Category — Living Green

Please help the Cincinnati Zoo and our Avondale neighborhood win $15,000 for our community garden and urban farm through Nature’s Path “Gardens for Good” Contest! This is a project that has been in the works for a few years now. Just behind the Dury Employee Parking lot, on Northern Avenue, there used to be a vacant lot. It was filled with broken chain linked fencing, poison ivy, graffiti and trash. In addition, in the past 10 years, the neighborhood (called the Avenue District) has lost a lot of safe, green space for children to play and neighbors to gather.

The vacant lot before it became a beautiful park

The site before being turned into a park.

Residents of the Avenue District formed a Block Club, rallied together and joined forces with the Cincinnati Zoo, the Avondale Community Council, LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) and Chase Bank to turn the vacant lot into a vibrant, community green space.

Zoo Staff, Avendue District Residents and Volunteers work to turn the vacant lot into a community park.

Over the past 2 years, with the help of the Zoo’s Horticulture Department and dedicated volunteers from the Zoo, Chase Bank, the Avenue District and other parts of Avondale, the vacant lot has turned into a beautiful park with native trees, shrubs and flowers, a walking path and a grassy lawn for children to play. Now, we want to turn the park into something even more – an urban farm and community garden that will bring fresh, local food into the neighborhood where there is no fresh food available. This is truly a collaborative effort between the original partners, and Urban Greens, a great organization that is serious about turning vacant lots into thriving gardens, right in the middle of the city.

By voting for the Northern-Larona Community Park and Urban Farm every day in June, you will help us get one step closer to winning $15,000. The top 9 projects with the most votes will move onto the finals. This grant money would greatly help move the project forward, and allow us to purchase more supplies and equipment needed to turn this dream into a reality. It will be used for a 2nd water line, fencing, mulch, wood chips, garden tools, a shed, and so much more!

Northern-Larona Community Park and the future site of the urban farm

You can vote for our project at the following Facebook link:

https://apps.facebook.com/gardensforgoodgrants/contests/218426/voteable_entries/51343897

There are projects that already have over 500 votes, and we are just over 100 right now. Please help us out, share with your family and friends, and help Northern-Larona Park bloom into a vibrant, urban farm – turning a food desert into a food oasis. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Questions? Contact Fia at gogreen@cincinnatizoo.org

Eat like an animal, and eat locally! Because our animals are from many different parts of the world, their food may travel quite a distance to make it to the Zoo. Did you know that on average, your food travels 1500 miles from farm to table? In the Greater Cincinnati region alone, about $5 billion is spent each year on food. If each of us shifted just 10% of our food to locally produced fruits, vegetables, honey, eggs, meat and dairy, we could shift $49 million into our local economy, while at the same time reducing carbon emissions from transporting food. This would also create 522 local jobs. Our commissary has made the shift and does their best to source as much of our food (both for our animals and for our guests!) as we can, locally.

Consider shopping locally for some, or even all, of your food needs. There are many ways you can do so – shop at a local farmers market, join a CSA (community supported agriculture) program, visit local farms, support community gardens, grow in your own yard/patios, or have Green B.E.A.N. Delivery bring fresh, local food right to your doorstep. Our local foodshed, as defined by Green Umbrella Local Food Action Team, is within the Central Ohio River watershed – food grown within a 50-mile radius of downtown Cincinnati or a 100-mile radius by growers who regularly sell within a 50-mile radius.

Each year a local food guide is published and highlights all of the local farms, farmers markets, CSA programs and other food related opportunities in our region. It also has a great list of restaurants that source some of their dishes with ingredients from local farms. You can download the CORV Food Directory at their website.

A few other great resources include the Ohio Proud and Kentucky Proud websites that list Ohio and Kentucky small businesses that make, farm or supply mostly food related products. Indiana has some great resources as well, listed on this website.

In our Avondale neighborhood, a great source of local food is Gabriel’s Place – a community garden, community kitchen and marketplace. Their Farmers Market will open up weekly on Thursdays from 4-6pm beginning June 7^th, and may feature any of the following:  fresh, local fruits and vegetables, self-made craft goods, breads, baked goods and spices, meats, dairy and beans. Mark your calendar now! Gabriel’s Place is located at 3618 Reading Road, next to the Hirsch Recreation Center.

Consider making the 10% shift, eat locally and support your local food economy while cutting down on carbon emissions!

Celebrate Earth Day, and Earth Month, by attending one of the many festival and celebrations around town.

The Zoo is celebrating this Thursday, April 19th with it’s 3rd Annual Party for the Planet! The party starts at 4pm and goes until 8:30pm. It is free with admission, and admission is free after 5pm. 30 exhibitors will be lined up along Swan Lake Bridge, ready to share resources and information so that you can go green in your own home. Many are family friendly with kids activities. During the celebration, 2trg will be collecting e-waste from 4-6:30pm in the parking lot on the corner of Erkenbrecher Ave. and Vine St. Bring your old computers, printers, CD players, cables, telephones and more for free e-waste recycling. Enjoy the Tunes and Blooms free concert that will be happening at the same time!

On Saturday, April 21st from Noon-5pm, Cincinnati’s Earth Day Celebration will be in full swing at Sawyer Point. Enjoy live music, kids activities, earth friendly exhibitors and vendors, live animals and much more. The Cincinnati Zoo will be hosting a booth complete with our green story as well as friendly, furry, feathery and scaly Zoo friends. Come down and visit us!

Can’t make it to a festival? Celebrate with your family by spending the day talking about ways to help the Earth, and do eco-friendly activities around your house. Compost, build a bird feeder, plant a garden, clean your house with natural ingredients, create art using natural materials and more.