As Clevelanders, we love our four seasons. We revel in our summers, plant our gardens in the Spring, and do crazy stuff like hay rides and clam bakes in the fall. After the holidays are over, we hunker down in January and avoid the cold and snow. But by groundhog’s day, we start to get a little stir crazy and need to break out. That is when the calendar starts to get filled with all kinds of events and meetings. This year seems to be no exception.
Last week we took a quick overnight trip to Washington, DC. We went to see an exhibit that was ending and also took the opportunity to visit some of the city’s great institutions. One of the things that impressed me most about the trip was that nearly every rest area had recycling bins and DC itself was clean as a whistle. It was a great respite after the Nourshing the Artist Within fundraising benefit that are worked on. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it back in time for the February Networking Event for the NE Ohio Chapter of the USGBC. Even though I couldn’t make it, I heard that it was quite the hot event at the Happy Dog. It seems that all the networking events are fun and well attended. If you haven’t signed up for their mailing list, you should!
As soon as we returned, we met with some emerging chefs that are looking to open a new restaurant. It looks to be a great project and I look forward to this unique concept coming to fruition. We also had a meeting for the Near West Food Co op. We are now taking the next steps to incorporate and move a little bit forward in our efforts to bring a new food co op to Cleveland’s west side. More on this project as it moves forward.
Tuesday evening was the E4S 100th Thursday meeting. In case you don’t know, the leader of this great group, Holly Harlen is stepping down. She has done so much to promote sustainability and green businesses in NE Ohio, that her presence will be sorely missed. The interim Head Honcho will be Mike Dungan of Beedance and Zero Landfill fame. During the first section, David Beach, Andrew Watterson and Rebecca Reynolds reflected on their history of E4S, what they want to see going forward, etc. And the second section was 4 former E4S employees (Courtney De’Oreo, Victoria Avi, Annabelle Khouri and Stephanie Strong) reflecting on their first week at E4S, what they learned and use in their current jobs, etc. Board members acknowledged Holly’s “perfect attendance” record at the 100 sessions and then she was presented with a special GLBC beer called the “Connect. Learn. Do. Brew”.
So, what is coming up?
Today is the core group meeting of the Zero Waste Network of E4S. We will continue to plan our moving forward of the network and how we will plan to promote zero waste goals for 2011. Keep an eye out for the Zero Waste Network as we update and expand out online presence, and introduce more meetings and events.
Also today is a great event at CSU. It will be held at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs Glickman-Miller Hall, Roberta Steinbacher Atrium Cleveland State University and you can register here.
You may have heard about the Reimagining Cleveland project but this Forum will answer the question “What’s going on here?” Join us for a program of education and inspiration. Learn from folks who have actually created gardens, orchards, vineyards and farms from vacant land. Gather information for your own reimagining project from a wealth of resources. And, immediately following the Forum, join us in celebrating the opening of an exhibit in the Forum gallery showcasing the work of photographers and storytellers and illuminating the narratives of the reimagining grantees.
Saturday is the next meeting of our Green Business Incubator Group. Borne of the Sustainability Summit 2019, our group is trying to promote new green businesses in the NE Ohio region, as well as find new ways to promote the Galleria as a place for emerging green businesses to meet, learn and share space. Feel free to join us as we talk about our next steps. We meet at 10 am.
Tuesday is the Eco Tuesday meetup. This month’s meeting will focus on some great small ventures. I encourage you to check them out as this meeting will be filled with inspiration:
On February 22nd EcoTuesday is proud to present yet another powerful story of grassroots good and positive change. We will be featuring three special ladies on a panel about neighborhood revitalization and cross-community collaboration through green jobs and green business models.
It is a powerful story of three minority women entrepreneurs who serve with a passion for doing good and doing well by growing businesses that build community, create jobs, improve our environment, and promote healthy eating and living. Together these three are setting the stage for collaboration across three distinct challenged communities in the greater University Circle area:
Vel Scott : Vel’s Purple Oasis – (Univ Circle)
Vicky Trotter : The Green Space – (Glenville)
Veronica Walton : NEO Restoration Alliance – (Hough)
It is so important to hear stories like these that support and serve those less fortunate and inspire folks with community AND economic development around urban enterprise, green jobs and local foods. These three truly are grassroots greats, and we are thrilled to help advance their vision.
Join us on Tuesday, 2/22 from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Club at Key Center – for a unique treat! Complimentary appetizers and cash bar. Call 216-849-8651 with questions or comments!
The green events just keep coming with the Emerging Green Professionals group of the NE Ohio Chapter of the USGBC presents a screening of the film. “The Greening of Southie.” For more info and to register, go here.
Set on the storied streets of South Boston, The Greening of Southie is a feature documentary about Boston’s first residential green high rise, The Macallen Building, and the union men and women who set out to construct it. Building green has its challenges, and the job site has its skeptics. When things on the building site start to go wrong, the young development team has to keep the project from unraveling. Funny and poignant, The Greening of Southie is a story of bold ideas, new environmentalists and the future of the way we live.
CSU Nance College of Business
1860 East 18th Street
BU 118 Auditorium
Cleveland, OH 44115
Then you can wrap up the week with the GreenLife Gala. A fundraiser for the Green Dream, the eco friendly showcase put on by students of Beachwood HS and Junior Acheivement, this event looks great. There will be food, fitness demos, an eco fashion show, and a silent auction- all hosted by Sarah Backhouse, Discovery Planet Green Host. Check out the website for more information and to buy tickets.
Buy tickets today for EcoWatch’s third annual Green Galaon Friday, April 8 at 7 p.m. with Philippe Cousteau atExecutive Caterers in Mayfield, Height at www.ecowatch.org or call 216-387-1609. Come enjoy hors d’oeuvres, dinner, drink ticket, silent auction items, live jazz and Philippe Cousteau’s presentation to support the efforts of EcoWatch.
Mark your calendars for these events and watch more events come together as we ramp up for Earth Day and the Cleveland International Film Festival.
UPDATE:
I missed this one. February 23, 2011 – 7:00pm – 9:00pm
A special screening of Carbon Nation, a climate change solutions movie, is being sponsored by the Boler School of Business at John Carroll University. This event is free and open to the public, so we encourage you to spread the word and bring a friend.
Carbon Nation is in theaters February, 2011 and John Carroll University has the only showing in Northeast Ohio. Join the MBA students taking Boler’s social and environmental marketing class for a documentary that “doesn’t care if you believe in global warming.”