Sustainable Cleveland 2019 will feature 2 Community Champions each quarter. Community champions are businesses or organizations that have made a commitment to incorporating the principles of Sustainable Cleveland into their operations and interactions with the community.

Cleveland Public Library

In 2011, the Cleveland Public Library made a commitment to sustainability in their strategic plan — specifically to align their community outreach and education with the Sustainable Cleveland Celebration Years. In 2012, the library’s youth summer reading program was themed, Feed Your Mind, Read! Local Foods, Local Fun.

Programming included “Be a Food Critic for a Day”, “Smart Eating Jeopardy” and the “Great Grub, Gross Grub Contest”. In addition to youth programming, CPL offered programing for adults about local foods including the Robert Lockwood-Thompson Dialogues which featured cultural and food photographer Penny De Los Santos (regular contributor to National Geographic), chef Dan Barber (member of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition) and author/journalist Michael Ruhlman (writer of Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking) will explore the ways that food informs our relationships. The dialogue set the groundwork for a “Cleveland-based cookbook that will feature stories, recipes, and photographs from Clevelanders. The work-in-progress is a collaboration among CPL, LAND studio, design firm RUL — and the community.

IngenuityFest

IngenuityFest is a festival of art and technology, where two worlds that don’t often meet can connect. Since 2011, IngenuityFest has aligned the festival with the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Celebration Years. In 2011, the theme, Currents was chosen to shine light on the the Year of Energy Efficieny. In 2012, the theme, Feeds, provided food for thought on What feeds us today? How do we view the food, information, culture and everything that nourishes the body, mind, and soul. Also, how do these feeds intersect, collide, saturate, or nourish. IngenuityFest reaches 45,000 attendees each year.