Click below to download a copy of the REC project ideas from the March 21 City Council Work Session.  They have been compiled into a single document. Print copies are available at the Oberlin Public Library as well.

all rec dollar use suggestions for city council may 2016.pdf

Dan Roddy is the Facilities Operations/Painting and Rental Property Manager at Oberlin College.

Q: What word(s) or image(s) would you use to describe this community and why do you choose these?

Ann Cooper Albright started Girls in Motion 12 years ago when she saw a confidence gap growing between middle school boys and girls.

An Oberlin College Experimental course (Exco) now helps Oberlin College students train other students to be mentors who run the Girls and Boys in Motion program in the middle school.  

Maureen Simen received her BA from Michigan-Flint in English and Social Sciences.  She then pursued a Masters in Reading Education from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.  She has years of experience in curriculum design and development, as well as educational technology.  Currently, Maureen works at the Bonner Center for Service and Learning as the Coordinator for America Reads.  Outside of work, she enjoys fixing up her house as well as relaxing and reading the classics.  Her love for reading is seen in her job, where she inspires college students involved in the America Reads program to volunteer in many schools around the Oberlin area to promote literacy.

Q. What is the America Reads program?

Carlos Mendez is going to be a senior at Oberlin High School this year. A Ninde Scholar himself, this summer he worked for the Aspiring Ninde Summer Scholars program as a Summer Fellow. As a Fellow, he assisted the Summer Instructors and acted as a role model for the Aspiring Ninde Scholars. Carlos is very committed to sustainability and also attended the Foresight Prep at Oberlin summer program in which he and his group members identified impactful solutions for food related challenges.

Q: What is your name?

Leonard Gnizak is in his 36th year of teaching music.  Currently, he is the Director of Bands at Oberlin City Schools, a post he???s held since 2004.  Mr. Gnizak has been a community partner to four generations of Music Mentors since the program was started in 2005.  He holds a B.A. in Music Education from Cleveland State University, and has studied Clarinet with Ted Johnson of the Cleveland Orchestra.  In 1988, he was elected Teacher of the Year by the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.

Q. How did the Music Mentors project first come to be?

Bradley Hamilton is a junior at Oberlin College and hails from South Carolina.  He is majoring in Neuroscience and is on both the track and cross country team.  Bradley currently volunteers with the America Reads program and has been involved with college run activities such as STEM night to get Oberlin kids more interested in math and the sciences.  He sees community involvement as a very important and rewarding part of his time at Oberlin College and hopes that others are inspired to get involved in any way they can.

Q. So Bradley, have you seen any of the environmental digital signs at the library, in the public schools, around town, or in the AJLC?

Ayana Morrison is going to be a senior at Oberlin High School in the fall. This summer she was a Ninde Summer Fellow. As a Fellow, she was a role model for the Aspiring Ninde Scholars during their summer program. She was especially helpful in matters of cooking, visual art, and writing, as these are some of her talents.

Q: Emily Clarke: Okay so can you say your name and something about yourself?

Ashley Hale is a fourth year, Dual Degree student majoring in Economics and Trumpet Performance. She was born in Oakland, California but is immediately from Seattle, Washington, where she began playing the trumpet in 7th grade. In her time at Oberlin she has been involved in many non-profits in the area by way of the Bonner Scholars Program. She is currently one of the coordinators of Music Mentors, a position she's held since her freshman year, and is a tutor for the Ninde Scholars program as well as at The Backspace - an after school activity center for middle and high school students. She has one more year until she completes her degrees here and is looking forward to seeing what life has to offer after Oberlin.

Q. Could you start with a description of what you???re doing?

Tyler Gogolek is a hydroponic farmer who lives and works with his family in Oberlin, OH. He has over twenty years of growing experience with garden mums and produce and is committed to sustainable farming practices. In January of 2014, Tyler attended a hydroponic grower training where he learned the systems of hydroponic crop growing and produced his first crop in February of 2015. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions in water without soil. This method of farming offers sustainability through water conservation because the water is constantly recirculating and uses 70-80 percent less water than traditional soil farming methods. Tyler's Farm's mums and produce are available at farmer's markets in Northern Ohio as well as local restaurants and retail locations.

Q: How is it you came to live and work in Oberlin?

Joy Harrison has been a Prospect Elementary teacher for three years. She lives in Oberlin, and feels that it is a place where real change can happen--that if you can make something work in Oberlin, you can make it work somewhere else.

How long have you been working at Prospect?

Aliya is going to be a senior at Oberlin High School this fall. This summer she worked for the Aspiring Ninde Scholars Summer Program as a Summer Fellow. As a Fellow, Aliya acted as a role model for the younger Ninde Scholars in facilitating discussion and keeping a positive attitude. After high school, Aliya is considering going to school for nursing.

Q: So if you want to just introduce yourself, say anything that feels relevant.

Ralph Potts is the General Manager of the Cable Co-op and has been a member of the Oberlin Community for nearly three decades. His business has provided an alternative to large corporations for the community's cable and internets needs for over 28 years. He also serves as the President of the Board of Trustees of the Oberlin Business Partnership.

Could you tell me a little bit about the Cable Co-op?

Jim Helm is a Professor Emeritus of Classics at Oberlin College, and an active member of the Kendal at Oberlin community. Jim is chair of the Wood-shop Committee, and currently the Vice-President of the Kendal at Oberlin Residents Association.

Anne Helm is trained and certified as a Master Gardener in the state of Ohio. Anne volunteers at places such as Oberlin Community Services, and has volunteered in the past with teenage parents and their children at Wilkes Villa, a low-income housing development in Elyria. In addition, she maintains 3 of her own gardens and 6 communal gardens around Kendal at Oberlin.

Melissa Thompson is an Oberlin resident who has made sustainable changes in her home and daily life as a result of POWER (Providing Oberlin With Efficiency Responsibly). She has lived with her husband and three children in Oberlin for over thirteen years and believes that being environmentally conscious is a natural part of being part of this community.

Q: How would you like to be referred to as?

SEED Ventures (SEED) is growing local entrepreneurs for financial, social, and environmental success.  SEED, a new Oberlin Project initiative, is a pop-up marketplace and incubator aimed at developing sustainable business models, increasing foot-traffic and business activity in Lorain County, and promoting economic growth through innovation.  SEED works with local entrepreneurs who are in the early stages of development, targeting those entrepreneurs with a prototype with sales up to $10,000 in annual revenue.

Steve Dupee (amppartners.org photo)Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?

An image that comes to mind immediately is right here on my business card with wind turbines in the background, illustrating the community???s commitment to environmentally responsible power supply resources to meet our community???s electric needs with a focus on sustainability and carbon emission reduction.

On Tuesday, June 9, 2015, the League of American Bicyclists recognized Oberlin, Ohio with a bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC^SM) award, joining 350 visionary communities from across the country. With the announcement of 42 new and renewing BFCs today, Oberlin, Ohio joins a leading group of communities, in all 50 states, that are transforming our neighborhoods.

???We applaud this new round of communities for investing in a more sustainable future for the country and a healthier future for their residents and beyond,??? said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. ???The growing number of leaders taking up bicycling as a way of solving many complex community problems is encouraging. We look forward to continuing to work with these communities as we move closer to our mission of creating a bicycle-friendly America for everyone.???
 
The BFC program is revolutionizing the way communities evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress toward improving their bicycle-friendliness. With this impressive round, there are now 350
 
BFCs in all 50 states. The bronze level BFC award recognizes Oberlin???s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies.Over the past few years the Oberlin Community has made significant improvements for cyclists.  Oberlin College received bronze level for the University category in the fall of 2013. This spring Oberlin City Council passed the first Complete Streets policy in Lorain County.  In addition, there have been improvements in the downtown area for designated bicycle parking that increases safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.  Continued efforts are planned to assist Oberlin's move from bronze to silver level designation in the future.The BFC program provides a roadmap to building a Bicycle Friendly Community and the application itself has become a rigorous and an educational tool in itself. Since its inception, more than 800 distinct communities have applied and the five levels of the award ??? diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze ??? provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve.To apply or learn more about the BFC program, visit bikeleague.org/community.
 
About the Bicycle Friendly America^SM ProgramThe Bicycle Friendly Community^SM, Bicycle Friendly State^SM, Bicycle Friendly Business and Bicycle Friendly University^SM programs are generously supported by program partner Trek Bicycle Corp. To learn more about building a Bicycle Friendly America, visit www.bikeleague.org/BFA
 
The League of American Bicyclists is leading the movement to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. As leaders, our commitment is to listen and learn, define standards and share best practices to engage diverse communities and build a powerful, unified voice for change.

Carol Lasser is Professor of History at Oberlin College and has lived and worked in Oberlin for 36 years. She has a long history with the Ben Franklin and the owner, Krista Long, and serves as a member of the board of the Bill Long Foundation.

Q: What are some words or images that you would use to describe Oberlin

How have you interacted with the Dashboard?

Well, I work at the Oberlin Public Library, so it???s in my library. I turn it on every morning. I have also noticed over time how people will come in just to look at it, which is kind of cool. I think kids get a real kick out of the animation with the squirrel. I am also realizing that it is a great way to advertise the programs going on here. And yeah, it???s a cool tool.

Mr. Sal Talarico is the Finance Director for the City of Oberlin and manages the city???s finance department.  He has served the City of Oberlin for 15 years, and a total of 20 years in the public sector.  The finance department is responsible for financial reporting, liability, property and health insurances, utility billing, revenue collections, accounts payable, payroll, treasury and investment management, income tax collections and administration, and debt management. 

What words/images would you use to describe Oberlin?

Alison Ricker is a Science Librarian at Oberlin College. She has held this position for thirty-one years. She has also collaborated with other science librarians in Ohio to present a poster at the 2012 American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting, on digitization projects in the sciences among the Five Colleges of Ohio.

Ian Yarber is the head of the Recreation Department of Oberlin. He oversees recreation-related activities around in the town. He was born in Oberlin, and returned here about 17 years ago. Ian has a three year-old daughter.

Q: What comes to mind when you think of Oberlin?

Q:  What words/images would you use to describe Oberlin? 

A:  Let???s see???progressive, beautiful, historic, small town, musical.

          
Will Blackmon Johnny Moore

Matt Adelman (whose wife is the Assistant Director of the Oberlin Project) is an Oberlin resident and one of the owners of The Feve. He genuinely loves Oberlin and is committed to care for both the environment and the Oberlin community. He has taken steps with The Feve such as a recycling initiative, a lighting retrofit, and fundraisers for local non-profits.

Q: What are some words and images you would use to describe Oberlin?

Tom Geller is a freelance writer who chose to use the services of Providing Oberlin with Efficiency Responsibly (POWER) to insulate his home.

Q: How did you hear about POWER?

I???ve been around Oberlin for about five years now. It???s a small town, so you find out about everything pretty soon. I???m actually friends with somebody whose mother is one of the people who runs POWER. Also, I???d gone through a different program called CHIP, which the city offers, and I found it really lacking. I figured I???d give POWER a try; I???d seen the signs around and so forth.

Q: Why did you contact POWER?

Well, [my house] was a fixer-upper when I bought it. I bought it really cheap: The entire kitchen had to be torn out, there was no insulation in the attic, there were a lot of problems all over. And so I did a few things when I first bought it, including putting insulation in. But I knew that the windows were leaking and the insulation wasn???t great, and so forth. So really [contacting POWER] was just out of need. It???s too bad [the work] couldn???t have been done before the winter started, but the insulation company was too busy.

Q: When you bought your home was energy efficiency a consideration?

To be honest, I didn???t really think so much about energy when I bought the place: I knew I was going to improve the place. And when one of the original contractors said, ???Yeah well, we???re tearing out these walls we should put in insulation,??? I was like, ???Oh, yeah, I never even really thought of that??? -- that when you tear out walls, you put up new insulation... so it really was kind of the last thing on my mind. But then with the polar vortexes coming through, it became forefront of my mind.

Q: Have you done any previous work to improve the energy efficiency of your home?

No, this was the first home I owned. But I did do some work before POWER got here it: It just wasn't as good as what they did.

Q: How would you describe your initial walkthrough with POWER?

It was great, especially compared to the CHIP program, which was very badly run. [Greg Jones] came over, described the program, and gave me some papers. [Later] they sent somebody to actually do the assessment, and he was terrific. They put a big fan in the door and they close off all the windows and such and basically see how airtight the house is. It was a good six hours of stuff, and the guy was really good with me. Then I got Ritsko insulation, who were terrific, who actually did the work. So, pretty much from beginning to end it was good.

Q: Have you saved money on energy?

It???s kind of hard to tell, because they only did the work a couple of months ago. And it was sort of as the polar vortexes were ending, and my energy bills had been so variable up until then. I will say that the first thing I notice is that smells stay around in the house longer: It's not as drafty. That's for better or worse, of course.

Q: How would you define sustainability and what actions have you made to contribute to sustainability?

I think, generally speaking, the lifestyle I enjoy is not sustainable in any way. I???d say that's true for Americans generally -- and I don't pretend that it isn???t. And there are small things that we do: I???m glad that Oberlin has a recycling program, for example... But, yeah, my energy consumption personally is way out of line with what I give back to the world generally.

Q: Do you have any final thoughts?

I really do want POWER to do well. They did such a good job by me, and God knows there are plenty of places in Oberlin that could use it. The housing stock here is not great, and partly that???s because the value of the houses is so low. If you have a $40,000 house and it's going to cost $10,000 to fix it up, well, it's not as worth it, because you???re never going to get more than $40,000 for it, no matter how fixed up it is.

So having something like POWER makes it possible to make the houses more livable and certainly more energy efficient.

Each January is a new start for many people.  If offers a proactive person the opportunity to start again. Regardless of whether a person believes in New Year???s Resolutions, making commitments at the start of a new year can teach a person how to make, set, and work toward achieving goals. 

Oberlin, Ohio ??? January 14, 2015 ??? Today, Oberlin officially advances to the Semifinal round of the Georgetown University Energy Prize, a national competition that is challenging communities across the U.S. to rethink their energy use. At a press event in Washington, D.C. today, Oberlin was announced as one of the 50 communities who are leading the way on energy efficiency.

???Oberlin has made a commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions below zero by the year 2050 and energy efficiency is a huge part of that equation. Right now, the average Oberlin home is losing an estimated $450-500 per year in missed energy savings at today???s energy prices. We have access to efficiency programs that will, in most cases, nearly triple a homeowner???s investment. Some income-qualified programs pay for all the work. Collectively, over the course of the two-year competition, the status quo in Oberlin will lose us nearly $8 million. So while winning the $5 million prize purse will help these efforts, we have an opportunity to ???win??? a far greater amount of money in the process. And those savings will continue after the competition ends.??? ??? Sean Hayes, The Oberlin Project

In Oberlin, sustainability is more than a buzzword, it is a tool that drives innovation???that transforms community by changing behavior and promoting sustainable economic development. Sustainable economic development generates economic wealth that is based on the triple bottom line, balancing impact and opportunity to people, profit and planet.  Market solutions are generated that produce improved economic opportunity (reduces the growing income disparity between the rich and the poor), accounts for impact to the environment and value of ecosystem services in financial accounting, and finally and most familiar, creates flows of dollars at the local, regional and global scales.  As you know, Oberlin isn???t afraid of doing something a little different.

The Oberlin Project is challenging individuals in and outside of Oberlin to use the triple bottom line to generate solutions that change the way we create, deploy and do business.  Oberlin is home to a wealth of human resources representative of many demographics including age, experience, socioeconomic status, race and educational attainment.  This diversity is key to the wealth of ideas generated in our community.  Of course, not all of these ideas are market ready, or even market worthy, but they do represent the seeds of economic development to be further evaluated and supported by technical service agents in Oberlin and northeast Ohio.  

Lauri Brua is a fifth grade teacher at Prospect Elementary School. She uses the Environmental
Dashboard as a teaching tool in her classroom, and makes sure that her students go home with an awareness of energy use and environmental issues, along with a sense of their own power to address these challenges.

While this February???s fire that destroyed the City of Oberlin???s refuse fleet was not an ideal scenario, it did provide a catalyst for the City to rethink its public recycling and refuse program.  The new process, which launches this week, is one step toward realizing the City???s new Zero Waste policy, passed by City Council in May 2014.  Oberlin???s Resource Conservation and Recovery Commission worked closely with the City to develop the new zero waste policy.

Each residence will receive two 64-gallon carts; one for recycling and one for refuse.  The City???s revised recycling process does not require sorting on behalf of the residents.  Multiple sources have noted that mixed, single stream has proven to improve recycling rates in municipalities by 30%-%50%, nationally.  All recyclables will be taken to Republic???s recycling facility just east of town.  Republic???s facility was built in 2013 and uses an advanced sorting system with the latest technology in mechanical and optical sorting.  The facility is touted as one of the most advanced in the state.

Thomas Bethel is the Mastering Engineer/Managing Director of Acoustik Music, Ltd.. Prior to starting his own business, he served as Oberlin College???s Director of Audio Services and Concert Sound for 26 years. During his time working for Oberlin College, he recorded over three thousand concerts and did live concert sound for hundreds of live events.

The City???s Public Works Department will be delivering new refuse and recycling carts the week of November 10th. Cart delivery is planned to coincide with the normal collection schedule. Each residence will receive two 64-gallon carts; one for refuse (black lid) and one for recycling (blue lid) along with a Residential Refuse & Recycling Guidelines brochure explaining the new program.

Residents are required to begin using the carts immediately on their normal collection day. Weekly curbside collection will be provided using the City???s carts only. Carts remain the property of the City. Containers may not be removed from the residence.

Tanya Rosen-Jones is the owner of Rosen-Jones Photography. She is an Oberlin alumnus who studied History. She now lives in Oberlin with her husband, who also graduated from Oberlin, and her two sons. She hails from Berkeley, California.

Mark Fahringer is a Coordinator at The Salvation Army Oberlin Service Unit. He also has volunteered as a Board Member and Board Chair for the Catholic Action Commission of Lorain County. In March 2009, he was awarded the Bishop A.J. Quinn Peace and Justice Award for efforts in immigration reform.

Q: What words/images would you use to describe Oberlin? 

Jan Miyake is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Oberlin Conservatory, and a client of Providing Oberlin with Efficiency Responsibly (POWER).

How did you hear about POWER?

Jerry Anderson is the owner of Watson???s Hardware, located at 26 South Main Street in Oberlin. He believes in making full use of available materials.

Q: What words/images would you use to describe Oberlin?
A: Coming from your point of view, zero carbon.

Donna Shurr has been teaching Family and Consumer Sciences at Oberlin High School since she moved to the town in 1998. She is involved in many volunteering pursuits such as managing the Oberlin Backpack Program, which gives eligible students from Prospect and Eastwood Elementary Schools meal items and snacks to bring home for the weekend.

Q: Have you had any interaction with the Environmental Digital signs in the Public Library, The AJLC, or Prospect Elementary School, and if so, what do you think about it?

Glenn Gall is an activist, a writer, and a farmer living in Oberlin. He received his Bachelor???s Degree from Huntington University, and has training in permaculture and grazing techniques. He proposes the use of natural systems as a multidimensional approach to the problem of climate change. More of his ideas can be found on the website: reverseglobalwarming.org.

Q: What comes to mind when you think about Oberlin?

Peter Comings is a resident of Oberlin who grew up in town and came back a few years ago with his family because of the positive, forward-thinking mindset he sees here. One of his hopes for Oberlin is that people come to see themselves as important parts of the sustainable, progressive actions Oberlin is taking.

Mrs. Janet Haar, the director of the Oberlin Business Partnership, likes to call her business a ???three-legged stool???. The OBP combines a chamber of commerce, main street organization, and visitors??? bureau all into one. Haar followed son Blake New (men???s soccer coach for Oberlin College and owner of Slow Train cafe and the Local) to Oberlin after he implied that her work was needed in Oberlin. He was right. Janet Haar has done a great deal for the community. She is constantly thinking about the future and what would benefit her business in the long-run. Economic and environmental sustainability plays a key role in not only her professional life, but in her personal life as well.

Q: Could you briefly describe the nature of your business and its role in the Oberlin community?

Marleen Watling is a librarian at the Oberlin Public Library. When the weather allows, she bikes all the way to and from her home in North Ridgeville 3 days a week. Biking has become a real positive force in her life, as a way of not only reducing her energy use, but also of feeling healthier and more connected to the environment.

Q: What are some words or images you would use to describe Oberlin?

Robert Q. Thompson is a chemistry professor at Oberlin College. He has invested time, money, and effort into installing solar panels in his home and has created an energy-efficient and green household. He has lived in Oberlin and worked at the college for thirty-two years.

 Q: What was the process of making your home more ???green??? like for you? What did it teach you about environmental design and construction?

Mr. Charles Horton, Oberlin resident and entrepreneur, is the proprietor of Custom Cleaning Services located in the Industrial Parkway. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Mr. Horton came to Oberlin more than thirty years ago ???with the intent of starting a business.???

Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?

Russell Benjamin is a woodworker and a contractor. He is interested in green and energy efficient construction and community development. In addition to living in Oberlin, he also lives in the Pemaquid Peninsula in Maine. He is a strong proponent of education and enjoys travelling.

Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?

Alan Mitchell is Oberlin Community Services??? Food Coordinator and an active Oberlin resident, exemplary in his care for others. Alan grew up in Oberlin and after being away for a decade, during which time he attended college and serving in the Navy, he returned to raise his family in an environment he feels can teach his kids essential values.

Q: What word(s) or image(s) would you use to describe Oberlin:

Barbara Pierce, an Oberlin resident and the first post-war blind student to attend Oberlin College, has worked for the last 40 years for the National Federation of the Blind, advocating for the civil rights of blind people. She is a leader nationwide as well as in the Oberlin community.

Q: What word(s) or image(s) would you use to describe Oberlin:

The Carbon Management Fund (CMF) was started in the Fall of 2012 in response to a student referendum supporting the addition of a $10 term bill line item to fund carbon offsetting projects. This term bill line item was approved by Student Senate in February 2014 as an increase to the ???Green Fee??? and was also recently approved by the Board of Trustees in this year???s March meeting. The fee increase will generate ~$25,000 a year for local carbon offsetting projects effective FY15.

Oberlin College has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2025 through the American College and University President???s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), and to become climate positive by 2050 through the Clinton Foundation: Climate Positive Development Program (CPDP). This means that as an institution the College???s effect on global atmospheric green house gas levels (GHGs) must be zero or actively improving atmospheric GHG levels. As we stand now, 11 years from our 2025 carbon neutral date, our future estimated annual carbon footprint is ~7,000 metric tons of CO2 or equivalent green house gasses (mtCO2e), down from ~40,000 mtCO2e currently. These expected emissions will result from our continued reliance on natural gas for heating buildings and fossil fuels for transportation. The projected emissions footprint in 2025 will prevent us from achieving carbon neutrality and fulfilling our commitment, unless we gather offsets in line with these commitments.

Lisa Kavanagh is a retired Oberlin resident with a rare mitochondrial disorder caused by Lyme disease who is passionate about influencing change towards a sustainable future. Although she only has a few hours of energy a day, she is very active through online forums, writing letters, and making environmentally conscious consumer choices. More than anything she makes sure she starts with herself, nurturing a holistic philosophy with the natural environment.

Q: What word(s) or image(s) would you use to describe Oberlin:

Ron Bier is a Chemistry and Environmental Science teacher at Oberlin Senior High School. While he hails originally from the east side of Cleveland, he and his family currently live in Amherst, Ohio.

Photo by Yvette Chen OC '16A lifelong Oberlin resident, Ms. Shirley Owens is General Manager of Quick and Delicious restaurant, located at 311 South Main Street. She believes in creating community through the continuous beautification of neighborhoods, and by making good-tasting food accessible to everyone. Ms. Owens is thankful that Quick and Delicious is equipped to serve people of all ages and abilities, giving customers the opportunity ???to eat what you???d like to eat??? in ???a place where family and friends gather and hugs are free.???

Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?

Written by Machmud Machmudov, edited by Tani Colbert-Sangree

A White Oak SaplingOn October 26th, the Carbon Management Fund implemented its first project of the '13-'14 school year, taking another step towards carbon neutrality for Oberlin College, but with a new, innovative approach to tree planting. The College Grounds Crew, with assistance from student volunteers, planted 8 red oak trees and 8 white oak trees across 18 acres of formerly agricultural fields next to the north campus intramural and club sports fields and north of the 2.27 megawatt solar array. The trees were funded by a grant from the Green EDGE Fund and are part of a larger plan to naturally return this land to forest.

David Gard was hired the end of September 2013 as the Executive Director of the Oberlin Project.  Prior to the Oberlin Project, David Gard worked at the Michigan Energy Council as the Program Director. David completed the Erb Institute MBA/MS Program at the University of Michigan, worked as a design engineer, and served in the U.S. Navy. He grew up in Cincinnati, OH and has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University.

What excites you about the Oberlin Project?

Andy Call is Pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Oberlin. He moved to Oberlin in Summer 2012 with his wife and their three children. Andy is enthusiastic about the renovations at FUMC, especially the improved children???s classrooms. He says, ???It???s an exciting project because it will provide a safe, clean environment for children to be and we are doing it in a way that we think is responsible with the resources we have.???

Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?

Barbara Fuchsman has been an Oberlin resident for 43 years. She is a layperson at the Oberlin Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. She works closely with the Santa Elena Project that supports human rights for workers in Guatemala. She enjoys gardening with her husband. 

Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?

Amanda Schmidt has lived in Oberlin since 2011. She is Assistant Professor of Geology at Oberlin College and is active with the local Baha???i community. She studies human-landscape interactions, primarily in China and enjoys traveling with her 8-month-old son Colby. Amanda and her husband are competitive mountain bikers and race locally in mountain bike and cyclocross races.

Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?
A: I guess Oberlin reminds me of a friendly New England college town. I went to grad school in the northwest and there aren???t towns like this. Definitely friendly, and it???s kind of an eccentric town. Very accessible.

Over 200 Open Houses at Over 100 Tour Sites, 7 Guided Tours Across Ohio will showcase clean energy and green design in events throughout local areas. Oberlin is offering a guided tour on Saturday, October 5 from 10 am ??? 3 pm. 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. 

For the last 11 years, the educational non-profit organization Green Energy Ohio (GEO) has sponsored the tour on the first weekend in October tour 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.  

Kim Koos is a teacher and IB Coordinator at Prospect Elementary School. Aside from her passion for education, she loves spending time with her family, swimming, reading, and gardening. She is also very artistic and loves to create items in various mediums.

Q: What are some words that come to mind when you think of Oberlin?

Gregory Jones is Oberlin???s Energy Advocate, part of POWER???s initiative to help homeowners improve their energy efficiency. In his free time, Greg enjoys fishing and is a self-proclaimed ???sports nut.??? Cleveland teams, all the way. 

What are some words or images that come to mind when you think of Oberlin?

Dori Tiller and Shelley Clagg are committed residents at John Frederick Oberlin (JFO) Homes who put together a recycling program at the John Frederick Oberlin (JFO) apartment complex. For both of them, recycling and reusing have come to feel very natural, and they are working hard to share this spirit with other members of the Oberlin community.

Q: What are some words or images that come to mind when describing Oberlin?

It seems almost laughable to ask the question, ???Will the U.S. Congress pass carbon tax legislation????  At present, so little legislation of importance gets through both houses of Congress that the chance of the Sanders-Boxer Climate Change bills being passed seems nil.  Nevertheless, we need to pay attention to the ???Climate Protection Act??? and the ???Sustainable Energy Act??? introduced earlier this year by Senators Barbara Boxer (Dem. CA) and Bernie Sanders (Ind. VT).  In a hearing held by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last week, a panel of experts explained the vital importance of taking steps now to reduce carbon emissions.  And as Al Gore writes in The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change (2013), ???Global warming pollution??? should carry a price.  Placing a tax on CO2 is the place to start.???  If this summer proves to be even hotter than last, resulting more widespread disastrous drought, and extreme climate events continue to occur at an increasing rate, perhaps the public outcry will reach the ears of our representatives on Capitol Hill.

What would this legislation do?  It would set a long-term emissions reduction goal of 80% or more by 2050 ??? a ???too little too late??? goal in the view of many, but ???realistic??? in the view of others.  To help achieve this goal, a carbon fee of $20 per ton of carbon or methane equivalent would be applied at the coal mine, oil refinery, natural gas processing plant or point of importation.  The fee would rise at 5.6% a year over a ten-year period.  It would be levied on about 3,000 of the largest fossil fuel polluters, covering about 85% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.  The Congressional Budget Office estimates this step alone could raise $1.2 trillion in revenue over ten years and reduce greenhouse gas emission approximately 20% from 2005 levels by 2025.  And the legislation includes other actions that would further reduce emissions.

Fr. Robert Cole has been Pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oberlin for 5 years. Born and bred in the Cleveland area, he is glad to be serving several churches in the Cleveland Diocese. Fr. Cole has been a priest for 41 years.

Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?

Chuck Annable was the President/Horticulturist at Green Side Up Garden Center. He recently sold it to his employees.  He is an avid traveler and has visited 49 of the 50 United States. He loves to hike, canoe, and explore natural areas.

Q: How did you come to own Green Side Up Garden Center?

Photo by Yvette Chen OC '16David Snyder has been a resident of Oberlin since 2006. He serves as the Clerk of the Oberlin Friends Meeting. David has long engaged in environmental activism and shared  that he inspired his parents to get involved in the nuclear freeze movement in the 1970s.

Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?

Why have a vegetable garden?

Oberlin Community Service???s June networking lunch was crowded???perhaps 50 people were there. A panel of nine represented the diversity of local food and gardening projects in Oberlin from school to neighborhood gardens.

Photo by Yvette Chen OC '16Oberlin resident Che Gonzalez is a librarian at the Oberlin Public Library. A few years ago, she started a home-based business for affordable, healthy foods. Gardening since she was a kid, Ms. Gonzalez grows many of her own vegetables at home.

Q: Some people think of ???sustainability??? as actions that improve the environmental, economic, and social well-being of the community? How would you define ???sustainability??? for yourself?

Mrs. Anita Lock has lived in Oberlin for 10 years. After visiting Oberlin when she was 15 and getting a flavor of the community, she thought, ???I hope someday I???ll live here.??? She is the proprietor of One-On-One Tutoring of Lorain County and is a music educator. Mrs. Lock also hosts ???All Things Irish,??? which airs on WOBC 91.5 FM every Saturday from 4-5pm.

Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?

The mind of a growing child is an impressionable thing. As a line taken from the musical Into the Woods states, ???Careful the things you say, children will listen. Careful the things you do, children will see and learn.??? And in fact, majority of the things children hear and see come from the place they spend majority of their time: school. So, in light of developing a more sustainable community, what can we do in order to show the youth the importance of practices that aid the environment rather than being detrimental to it? And how can we then expand that to the Oberlin community in order to positively move towards the goal of carbon neutrality? On the table is a plan that will address both of these issues: the construction of a consolidated, high performance, carbon neutral K-12 campus.

Words to describe Oberlin.

Diverse, unique, different, different perspectives religions and people, traditional

John and Anne Elder are residents of Kendal at Oberlin. John served as Pastor of the First Church in Oberlin UCC from 1973 to 1991. Anne was a Supervisor in the Lorain City Schools from 1973 to 1991. John enjoys papermaking, printmaking and watercolors. Anne is a Court Appointed Special Assistant to advocate for children in the court system.

Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?

David Hill has been Pastor of First Church in Oberlin UCC  for ten years. He serves as President of Oberlin Community Services, a local social services organization. Pastor Hill enjoys integrating music into worship experiences, especially jazz.

Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?

Midge Brittingham has been a resident of Oberlin since 1969. She is an alumni of Oberlin College, class of 1960, and is the mother of two Oberlin graduates. She served many years with the Oberlin College Alumni Association and is an active layperson at Christ Episcopal Church in Oberlin. She and her husband Smith enjoy hosting meals for international students at their house each Sunday night.

Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?

Photo by Yvette Chen OC '16Think about all the places you have walked. Have you walked to the public library? Or to school? To pick up some groceries downtown? Or to friend???s house?

Margaret Christian has walked back and forth a countless number of times to these places and to others. Why not drive a car instead? There are a number of reasons she could tell you, from health reasons to environmental ones. There is also a fundamental difference for Ms. Christian in the way you perceive the town as a walker. She says, ???I see the changes of the seasons, I see the cans that are left behind.??? So perhaps walking can be a learning experience as well, explains Ms. Christian. A way to get in touch with the surrounding environment and to gain a better sense of the community, with all of its unique characteristics and rich history. Ms. Christian personally likes to walk to the Westwood cemetery, because it is a place she can come back to, remember and learn about the people that were here who make up the history of the town.

         Photo by Yvette Chen OC'16A.G. Miller is Professor of Religion at Oberlin College. He has lived in Oberlin with his wife Brenda Grier Miller since 1991. In 2001, he and several other Oberlin community members started the Oberlin House of the Lord Fellowship, part of the House of Lord Pentecostal churches.

Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?

I have been thinking about my eating habits since I went visit my brother in Colorado, who has recently adopted a strict Vegan diet. Not only does he not eat any animal products, he abstains from eating any type of processed food. This adjusted nutritional lifestyle seems like a very difficult task. I???m not sure if I have the willpower to currently take such a drastic step in my own life. His new nutritional lifestyle made me reflect on my daily food choices. How does the food I eat affect me, and furthermore, how does it affect the environment? I never took time to think about how my food choices affect the environment. An Introduction to Ecology course at Lorain County Community College recently opened my eyes to my narrow scope of my food choices.  It also offered me a fresh perspective and challenged me to begin looking at my food and the environment through a broader lens. During my Ecology course is when I first heard the term flexitarian. It means someone who is a vegetarian and allows meat in his or her diet on occasion. I started thinking about the different food choices that I can make that can positively affect the environment without going to the extreme.

This idea of becoming a flexitarian is appealing to me, because even though I care about the environment and my own health, I am not ready to take such drastic steps in my life to become a full-fledged vegetarian. Instead, I want to push myself to make better food choices rather than feel guilty about eating meat or processed foods on occasion. I believe that eating a completely vegetarian diet is hard and can be costly. With the adoption of a flexitarian lifestyle, I can make changes while also bending the rules to suit my personal tastes. Also, I have a young son that loves his macaroni and cheese and I would not feel right restricting his food choices. However, he will still be affected by this lifestyle change because grocery shopping as a flexitarian will directly affect what I put on the dinner table. He will unknowingly reap the benefits of our newfound nutritional lifestyle.

John Memmott is a semi-retired teacher who spent many years in the Oberlin public schools. He???s also a long-time sea-kayaker and avid photographer. Recently, he???s gotten involved with getting the Environmental Dashboard system set up in Prospect Elementary. 

Technology to display video has come a long way since its start in the 1800???s. From analog to digital, VHS to BluRay, and even as you look at your computer, how we receive information (and entertainment) via a screen has changed drastically in order to make a more informed society. But are we informed about the right things in all the right places? While information about the world continues to grow and become more easily accessible, how about what???s happening in Tappan Square this weekend? Or what is my favorite local business doing on the sustainability front? How is the electricity and water I use daily moving through the City of Oberlin? With the launch of the new Environmental Dashboard at Prospect Elementary School and the Oberlin Public Library, this information will be more accessible and relevant to Oberlinians than ever.

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.  

Linda Arbogast interviewed Rethink Your Ride business sponsor Chris Robinson, owner of Swerve.  Swerve is a local bike shop and has prices that range from $1 to over $7,000.  Chris said that Oberlin has had a history of having more bikes than cars and upon noticing that a bike shop was missing from this equation, it was an easy decision to start a bike shop business.

Oberlin has many people who enjoy biking around town, it is also a town located along the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.%20Find%20them%20on%20Facebook:%20%20http:/www.facebook.com/pages/Swerve-Bike-Shop/281943428491842?ref=ts%20%20">North Coast Island Trail  and downtown.  In addition, Oberlin serves as a spur Route along the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.%20Find%20them%20on%20Facebook:%20%20http:/www.facebook.com/pages/Swerve-Bike-Shop/281943428491842?ref=ts%20%20">Backroads to Beaches trail.  Last but not least, Oberlin is also a hub along the Underground Railroad ride for bicyclists traveling to Canada by way of Detroit.  For more information on the alternative route visit: http://www.adventuretravelnews.com/new-cycling-route-brings-underground-railroad-alive.

The word ???polycultures??? describes farm systems that include a number of diverse crops growing together. A common example of a polyculture system is the ???three sisters???, a growing system that includes corn, beans, and squash growing together in the same spot. The corn plant grows quickly, providing support for vining bean plants. Squash plants have shallow roots and wide leaves that produce shade and limit competition from weeds. The roots of bean plants fix nitrogen in the soil, adding fertility and providing extra nitrogen that corn plants need so survive. All three of the plants provide a yield of food. They also provide complementary services to support each other.

Polycultures can also be used to describe the social movement that has formed around the support of local food systems, including the collaboration of diverse communities, both rural and urban, around the provision of local food.

Oberlin Community Services Executive Director Linda Arbogast interviewed Chris Heinebrodt and Amanda Heinebrodt about their local business called Simply Elegant Candle & Gift.  Their store is located at 29 South Main Street, Oberlin (former location of Infinite Monkey.) Chris Heinebrodt is the owner and President and his wife Amanda is the Vice President of this Oberlin business.

Chris and his wife Amanda consider their store a boutique of candles and gifts.  Their store items price range from 99 cents to $120.  The reason Chris and Amanda opened up a store in Oberlin is because they grew up in Lorain County.  After college they moved to Oberlin because they loved the downtown.  They waited for a spot to open up downtown and then the perfect spot became available.

How much can we rely on technological advances to solve our energy problems?  Some new technologies have the potential to be a powerful way to save energy.  For example, automating HVAC systems and enhancing their digital control capabilities has saved lots of energy and money in buildings. However, many technologies -- including these -- require some level of human intervention to fully benefit from them. If people don???t use the technology properly, the expected benefits will not be realized.

The most important people are those who directly manage the new technology:  building operators, facilities staff, etc. If they are given a new system, but not taught how to use it, the system will not work properly.  I have witnessed this first hand during a recent installation of an automated and digitized HVAC system at a local institution. The Operations & Maintenance Staff didn???t have the required knowledge and experience to operate and maintain the new technology, and the system underperformed.  Also, too many staff members had the ability to change system operating parameters without a full understanding of how these changes would impact the operation. There was also reluctance from a few staff members to actually experiment and optimize the new technology. Eventually this harmed the equipment energy performance.

I was walking toward Ben Franklin and noticed that I was 20 minutes late according to the downtown clock as a result of another interview.  I underestimated the enthusiasm of business owners to want to talk to me about their business. I quickly rushed in to Ben Franklin and asked for Krista who was already standing there appearing to be a bit out of breath herself.  She said she had also rushed thinking that she was late for her appointment with me.  This is the camaraderie that takes place in Oberlin when a person spends time shopping in downtown and involved with community events.

Krista told me that each Ben Franklin store is independently owned so the setup and displays are different.  There are some Ben Franklin stores that have turned into a craft store so many younger people are surprised to learn that the Ben Franklin in Oberlin is a variety store filled with books (new & used), office supplies, health & beauty items, household goods, fabric, custom framing, fair trade gift items, snacks,  and candy.  Krista says that her store is ever evolving to adapt to the needs of her customers, which is the reason people should visit often.

It was a rainy and somewhat cold Friday morning as I waited outside the door for Liz Burgess to open the door to begin our interview.  As any normal business owner is, she approached the door looking as though she had something on her mind but as soon as she saw my face she began to smile.  She quickly started her computer and turned on music on low as it to set the atmosphere for the day before we sat down in front of the glass case that she recycled from possibly another store that operated in Oberlin.

Liz Burgess is the Owner/Manager of the Ginko Gallery & Studio.  Ginko Gallery & Studio specializes in art made by individual from smaller studios.    Most of the art are considered contemporary crafts with an emphasis at times on local resources, which may be wood, glass, trash metals, etc.  None of the artists are from big companies or studios.  Ginko Gallery also has artist studios and has a large variety of art supplies. The items in her store range from 50 cents to $2,500.  For the most part the artists try to keep some items at $20 or under, keeping in mind that people desiring to find affordable gifts.

My fianc??, Sharon Pearson, introduced me to the world of sustainability. Much of my life I had some knowledge of recycling and energy saving practices: however, I did not realize the full impact I had in making my community a better place, both now and for generations in the future.

Upon arriving to Ohio from North Carolina, my recycling efforts began quite simply, with saving aluminum cans and taking them to a recycling center for money.  With further knowledge and education, I began recycling at home by sorting metals and plastics labeled as recyclable for trash day, using a recycling bag as a separator. This bag was placed next to the trashcan as a reminder to consider recycling over throwing our waste away. After a short period of time, we were filling up the recycling container much faster than the ???regular??? refuse container.  In fact, we do not place the refuse container out on the curb but every few weeks.

It may be the Southern boy in my heart, but the Collard Green festival in my hometown was always a highlight of my childhood. Everyone in the small, rural town would gather at the town hall and partake in a feast of all sorts of dishes, children would run around on the carnival rides, and it was a real town bonding experience. But the best part of it all was the fact that a majority of dishes brought were made with produce grown by local farms. This is probably why I was excited to hear that City Fresh, a local CSA (or community-supported agriculture) is continuing to push for local foods through a new partnership with Lorain County Community College (LCCC). Starting in June, weekly boxes of food from local farms is now available for subscribers to purchase at the new LCCC City Fresh stop.

City Fresh is a program of the New Agrarian Center, a non-profit organization that distributes locally grown seasonable vegetables and fruit to residents of Lorain, Cuyahoga, and Summit Counties. The majority of fruits and veggies are grown without the use of pesticides or genetic modifications, and even the vehicles that delivery produce use old vegetable oil. And you can guarantee that the supplies are fresh, as they are picked up within 24 hours of harvesting. Access to this incredible program has become even easier for residents of Lorain County with the establishment of the new pick-up location.