Giving Thanks to our BoS Community |
Dear BoS Friends,
In this season of giving thanks, we are radiating gratitude and deep appreciation for your support, your input, your voices, and for simply being a part of our Sustainability family. You all give the community much to be thankful for, and we would like to ask you all to share your own stories of gratitude with us. 2020 may not have brought us everything we wanted, but instead has taught us to appreciate everything we have. Whether you have a personal reflection on a significant milestone or good fortune, or want to make a public statement about a helpful neighbor or the impact of a community group, we're accepting nominations for our "Thank You Thursday" campaign. Send us an email (sustainability@baltimorecity.gov) or message us on Instagram (@sustainbmore) or Facebook (@baltimoresustainability) with your gratitude moment and an accompanying picture to be featured on our social media.
To get things started, we want to be sure that all of you know that your hard work, resilience, and 'charm' are essential to creating a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable city. So thank YOU -- and stay safe!
Warm Wishes and Happy Thanksgiving,
BoS Staff
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Dorothy Kielian and her free neighborhood seedling giveaways! Photos c/o Dorothy Kielian.
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Dorothy Kielian -- East Baltimore Community Member |
Many thanks to East Baltimore resident and community leader Dorothy Kielian for sharing her story with us for our #EveryStoryCounts campaign! This past spring, Dorothy decided to combine her love of her neighborhood and her love of gardening to bring some joy in response to the isolation of Covid-19. She began dividing the plants in her garden and starting new ones, placing them in front of her house on a "Take One" bench. Each new round of plants went more quickly than the last, and soon neighbors were bragging about how well their plants were doing. The "harvest of happiness" that this act generated is a great example of the ways we can reach out and support each other even when we're apart.
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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 Outdoor Learning Program Launching at 5 Schools |
Under our Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative, BoS and City Schools are proud to launch the Baltimore Outdoor Learning Program (BOLP) and announce our first 5-school cohort: Bay Brook Elementary Middle, Dickey Hill Elementary Middle, Edgecombe Circle Elementary, Sandtown Winchester Achievement Academy, and the William S. Baer School!
Each school will receive $5K, planning resources, and technical support. School teams of students and staff will be paired with volunteer landscape architects to collaboratively design their outdoor learning spaces.
This program is in part a response to COVID-19 given the reduced likelihood of transmission in outdoor spaces, but also promotes access to the mental health, physical health, and academic benefits associated with spending time outside. We aim to have functioning spaces by Spring 2021 to help facilitate safe and fruitful in-person learning for students at these 5 schools!
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Students at Hamilton Elementary/Middle using their outdoor classroom. Photo c/o Hamilton EMS Staff. |
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Resiliency Hub Solar Assessment Grant |
Our non-profit community solar partner, Groundswell, Inc., was awarded a $300,000 grant from the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) to help our Office analyze the expansion of community Resiliency Hubs in Baltimore City. This Resilient Maryland Program award allows our team to determine the feasibility of installing solar power and battery storage systems for up to 30 frontline non-profit community organizations throughout Baltimore’s most climate-vulnerable communities.
Climate change is a growing threat and disasters and severe weather events disproportionately impact communities of color and historically underserved neighborhoods across the city. Our Office has been a leader in partnering with community organizations across the city to become Resiliency Hubs since 2015. Resiliency Hubs are trusted, frontline community organizations that provide a safe and supported space for vulnerable neighbors to gather or access resources when extreme weather events or other emergencies occur. Hubs provide access to reliable power for essential devices, emergency supplies, heating, cooling, drinking water, and food, among other things. We currently have 9 Resiliency Hub partners across the city.
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Stillmeadow Community Fellowship Church, one of Baltimore's Resiliency Hubs, in SW Baltimore. Photo by BoS Staff. |
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Baltimore Makes CDP Cities 'A' List |
For the second year in a row, Baltimore has been recognized as one of 88 cities on the 2020 CDP Cities A List for its leadership and transparency on climate action. CDP, or Carbon Disclosure Project, is a non-profit that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states, and regions to assess their environmental impact and drive the urgent action needed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources, and protect forests. By reporting climate data through CDP each year, BoS is transparent about Baltimore's climate action while tracking progress, monitoring risks, and benchmarking against other cities facing similar challenges. In so doing, we are able to learn from and collaborate with other cities and international organizations to accelerate climate action. What gets measured gets managed and Baltimore is committed to managing its environmental risks and impact -- building a safe and secure city for people to live and work in.
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Sustainability Highlights |
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Tree planting at Racheal Wilson Memorial Park. Photo by BoS staff. |
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New Trees at Racheal Wilson Memorial Park |
One of the Baltimore Green Network's pilot projects, Racheal Wilson Memorial Park, is now the home of 30 newly planted trees! Firefighter Wilson loved flowering trees and the color of purple, so Bon Secours Community Works, a key partner, received a grant from AARP to plant eastern redbuds, flowering dogwoods, purple-leaf plums, star magnolias, and hackberry trees.
The grant covers the cost of the trees, watering bags, and a year of care and watering by Bon Secours Community Works' Clean and Green Team. The Clean and Green Team is a workforce development program for local residents to learn landscaping skills.
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Books + Articles our Staff are Reading |
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Reduce Your Holiday Food Waste! |
Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful, but it can also be very wasteful. Each year, about 200 million pounds of turkey meat is thrown out over the Thanksgiving holiday week. The absolute best way to stop food waste is to keep it from happening in the first place. Here are a few tips:
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Make a plan: Food waste warriors shop with a list. Work your way through your existing food stash and build from it as you make your list.
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Portions: Take into consideration the number of guests, portions needed, and the number of dishes offered. Even if there are five kinds of pie, your guests might only have one or two servings.
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Anticipate leftovers: For many of us, the highlight of Thanksgiving is leftovers. Make sure you have the ingredients on-hand to make your favorite leftovers, whether it’s bread for sandwiches, day-2 potatoes for all that gravy, or tortillas and sauce for turkey enchiladas.
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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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