Read more about the article Akron Welcomes Project ACORN to City-Owned Theiss Woods Property, Part 3
Project ACORN Target Neighborhoods / Photo Courtesy of the City of Akron
Neighborhoods

Akron Welcomes Project ACORN to City-Owned Theiss Woods Property, Part 3

Beyond the Five-Year Grant

Words by Sophie Vaughan

In Part 1 of this series, we introduced the City of Akron’s ACORN Project, a $1 million Urban Forestry and Workforce Development program funded by a grant from the USDA Forest Service. In Part 2, we detailed the next steps that the ACORN project’s partners need to take to get the program started, as well the cuts that had to be made to the original $6.7 million grant proposal to fit the budget for the $1 million award. This final part of the series addresses the future of the program beyond the five-year grant.

City of Akron Watershed Superintendent Jessica Glowczewski — who developed this project with Akron Zoo and Truly Reaching You (TRY) Ministries — hopes that if this program is successful, it could continue with subsequent rounds of grant funding, or that the City could adopt the program in some fashion.

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May 16, 2024
Read more about the article Akron Welcomes Project ACORN to City-Owned Theiss Woods Property
Photo by Sophie Vaughan
Urban Tree Canopy

Akron Welcomes Project ACORN to City-Owned Theiss Woods Property

Words and Photos by Sophie Vaughan

Theiss Woods is a treasured triangle of land located in the Merriman Valley. This 45-acre parcel of woodland and wetland is owned by the City of Akron and was saved from development by the will of concerned citizens, some of whom eventually formed the volunteer citizen action coalition, Preserve the Valley. Even though Theiss Woods was preserved, its fate was still up in the air, until the City of Akron recently announced that this lush green space will become the site of Project ACORN: Akron Community Owned Reforestation Network.

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May 2, 2024
Read more about the article Can Akron Become the Nation’s Most Edible City?
SoSA Biodiversity Leader Beth Vild Looks to Permaculture for Biodiversity and Food Security
Sustainability

Can Akron Become the Nation’s Most Edible City?

Words by Sophie Vaughan

What if you could pick blueberries from your local park to make a pie? Or gather chestnuts from your tree lawn to roast in your oven? What if your Sunday afternoon hike led you down a path lined with overgrown kale plants, which you could pluck for your dinner salad? That’s the reality that local permaculture expert and community organizer Beth Vild wants to grow for Akron, Ohio.

Vild is COO and Director of Programming at The Big Love Network, as well as the Founder and CEO of Wild Woman Designs and Consulting, a permaculture and landscaping design business focused on edible urban landscapes. Her decades of experience in urban permaculture and community advocacy are an invaluable asset to the Summit of Sustainability Alliance (SoSA). As a SoSA Biodiversity Team leader, Vild is ramping up for another big year of collaboration and community connection, with plans for several tree plantings, an organization-to-organization plant giveaway, and an abundance of educational outreach opportunities. This year’s activities will be informed by the successes and lessons learned from last year’s pilot projects.

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April 5, 2024