The participants of a program designed to enable housing authority residents to identify and address local environmental issues are ready to present their projects to fellow residents, community members and city government officials.
From 6 to 8 p.m. on July 18 at the Center Court Housing Office Meeting Space (1700 Center Ave. in Niagara Falls), enrollees of the GreenRoots Leadership Development Program will host a Town Hall meeting to discuss their findings.
Made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, the GreenRoots program, a collaborative effort between ReNU Niagara, a community outreach program of Niagara University, the Niagara Falls Housing Authority and Niagara Falls Weed and Seed, allows Housing Authority residents to take ownership of a local environmental issue and develop methods to implement the desired change. Throughout the program, participants have been gaining insight from community leaders and Niagara University’s faculty and staff.
During small workshops, participants have proposed a project that would improve playgrounds and serve as an outdoor education center in their own community. Plans also include erecting a greenhouse to extend the planting season at the Highland Community Vegetable Garden.
“The project that will be presented at the Town Hall Meeting is one that, with help from the city, could increase awareness of the issues facing areas like Highland Ave. and the surrounding housing redevelopments,” says Leehe Shmueli, an AmeriCorps VISTA serving as project coordinator with ReNU Niagara. “Furthermore, it allows residents to beautify their communities and provide youth with fun places to hang out.”
ReNU Niagara, established in 2006 with government support and university investment, has worked in partnership with non-profits and other community-based organizations to build individual and organizational capacity in the City of Niagara Falls and surrounding areas. Consistent with the core values of Niagara University, its mission is to engage, empower and educate diverse community stakeholders to improve Niagara Falls and the surrounding areas.
To attend the event and/or obtain further information, please contact Leehe Shmueli at 716.205.0289 or lshmueli@niagara.edu.
Niagara University, with an undergraduate enrollment of around 3,000 students, garnered more votes than the University at Buffalo (29,000 undergrads), Buffalo State College (9,000) and SUNY Fredonia (5,400) to take the top spot in a contest sponsored by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and Grow WNY. By doing so, Niagara will receive a $3,000 award, which will be used to construct a community vegetable garden outside of DePaul Hall. For the complete story, please click here.
ReNU Niagara is adding to its repertoire of programs thanks to a $27,374 grant from the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. The grant will enable ReNU Niagara and its community partners, the Niagara Falls Housing Authority, Sustainable Earth Solutions and Niagara Falls Weed and Seed, to implement a GreenRoots Leadership Development Program aimed at building a youth and adult sustainable resident leadership base in Niagara Falls to help reduce existing demographic disparities.
“The goal of this program is to build individual and civic empowerment capacity through effective training and the application of environmental revitalization projects,” said Jill A. Shuey, executive director of ReNU Niagara. “We are looking to provide residents of Niagara Falls with the creative tools to create change and positively impact their surroundings.”
Ultimately intended to address the leadership gap that exists in the city, the program’s mission intends to disprove common misconceptions that youths are not engaged in the process to make their community a “green” or “sustainable” community.
“The program will allow youths to take ownership of an environmental issue and implement the change they wish to see in their community through a series of twelve educational workshops,” stated Leehe Shmueli, an AmeriCorps VISTA member serving as a project coordinator with ReNU Niagara. “We are going to challenge the idea that young people are unable to or lack the drive to make positive impacts on the city that they call home.”
The time has come to sell the beautiful homegrown vegetables. The Highland Community Vegetable Garden currently has zucchinis, snow peas, radishes, cucumbers, cauliflowers and beets, along with some herbs (chives, parsley, oregano and more) for sale. The garden also has watermelon, tomatoes and carrots (among other things) that still are not ready for harvesting, but keep a look out for them because they are on the way. If you are looking to purchase some nice, healthy veggies at an affordable price, look no further than the HCV Garden. Current market days are Wednesdays, weather permitting, from 6-7 p.m. at 1800 Beech Ave. Niagara Falls, NY 14305 (Henry J. Kalfas Magnet school).
More than 15 wonderful students from the Niagara University Opportunity Program came out not once, but twice, to show the care they have for the Niagara Falls community. The young, eager students joined in on July 10 and again on July 24 to help with the beautification of the Highland Pocket Park, located at 1013 Garden Ave. On July 10, the group showed up early in the morning to help spread mulch around the park in order to outline its border to improve its aesthetics as well as to prepare the ground for the addition of shrubs that would be added later. On July 24, the group finished the process by helping plant 35 shrubs in the park and then watering each one to make sure that they got enough nourishment for the day. Marge Gillies, co-chair of the Niagara Beautification Commission and local master gardener, was on site to help supervise the process while educating the students on the maintenance of the shrubs. Thanks to their hard work, the pocket park is looking as lovely as ever. If you get a chance, feel free to stop by. The neighbors appreciate their hard work and so do we. Thank you!
On July 10 from 2-4 p.m., ReNU Niagara held the Fiskars Project Orange Thumb ribbon-cutting ceremony and the Highland Community Vegetable Garden kickoff. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was to acknowledge the grant received from the Fiskars tool company and also to celebrate the completion of the new storage shed. Mayor Paul Dyster of Niagara Falls cut the ribbon and gave a speech reminding us of the importance of community involvement and buying local produce, claiming that "our food travels over 1,000 miles to get to us, that's pretty far just for food." After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the kickoff festivities began. The event was full of music, arts and crafts, and water conservation/gardening information. A cooking demonstration by a Niagara County Cornell Cooperative Extension staff member, who made a salsa dish by using some of the vegetables that were growing in the garden, was also performed. In addition, there were some water balloon games that local youths participated in. Before leaving, the participants helped themselves to some radishes that were ready for picking. Overall, the event was a success.
United Way of Greater Niagara, in conjunction with Niagara University’s social work department and ReNU Niagara, is launching the next phase of the health and human service needs assessment of Niagara County. During this phase, the organization will survey nonprofit staff and concerned citizens to ascertain the needs of Niagara County. An online survey has been developed to make the gathering of information more comprehensive and efficient.
The online survey will be divided into modules that will be released individually during a seven-week period every Tuesday from June 8 until July 20. This will ensure that the individual taking the survey will have enough time to look at each module and answer appropriately.
The United Way of Greater Niagara is strongly encouraging Niagara County residents to participate in the survey. Residents can provide an unbiased opinion and can participate by visiting www.niagara.edu/renu to fill out the survey.
This assessment is extremely important so that solid data can be obtained which will allow agencies the opportunity to enhance their services and the United Way to look at new programs to fund in the future.
Individuals needing assistance in completing the online survey or preferring to receive a hard copy may call the Niagara University social work department at 716.286.8520 or ReNU Niagara at 716.205.0289 Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
ReNU Niagara, Niagara University's community outreach program, has been awarded one of 20 Project Orange Thumb grants from Fiskars. The grant, which includes $1,000 in Fiskars garden tools and a $1,000 gift card from Home Depot, will be used for the Highland Community Vegetable Garden Transformation Project. The project is designed to convert the current garden at Kalfas Magnet School in Niagara Falls into a sustainable, low maintenance, high-yield garden that will empower the community and its youth and assist in the revitalization of the neighborhood. The garden was initially established with grant funding from the East Hill Foundation and the Niagara Area Foundation.
"The Fiskars grant will help us to identify more youths and residents to take on leadership roles in the community garden," said Tom Lowe, an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer with ReNUNiagara. "It will also help us to add education and leisure quality to the garden so the community partners and residents can use it as more of a community space. We are also looking to expand our resources by collaborating with local agencies to offer more workshops centered around the garden for the youth of the area."
Lowe also noted that the grant will "get our program on the national stage" because participating young people will blog about their experiences with the garden on the Fiskars website.
Project Orange Thumb, now in its eighth year, has provided more than 100 community groups with more than $200,000 to create and develop their own special community gardens that encourage community involvement and foster neighborhood beautification, sustainable agriculture and/or horticultural education.
For more information, call the ReNU Niagara office at 716.205.0289.
ReNU Niagara and the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper presented a touring display of rain barrels called "Paint the Rain: Rain Barrel Art Display" at various community sites from February through May. The barrels were decorated during a community service project sponsored by the two organizations in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. day of service in January. The barrels painted during the event were placed at various community garden sites in Niagara Falls in an effort to promote the use of rain barrels and awareness of water conservation in the City of Niagara Falls. The art was inspired by nature and featured environmental themes.
To continue the spirit of civic engagement and "green living," the barrels were on display at the Niagara Falls Public Library Feb. 22 through March 15, at Niagara Falls City Hall from March 17 through April 16, at the Niagara University Academic Complex from April 19-25, and at Niagara Falls High School from April 27-May 20. Included in the display was a description of the service project and handouts explaining how rain barrels can be used to recycle rain water runoff and reduce negative impacts on the environment.
ReNU Niagara, Niagara University's community outreach program, received a $1,000 grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation through the company's Military Road store. The grant money was used to support a series of six gardening workshops that were offered through ReNU Niagara's Fresh Food for the Falls Environmental Sustainability Project.
"The Fresh Food for the Falls: Green Gardening Workshop Series offered sessions focusing on teaching gardening tips and techniques to grow healthy, organic produce in an environmentally sustainable way," said Lacey Severson of ReNU Niagara.
Gardeners of all ages and levels of experience attended the sessions, which explained how to begin a garden, ways to "green" gardening methods, and how to lead a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. The workshops were held throughout the spring at the Niagara Falls Housing Authority Doris W. Jones Family Resource Building and at Henry J. Kalfas Magnet Elementary School. Topics included organic gardening 101, vermicomposting/composting, your food is fertilizer: worm composting, recycling the rain: water conservation, rain barrel uses and benefits, and rain gardens.
