For the last few months, members of the Oberlin Project Community Engagement Team have been engaged in Community Conversations, chances for Oberlin residents to meet together and discuss what they would like to see for the future of Oberlin. These Community Conversations were held from October through early February, and involved over 120 members of the Oberlin community from a wide diversity of backgrounds. Conversations covered topics such as improving our downtown, creating opportunities for youth and seniors, and expanding city recycling. Many Oberlin residents expressed a commitment to working harder on sustainability; one participant commented on an evaluation form, ???I can dig in my heels a little deeper. I am part of the solution.???

The Oberlin Project is a joint effort of the City of Oberlin, Oberlin College, and other local partners to improve the sustainability, resilience, and prosperity of our community. It supports the goals of the City and College to create a climate-positive community by 2050.

Steve Hammond has been Co-Pastor of Peace Community Church in Oberlin for 33 years, along with his wife Mary. Steve and Mary are both Protestant Chaplain Affiliates for the Oberlin College Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. Steve was the youngest of 18 children in his family. He enjoys running and hanging out with his grandchildren.

Linda Arbogast is Executive Director of Oberlin Community Services. She lives in Brownhelm Township with her husband, Bo, and their three children on an organic blueberry farm. Both Linda and her husband were Peace Corps volunteers in Sri Lanka.

Several months ago my wife and I, along with a friend, drove our new Prius plug-in hybrid 40 miles on state roads to an evening picnic. The battery was fully charged and on arrival the dash board display showed 100 miles per gallon (mpg) for the trip. Being the first local trip out of Oberlin on which I noted the mileage, I was surprised and said to our friend, ???That seems high.???

On the way back we were in hybrid mode, which means the car is powered by a gasoline engine as well as an electric motor using electricity generated by the engine and when the car coasts or breaks. Each of us made a guess for the return trip mpg: my wife, 65; our friend, 70; and I guessed what I thought would certainly be too high, 75. Back in Oberlin, the dashboard display showed 73 mpg. We were impressed!

The current Feve location has been a local landmark for so long that it slipped my mind that Matt and Jason???s first location was across the street from Oberlin City Hall.  The Feve began as a coffee shop and has evolved into ???the place to go??? by many locals and others who know about Oberlin.

The public is invited to take the FREE ???Green Energy Ohio Tour??? and network with friends and neighbors using renewable energy, energy efficiency and green design.  There are many open houses and guided green energy tours taking place across the State of Ohio. Oberlin will be participating with a guided tour on Saturday, October 6 from 10 am ??? 4 pm.

For the last 10 years, the educational non-profit organization Green Energy Ohio (GEO) has sponsored the tour on the first weekend in October to showcase the industry across the state. A few years ago GEO changed the "Ohio Solar Tour" name to the "Green Energy Ohio Tour" to more accurately describe the tour that features not only solar, but tour sites with wind, energy efficiency, biomass and other green energy technologies.  

"I think I've figured out the carbon problem," says my seven-year-old son. It's Monday morning, early, and I'm still half asleep. He stands next to my bed, already dressed and dancing with excitement.

Rewind a day or so. He and I lay on our backs in the mid-afternoon sunlight, staring up at the sky, wearing t-shirts in mid-November in northeast Ohio. It is almost 70 degrees. "Isn't this great?" he says.

Living in a college town offer residents the opportunity to be a connoisseur of pizza.  I believe that small and locally owned pizza places have a better taste than their chain-owned competitors. In fact, Magpie???s my pie Tex-Mex pizza is what my taste buds crave on a regular basis.  It is my favorite specialty pizza (just ask the servers there, I don???t even have to tell them my order because when I show up they know what I want as soon as they see me walk in - LOL!)

Magpie Pizza is located in the East College Street Complex at 65 East College Street.  Jim and Rachael Strader, residents of LaGrange, are the owners of Magpie Pizza.  Rachel and Jim opened up Magpie Pizza because they liked the sustainable building complex and are encouraged by the resident???s desire for local foods.  In addition, they have a family history of relatives that are restaurant owners.  One family member owns a restaurant in Lorain County and another family member owns a restaurant in New York. Magpie Pizza offers specialty pizzas, salad, and sandwiches.  Prices range from $4.50 for in individual sized pizza to $18 for a large pizza.

Eating ice cream at Cowhaus Creamery is like the taste of beautiful art in your mouth.  Eating at this local creamery is a great experience any time of year because the menu is constantly changing.  Cowhaus Creamery Artisan Ice Cream located at 55 East College Street, Suite 4 in downtown Oberlin, next to Slow Train Caf??.

The owner of Cowhaus Creamery is Joe Bomback and he is an Oberlin College Alumni from Lorain County. He and his wife Debbie (who is from Shaker Heights) love Oberlin and it was their goal to be involved in the community and so they decided to open up Cowhaus Creamery. 

Older buildings are often unfairly maligned as great energy hogs and money pits that are too expensive to rehabilitate.  While not every building can be preserved, demolishing existing buildings to make way for new is costly, gobbles up new resources, and adds to the landfills of the country.  Many older buildings have irreplaceable architectural details and a strong sense of space and pride of place that is rarely found in new construction, no matter how "green."   

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, together with local preservation organizations such as the Cleveland Restoration Society and the Oberlin Heritage Center, are working to encourage property owners of older buildings to weatherize, retrofit and rehabilitate them in ways that both retain their character defining special features and adapt them for 21st century living.   Start by having an energy audit; you can call POWER at 440 789 4531 for a 1 hour assessment, or call Columbia Gas at 1-877-644-6674 to receive a thorough heat loss inspection. Then learn what you can about your building's history.  Get to know your building, inside and out.  Inspect it regularly, and be proactive in addressing maintenance concerns.