Happy Black History Month!
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With the 2019 Sustainability Plan, the Office of Sustainability made
a commitment to prioritize equity
in all that we do. In light of our commitment, we choose to raise up Black History Month with this issue. We are featuring Baltimore leaders and others who have been pivotal and innovative in their fields, pushing forward a vision of a more just and equitable society.
We begin this issue with a list of
black inventors
and their inventions (curated by the
Black Inventions Museum
) representing the brilliance and creativity originating from people across the African Diaspora.
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Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
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Octavia Butler was an African-American writer who wrote from a place deeply rooted in history-sharing the implications of being black in America. She had an incredible knack for thinly veiling reality behind the guise of science fiction. Her work features stories of the disenfranchised questioning the darkest corners of human nature. Abby Aquirre of the New Yorker explains, "By writing black female protagonists into science fiction, and bringing her acute appraisal of real-world power structures to bear on the imaginary worlds she created, Butler became an early pillar of the subgenre and aesthetic known as Afrofuturism."
Parable of the Sower
is a dystopian, but maybe not so unimaginable, novel written in 1993 and set in 2024. We highly recommend you check it out!
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Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown
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Ms. Brown identifies as a writer, an organizational healer, a pleasure activist, a network weaver, and an Octavia Butler scholar. In Adrienne's book,
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds,
she references Octavia regularly, deferring to her wisdom on the human ability to transform and overcome.
Critic Shelly Streeby describes Ms. Brown's book as luminously "
imagining the future of climate change, making different worlds through direct action and social movement-building, and creating transformative change through visionary speculative fiction...In her movement-building work, Brown emphasizes the importance of intersecting social justice struggles."
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Farmer Chippy of the Plantation Park Heights. Photo by BoS Staff.
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Farmer Chippy is the founder of
The Plantation Park Heights
,
an immigrant from Trinidad, and a well-regarded member of his community. When he first came to the United States, he was frustrated by his inability to find the types of fresh vegetables and herbs he was used to eating. Along with a few friends, he started a garden on a vacant lot off of Park Heights Ave, which has since become a community gathering site. Now he has his sights set on providing a wider range of services for his community. He is extremely enthusiastic about his work and the potential for change. He also loves volunteers!
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Dr. Lawrence Brown speaking at Open Society Institute's (OSI) 20th Anniversary Speaker Series.
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Dr. Lawrence Brown is a historian, critical geographer and political economist who is known for coining the term "
The White L & The Black Butterfly
," which refers to the geographically and racially separated sections of West and East Baltimore. His work has been critical to the analyses and work of our Office and the Department of Planning as a whole. He is currently serving as a researcher and professor at Morgan State University.
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You don’t have to be a climate scientist or city planner to help improve the sustainability and resilience of Baltimore. Everyone has a story to tell about making Baltimore a stronger, fairer, and safer place for all of us. We’ve been collecting stories
on our website
,
and we invite you to share yours with us by posting on social media with the hashtag
#EveryStoryCounts
and/or by
emailing us.
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Baltimore Beyond Plastic Extravaganza
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On January 25th,
Baltimore Beyond Plastic
(BBP), a youth environmental leadership group which operates out of the Office of Sustainability, held their first Art & Action Extravaganza. Drawing over 100 attendees, the event featured food, live music, raffles, tablers from local environmental advocacy groups, speeches by local elected officials and activists, and a voter registration station. Activities included making plastic bag flowers, painting a banner that reads "We are Not Disposable," decorating reusable canvas bags, signing petitions, and coloring and filling in postcards in support of the proposed state-wide ban on plastic bags. BBP will be holding a rally in support of the Bag Ban in Annapolis on Thursday, 2/20. For more information or to participate, reach out to the group at
bmorebeyondplastic@gmail.com
.
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Art & Action Extravaganza at the 2640 Space. Photo by BoS Interns.
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Food Waste Reduction Working Group
Our first Baltimore-Food Waste Reduction Working Group (B-FWRWG) met Thursday, January 23
rd
.
We provided updates on the food waste reduction efforts taking place city-wide and strategized about food waste reduction best practices as individuals, communities, organizations, institutions and a society.
Future meetings are scheduled on the fourth Thursday of every other month
- March 26th
- May 28th
- July 23rd
- September 24th
- December 3rd
The next meeting will focus on food waste prevention and waste tracking. We will be conducting a waste sort to provide attendees the skills and resources needed to conduct a similar assessment in their respective roles. Click the Google Group button to access our presentations, food waste resources, and contact list.
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Food Waste Reduction Working Group Meeting on Jan 23rd. Photo by BoS Staff.
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Our Office is a part of the Department of Planning's Census 2020 efforts, and Census 2020 is right around the corner! You'll receive your Census invitation mid-March. Responding to the Census is simple (it only take 10 minutes) and for the first time ever you can respond online, over the phone, and in written form. Responding to the Census is one of the most important civic duties you can perform – Census data is used to calculate funding for over 48 programs in Baltimore! Programs like WIC, Head Start, Community Development Block Grants, and Housing Vouchers are all dependent on Census participation. Every person missed in the count causes a loss of over $18,000 towards community programs like these! Respond by April 23 to prevent a Census worker from knocking on your door in May. Remember – the Census is Easy, Safe, and Important!
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Sustainability Highlights
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Greening Grants for City Schools
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The Green Team at National Academy Foundation receiving their grant and feeling ready start their gardening projects!
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For the past 11 years, we have been offering Green, Healthy, Smart Challenge grants to Baltimore City Public Schools for student-led greening projects. Earlier this month, we delivered our last round of checks for the 2019-2020 school year! This year, 44 schools received our grant, meaning we have now reached an impressive 77% of all Baltimore City Public Schools since the beginning of the program. In 2020, our greening champions are building greenhouses, hydroponic gardens and outdoor classrooms, improving school recycling, creating environmental advocacy art, and even running an agri-business to sell produce and honey harvested from a school garden.
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We are seeking submissions for fun slogans to feature on reusable bags that will be distributed in response to the recently passed plastic bag ban. Have you come across any catchy environmental sayings? We would love to hear from you! Please drop us a line at
sustainability@baltimorecity.gov.
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A great way to reduce your individual environmental impact is to reduce the amount of meat and dairy in your diet. Animal agriculture – the raising of animals for meat, eggs, and milk - currently contributes 14.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Practicing a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, or even reducing meat consumption, can improve personal health and promote sustainability. In honor of
MD Vegan Restaurant Week,
here’s a delicious recipe for
collard greens.
If you're really dedicated, check out the
Waverly Farmers' Market,
pick up some collards from a local farmer, and support the local economy.
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We Love Feedback
Tell us what you want to hear! Do you have ideas on newsletter content? Or would you like to nominate an organization or person to be featured? Email us at
sustainability@baltimorecity.gov
.
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Our Mission
The Office of Sustainability develops and advocates for programs and policies that improve Baltimore's long-term environmental, social, and economic viability.
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417 E Fayette St, 8th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202
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Editor-in-Chief: Aubrey Germ, Climate and Resilience Planner
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