Cleveland Climate Action Fund Awards over $26,000 in Neighborhood Grants!

Media Contact:
Michele Kilroy
Cleveland Climate Action Fund
216.664.2155
[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8.27.2015
Cleveland Climate Action Fund Awards over $26,000 in Neighborhood Grants!

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Climate Action Fund is awarding over $26,000 to eight projects that will reduce carbon emissions and help build thriving and healthy neighborhoods. This marks the Fund’s second round of 2015 grant recipients. The Fund provides free educational climate action workshops and competitive grant opportunities for projects that advance neighborhood priorities while also furthering Cleveland’s climate action goals.

The Fund has provides an equitable model for developing and funding neighborhood projects that align climate action with the assets, concerns, and priorities of Cleveland residents. Over the last six months, the Fund’s Advisory Committee reviewed 33 grant applications during two rounds of funding. A total of thirteen grantees, each of which have been awarded small grants of up to $5,000, will be recognized at the Annual Sustainability Summit on September 16-17 in Public Auditorium.

Examples of neighborhood projects include a neighborhood composting program on bicycles, transitioning a youth landscaping employment program to gasoline-free equipment, and a solar array on a K-8 community school that integrates with STEM curriculum, a bicycle parking and repair station near a transit stop, and reforestation on vacant land. The goal of the Cleveland Climate Action Fund is to hold workshops and fund projects in all Cleveland neighborhoods by 2017. To date, the Fund has held climate action workshops in six neighborhoods, reaching over 100 residents in-person and many more on-line.

This round of grants totaling $26,000 will be awarded to fund the following eight projects:

1. Potluck in the Park, Hough: A community wellness event at Historic League Park to engage attendees from the neighborhood with Sustainable Cleveland working groups and provide walking tours of the Hough Vineyard. Individuals bring dishes to the potluck, but the event is supplemented by restaurants/caterers that use local food and healthful options. This year’s partner is the Fatima Center.
2. Airport Composting Local Farm, Clark Fulton: Cleveland Hopkins Airport will provide used Starbucks coffee grounds to Maggie’s Farm in the Clark Fulton neighborhood to be composted. Approximately 80 pounds of coffee grounds will be diverted from the landfill every day. Landfills generate greenhouse gases as organic material breaks down.
3. Pollinator and Habitat, Old Brooklyn: Old Brooklyn will install five pollinator gardens and two demonstration beehives. Residents participating in educational workshops will receive seeds, garden designs and planting information. Residents that host a beehive will also have an opportunity to earn supplemental income.
4. Nursery Rhymes Doin’ Dirt, Detroit Shoreway: Development of a community garden that engages residents from all age groups. Residents will plant trees, remediate soil, create walking paths and develop a rain barrel system.
5. Possibilitarian Urban Homestead, Buckeye: Reforestation of an urban lot with trees, berry bushes, herbs and medicinal plants. Demonstration rain gardens will be created to retain and remediate water on site. The project will alleviate blight, produce food, and strengthen community cohesion.
6. Collinwood Rain Barrel Project, Collinwood: Rain barrel workshops to raise awareness of water quality through creative repurposing of old hardware. This project engages people from all ages and offers them a functional way to reuse water while beautifying their homes and gardens.
7. Greentopia, Hough: This is a three part project: (1) community planting day to create a fall garden, (2) a community zero waste event called Greentopia that focuses on sustainability/climate action, and (3) creating a youth workforce to landscape and learn horticulture skills.
8. EcoVillage Gateway, Detroit Shoreway: Purchase and install four bike racks and create a public bike repair station. Encouraging biking reduces emissions and fuel usage, improves community wellness, and generates connectivity to nearby recreational centers and the future RedLine GreenWay.

To see the 5 projects funded in Round 1 Visit: /cleveland-climate-action-fund-awards-over-20000-in-neighborhood-grants/

Founded in 2009 the Cleveland Climate Action Fund is the first community-based carbon reduction fund in the United States. The Cleveland Climate Action Fund invests in local community projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and spark community engagement in Cleveland. The Fund’s founding partners include the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Foundation, George Gund Foundation, and the Green City Blue Lake Institute at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The Fund’s Advisory Committee is composed of local community non-profit, corporate, and philanthropic organizations: ArcelorMittal, BrownFlynn, City of Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic, The Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cuyahoga County Land Revitalization Corp., Eaton Corporation, Enterprise Community Partners, the George Gund Foundation, KeyBank, Neighborhood Connections, and Neighborhood Progress Inc.

The Fund provides an option for everyone from individuals to companies that want to reduce carbon emissions and make a local impact. Donations to the fund are tax-deductible and directly support educational workshops and carbon reduction projects. Donors can give at a variety of levels and the carbon calculator on our site can assist those who wish to offset their carbon footprint. Visit www.clevelandclimateaction.org for more information.