Environmentally friendly design is within your reach. Check out these suggestions:

• SAVE Choose ENERGY STAR products, from light bulbs and kitchen appliances to ceiling fans and dehumidifiers, to help you save energy and help the environment. An added benefit – you could save up to 30% on utility bills.
• REUSE Salvage items large and small that are in good shape and simply could use a face-lift. If you need to get rid of old sinks or appliances, give them to charity or sell them in a yard sale (instead of hauling them to the landfill).
• CONSERVE To conserve water, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth in the morning and at bedtime, which save up to 8 gallons of water per day. It’s also important to promptly fix any drips or leaks; a leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water per day. To conserve energy, establish the habit of turning off the lights when you leave a room.
• RECYCLE Keep a recycling bin in or near your kitchen so that you can easily designate items for recycling.
• COMPOST Suitable kitchen scraps, such as coffee grounds and apple cores, can be made into compost. Composting can reduce household waste and supply organic material for your garden.
• SELECT For your household cleaning, look for naturally derived cleaning supplies, or opt for age-old solutions, such as baking soda and vinegar.
• RENEW Seek out items made from rapidly renewable, sustainably harvested, or recycled materials. Options for flooring include cork and bamboo, as well as recycled or recyclable carpet or linoleum made from natural linseed oil.
• IMAGINE Think about accessible design as a part of green design. You’ll help ensure the longevity of your home and conserve resources that would be spent on changes down the road.

Lowe’s Creative Ideas
September/October 2007

E4S NATIONAL KNOWLEDGE NETWORK SPEAKER EVENT

October 8, 2008
5:30-8:30pm
Cleveland Institute of Art
11141 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44106

General Price: $30
Member Price: $25
Student Price: $20
Cash and checks will be accepted at the door.

How do you get started in designing more sustainably?
What are the best practices, resources and next steps to lead your company into the future of design?

Description:

Join E4S and a panel of regional and national sustainable design experts and practitioners at the Cleveland Institute of Art for an engaging E4S National Knowledge Network Speaker Event on the Future of Design: Integrating Sustainability.

Catherine Bragdon, Grand Rapids, is currently a consultant to the design facilitation team at Herman Miller where she helps to explore product innovation. She has led the development of an alliance between Cradle to Cradle protocols and Material ConneXion to establish a global platform for material innovation as well as co-founding the Biomimicry Guild with Janine Benyus in 2003. Click here to read full bio.

Susan Lyons, New York City, is a principal of Susan Lyons Studio LLC, focusing on sustainable product design, materials and color development, product marketing strategy, and dedicated to developing compelling and environmentally intelligent products informed and inspired by the principles of cradle-to-cradle design. Susan has worked as a consultant to Herman Miller, Shaw Carpet, Innovations and Crypton Carnegie. Click here to read full bio.

Doug Paige, Cleveland, is an Associate Professor of Industrial Design at The Cleveland Institute of Art. He has helped further the legacy of one the most established industrial design programs in the country, founded by the late Viktor Schreckengost in 1933. Doug incorporated designing for sustainability into the curriculum in 2000. He also works as a design consultant for several companies in the NEO region. Click here to read full bio

Parking and Directions

• Parking at the CIeveland Institute of Art is free for this event, but limited. The Institute is located in the University Circle, please visit this link for more parking information.
• For directions to the Cleveland Institute of Art (11141 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44106) follow this link.

Request a Display Table:
If you have sustainable products or services for businesses, we welcome your display table request. A staff member will get back to you within a few days of your form submission.  For more information contact Allison at 216-451-7755.

$200 - Full Table
$100 - Half Table

E4S National Knowledge Network Speaker Event Sponsors:
The Cleveland Institute of Art
ForestCity Enterprises
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Talan Products, Inc.
Yurich Creative

Special thanks to Brandi Adamski for this post!

If we all live in a watershed, then why do we not know where it is and why it matters? Most people in Canton are only familiar with the creek as it pertains to ducks and floods. Ok, so knowing where it floods is a start.

What is a Watershed?

A watershed is the land and series of waterways (lakes, rivers, streams, rivers and creeks) that drain an area, eventually, to the sea. Some watersheds are a few acres, while others cover millions of square miles. Regardless of size, wherever you are, you are in a watershed.

Now, think of your property. When it rains, the water drains in a particular order and fashion. Water flows, downward, from the roof to the gutters, down downspouts, through landscape beds and lawn and around concrete, bricks and vehicles to the street. Your house and yard is a mini-watershed, of sorts. Without this drainage, we would be inundated with water every time it rained – whether it be a house or a county. So, let’s just say drainage is THE most important thing to land-loving individuals. With that in perspective, it’s kind of difficult to imagine that most people aren’t more informed about their watershed.

What is our Watershed?

We can thank the Nimishillen Creek tributaries (West Branch, East Branch, and Middle Branch, Hurford Run and Sherrick Run) for draining water southerly. There are six watersheds in Stark County, but ours is central and drains Canton, North Canton, Louisville, East Sparta and part of Hartville to Sandy Creek. From Sandy Creek, water drains through the Tuscarawas and Ohio Rivers to the Mississippi River that empties into the Gulf of Mexico. This trip is almost 900 miles! Imagine all the other communities OUR water impacts. Which leads to the alternate title for this blog: We all live downstream.

Watershed Health and Importance

So who cares about downstream? From microscopic organisms to birds to large mammals, entire systems depend on clean water. The creek is their food and water supply. A watershed must be efficient and healthy to support such systems, but our assistance is the key. Trash, human development and chemical use are all obvious contributors to the degradation of the watershed, but there are many other daily practices that play a role.

Let’s go back to your mini-watershed: your property. What you do on your property is not contained to your property because water is always going to flow away from your house. If it flows away from you, down the street, then you shouldn’t be concerned, right? Wrong. Why? Because you always have a neighbor that lives up the street from you. This is the big picture.

Many things are carried by that water that we can see, like litter and debris, but many other things hitch a ride that are not visible to the eye. Left on lawns, dog waste is a common pollutant. Water carries its disease-causing bacteria to unsuspecting kids and people that play in the creek. Motor oil, lawn fertilizer, pesticides and car-washing soaps are only a few products that are easily washed into waterways. Removing trees and vegetation, especially around the creek, increases erosion and lowers the natural filtering of harmful chemicals. The choice of concrete over gravel increases runoff and the chance that pollutants will make their way into the watershed.

Every person affects our watershed. Everyone lives downstream. We all live in a watershed.

The upcoming Nimishillen Creek Clean-up (LEAP) not only eliminates litter and debris in a particular area, it brings about awareness of the watershed and how, we as individuals affect it. Please join this important community event to learn more! To register individuals or groups, email Brandi at zoesah@neo.rr.com.

This event is a great opportunity to help Green your Canton!

Seventh Annual Nimishillen Creek LEAP

Litter Elimination, Awareness and Prevention

West Branch of Nimishillen Creek

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Stark Parks West Parks Trail

Fulton Drive NW and Stadium Park Drive NW

Canton, Ohio

9:00 a.m.

Map

The Nimishillen Creek Watershed Partners are pleased to announce the seventh annual Nimishillen Creek LEAP clean-up will be held for the first time along the West Branch of Nimishillen Creek.  The 2008 clean-up will include the section of creek along the recently completed West Parks Trail by Stark Parks which runs between Fulton Road and 38th Street.

Volunteers are needed to help pick up debris along this section of the West Branch.  Those interested are asked to meet at 9:00 am at the start of the trail at the intersection of Fulton Road and Stadium Park Road.  From there volunteers will be directed to clean-up sites along the creek.  A free lunch for the volunteers will following the event.

Check out http://www.uptuscwatershed.org/leap_2008.htm for more details on the event and information on the Nimishillen Creek Watershed.

from the Canton Repository - www.cantonrep.com

Going green is theme of First Friday tonight
REPOSITORY STAFF REPORT

CANTON The Mayor’s Commission on Sustainability will launch its “Green My Canton” initiative tonight in downtown Canton.

The program will be part of the First Friday arts festival from 6 to 10 p.m., which features the theme “Get into the Green Scene.”

First Friday, which takes place downtown the first Friday of each month, will include “eco-conscious” educational elements, along with the usual art activities and entertainment, according to a press release from the mayor’s office and the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Hybrid vehicles, including a truck from American Electric Power, will be on display, the release said. Booths will feature energy-saving products for homes and offices.

Click here to read more…

Welcome to the official blog of Green My Canton, where you can find helpful content and stay up-to-date about the sustainability efforts of Canton, OH. Feel free to comment and give suggestions as we are looking for you, the resident, to take ownership in this movement.