This past Thursday was the 12th annual Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, and with over 600 attendees, it was the largest yet. The theme of this year’s Summit was “Sustainable Stories”, and the day was full of inspiring speakers that shared experiences of resilience, innovation, and community leadership. In her morning address, keynote speaker Dr. Lyla June Johnston spoke on the deep history of Indigenous cultivation of flora and fauna across the world, reminding attendees that “... Indigenous nations possess a wealth of ecological sciences that could truly benefit the sustainability movement today. It’s important to honor Indigenous sciences, to learn from them, and hopefully to integrate them into our future solutions.”

Read a great piece from Movers & Makers on the full picture of the Summit here.

The Greater Cincinnati 2030 District is hosting the next of their Sustainability Breakfast Series on Wednesday, June 25. This month’s host is Cincinnati Metro, which is working to further sustainability in transportation with innovations including the introduction of hybrid/electric buses, future battery-electric bus initiatives, recycling programs at the garages, and more. These projects promote environmental health and improve the quality of urban life. Join us to learn how Metro is helping to drive a greener Cincinnati, with coffee from Deeper Roots and breakfast from Juniper Seed!

Learn more and register here. Early bird pricing and discounts for members available!

Avondale has been awarded an Ohio Environmental Education Fund (OEEF) grant to support understanding and preserving urban greenspaces. This project will deepen community connections to nature and promote sustainable stewardship in our neighborhoods. The grant was won and the project will be executed by a team of scholars, partners, and Avondale community residents through Green Umbrella’s Climate Research Incubator Program. Learn more about the Climate Research Incubator here.

Join Green Umbrella’s Greenspace Alliance and Cincinnati Off-Road Alliance as we explore the newly reopened Sargeant Park in Dayton, Kentucky next Friday, June 20 from 3:00-4:30 pm! This property, which was closed for a number of years, has recently been reopened to the public to enjoy. It is an example of a sustainable, multi-purpose, natural use trail system, with over 2 miles of trails to explore. Learn more about Sargeant Park here, and register for the free hike at the event posting here.

Produce Perks is Ohio’s nutrition incentive program. It increases affordable access to healthy food, supports local farmers, and strengthens local economies – in our most under-served communities - by providing a dollar-for-dollar match of SNAP benefits when spent on healthy foods like fruits and vegetables.

The USDA has terminated funding for Produce Perks Midwest. You can support Produce Perks Midwest’s appeal here.

Ohio state Reps. Dontavius Jarrells, D-Columbus, and Monica Robb Blasdel, R-Columbiana, are introducing the Lead Line Replacement Act. “This legislation aims to keep our community safe and healthy by implementing a comprehensive regulatory framework to plan, execute, and assist in the replacement of all lead water lines in the state of Ohio,” Robb Blasdel said. Ohio has 745,000 lead service lines. The use of lead pipes was banned by Congress in 1986.

In 2021, Ohio ranked third in the nation for the most lead pipes, according to the EPA. Lawmakers say replacing Ohio’s lead lines would lead to fewer cases of dementia, depression, anemia, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular mortality, infant mortality, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Winton Woods is home to Greater Cincinnati’s newest feathered family: a mated pair of bald eagles and their eaglet, living in a nest high above Winton Lake. According to a press release from Great Parks, the eaglet has dark flight feathers coming in, with an anticipated first flight sometime between 7-10 weeks of age, which could be before July 4 for this April-born eaglet. Great Parks will host special viewing sessions in Winton Woods on Thursday, June 12 and Sunday, June 15.

Ohio River Foundation is celebrating their 25th Anniversary with environmental films, food, and drink!

The acclaimed national Wild & Scenic Film Festival returns to Cincinnati on June 14 at Memorial Hall. Presented by Ohio River Foundation, this is a specially curated selection of films created just for the Cincinnati audience! Click here for tickets and more information.

Click here for the full Events Calendar. Members can submit events in the Green Umbrella online portal here.

Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub (the Hub) is a growing nonprofit looking to expand their organizational capacity. The Education Outreach position will create and implement age-appropriate sustainability education with a goal of expanding school-based recycling collections.

This position will also create and provide schools with a sustainability resource package to help with next steps. See the full job description for this temporary, grant-funded position here.

Have an event, volunteer opportunity, or job posting to share? Green Umbrella members can submit them via the online Membership Portal. To learn more about the benefits of becoming a member, click here.