Green Umbrella
In This Issue
Calendar
Extra Extra!
Metro Seeks Comment on Preliminary Transit Plans
Office of Environmental Quality is Leading the City in Innovation
Cincinnati State Launches New Green Initiative
Money, Money!
GU Wants You...to save on energy!
2012 Year of the Cooperative Celebration
10th Anniversary Celebration
GU is looking for a New Home
Become a member of Green Umbrella today!

Join over 150 organizations, businesses, and people in the regional sustainability movement.

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Member of the Week

The Green Cincinnati Education Advocacy is all about being green! Through seminars, tours, hands on projects, green thinkers - designers, teachers, visionaries, home owners, contractors, suppliers, etc. - can learn more about the USGBC methods and practices in designing and constructing energy efficient and sustainable structures. They also offer the creation of technical literature, research, branding, web design, and publicity for sustainable products that don't just "greenwash" the subject. To learn more, click on the picture above!
Calendar

The listed events are only a sample.  To see the full calendar of events click
here!  

Wed, Nov. 28: 6 - 8:00 pm
Hosted by: Civic Garden Center

Wed, Nov. 28: 6 - 7:30 pm
Hosted by: Cincinnati Nature Center and REI

Thurs., Nov. 29: 10:00am - Noon
Hosted by: Boone County Arboretum
 
Fri., Nov. 30: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Green Cincinnati Education Advocacy
Hosted by: Park + Vine

Sat - Sun, Dec. 1-2: 8:00 - 4:00 pm 
Hosted by: RRT

Earth Day Celebration Planning Meeting
Thurs, Dec. 6: 4:30 - 5:30 pm 
Hosted by: Greater Cincinnati Earth Coalition 
 
Fri, Dec. 7: 1:00 - 3:00 pm 
Hosted by: Civic Garden Center 
 
Fri, Dec. 7: 6:30 - 8:30 pm  
Sat, Dec. 8: 2:30 - 4:30 pm 
Hosted by: Cincinnati Parks 
 
Sat, Dec. 8: 9-10:30 am, 11:30-1 pm, 2-3:30 pm 
Hosted by: Civic Garden Center 
Sat, Dec. 8: 1:00 - 2:00 pm 
Hosted by: Cincinnati Parks

Talk Trash With Tailgaters!
Sun, Dec. 9: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Hosted by: Office of Environmental Quality and the Cincinnati Bengals 

To add your event to the calendar on Green Umbrella's website, send an email with the details of the event to

Extra Extra!

Cincinnati City Council Public Hearings - Thurs, Dec. 6, at 6:00 pm at City Hall and Mon, Dec. 10, at 6:00 pm at Corryville Recreation Center.
Come and voice your ideas about the budget, especially those related to the environmental programs (sewers, transportation, and public services). Wear green! Click here for the budget proposal.

Compost Cincy
gets a little attention - click here to read the article and learn more about the nation's first urban composting facility!

U.S. Green Building Council, Cincinnati Chapter - 10th Anniversary Banquet - Dec. 4th
Celebrate USGBC with a Holiday buffet, silent auction and a special award for the 2012 Green Person of the Year! 
 

Alliance for Climate Education - Ohio Leadership Training - Dec. 8. 

Faculty members and students in grades 9 through 12 are invited to attend. 

 

REI - Share your Adventures - Dec 17
Three outdoor enthusiasts will be selected by VenturePax to share their adventure stories before an audience.
Action Team
Meeting Schedule
Get Involved Today... Join an Action Team!

Wednesday,Dec. 12,
 from 3:30-5:00 pm at 421 Oak St., Cincinnati.

Tuesday, December 11, from 5:30-7:00 pm at 421 Oak St., Cincinnati.

Local Food Team

Monday, December 3, from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm at the Civic Garden Center

Thursday, December 6, from 8:30 - 10:30 am at REI in Rookwood Commons, Cincinnati

Thursday, Nov. 29, from 8:00 am - 9:00 am at Neyer Properties, 2135 Dana Ave, #200, Cincinnati.

TBD

Friday, January 18, Noon - 2:30 pm at 250 William Howard Taft, Cincinnati

Friday, December 7, from 9:00 am - 11:00 am at Civic Garden Center

Click on either to see more about the campaign!
November 28, 2012 - Issue #25
Green News
You Can Use! 
 
Good morning and thanks for checking out e-news.
 
This week's newsletter shares creative, environmentally-friendly ways to decorate for the Holidays, applauds the OEQ for their innovation, and showcases Cincinnati State's new green initiative. Check out the upcoming Action Team meeting schedules and look through the special events, including an opportunity to become Wilderness First Aid certified. 
 
Reen Radel, Editor

Have comments, questions, or events for the e-news?
Email Reen: [email protected] 
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Metro Seeks Comment on Preliminary Transit Plans 
Cincinnati Bus Since early this year, Metro
has been working on the development of a short-term and long-term transit improvement plan. Metro collected feedback through a variety of measures to assure that the plan reflects the needs and wants of the community. The ideas have been assembled and are available for review on Metro's website. Take a look at the preliminary transit plan changes and provide feedback by clicking here.
Office of Environmental Quality is Leading the City in Innovation  
Sue Magness and Matt Mulin were awarded the Seasongood Good Government Foundation award for the Enhanced Recycling Program and the Solar Power Purchase Agreements. Sue is a Green Umbrella Board Member, part of the GU Waste Action Team, and Recycling Coordinator at the Office of Environmental Quality. Matt is an Environmental Specialist at the Office of Environmental Quality. Congratulations, Sue and Matt! To read more, click here!
Cincinnati State Launches New Green Initiative
In conjunction with the Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District, Cincinnati State launched their new composting/recycling program. The program will first focus on the cafeteria and the culinary teaching kitchens and their operations. Cincinnati State's Green Surge Committee determined that the college's food scraps totaled more than 150 tons of food waste per year. With this new program, much of that would be composted instead of entering the landfill. To read more about this extensive and fantastic program, click here! 
Money, Money! 
Hats off to the Ohio River Foundation for winning a $28,300 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation! The money was awarded to the OH River Foundation to have high school students in Kentucky and Indiana perform conservation work in both Boone and Hoosier National Forests. Congratulations!
GU Wants You...to save on energy!
Energy Challenge - Uncle Brewster The Green Umbrella Energy Challenge continues! If you are finding more of a chill indoors as the weather outside changes, this is a good time to evaluate your home energy efficiency. For a home up to 3000 s1. ft, a whole house assessment is typically $400, but by selecting a contractor through non-profit Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance (GCEA), you can get a full report of your home for half price! The report will help you decide the best energy improvements that you can make in your home to increase home temperature comfort and reduce the cost of monthly utility bills. There may even be funds available through GCEA to assist with the cost of home energy improvements. Click here to get started!
2012 Year of the Cooperative Celebration
Come "feast on small plates and big ideas" on Dec. 8, at the Cincinnati Union Cooperative Initiative celebration dinner. Come learn about their successful cooperative efforts in Cincinnati and around the world, such as launching their first co-op Our Harvest, and hear from Michael Peck, renowned speaker and the North American Delegate for Mondragon. Click here for more details and to reserve your seat. Click here to see a larger image of the invitation.
10th Anniversary Celebration 
The Cincinnati Regional Chapter of the US Green Building Council is celebrating it's 10th year anniversary. Join them for a Holiday banquet and festivities December 4th from 4:00- 10:00 pm at the American Red Cross Cincinnati Headquarters. 

A special congratulations to our Executive Director Brewster Rhoads who will be honored by USGBC as the 2012 Green Person of the Year!
Brewster Profile Pic
 

Brewster comments, "I am happy to accept this honor knowing that it is a recognition
of the "collective impact" of all the hard work of each of you - and our 170+ member organizations - over the past year." 
  
GU is looking For A New Home 
Green Umbrella is looking for a new office space! We are very grateful that the Cincinnati Parks Board has given us some of their space for the past year. However, they need that space come January 1st. We are looking for any member organization that has extra space available to please contact Brewster. We are hoping to find a space that is 600 sq ft (minimum) with 100-200 sq ft of storage (ideally). Additionally, we are hoping for a space with Wifi, a meeting space for up to 20, 24/7 building access, easy access to free parking and on a bus line, and located near downtown. Please let Brewster know if you can help out! Thanks!
Visit the Green Umbrella website to check out our calendar of events, to find out what the action teams are doing, and to learn more about our 150+ wonderful members!
 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Hopple                           Brewster Rhoads
Board President                    Executive Director

Contact us at [email protected].

Please Forward this e-newsletter to folks in your organization or business so they will get all this great information as well!   
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