“Our Water” in Weinland Park features collaboration at 2012 EcoSummit
Integrity Sustainable Planning & Design, FLOW (Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed), 4th Street Farms, Diversified Data, & MAD Scientist & Associates have been accepted to facilitate “OUR Water,” one of only 11 workshops at the 2012 International EcoSummit.
At 4th Street Farms, we are very honored and excited to participate. The 2012 International EcoSummit has received over 1950 abstracts from 100 countries for presentations in 67 symposia, dozens of general sessions, and hundreds of poster presentations. More than a dozen professional workshops and forums with 200 additional participants will also be included in the program.
“OUR Water” is the only workshop at the 2012 International EcoSummit featuring a neighborhood in Columbus, OH and focusing on the immense ecological impact & opportunities available in water management & landscape design on the neighborhood-level. The project focuses on specific storm water management strategies used in several collaborative projects in the revitalization of the urban neighborhood of Weinland Park in Columbus, Ohio, including the challenges of solving urban storm water management problems, particularly in low-income communities with large areas of privately-owned residential property.
Building on work undertaken by the Weinland Park Collaborative and Weinland Park Community Civic Association in carrying out the Weinland Park Neighborhood Plan, “OUR Water” is a pilot project, supported by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Education Fund. The project is a brownfield housing redevelopment that will engage participants in using residential rainscaping to manage urban storm water in a more sustainable way and the installation of water conservation devices inside new housing to reduce water consumption at the corner of 8th Ave & 4th Street.
The 2012 EcoSummit is organized by The Ohio State University, MORPC, ESA, INTECOL, and the Society of Ecological Restoration in collaboration with American Ecological Engineering Society, Commonwealth Human Ecological Council, East Asian Federation of Ecological Societies, Ecological Society of China, Ecosystem Service Partnership, European Ecological Federation, International Association for Ecological Modeling, International Society for the Advancement of Emergy Research, and the Society for Human Ecology.
Landing the International 2012 EcoSummit is a great honor for Columbus and will bring together the world’s most respected minds in ecological science to discuss restoring the planet’s ecosystems. We are thrilled to be able to represent some of the groundbreaking work underway here in Columbus.
“OUR Water” has been carefully crafted to educate ourselves and our neighbors about practical approaches to reduce our watershed footprint, build community pride, and provide superior housing for new low-income homebuyers in our neighborhood. It will include a variety of elements, including front-yard and curbside rain gardens, rain barrels, “green” employment training for residents, educational sessions, project monitoring and installation of water-conservation devices within the new housing.
We’ll keep everyone posted as the project unfolds. Join us in celebrating the impact a small group of dedicated people can have when we collaborate.
4th Street Farms 