LCCC hosts Earth Day event with organizations focused on sustainability

Lorain County Community College hosted the Earth Day Plant Sale and Exhibitor Show on April 24, which featured numerous plant vendors while others promoted sustainability programs and education.

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, which serves the five counties in the Greater Cleveland region, including Lorain County, had a table at the event.

Kate Moening, community affairs manager for NOACA, was there to share information about the Gohio Commute program, a statewide online rideshare program.

“It’s a platform that anyone can join and it can help people connect with carpooling, biking, walking, public transportation and connections to every community in our region,” Moening said.

Sometimes people have limited options for personal transportation, but being more intentional about the decisions they make can bring about positive change, she said.

“Transportation is something that people make a personal choice about,” says Moening. “From a carbon footprint perspective, choosing alternative modes of transportation, such as cycling, carpooling or public transportation, will not only help the environment, but also public health due to the CO2 reduction.”

Moening said another NOACA service provides air quality alerts for when air quality is at levels that could be harmful.

The event also included representatives from the Ohio State University Extension Service, which offers free educational programs through the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Thomas Becker, agriculture and natural resources educator for Lorain County, said the program sends out master gardeners to educate people through various programs in the community.

“Master gardeners essentially serve as more boots on the ground with home horticulture and gardening-related education,” Becker said. “We have a pretty good relationship with the local libraries, and they ask for lectures and presentations and things like that.”

Becker said the goal of these OSU Extension Service services is to give community members the tools to become effective gardeners.

“A lot of it is just about access to information, but the education part is important too,” he said. “We’re empowering people to use that information to be more independent in their own gardens, and maybe grow some of their own food or have a more environmentally friendly landscape.”

Cuyahoga River Community Lab was also at the event and shared information about sustainable farming.

Beth Blissman, co-founder of the Cuyahoga River Community Lab, said the organization focuses on rebuilding ecosystems in a more environmentally conscious way.

“We usually describe CRCL as an incubator for healthy ecosystems,” Blissman said. “There are many areas in our environment that have deteriorated and need help, so we like to build healthy ecosystems.

“We do this by letting things grow. It’s our small way of shaping a better, healthier world.”

Argerie Vasilakes, co-founder of the Cuyahoga River Community Lab, said the organization wants to help people who want to grow things with a sustainable focus, as opposed to a profit-based focus.

“We invite start-up projects that want to help restore the ecosystem,” she said. “A lot of what it takes is changing the way we think about the country and our relationship with it.”

Vasilakes said CRCL’s approach often involves spirituality and focuses on the interconnectedness between people and the environment.

She said permaculture design, which focuses specifically on building sustainable models for community-based agriculture, is one of the group’s areas of focus.

Blissman said the group will invite the community to visioning sessions in the near future to share ideas about sustainable growing models.

“We’re looking for people to contribute their ideas on where we can do this and how we can do this,” she said. “We invite people to dream, imagine and literally take pictures and draw their ideal vision for this bioregion.”

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