – different vibes, both great. Below is a list of the speakers and what I took from each of their presentations.

Jason Kamp, Director of Garden Programs at Gorman Heritage Farm

Jason’s presentation was a very personal one. He detailed feeling stuck and lost in his day-job before finding Wendell Berry’s work. Berry is a Kentucky poet and author renowned for his deep connection to the Earth and nature. Inspired by Berry and looking for a life transformation, Jason left his job to become a farmer, joining the team at Gorman and turning his backyard into a garden where his family grows as much food as they can. Follow his story on instagram: @jasonthebackyardfarmer. 

Andrea Chaillet, Graduate Student at Miami University 

Andrea’s piece was on something I never thought about before: sustainability practices in the hemp and cannabis industry. Andrea said that she also works at a dispensary, and there are very few brands that use organic cannabis. People are starting to grow their own cannabis plants at home to make sure their product is actually organic – sometimes you can even find cannabis seeds at farmer’s markets!

Zack Burns, Hydroponics Technician at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden certainly deserves the title of the Greenest Zoo in America. The giant water tanks at Hippo Cove and Manatee Springs, the enormous reservoir at the new Elephant Trek, and of course providing water for their many resident animals – it’s all part of a detailed network of water conservation. The Zoo is working on water retention so that every drop of rainwater is collected and utilized, both to reduce water use from city sources and to ensure overflow water doesn’t escape to basements in neighboring Avondale homes. They also have a hydroponics program that grows lettuce in vertical container farms on Zoo property that helps to supply the giraffe lettuce supplies!

Susan VonderHaar, Cincinnati Permaculture Institute Director

Last year, the Cincinnati Permaculture Institute received two grants – a Seeds of Change and a Boots on the Ground grant – to both install new local food sites (like community gardens and food forests) and train residents to care for the sites in their neighborhoods. Susan walked us through the mini urban farms that CPI worked at all around the city. The amount of work that they were able to accomplish in only a year with only two grants was incredible to see – they’ve worked at more than 20 sites, with more than 100 people, installing more than a thousand plants at the sites.

Jodee Smith, Resilient Food Systems Manager from the Environmental Resilience Institute at Indiana University

Jodee’s area of expertise is food systems resilience, which is the ability to withstand and recover from food supply disruptions – think of severe weather interrupting a harvest, or a pandemic halting transportation systems. How well will a community respond and react to these disruptions? Well, now there’s a cool website that Jodee helped to develop called CARAT (Community & Agriculture Resilience Tool) where you can self-assess your community’s food systems resilience for free. 

Kevin Mackey, Urban Farming Initiative

UFI is a newer organization – it came together in 2020 after Kevin struggled to make his salsa business work amidst the food systems chaos of the COVID pandemic. He realized that coordination was missing within community circular food systems, and that’s where UFI fits in. Kevin walked through some of UFI’s programs, like their community gardens with commissary trailers that serve as a hub for cultivating, distributing, and celebrating locally grown produce. 

Peter Huttinger, Turner Farm

Peter is the Director of the Turner Farm Community Garden Program, which supports community gardens around the city. He talked about how he was disillusioned with community gardens because they tend to be reliant on one specific leader, who might be inconsistent or disappear in a few years. Through the Community Garden Program, community gardens have a more structured support to help them thrive. Peter talked about how Turner Farm is strongly committed to soil health, regenerative practices, experiential learning, and cultivating a culture of generosity throughout their programs. 

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Lunch, Awards, & the Plenary Panel

My favorite part of everything is the food. For lunch, there was General Tso’s cauliflower with rice and sauteed veggies, plus sliced portabella mushrooms and mixed salad with a garlic/ginger dressing so good I could sip it from a straw. For dessert there were trays of bite-sized pastries: tiny vanilla cupcakes, s’more squares, turtle brownies, and a berry crumble bite. I tried everything, including each of the desserts, and enjoyed more Deeper Roots coffee while watching the awards ceremony.

This year’s plenary panel was called “The Power of Sustainable Stories: Inspiring Change Through Climate Narratives”, and I have to say, this panel was stacked. There was the amazing keynote speaker from this morning, Dr. Lyla June Johnston; Erika Street Hopman, from ChavoBart Digital Media and one of the people behind the Yale Climate Connections’ Podcast (I LOVE Yale Climate Connections); Tory Stephens from Grist, one of my go-to climate news orgs; Becca Costello from WVXU, my favorite local news radio; and as a moderator, they had Dani McClain, an award-winning journalist and author who used to be the Writer-in-Residence at the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library. Everyone introduced themselves, and then Dani led the conversation. I don’t have a transcript of the conversation, but I did take notes on what the speakers each talked about, so that’s what I have below.

“I’m on this stage because of sewage.” You have my attention, Becca Costello. She’s one of the developers of the podcast Backed Up, which is about Cincinnat’s complicated sewer system and was named one of the best podcasts of 2024. She talked about how she didn’t intend to make the podcast about climate change and sustainability, but that’s how it turned out, because all these community and environment issues are linked. The work led to her reporting on logging in Indiana forests, and someone working out there tried to get her fired (a badge of honor for reporters, she said). She also talked about the new grounding and meditation space at the Summit and something there that really struck her. In the grounding space, there was a table covered with a map of a community. Two mounds of clay were there for attendees to use to sculpt physical things that they wanted to see in a sustainable future, and to place on the map. Becca molded a book to represent freedom of information, and she became emotional thinking about how so much is censored, held back, or “redacted” because of what the truth means. But truth is how we move forward and make strides towards a future that is livable for all. I made a mental note to check out the grounding space later.

One of the things I loved about Dr. Lyla June’s morning keynote was the amount of examples of Indigenous cultivation, but in the plenary panel, she told us that she didn’t even hear about Indigenous environmental brilliance until she was in grad school in her 20’s. She talked about the lack of transparency, of not learning history that doesn’t fit the colonist narrative. There’s the stereotype that Indigenous people are simply “wise” and “they love nature”, but that’s a wild simplification: they’re ecological scientists. They sculpted the world to be abundant in life and ecology. “I’m trying to increase access to information about my ancestors, and our ancestors,” said Dr. Lyla June. Indigenous people had to be portrayed as primitive savages to justify land theft, because if they’re not people, not “civilized”, colonizers can say “they don’t deserve the world, they don’t need what they have, and we can take it”. The conquering mentality did not have room to acknowledge the depth and expansion of Indigenous knowledge, and so it was ignored or belittled. When we relinquish that conquering mentality, we can allow knowledge systems to flourish.

I was so excited to hear that Erika Street-Hoffmann was part of the Yale Climate Communications’s podcast. I’ve been exploring YCC a lot lately. It’s an incredible resource for ways to communicate about sustainability to new (and potentially reluctant) audiences. Erika has a background in science, but she felt called to storytelling because it’s a way to “crack someone open” to new information. Connecting people’s daily worries to climate change – energy bills, food costs, health concerns – reaches people where they are. A family in a suburban community might not be interested that a beach city on the other side of the country is losing coastline, but they’ll care that their energy bills are going up month after month. One story might not make a huge difference, but as more perspectives, more stories, more people are connected through environmental issues, that makes a change. And Erika has the data to back it up: they take surveys after their radio pieces to show that listeners walk away with new perspectives. And – I love this part – the pieces are only like 2 minutes long, so they’re very palatable, and they’re released daily, so there’s always something new to listen to. 10/10 recommend.

I knew of Grist from coworkers – the Grist website is one of our team’s favorite places for climate news and reporting – but Tory Stephens’ job is one that really interested me. He works on Grist’s climate fiction initiative, Imagine 2200. Specifically not climate dystopian fiction, because there’s already a ton of that out there, and because Grist’s surveys of young people indicate that people already have climate anxiety; they don’t want to read more about it. Instead, Imagine 2200 showcases stories about climate hope, about going through the fire and coming out the other side. His work recalled what Climate Fellow Rachel Crammer talked about in the morning Summit introductions, about solarpunk and reimagining the future through a lens of environmental justice. In Tory’s work with Imagine 2200, they showcase short stories that are decolonizing vs extractive, “through-topian” vs dystopian, green and just vs gray and despairing. It made me think of WALL-E, that Disney movie about a little robot (WALL-E) left alone to clean up a trash-covered Earth after humans escaped to space. I highly recommend it for lots of feelies.

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Afternoon Breakout Sessions – Aka playing hooky and being inspired

After the plenary, I jumped onstage for the GU staff photo, which took less time to wrangle than normal. Typically we’re like herding cats at events like this – there are so many cool people to talk to, we always split in different directions – but Charlie rounded us up before we left the Exhibit Hall.

At this point I still hadn’t decided which breakout session to attend. To buy time before I made a decision, I gave myself the 10 minutes I had to spare in the grounding area. 10 minutes, ha, I should have known better. The moment the door closed behind me, the sounds of the busy conference hall disappeared, replaced by the warm hum of a sound machine (or an air vent? Impossible to tell) peppered with bird song (definitely a sound machine, I saw no birds). The light was soft and cool, and an installation of folded paper leaves hanging from the ceiling stirred gently in the air. A table of climate-themed books, both fiction and nonfiction, stood to my right, while a counter covered in houseplants was on the right. Chairs rested against the far wall where people sat reading. An open doorway led to a bright room full of people crafting handmade clay pieces to add to a map, the one Becca mentioned in the plenary talk. I sat down to add my own clay piece.

I thought about the map’s prompt – what do you want to see in a sustainable world? – and thought about my baby daughter. I thought about how scary it was to think about bringing life into a world that is burning, how microplastics have been found in placenta, how even breastmilk has been found to carry forever chemicals. How a world that is sustainable for all should nurture us, not poison us from inside the very womb. And I got it, how Becca felt emotional around creating her little clay book. Because I was getting emotional molding a lump of clay into a soft figure with arms wrapped around a small bundle, in what I hoped to be a nurturing fashion. I’m not an artist. But I hope that when other people look at it, they too imagine a world where children are safe in a community built to sustain them throughout their lives.

Yeah, I missed the breakout session. But I had a beautiful moment with other people forming their own clay dreams – windmills, peace signs – and I bought one of the cute little houseplants that were on display (a new spider plant, one that already looks much happier than the ones I have in my house).

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Afternoon Breakout Session 2: Community-Led Research: The Power of Lived Experiences as Data for Policy Change

Yet another breakout where there were too many good sessions to choose from, so I chose this session for the silliest of reasons: it was in the Main Room and that’s where I already was. I am so glad I did, because this session was again different than the others I’d attended: it was a presentation of a case study in Chicago that used stories and experiences from residents as qualitative data.

Speakers:

  • Paulina Vaca, Urban Resilience Associate, Center for Neighborhood Technology
  • Bela Jaimes, New Economy Program Associate, Southeast Environmental Task Force
  • Em Ayala, EJCJ Program Manager, Southeast Environmental Task Force

First, Paulina showed three maps of Chicago for the audience to compare: maps that illustrated wealth concentration, social vulnerability, and air quality. The more affluent areas clearly overlapped with the less vulnerable areas and the neighborhoods with better air quality. These maps are telling, but they are missing something: the viewpoints of the residents who live in these areas. The presenters described how traditional systems are structured around data and numbers, not lived experiences. It is very hard to prove environmental racism, but with archival evidence, and a combination of information, you can back up your argument. They defined Community-Led Mixed-Method Research:

Quantitative Findings + Qualitative Findings = Community Needs Assessment

But how do you get ethically-sourced qualitative data?

This is something I never considered before. The presenters talked about an “extractive” mindset, where researchers, organizations, and companies go in to collect resident testimonials without considering where the residents are coming from. I was very interested in this area, so I asked what ethically-sourced qualitative data looks like. It looks like:

  • Making sure you are welcome in the community and not forcing your presence on them
  • Giving storytellers space to reflect and take breaks as hard topics surface (talking about negative experiences can bring up difficult emotions – think about how you’d feel talking with strangers about your mother’s lung cancer or your neighborhood flooding)
  • Compensating people for their time and testimony
  • Giving the study/assessment’s findings back to the community (for free!!)

What makes for good qualitative data isn’t a huge number of stories. Look for nuance, specificity, and depth. It’s not meant to replace quantitative data, it’s meant to supplement it and give numbers a human face.

Once you have your ethically-sourced qualitative data and your quantitative data, it’s time to use it to drive action and next steps. Here’s where their case study came in: #StopGeneralIron. 

Originally on the North Side of Chicago, General Iron is a metal shredding company that creates a lot of pollution around them, specifically air pollution that has toxic metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Remember those maps at the beginning of the session? Those wealthier, more affluent areas are more heavily concentrated in the North Side of Chicago. And after those communities protested the pollution in their neighborhoods, the Illinois EPA approved permits for new facilities construction on the South Side of Chicago – the lower income neighborhoods that are predominantly Black, Brown, and Latino communities, that already have more vulnerability and poorer air quality than the North Side. South Side community organizers mobilized their community, setting up protests, collecting support, and claiming that it was part of a historic pattern of consolidating industry in the South Side. Both qualitative and quantitative data – resident lived experiences and numbers around health outcomes, industry pollution, and more – worked together to tell the full story of the historic and continuing injustice. The national EPA made the City re-look at the permits, and eventually it was ruled in the favor of the activists. 

General Iron appealed, was rejected, and they have appealed again (as of the Summit, it was still going through the court system). While the fight and this story isn’t over yet, it’s a prime example of how an intentional, strategic community-led mixed-method research initiative can drive action towards the ultimate goal: policy change.

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Performance Showcase

This part of the Summit is always one of my favorites because I love seeing the different ways performers are inspired by the environment. Last year there was spoken word, dancing, and rap; this year, there’s an opera singer, an Indian dance group, and a string quartet! The performances were in the main stage area, so I didn’t even have to move after my last breakout session. Meaning I was that person in the very first row. Great for the breakout session, but would it be smart for live performances? I was about to find out.

First up, soprano Quinn Patrick Ankrum performed selections from No One Saves the Earth from Us But Us, a song cycle by Lisa Neher that was dedicated to Greta Thunberg and those of her generation, and those who will follow. Having heard Quinn do a sound check from the mainstage yesterday while I was helping Charlie with Summit set-up in the convention center lobby, I was nervous about sitting in the front row. I was sure the power of her voice was going to blow me away. But it wasn’t the volume of her voice that bowled me over, it was the emotion. She embodied every word of the lyrics: “The last glacier fits in our warm hands … O vulnerable humans”. I’ve never seen signing like that up close. Her entire face shivered and trembled as sound swirled from her like a wind before a storm. It was a moving and beautiful start to the performance showcase.

Next, dancers from the Cultural Center of India performed Passage of the River: Dances of India by Padma Chebrolu. Bells tinkled as the dancers climbed the stage stairs, performing even before the music started. They were all bright red and gold attire, covered in bells and shimmering with jewelry. At one moment a dancer dropped into a squat so perfectly balanced on her toes that I remembered I needed to do more pilates. Their faces were so expressive and focused that I found myself smiling and frowning along with them in turn. For the first time I wished I was farther away because the dancers filled the stage with their movements in a way I couldn’t capture in the front row without awkwardly turning my head back and forth. The event photographer knelt in front of me, clicking away furiously, and I thought about how she must be imaging all the great shots she was getting. 

Lastly, a string quartet from Summermusik performed Jerod Tate’s Pisachi (Reveal) to close out the showcase. The composition draws from Hopi and Pueblo Indian music, rhythms and form. I’m not exactly an orchestra expert, but I did play cello for a year in the fifth grade, so I can almost confidently say I see two violins, a viola, and a cello. Yes, one is definitely a cello. The piece begins with a gentle call from the viola with soft, high support from the violins. A deep, shimmering hum from the cello brings warmth as a violin takes the high melody until the instruments meet together in harmony. They all seem like they’re living in their own worlds, but in a way that fits together like different species in a forest. A clutch of pizzicato from the violins, a sweeping glissando, and then the music is off again, on a chase after the violins and viola as the cello follows hungrily like a shark in water and then – silence. There’s a breath, and then the audience breaks into applause. I’ve never written along with music to describe it before, so please take this with several grains of very coarse salt. 

The string quartet is going to continue playing during the networking hour, which will take place in the same area as the poster display, which I have neglected so far. But there was so much happening throughout the day! And it’s stationary! So I knew I could come back to it! Which is what I’ll do now.

Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Blessings upon Deeper Roots and La Terza, for both my morning iced coffee that drove my note-taking throughout the day and the afternoon brew that accompanied my many desserts following lunch.

We see what we seek, and after this Summit, I realize I was really seeking hope and inspiration. And I found it. There’s so much more to the Summit I didn’t prioritize as much as I did in years past – the many incredible exhibitors, networking and connection building, science and data and more – but I found what I needed.

In the plenary panel, Dr. Lyla June described the Dine story of creation, where we’ve gone through 3 worlds, all of which ended in catastrophe – and then we rebuilt the world anew. We’re in our 4th world now, destined to be destroyed as well. But we are learning creatures, people of growth and resilience, and we can rebuild. 

“One person can’t solve it all, but we can all love the world … Our love is enough. It’s what we have to give. We might not have the power to do everything, but we always have the power to love.” – Dr. Lyla June Johnston

“Grossly Polluted” to Revitalized: Visit the Mill Creek

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Contributors: Claire Carlson, Beth Himburg

Once a thriving waterway, then being polluted by humans and labeled “the most endangered urban river in North America”, then restoring it to a healthy water body, there have been many transitions throughout the life of Mill Creek. Come and explore one of the largest stream restoration projects in SW Ohio!

Join the Mill Creek Alliance and Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance for the Meet a Greenspace Hike with Mill Creek Alliance on Friday, April 18 from 3:00-4:30 p.m.

A Journey Through the Waters of Time

Originally called the Maketewa by the Shawnee peoples who called this region home, the creek was once a source of sustenance. By the late 1700s, settlers began to arrive, renaming the waters Mill Creek, and in 1791 the first mill was constructed along the creek in Northside. As the population expanded and the Industrial Revolution boomed, bridges were built, canals dug, and sewage began being dumped into the Creek. As human growth pushed forward, wildlife in the creek waters disappeared, and factory and sewer waste transformed the once clean water into a “grossly polluted” waterbody that could no longer sustain life. During the Green Revolution of the early 1970s and subsequent introduction of the Clean Water Act, industries began to stop discharging waste into the Creek. Projects including the Rivers Unlimited Mill Creek Restoration Project and newly formed groups like the Mill Creek Watershed Council and the Mill Creek Yacht Club began their revitalization efforts in the mid to late 1990s, laying the foundation for what the Mill Creek Alliance is today.

The Healing Journey

Over the past 25+ years, the Mill Creek Alliance has worked to revitalize these waters to their once pristine state. They have implemented nearly 30 major restoration projects, with one of the largest being their Twin Creek Wetland Enhancement Project.

Graphic source: Mill Creek Alliance

Installed in 2012, the Twin Creek Preserve (TCP) Project set out to achieve full water quality attainment with Warm Water Habitat Aquatic Life Standards. These standards are designed to protect productive warm water aquatic communities, fowl, animal wildlife, arboreous growth, and agricultural and industrial use. Adherence or nonadherence to these standards is based on how much pollution is discharged into a water body. To achieve these standards, restoration on segments of the Mill Creek mainstem and East Fork Mill Creek needed to be employed.

The 5-acre Twin Creek Preserve wetland was designed to have flow from both the Mill Creek and East Fork Mill Creek whenever each stream increased in elevation. When this happens, excess water will be stored and filtered through the vegetation planted in the wetland, rather than continuing downstream. Wetlands serve important functions in an ecosystem, trapping and slowly releasing surface water, rain, snowmelt, and flood waters, reducing flood heights and erosion. Additionally, because of the numerous plants that reside in wetlands, they can enhance water quality by filtering out pollutants.

A few years after the project was completed, Twin Creek Preserve was listed as an “eBird Hotspot” in Ohio, as wetland birds such as herons, ducks, geese, and osprey frequent the lush area. Additionally, sampling done by the Midwest Biodiversity Institute has indicated large improvements in the water, biological, and habitat quality.

Explore the Mill Creek!

The Mill Creek Alliance has worked tirelessly for the past 25 years to bring life back to this once-thriving creek. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating and experiencing these accomplishments at our upcoming hike with Mill Creek Alliance! The hike will take place on Friday, April 18 from 3:00-4:30 pm at the Twin Creek Preserve and will be guided by Mill Creek Alliance staff. We will meet in the parking lot at 12033 Best Place, Sharonville, OH 45241.

This hike is part of our monthly Meet a Greenspace Hiking series. We hope these hikes will provide those who join the time and space they need to reconnect with nature. If you have any questions, contact Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance Manager Claire Carlson at claire@greenumbrella.org.

Urban Cows, Regenerative Agriculture, and Good Ol’ Hiking Trails

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Contributors: Claire Carlson, Jack Stenger

Have you ever met an urban cow? They are just like any other cow, except they live within city limits and enjoy beautiful views of downtown. If you’re curious to learn more about urban cows and the farm they call home, keep reading.

Join Cardinal Land Conservancy and Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance for their collaborative hike at Bahr Farm and Winton Preserve on Friday, March 21 from 3-4:30 PM.

The Story of Bahr Farm and Winton Preserve

Tucked away in Northside is Bahr Farm, a 39-acre property purchased by the Bahr Family in 1916. In 2021, the Bahr Family generously gifted the farm to Cardinal Land Conservancy in exchange for permanent protection from development, which resulted in a win for the family and the creation of the Conservancy’s first working farm. Fun fact: The barn on the property was built in the early 1800s, making it the oldest barn in Hamilton County!

The working farm is home to a small number of urban cattle and Our Harvest Cooperative. The cattle are spend their time grazing on the mix of pollinator-friendly plants throughout the property, which serves as their main feed source. Our Harvest Cooperative, a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and member of Co-Op Cincy, occupies 6 acres near the front of the property. The organization’s mission is to ensure that Cincinnatians have fresh, easy-to-access food grown by fairly compensated workers. If you’re interested in Our Harvest, want to join their CSA, or want to support their work, check out their website.

Bahr Farm is connected to Winton Preserve, a 19-acre wooded area east of the farm and owned by Cardinal Land Conservancy. Winton Preserve contains native trees and vegetation restored to its natural state after extensive invasive honeysuckle removal. The Cardinal Land Conservancy is working in this space to establish a trail system for public use.

Bahr Farm’s Future

Cardinal Land Conservancy plans to turn Bahr Farm and Winton Preserve into its flagship property and open it up to the community so they can learn more about urban agriculture and restoration practices. Additionally, the woods that make up the Preserve are part of a carbon credit program. This program enables individuals or companies to offset their carbon emissions by purchasing credits from an organization implementing environmental practices that directly contribute to carbon dioxide removal.

Visit Bahr Farm and Winton Preserve!

We hope you’ll join us for our upcoming hike with Cardinal Land Conservancy at their Bahr Farm and Winton Preserve properties! The hike will take place on Friday, March 21 from 3-4:30 PM, and will be guided by Cardinal Land Conservancy staff. We will meet in the parking lot at 973 W North Bend Rd., Cincinnati, OH.

This hike is part of our monthly Meet a Greenspace Hiking series. We hope these hikes will provide those who join the time and space they need to reconnect with nature. If you have any questions, contact Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance Manager, Claire Carlson, at claire@greenumbrella.org.

Tax Tips to Benefit You in 2024!

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See transcript below.

Video run time: 9:43
The following has been edited for clarity and length.

Beth: Welcome to Maximizing Your Year-End Giving, where we will explore unique ways for you to give to your favorite charities in this giving season. 30% of annual giving occurs in December. That means it’s a busy time of year for your giving advisors. My name is Beth Robison, and I’m the Development Director for Cincinnati Green Umbrella. Green Umbrella is a non-profit working to address climate change and to help build a more resilient, equitable, and thriving future. I’m excited today to be joined by two experts in charitable giving to talk about ways to give for you to consider this giving season. Leah Bobby is the Senior Philanthropic Strategies Advisor for the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, where she works collaboratively with individuals and their professional advisors to help them achieve maximum philanthropic impact. Welcome, Leah.

Leah: Thank you. 

Beth: Logan Holman is an experienced certified public accountant who specializes in individual tax. After nearly a decade with traditional accounting firms, working with affluent families and business owners, she has co-founded her own tax company, Vivify. Vivify brings tax services to the everyday taxpayer. Welcome, Logan.

Logan: Hi, Beth. Thank you. 

Beth: Before we begin, I want to clarify that while I’m with Green Umbrella, our discussion today pertains to charitable giving for any 501(c)(3) organization. And I want to say that I’m looking forward to chatting with both of you because this time of year I do get a lot of questions from donors about unique ways to give, and I thought having this conversation today would be a great way for us to explore some of those questions and do a little bit of a deeper dive. Shall we dig in?

Logan: Yes, let’s do it.

Leah: Sounds good.

Beth: With the growth in stocks and the good market we’ve had since the end of 2022, donors are interested in how they can take advantage of that stock growth in terms of their charitable giving. Do you have any ideas for that?

Logan: I’ll take this one, Leah. There’s a way that you can gift or donate appreciated stock without actually having to sell and generate that capital gain on your tax return. How this works is you buy a stock, let’s say you spend $100 on it. Time passes, now it’s worth $1,000. You have that large gain, and you want to be able to help an organization like Green Umbrella. Typically you might think, “Okay, I have to sell this stock and report a $900 capital gain on my tax return. I pay tax on the gain and then that leftover cash, I’ll give to the charity.” You can actually skip the steps in between and make a greater impact with that by just taking that stock that’s worth $1,000 and transferring it directly to the organization. 

Beth: Oh, wow. 

Logan: This is great because your taxable income stays down. You’re not paying that capital gains tax, and the organization doesn’t have to pay the capital gains tax either. So you’re just avoiding that altogether. And even though I only paid $100 for that stock years ago, this year I’m getting a full tax deduction for the fair market value. I’m getting a $1,000 deduction while donating to that charity. This is a great time to capitalize on those appreciated stocks.

Leah: I love that, Logan, so much. At GCF (Greater Cincinnati Foundation), we see a lot of folks who choose to utilize a gift of appreciated stock by creating what is called a donor-advised fund. This is a vehicle that is becoming popular for folks, more and more nonprofits are seeing gifts come through a donor-advised fund. This is great because a lot of folks can choose to frontload their giving by making one big gift that can then be granted to as many organizations as you please over the years, and you can really have a greater tax impact, especially in that one taxable event that you may have this year or next year. You can receive just one acknowledgment letter for your taxes, which is really nice for getting organized. 

Logan: And CPAs love that. 

Leah: As long as you grant to a 501(c)(3 with very few limitations, that is doable. A donor-advised fund is great because money continues to grow tax-free, which increases your giving power, which I’m sure you (Logan) also love as the accountant. This is really a great way to involve the entire family, especially if you’re getting the kids or grandkids involved in giving. You can do that together by making decisions of giving from your donor-advised fund.

Beth: Another question is from donors who have assets outside of stocks that they want to give. How can they do that strategically?

Logan: That’s another good question. A lot of times retirees have a lot of their net worth or their assets in their retirement vehicles, like their IRA. Something that’s relatively new is called a qualified charitable distribution (QCD). You have to be at least 70 and a half, but once you reach that age, you can transfer assets, stocks, whatever’s in your IRA, you can transfer it from the IRA directly to the charity. What that means is you’re not getting a tax deduction, but it’s completely avoiding your taxable income altogether. 

Let’s say you take your required minimum distribution is $30,000. $5,000 of that you want to go to Green Umbrella. You’re only going to show $25,000 as income on your tax return. This obviously saves tax. And the other really cool thing about that is you’ll be lowering your taxable income even if you don’t itemize your deduction. With the higher standard deduction limitations, a lot of people now haven’t been able to utilize the tax advantages of giving. With a QCD, even if you take the standard deduction, you get this tax benefit. That’s a really good way to give if you don’t have a lot of cash on hand. 

Beth: Okay, this is our final question of the day. Green Umbrella also has a lot of donors who own real estate and property. Can they use donor-advised funds and other giving vehicles to be used for more complex assets like those?

Leah: Oh, definitely, Beth. In addition to stocks, like we’ve been talking about a little earlier, you can also gift real estate, shares of privately owned businesses, and, really, the sky’s the limit when it comes to giving. There’s a lot of giving vehicles that can accommodate those more complex assets. I know at GCF, we see that more and more these days, and we always say cash is NOT king when you want to give. It’s something to think about, especially as you talk to your financial advisors. When you go to folks like Logan over at Vivify, they’ll be able to look at your full financial picture and make a decision that’s right for you and the impact you want to have on the community.

Logan: Yeah, I do reiterate what Leah said about talking to your personal advisors because they’re going to know your situation better. And they can help you brainstorm about some of what you’ve learned today, certain goals that you have for your own financial situation, and how to best utilize your gift to the organization.

Beth: I do think there’s a lot of value in that personal relationship, where they start to understand what your values are and what your priorities are for giving. They often know of ways to give that you might not be aware of. And then, of course, they can certainly help you with the tax advantages and all the different ways to give. 

Leah: Absolutely. 

Beth: Thank you both so much for sharing and giving us all these insights today. End-of-year giving is a great way to ensure that your priorities for our community are realized. I’m hoping that this 2024 giving season is going to be a really exciting one. If you all listening today have any questions, comments, or ideas for future collaborations like this, you can reach out to me and we can see about getting those on the schedule. I want to thank you both for helping me out with this today, and happy giving to everyone in 2024.

Logan: Thank you so much, Beth.

Leah: Thank you so much.

Beth Robeson is the Development Director for Green Umbrella. As Greater Cincinnati’s Regional Climate Collaborative, Green Umbrella leads a network of people, organizations, and governments committed to taking decisive action in the face of climate change. Impacting over 2.2 million residents throughout the region, Green Umbrella helps communities become more climate resilient and equitable, and work collectively to decrease the region’s emissions. 

Leah Bobby, CAP, CFRE, is the Senior Philanthropic Strategies Advisor for the Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF). Greater Cincinnati Foundation’s mission is to connect generous people with trusted nonprofits to create a vibrant tri-state region where every person has a fair opportunity to thrive. When you partner with GCF to achieve your charitable goals, you can look forward to collaborating with a multidisciplinary team that has a deep commitment to the Tri-State. 

Logan Holman, CPA, is the Co-Founder of Vivify, a female-owned team with a breadth of experience dedicated to making tax season approachable. Their mission is to break away from traditional norms and design an experience that alleviates the stress and confusion surrounding taxes. Vivify empowers individuals to navigate their taxes with ease while focusing on building wealth and achieving their financial goals.

A Midwest Mountain

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While we may not have steep and jagged peaks in the Midwest, our landscapes still have elevation and equally spectacular views. If you’re looking for a Mountain West experience close to home, join the Bender Mountain Autumnal Hike!

Join the Western Wildlife Corridor and Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance for an Autumnal Hike at Bender Mountain on Friday, November 8th from 3-4:30 p.m.

Keep reading to learn more. We hope to see you there!

The Journey to the Top

The hike at Bender Mountain begins by crossing the creek. Pulling your focus away from external worries and directly into placing one foot in front of the other, it is an act of balance that requires your full and undivided attention. After placing your feet on its rocky banks, you pause and look up to see old-growth deciduous trees growing on an open forest floor. Throughout the year, flowering plants, ferns, moss, and lichen blossom and unfurl, making each visit to this wild place different than the last. You breathe in the smells of damp soil and leaves as the sounds of cars passing by slowly fade away. The hike to the top is breathtaking, both in the literal and physical sense of the word. The trail zigzags as you climb higher and higher up the rocky hillside. As you make your final ascent to the top, you are rewarded with a view unencumbered by development, transporting you back to a time when life was simpler. It is the perfect time to pause and catch your breath.

Guardians of the Land

Since 1992, Western Wildlife Corridor has protected land along the Ohio River Valley. To this day, they have preserved over 400 acres of land. A predominantly volunteer-based organization, they rely on the generosity and passion of others to preserve and restore their properties. Their Bender Mountain Property, where this month’s hike will take place, has been dubbed the “best place in Hamilton County to observe wildflowers” and is one of the most biodiverse places in the Tri-State, boasting over 470 species of plants.

Explore Bender Mountain

If you’re interested in exploring this Midwest Mountain gem, we hope you’ll join us at our upcoming Bender Mountain Autumnal Hike. This hike is a higher level of difficulty, featuring a creek crossing and high incline throughout. The hike will take place on Friday, November 8 from 3-4:30 p.m. and will be guided by Western Wildlife Corridor’s Executive Director, Matt Trokan. The hike will follow the Bender Loop Trail, roughly 2.3 miles and feature conversations on their habitat restoration efforts, the local history, and plans for the nature preserve. We will meet in the parking lot at the preserve entrance (6320 Bender Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45233).

This hike is a part of our monthly Meet a Greenspace Hiking series. We hope these hikes will provide those who join the time and space they need to reconnect with nature. If you have any questions, contact Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance Manager Claire Carlson at claire@greenumbrella.org.

Northern Kentucky Schools Participate in Farm to School Month Challenge

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Contributors: Kristine Cahall-Dosch, Maddie Chera

Twenty-two Northern Kentucky schools participated in a Farm to School (F2S) challenge as part of the national Farm to School Month celebration in October. Participating schools received education and promotion kits from the Northern Kentucky Health Department to facilitate conversations around nutrition and agriculture. 

October has been recognized as National Farm to School Month since 2010, when the National Farm to School Network advocated a month-long recognition before Congress. The month of October serves a time to celebrate the connections between children and local food. From taste tests in the cafeteria and nutrition education activities in the classroom, to farm visits and school garden harvest parties, communities across the entire United States take part in the celebrations. 

The Northern Kentucky Health Department promotes a localized F2S program called the KY Farm to School Challenge. “They are encouraged to do a TASTE, GROW & LEARN activity. Some are doing taste tests, some are serving on the line, some are doing farm field trips,” said Monica Smith, a Community Registered Dietitian who leads the NKY Health Department’s F2S initiatives. Teachers, food service providers, and administrators are invited to sign-up for the challenge and in return receive F2S kits that include bulletin board kits, resources of where to source local food appropriate for the school cafeteria, word searches, Feed Our Future farmer trading cards, apple cutters, handouts, and much more. 


Green Umbrella’s Food Policy Council partners with the NKY Health Department to supply Feed Our Future educational materials included in the promotional kits. These materials were developed by Feed Our Future and Green Umbrella to highlight regional farmers who supply our tristate schools. F2S initiatives have been a backbone project of the Food Policy Council over the past 7 years to promote local food purchasing as a method to reduce carbon emissions from food miles and creating a resilient food system. 

Want to learn more about the F2S movement? Check out the National Farm to School Network or contact kristine@greenumbrella.org to learn more about what’s happening in our region. 

First Cultivate + Connect Event Brings Together Food System Champions Across the Region

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Contributors: Maddie Chera, Charlie Gonzalez, Anna Parnigoni

Green Umbrella’s Food Policy Council and the Common Orchard Project hosted a celebration at Urban Artifact’s The Reliquary on September 19th focused on the intersections of food, climate, and community. It was wonderful to see over 125 passionate local food champions come together to celebrate the impactful role we each play in creating a resilient regional food system here in Greater Cincinnati. The evening buzzed with energy as attendees cultivated new connections and participated in an interactive photo activity that mapped each of our vital roles in the regional food system—Farmers, Processors, Distributors, Consumers, and Waste Managers. These roles reflect a simplified version of our comprehensive, interconnected food system, and illustrate the circularity in that food system, as we attend to all aspects of the cycle from production through the lifecycle to organics processing.

As they mingled, guests enjoyed food and drink from 18 local businesses (check out the evening’s delicious menu!). One of the goals of the event was to provide an exceptional culinary experience that allowed each attendee to sample food from a variety of entrepreneurs who work tirelessly every day to nourish our communities. We hope you will support these businesses, too, when you cater your next event.

Sharing Experiences & Advocating For Change

As guests took their seats for the event’s main program, they enjoyed family-style dishes and beautiful centerpieces from ByCofi using Wildwood Flora flowers. The program featured Cincinnati City Council Member Anna Albi and five storytellers involved in our programs: Becky Richey, Anna Haas, Fran Knox Kazimierczuk, Polly Campbell, and Levi Grimm.

Council Member Albi highlighted the unexpected connection between youth gun violence and nutrition insecurity that inspired her to engage in food access work in Cincinnati. Richey, Haas, and Knox Kazimierczuk used their unique experiences working across the food system to highlight the importance of collaboration and commitment to community, and encouraged the audience to get involved. Campbell, a longtime food writer, spoke to change and continuity in our regional food system over the decades, and Grimm, the youngest speaker, encouraged listeners to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit in the face of complicated problems and use creativity and hope to work on solutions. It was all inspiring!

Common Orchard Project director Chris Smyth highlighted the dedication of our food system champions in building a resilient and well-fed region. Smyth described the purpose of the event as “celebrating the food that is created here, in our region, acknowledging that we are under constant cultivation and hopefully we are growing a more just, equitable, and tended-to world.”

Food Policy Council director Maddie Chera highlighted how Green Umbrella and its members link long-term climate strategy to the daily realities of nourishing families and the urgent need for sufficient food.

It’s not one or the other, climate or nutrition, long-term or short term, equity or prosperity. With food, it’s all of the above.

Chera shared the incredible climate impact that growing, distributing, and eating local food has in our region. Using Green Umbrella’s Local Food Climate Impact Calculator, the Common Orchard Project and Green Umbrella members, Rich Life Farm and Fungi, Sleepy Bee, and What Chefs Want!, found they saved over 232K kg of CO2 emissions by growing, distributing, and eating local food. That’s equivalent to over 50 gas-powered cars off the road! (If you want help figuring out your emissions savings through local food or food waste diversion, reach out to our Food Policy Council today!)

Cultivating Connections

We observed so many reignited and new connections at the event. Council Member Albi’s office connected Data Bloom with Cincinnati Zoo to utilize the Local Food Impact Calculator and better communicate greenhouse gas emissions savings of their hydroponic production. An NKY member of the Organic Association of Kentucky connected with a nutrition educator from UKY Cooperative Extension. And attendees heard in the concluding remarks that Urban Artifact is now setting up GoZero composting for their entire operations after using the service for this event. And so much more!

What connections did you make? How can Green Umbrella continue to cultivate connections for you? Email us to let us know!

Thanks & See You Next Year

A huge thank you to our event sponsors, Cincinnati Metro, Urban Artifact, and Edible Ohio Valley, whose support was instrumental. Our gratitude also extends to Robeson Marketing for the fabulous photography. And last but certainly not least, we thank all attendees for bringing your passion, filling the room with vibrant energy, and being a part of and supporting this important work we do.

We’ve compiled an album of photos and invite you to download any you’d like to keep or share. (And send us or tag us in any of yours!). Lastly, stay tuned for next year’s Cultivate + Connect! We can’t wait to see you there.

More Information & Resources 

All proceeds from Cultivate + Connect support Green Umbrella’s critical food systems work. If you were unable to attend, you can still support us by making a donation at greenumbrella.org/donate.

Your Downtown Cincinnati Pedestrian Experience is Incomplete

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You’ve visited Findlay Market and attended Bengals, Reds, and FC Cincinnati games. You’ve hung out in Washington Park and meandered along the riverfront. But your pedestrian experience in Cincinnati is incomplete until you’ve toured the historic alleys and stairways tucked between houses and zig-zagging throughout downtown.

So join Spring in Our Steps and Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance for Stairs Walk in Downtown Cincinnati on Friday, September 13th, from 3-4:30 PM! 

Keep reading to learn more about these alleys and stairs ahead of the hike. We hope to see you there!

A Fading Past

Photos are provided by Spring In Our Steps, the photos above show view Court Alley in Mt. Auburn which has been demolished.

Some of the most iconic features of downtown Cincinnati, unknown or unused by many in the community, are the public alleys and stairways that traverse the city’s historic hillsides. Maybe you’ve driven by one on your way to Clifton or passed by another during a trip to the Over-the-Rhine. But if you haven’t noticed them, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Hundreds of these public walkways were built as Cincinnati expanded in the 19th and 20th centuries. They became an integral part of how people navigated the city. Over the years, however, many of these spaces became neglected and fell into disrepair – fading into the shadows of buildings and overgrown by brush. Their usage diminished and many have been closed and are no longer open for public use.

Reclamation and Revitalization

Since 2012, a local nonprofit called Spring in Our Steps (SiOS) has been dedicated to repairing, and cleaning these forgotten public walkways to improve their usability and breathe new life into a once-thriving feature of the Cincinnati urban landscape. Christian Huelsman, co-founder and Executive Director of SiOS has been revitalizing these spaces for over a decade. Through volunteer cleanup efforts and community outreach events like their Alley Flicker Film Series, in addition to several walking and biking tours, SiOS has continually achieved its mission to bring a brighter future to the city’s most neglected public corridors. 

Some of their key projects include the revitalization of Peete Alley, the upper Ohio Avenue Steps, Fig Alley Steps, and Fairmount Avenue Steps.

Photo provided by Spring In Our Steps from the Annual Alley Ronde: 100 Alleys Bike Ride, a collaboration with Queen City Bike.

Explore Cincinnati’s Public Stairs and Alleyways

If you’re interested in completing your pedestrian experience in downtown Cincinnati, we hope you’ll join us at our upcoming Downtown Stairs Walk for a unique urban exploration experience. The walk will take place on Friday, September 13th from 3-4:30 p.m. and will be guided by SiOS’s Christian Huelsman.  It will feature the alleys and stairways connected along Vine Street Hill and allow participants to observe the urban greenspaces that are often neglected and overlooked. We will meet at Deeper Roots Coffee (1814 Race) across from Findlay Market.

This hike is a part of our monthly Meet a Greenspace Hiking series. We hope these hikes will provide those who join the time and space they need to reconnect with nature. If you have any questions, contact Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance Manager Claire Carlson at claire@greenumbrella.org.

Explore the Hidden Gem of Northern Kentucky

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Located along Gunpowder Creek, Boone County Conservation District’s private 92-acre Earl and Hazel Jones Center for Conservation is a haven for wildlife and a time capsule housing remnants of past life. 

You’re invited to join the Conservation District as they open their property to the public for a Meet a Greenspace Hike on Friday, August 16th from 3-4:30 p.m.

The Fine Line Between Past and Present

Tucked down a winding, tree-covered road, and past a horse farm with a very energetic golden retriever, lies a Northern Kentucky hidden gem. On my first visit to the Earl and Hazel Jones Center for Conservation, I was greeted by Boone County Conservation District (BCCDKY) staff and invited to sit in the shade of the old barn. Completely black with spaces between the wooden planks, I couldn’t help but feel as if time had stood still. 

The feeling was compounded when our hike began and I was shown the remnants of the Crisler-Gulley Mill site. Located at the convergence of bygone roadways, the mill complex was once one of the largest, if not the largest, in Boone County and was a central hub for families in the region. Today, all that remains is the lower level of what once was a towering structure as nature has slowly overtaken the site. BCCDKY is currently working with archaeologists to continue to unearth the history of the Mill.

After our brief foray into the past, we stepped back into the modern world to learn about a few of BCCDKY’s current intern-led research projects. The first stop was at the acoustic bat monitoring station. The project, led by intern Jaron Cooper, uses ultrasonic microphones to record bat echolocation calls. So far, Jaron has identified the property as home to a threatened bat species. He will continue to monitor their calls for current and ongoing research and conservation efforts.

We continued to traverse over ridgelines and through woodlands and made our way down to Gunpowder Creek where intern, Ilys Anderson, was conducting a camera trapping project. Inspired by recent otter sightings, Ilys uses trail cams to monitor the activity of mammals along the riparian area of the creek. Since the inception of this project, BCCDKY staff have witnessed otters, mink, beaver, muskrat, fox, coyote, groundhog, and everything in between!

The remainder of the day was spent soaking in the fresh air and warm sun. As we made our final climb up the hillside, I couldn’t help but feel immense gratitude to the BCCDKY staff for the opportunity to explore this beautiful property. 

Explore the Earl and Hazel Jones Center for Conservation

While the Earl and Hazel Jones Center for Conservation is not open to the public, there is an opportunity to explore it with Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance at their upcoming creek walk.

The walk will take place on Friday, August 16th from 3-4:30 p.m. We will meet at the property’s entrance located at 2588 Camp Ernst Lane in Burlington, KY 41005. To get there, drive to the very end of the road. Parking is limited and carpooling is encouraged.

This hike is a part of our Greenspace Alliance Meet a Greenspace Hiking series. We hope these hikes will provide those who join the time and space they need to reconnect with nature. If you have any questions, contact me at claire@greenumbrella.org. 

The Food Policy Council Welcomes UC Dietetics Student Yale Godfrey

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Contributors: Yale Godfrey, Maddie Chera, Kelly St. Charles

The Food Policy Council Welcomes Another UC Dietetics Student

Yale Godfrey, a graduate student in University of Cincinnati’s Nutrition Science Program, is studying to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RD/RDN). This summer, he worked with the Food Policy Council (FPC) as an intern in his Community Nutrition Rotation. During this time, Yale focused on developing optimized communication methods that the FPC can use to further connect to the community. Additionally, he was able to expand his understanding of the food system by meeting and chatting with individuals from various sectors of the FPC network so that he may apply this knowledge in his future endeavors.  

A Rotation Based in Community

During his six-week rotation with Green Umbrella, Yale worked on improving communication with members of the community regarding complex subjects. He focused on developing concise informational resources to introduce those inexperienced with food systems to FPC’s work, resulting in two new resources: 

In addition to his communications research, Yale helped with the FPC’s session at the Regional Green Schoolyards Summit, “Enjoying the Fruits of Farm to School: Transformational Collaboration Across Local Food Businesses, School Gardens, and Dining Services”. He also assisted with FPC meetings and presented at the June Full Council meeting. 

Through this community rotation, Yale was introduced to the complexity of our food system and the many different moving parts that are involved just in our region alone. When asked what he would take away with him as he moves toward his goal of a career in clinical nutrition, Yale said, “I have a newfound appreciation for the work of school foodservice directors, after I took a deep dive into their operations. I realized the multitude of challenges they face in their position.” Despite his short time with Green Umbrella, Yale has made an impactful contribution to our communication efforts that will continue to progress the FPC’s work in food systems change in Greater Cincinnati. We love to see the empathy and understanding grow through community connections, and we appreciate Yale, foodservice directors, and all our members in educational institutions!

More Information & Resources 

Cincinnati Passes “Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights” Resolution

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Contributors: Kelly Morton and Cynthia Walters 

On May 30, 2024, the City of Cincinnati passed a resolution approving the Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights, which guarantees that every child in the city has accessible pathways to experience and interact with nature throughout their childhood.

Councilmember Meeka Owens submitted the resolution and Green Umbrella staff member Cynthia Walters spoke to support the Bill of Rights:


My work directly relates to providing outdoor spaces for learning, play, and for connecting children with nature. I am grateful that I get to work with so many incredible partners, school districts, elected officials, your staff, and with the Office of Environment and Sustainability.

I hope you will pass the Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights for the following reasons:

  • Because children and families depend on us to act against the disparities and the injustices related to climate change
  • To show that Cincinnati Youth Voices Matter in making decisions that directly impact them
  • Because children and families need to feel safe in accessing green spaces or those spaces will not be used
  • Because children deserve to see for themselves what equity looks like in action
  • To be inclusive of all children will varying abilities
  • Because Educators need resources not budget cuts
  • For students to have environmental education at every grade level to equip them for green jobs
  • Because policy ignites change, calls people to action, and makes us accountable-this is the best education we can provide for our children.”

As Green Schoolyards Manager for Green Umbrella’s Greater Cincinnati Regional Green Schoolyards Action Network, Cynthia leads a team of educators, organizations, public agencies, and volunteers working across local public school systems to expand greenspace, environmental education, and farm-to-school opportunities to K-12 students and educators across our region.

The “Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights” provides that every child in Cincinnati has the right to:

  • Be physically active and play outside every day to grow up healthy.
  • Connect with nature, discover the wonders of plants and animals, and explore the diversity of Cincinnati’s natural habitats on their schoolgrounds and in their communities.
  • Discover leadership opportunities to be stewards of nature.
  • Safe, accessible, and adequately shaded routes to green spaces or high-quality parks within a ten-minute walk of their home.
  • Equitably funded public parks regardless of zip code.
  • Be included and accommodated with accessible outdoor environments.
  • Green spaces that mitigate the impact of climate change.
  • Teachers and educators with the resources to create free or low-cost programming and educational opportunities that engage the outdoors.
  • Breathe fresh and clean air.
  • Be safe outdoors.
  • Experience the mental health and holistic wellness benefits of engaging with nature.

Greater Cincinnati Regional Green Schoolyards Summit: Join Us for the Inaugural Year!

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What: The first-ever Greater Cincinnati Regional Green Schoolyards Summit, showcasing the collaboration between Green Umbrella, Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), and the City of Cincinnati to implement a district-wide Green Schoolyards initiative focused on providing equitable access to outdoor learning and environmental educational resources for all students and staff members.

Who: School staff, students, parents, partners, and elected officials are invited. School districts are encouraged to register representatives from their educators, administrators, facilities, food service, and curriculum staff. 

When: June 5, 2024 from 9:30 am-4:00 pm – Register Here

Where: Aiken New Tech High School, 5641 Belmont Ave Cincinnati, OH 45224

Events of the Day

Highlights from the upcoming Summit will include:

  • Keynote speakers from Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), the City of Cincinnati, and Green Umbrella
  • A panel on school gardens moderated by the Civic Garden Center
  • A student-lead tour of the Aiken community garden featuring animals, composting, and high-tunnel growing, as well as the food safety pilot program that allows students to sell produce from the garden to CPS Student Dining Services
  • Lunch procured from local farms, hosted by CPS Student Dining Services

Plus informative sessions covering subjects like:

  • Mobilizing school districts and environmental education partnerships
  • Career tech education & workforce skills development
  • Facilities improvements & maintenance plans
  • Identifying joint funding for outdoor & environmental education projects and programs
  • Connecting food services to garden-based instruction & integrated curriculum implementation

Volunteer at the Summit

The Green Schoolyards Action Network is seeking volunteers to help the days before and after the Summit as well as during the event. Contact Green Schoolyards Manager Cynthia if you are interested in volunteering for one of the tasks listed below:

  • Attach/remove signage, collect summit materials, set-up and tear down tables, return seating, general preparation & clean-up (June 4 & 6, before and/or after the event) 
  • Non-profit and business vendor support prior to and during the Summit on June 5
  • Audio visual set-up support prior & during the event on June 5
  • Student Dining Services breakfast & lunch assistance (June 5)
  • Check-in table & greeters (June 5)

Tickets & Registration

Register Here for the Summit!

Green Umbrella members receive a discount to the Summit. Contact Green Schoolyards Manager Cynthia for discount details.

The Summit is an inclusive event. Scholarships are available for anyone who finds registration cost-prohibitive. Please contact Cynthia for scholarship information.

Non-profit partners can register to have a vendor table during the Summit. Contact Green Schoolyards Manager Cynthia for details.