“The state of sustainability in Greater Cleveland is strong,” GreenCityBlueLake Institute Director David Beach told a crowd at the recent "Emerge" celebration. He cited numerous examples: Cleveland’s #2 rank in local food, four LEED-Neighborhood Development projects underway, Tri-C Green Academy launches, the Cleveland Carbon Fund is established, RTA hybrid-bus line opens with bike lanes on Euclid. And, he set some aggressive goals in the lead up to 2019 (the 50th anniversary of the infamous Cuyahoga River fire).

Last week, a group of sustainability organizations—building the capacity of the region through sustainable economies, policies and tools like GCBL’s carbon footprint analysis—provided more evidence that sustainability is a growing movement and an important organizing principle.

Mandy Metcalf, director of Environmental Health Watch’s Affordable Green Housing Center, reported that the first of the five green cottages in the Cleveland EcoVillage is nearly complete. Shooting for LEED-Gold, these reasonably sized, affordable green houses are being built across the street from the EcoVillage townhomes. See the slide show here that illustrates the ‘advanced framing’ techniques being used to minimize construction waste and maximize energy efficiency. EHW will hold a workshop on advanced framing on March 25. The group is also seeking funding to do ‘deep energy retrofits’—super insulating an existing Cleveland home so that it needs near-zero energy.

(Deep energy retrofits are an integral part of the climate change action strategy for buildings, but they cost tens of thousands of dollars each. GCBL has created discussion groups to gather ideas for transition plans. We need your input as we work toward detailed goals including how many retrofits and energy efficiency makeovers we need to lead the region toward its carbon reduction target. Add your ideas here.)

After more than a year of near dormancy, an important organization focused on the commercial side of green building is being revived. The Cleveland Green Building Coalition (GBC) is re-forming as the Northeast Ohio chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, and has hired Michele Kilroy as its director. Michele spoke of plans to develop a green building resource directory and for a demonstration deep energy retrofit for a commercial building. Her group will celebrate its re-launch on March 26 with a party featuring speakers Jason Hartke, USGBC Director of Advocacy and Public Policy, and Sadhu Johnston, Chief Environmental Officer of the City of Chicago and Founder of Cleveland’s GBC.

Green building is part of Cleveland Institute of Art’s plan for its new classroom and dorm to be built on Euclid (near its “factory” studio building). The school is committed to a LEED-certified building and a green roof. Doug Paige, head of the industrial design program, said that sustainable design is also part of the curriculum, including an upcoming seminar focused on design in the Cuyahoga Valley. Projects may include an advanced design for the green bulkheads being tested in the Cuyahoga River. CIA is also reaching out to A Piece of Cleveland to develop new designs for reclaimed wood and other materials from “deconstructed” Cleveland homes. Repurposing deconstruction material into new products could be the impetus for a local, advanced manufacturing effort, Paige said.

The city of Cleveland has committed to deconstructing (which involves meticulously taking a condemned home apart to reuse its raw materials) ten homes in 2009, with a goal of 50 homes in 2010.

Rediscovering the value in older things is also at the heart of the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District’s plans to turn a former industrial property on the south side of Cleveland into a trail, wetland and state-of-the-art waste collection center, said the District’s Diane Bickett. The agency is also assisting an entrepreneur who wants to establish a commercial scale greenhouse heated by biowaste at the site. “One issue: It needs 1,400 pounds of food waste a day to heat it,” Bickett said.

The District could look to The New Agrarian Center in Oberlin which built a biomass heating system for the greenhouse at its George Jones Farm. NAC director, Brad Masi, told the group about an “Integrating greenhouse into existing structures” workshop with strawbale construction being held on September 19 in Oberlin. The amazing growth in local food will be covered in the new, locally produced documentary “Polycultures” screening at the Cleveland International Film Festival on March 25 (with a forum discussion after) & 26.

Deep energy retrofits and sustainable transportation plans will vie for a chunk of the federal stimulus package known as Energy Efficiency Block Grants (EEBG), said Cleveland Office of Sustainability director Andrew Watterson. Cleveland anticipates $7-16 million to promote conservation within municipal facilities, commercial and residential buildings. The block grant funds can also be used for bike paths and bike stations (such as the downtown and University Circle bike stations). “The city wants to connect the block grants with the workforce training (part of the stimulus package),” Watterson said. Watterson also touched on the “Sustainable Cleveland 2019” summit (mentioned in Mayor Jackson’s State of the City address) to be held this summer and lead by Case’s appreciative inquiry guru David Cooperrider. “If we want to create a green city on a blue lake, we have to create prosperity and empower the least of us as well as deal with our environmental issues.”

Among the bike path projects applying for EEBGs is the conversion of an old rail bed in the West Bank of the Flats into an urban greenway that could connect the Towpath Trail to Whiskey Island. Building Cleveland by Design has already secured $1.3 million from the Clean Ohio Fund for design and engineering of the old C&M rail line into a 1.3 mile trail and park to make it shovel ready.