Hub Programs
The Hub offers a variety of programs that engage the community around topics in energy efficiency, renewable energy, green building, and green purchasing.
Quick Links: Seminar Series, EECO, Window Displays, Living Wall Project , Special Talks,Fundraisers
Seminar SeriesOngoingOur most popular events are our consumer education seminars. These seminars educate citizens about various ways they can live a more sustainable lifestyle. Experts present useful, applicable information that they have gained through the time spent in their respective fields. Consumer education seminars are free but have a suggested donation of $5.00. Light refreshments are provided at each event. The Hub is currently producing a consumer education series in Elmira/Corning as well as a spring series in Ithaca. Check back soon or contact us for more information.Upcoming Seminars: Expanding “Green” Jobs in the Southern Tier: Seminar Series to Focus on Manufacturing, Agricultural, and Energy Efficiency Sectors For more information contact Nick Vaczek, 607.227.7222Monday, April 21, 12-1pm @ Corning Community College Library, Rm L204: Jobs in the Energy Efficiency Sector
Wednesday, April 23, 12-1pm @ Corning Community College Library, Rm L204: Controlled Environment Agriculture: Growing Fresh Local Food in All Seasons
Friday, April 25, 12-1pm @Corning Community College Library, Rm L204: Green Polymers: Making Consumer Products from Plants
Past educational seminars
April 3, 2007: Sustainable Energy Seminar (in collaboration with Ithaca Forward)
May 30, 2007: Green Remodeling: Kitchens and Baths
June 26, 2007: Commercial and Residential Green Cleaning
November 29, 2007: Home Heating with Biomass
January 17, 2008: Micro Hydro: Using Water to Power Your Home or Farm
February 21, 2008: Save Money and Energy with Home Insulation (in collaboration with Southern Tier Energy $mart Communities)
——Read a summary of this seminar!
March 31, 2008: Save Money, Stop Wasting Energy and Improve the Comfort of Your Home (in collaboration with the Southern Tier Energy $mart Communities and the Energy Committee of the Finger Lakes Group of the Sierra Club)
——Read a summary of this seminar!
Energy Efficiency Community Outreach (EECO)
Ongoing
Our EECO program offers an opportunity to learn how to make do-it-yourself improvements to your home in order to conserve resources and save money. EECO partners with professional home improvement experts who demonstrate how to weatherize your home, complete easy kitchen and bath repairs, reduce your electricity bill, and make your home more comfortable. Participants get hands-on experience learning about their homes and they also receive free materials like caulk-guns, weather stripping, and compact fluorescent light bulbs that they can put to use. All of the sessions are free and food is provided at each one. The EECO learning circles consist of four weekly sessions taking place in participants’ homes. The sessions of the next circle will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings from June 25-July 16, 2008.For more information or to register please contact Susan Wiener at 607-279-7187 or Sean Vormwald at eeco@greenresourcehub.org. The EECO program was developed by our partner organization, Sustainable Tompkins.
Window Displays
Ongoing
The Hub is in the process of developing educational window displays for high-traffic downtown store fronts. The purpose of the displays are to help the community become more familiar with topics relating to sustainability. The Hub’s first window display will feature a collage of pictures and information on select green home interior materials that are healthier, more sustainable alternatives to conventional building materials. The main goal of the display is to spark curiosity about these alter-materials, to bring attention to the existence of the Hub, and to acquaint onlookers with the Hub’s mission, values, and website.
Living Wall Community Project
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Community members of all ages gathered to plant a vertical garden known as a living wall. Under the guidance of Motherplants green roof nursery staff, volunteers got their hands dirty organizing plants onto panels that were then installed onto the side of a commercial building. You can still see the living wall at 227 Cherry Street, which is behind Wegman’s in the City of Ithaca. Like green roofs, living walls are designed to capture stormwater runoff and prevent pollutants carried by stormwater from reaching our waterways. The stormwater runoff from buildings on Cherry Street drains directly into the Cayuga Lake inlet.Funding for this project was graciously provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Through this grant, the Hub also funded the installation of a filtration system for the 227 Cherry Street parking lot drainage. This filtration system is visible under a grate in the center of the lot and employs several layers of gravel and sand to capture pollutants that the stormwater picks up from the parking area. Both of these installations stand as educational examples of design strategies for protecting our local water quality.We’d like to thank the following for their sponsorship of this event: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, the Stormwater Coalition of Tompkins County, and the Tompkins County Water Resources Council.
Special Talks
Green Jobs for the Finger LakesOn Monday, May 5, 2008 over 40 community members, business leaders, and elected officials gathered at the Human Service Building in Ithaca to discuss green jobs in the Finger Lakes. Cornell researchers highlighted recent trends in the green collar job market, and explained how policy makers can promote these jobs, where people can receive training for them, and how they can benefit the entire community.
Professor Susan Christopherson of Cornell’s City and Regional Planning Department and her graduate students in the green economic development class presented their research on green jobs and policy. The class researched the job creation potential in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors, and analyzed how state and local policies can drive the creation of green jobs. The group shared their findings and discussed the implications for the Finger Lakes region.
The presentation was followed by an open discussion about how we can promote green jobs that will benefit people from all areas of the community.
We’d like to thank the many people who attended and contributed to this event. The discussion was full with participation from the government, higher education, non-profit, and business sectors. Many people contributed including representatives from city, county, and state government; educational institutions including Ithaca College, Cornell, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and TST BOCES; non-profits such as Cooperative Extension; and local sustainability businesses like Performance Systems Development.
Benefit forCommunity & Sustainability
In partnership with the Ithaca Area Ultimate Alliance, the Hub organized a benefit at the Carriage House Café loft on Thursday, July 24 featuring the Mutron Warriors with Ki-Tun. This benefit supported a variety of efforts to green our community. Donations supported projects such as home energy audits, efficient light bulbs, the Hub green calendar, the Hub green directory, and sustainability education efforts. View the event flyer for more information.
