Month: February 2024

March 2024 webinar: Planning and Planting the Spring Vegetable Garden

| Susannah Kistler

Do you have a New Year’s resolution to start your own garden or do you just want to hear tips on how to improve your current garden?

Join the Green Team ERG on Tuesday, March 19, from 1-2 p.m. where Tim McDermott, DVM, will give us tips on planning and planting the spring vegetable garden.

Dr. McDermott joined the Ohio State University Extension at Ohio State in 2017 as an agriculture and natural resources educator after 20 years in private practice veterinary medicine and surgery. His area of specialization is local food production systems, and he is passionate about teaching people how to grow their own food.

The webinar will cover the following topics:

  • Getting started in spring gardening
  • What you can plant now
  • Soil testing
  • How to fertilize your spring garden to maximize your harvest

Register for the webinar here.

Dr. McDermott will be available to answer questions at the end of his presentation. Feel free to submit questions ahead of time to Judy Gregory, our new webinar moderator and Green Team education chair, at gregory.177@osu.edu.

Not part of the Green Team yet? You can join at go.osu.edu/greenteamsignup.

— By Judy Gregory

Do a Happy Little 5K for Earth Week

| Susannah Kistler

Run for the Trees Happy Little 5K logo with stylized Bob Ross image
Join the Green Team April 22-26, 2024, in running for the trees!

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is hosting the Run for the Trees Happy Little 5K event again this year.

Inspired by the late artist Bob Ross and his love for the beauty of nature, this 3.1-mile virtual event will take place between Earth Day (April 22) and Arbor Day (April 26). Participants can complete the 5K on foot or by bike, skate, paddle or mobility device at any pace and any place outdoors.

Registration is $36 and participants will receive a Happy Little T-shirt (if registered by March 1), a commemorative bib number, and a finisher’s medal. Registration is encouraged by March 1 for these items to be delivered in time for the event. Registration closes April 1.

Grab some friends and get moving for the trees!

Learn more.

Register Here.

— By Beth Strausbaugh

‘Canary’ screening, presented by Green Columbus and Studio 35

Green Columbus and Studio 35 present Canary - An Annual Green Drinks Movie Night - Wednesday, Feb. 28, 6-9 p.m. at Studio 35 - 3055 Indianola Ave.
| Susannah Kistler

Join Green Columbus at Studio 35 for a Green Drinks Movie Night, featuring “Canary,” the story of Ohio State professor Lonnie Thompson, PhD, whose research has advanced our understanding of Earth’s climate system and climate change.

Dr. Thompson is a Distinguished University Professor in the School of Earth Sciences and a Senior Research Scientist in the Byrd Polar Research Center at The Ohio State University.

The event begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at Studio 35 (3055 Indianola Ave. in Columbus). The screening is free, and concessions (including alcohol for those 21+) are available for purchase in the Studio 35 lobby.

The screening begins at 6:30 p.m. and is followed by a Q&A with Dr. Thompson and his wife, Ellen Mosley-Thompson, PhD, a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Geography in the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio State.

Visit GreenCbus.org/GreenDrinks for more information and to sign up for emails about future events from Green Columbus.



— By Beth Strausbaugh

February webinar: How Ohio State is meeting its sustainability goals

| Susannah Kistler

UPDATE: This webinar has been postponed. We’ll update the website with a new date once the presentation is rescheduled.

In this month’s webinar from the Green Team ERG, Andrew Neil, MESM, assistant director for Sustainability with Facilities Operations and Development at The Ohio State University, will review the university’s resource stewardship goals as we approach 2025 and look into the future, identifying bigger goals for 2030 and beyond.

Register for the webinar here.

Andrew has been with Ohio State for over five years, with his work focusing on advancing the university’s sustainability goals on carbon, energy, water, ecosystem services, transportation, water, food and procurement. He earned a master’s degree in environmental science and management from the University of Rhode Island (URI) in 2014, focusing on spatial analysis and remote sensing. Previously, he worked on coastal and marine issues with the URI Environmental Data Center, the U.S. National Park Service and CSA Ocean Sciences.

Andrew will be available to answer questions at the end of his presentation. Feel free to submit questions ahead of time to Judy Gregory, our new webinar moderator and Green Team education chair, at gregory.177@osu.edu.

Not part of the Green Team yet? You can join here: go.osu.edu/greenteamsignup

Sustainable source: Hidden treasures at Campus Surplus

| Susannah Kistler

If elevating or furnishing your office space is on your 2024 “to-do” list, Campus Surplus may be a sustainable and cost-effective solution. By choosing to reuse items, you not only reduce your ecological footprint but also contribute to creating a campus culture that values resourcefulness, community and responsible stewardship. Read more.

Transfer Days are held on the first working Monday of each month. The next Transfer Day is Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. University staff can visit Campus Surplus on Transfer Days from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to browse the ever-changing inventory and tag items that will be used in on-campus workspaces.

Visit the surplus website.

As world rubber supply is threatened, Ohio State scientists are developing more sustainable solutions

| Susannah Kistler

Katrina Cornish, professor of horticulture and crop science and food, agricultural and biological engineering at The Ohio State University, has led a group of researchers in improving efficiency and increasing the latex yield of the world’s primary natural rubber supply, which is threatened by disease and high demand.

The method: adding specialized agents during processing of a dandelion species and a desert shrub, to get more latex sustainably from both plants. Both plants are found in North America.

“We need to have efficient extraction methods for any and all alternative natural rubber-producing species, especially at a large scale,” Cornish told Ohio State News. “And they have to be low-cost if you’re going to be able to compete in the tire market in the long term.”

Read more in the Ohio State News article by Emily Caldwell.