Vol. 4, No. 3
Spring 2016
NEWS FROM
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Environmental TrustGrants SupportNatural ResourcesThe Nebraska Environmental Trust
announced that 118 projects will
receive $18,799,900 in lottery
proceeds for natural resource work
in Nebraska. Out of these, 69 are
newly funded grants and 49 are
carry-over projects. This is the 23rd
year of grants from the Trust, which
has provided over $250 million dollars
in lottery revenue to preserve and
protect the air, water and land of our
state. Some of the projects receiving
funding include:
• Northern Prairies Land Trust –
Expanding the Tallgrass Prairie
Partnership
• The Nature Conservancy: Making A
Place for Monarchs
• North Platte NRD – DAMP Project
• PrairieLand Gold LLC – Wastewater
Treatment & Nutrient Recovery
The Joslyn Institute received
second-year funding for our
Sustaining the Conservation of
Nebraska Environmental Resources
project. A complete listing of all
approved 2016 grants and summaries
can be found on the Nebraska
Environmental Trust web site at www.
environmentaltrust.org.
The Nebraska Legislature created
the Nebraska Environmental Trust in
1992. With lottery funds, the Trust has
provided grants to over 1,900 projects
across the state.
Donna Woudenberg, JISC’s Projects
& Operations Manager, attended the
3rd Biennial Food Hub Conference
in Atlanta, Georgia from March 30th
– April 1st.
Plenary and breakout sessions
ranged from first steps in food
hub development to major food
hub success stories. Conference
attendees explored food hub-related
functions, values, financing and
grant opportunities, collaborative
opportunities, marketing strategies,
communications, cutting-edge
models, risk mitigation, equity
issues, creating connections with
producers and consumers, and
value chain coordination.
“There are many, many more
people and organizations involved
in food-hub development and
operations than I ever imagined,”
Woudenberg said, “and financing
and operating food-hubs are far
more complicated than I ever
imagined. The biggest take-home
message, however, is that food-
hubs must be designed as being
complementary to and collaborative
with other local and regional efforts
– not competitive. What’s most
important at the end of the day is
Food Hub Conference Provides Much Information and Incentive
For the past 26 years, Oma-
ha’s Earth Day celebration
has become one of the most
dynamic in the country. On Satur-
day, April 16, from 11 am to 6 pm in
Elmwood Park, the event will feature
live bands, children’s activities,
environmental demonstrations, beer
and food courts, physical health and
wellness, and more than 100 exhibi-
tors, artists, musicians, and experts.
W. Cecil Steward, founder
President and CEO of the Joslyn
Institute, will be just one of the
speakers on the Main Stage. Stew-
ard’s topic will be “Community, Food,
Governance and Me” at 2:35. The
Main Stage will also be the site for
Native American music, jazz, dance,
speakers on such topics as contami-
nated water and the Unicameral’s
actions on environmental issues, the
presentation of Friend of the Envi-
ronment Award, and much more.
The Demonstration Tent, spon-
sored by Green Omaha Coalition,
will help visitors learn about a host
of environmentally-friendly practices,
from rain barrels to urban chickens.
The Children’s Tent will feature
a host of fun activities, from honey
tasting to a compost relay game.
Learn more about these and the
plethora of other activities scheduled
for Earth Day Omaha here:
http://earthdayomaha.org/
Some of the other Earth Day activi-
ties around the state:
Bellevue
Sunday, April 24
Lied Activity Center
2700 Arboretum Drive
Sarpy County Earth Day will fea-
ture a 5k walk/run, attend various
workshops, visit the recycling and
car exhibit and keep the little ones
entertained with an endless supply
of kid’s activities. https://www.ever-
fest.com/e/sarpy-county-earth-
day-bellevue-ne
Chadron
Saturday, April 23
9 am to 2 pm (MDT)
Dawes County Courthouse
Earth Day Festival and Community
Clean Up
Gretna
Friday, April 22
4:15 to 5:15 pm
Gretna Public Library
736 South Street
An Earth Day craft and celebra-
tion for children K-5. No registration
needed.
Hastings
Tuesday, April 19 through Thurs-
day, April 21
Central Community College
Hall Student Union
Films, music, color contest, po-
etry writing, poster displays, guest
speakers, fossil dig,and much more
are planned over a three-day period.
http://www.cccneb.edu/Events/
Event-Items/Student-Activities/
Earth-Week/
Lincoln
Saturday, April 23
10 am to 2 pm
Union Plaza
There are many activities in Lincoln
all month, but the main Earth Day
celebration will be held Saturday,
April 23 at Union Plaza. Everything
from a farmers’ market to music, a
children’s obstacle course and re-
cycling demonstrations will highlight
the day. http://www.lincolnearth-
day.org/
Scottsbluff
Saturday, April 16
10 am to noon
401 Sl Beltline Highway W
Tree give-away by the North Platte
NRD, document shredding, card-
board collection, well water testing,
cloth bag give-away when you bring
in a bag full of plastic bags, house-
hold battery collection, and more.
https://www.facebook.com/
events/1043498879047847/
Wayne
Sunday, April 17
6:30 pm
Majestic Theatre
Wayne State College Green Team,
the City of Wayne Green Team, and
the A. Jewell Schock Museum of
Natural History are hosting a free
screening of the stunning French
documentary Planet Ocean. Exhibits
and discussion on marine life, con-
nections between local waterways
and our oceans, information on new
local waste reduction efforts and
recycling, a raffle for a hand-made
quilt, children books, and more will
be featured. http://www.cityof-
wayne.org/greenteam or https://
www.wsc.edu/museum
the viability of all producers and the
health of consumers as access to
fresh and local foods increases.”
The USDA has made $90 million
available for the support of local
food systems and specialty crop
producers. Woudenberg said she
returned to Lincoln committed to
delving deeper into the sector. More
about the conference here:
http://www.ngfn.org/
Earth Day Observances Feature Range of Activities
More than 400 people from around the country attended the Food Hub Conference
Sustainability inRural Nebraska isFocus of AIA WesternNebraska MeetingClean energy, sustainable
development, rural planning and
community development are among
the topics to be explored at the
AIA Western Nebraska Spring
Conference. The meeting, which
provides the opportunity to earn HSW
credits, will be held 8 am to 5 pm on
Friday, April 22 at the Bosselman
Conference Center, 700 East Stolley
Park Road, in Grand Island.
Among the speakers will be
James Pfeiffer, AIA, LEED AP BD+C,
of BNIM Architects; Brenda Jensen,
AICP, of Miller & Associates; Troy
Pomajzi and David Willis of USDA
Rural Devleopment; and Lauren
Kolojejchick-Kotch and Lu Nelson of
the Center for Rural Affairs.
Click here for registration and
more information.
Water for Food Global Conference is April 24–26 in LincolnCatalytic Collaborations: Building
Public–Private Partnerships for Water
and Food Security is the theme of
the 2016 Water for Food Global
Conference. The seventh annual
conference will focus on the powerful
impact achieved through public-
private partnerships in water for food
research, technology and project
development. Organized by the
Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food
Institute at the University of Nebraska,
the international conference will
include plenary sessions, concurrent
sessions, keynote speakers, side
events and workshops. Click here for
more information and registration.
EcoStores Nebraska, an initiative
of the Joslyn Institute, recently
completed a year-long study of
construction and demolition (C&D)
waste in the Lincoln area. The
nation’s landfills are being overladen
with wood, shingles, metals,
plastics, concrete and bricks, and
more, with an estimated 170 million
tons of C&D waste being added to
them each year.
Craig Steward, EcoStores
Manager, said, “Looking at the
numbers alone, it’s easy to answer
the question, ‘Why recycle?’ C&D
recycling greatly reduces the
burdens on our landfills and is good
for the environment.
“Recycling C&D waste promotes
sustainable building, saves natural
resources, and is the right thing
to do,” he said. “Companies that
routinely recycle on their job sites
find it easy, and they realize savings
in reduced disposal costs.”
Building sites that recycle tend
to be safer and more efficient, he
added. And more cities, counties
and states are requiring documen-
tation of C&D recycling on projects.
The study, underwritten with a
grant from the City of Lincoln Public
Works Department, was directed
by Ecostores and completed with a
coaltion of partners: Ayars & Ayars
Construction, Kingery Construction,
Sampson Construction, Speedway
Properties/NGC Construction, and
special advisor, Dale Gubbels of
First Star Fiber.
Steward has prepared a report
based on the coalition’s findings,
Construction & Demolition Waste
Management Best Practices
Manual. The report is available in
PDF form for downloading here.
Local C&D Waste Study: Recycling Works
