Environment News from Your Community Foundation

Creating a more just environment for all

In April, we joined Black Environmental Leaders (BEL), The Center for Community Solutions and The George Gund Foundation to announce $30,000 in journalism grants to support environmental justice reporting projects in our community. Three collaborative efforts were selected to receive $10,000 each to leverage the power of the Greater Cleveland news ecosystem to spotlight environmental justice narratives, stories and solutions led by BIPOC leaders, organizations and residents. Jacqueline Gillon, David Wilson and SeMia Bray, co-facilitators of BEL, shared their thoughts on the initiative in a Cleveland Foundation guest blog. (Photo credit: Bob Perkoski)

People for Trees: Celebrating Arbor Day with Holden Forests & Gardens

Jill Koski, Holden Forests & Gardens president & chief executive officer, shares how the organization’s People for Trees movement aims to have more than 15,000 trees planted across our region by 2025.

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Cleveland Metroparks celebrates opening of Red Line Greenway trail

This spring, Greater Clevelanders celebrated the opening of the Red Line Greenway, Cleveland's newest multipurpose trail. The trail connects eight neighborhoods on Cleveland's near west side from E. 53rd Street to Ohio City and the Cuyahoga River, intersecting with the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Lake Link Trail. Learn more about the Red Line Greenway, and how it builds on Northeast Ohio's growing network of trails, here. (Photo credit: Cleveland Metroparks)

Ohio Climate Justice Fund brings diverse perspectives together to advocate for a clean energy future

The Ohio Climate Justice Fund has awarded more than $230,000 to nine organizations in its first round of grantmaking to invest in Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) organizations in Ohio working at the intersection of racial justice and climate action.

Read more about how these organizations will help lead conversations around environmental justice in their communities here.

Learn more about the inspiration for the initiative in a guest blog by Ohio Climate Justice Fund Director Leah D. Hudnall here.

Remembering Jacqueline Gillon

On Aug. 24, Cleveland said goodbye to one of its great community leaders, Jacqueline (Jacquie) Gillon. Remembrance services were held Sept. 4 at Elizabeth Baptist Church in Cleveland. Jacquie left an indelible mark on our community, creating pathways to deepen community engagement, develop leaders and build a more inclusive environmental movement. During her career, Jacquie served her community as a member of East Cleveland City Council, the Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s Thriving Communities program and as a beloved trainer and mentor to 29 classes of leaders at Neighborhood Leadership Institute. Her efforts were also instrumental in the recent founding and launch of Black Environmental Leaders.

Learn more about her legacy here.

Stories of Impact: West Creek Conservancy

Originally founded by residents in 1997 and later incorporated as a nonprofit organization, the West Creek Conservancy is working to protect, reclaim and restore local natural areas, open spaces, streams and waterways in Northeast Ohio. We spoke with Executive Director Derek Schafer to learn more about West Creek Conservancy’s work and what current projects he’s most excited about.

Register for the Sustainable Cleveland 2021 Virtual Summit Oct. 20-21

Join the City of Cleveland Mayor’s Office of Sustainability Oct. 20-21 for the Sustainable Cleveland 2021 Virtual Summit, hosted virtually by the Cleveland Public Library.

The event will celebrate the many people and organizations working to make Cleveland a greener, cleaner place to live, work and play. The Summit will include remarks from Mayor Frank Jackson, Cleveland sustainability updates from Chief Jason Wood, a keynote presentation from a nationally recognized speaker in sustainability, presentations and facilitated discussions on key priorities going forward and more.

Cleveland Metroparks named “Best in Nation” for parks and recreation management

Cleveland Metroparks was awarded the 2021 National Gold Medal “Best in Nation” Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation Management. The award, which was announced at the 2021 National Recreation and Park Association Conference in Nashville, is the highest national honor in the parks and recreation field.

With a history of more than $7 million in grants to the Cleveland Metroparks, the Cleveland Foundation and our generous donors are proud to have a longstanding relationship supporting the Metroparks' mission to connect Greater Clevelanders to the natural world.

Ohio Water Partnership proves water policy is big business

A coalition of Ohio’s leading businesses have banded together to support improved water quality policy in the state of Ohio by launching the Ohio Water Partnership. This broad-based and diverse coalition of businesses will advocate for water policies, with a mission to ensure a consistent, effective and equitable approach to protecting and preserving Ohio’s natural water resources with focus on promoting Ohio’s competitive advantage in clean, safe, affordable water in all its forms across the state.

Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) ($200,000) – According to 2019 data prepared by the Rhodium Group, Ohio is the third highest emitter of CO₂ emissions, behind California and Texas. Studies have shown that higher levels of CO₂ emissions have a greater impact on communities of color. This grant will allow ACE to hire a Cleveland-based Civic Engagement Organizer to cultivate and deepen partnerships with local organizations and with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District as well as collaborate with other statewide and local civic engagement partners to mobilize youth activism around climate issues.
United States Energy Foundation ($1,000,000) – As the third highest CO₂ emitter in the country, Ohio matters to the national and global climate equation. This funding will help scale the Power a Clean Future Ohio (PCFO) and Ohio Climate Justice Fund (OCJF) initiatives launched last year. The goal of PCFO is to reduce carbon emissions equitably by 30% by 2030, and a new regional director will be charged with cities’ engagement in Greater Cleveland, with particular attention to providing outreach, technical assistance, and planning support to majority Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) and BIPOC-led cities most poised to benefit from the clean energy transition. The “Listen. Lead. Share.” program from OCJF provides small grant resources and trains local groups to host a community meeting to envision what they want their clean energy future to look like.

More recent grants

Meet our team

Stephen Love
Program Manager of Environmental Initiatives

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Deepa Vedavyas
Program Manager, Neighborhoods and Environment

Email Deepa

Zaija Pelligree
Program Coordinator, Environment

Email Zaija

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