Words by Sophie Vaughan
The Life on Land Team heard from Jessica Glowczewski on the City of Akron’s ACORN Urban Forestry project. Glowczewski provided the team with details about the project, which is being funded by a grant from the USDA Forestry Service. While the grant proposal originally asked for $6.7 million, the USDA only awarded the City of Akron $1 million. Glowczewski reviewed the cuts that had to be made to scale down the project to stay within the $1 million and discussed their ambitious goals for the program.
Life on Land Core Team member Beth Vild then proposed that perhaps the ACORN nursery could be utilized to grow native and fruit trees that could be given away to homeowners. She explained that while SoSA is working to fill the gaps in Akron’s Urban Tree Canopy on private property owned by organizations, SoSA’s scope does not cover homeowner property. Glowczewski said that the grant for the ACORN project will mostly be used to increase canopy on public land, but it does not specifically rule out private property. Glowczewski hopes that the community engagement portion of the project can help sort out whether there are private landowners who would be open to planting trees on their properties. Vild relayed that through her research, individuals want more trees at their homes, especially fruit and nut trees.
Vild then gave a quick recap of SoSA’s 2023 plant giveaway, highlighting the major accomplishments, some of the obstacles they faced, and lessons learned through the process. This year’s project will include two dates for plant giveaways – one in Spring and one in Fall – along with an educational element that will include two community events at the end of February and potentially another two events in July. Dates and details for these events are still to be determined. The team will also work on securing funding for training opportunities in permaculture and urban forestry.
Next, SoSA Chair Ross Widenor kicked off the General Membership meeting by introducing Northside Marketplace Director Justin Lepley, JD, who also owns Lepley & Co. tropical plant store and florist. Lepley provided information on the Marketplace’s business model and sustainability efforts. Northside Marketplace is home to several businesses that participate in composting at the organizational level, including plant waste from Lepley & Co. and food scraps from several restaurants in the building. Lepley also mentioned renewing the building’s recycling program and increasing the use of compostable or renewable food service packaging, dishes, and cutlery.
SoSA members then heard from Vild, who again presented information on the successes and obstacles from last year’s plant giveaway, followed by Rachel Madigan from the Zero Waste Team. Madigan relayed that the Zero Waste Team is currently collecting data for future optimization of waste reduction and urged SoSA member organizations to complete a survey available on the SoSA website. SoSA also plans to utilize social media to promote businesses and organizations that are composting, to raise awareness about commercial composting opportunities.
Before calling the meeting to a close, Widenor announced exciting plans to launch the Climate Action and Carbon Emissions Reduction pilot project in 2024.
SoSA is always looking to add local businesses and organizations to their membership base. For more information on SoSA, or to become a member, visit summitofsustainability.com.