Vol. 4, No. 3

Spring 2016

NEWS FROM

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402.933.0080jci@sustainabledesign.org

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