Green : For Good

For children at the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Discovery Youth Summer Day Camps allow them to further their own skills and knowledge while also bettering the community. 

From technology and art activities to life skills and neighborhood involvement, campers can engage their senses while tapping into areas that they might not have otherwise had the opportunity to explore. 

Participants at art camp, which ended this past week, have no vision, limited vision or are losing their vision. They created pieces that sparked dialogue about what it means to be part of a larger community. One project involved the campers creating wind chimes made of cat and dog clay cutouts. The kids then donated them to the SPCA of Cincinnati to sell. 

“They enjoyed it, but it was very sad,” Art Instructor Scott Wallace says of the children’s visit to the SPCA. “It gave me an opportunity to go into this whole thing about art in terms of how some of the greatest art is not the world’s prettiest, and some art talks about issues and things that are going on and some things that are not great, so it gave us the chance to talk about what’s important.” 

Campers also worked together to create a colorful heart made from recycled bottle caps—which can be dangerous if left as trash—as a statement about healthy communities. 

“What’s happening is—wild birds are eating them—and they can’t digest them,” Wallace says. “So it’s killing them. It’s so much about recycling. You can take the most insignificant material and make great art.” 

Two of the children who worked to create the bottle piece project are totally blind, but by working together with other campers, they were able to create a beautiful display. It's what Wallace enjoys the most because he’s not so much an instructor as he is a facilitator. 

“For people who have never had vision—their approach is totally different—because they have a certain way of working and a certain level of expectation for their work, and they’re completely cool with it,” Wallace says. “The blind community and the people who’ve never had vision are fine. I think they get tired of us trying to instill our beliefs, but what I like to do is make the best of the vision they have left. And I just sit back and let them do their thing, but it really shows what community can do.” 

Do Good: 

• Like the Clovernook Center on Facebook, and keep an eye out for photos of campers' art work.

• Support the Clovernook Center by donating.

• Get invovled by volunteering.

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 seven years, elementary students from local schools have been learning about personal finance and the ways a market functions. 

“A lot of adults don’t understand how a market works, and these kids can tell you exactly how a market works,” says Julia Heath, director of the Economics Center at the University of Cincinnati. “A lot of people think the government controls prices or the sellers control prices and nobody else controls it, but that’s not true—it’s a market that determines the prices—and these kids know that.”

The students know the principles of a market because each year, they get to participate in the Student Enterprise Program’s Market Madness, where they’re given the opportunity to create and sell products. 

This year’s theme was based on recyclable materials and re-use, so students created things like bookmarks, bracelets, stress balls, notebooks and magnets.

“Some have their products laid out and are walking around with sandwich boards marketing their products, while others are buyers," Heath says. "Then halfway through the round, an air horn sounds, and the sellers then have an opportunity to change their price. So they see a market at work, and they know that if they’re selling things like crazy off their table, then they need to raise their price. If nobody’s coming by, they need to lower their price or increase their marketing.” 

Students also have the opportunity to take a college tour at UC, which Heath says is important because it allows them to envision themselves on a college campus and see if it’s the right fit for their own futures.

Market Madness is an annual event, but throughout the year, StEP’s director, Erin Harris, is busy with the program’s student-run businesses within their own classrooms. 

“They can earn money through their business by good behavior, good attendance and good grades,” Heath says. “And then four times a year, we go to the school with a truck that’s got a bunch of stuff in it, and students then make a decision about whether they want to spend their money, save their money or donate their money.” 

For Heath, it’s wonderful that students are learning economics principles, but the most gratifying aspect of StEP, she says, is students’ willingness to donate rather than save their money for a big purchase like an mp3 player or digital camera at the end of the year.

“Our most economically challenged schools are often our highest donators,” Heath says. “The class suggests the organization that will get their donations, and often it’s something they’ve had direct contact with—like they’ll choose the Alzheimer’s Association because one or two of the kids has had a grandparent that’s been stricken, or they choose Children’s Hospital because they had a classmate who spent a lot of time there, or they’ll choose the March of Dimes because their sibling has been affected. It’s really quite remarkable.”

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. 

Designers, do-it-yourselfers, the environmentally friendly and people who generally enjoy a good time will gather May 17 for Northside’s fourth annual ReUse-apalooza.
 
Building Value and its parent-organization, Easter Seals TriState, host the annual event to raise awareness about reuse and to support on-the-job training and other programs that assist people with disabilities.

This year’s event will include the Designer Challenge, which highlights some of the work BV does. The organization reuses building materials to create everything from useful pieces for the home to works of art.
 
Items will also be up for auction, and according to Lisa Doxsee, communications manager for EST and BV, it’s a way to “assist individuals with disabilities and disadvantages to more fully live, learn, work and play in their communities.”
 
Each year, the event raises close to $30,000 of unrestricted funds, which allows the closely connected nonprofits to further their missions by enabling individuals who might otherwise have difficult times securing employment to learn necessary skills and gain experience.
 
“They just can’t seem to get both feet on the ground at the same time, and they just need some assistance in getting the education or the training they need and the opportunity to learn,” Doxsee says. “When they do, they’re able to move out and get their own jobs and fully support themselves and often start to train others—it’s really a cool thing to watch.”
 
Not only does BV help put people to work, but the organization also helps keep materials out of area landfills.
 
“What we do is go into a home, and maybe you wanted a new kitchen cabinet set, so we take out your kitchen cabinets in a way that it can be reused and resold,” Doxsee says. “We’ve taken down full homes and salvaged 60 to 70 percent of the home with the lumber and products that come out of that.”
 
The ultimate goal, however, is to provide the ability to succeed to those who have encountered barriers in the past—whether those barriers be physical, mental, economic or educational.
 
“We believe that every person deserves to feel the thrill of success—no matter what that success is,” Doxsee says. “So everything we do is to try to help empower those individuals to find success in whatever it is that they need.”

Do Good:

• Support Building Value and Easter Seals TriState by purchasing a ticket to ReUse-apalooza.

• Donate to Building Value and Easter Seals TriState.

• Volunteer with Building Value and Easter Seals TriState.

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 38 years, People Working Cooperatively has worked to keep homeowners safely and securely in their homes. Now the nonprofit thinks it has come up with a business model that extends beyond its mission by reaching entire communities, as opposed to just PWC-served homeowners.

CADMUS, in conjunction with the University of Cincinnati Economics Center, recently released results from its 2009 study that evaluated PWC’s performance. And results revealed economic, academic and health-related benefits for a wide range of individuals. 

Energy conservation, for example, is one of PWC’s focus areas, so when the organization receives a call that a homeowner can’t afford their fuel bill, the nonprofit sends a professional who is equipped with the knowledge of energy conservation into the home to assess the situation and lead volunteers in arranging for a more ideal situation.  

The study revealed energy savings of about $248 dollars per year per client, which in turn, saves taxpayers money. 

According to Jock Pitts, PWC's president, the organization’s energy conservation efforts have reduced the amount of subsidy needed to cover low-income homeowners’ fuel bills. So everybody saves.

“Social service is a great thing—everybody would love to provide benefits to people because it’s charitable and it’s in their heart to do that,” Pitts says. “When times are tough, making an investment in someone that is both charitable but cost-effective. Finding that nexus between what’s cost-effective and also helpful to people.”  

In addition to energy conservation, PWC provides critical home repairs, in addition to accommodations that increase residents’ mobility so they can afford to stay in their homes rather than move to subsidized housing or a nursing/extended care facility. 

Study results indicated that PWC-served homes had a housing value that was 6.5 to 10.5 percent higher than similar homes that were not serviced, and homes surrounding PWC-serviced homes went up 1 to 3 percent in value. 

“If PWC doesn’t make this intervention, these homes deteriorate, and people leave the home because they’re forced to, and those are the homes that you hear about or you see in other cities, much more commonly than in Cincinnati, that are abandoned—and who pays for that?” Pitts says. “So you’ve got the homeowner off at some place with subsidized living, then you’ve got an empty cell of a home that’s bringing property values down across the neighborhood. So PWC’s intervention saves the home, gets the people to be able to stay there longer and safer, and then increases the values of the homes in the neighborhood.” 

Not only does PWC bring about economic and environmental benefits, but elderly individuals are healthier, as falls are reduced because of the installation of bathroom rails, for example. And individuals are able to get in and out of their homes to get to the doctor because of increased mobility options, Pitts says. 

Children are also doing better in schools because they do not have to move frequently from their homes, find new friends and change school districts as often. The study indicates that children in PWC-served homes did 15 percent better in reading and 17 percent better in math than children living in homes that did not receive PWC services. 

“It’s an unintended benefit, but still, isn’t it great that it occurs?” Pitts says. “We were able to pull this together and come up with a business model that is touching upon some really important issues our country doesn’t know how to handle right now, and they all benefit, so I’d love for this model to be able to spread.” 

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.” 

About a month ago, a donation from Green BEAN Delivery to the Freestore Foodbank brought a recently unemployed young woman and mother of three to tears when she went to pick up food for her family. 

“She knew the importance of fresh fruits and fresh vegetables for her kids, and typically, her meal money and her food money doesn’t go that far,” says Kurt Reiber, president and CEO of the FSFB. 

Reiber says people often try to “stretch their resources,” which often means buying food that is affordable but also unhealthy. 

Because of FSFB’s efforts to put healthy foods on the tables of about 300,000 food-insecure individuals throughout the region—110,000 of whom are children—fresh produce and healthy eating habits are increasingly becoming more ingrained in the lifestyles of our neighbors in need. 

As a result of a longtime partnership with Green BEAN Delivery, FSFB recently received 2,200 pounds of fresh produce to distribute to local pantries and food banks, which Reiber says will go a long way for the families FSFB supports. 

“These are people who really don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” Reiber says. “They’re coming because the car broke down or one of their children has gotten sick or their utility bills are out of whack and they spent the money they otherwise would have spent on food on those bills, so when I talk about paycheck to paycheck, that’s really it.” 

Most of the recipients of FSFB’s donations visit the food banks or pantries just five times a year, according to Reiber. “It’s the community supporting the neighbors that are just down the street,” he says. “Most of them are going to church with them, or their kids see them at school.” 

Reiber is appreciative of the Green BEAN Delivery’s donation because he says it has helped to provide healthy foods during a time of the year when the nonprofit is particularly in need. 

In November and December and throughout the holiday season, he says, people recognize the problem of hunger, and donations come in with an abundance; but hunger is a problem that doesn’t go away. “The reality is that the following week, when we turn the page on the calendar, we’re still looking at folks out there that are hungry and don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” Reiber says. 

Because of partnerships with community organizations and individuals, FSFB ensures that 35 to 40 percent of its food distribution is composed of fresh fruits and vegetables. Through its community farming program, The Giving Fields, FSFB was able to provide 175,000 pounds of fresh produce to 12 food pantries in Northern Kentucky last year; and that number, according to Reiber, will continue to grow. 

“Our goal is to have it so that 50 percent of all the food we distribute will be fresh, nutritious produce and fruits, and that’s something we’re going to continue to strive to get to.” 

Do Good: 

• Support the Freestore Foodbank by making a donation.

• Start a virtual food drive and encourage your family and friends to partcipate. 

• Spread the word about hunger by liking and sharing Freestore Foodbank'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.

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.