Winter Weather Preparedness, Healing Through Employment, Mayor Scott's Action Plan, and more! |
Dear Baltimore Office of Sustainability Friends,
What a year! As we close out 2021, our team thanks you for your continued support and readership. Some exciting progress was made toward becoming a more sustainable and equitable Baltimore in 2021, and we look forward to furthering our work together in 2022.
With the winter solstice right around the corner, we wanted to point our readers to some important cold-weather resources. As temperatures drop, utility bills unfortunately rise! This creates additional cost burdens on low-income households and seniors, especially those living on a fixed income. Silver Light is a senior-focused program that provides 1 on 1 support for home energy assistance. Seniors 60+ can call (443) 231-4300 to receive support for energy costs. Baltimore’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) also helps low-income households reduce energy expenses by weatherizing homes and helping residents maintain lower utility bills. Assistance is available for eligible owner-and tenant-occupied properties. Information on state-supported energy assistance programs is available here.
We can all help keep neighborhoods across Baltimore safe this winter season. Know the signs of hypothermia, help maintain sidewalks before and after precipitation by utilizing your local salt boxes and submitting 311 requests for salt refills, and follow these safety tips when shoveling snow. Learn how to protect your pet during cold weather and be sure to check out the Baltimore City Snow Center information page. If you come across someone in need of shelter on cold nights when temperatures drop below freezing, call (443) 984-9540 to request referrals between 9:30 am and 9:00 pm, M-F. Click here for a full list of shelters and services provided by the city to support people experiencing homelessness.
This month's newsletter is jam-packed with local sustainability work, so please keep reading to learn more!
Warm wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season,
Baltimore Office of Sustainability Staff
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Hon's Honey -- Employing Women and Promoting Healing |
Hon’s Honey, located in South Baltimore, does more than create locally sourced, natural products – 100% of profits are put towards employing women who are survivors of addiction, sex trafficking, generational poverty, and trauma. This “healing hive” is a program of The Well, a community of women committed to transforming lives through long-term relationships, practical programs, and the healing power of love. Before being employed at Hon’s Honey, women commit to a holistic healing process through a life development program, free counseling, workshops, and building community at The Well. The Well is also one of Baltimore’s newest Community Resiliency Hubs.
In order to source their materials, Hon’s Honey partners with the nearby Filbert Street Garden and their extensive beehives. Their products include the raw honey itself (available by the jar or by monthly subscription), as well as a wide range of scrubs, lotions, salves, candles, soaps, and more. If you’re looking to do some last-minute holiday shopping, you can order their products online, including a wide variety of gift-box arrangements. They even offer curbside pickup at their Curtis Bay location so you don’t have to worry about shipping costs or timing. Want one more incentive that they’re offering just for our faithful newsletter readers? Enter the code “sustainbmore” at checkout to save 10% now through December 31st (the code is good for one use per email address)!
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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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New Staff -- Valerie Bloom |
Valerie Bloom (they/she) is the new Youth Sustainability Coordinator in our office. In this role, Valerie is working to advance Baltimore's Cities Connecting Children to Nature Initiative, which aims to ensure equitable access to the benefits of nature for all of Baltimore’s youth. This work involves organizing conversations about systems-change, supporting schools and teachers in getting kids outside, convening trainings, promoting children's rights to the outdoors, helping youth connect to jobs in nature, and otherwise keeping the initiative on track and moving forward.
Valerie was raised in the Shipley Hill neighborhood of Baltimore and graduated from Baltimore City College High School. Before landing at the Office of Sustainability, Valerie spent a year with Baltimore Tree Trust as a Chesapeake Bay Trust Conservation Corps Member where she helped manage social media campaigns, created educational materials for workforce development, and developed the groundwork for a memorial tree planting targeted at honoring the transgender community. They also have extensive experience in developing and facilitating both mental health skills trainings and outdoor recreation experiences for youth. Join us in welcoming Valerie to the Office! They can be reached at Valerie.Bloom@baltimorecity.gov.
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Mayor Scott Unveils Action Plan |
On his one-year anniversary in office, Mayor Scott shared his goals for his first term. The commitments in his Action Plan are organized into five core pillars: Building Public Safety, Prioritizing Youth, Clean and Healthy Communities, Equitable Neighborhood Development, and Responsible Stewardship of City Resources. The Plan builds on the work of the mayoral transition team and reflects the need to operate with greater urgency and transparency to advance equity and to support sustainability and resiliency across the city.
Everyone can follow along with the status of the actions, which will be updated on a quarterly basis, as well as view key performance
indicators for each goal, at mayor.baltimorecity.gov/tracker. One action already marked as "complete" is the establishment a Sustainability and Resiliency Subcabinet to improve the long-term sustainability, preparedness, and environmental practices of the city. Part of the Responsible Stewardship of City Resources pillar, the Subcabinet just held its second meeting last week. We will be sharing updates on the Subcabinet in future newsletters.
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Recap of Last Weekend's Reusable Bag Giveaway |
On Saturday, December 4th, our office distributed over 25,000 reusable bags to 40+ organizations across the city! A special thanks goes out to our Sustainability Commissioners who supported the effort by loading boxes of reusable bags and environmental literature into cars, as well as to our team who supported planning and preparation for the event. If you or your organization is still looking to distribute bags to low-income Baltimore City residents, please send those requests to sustainability@baltimorecity.gov. And remember to bring your reusable bags when shopping to avoid the bag fee, especially during the holiday season. Thank you to all those that supported this effort!
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Sustainability Highlights |
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Mayor Scott poses with Andy Cook, Executive Director of Made in Baltimore, on the store's opening day. |
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Made in Baltimore Holiday Pop-Up and Online Marketplace |
Made in Baltimore's Holiday Pop-Up Shop is back for a 7th year, with opportunities to shop in person or online through January 9th. Made in Baltimore supports makers and manufacturers in Baltimore City by connecting small businesses to the tools they need to grow, create jobs, and strengthen our local economy. They also strive to connect consumers with locally-made products. This year's pop-up features products from over 50 local businesses, over half of which are Black-owned and over 80% of which are owned by women. The pop-up storefront located at 2700 Remington Avenue is open Thursdays-Saturdays from noon-7pm and Sundays from 11am-5pm. The online shop is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and offers free shipping or free in-store pickup. Be sure to bring your reusable bag when you shop!
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EPA Administrator Completes Justice Tour |
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Administrator, Michael Regan, completed a Journey of Justice tour covering three states (Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas) to highlight environmental injustices in these regions. Secretary Regan completed 9 stops, confronting water infrastructure issues in Jackson, MS, residential toxic exposures in New Orleans, LA plus the state's infamous "Cancer Alley", and communities overburdened with pollution in Houston, TX. Regan's appointment made history as the first African American to fill the role. During the tour, he stated, "As I look at many of the folks in these communities, they look just like me." Journey for Justice occurred on the heels of the nation's historic $1 trillion infrastructure bill which provides funding for public transit, water, and wastewater, electrification among many other environmental initiatives holding the prospect for environmental equity. Click here to read more.
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Books + Articles our Staff are Reading |
"...a new study by University of Maryland researchers helps clarify the role of urban trees in mitigating stormwater flows, and finds that even isolated trees lining a street or planted in a park may have a significant effect."
Avoid food waste with these tips to store and stretch your groceries -- Chicago Tribune Features tips, tricks, and leftover ideas to extend the life of fresh foods including fresh produce, milk, and meats. Some ideas to try today to reduce wasted food - make croutons from stale bread, soak wilted greens in water to plump them back up, and freeze leftovers.
"Look at any map of charging stations in the United States, and in most of the big cities, what is immediately apparent are big blank spaces coinciding with Black and Latino neighborhoods. Electric vehicle advocates call them charging deserts."
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Reduce Your Holiday Footprint |
The holiday season is full of joy and giving and presents and... loads of consumer waste. Did you know that bows, bags, and other holiday gift material add one million tons of trash to landfills each week? And then there's the environmental toll of production and shipment of December purchases worldwide and all the unused gifts that eventually become trash. The good news is that there are so many ways we can make the holidays more cheerful for ourselves and the planet (not to mention our bank accounts). Here are a few tips that we've found helpful:
- Organize a Secret Santa or gift exchange with your family members or friends, where each person only gives to one other, as opposed to purchasing a gift for every individual, which can be... a lot.
- Shop pre-owned. Even for those who favor brand new stuff, you can often find still-tagged items at discounted costs on sites like ThreadUp or Poshmark.
- Swap the stockings with reusable bags. With Baltimore's plastic bag ban recently underway, this is bound to be a useful item for any household.
- Have you received early holiday presents you're not fond of? Regift! Because one human's non-trashed gifts can surely be another's human's treasure...
- For friends and family who would appreciate a gentle nudge toward greener ways, introduce them to the reusable versions of household staples, such as a glass water bottle or a set of bamboo utensils.
- Consider a donation on behalf of your giftee to a charity they'd appreciate. It's the gift of knowing you're the reason for the holiday season being just a bit brighter.
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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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Lead Editor: Aubrey Germ, Climate and Resilience Planner
Newsletter Contributors: Bruna Attila, Coastal Resources Planner + Acting Floodplain Manager; Valerie Bloom, Youth Sustainability Coordinator; Abby Cocke, Environmental Planner; Aubrey Germ, Climate and Resilience Planner; Amy Gilder-Busatti, Environmental Planner; Kimberley Knox, Green Network Coordinator; Lisa McNeilly, Sustainability Director; Ava Richardson, Sustainability Manager; Kas Tebbetts, Climate Community Engagement Fellow; Sara Kaiser, Baltimore Public Allies Fellow
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