Community Engagement and the Road to a Greener Cincinnati

Abstract

Record ID: 92

Award(s): Excellence in Research Communication

Program Affiliation: Capstone

Presentation Type: Video

Abstract: Combating climate change will be a group effort. Solutions will not come from one person, two, or even millions of people. The effects of global warming will only be aided when all people work together, and the first step toward that goal is community engagement. I propose that a virtual and in-person environmental community center that stands to educate, incentivize, and inform the public could be the solution. The center would offer classes regarding lifestyle changes, hard to recycle item drop-offs, host clean-up days, and act as a resilience hub. The idea of a community center that focuses on environmental efforts has been tried, and even mastered, by communities before. For example, the Environmental Learning Center in Vero Beach, FL, awarded Candid platinum transparency, is an outdoor preserve that also offers classes and events regarding environmental stewardship. Even locally, organizations such as the Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub, Scrap it Up, and Indigo Hippo are all working on sustainable efforts within the Cincinnati area, however they are not well known among the community. I suggest that the implementation of an environmental community center would be a beneficial addition to the Green Cincinnati Plan (GCP), a plan made by the city of Cincinnati to implement sustainable efforts throughout the city by the year 2050. If Cincinnati implemented an environmental community center accessible via the internet or in-person to all citizens of Cincinnati, environmental consciousness and awareness would be improved throughout the city.