219 Greenconnect

Host Kathy Sipple talks with Becky Jascoviak of Chautauqua in the Dunes about the current 'Exhibit B' at the Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center through October 22, 2023. Vote for your favorite photo here >> bit.ly/dunesphotovote. The entry with the most votes will win the 'Peoples' Choice Award.' A donation is not required in order to vote, but please consider supporting this great project if you're able.  Chautauqua in the Dunes has been around since 2018 and now features ongoing programming rather than a single exhibit so check their Facebook page to find out what's happening currently if you listen to this episode after Exhibit B wraps up.  Mind, Body, Soul and Spirit are the four pillars of chautauqua. This year's focus is around the letter 'B'. Exhibit B was the second art show (thus, the second letter of the alphabet); images in the exhibit were required to title their entries with the letter 'b' and most includes bugs, butterflies, beaches, birds, etc. 'B' also stands for the broader theme of '

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Carla Kenney, Master Urban Gardener and Nikki D'Adamo-Damery, Conservation Outreach & Equity Director at Sand County Foundation about the organization and her work with the Land Ethic Mentorship Program, supporting historically underserved farmers and ranchers. Nikki will visit Gary, Indiana in July 2023 for a tour and celebration of several innovative urban farmers, details about this and other events here. Learn about conservation at many scales and how smaller producers are pushing the needle on regenerative agriculture -- and why it’s important to support farmers working intensively on smaller plots of land. About Sand County Foundation In 1967, Sand County Foundation created a successful partnership among a group of private landowners to protect the land surrounding the famous “Shack” property of Aldo Leopold, America’s foremost conservation thinker. This pioneering cooperative venture led landowners to commit to voluntary conservation while raising awareness of Leopol

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Joshua Sutton, Retail Manager at Trailyard in Valparaiso. Trailyard is a community hub for bike and outdoor enthusiasts, conveniently located next to Creekside Trails, a mountain bike and multi-purpose trail destination. For the second year in a row, Trailyard is excited to host an #OptOutside event to encourage Northwest Indiana families to spend Black Friday together enjoying nature. On Friday, November 25, they're’re hosting a family friendly scavenger hunt and a nature inspired art project children can take home with them. Rethink Black Friday -- #OptOutside!

If you buy the book using this link. A $15 discount is applied at checkout. So the book will cost $14.95 or use coupon code: NWI. Discount ends 11/25/22, so act soon! Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Daniel Poynter from Carbon Neutral Indiana about their new book, Carbon Neutral Indiana: A Practical Guide to Climate Optimism. The book contains 60 stories of Hoosier entrepreneurs reducing carbon emissions. It also includes: ● 50 local organizations, how they can help you, contact info ● 20 relevant bills ● 31 group discussion questions ● 16 how-to guides ● 220 index entries Project Drawdown is the world’s leading resource for climate solutions. It’s a list of ways to reduce carbon emissions -- ranging from solar and wind to methane digesters and alternative cement. We started by narrowing down Drawdown solutions relevant to Indiana. Then we identified local NGOs and subject matter experts working on each solution. Finally, we interviewed Hoosiers who implemented these solutions successfully at the househ

Diverting waste from the waste stream

Nationally renowned author, activist, and sought after speaker,  Harriet Shugarman is the 2021 Waterspirit Suzanne Golas Awardee, a 2020 New York City Climate Hero and a 2019 featured speaker at the Global Engagement Summit at United Nations Headquarters. Harriet is the Executive Director and founder of ClimateMama, an on-line community launched in 2009 that reaches individuals in over 110 countries and all 50 states; she is an influencer and connector in the climate movement. As a leader and mentor with The Climate Reality Project, Harriet established the Climate Reality New York City Metro Chapter, and served as its first chair. She was the recipient of the prestigious Climate Reality Alfredo Sirkis Memorial Green Ring Award in 2017 and is also profiled in former US Vice President Al Gore’s book: An Inconvenient Sequel, Truth to Power.  Harriet’s writing and thought pieces on climate solutions appear in international, national, and regional publications and she is a regular on podcasts and radio around the

Confront the Climate Crisis (CTCC) is a grassroots, statewide campaign that has been achieving climate action solutions in Indiana since September 2020, by West Lafayette Climate. Today, we engage over 150 students from communities across Indiana, including Greater Lafayette, Evansville, Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Fort Wayne, Gary, Hammond, Carmel, Alexandria, and Kokomo. By bringing youth to the forefront of state politics, we know that we can create the change that we need to see to protect Indiana’s future. CTCC educates youth through climate literacy programs, including building little free climate resiliency libraries, creating an information hub of blogs on resilience projects, and planning events to educate our community. We also hold general community events such as climate strikes and intersectional events. CTCC facilitates relationships between youth, local organizations, and policymakers to accomplish specific environmental goals. In the 2021 state legislation, CTCC drafted and introduced a bill

Host Kathy Sipple speaks to Highland Neighbors for Sustainability members Cathy Perrin and Connie Wachala about the sustainability commission they are asking Highland to create, why they want one, and what they hope a sustainability commission will accomplish. They will also talk about the Region Neighbors for Sustainability event in Highland on Aug. 27 they are hosting, who should come and why.

219 GreenConnect host Kathy Sipple speaks with Gin DeMaio, Executive Director of Green Team Academy about the International Climate Action Challenge her organization has led since 2020.   The International Climate Action Challenge is a guided 90-day program that has helped launch community projects around the world. Participating teams receive support, network opportunities, and a proven plan of action to transform their ideas and inspiration into results.  Seeking team members for TEAM NORTHWEST INDIANA! Please join me by registering today.The challenge kicks off September 1, 2022! Upcoming events mentioned in this episode: InVEST (Valparaiso Environmental Stewardship Taskforce) - July 28, 2022 (Valparaiso, IN)Northwest Indiana Green Drinks - August 4, 2022 (Zoom)Climate Follies - August 11, 2022 (Munster, IN)Region Neighbors for Sustainability - August 27, 2022 (Highland, IN)Climate Activist Leadership Development Training - September 2-4, 2022 (Lakeville, IN)Climate Leadership Summit - September 8-9, 20

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Walter Mueller from Voters for a Green Indiana, a non-partisan, independent group of citizens who want to make this information available to voters so they can make an informed decision.  The group has developed a Green Voters Guide for the May primary, highlighting candidates who support reducing carbon emissions and growing solar. Their goal is to identify the “green” candidates in contested races at the federal, state and county level.  https://www.votersforagreenindiana.org/ Other groups and resources we talked about: Elder Climate Action - Heartland Chapter Climate Reality Project For information about any of the above, please email Walt Mueller at CRLWaltM@gmail.com and/or follow him on Facebook. Project Drawdown and ReGeneration NWI Permaculture Meetup

If you innovated for 3.8 billion years, how creative would you be? Very! So it is with nature. Innovation is just what it has been doing since the beginning of time: designing processes and systems and figuring out other ways to survive. From the beginning, humans have looked to nature for new ideas. Leonardo da Vinci of the Renaissance, for example, watched flying birds for hours. From them, he learned and replicated aerodynamic principles and built gliders, a helicopter and other flying machines. da Vinci’s technique is still useful as people solve complex problems. Today, it is called “biomimcry” - a creative practice of observing and copying nature. The tool is used by innovators in businesses, medicine, organizations, transportation, technology and more. The Center for Creative Solutions, Inc., a local non-profit organization, sponsors two annual events, northwest Indiana’s celebration of World Creativity and Innovation Week in April and the Innovation Forum in the fall. In addition, it offers other p

219 GreenConnect host Kathy Sipple speaks with Leslie Dorworth about the Indiana Master Watershed Steward. New in 2019, it will be offered virtually this year (2021). Indiana Master Watershed Stewards are trained volunteers who understand how watersheds work and are willing to help with watershed improvement efforts in their communities. Master Watershed Stewards complete a 12-week training program that pulls together information from scientists, researchers, and watershed management professionals. Topics will include how watersheds function, what factors affect watershed health, how water is managed for human use, and how volunteers can play a part in promoting watershed health and appreciation. Once they complete the training program, Master Watershed Stewards put their knowledge to work on different kinds of volunteer projects, depending on their interests. Some examples are: Monitoring streams for plants, animals, and water chemistry.Pitching in to help with local streambank restoration projects.Joinin

Indiana Phenology is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to empowering Hoosiers of all ages to participate in citizen science. We are committed to developing and implementing engaging educational content, facilitating the state-wide collection of data, and making data accessible to policymakers, scientists, educators, residents, and other stakeholders. In this episode 219 GreenConnect host Kathy Sipple speaks with Founder & Executive Director Amanda Wanlass and board member Amanda Cantrell about their programs and how citizens can get involved.     

219 GreenConnect host Kathy Sipple speaks with Zach Schalk, the Indiana Program Director for Solar United Neighbors about an innovative, affordable way for people in Northwest Indiana to purchase solar systems for their residences or small businesses.  The first co-op is forming now! Listen to the podcast and learn how to take next steps.  To join, click here. http://SolarUnitedNeighbors.org/NWI Join the Indiana Facebook group

DONATE HERE Watch the video The youth of Gary, Indiana have traditionally lacked access to food security, extracurricular opportunity, and employment for too long. For that reason, the Gary Food Council is establishing a 3-year program to train and employ more than 100 youth in best urban farming practices in partnership with major local growers and assistance from our local Purdue extension office. After our certified Junior Urban Farmers complete their internships, we will then employ those 100 trained and certified youth as Urban Farming Educators. In this capacity, they will deliver urban farming and nutrition education to more than 1,500 students in the city while expanding access to locally grown food in the city for their peers and fellow residents.

Host Kathy Sipple, together with Jim Poyser from Earth Charter Indiana, speak with Highland residents and volunteers, Alex Bazan and Connie Wachala about their organizing efforts around this pioneering region-wide effort. Connie Wachala, along with several other region residents attended last year's Climate Leadership Summit, hosted by Earth Charter Indiana. Encouraged by the resources she learned about, Connie began planning a Climate Action Blitz in Highland, Indiana on February 15, 2020. 65 northwest Indiana residents from 13 communities attended the event. Based on momentum from the blitz, a group formed, calling themselves NWI Region Resilience.  Their primary focus at this point it to urge the region to join Indiana University's 2021 Resilience Cohort and to conduct a region-wide greenhouse gas emissions inventory to get a baseline measurement the region can use as a basis for planning in the future.  Donate Sign the Petition

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Daniel Walker about Purdue's new online course available to Hoosiers who want to learn more about the planning process. More information here. American Citizen Planner – Indiana provides training to Indiana citizen planners who currently serve or plan to serve on area or advisory plan commissions. The program features 28 units of online content detailing core planning theories, practices, and processes. A comprehensive assessment and two in-person training events reinforce the content learned in the units. The program is hosted by a local Purdue Extension educator for either a county or a region. OVERVIEWTARGET AUDIENCESREGISTRATIONRESOURCESCONTACT

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Dori Chandler & Blake Gardiner about their work with Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light. Hoosiers of faith working together to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency, as a response to climate change. Visit their website and follow them on social media to learn more about their advocacy work, workshops, and other programs to help faith communities make a difference in Indiana. https://hoosieripl.org/ Facebook Twitter  

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Natalie Johnson, Executive Director at Save the Dunes about their new Clean Water Ambassador program. Help is needed in the following neighborhoods: ---South of Chesterton Area--- Wind Ridge, Liberty Township, Porter Co. Tanner Trace, Liberty Township, Porter Co. Troom, Liberty Township, Porter Co. Mallards Landing, Liberty Township, Porter Co. ---Valpo Area--- Moraine Manor, Liberty Township, Porter Co. Lexington Farms, Liberty Township, Porter Co. Woods of the Winding Creek, Liberty Township, Porter Co. Lakeside Meadows, Center Township, Porter Co. Waterford, Center Township, Porter Co. Wedgewood Park, Center Township, Porter Co. Vernon Woods, Center Township, Porter Co. Wedgewood Park East, Center Township, Porter Co. Warren Woods, Center Township, Porter Co. Aberdeen, Union Township, Porter Co. Sagamore, Union Township, Porter Co. Little neighborhood north of Shorewood, Union Township, Porter Co. Spectacle Lake, Porter Co. ---Westville Area--- Carriage

The Department of Environmental Affairs gave Aja Yasir a citation for her nontraditional yard. She has wood chips instead of lawn and was told that her wood chips are debris and that the chips attract bugs and fungi; therefore they are being deemed a health hazard.  I befriended Aja after touring her garden on a Farm Hop, sponsored by the Northwest Indiana Food Council. Her unique garden grows both food crops and ornamentals and was very attractive. Her garden was selected for inclusion not only for its beauty, but also because of the regenerative agriculture techniques she uses. By adding more chips, the soil gets better every year and therefore, her yields get better too. Without tilling. Without adding chemical fertilizers. Requiring far less watering due to the chips holding moisture far better than bare ground or turf grass. All of these things are very beneficial for the environment and especially the watershed health. Please sign and share this petition to help let local decision makers know you sta