Sustainability Success Stories from Renew America OVERVIEW Accelerated Energy Management Program -- New York
Details the successful program established by the New York State Office of Mental Health in response to a directive from the governor that state agencies reduce their energy consumption by 20% by the year 2000. Bethel New Life Community Revitalization Projects -- Chicago, Illinois
Describes a community-development corporation working to revitalize Chicago neighborhoods through the creation of jobs, housing rehabilitation, development of community education and health-care programs, and the cultivation of neighborhood-improvement projects. ‘Better Lawns And Gutters’ Water Pollution Prevention Program -- Madison, Wisconsin
Discusses a Dane County-sponsored educational program designed to change the landscaping habits of residents in order to protect local lakes and streams. Birthing Tree Urban Forestry Program -- McLean, Virginia Profiles a project of Fairfax ReLeaf, a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to planting trees and restoring habitat on public lands in Northern Virginia. Canandaigua Lake Watershed Protection Program -- Canandaigua, New York
Profiles a Task Force uniting concerned citizens, municipal governments, county agencies, and representatives of various state agencies in their goal to help preserve a local lake and its watershed. Chesapeake Farms Project -- Chestertown, Maryland
Details a project that conducts research and offers demonstrations and educational projects comparing sustainable farming approaches, and evaluating the respective impacts of these approaches. Chillicothe Long-Range Planning/Municipal Recycling -- Chillicothe, Missouri
Explains a long-range sustainable planning program in Missouri that aims to generate new ideas, develop additional leadership, and involve the entire community. The program also includes a curbside recycling program and the creation of a paper pellet plant. Civano -- Tucson, Arizona
Describes an 820-acre traditional neighborhood development designed to promote economic growth while maintaining important social values and ecological harmony. Civano buildings will use the best available technology to reduce energy and water demands. The project will also focus on land-use planning and sustainable transportation design. Common Roots Garden Curriculum Program -- Montpelier, Vermont
Profiles an interdisciplinary K-6 educational program that teaches science, social studies, math, language arts, creative arts, ecology and community service through gardening. Community Supported Agriculture Of North America -- Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Helps develop community-supported agricultural enterprises across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Denver's Environmental Program -- Denver, Colorado
Profiles a comprehensive community program that aims to protect the health and welfare of citizens and the region’s economy through protection and enhancement of environmental quality, including air quality protection, energy efficiency, water quality and conservation, pollution prevention, and global warming. Economic Diversification Programs Of The Owsley County Action Team -- Owsley County, Kentucky
Describes a program in which a group of citizens is working toward implementing an economic diversification strategy that promotes entrepreneurial initiatives in high-value agriculture, wood, and forest-based enterprises; tourism and recreation; industrial development, and infrastructure development. Florida Sustainable Communities Demonstration Project -- Tallahassee, Florida
Explains a project created in 1996 by the Florida Legislature to promote community involvement in achieving higher levels of energy efficiency, environmental protection, and economic development. Fresh Start Farms -- San Francisco, California
Presents a program teaching the homeless to become skilled organic gardeners, marketing the resulting produce to area restaurants and preparing participants to start their own urban organic gardens. Green Harvest -- McKeesport, Pennsylvania
Profiles a program that helps to promote a sustainable food system through the creation of community gardens, sponsorship of community-supported agriculture, development of a produce recovery program and distribution of organically grown produce to inner-city and other residents. Handmade In America -- Asheville, North Carolina
Discusses a project protecting North Carolina's environment and creating long-term, environmentally-friendly regional growth by promoting the handcraft industry. Homeless Garden Project -- Santa Cruz, California
Employs homeless people in one of three city gardens, with produce being sold to local markets. Huichica Creek Stewardship - Napa, California
Profiles a watershed management and resource planning project in which profitable agricultural businesses are working to restore the local watershed. Imago Project - Cincinnati, Ohio
Discusses an ecological education organization working to convert an older neighborhood near downtown Cincinnati into a sustainable, ecological urban neighborhood. League Of Urban Gardeners Alemany Community Farm -- San Francisco
Profiles a multifaceted project that trains and employs residents from the surrounding low-income communities in the construction and maintenance of an urban farm. Leopold Center For Sustainable Agriculture -- Ames, Iowa Develops sustainable agricultural systems through sound research and shares the results of this research with Iowa farmers. Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Program -- Minneapolis, Minnesota
Presents a program that installs weatherization improvements in homes owned by individuals who have higher-than-average utility bills and lower-than-average incomes. Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative -- State of Minnesota
Describes a Minnesota program that has brought together more than 100 citizen-leaders to develop a sustainable development plan that would reconcile the economic and environmental goals of the state, ensuring environmental protection while allowing for economic and job growth. Montgomery County Conservation Corps -- Wheaton, Maryland
Helps to turn around the lives of out-of-school and unemployed 17 to 23 year-old youth by putting them to work on local conservation, construction and beautification projects. Municipal Tree Restoration Program -- University Park, Pennsylvania
Discusses a cooperative program that helps Pennsylvania communities plant, restore and care for their public trees. New Urbanism, Traditional Neighborhood Development -- Seaside, Florida
Profiles the 80-acre development of Seaside, heralded as the first and most successful example of Traditional Neighborhood Development. Pittsburgh Park And Playground Fund -- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Presents a fund whose projects include park planning studies and the purchase of greenway areas. Rivers Curriculum Project -- Edwardsville, Illinois
Introduces an engaging program of studying local rivers into high school curricula as a way to improve environmental stewardship. Rural Action’s Rural Renewal Strategy -- Trimble, Ohio
Presents an overview of an Ohio program that empowers low-income residents to design and implement their own community-based solutions to environmental and economic challenges. Rural Historic Village Protection Program -- Crownsville, Maryland
Helps citizens conserve the unique rural and natural character of Maryland's historic villages and small towns. Rutgers Urban Gardening -- Newark, New Jersey
Discusses a program aimed at teaching gardening skills and helping city residents establish gardens on city vacant lots. St. Helena Island Restoration Project -- Ann Arbor, Michigan
Profiles a Boy Scout project that saved a historic site while preserving habitat for osprey, heron, bats and other wildlife. Stapleton Development Corporation -- Boulder, Colorado
Profiles the redevelopment of the former Stapleton International Airport site, near Denver. The project involves constructing a community of urban villages, employment centers, and greenways that focus on sustainability, environmental preservation, and economic and social development. Sustainable Municipal Development Guidelines -- Burlington, Vermont
Presents the principles and programs that support decades of effort in sustainability. Sustainable Urban/Rural Enterprise Projects (Sure) -- Richmond, Indiana
Presents a groups efforts to promote the dual goals of economic development and environmental stewardship for the City of Richmond and Wayne County. Techpark Neighborhood Reclamation And Business Park Project -- Rock Hill, South Carolina
Explains a business park and neighborhood revitalization project in South Carolina that combines economic development, revitalization of low-income neighborhoods, and preservation of natural beauty and wildlife habitat. The Green Guerrillas Urban Greening -- New York, New York
Presents a volunteer urban greening group helping community groups and individuals plant gardens and trees, create parks and develop play and picnic areas. The Henry's Fork Watershed Initiative -- Ashton, Idaho
Discusses an initiative that addresses land management issues, coordinates research and helps develop natural resource policy in eastern Idaho's Henry's Fork Basin. The Lighthouse Model Farm Network -- Davis, California
Presents a group of model farms demonstrating alternative farming methods that are both economically viable and ecologically sound. The Power Of Hope Garden Urban Gardens -- Baltimore, Maryland
Profiles a project that employs the labor of local homeless and low-income residents to help feed the city's disadvantaged community. Sustainable Manhattan -- Manhattan, Kansas
Explains this project of the Kansas Center for Rural Initiatives, which is a fledgling community effort to promote sustainable development choices in Manhattan and the surrounding areas. The Tennessee River Gorge Project -- Chattanooga, Tennessee
Discusses a trust created by Chattanooga area residents, under the auspices of the Tennessee Nature Conservancy, to protect the 25,000 acres of land within the Tennessee River Gorge. Thomas Jefferson Sustainability Council Regional Sustainability Planning -- Charlottesville, Virginia.
Presents an overview of the Council, which aims to provide a definition of sustainability for Charlottesville to develop indicators to measure sustainability, and to determine the risks of implementing unsustainable actions or policies. Tree Musketeers Kids Environmental Group -- El Segundo, California
Discusses a kid-conceived, kid-run program to lend assistance in planting trees, and protecting the planet. Trees For Tomorrow Urban Forestry Grant Program -- Sacramento, California
Awards grants to community groups, service clubs, youth organizations, neighborhoods and other organizations to plant trees in public places throughout the Sacramento municipal area. Walnut Street Bridge Restoration & Riverwalk Extension -- Chattanooga, Tennessee
Profiles a downtown revitalization project that has saved Chattanooga's historic Walnut Bridge from demolition and has restored the city's abandoned downtown waterfront area. Watershed Management Project At Big Sandy Area Lakes -- McGregor, Minnesota
Presents a unique citizen/government partnership working to improve and protect the water quality of lakes and streams within the Big Sandy Lake area watershed. Yolo County Integrated Resource Management Planning -- Woodland, California
Develops cooperative relationships with farmers and other landowners to establish and implement sustainable resource management initiatives.
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