Local Leaders and Citizens to Come Together for Sustainable Change

Words by Sophie Vaughan

With some fresh faces sitting on the Akron City Council and a new Administration under Mayor Shammas Malik, Akron environmental advocates are ready for a big change. The Akron Environmental Justice Coalition is working to connect local citizens directly to City officials and policymakers to create lasting environmental change in our community. On Tuesday, January 30, 2024, the Akron Environmental Justice Coalition is hosting a public forum from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the First Congregational Church of Akron, where the Akron community can come together with local leadership to begin to address the biggest environmental issues facing our city. 

For this forum, local leaders will use a positive change methodology known as Appreciative Inquiry to facilitate small circle groups. Each group of local citizens will focus on a specific discussion topic relating to environmental issues in Akron, using a collaborative approach. Instead of focusing on problems, Appreciative Inquiry explores strengths and successes, fostering positive change through affirmative questions that amplify what’s working well. This approach sparks innovation and encourages a future built on shared values and aspirations. For the Akron Environmental Justice Coalition, these shared aspirations and values center around creating a sustainable, equitable, and healthy Akron.

The Akron Environmental Justice Coalition formed out of necessity, shortly before their first public event in April of 2023, the Environmental Justice Forum for Akron City Council and Mayoral Candidates. Up to that point, all the organizations that founded the Coalition had been working on policy issues within the City of Akron for a few years and had seen both some big wins and some equally big losses. From Preserve the Valley to No Frackin’ Akron and everywhere in between, representatives from local sustainability organizations had all been trying to ward off the environmental attacks on the region in their own ways, often working together on an informal basis. As they saw the defeat of their efforts to save the White Pond wetlands from development, and with the 2023 Akron City Council and Mayoral elections on the horizon, they all decided to band together as a formal coalition to put pressure on the candidates to prioritize sustainability. The Coalition has been meeting weekly since its inception.

The Akron Environmental Justice Coalition Core Team is made up of representatives from a multitude of Akron organizations. Representative leadership includes Beth Vild and Zach Freidhof of The Big Love Network, Michele Colopy of LEAD for Pollinators, Gina Burk and Jodie Grasgreen of Preserve the Valley, Meghan Lugo of Save White Pond, Richard Beck of the Sierra Club Portage Trail Group, a member of the Greater Akron Audubon Society, and Rev. Raymond Greene, Jr. of The Freedom Bloc as needed.

Before organizing the upcoming public forum, the Akron Environmental Justice Coalition performed a series of listening programs throughout the City of Akron over the summer. Additionally, members from each represented organization have received many phone calls and heard from many citizens from around the city regarding environmental justice issues that are important to them. After gathering all this feedback from Akron citizens, the Coalition settled on eight core issues. 

These issues include the future of The Innerbelt, Akron’s Urban Tree Canopy, Green Space Access, Urban Farming, Property Tax Abatement, Neighborhood Pollution, Green Housing, and Affordable Housing. The forum will dedicate one table to small group discussion on each issue, as well as one extra table to address any gaps that become apparent throughout the forum. 

The Big Love Network’s social media pages advertise the event where “attendees will have the opportunity to come together, share their concerns, and participate in bringing citizen-led ideas and solutions to life.” 

For more information on the event, please contact info@leadforpollinators.org.

Akron Environmental Justice Coalition Public Forum
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
6:00 – 9:00 pm

First Congregational Church of Akron 
292 East Market Street 
Akron, OH 44308