June 7, 2023 - View online

Sustainability Spotlights

Cincinnati Ranked 6th in the Nation for Parks

Cincinnati was named the #6 city in the nation for parks according to the Trust for Public Lands, beating out cities like San Francisco, Portland, and Boston. The evaluation compared park lands in cities on 5 factors: access, acreage, investment, amenities, and equity in access to public greenspace by race and income. Cincinnati scored well above average when it comes to park access, with 88% of residents living within a half-mile of a park. Thank you to Cincinnati Parks, the Cincinnati Parks Foundation, and all the other organizations & volunteers that keep the Queen City Green!

Savannah Sullivan Is Green Umbrella's New Senior Director of Programs

Green Umbrella is excited to announce the recent promotion of Savannah Sullivan from Climate Action Director to Senior Director of Programs. Since joining the organization in December 2020, Savannah has led the strategic design and implementation of the Regional Climate Collaborative, spearheaded elected official education and engagement across our 10 counties, and co-directed the Climate Safe Neighborhoods Partnership with Groundwork Ohio River Valley. In her new role, Savannah will oversee the strategic direction, management, and evaluation of all Green Umbrella programming in order to align organizational efforts to most impact fully address the climate crisis in our region. Congratulations, Savannah!

Green Drinks at Rhinegeist + Rookwood Stein Auction

Join Green Umbrella and sustainability leaders across the region for our June Green Drinks happy hour at Rhinegeist Brewery. We'll be on their rooftop bar from 5:00-7:00 if it's nice weather or down in the taproom if it's raining. Rhinegeist is also celebrating its 10th anniversary that night, with a ticketed event honoring Green Umbrella and five other local nonprofits - and a limited-edition beer stein auction that kicks off at 6:00. Learn more here about the event, where you can bid on the one-of-a-kind Green Umbrella stein!

Request for Proposals: Energy Efficiency Grant Writing & Project Management

Green Umbrella is seeking an individual or firm to support its staff and key partners in developing a competitive application for the US Department of Energy's Renew America's Nonprofits funding opportunity. Please review the funding notice for full details. The short-term engagement will support an existing team in pulling together all of the important details and partners into one compelling narrative with complete budget detail. Responses must be submitted by 5:00 pm on June 20. Visit our Green Jobs Board to learn more.

Sustainability in the Headlines

Stay Fresh, Stay Local. 2023 Guide to Farmers Markets in Cincinnati, Nky, Cincinnati Equirer

Cincinnati Could Extend Restrictions on New Surface Parking Lots, Cincinnati Business Courier

New Kentucky Pilot Programs Test Prescribing Food as Medicine, WVXU

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Ranked Among Nation’s Best, Cincinnati Business Courier

Preserving the City: Important Sites of Black History Need Attention, Soapbox Media

Ohio Opens Door to Applications for Oil and Gas Drilling Underneath State Parks, Cleveland.com

The ‘Future of Fashion’: New Buy-Sell-Trade Clothing Store Opens up in Walnut Hills, Fox19

Featured Events View our full events calendar

Check out these program series, happening all summer long, all around Cincinnati:

Hub Garden Classes, Botany Bistro - Civic Garden Center

Wild Wednesdays, Art in the Park, Thursday Science Series - Kenton County Library

Tech-Free Tuesdays, Kindness in Motion, Living Green - Warren County Parks

Toddler Story Time - Cincinnati Nature Center

Kayak Basics - Great Parks of Hamilton County

Cooking Improv - La Soupe

Other scheduled events:

June 8: Paddling Through the Past 4:00 pm, Oxbow Nature Conservancy

June 9: Birds Gone Wild - Opening Night 6:00 pm, benefiting RAPTOR, Inc

June 10:

2023 Alley Ronde 9:00 am, Spring in Our Steps & Queen City Bike

Global Potluck Picnic 11:00 am, World Affairs Council

Sayler Park Sustains 12:00 pm, Cincinnati Parks and Sayler Park Sustains

Pride Night 7:00 pm, Cincinnati Observatory

June 11: Whitewater River Appreciation Day 12:00 pm, Ditch the Dump

June 14:

Invasive Plant Removal 6:30 pm, Clermont County Park District

Urban Design Committee 5:30 pm, American Institutes of Architects

June 15: Green Drinks Happy Hour 5:00 pm, Green Umbrella

June 16: Zoo La La 6:30 pm, Cincinnati Zoo

June 17-18: Elements Retreat Summer~Fire 6:00 pm, Tikkun Farm

June 18: Coffee Symphony 4:00 pm, Queen City Opera

June 21: Summer Solstice at Treasure Lake 5:00 pm, Cincinnati Permaculture Institute

June 22: AIA Cincinnati 2023 Golf Scramble 10:00 am, American Institutes of Architects

Professional and Grant Opportunities

Faith Communities Go Green is seeking faith communities that own their own buildings to join their Renew America’s Nonprofits grant. The grant could offer up to $200,000 to each faith community for upgrades in energy efficiency. Interested faith communities should complete this application ASAP - by midnight tonight!

Applications are now open for the new City of Cincinnati's Environmental Advisory Board. The EAB will serve a key role in advancing policy recommendations of the Green Cincinnati Plan. Members of the EAB are responsible for advising the City Manager and Council on environmental issues. Apply here and select "Environmental Advisory Board" among the listed options.

The Hamilton County Conservation District is hosting a Skimmer Specifications, Installation, and Maintenance Workshop on June 15 from 8:00 am-12:00 pm. This workshop is geared to equip engineers, contractors, plan reviews, and inspectors with information to manage skimmers, which retrofit retention basins to function as sediment basins. CTE credits available.

The Cincinnati Permaculture Institute is offering a Permaculture Design Certification training to be held at Antioch College over three weekends from July 14-30. This training is accessible to beginners as well as experienced home gardeners, farmers, artisans, nature enthusiasts, and more.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced its Building Upgrades Prize, which will award more than $22 million in cash prizes and technical assistance to teams across America with winning ideas to accelerate widespread, equitable energy efficiency, and building electrification upgrades. Phase 1 submissions will close on July 18.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has recently announced the PROTECT Program (Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation), a new opportunity to fund fund projects addressing climate resilience of transportation systems, including improving highways, public transportation, ports, and intercity passenger rail. Application deadline: August 18, 2023.