Environment

Peter Stein, 2010 recipient of Partners’ Bridge Builders Award, sat down recently with Hanover’s local newspaper to talk about his work at the Lyme Timber Company.The article explores Stein’s use of public-private partnerships in conservation efforts and his take on how preserving nature can be good for investors' bottom line.

You can read more of the article at the Valley News.

Also, check out our Bridge Builder award for Peter Stein.

 

Partners’ board member William “Bill” Reilly, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has recently concluded work with the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, which he co-chaired along with former Senator Bob Graham. Preliminary reports issued by the Commission this month criticized BP and its subcontractors for insufficiently prioritizing safety in their management cultures and in their operations. The Commission’s final report is scheduled to be released on January 11.

To remain economically competitive, our cities need to go “green.” Partners’ report “The Dollars and Sense of Green Businesss,” features 22 organizations across the country that are boosting the economic health of their cities by fostering green business initiatives. Six months after the release of Partners’ report, these organizations are still hard at work. Read on for key updates, and get inspired to make your community more prosperous through sustainability. Read the individual city profiles here.

Eight organizations and partnerships in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties were each awarded a "JumpStart the Conversation" grant on February 2, 2009.

The winning projects exemplify the use of innovative ideas focused on creating livable communities for all ages and theme of "transportation and mobility options".  These strategies are aimed at the over 11 percent of residents age 65 and over in the two counties, and will encourage services that strengthen "aging in place" and increases accessibility to transportation and fosters independence among older adults.

The Grantees followed the Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties workshop on November 17, 2008; titled Increasing Transportation and Mobility Options: Creating Livable Miami-Dade & Monroe Counties for All Ages. 

Greater Miami Region Jumpstart Grants 

• The North County Citizens Association 
  To discuss a pickup service, with the purpose of allowing older citizens unable to drive or access transportation to conduct necessary tasks such as doctor’s appointments and trips to the grocery store.  The NCCA is a voluntary organization dedicated to improving the community.  Many of its members are senior citizens, and this program would be an avenue for the community to give back to them.
• Miami Lakes Town Foundation in partnership with The Alliance for Aging, Inc. 
  To hold a series of community meetings to evaluate the transportation needs of older adults in the Miami Lakes area.  The forums will be held once a month over a four month period and will encourage dialogue surrounding the issues of town public transportation, Miami-Dade county Public Transportation, as well as existing and planned trail systems.  The goal is to develop a strategy that will best coordinate accessibility to existing and planned programs, services and facilities to the aging population.
• The City of Coral Gables in partnership with The Alliance for Aging, Inc.  
  To implement a pilot program of subsidized taxicab fares for people ages 65 and over.  Seniors would be able to purchase coupons at Coral Gables City Hall and the Coral Gables Youth Center.  These facilities are both accessible and well known to residents of the city.  It is the hope that this program will demonstrate an efficient way for seniors to use existing transportation systems while still having the flexibility and independence associated with driving one’s own vehicle
• The Miami Behavioral Health Center (MBHC) 
  To promote a “Mobility Maps” program to seniors in the Miami-Dade area.  “Mobility Maps” will alert seniors to different transportation options based on their own specific transportation needs.  Each individual mobility map will provide descriptions of possible destinations as well as different methods of getting to each locale.  In addition to providing group sessions to create these maps, which can also serve to create social networks and improve psychosocial functioning, the MBHC will provide training to aging agencies and health service providers to maximize the number of seniors benefitting from this program.
• The William Lehman Injury Research Center
  To improve a multi-faceted safe crossings program in response to Miami being ranked the third highest county in regards to pedestrian injuries.  The research center plans on using education, promotional and cultural materials to address the issue specifically in regards to the over 65 population.  Current materials will also be translated in Spanish and Creole in order to increase the scope of the project across language barriers.
• The County of Monroe in partnership with The Alliance for Aging, Inc.  
  To investigate a solution to inefficient transportation (especially for older adults and pedestrians) between Monroe County and the Florida Keys.  Three planning sessions will be held to brainstorm ideas, including ways to make transportation more “green” and cost effective.
• The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind in partnership with The Alliance for Aging, Inc.  
  To explore and implement a community based independent transportation network (ITN) in Miami-Dade County.  Using a combination of both paid and volunteer drivers, the ITN will be available 24-hours a day to transport seniors to local destinations.  After a series of meetings, a pilot community will be chosen to serve as an example of increase senior mobility that can be implemented citywide.
• The Alliance for Aging, Inc. 
  To engage local and national experts on issues of senior transportation access in Miami-Dade, and to incorporate these issues into the county’s master transportation plan.  Three meetings will be hosted over a 6-month period and will focus on pedestrian needs and planning, and roadway improvement.  The meetings will serve as a follow-up to the Aging in Place workshop in November, with the goal of engaging traffic engineers and key stakeholders in issues related to aging and the public infrastructure, highlighting best practices in community transportation, and encouraging dialogue that will lead to positive changes.

Two Los Angeles designers want you to bomb the forgotten spaces of your city. The duo repurposes gumball machines into street-side “seed bomb” dispensers, now popping up in cities across the country. The “bombs” are a mixture of clay, compost and seeds that users throw anonymously into parking medians or sidewalk cracks, temporarily infusing a bit of green into an otherwise gray urban site. Read more about the “GreenAid” seed bomb project here.