Avondale

Avondale is Cincinnati’s fourth largest neighborhood and home to the nation’s second oldest zoo, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Burnet Avenue runs through the community and serves as headquarters for two of the region’s top hospitals and research centers: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The neighborhood abuts both Xavier University and UC main campuses. The developing Cincinnati Innovation District is anchored by 1819 Innovation Hub on Reading Road, just off of interstate I-71 at the Martin Luther King Dr. exchange.

Zoo steps into spring with sustainability, exhibits

By Newsroom

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Architecture + Design

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May 1, 2012

Spring is in full bloom at the Cincinnati Zoo with a slew of upcoming exhibits, renovations and successful sustainability efforts. Among some of the new features the zoo is showcasing this season are the opening of Cat Canyon – a display allowing visitors to come face to face through glass with Malayan tigers – and a drive to raise funds to finish the Africa exhibit, which, once completed, will be the largest exhibit in zoo history. The zoo’s Reptile House will also have a new look, as renovations to the building’s exterior will replace deteriorating mortar and return the roof to its original red. A new welcome center featuring Smartboard technology informing guests of daily events and offering a map of the zoo is another addition. Sustainability efforts at the zoo, such as a Sustainable Shopper mobile phone application, Earth Day electronic waste recycling, storm water management and the solar canopy project are kicking into high gear as well, says Sofia Cifuentes, the zoo’s sustainability coordinator. “The impact that the Zoo’s operations have seen since implementing aggressive sustainability measures has been tremendous,” Cifuentes says. “In just six years, we have invested $1.5 million in utilities and have saved over $3.3 million.” Part of that savings can be attributed to the zoo cutting its water usage by more than half – from 220 million to 90 million gallons per year – and decreasing its energy usage by 11 percent, both results of the zoo’s solar canopy project, water usage and storm water management program, Cifuentes says. “The solar canopy project that was installed (in 2011) gave us the largest urban, publicly accessible array in the nation at 1.56 megawatts, and provided the Zoo with 20 percent of its energy needs,” Cifuentes says. “On days when it is sunny and cool, we are completely off the grid.” The zoo’s sustainability efforts, however, don’t stop at the Zoo’s gates, Cifuentes says. “We also have a strong involvement with our community and helping them be as green as they can be through community gardens, green space, home weatherization projects and other green classes,” Cifuentes says. Do Good: • Donate to the Africa Exhibit fundraising drive. Contact Russell Doyle, (513) 487-3324, for details. • Check out the Zoo’s new education initiative, Eat Like An Animal, which educates families on the health benefits of eating like an animal. • Use the zoo’s Sustainable Shopper mobile phone application to choose products made with Certified Sustainable Palm Oil and help protect wildlife. By James Sprague

Gabriel’s Place grows food, community in Avondale

By Evan Wallis

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Education + Learning

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February 7, 2012

In 2008, All Angels Episcopal Church in Avondale closed, but Thomas Breidenthal, bishop of the Diocese of Souther Ohio, committed to utilizing the space as spiritually nourishing Shortly after the church closed, a portion of the land was used to create the Do Right Teen Garden to provide fresh produce and healthy eating tips and training for teens. The garden was also a start to a farmers market stand. In the fall of 2010, after months of planning, with funding and donations from several sources, the Diocese decided to renovate the church and repurpose it as Gabriel’s Place, a community garden, kitchen, marketplace and hoop house. Gabriel’s Place opened in September of 2011 and is run by one director, two AmeriCorps members and a strong volunteer staff. With the goal of becoming a sustainable community space in Avondale. “The idea is to build a food-related initiative that creates access to affordable produce and food with the idea to curb obesity in the neighborhood,” says Leslie Stevenson, volunteer coordinator at Gabriel’s Place. The marketplace gives the community a centrally-located market that allows residents to walk and buy fresh produce throughout the year. The community kitchen gives people access to cooking equipment and see cooking demonstrations and try different foods. The meeting space serves as a community gathering place where organizations can hold meetings, as well as a place for the staff of Gabriel’s Place to hold health education classes. The community garden gives residents experiential learning opportunities while providing food for the marketplace and kitchen. The hoop house, which is similar to a green house, which allows Gabriel’s Place to grow produce year round as well as house a aquaponic system that allows for fish-breeding and raising to sell at the marketplace. “We are also working to connect with local restaurants in an effort to be financially sustainable,” Stevenson says. “We also want to bring more locally-sourced food the the neighborhood.” Do Good: Donate and help grow Gabriel’s Place into a sustainable market for fresh produce. Volunteer at Gabriel’s Palce to help in the kitchen or garden. Attend the Marketplace on the first and third Thursdays of each month from 4-6 pm. By Evan Wallis

Kolar finds success at intersection of brand, architecture, interiors

By Elissa Yancey

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General

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January 31, 2012

Whether she’s helping design Cincinnati’s newest riverfront park or transforming hospitals by blending graphic and industrial design with architecture, Kelly Kolar revels in integrating her passions to create massive, holistic change.

Children’s Hospital uses horticulture to grow hope

By Staff

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Cincy In The News

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January 17, 2012

Trough horticultural therapy, people of all ages facing all kinds of physical, emotional or psychiatric challenges can improve their well-being. Children and teens at the residential psychiatric program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital have the chance to learn about gardening with horticultural therapist Mardie Hay Read the full story here.

Civic Garden Center’s roots enrich communities

By Jamie White

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Diversity

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January 3, 2012

Tucked away beyond the bustling Reading Road in Avondale, Cincinnatians learn about a new crime fighting strategy that takes shape in the form of marigolds and daikon radishes. For years, workers at the Civic Garden Center (CGC) have been teaching city residents how to address social, emotional and nutritional needs through urban gardening. As it turns out, those efforts may also decrease littering and discourage crime. Since its establishment in 1942, the CGC has been dedicated to improving Cincinnati communities through gardening. “We want people to be empowered to garden no matter what their circumstances,” says Ryan Mooney-Bullock, who coordinates the Green Learning Station at the CGC. “Studies have shown that as sections of town with blighted property are beautified, crime and littering go down.” The CGC not only provides residents with encouragement, but also all the tools necessary for success. People who participate in the center’s programs have access to free resources like startup materials and classes. “We offer tons of classes at the Civic Garden Center to just give people a basic idea of the key things that you need to understand about how plants grow,” Mooney-Bullock says. One such resource is the center’s Community Garden Development Training Program (CGDT), a free, 12-class series that teaches how to successfully organize, plan and sustain a community garden. The course is geared toward groups or individuals who wish to improve their neighborhoods by participating in the center’s Community Gardens Program. Created in 1980, the Community Gardens Program started out as a small garden called the Over the Rhine People’s Garden. Today, the CGC facilitates around 45 community gardens across the city. “The Civic Garden Center has been active in the community gardens movement for over 30 years,” says Peter Huttinger, the Community Gardens coordinator. “The gardens create a nurturing refuge, for adults and children, often in places where there are no other parks or green space available.” Huttinger says that the community garden movement in Cincinnati is continuously evolving. “At first, the gardens were mostly started by neighbors wanting to clean up vacant lots and create a place to grow healthy food,” he says. “Over time, some gardens have evolved into projects that service specific populations like home-bound seniors, at-risk youth and food pantries.” And the practice’s purpose continues to expand. “Most recently we are seeing new urban agriculture projects coming into play that are hybrids of the traditional collective community garden model and a for-profit market garden,” Huttinger says. “Fresh Start Foods is a collaborative urban agriculture project combining the efforts of St. Leo the Great Parish, the City of Cincinnati's Urban Agriculture Program, Findlay Market and the Civic Garden Center.” A city-owned, 1.25-acre plot on Westland Northern Boulevard, the Fresh Start Foods garden sits in a community with a large number of Guatemalan and Burundian immigrants who have roots in farming. The garden gives them an opportunity to put their skills to work while generating a profit. The fruit and vegetables grown at Fresh Start Foods are shared among participants and sold at the Findlay market’s Local Farmer Shed to support the program and growers. Huttinger believes that collaborative efforts such as this utilize a groundbreaking approach to community gardening and urban agriculture as they connect diverse populations with avenues of support. From his perspective, Fresh Start Foods is living proof that community gardens positively impact the lives of Cincinnati residents. Across town at the Walnut Hills Community Garden, volunteer administrator William Hawkins has also witnessed the transformative power of community gardens. “It really makes the area stand out and look beautiful,” says Hawkins. “Some people call it a diamond in the rough. To look up and see all those vegetables is truly a beautiful sight.” According to Hawkins, urban gardens provide Cincinnati residents with benefits that are much more important than the tangible items they produce. “It helps community members to get to know one another,” he says. "You just get the feeling that we’re really doing something.” Do Good: • Go shopping online. Get a new calendar, fleece vest or "compost happens" onesie and support the CGC. • Read a good book. Visit the CGC's public Hoffman Library for book club, free wi-fi, computer access, gardening books and children's books, plus lots more. • Take a class. Whether you want to start a community garden or learn what plants are tough enough for city living, you'll find a free or minimal cost class at the CGC to nurture your green thumb. By Jamie White White, a winter 2011 graduate of the University of Cincinnati, wrote this story as part of her Journalism capstone seminar, Communicating Sustainability. Look for more of her work here on Soapbox, and look for more Communicating Sustainability stories as well.

Fill the Truck makes for tech-friendly giving

By Elissa Yancey

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Diversity

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December 13, 2011

Dan Regenold is a bit of a hero to local nonprofits this holiday season. He approached a broad group, from schools to health centers, with an engaging gift offer: Let us fill a truck with supplies your clients need. All you have to do is help spread the word and take the donations. Fill The Truck started last winter as a one-truck effort to support The Healing Center at Vineyard Community Church in Springdale. The concept is as simple as it is brilliant. Rent a semi, fill it with donations of everything clients in trouble need. Allow donors to select what they’d like to donate online, then do the truck-filling work for them. The first efforts led to an overflowing truck, and Regenold, CEO of FrameUSA and long-time supporter of local nonprofits, to thing bigger. This year, Regenold and his team have 11 trucks around the region, two in the city of Cincinnati. The NAACP has a truck to support the community at Frederick Douglass School. The George Hust Co. has a truck in its Northside lot to collect donations for Churches Active in Northside (CAIN). For Mimi Chamberlain, executive director of CAIN, Fill the Truck is an unexpected chance to support the growing list of families in need of everyday items, from toothbrushes to blankets. “People can choose the nonprofit they want to support and even select items they’d like to donate,” Chamberlain says. “The technology makes it simple and fun.” Other nonprofits supported by trucks include: The Healing Center, Valley Interfaith Food & Clothing Center, Inter Parish Ministry, Brighton Center, SON Ministries, Matthew:25 Ministries, One Way Farm, Hannah’s Treasure Chest and Reach Out Lakota. Making the donations online allows donors to shop for specific items – donate $20 and buy a winter scarves and gloves OR a toddler’s winter coat OR 60 rolls of toilet paper. Boots, socks, blankets and hygiene items are all on the list, which nonprofits hope local gift-givers to check more than twice. Do Good: • Visit the site and make your selections now. • Buy and bring your own items to the truck of your choice. NOTE: All donations much be new items. • Send a thank-you to the Fill the Truck team. By Elissa Yancey

Cincinnati zoo gets record $5 million donation from foundation of late Reds owner Marge Schott

By Staff

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Cincy In The News

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December 6, 2011

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden director Thane Maynard says the $5 million contribution from the Marge and Charles J. Schott Foundation is the zoo’s single biggest gift ever. Read the full story here.

Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, unsung hero

By Abayomi Azikiwe

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Cincy In The News

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October 25, 2011

Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, a leading figure in the Civil Rights movement, passed away on Oct. 5 in Cincinnati. He was 89. Shuttlesworth is one of the many unsung heroes in the struggle to break down legalized segregation. Read the full story here.

BIOSTART moves toward service-based model

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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August 9, 2011

Fifteen years after opening its doors, BIOSTART, Cincinnati's life sciences start-up center, is changing the way it does business. In order to remain competitive in a fast-changing business market, it is closing its lab space and moving from its location near the University of Cincinnati.BIOSTART President Carol Frankenstein says the organization will focus exclusively on business services, making the hard shift as its closes its current facility at the Hoxworth Blood Center in September. She says the change was both a business and a strategic decision."Today, companies, even at the very early stages, are outsourcing their commercialization and development activity. That includes clinical and preclinical work, development and manufacturing," Frankenstein says. "That increase in outsourcing reduces the cost of getting a product to market. That makes lab space less necessary. Because of the economy, there is so much low-cost and even free space available; our companies have the ability to benefit from that."BIOSTART serves life sciences entrepreneurs in health care service and product development. Since 1996, it's helped 125 companies launch their business and raise $180 million. Three-fourths of those businesses have had successful exits or are currently in business, the organization reports.BIOSTART is working with local business advocates, including the Hamilton County Business Center, Uptown Consortium and CincinnatiUSA Regional Chamber to help its 18 tenant companies (which occupy about 65 percent of its space) to relocate. Frankenstein said BIOSTART is looking for a new space downtown. She will remain with the organization as will three entrepreneurs in residence. The organization has received $500,000 in funding, half from the Ohio Department of Development and half from private sources, to aid in the transition."We're using the grant for the next 12 months to explore new service delivery models," she says.BIOSTART's current business services include helping companies put together a management team and connecting with and applying for funding sources.By Feoshia Henderson You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

Cincinnati Development Fund earns $1.5M federal grant

By Newsroom

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Development News

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July 26, 2011

The Cincinnati Development Fund has been a financial resource for affordable housing development in the city's neighborhoods for 23 years. And that long track record of helping spur development -- and redevelopment -- in some of Cincinnati's underserved areas recently earned the CDF a $1.5 million federal grant to support its mission.The grant comes from the U.S. Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI). The CDFI awarded $142,302,667 to 155 community development financial institutions -- like CDF -- nationwide. CDF received $750,000 from the fund in 2010, making this year's award a very pleasant surprise, says CDF president and CEO Jeanne Golliher."We were really expecting something along the lines of what we got last year," she says.The $1.5 million sum is the maximum any single organization could receive from the CDFI. Golliher credits CDF's long-standing role in the community as reason for the high award."We're really in touch," she says. "We know where the needs are."A main focus of CDF's efforts, she explains, are smaller developers -- sometimes individual homeowners, sometimes development companies focusing on one or two buildings -- who wish to revitalize property in parts of the city suffering from high foreclosure and vacancy rates. The smaller developers fit a niche that complements larger development organizations, such as the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC), which is in the midst of redeveloping a large portion of Over-the-Rhine. Golliher refers to many of CDF's borrowers as "urban pioneers:" people willing to be early redevelopers in areas that have yet to see widespread revitalization."We've had so much activity with our small loan program," she says. "There are a lot of cases where people want to buy and fix up a building on their own, and they come to us."Golliher says her team is in the process of planning how to best use the grant funds. Some of it may be used as matching funds for $3.3 million in low-interest funding CDF has requested from the U.S. Treasury to help fund small business development in the city. She plans to present a proposal for how the funds will be used at CDF's August board meeting. In the meantime, she says she and her team are thrilled by this recent show of federal support."I think it speaks to our track record," she says.By Matt Cunningham Follow Matt on Twitter @cunningcontent