Green Buckeye

A guy named Steve Sherlock in Franklin, Massachusetts, is taking matters into his own hands in his town. Read about the small action he takes during his weekly walk around the neighborhood.

What small things are you doing to make your neighborhood better?

Labels: environment, leadership, recycling

You can nominate a young person for MORPC's new Youth Advisory Council. High school juniors and seniors with an interest in environmental sustainability are eligible for nomination.

According to the annoucement:

Labels: kids, leadership, volunteering

The city of Columbus turns 200 in 2012. In addition to the usual Bicentennial hoopla celebrating the past, city leaders and citizens are taking this opportunity to think seriously about the future they want to create.

Mayor Coleman and the 2012 Bicentennial Commission are inviting your participation in developing "projects, programs and priorities to enhance the quality of life throughout Columbus."

You can share your thoughts about the future of Columbus by joining the Mayor and Bicentennial co-chairs Gordon Gee, Abigail Wexner, and Bishop Timothy Clarke at the 2012 Citizen Summit the evening of January 29.

The commission promises inspirational speakers and some high-tech collaboration through wireless keypads. It's free, and you can register online here.

The commission has formed numerous focus areas, including Green Community. So sustainability has a legitimate place at the table right next to Arts and Culture, Jobs and Technology, and Downtown Revitalization. (I would argue that sustainability is the common philosophical ground that should unite all other efforts.)

This summit presents the opportunity for the green community to come out in force to "vote" for sustainability. Let your voice be heard!

Technorati tag: columbus 2012

Labels: events, leadership

This January 13 event isn't directly about sustainability or environmentalism, but it is about making change in Ohio. According to the announcement from ProgressOhio:

"RootsCamp is about Ohioans talking with Ohioans. It's an opportunity for open dialogue between Ohio's activists, field organizers, leaders, techies, fundraisers, bloggers - the whole team. We'll share innovations, failures, old wisdom and new discoveries, with an eye toward:

• Developing our skills to lead the way in 2008 and beyond


• Building sustainability in Ohio's growing progressive movement

RootsCamp is Participant-Driven. Anyone who wants to lead a session writes their topic on a large index card and tapes it to the day's schedule. Participants may add more sessions throughout the day as ideas are generated - a session may inspire an additional sub-topic, etc.

RootsCamp is Free. We provide a free breakfast and lunch for all participants, and there is no registration fee. However, we do accept donations from individuals and organizations to help defray the costs of the event. If you would like to donate to RootsCamp Ohio, please contact Abby Levine at ALevine@americavotes.org

RootsCamp: Come. Talk. Learn. Initiated by the New Organizing Institute, RootsCamps are self-organized. This open format never fails to yield an astounding exchange of information, spin-off projects, and cross-pollination among unexpected partners."

RootsCamp 2008 is an all-day event on January 13 at The Verne Riffe Center at the corner of High and State in downtown Columbus. You can register online here.

Labels: events, leadership, learning, media

I attended the Rocky Anderson keynote at the Green Building Expo this week. In his presentation, Mayor Anderson presented evidence supporting the case that global warming is caused by human activity. For me, this is no longer in question, but likely there are still those who need convincing. The images of melting ice caps and disappearing glaciers, as well as of Tuvaluan homes surrounded by the ocean at high tide were good reminders, at any rate.

Labels: events, leadership, sustainability

For those with a keen interest in LEED, Meera Parthasarathy of the Columbus Green Building Forum invites you to attend an organizational meeting to establish a chapter of the US Green Building Council in Central Ohio. Meera writes:

"This formation effort involves members from the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, Ohio School Facilities Commission, central Ohio's educational systems, Ohio State University, C-Tec (Licking County vocational school), City of Columbus and the Columbus Green Building Forum.

The goal is to develop a robust chapter locally by having active members in the community, on the leadership team, who have a keen interest in promoting green building practices and adopting LEED into their projects.

Come hear about the progress to date, next steps and ways to become involved in this important effort for our region and communities! Please join us on September 4th at AIA Columbus from 4:30-6:00 pm (21 West Broad Street, Suite 200). "

Please RSVP to Meera by 11 am, September 4th.

Labels: green building, leadership, volunteering

The Ohio Environmental Council is seeking nominations for their 2007 Environmental Achievement Awards. The award categories cover the full range of environmental activity including business innovation, public service, activism, lifetime acheivement, journalism, and student/youth action.

Recipients will be recognized at the Ohio Environmental Council's annual reception on October 27, 2007. For more information, contact OEC at 614-487-7506.

Submit your nominations by July 31!
(Fixed link to nomination form - 7/28/2007)

Labels: awards, leadership

Way back in February we wrote about the SWACO Emerald Awards. The deadline for nominations has been extended to Friday, April 13 at 5:00 p.m., so it's not too late to nominate your favorite "innovative waste reduction and environmental stewardship programs of 2006" for recognition.

Last year's winners included Whole Foods Market, the Columbus Crew, and New Albany Elementary School. What sustainable efforts are the organizations you're involved with making that might be worth a nomination?

Labels: events, leadership

Who in your circle is leading the way in reducing, reusing, recycling, or upcycling? Nominate that person or group for a SWACO Emerald Award!

You can nominate a community, organization, business, school or individual in one of six categories:

• Leadership
• Partnership
• Innovation
• Entrepreneurship
• Environmental Education
• Litter Clean up

Winners will be recognized at the Second Annual Central Ohio Emeralds in May.

Nominate your favorites no later than April 6. You can find downloadable (.pdf) nomination forms and more information about the awards on the SWACO website.

Labels: events, leadership

In a town as crazy about football as Columbus, I would be crazy not to point out this story about the Super Bowl on Treehugger.

It turns out that the NFL has an environmental program, which looks to be pretty ambitious. It's exciting to me to find out that an organization that I would never expect to be environmentally conscious has apparently put quite a bit of thought into it. If the Super Bowl isn't mainstream America, I dont' know what is! It gives me a lot of hope that awareness of sustainability practices is growing and spreading.

So, what do you think? Does going carbon neutral add to the allure of the Super Bowl? Or does it feel like so much green-washing to you?

Labels: leadership, news

Tuesday I took some "me time" and went to see Margaret Wheatley lecture at OSU. I was cautiously optimistic - hopeful that it would be worth the effort to leave work early, drive the 15 miles into the city, and find public parking.

I needn't have been so cautious - Meg was far more inspiring than I hoped! Her presentation was visually beautiful, and it was built on photographs she had taken herself and quotes from famous and not-so-famous folks. She taught by way of stories and anecdotes about leaders and at the end, even a poem.

All in all, she modeled the leadership she was teaching.

Stories of great leaders and teachers like Wangari Maathai inspire me to "walk on," even when the way seems steep and narrow.

What inspires you?

Labels: inspiration, leadership, Margaret Wheatley, Wangari Maathai