Earth Day Action Grants at work.
For the 2013 St. Louis Earth Day Festival, our organization launched a new funding program. Unsure if we would raise the money, we pledged $10,000 toward supporting the work of community groups and other small organizations like ourselves. Thankfully, Boeing’s Corporate Citizenship program shared our vision.
On April 21, on the KDHX Main Stage, we recognized 18 projects as the first recipients of Earth Day Action Grants. Each project applied with an aim to further the mission of St. Louis Earth Day — cultivating environmental stewardship and engaging individuals, governments, businesses, schools and the non-profit sector in celebration, education and action to support a healthy and sustainable future.
Some of the completed projects include…
The newly installed bike rack, just North of the SCOSAG building.
BIKE RACK AT SCOSAG
The St. Louis City Open Studio and Gallery, or SCOSAG, applied for funding to install a bike rack at their Tower Grove Park facility — the South Gate Lodge. SCOSAG is a community-based organization that focuses on holistic and interdisciplinary arts education. The bike rack, which was installed in July, was used by 2-3 SCOSAG campers each week, providing a safe location to lock his or her bike during camp. The rack is also in a location convenient for those who use the park for general use.
SUSTAINABLE BACKYARD TOUR
The 3rd annual Sustainable Backyard Tour, which took place in June, introduced hundreds of folks to local, grassroots examples for growing your own food, beekeeping, utilizing native plants and many other sustainable strategies. Over 700 people registered to visit the 37 properties on the tour, which spanned 11 neighborhoods in St. Louis City and 10 municipalities in St. Louis County. Three schools were included on this year’s tour to showcase the developing trend of demonstration organic food gardens in primary education. The Tour promotes education and community — connecting current homemade experts with future experts. You can read more about the tour on our blog…
Karen Karabell presents at DIY Sustainability, sharing her practical advice for doing almost anything using two wheels instead of four.
DIY SUSTAINABILITY EVENT
Just last week, the U.S. Green Business Council held their 2nd annual DIY Sustainability which was launched as a new way to engage anyone and everyone on creative ways to integrate sustainability into his/her life. Presentations are made in the Pecha Kucha style which draws its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat” and allows presenters to showcase 20 slides that are set on a timer for 20 seconds per slide. This year’s presentations feature topics like home brewing, living without a car, and energy independence for the home owner. Read a recap of the event in The Beacon.
Stay tuned for more updates from the 18 projects that Earth Day Action Grants were able to fund.
Applications for the 2014 grant-giving cycle will be available from October 22, 2013. Sign up for our monthly newsletter to receive notification, check back here.
