Today (April 22) is officially Earth Day, but there are volunteer events in the area taking place all week. If you’d like to get outside and make a difference, check out our round up of opportunities.
Want to know more about planting trees and building up Akron’s shrinking tree canopy? Keep Akron Beautiful says it’s gone from 40% to 34% – the group is launching an initiative called “Planting Change,” with a goal of 100,000 new trees in the city by 2034.
They’re hosting a free event on Saturday, April 27, from noon to 3 p.m. at Hardesty Park (1615 W. Market St.) in the Wallhaven neighborhood. It will feature a variety of activities, including a tree planting demonstration and white oak seedlings for the first 100 attendees. Jon Malish, the city’s arborist, will talk about Akron’s urban landscape.
Here are some other happenings around Akron, with a definite green tinge to a couple of them:
The Greater Akron Audubon Society is celebrating its 90th anniversary this month with a talk called “The Presence (and Presents) of Birds” by Jen Brumfield, a Cleveland Metroparks naturalist, at Goodyear Heights Lodge (2077 Newton St.) on Tuesday, April 23, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
A second town hall for the community to get acquainted with Deputy Chief Brian Harding, who is the sole finalist for the open Akron Police chief job, will be held Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The updated location is now East Community Learning Center at 80 Brittain Rd.
The Impact Summit County Reentry Collaborative Resource Fair will be held Thursday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lakeview United Methodist Church in Barberton (211 3rd St. NW). The event, sponsored by Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro in partnership with the collaborative, will help connect justice-impacted individuals with resources such as employment readiness and placement, addiction recovery services, veteran services, vocational programs and housing services.
No RSVP is required, and METRO RTA will provide free rides to the event – participants should show the bus operator the event flier. If you have any questions, contact Lisa Dolan, reentry specialist for Summit County Public Safety, at reentry@summitoh.net.
MowGREENER program
The Akron Regional Air Quality Management District, a service of Summit County Public Health, launched its MowGREENER program for 2024, which incentivizes the switch from gas-powered to battery- or electric-powered lawn equipment.
If you qualify, you can get a $100 gift card for changing mowers or a $25 rebate for other, typically smaller, lawn equipment such as leaf blowers and trimmers. You have to live in Summit, Medina or Portage counties, and the program is limited to households, not commercial businesses.
It’s a little bit complicated, so read the fine print here and save your receipts – be sure to register soon, too, as the program is limited.
Dominion’s possible rate increase
Akron City Council passed a resolution last week that opposes a proposed 30% rate increase by Dominion Energy Ohio. Council asked the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to deny the request. The Ohio Consumers’ Counsel made a presentation to the Public Service Committee you can view here, or you can visit their website for information on how to share your opinion with the PUCO.