Parks + Greenspace : For Good

Charmaine Mamantov, 78, came to Cincinnati from Knoxville, Tenn., so she could be with family. 

What she didn’t know was that she would find a second family at the Krohn Conservatory, where she’s volunteered for the past five years. 

“I’ve worked all my life as a retired college professor, and I can’t just sit,” Mamantov says. “So I looked at several places, and when I went to Krohn, they were very welcoming to volunteers. They made me feel like I was going to be an important part of a team.” 

As a key member of Krohn’s team of volunteers, Mamantov has served in a variety of capacities—as a door guard, a horticulture helper, a tour guide and a butterfly show board member—to name a few. 

This year’s international show, Butterflies of Morocco, is about more than beautiful butterflies, though, Mamantov says. It’s a cultural experience. 

“When you walk in, the first thing you see is a tent with camels, and you go through an entranceway that has all sorts of interesting artifacts,” Mamantov says. “And you really need to take time to look at it really slowly. And not just the butterflies, because when you come out of the show, you’ve had the experience of being in that other culture.” 

It’s the ambiance, Mamantov says, that “really attacks the senses.” Flowers continually change; 16,000 butterflies flutter about; water flows; and Moroccan beats and rhythms play in the background. 

“Everything just surrounds you—what you hear, what you feel, what you look at,” Mamantov says. “And that’s not an accident. The people that design this do it that way so that when you walk into the showroom, you really feel like you’ve entered another world.” 

While the sights and sounds engulf the senses, it’s the message, Mamantov says, that’s the ultimate takeaway. 

“It’s particularly important in the current world climate that we come away from the show each year with an understanding that there are many, many other cultures out there in the world,” Mamantov says. “And the butterflies put a peaceful thing over all of it.” 

Do Good: 

• Get a coupon and visit Butterflies of Morocco. 

• Volunteer at the Krohn Conservatory.

• Support Krohn Conservatory.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia. 

Nestled between Great American Ballpark and Paul Brown Stadium, Smale Riverfront Park provides the public with everything from green space and gardens to bike paths, fountains, a labyrinth and porch swings that face the Ohio River and allow family and friends to sit back and relax. 

For Deb Allison, Cincinnati Parks’ business service manager, the space serves as “the front doorstep, not only to Cincinnati, but also to the state of Ohio.” 

To encourage more visitors to embrace the landscape, events will take place from now through mid-September to promote family-friendly fun this summer. 

“The Greater Cincinnati Foundation was kind enough to support this new series, in partnership with the Cincinnati Parks Foundation, so we’ve been able to put together this amazing lineup,” Allison says. 

The lineup includes events that are divided in three different areas—music, theater and movies—the latter of which Allison says she’s particularly excited about. 

“They’re not all just kid movies, but they’re all kid-friendly, so the entire family will enjoy,” Allison says. 

Brave is the next scheduled film, set to air the evening of May 31. 

Allison says families are sometimes hesitant when it comes to navigating the area and finding parking, but she says she doesn’t want that to discourage them. Most events are scheduled for non-Reds game days, so parking is more available and less expensive.

“Smale Riverfront Park can not only act as the backyard for the residents and citizens of Cincinnati, but it can also act as a destination place for people who have never been or that are coming for the first time,” Allison says. “It’s an amazing, unique oasis and should be explored and experienced by everyone.” 

Do Good:

• Attend Family Summer Fun events at Smale Riverfront Park.

• Contribute to the evolution of Smale Riverfront Park by voicing your opinion about what you'd like to see on the park's new carousel, coming in 2015.

• Get involved and contribute.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia. 

About seven years ago, Crossroads began a transformation that positioned it as more than just a church. Its vision was to focus on ways in which it could serve others—in not just the community, but across the world.
 
Crossroads’ work with GO South Africa was making an impact in the lives of those battling poverty and HIV/AIDS, but at the same time, volunteers began to think about their roles in their own community.
 
Modeled after GO South Africa, a team of volunteers initiated GO Cincinnati. It's an outreach activity that started out with about 1,200 volunteers who completed 65 projects throughout Greater Cincinnati in a single day for nonprofits.
 
“People really connected with the idea of serving their city, and on the front line serving those in need,” says Kelley Kruyer, director of Cincinnati ReachOut projects and leader of GO Cincinnati. “They’re doing the hard work every single day, so we thought it would be cool to thank them for the work they do in our community.”
 
This year, 7,000 volunteers will combine forces on May 18 to complete 400 projects that range from painting and landscaping to putting up drywall and serving meals.
 
According to Kruyer, the best parts of GO Cincinnati are the long-term relationships Crossroads has formed over the years with the organizations it serves.
 
“We know their buildings, their properties, their needs, and we know how to best help them, so sometimes we put together a multi-year plan, and it gives them the peace of mind and helps them to budget so they don’t have to spend money on things that we’re happy to help with,” Kruyer says. “It’s just a really special day.”
 
Kruyer, who grew up in Northern Kentucky, left her hometown in the ‘80s. During that 10-year period of her life, she says she wondered what she was doing because everyone and everything she loved was here. She says that's the kind of passion for the city that drives Crossroads to engage and reach out.
 
“We love our city—and by Cincinnati, we mean all of it—from Burlington to Middletown to Amelia to Cleves—the whole Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area,” Kruyer says. "We’re just totally committed to making it one of the best places in the country to live.” 

Do Good:

• Find a nonprofit that interests you and lend a helping hand.

• Assist Crossroads in its volunteer efforts throughout the year.

• Like Crossroads on Facebook.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia. 

Part of Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation’s mission is to create spaces that are open and welcoming; and one way 3CDC achieves its mission is by offering an array of programs within its two public spaces: Fountain Square and Washington Park.

Beginning April 5 at Washington Park, EcoSculpt installations will be on display in an effort to not only raise awareness about green living, but also to recognize and celebrate local artists. 

“Washington Park is in the center of the arts community—we’re across from Music Hall and SCPA is right next door—so we’re always astounded by the level of creativity surrounding the park,” says Brittney Carden, communications officer at 3CDC. “So we want to in turn promote some of that creativity and open people’s minds.” 

In years past, EcoSculpt, which is a collection of sculptures made entirely of recycled materials, has taken place at Fountain Square, but Carden says 3CDC wanted to move the event to Washington Park so that it would reach a greater variety of people and encourage them to maintain the spaces that are intentioned for their use.

“People might look at Coke cans or bottle caps and see at it as garbage—nothing can be made from that—and that’s not true,” Carden says. “People have made fantastic art from a lot of these recyclable materials that we no longer value.” 

Tom Tsuchiya’s “Atlas Recycled,” which is a seven-foot tall sculpture made of recycled cans and bottles, was a 2010 EcoSculpt submission that gained national recognition. It traveled to New York City’s Grand Central Terminal and Washington D.C.’s National Mall. Carden says it's these types of memorable pieces that showcase local talent through the lens of reusing and recycling items often viewed as trash. 

“We’re showing that these items do in fact have a use, and something beautiful and wonderful can be made from them,” Carden says. “Hopefully EcoSculpt will attract more [people] to the park and promote eco-friendly living.”

Do Good: 

• View the EcoSculpt exhibit April 5-26 at Washington Park.

• Attend events at Washington Park. 

• Like Washington Park's Facebook page.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

For the past month, Cincinnati Parks’ naturalists have been busy tapping sugar maples, collecting sap and boiling it down to produce real maple syrup. They’ve even taught the public how to make use of their own backyards to do the same. 

With March quickly approaching, maple season will come to a close, but not without celebrating what Explore Nature! program assistant manager Erin Morris refers to as “Maple Madness.” 

Maple in Mt. Airy and Pancakes in the Woods are “for those who maybe aren’t interested in doing it in their backyard, but for those who love the sweet success of the season, who want to taste that and who want to learn a little bit about the history,” says Morris. 

For decades, Cincinnati Parks’ representatives have worked to relay the importance of nature education to the public.

“When we started in the 1930s, technology was pretty minimal—we only had vehicles in the last 20 years, so people were outside,” says Morris. “There was no air conditioning, and they’d often sleep outside during the summer season, so people were much more connected to the outdoors and natural experiences.” 

With a changing culture and a technologically oriented society, Morris says people have lost the connection with the outdoors. The Explore Nature! program aims to remedy that, however, and celebratory maple sugaring events are some of the ways in which it teaches people about the outdoors. 

At both maple events, participants begin with a pancake breakfast, where they enjoy the syrup that’s been produced by the trees surrounding them. They then go on to learn the story and process behind maple sugaring. 

Following breakfast at Maple in Mt. Airy, participants are immersed in the time period. They ride through the woods in a hay wagon to an area where naturalists dressed as Native Americans and pioneers teach about the first uses of maple syrup in the United States through taste-testing and hands-on experiences that explain photosynthesis and the ways trees provide nutrients for both humans and nature. 

“When people think of maple sugaring, they think of Canada because they have the sugar maple leaves on their flag, but Ohio’s been producing maple syrup since the Native Americans in the 1700s,” Morris says. “It’s getting back to our history in Ohio—and even history in Cincinnati—but also having that connection with local products.” 

Maple Madness events take place throughout the first two weekends of March. 

Do Good:

• Register your family, friends or student group for Maple in Mt. Airy.

• Enjoy pancakes cooked by celebrity chefs and learn about maple sugaring at Pancakes in the Woods at the California Woods Nature Preserve.

• Like Cincinnati Parks on Facebook, and join and share their events with your friends.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia. 

From organizing events involving beer and historic churches to providing affordable housing and jobs to those who have struggled to attain them in the past, the Over-the-Rhine Foundation does a little bit of everything. And it's all for the purpose of reinventing and celebrating a diverse, historically-rooted community.

At the beginning of February, Kevin Pape, who’s lived in Cincinnati his whole life and who grew up with a fondness for the OTR community, stepped up to the role of president of the foundation. 

OTR has been a part of Pape’s family history for multiple generations, so he’s someone who understands what the community has to offer. 

His grandparents lived in OTR and operated a business there until 1935, though it was actually started back in 1850. Pape lived in the community himself for about four years in the 1970s, and his office at Gray & Pape—a cultural resource management and historic preservation consulting firm—just celebrated 23 years at its Main Street location.

Pape says because of his background, he deals with the renovation of historic buildings all the time, but his vision for OTR contains much more than the preservation of buildings.

“I think my interest really is in community-building,” Pape says. “The message is that it’s really all about putting people back into historic buildings and finding ways to do that in a meaningful way.” 

One way Pape and the OTRF plan to build on that vision is through their strategic plan, which entails owner-occupied redevelopment, historic preservation and the goal of making OTR the greenest historic neighborhood in the country. 

“We also want to encourage people who are investing in the neighborhood to seek ways to provide meaningful employment and jobs for people that live in the neighborhood who may not have had access to opportunities before,” Pape says. 

While working to show that “green buildings, sustainable buildings, LEED certification and historic preservation are actually compatible,” the OTRF also helps organize events like Bockfest, which Pape says showcases what’s good and great about the community.

This year, the nonprofit, in conjunction with American Legacy Tours, is offering historic church tours, which will highlight the architecture and stories of four different 19th century landmarks within the community.

 “When you think about the size of OTR and the number of churches, it gives you a good sense about the density of people and the diversity even at that time that would have such a population to support a variety of churches,” says Pape.   

It’s that diversity that has withstood the test of time, and which Pape says the community embraces at all levels.  

“Socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, you name it,” Pape says. “It provides residential density that allows people to share ideas and celebrate those differences in being able to all live in a compact place at one time. It’s about not only economic vitality, but residential vitality.” 

Aubree Forrer runs a one-woman show at the Campbell County Environmental Education Center. From maintaining taxidermy displays, fish tanks, birding areas and trails, to coordinating and leading free activities to engage the public and educate them about the environment, she does it all. 

Forrer started working at the Center about two years ago, and ever since, she’s kept busy by immersing herself in nature and sharing her love of the outdoors and all of the living things that inhabit it with others. 

In the past few weeks, she’s led night hikes and activities where people have had the opportunity to build birdhouses and bird feeders. 

“Little kids and adults both enjoy it,” Forrer says. 

While leading night hikes, Forrer says she uses experiments and hands-on activities to engage children and get them excited about nature. 

“I do one activity where I blow up balloons, and you have to guess the color of it, and most times, you get the color wrong,” she says. “I shine a light in it, and that teaches you about rod cells and cone cells in your eyes and how it’s different from humans to nocturnal animals, and you see that the color of your prey—like an owl trying to capture a mouse—isn’t as important as seeing the shape or shadows of that mouse.”

Then participants sit in a group and actually watch the owls in action. Forrer says owls are just one of the many animals in the area. Those involved in the hiking program get to see bats, badgers and possums, among other wild animals. 

One of Forrer’s favorite activities, and perhaps one of the most popular at the Center, is coming up in March, when people come together to make a nesting wreath for birds. At this event, Forrer provides the public with twigs, wheat, feathers, fur and other materials that they can piece together, which birds can later pick apart, as they gather supplies for a nest.

“So if you put it by your house or on the side of it, you can watch the birds gather that material from your wreath,” Forrer says. “It’s a lot of fun because you can use your own creativity in terms of making it as colorful as you want and decorating it.” 

While Forrer prepares for events, she also puts together educational supplies so she can provide people with a PowerPoint, for example, so they can take it home and see pictures of birds in the area and know how to identify them as they gather material from the nesting wreaths. Forrer says activities like this are nice—especially for the kids who live in the city who don’t have as much involvement with nature. 

“A lot of kids in the city areas that don’t really get to go outside and be in the woods, they can come out here and see things they normally don’t get to see, and they can ask questions—normally they’re always full of them,” says Forrer. “Sometimes it sparks their interest and they want to come out here all the time, every other weekend or so, and their parents are making the trip out here to just take a walk outside or come in our building and look at our different animals and our fish tanks.” 

Forrer says she’s fallen in love with teaching kids about nature and that she's living her dream job. Though she has quite the responsibility, as she’s the only employee at the Center, she loves every minute of it and couldn’t be happier to be achieving her mission.

“My ultimate goal is to educate the public, especially kids, about what the environment has to offer and how they can help preserve it, help it and use some of the things that natures provides us with to learn from.” 

This October will mark the 20th anniversary of the Reggae Run, and with its longevity comes continued success and an increase in participants. 

What started nearly 20 years ago as a small-scale project with the hope of getting 500 people to show up has turned into an event that has raised more than $1 million dollars over the years for local charities. It has also outgrown its longtime course at Ault Park.

This October, participants will instead gather at Eden Park for a new course and the same after-party that locals have grown to love, as it draws as many as 7,000 people together to celebrate. 

“It’s really amazing that the time has gone so quickly, but at the same time, it’s really neat to see how the event has grown and how it’s become part of Cincinnati,” says Doug Olberding, Reggae Run's organizer. “But we realized maybe seven or so years ago that not everybody that comes to the race knows why we do it.”

Olberding, who is the late Maria Olberding’s brother, says it dawned on him a few years back that most of the people who run the race—oftentimes people who are in their 20s—were about 5 years old when his sister was slain while running near her home in Mt. Lookout. 

“The older people know—you tell somebody who’s around my age, and they say, ‘Gosh, I remember that, it was a big deal,’” Olberding says. “But the younger people don’t know why we do it. We put it out there, but they don’t know the story, and we feel like it is our duty to make sure we keep the story alive and keep her memory alive through the race.” 

So the Olberding family puts on an event that encompasses everything Maria cherished—running, reggae and nature. Whether it was through her optimistic and positive outlook on life or through her volunteer efforts with organizations like Stepping Stones and Children’s Hospital, Maria made sure to put her best foot forward.

“She wasn’t a teacher or anything like that—it was just her natural altruism,” Olberding says. “She was a pretty giving person. She was a 20-something, typical girl out of college; she worked at the Beach Waterpark and had fun with her friends, but they found time to do things—volunteer work and stuff like that—so that was part of it, and I don’t know that I can say specifically where that came from. It was just the way she was.”

At the Reggae Run, participants can either run or walk a 5K. After the race, everyone joins together for fellowship through food and music, which is provided by The Ark Band, a group that Maria grew up listening to.  

Olberding says themes within reggae music that deal with “finding the good in things” speak volumes to who Maria was as a person. 

Proceeds from the event benefit the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which formed in Cincinnati when the Olberdings sought the organization out as a recipient.

The more than $1 million the event has raised for the organization is just one of the positives that has come as a result of the Reggae Run. 

“Some people come up to us during the race, and they’re beside themselves, saying how much they enjoy it and what it means to them to come; we’ve even had people get engaged there," Olberding says. "It’s always this really good vibe, and I think it’s one of the reasons why it’s been around for 20 years."

“It’s so easy to turn something into a negative, and if you do that, you just create more grief and more anger, and then it just never stops. I look at it and say, 'Just think of all the good that this event has done.’” 

• Share Maria Olberding's history by keeping her memory alive and encouraging others to participate in the Reggae Run.

• Like and share Reggae Run's Facebook page.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Kyle Campbell remembers designing his first house when he was home sick from school in the fourth grade. 

“Ever since then, going through high school, while most people would go out and do things, I would actually build models of houses I designed just for fun,” he says. “Coming into architecture was sort of a long time coming.” 

Campbell, who currently serves as the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati’s board member for the Architecture by Children program, did not initially make the decision to major in architecture, but he says the built environment has always had a huge impact on him. 

“I was a huge LEGO nerd,” says Campbell. “So the thought of building space and constructing things and designing things has always been a big part of who I am.” 

Now Campbell is sharing his childhood love with others in the ABC program. Jointly sponsored by the AFC and a local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the program aims to teach architectural principles to students through hands-on projects, as explained by volunteer architects. 
 
Campbell is one of those volunteers, but he’s also working to evaluate the program by matching it with the Ohio Department of Education's academic content standards to ensure that it has a lasting educational impact. 

“The AFC, as of this year, has decided that we want to take a more invested role in how the program unfolds because essentially, what we’ve been in the past is a donor of money,” Campbell says. “We’d like to be able to provide more manpower and more resources to help it be more successful.” 

The program currently reaches about 60 schools and 1,100 students, with ideally one architect assigned to each school. Participating students are tasked with a new project each year. This year, they are designing a museum of their choice for a space at 12th and Vine streets downtown. 

One seventh grade student has envisioned a nature museum with a river running throughout and a grand staircase with water flowing from the roof to simulate a waterfall that flows into an outdoor pond the public can enjoy. Her museum also contains a fountain enclosed in glass so people who are not inside the museum can interact with it.

“It’s just amazing coming from a seventh grader because those are the things I’d dream to do in a real-world project,” Campbell says. “The most important thing is to keep the kids understanding that it’s okay to be creative and to think outside the box.”

Campbell says he’s proud of the architecture this city has to offer, and he’s made it a personal goal to help the AFC achieve its mission of “educating the greater community of Cincinnati on the built environment.” 

“Most people don’t realize that Cincinnati has a fantastic history in architecture; it’s actually one of the most historical cities in the development of modern architecture,” Campbell says. “I want to be able to use the AFC as a way of educating the general public on those kinds of things.” 

Do Good: 

• View ABC student projects at the downtown branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County during the week of April 13-20. 

• Contact the AFC if you live in a home or know of a historically significant building that you'd like to share or learn more about. 

• Attend the AFC's exhibit,  ENVISION CINCINNATI. 

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

While Over-the-Rhine makes weekly headlines with its redevelopment renaissance, the neighborhood remains the home base for thousands of residents, many of whom can’t afford to be patrons of new restaurants and businesses. Over-the-Rhine Community Housing seeks to sustain an inclusive and diverse neighborhood, where longtime residents feel comfortable and confident that they will always have a home in OTR, even if their community continues to draw more and more people to the area.
 
Since 1960, the population of OTR has steadily decreased, falling from 30,000 to just shy of 5,000 residents. However, between the years of 2007 and 2010, the population increased by about 40 percent. That shift does more than fill apartments and condos. With a rising population comes higher property values and higher real estate taxes, all of which makes it more difficult to provide affordable housing to those who can’t afford market prices, says Mary Burke, executive director of OTRCH.
 
“Do we charge higher rent, or how do we close that even larger gap?” Burke asks. “So we want others—decision makers, power brokers—to work with us to figure that out. How do we maintain affordability in this neighborhood so that it can remain diverse going forward? It really will take some creative thinking and creative strategies.”
 
OTRCH currently provides safe, affordable housing to residents—half of whom earn less than $10,000 per year.
 
“Shelter is a basic human thing that people need, and being able to help an organization create more affordable places to live and be a part of is why it’s important,” says Brittany Skelton, OTRCH volunteer coordinator. “In Cincinnati, we have 300,000 people in our city limits, and about 100,000 live in poverty, and there isn’t enough affordable housing to go around.”
 
If there isn’t enough affordable housing to go around, the question remains: where will residents go if they can’t afford a place to live?
 
“People have low wages," Burke says. "Where are they going to rent that’s safe and decent and where they can build a community? If we close the door of OTR to affordable housing, where are people going to go? There’s an opportunity here to demonstrate that low-income, middle-income, high-income [individuals] can live together—not that they all have to be best friends and that there won’t be some disagreement now and then—but that it can work. Property values increase, people get along. There’s an opportunity.”
 
Moving forward, OTRCH will need community support, but Burke is confident that OTR can be a welcoming and inclusive community for all individuals. She’s already seen that happen as a result of the Washington Park renovations.
 
“The programming has made it feel like everyone’s welcome, and it’s not for some kind of separate culture or community,” she says.
 
Burke’s hope is that the urban redevelopments of OTR do not have to lead to the displacement of the community’s long-time residents. They shouldn’t feel pushed out, she says.
 
“It would be like any of us who have roots somewhere," says Burke. "You just love it and want to stay there. I’d like the new folks moving in to appreciate that. There’s just a value in living with difference and extending your world to include diversity.” 

Do Good: 

• Get involved with OTRCH by volunteering to renovate houses or research grant information.

• Donate money or items to help OTRCH continue to promote and fulfill its mission.

• Like the organization on Facebook, and share its page with your friends. 

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia. 

An assortment of fresh produce lines a long table, while a cooking demonstration occurs in the adjacent kitchen. The dish: banana and apple muffins. This is the current setup for The Market, an event that takes place from 4 to 6 p.m. every Thursday at Gabriel’s Place in Avondale. 

Because of the wintery weather, most of The Market’s produce currently comes from Green B.E.A.N. Delivery; but on the grounds of Gabriel’s Place is a community garden that currently contains nine purchased plots and looks to grow in terms of both gardeners and food supply in 2013. 

Avondale’s only remaining grocery store closed in 2008, leaving the community without immediate access to fresh meats, fruits and vegetables. 

“The community of Avondale is considered a food desert,” says Dustin Lee, coordinator of both the garden and the market. “So Gabriel’s Place sprung up in the need for access and education around whole foods and healthy eating styles.” 

In addition to the work done in the community garden and market, the nonprofit hosts a free lunch twice a week through a program called Mom’s Meals. It also offers cooking classes to community members who hope to incorporate healthy dishes into their diets and homes. 

“It’s one thing to purchase things that you wouldn’t normally purchase, but then what do you do with them?" Lee says. "It’s another aspect of providing access to healthy food."

The vision for Gabriel’s Place is to continue to grow The Market. 

A chicken coop is currently under construction, so the nonprofit will also be able to offer fresh eggs. Additionally, an orchard project will begin in the spring so that community members can come together to grow and purchase affordable fresh fruit. 

Gabriel’s Place is also the proud owner of a hoop house, which is a greenhouse space that contains an aquaponics system. Lee refers to it as “a marriage of aquaculture and hydroponics.”

“It’s like raising fish and growing vegetables in one contained unit, so the fish waste is pumped up into the beds, and the little microorganisms that live in the grow medium convert that ammonia into useable chemicals for the plants," he says. "That filters out the harmful chemicals to the fish.” 

Once the aquaponics system is operable, the goal is to harvest the fish and have them ready to sell fresh at The Market. 

Lee says he knows it's difficult for individuals who rely on mass transit to secure healthy food items, so the idea of a community garden and fresh market in the heart of Avondale is ideal. 

“The hope is to be able to provide access and education around how to use these fresh food products, as well as give the people of Avondale a sense of pride in their community,” says Lee. “Hopefully we’ll see more people coming out and utilizing this place, because that’s what it’s for, the community.” 

Do Good:

• Volunteer or purchase a plot in the community garden. 

• Donate to support the work of Gabriel's Place.

• Connect with Gabriel's Place and share the organizatoin's page on Facebook.

By Brittany York 

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies.

From barn repair to home renovations, workers at Danis Building Construction turn their talents into benefits for the community.

Example one: For two Saturdays in August, 22 volunteers from Danis Building Construction’s Cincinnati office worked at Gorman Heritage Farm in Evendale, repairing the horse, mule and alfalfa barns. The barn would flood when it rained, and the area around the barn became a safety hazard for the animals and workers.
 
When it rained, the grass around the barn’s concrete foundation would become saturated with water. The animals would get stuck in the mud, and it was dangerous for workers to attend to the animals inside and outside of the barn.
 
The Danis team installed new concrete housekeeping pads outside of the barn and created a drainage system to direct water away from the barn. Now, the rain collects on the concrete pads, and the piping sends the water down to a nearby stream.
 
Danis donated the manpower and excavation equipment for the project. Although the work was complete in two days, a few members of the team spent extra hours planning the project.  
 
Example two: The construction company also works with People Working Cooperatively, a nonprofit that works to keep the elderly and disabled in their homes. For these projects, Danis sends about 40 employees to different houses to complete projects such as putting up drywall and redoing bathrooms.
 
“We’re trying to do more for the community,” says Nick Hoyng, director of business development at Danis. “Cincinnati provides us with lots of construction work, and we want to give back.”
 
By Caitlin Koenig
Follow Caitlin on Twitter

September marks the start of another year for the Cincinnati Wildflower Preservation Society, whose members support free expert lectures and hours of exploration into local flora all year round. In addition to hikes, lectures and partnerships with like-minded non-profits, the Cincinnati Wildflower Preservation Society also hosts photo sharing programs and symposia throughout the year.  This year, the group again shares its expertise during the Great Outdoor Weekend, Sept. 23. At Miami Whitewater Forest, Society hike leaders will explore Dry Fork Creek, in search of glacial relict trees as well as riparian plants. "This area has the highest local diversity of breeding birds, with 112 recorded species, more than most other blocks in the State, in the recently completed Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas," according to the Society's website. "Insects, especially dragonflies and butterflies, will be abundant, along with fish, reptiles and amphibians." In the past year, member donations have allowed the Society to support the efforts of the Western Wildlife Corridor, the Arc of Appalachia and the Midwest Native Plant Conference. The group also sponsored a student at the Edge of Appalachia Science Camp. Upcoming programs focus on the largest and most diverse plant families on the planet--daisies--and the threat presented by the Asian Longhorned Beetle. From fall foliage walks to guided winter hikes, the Society's free offerings provide nature-lovers with plenty of options for exploring and learning. Do Good: • Join the Society. Active membership costs just $12 per year and supports programs every month of the year. • Beware the Asian Longhorned Beetle! Watch this video to learn the warning signs.  • Download the latest schedule of Society events. By Elissa Yancey Follow Elissa on Twitter

Every Fourth of July, neighbors and visitors in Northside gather for a neighborhood parade like no other. Starting at noon, politicians walk alongside floats for kids, neighborhood businesses and groups like the "men's drill team" and the "lawnchair ladies." Afterward, revelers gather at Hoffner Park for music and food for the afternoon.

But this year, there's a twist. Since the Fourth of July falls on a Wednesday, in addition to a July 3 evening Rock 'n Roll Festival, the Northside Business Association hosts a Family Fun Carnival for the afternoon of the Fourth.

The Fourth of July starts early in Northside, at 9 am, with a Red, White & Blue Pancake Breakfast that benefits Happen Inc.

After the parade, the Family Fun Carnival features a range of activities for kids of all ages offered by local, kid-friendly nonprofits including Happen, Inc., Churches Active in Northside, WordPlay Cincy and others.

Food vendors, from gelato to pizza and beer, and local entrpreneurs with populate booths to round out the celebration, which starts with the parade at noon and ends at 5 pm.


Do Good:

• Find the Parade on Facebook.

• Learn about Cincinnati Northside online.

• Like the Northside Community Council on Facebook.