Category: Resources

New Sun Rising launches Virtual Support Center

Posted on by Alyse Horn

Created to help nonprofits and social enterprise leaders with AI-driven assistance

Pittsburgh, PA — New Sun Rising is proud to announce the launch of its Virtual Support Center helping community leaders solve real human problems. This innovative platform harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to provide on demand support, making it easier to navigate resources and strengthen organizations.

The Virtual Support Center features three Virtual Assistants that are carefully trained by NSR staff based on specific knowledge, experience, and partner feedback.  Currently in the beta stage of training, the Virtual Assistants are designed to provide personalized assistance in various areas:

  • Sonny offers guidance on NSR’s Programs and Services, helping users create Capacity Building Plans for their nonprofits or social enterprises.
  • Ana specializes in data analysis and communication, assisting users in exploring the Community Voice qualitative data set to enhance grant proposals, communications, and advocacy campaigns.
  • EJAY focuses on Environmental Justice, providing research and insights on issues, policies, practices, and grant opportunities to inform messaging and resource access.

“Our Virtual Support Center is a testament to New Sun Rising’s commitment to leveraging technology for the greater good,” said Scott Wolovich, Executive Director at New Sun Rising. “We know that when community leaders have the information they need, they can work more effectively and make an even greater impact. By integrating AI into our human-centered support services, leaders now have 24/7 access to the tools and resources needed to drive change.”

New Sun Rising recognizes the importance of data security and privacy. The Virtual Support Center utilizes licensed software from Skillbuilder.io, a trusted partner based in Pittsburgh, PA. Their generative AI platform prioritizes data security while optimizing responses through a hybrid approach that balances specialized and generalized models. 

“New Sun Rising is demonstrating the power of hybrid (AI + Human) teaming by managing AI as an extension of their programs” said Adam Paulisick, CEO of SkillBuilder.io.  “Combining the expertise and lived experience of existing leaders in the organization with the always-on nature of AI agents means more people served, at any hour, in any language.  NSR’s ability to train and deploy AI agents that are capable of meeting anyone where they are in conversation to explore programs and services while also creating an easy way for anyone to ask complicated data questions is a model that we see many organizations looking to follow and are excited to continue supporting.”

New Sun Rising is committed to using data in a way that does not harm the people they are trying to help. To get started, users can access the Virtual Support Center and read the Interaction Guide for optimizing chat prompts and completing core tasks. Integrated with New Sun Rising’s Vibrancy Portal community data explorer and organizational data manager, the Virtual Support Center is an extension of New Sun Rising’s Power in Numbers data advocacy initiative. Feedback and suggestions are encouraged to enhance the platform’s effectiveness by emailing info@newsunrising.org.

 

About New Sun Rising: New Sun Rising supports nonprofits and small businesses to build vibrant communities through culture, sustainability, and opportunity. NSR believes that people and communities hold the knowledge and power to make positive change. We envision a future where regenerative community development practices create the conditions for true social, environmental, and economic justice.

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Community leaders supported to combat environmental injustice, improving health and climate resilience

Posted on by Alyse Horn

Above: Participants from the Ignite Environmental Justice Workshop – Monongahela Valley at Clairton Family Center on May 30. Photo by Rustbelt Mayberry Photography.

Aimed to educate and support community project leaders, the Ignite Environmental Justice Workshops concluded in May with over 30 participants attending the three workshops.

Strategically located in the Allegheny, Ohio, and Monongahela River Valleys, New Sun Rising and RiverWise hosted these events to help Environmental Justice (EJ) projects become better informed on how to develop and communicate their plans, and prepare to access federal Justice 40 grants. 

“I think the more education, the more people, the more language we put [into] it, the more tangible it starts to become,” said Amber Thompson, Ignite EJ – Allegheny Valley participant.

Environmental Justice communities are places that have experienced generational disinvestment – often alongside the consequences of polluting and extracting industries. The Justice 40 initiative is a historic commitment by the Federal government stating that 40 percent of the overall benefits of almost $2 trillion in certain federal investments, such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), flow into these communities. Improving climate resilience and health through projects that address energy, water, air, mobility, food, and economic opportunity are core to the initiative. 

Marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution, the federally designated EJ areas in Greater Pittsburgh have experienced the consequences of environmental injustice affecting nearly every aspect of their quality of life.

In Allegheny and Beaver Counties, there are 94 EJ census tracts that represent 233,852 residents and 16.8% of the total population. These residents, including a higher percentage of minority, racial and ethnic groups such as Black or African American, Asian, Hispanic or Latino, and Native American, face disproportionate economic and environmental challenges solely due to their location. Although minority groups represent 18% of the overall population in Allegheny and Beaver Counties, they make up 38% of the population residing in EJ communities. 

How are people living in EJ communities affected by their surroundings compared to Allegheny and Beaver Counties? 

 

Residents are less likely to own homes, but housing is more affordable.

Percentage of homeownership rates
—EJ Communities: 46.7%
—Allegheny & Beaver Counties: 63.8%

Percentage of housing affordability
—EJ Communities: 41.4%
—Allegheny & Beaver Counties: 34.7%

 

Public transportation is more accessible.

Percentage of access to public transit
—EJ Communities: 20%
—Allegheny & Beaver Counties: 11.7%

 

Adults are less likely to complete high school.

Percentage of adults who did not complete high school or the equivalency
—EJ Communities: 23.7%
—Allegheny & Beaver Counties: 17%

 

Adolescent birth rates are higher.

Percentage of adolescent girls between 15-19 years old who have given birth
—EJ Communities: 16%
—Allegheny & Beaver Counties: 4.9%

 

More women live below the poverty line, but the median earnings gap between men and women is smaller.

Percentage of women living below the poverty line
—EJ Communities: 27%
—Allegheny & Beaver Counties: 14%

Median earnings gap between men and women
—EJ Communities: -$5,722
—Allegheny & Beaver Counties: -$14,067

Source: Vibrancy Portal

The sources and history of environmental injustice in our region, possibly more than any in the nation, are deeply rooted in the United States’ industrial past. Through fossil fuel extraction and carbon-intensive practices, particularly in coal mining and steel production, the Greater Pittsburgh region became a world-renowned industrial hub. The result: extreme levels of air and water pollution. 

While strides have been made to improve the environment, the region still faces air quality challenges. In Beaver County, the ongoing industrial activities of the Shell Polymers Monaca plant continue to contribute to air and water pollution. The Shell plant, which opened in the fall of 2022, has faced 13 notices of violations and at least 26 malfunctions within a year. 

In Allegheny County, U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works has a decades-long history of clean air violations. Based on Toxic Release Inventory data, air pollution from the plant included 36,100 pounds of ammonia, 3,500 pounds of manganese, and more than 300 pounds of other toxic substances in 2016 alone. The ongoing contamination has led to various health problems for residents, including respiratory issues and increased cancer risks. 

General Sisters, a community and artist collective in North Braddock, can see the Edgar Thomson Plant from their building. Ginger Brooks Takahashi of General Sisters said in 2015, the threat of hydraulic fracturing came to their neighborhood and alongside community members they “fought and resisted the placement of well pads” in the land above their building.

“Through this fight, we learned more about the existing air quality in our neighborhood. This led us to work with Create Lab to host the Breathe Cam on our roof that monitors emissions of Edgar Thomson Works,” Takashi said. “The Breathe Cam provides 24-hour video monitoring of air pollution from multiple industrial sources in the Monongahela Valley and the larger region.” 

On May 30 at the Clairton Family Center, Takashi participated in the Ignite EJ Workshop and optional pitch competition where she won first place for her project General Sisters Environmental Study Center. The larger goal for the building is “to provide a space where we can gather with our neighbors and continue work… to advocate for our health in relationship to the legacy polluter in our neighborhood.”

The pitch winners for the Allegheny and Ohio Valley workshops, Ebony Evans of Out of the End Incorporated, and David Slebodnik and Tami Gilbert of Aliquippa Food Cooperative, focused on increased food access in their communities. 

In Allegheny County, 11.4% of residents face food insecurity, with the cost of a meal at $4.63, which is 14% above the state average and 16% above the national average. In Beaver County, 12.3% of residents are food insecure, with meal costs at $4.16, which is 2.7% higher than the state average and 4.3% higher than the national average.

Though EJ communities face heightened challenges compared to others within Allegheny and Beaver Counties, a detailed analysis of responses from Ignite workshop participants found that residents of Allegheny, Ohio, and Monongahela Valleys emphasized the strength, resilience, and supportive nature of their residents. 

“Environmental justice is about recognizing the sacredness and living quality of the land that we live on and there are obstacles to that reciprocity and sacredness. Those obstacles are injustices and our work is the work of repair, restoration and healing,” said Fitzhugh Shaw of Greater Valley Community Services and Ignite EJ – Monongahela Valley participant.

On August 1, the Launch EJ Incubator cohort began to support the development, funding, and implementation of 12 projects working within a federally designated EJ census tract in Allegheny or Beaver Counties. The program blends monthly cohort workshops, educational speakers, and individual one-on-one technical assistance including grant advisors, creating a robust environment to support EJ projects. This is the second stage of development within New Sun Rising’s Ignite, Launch, Grow framework. 

To learn more about environmental justice and to see if you live in an EJ community, visit the Vibrancy Portal and select “Show Federal Environmental Justice Tracts” below the map. Are you working on a community project that falls within these designated areas? Get support through the Justice 40 Opportunity Navigator (J40N) by filling out this intake form. Additional EJ education is available through our J40N training videos.

The EJ Workshops, Incubator, and J40N is an initiative of New Sun Rising and RiverWise, in partnership with regional networks and community-based organizations.

 

Lack of affordable housing, reliable public transit tied to poverty, hunger in Allegheny County

Posted on by Alyse Horn

In August, a local nonprofit released a study detailing the rise of corporations and investors buying homes in the city of Pittsburgh, finding that these sales rose 10% over the past decade.

The report, released by the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG), said in 2010, corporations or investors purchased 15.5% of the available housing market. In 2021, that rose to nearly 25%.

It also included that “corporate entities paid 70.2% of the average sale price, compared to all purchases in Pittsburgh, and 72.4% of the average sale price in the remaining parts of Allegheny County.” Many of the census tracts with a higher share of corporate sales were reflected in “historically Black and/or Low- and Moderate-Income (LMI) communities.”

According to data collected through New Sun Rising’s Vibrancy Index, 62.7% of Allegheny County residents are homeowners and 13.4% spend more than one third of their total income towards housing and utilities. 

Affordable housing falls under Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), as do transit issues such as walkability and bikeability, green space, and responsible planning. 

Focusing on affordable housing in our region, analysis shows that Southwestern PA communities that fall within the lowest 20% for SDG 11 also rank lower for No Poverty (SDG 1), Zero Hunger (SDG 2), and Life on Land (SDG 15). These communities with the lowest sustainable cities index scores have 5.65x the racial and ethnic diversity of those scoring highest.

There are a total of 17 SDG’s, which were created globally as a call to action to raise the quality of life for all people and preserve the future of our planet.

“[Investors] look at where there is economic value and what are the opportunities for development, and we’re forgetting [about the people],” said Becca Simon, former director of programming at Grounded. “There’s not a sense of urgency around the fact that in Allegheny County and in the city of Pittsburgh we’ve seen a major displacement of predominantly Black people in this area.” 

Grounded is based in Bakery Square and aims to improve the social, economic, and environmental health of distressed and transitional communities by building capacity to reclaim vacant and underutilized land.

Furthermore, through an assessment conducted by the City of Pittsburgh from 2015-2019, it was found that low-income renters, Black households, and Black homeownership declined over that five year period. 

In the same vein, the lack of access to reliable public transit weighs more heavily on diverse populations and LMI communities. 

A study done by Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) and Carnegie Mellon University’s Tech4Society found that in 2022, 38 out of 105 Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) routes were below 50% reliability for at least one month. In June 2022 specifically, there was 8% less transit service across Allegheny County compared to October 2019. 

Another study done by PPT in 2018 found that 81% of PRT riders make less than $50,000 annually and 48% identified as people of color.

“Public transit in Allegheny County has always relied on low-income residents and Black riders as its primary constituencies,” according to the “No Greater Need, No Greater Opportunity” study from PPT.

The impacts of unreliable transportation and inadequate affordable housing contribute to the lack of progress on SDG11 and lowers our region’s overall Vibrancy Index score. 

“There needs to be a concerted effort if we are concerned about equitable transportation tied to equitable housing, and equitable housing is having access to the things that people get to enjoy or benefit from,” said Chris Sandvig, executive director of Mobilify Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Collectively, Sandvig said we need to change the way we think about housing and transportation, and move away from car-centered culture to increase vibrancy in our communities.

“Where are the [resources] that the most vulnerable communities need to get to in their lives, and to what degree are we concentrating those in such a way that they are along more resilient transit lines?,” Sandvig said. 

New Sun Rising supports multiple projects through our fiscal sponsorship program and partners with organizations that are uplifting sustainable cities and communities. Contact us to get informed, connected, or help resource the work of Millvale Ecodistrict Collaborative, Triboro Ecodistrict, Hazelwood Initiative, District PGH, and The Partnership Network.

This Power in Numbers data story is part of New Sun Rising’s commitment to using data, technology, organizing, communication, and creativity to help people advocate for the future they envision. Learn more about the Power in Numbers initiative and access the Vibrancy Portal platform. Is there something that you would like to share about health and well-being in your community? Contribute to the conversation through the Community Voice feedback form.

The Vibrancy Index helps people to understand conditions in their community through 50 institutional data points. The VI also generates sub-indices in Culture, Sustainability, Opportunity, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

First user guide released to assist in Vibrancy Portal exploration

Posted on by Alyse Horn

Information and technology are important tools that can help organizations and communities define and reach their goals, but sometimes aggregating the data can be overwhelming.

To assist nonprofits, social enterprises, and local leaders in gathering data insights through the Vibrancy Portal, New Sun Rising has released an educational video to guide users through the community data Explorer. 

This function can help gain a better understanding of a community’s capital by providing access to actionable data insights and calculating indices. The overall Vibrancy Index is composed of 50 factors for equitable, sustainable communities, with sub-indices in Culture, Sustainability, Opportunity, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

“The Vibrancy Index shows specific needs in specific places, and if an organization is trying to align themselves with whatever they’re doing, that data is a really good place to start,” said Anthony Harper, co-founder and lead instructor at Beta Builders. 

Democratizing data can help underserved communities be more competitive for resources, and research shows that organizations and collaboratives with high data cultures benefit through increased funding, stronger internal and external relationships, and more effective operations. 

This is the first video in the Vibrancy User Guides series and gives a general overview of how to use Places, Indicators, and Analysis. Future videos will take an individual look at these three topics to provide a deeper understanding of each.

The Vibrancy Portal is part of New Sun Rising’s Power in Numbers initiative that combines data, technology, organizing, communication, and creativity to help people advocate for the future they envision.

Outreach & Engagement Toolkit created to assist stakeholders in community planning

Posted on by Alyse Horn

To make community planning more accessible to grassroots movements and organizations with limited resources, New Sun Rising has developed an Outreach & Engagement Community Toolkit that helps kick-start important conversations with their communities.

Intended for non-profits, local governments, and community leaders looking to create an outreach and engagement strategy for their project, plan, or initiative, the toolkit is a comprehensive resource that breaks down the importance of each method and how to execute it.

“Over the past many years, local leaders have developed so much knowledge on how to create and implement community-engaged plans and projects,” said Sophie Smith, who authored and completed this research as former Sustainability VISTA with New Sun Rising. “Without proper outreach and engagement, any group that strives to lift up community and increase equity is missing a huge part of the equation.  We hope that this toolkit will make the ‘how-to’ more accessible to local leaders.”

Included in the toolkit are sections on how to build connections and target your audience, different types of engagement like creative advocacy, participatory asset mapping, and more. 

Dorrian Glenn, program manager for Grow Sto-Rox, is using the toolkit to create a plan for his community and has found it easy to implement because of “how detailed the different steps are explained.”

“This has compressed all of the important things necessary for me to be successful out of the gate in having an effective community engagement strategy,” Glenn said. “Working by myself, I sometimes become disorganized in trying to figure out how to gather information and implement a plan. [The toolkit] focuses my intention and gives me a playbook to take it one step at a time.”

The toolkit is interactive, allowing users to input notes directly into the PDF and be saved to come back to at a later time as they work through the document. A full description of how to use and share the toolkit with partners and participants in your organization can be found below the ‘download’ buttons on the webpage.

“When designing the toolkit, it became very clear that the interactivity and accessibility of the documents were of utmost importance,” said Hunter Smith, lead data analyst + designer at New Sun Rising. “Throughout the design, I made sure to include elements that allowed users to keep record of what they learned and how they wanted to use these strategies with their communities.”

To learn more and utilize the Outreach & Engagement Toolkit, click here.

 

Thank you to Scott Wolovich, Brittany Reno, Megan Tuñón, Zaheen Hussain, Brian Wolovich, Dorrian Glenn, Alyse Horn, Jamie Johnson, Dan Stiker, Ashley Johnson, Judi Costanza, and Ruby Velasco for their time and insight in creating the content for and reviewing this toolkit. 

Elements of the Triboro Ecodistrict: the six focus areas

Posted on by Alyse Horn

Above: The Millvale Youth Bike Rally, hosted yearly by the Millvale Community Library, gives out free bicycles to kids and teens in the borough. The library is solar powered and has a Community Free Fridge on the back deck with free pantry items, produce, and prepared meals for neighbors in need.

When the ecodistrict planning process began in Millvale in 2012, residents identified three quality of life lenses necessary for sustainable community development: Food, Water, and Energy.

This was released with the first iteration of the Millvale Ecodistrict Pivot Plan in 2014, which sought to build on community assets in designing system-based solutions to address community challenges.

After further engagement and implementation work with the community, the Millvale Ecodistrict Pivot Plan 2.0 was released in 2016 and expanded the lenses to include: Equity, Air Quality, and Mobility. These lenses were adopted and modified by Sharpsburg and Etna to fit their communities and in 2019 the Sharpsburg Community Vision Plan and Etna EcoDistrict Plan were released. 

In an effort to create language that is accessible to everyone, the quality of life lenses serve to provide a framework that uses comprehensive and inclusive language while highlighting the three Borough’s most central needs in following their ecodistrict plans.

To learn more about the elements of the Triboro Ecodistrict and what they mean to each community, we’ve compiled a list of the three Borough’s lens definitions and projects that align with each.

While the projects may be housed under a specific issue, it should be noted that many serve multiple issues simultaneously with Equity acting as the overarching lens found in each quality of life area.

By pursuing these community-serving initiatives, the Triboro Ecodistrict fosters three inclusive communities that embrace diversity and empower residents to shape their future individually and collectively.

Equity

Millvale: Millvale is a place of self-determination, where Millvalians are able to participate and shape their future as well as the future of Millvale.

  • Project: Millvale Youth Dance and the work of Jenny Jo Mendak
    • Mendak, owner of Hometown Tattoo and a Millvale representative on the Triboro Ecodistrict Advisory Board, started Millvale Youth Dance and Events because the borough was lacking space and programs for local kids. Including the dance, she also hosts talent shows, pizza parties, hikes, and her door is always open for kids who need someone to talk to. In an effort to create a third space for kids, she is currently working with the Millvale Community Development Corporation to turn a vacant lot into a playground with funding from The Grable Foundation.

Sharpsburg: Sharpsburg is a community of opportunity where we thrive as individuals and collectively.

  • Project: Sharpsburg Comprehensive Affordable Housing Action Plan 
    • Over the past five years, interest in Sharpsburg properties has reached heights not seen in generations. As more young families and people with higher incomes seek to live in Sharpsburg, the risk of displacement faced by longtime residents, especially renters, is critical. Add to this pressure the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redevelop Sharpsburg’s riverfront, long a metal scrapyard, from brownfield to mixed-use community asset, and it’s clear that the community needs to work to preserve and plan for a diverse mix of housing options that allows for people at all income levels to enjoy life in Sharpsburg. Over the next year, Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization and community partners will work with Studio for Spatial Practice to engage residents in a planning process that will help create a strategy for everything from housing-related programs for residents to development plans for different types of housing affordable and accessible to Sharpsburgers.

Etna: Etna is an inclusive community that embraces diversity and activates everyone to shape our future together.

  • Project: Etna Center for Community
    • Located at 341-343 Butler St., the Etna Center for Community will be a community center and community library upon completion. Etna entered an agreement in December 2021 with the Millvale Community Library to create the Rivertown Library System, and the two boroughs will share staff and resources to bring complementary services to each community. There’s been a critical educational asset missing from Etna since the library closed in 2004 and the Etna Center for Community will reinforce equity as well as each of the Triboro’s quality of life issues with programs such as: early childhood education, senior programming, food programming, access to technology, and more. In August 2022, Etna Community Organization began a monthly Library Series to gain feedback and input from the community on what kinds of programming they’d like to see.

Food

Millvale: Millvale is a foodie paradise known for hyper local production. 

  • Project: Millvale Market
    • A project by Jen Saffron, owner of Sprezzatura, and Derek Dumont, former buyer for Harvie, the Millvale Market aims to offer local produce, pantry items, and prepared foods for residents. Millvale is considered a food desert, and this market changes that for the community. Accepting SNAP benefits, they are going to work with as many local farmers and purveyors as possible while offering affordable products.

Sharpsburg: Sharpsburgers will have access to affordable and healthy food and will be connected to a regional food network.

  • Project: Sharpsburg Local Food Network 
    • In 2020, the Sharpsburg Market Garden opened and continues to grow fruits and vegetables that are freely given to anyone in need. In its first year, it provided 190 pounds of produce for the community. In 2022, Second Harvest Thrift Store installed a Community Free Fridge and Pantry outside of the building that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for anyone to take what they need or leave what they don’t.

Etna: Etna is a food-secure community with opportunities to grow, buy, share, and eat food locally. 

  • Project: Dinners for Neighbors
    • During the early days of the pandemic, Etna Community Organization created the Dinners for Neighbors program and offered free, prepared meals for residents to pick up every Wednesday. The meals were funded by donations and the food was prepared by local restaurants and caterers. They also delivered meals to the residents of Etna Commons, the borough’s senior high rise, who were particularly isolated during that time. Etna also partnered with Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization and Allegheny County Health Department to distribute produce boxes. In the end, the program ran for 17 weeks. They distributed 3,650 meals, reinvested $31,138 in 24 local businesses, and provided 8,800 lbs. of fresh produce to residents.

Water

Millvale: Millvale is part of a just watershed system known for productive and pleasurable landscapes. 

  • Project: Girty’s Run Cleanup
    • In July 2022, George Ackerman and Olivia Ivatts organized a Girty’s Run Cleanup (Girty’s Run is a tributary of the Allegheny River and runs through Millvale). Fifteen volunteers finely combed the creek and removed a wide variety of trash from the run. A special thanks to the Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward program, and Mary Wilson, who brought out most of the volunteers to help that day.

Sharpsburg: Sharpsburg will integrate and celebrate water as an asset throughout the community.

  • Project: FEMA Community Rating System
    • With Sharpsburg’s long history of flooding and related issues, many property owners are required to pay for flood insurance through FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program. In an effort to offset the costs and improve flood mitigation activities in the community, the borough is working to enter into the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System. The program gives communities a classification based on their level of flood mitigation and preparedness activities, which results in discounts applied to flood insurance premiums for all property owners in the community. In July 2022, Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization hosted the first Flood Awareness Day + Week.

Etna: Etna is a resilient community that protects its people and waterways through creative water interventions. 

  • Project: Etna EcoPark
    • With its main function being stormwater management, this park sits at the lowest point in Etna’s flood plain and is built on the site of a flooded-out and abandoned building. It has a 1000 sq. ft. rain garden and the entire surface of the park is permeable. The space also hosts monthly Nature Nights, an environmental program for kids and families in the area.

Mobility

Millvale: Millvale is a place where people of all ages have the freedom to move safely. 

  • Project: Solar Powered Crosswalks
    • Through grant funding provided by New Sun Rising from the PA State Department of Community and Economic Development through State Rep Sara Innamorato’s office, solar powered crosswalks were installed by the Borough of Millvale Public Works Department on Evergreen Avenue. The road is highly trafficked and the crosswalks add additional visibility and safety for pedestrians. (This project has also been installed in Etna and Sharpsburg using the grant funding.)

Sharpsburg: Mobility is essential for all generations and should improve quality of life and advance the economy. 

  • Project: Bike Share Program at Sharpsburg Community Library
    • Through Healthy Ride’s Recycle A Bike program, Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization (SNO) and Triboro Ecodistrict secured five bicycles for the Sharpsburg Community Library; the organizations are working together to design and launch a bike share program giving residents the opportunity to check out bicycles using their library card. New bicycle racks are being installed for this program at the library using funding from the Hillman Foundation and with help from Bike Pittsburgh.

Etna: Etna is a connected community where people of all ages have safe, reliable, and affordable mobility options.

  • Project: Etna Riverfront Trail and Park
    • A decade ago, the Borough of Etna and residents began reimagining what the long industrialized riverfront could look like through the Allegheny County Community Trails Initiative. The Etna Riverfront Trail and Park development plan included 17 municipalities and will eventually connect to the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, which will connect Pittsburgh to Erie when completed. The Borough is also developing another trail from Shaler to Etna, with support from Etna Community Organization, called the Pine Creek Connector Trail. I will run from Kiwanis Park in Shaler through to the Etna trail with improvements to the pedestrian and bike infrastructure in Etna and around the Route 28 interchange.

Air Quality

Millvale: Millvale is home to clean air communities where people breathe easy indoors and outdoors. 

  • Project: The Reserve & Shaler Land Protection Project
    • Allegheny Land Trust is working to protect 62-acres of farm and forest land in the Girty’s Run Watershed in Reserve and Shaler Townships, upslope and upstream of Millvale Borough. The community and Shaler Area High School Sustainability Students are raising $50,000 locally to unlock grants and close the funding gap, with $650,500 needed to purchase the land by December 2022. Protecting this land will preserve habitat for native flora and fauna, absorb heavy rainwater from Girty’s Run Watershed, and conserve thousands of trees that offset our carbon footprint.
    • In 2021, Allegheny Land Trust permanently protected 155-acres of Girty’s Woods from development.

Sharpsburg: Sharpsburgers will breathe clean air indoors and outdoors.

  • Project: Breathe Easy Air Quality Monitoring Station
    • Located outside of the Sharpsburg Community Library, the Air Quality Monitoring Station provides residents with real-time outdoor air quality data through an online Air Quality Dashboard to inform, activate, and engage residents. The Breathe Easy Project is a Triboro-wide initiative, with Air Quality Monitoring Stations also located at Etna’s playground. This project was honored with a 2021 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.

Etna: Etna is a healthy community with empowered advocates that take a balanced approach to air quality. 

  • Breathe Easy Air Quality Monitoring Station
    • The Breathe Easy Air Quality Monitoring Station at Etna’s playground, part of the Breathe Easy Project and a Triboro-wide initiative, is linked to an online Air Quality Dashboard that displays real-time outdoor air quality data to inform, engage, and activate residents. The monitoring station will be relocated to the Etna Center for Community courtyard when complete. This project was honored with a 2021 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.

Energy

Millvale: Millvale is home to self-reliant urban solar villages. 

  • Project: Solar Installation at 216 North Ave.
    • In 2022, a grant was awarded by Green Mountain Energy Sun Club to New Sun Rising (NSR) and Millvale Community Development Corporation (MCDC) to fund the future rooftop solar installation and level two electric vehicle car charging stations at 216 North Ave. NSR and MCDC worked together to secure Federal Community Project Funding to renovate 216 North Ave. Owned by MCDC, they are collaborating with evolveEA with aspirations for the building to be Net Zero.

Sharpsburg: Sharpsburg will strive to become an energy independent community.

  • Project: Sharpsburg Solar Expansion
    • Through a variety of programs and efforts, Sharpsburg is working to expand its clean energy footprint and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. As participants in the Triboro Ecodistrict Solar Co-Op with Solar United Neighbors, Sharpsburg residents and businesses interested in installing solar were able to work together to solicit joint bids from solar companies in order to bring down costs for all participants. Additionally, through the GET Solar Program from Pennsylvania Solar Center, Sharpsburg Borough was able to explore and understand its solar generation potential through the roofs of municipally owned buildings, finding that both the Department of Public Works facility and the Linden Gymnasium were strong candidates for net-positive solar generation and off-grid power storage. The Sharpsburg team is now seeking funding to make this environmental, social, and financial opportunity a reality.

Etna: Etna is an innovative community that takes collective action to provide smart energy solutions. 

  • Project: Solar Array at the Garden of Etna
    • The solar carport and EV car charger at the Garden of Etna is 6.48kW with an annual output of 6957 kWh. The car charging station is free for residents, or anyone, to use and it powers the Garden’s lights, rain barrel pumps, electric gardening equipment, and cooking appliances during food events.

Triboro Ecodistrict businesses, nonprofits can save by going solar

Posted on by Alyse Horn

Whether it’s cutting down on costs or lowering your environmental footprint, there are many reasons more and more organizations are choosing to go solar.

G.E.T. Solar Communities: Triboro, a local committee of residents and municipal leaders, from the Etna, Millvale and Sharpsburg neighborhoods that supports the economic and environmental benefits of going solar, is partnering with nonprofit Pennsylvania Solar Center to host a free informational meeting to businesses and nonprofits who want to learn more about going solar and how it can save them money. The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6 at the Millvale Food+Energy Hub (112 E Sherman St).

The meeting will offer creative ways businesses and nonprofits can reap the benefits of solar energy. Attendees can expect to learn more about tax credits, financing programs and grants, technical assistance and how to select a qualified developer.

The PA Solar Center will also be issuing RFPs on behalf of interested businesses and nonprofits to solicit bids for the projects from qualified solar developers. They will review the bids with the businesses/nonprofits and help them understand each step of the way. 

The PA Solar Center will even offer a free assessment of your company’s solar potential to those who attend. Those interested in attending should be sure to register here.

Contact Leo Kowalski at leo@pasolarcenter.org for more information.

District PGH aims to assist regional communities, increase resilience through American Rescue Plan Act resources

Posted on by Alyse Horn

The Sustainable Communities Resource Guide created by District PGH can help communities utilize ARPA funds

Pittsburgh, PA — With the creation of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), District PGH is positioned to assist communities in the greater Pittsburgh region to decide how to use Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CLFRF) for sustainable investments that build resilience. 

The American Rescue Plan Act provides local governments with funding to address public health, advance economic stabilization and other local recovery needs incurred due to COVID-19. Since the program’s approval, over 2,445 of Pennsylvania’s 2,500+ municipalities have received $489.7 million in local recovery funding. ARPA funds are a one-time infusion being disbursed in two tranches; the first was released almost immediately after ARPA was signed into law on March 11, 2021. The final funding tranche is expected to be delivered during the summer of 2022. Local governments have until the end of 2024 to decide how to use their ARPA funds and until 2026 to actually spend them. 

“The American Rescue Plan funds provide an opportunity to take stock in what your community has experienced over the last 18 months, determine how to help those who are still suffering, and prepare for future challenges,” said Jim Price, Senior Program Manager, Sustainable Pittsburgh.

While a number of recommendations and resources have been provided by Pennsylvania’s local government associations like the Pennsylvania Municipal League, Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs, and the Local Government Academy, there still remain uncertainties on the regional best use of funds.

As a collaborative of nonprofit intermediaries committed to accelerating sustainable community initiatives in Southwestern PA, District PGH has announced the release of a Sustainable Communities Resource Guide.  The guide includes example strategies offered by District PGH members that can help communities to utilize ARPA funds to:

  • Better understand the needs of vulnerable community members
  • Create plans to make communities healthier, more sustainable, and resilient
  • Collect data and communicate information
  • Improve the health and sustainability of new or existing buildings

An important component of CLFRF guidance is focused on transparency, public engagement, and ensuring fund delegation is an equitable and inclusive process.

A community that works together for a healthier, more equitable, and prosperous future will be better prepared for dealing with future issues that impact public health and wellness. Effective community resilience and long-term sustainability depends on meaningful, authentic, and equitable resident, business, and stakeholder participation and buy-in. 

The recommendations outlined in the Recovery Plan Template include: Public Health, Negative Economic Impacts, Services to Disproportionately Impacted Communities, Premium Pay, Infrastructure, Revenue Replacement, and Administrative or other needs. 

To read Sustainable Pittsburgh’s “The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: Guidance for Local Governments, click here. 

To read District PGH’s Sustainable Communities Resource Guide, click here.

District PGH is a collaborative of local organizations working to accelerate neighborhood and district-scale sustainable development that promotes climate resilience and equity in the greater Pittsburgh region, and are available to assist community deliberation on how to use the funds for sustainable investments that build resilience. 

Core members include evolveEA, The Forbes Funds, Green Building Alliance, New Sun Rising, and Sustainable Pittsburgh. To learn more, click here.

 

About 

evolve environment :: architecture (evolveEA) is a multidisciplinary practice situated at the intersection of sustainability and the built environment. The firm’s nationally recognized ecodistrict planning work exemplifies its approach to helping communities and organizations pursue triple-bottom-line goals through strategic action.

The Forbes Funds advances the well-being of Southwestern Pennsylvania by helping human services and community-based nonprofits build their management capacity and increase the impact of their mission work. TFF works locally and globally to make the nonprofit sector more equitable, accessible, and sustainable, and envisions a SWPA nonprofit sector that is innovative, informed, engaged, and effective.Together with our partners, The Forbes Funds is leading transformational changes across the SWPA nonprofit ecosystem by increasing effectiveness of individuals, groups, human service and community-based organizations in an inclusive, collaborative, and thoughtful manner.

Green Building Alliance environment by empowering people to create environmentally, economically, and socially vibrant places.  GBA envisions a world where every building and community is sustainable so that every person can thrive. GBA  leverages a broad network of partners to drive sustainable practices at every scale of the built environment through expertise in performance standards, cross-sector collaboration, innovative learning, and data analysis to create the transformative solutions essential in advancing the region forward.

New Sun Rising supports nonprofits, social enterprises, and collaborations to build vibrant communities through culture, sustainability, and opportunity. NSR believes that people and communities hold the knowledge and power to make positive change. We envision a future where regenerative community development practices create the conditions for true social, environmental, and economic justice.

Sustainable Pittsburgh empowers decision-making that builds a fundamentally equitable, resilient, healthy, and prosperous region. It is our vision to see a thriving region where stakeholders are connected, sustainability knowledge is shared and applied, and all people can succeed. Our focus is to provide expertise, create strong communities of practice, help shape a positive narrative, and advance sustainability policy.

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Triboro Ecodistrict’s Free Little Libraries, Pantries, and Art Gallery

Posted on by Alyse Horn

Above: One of the Free Little Libraries in Etna, located at 19 High St. Photo courtesy of Megan Tuñón.

It’s the little things that can put a spring in our step, the tiny stuff that can make life less gruff. 

Little libraries, and pantries, and art, are some of those things, that when you see them it feels like your heart has grown wings.

For this feature, the Triboro Ecodistrict would like to recognize the Free Little Libraries + Pantries + Art Gallery throughout the three boroughs. They provide residents of all ages with access to books, food, and artwork, and can let people know that their community is looking out for them.

To view all of the locations, click here. Did we miss a library or pantry, or do you have more information you’d like to add to the map? Email alyse@newsunrising.org.

 

Millvale

Outside of Tupelo Honey Teas, 211 Grant Ave., sits a Free Little Pantry that is stocked by shop owner Danielle Spinola and generous volunteers like Mary Miller, who focus on providing neighbors with easy meals like canned pastas, soups, and vegetables.

“Every time [Mary] walks by, she looks inside the pantry to see if it needs to be filled. She collects a lot of food from the Holy Spirit [Parish] and she will bring boxes and boxes of food,” Spinola said. “If someone wants something, Aunt Mary makes sure they get it.”

Spinola said when stocking the pantry it’s important to think about the accessibility of the items, like if the food can be cooked without a stove, or the price of ingredients required to make something like mac and cheese with powdered cheese, because milk and butter is needed. (Easy Mac with cheese sauce is preferred.)

She’s also run into the issue that some residents don’t have can openers, or she receives food items that are well past their expiration date. Spinola said someone once donated an item that expired in 1999.

Over the winter, Spinola partnered with Pure Grub 412 to have a cooler outside the shop as well where people could grab prepared meals and dried goods. The cooler wasn’t fully insulated, so as the weather has gotten warmer, Tupelo and Pure Grub have paused the prepared meals.

This is where Millvale Community Library enters the scene. Nora Peters, executive director at MCL, said the library received grant funding to purchase and install a Free Community Fridge in the back of the library. The fridge should be up and running by mid-June.

“The fridge will be available to the community 24/7, and will be stocked with fresh produce prepared meals, frozen meals, and meal kits, prepared by local restaurants and food partners,” Peters said.

There is also a Free Little Pantry located at the Gardens of Millvale.

The gardens, Tupelo, and Pure Grub 412 are three of seven Free Fridge project partners. The others include 412 Food Rescue, Christ Lutheran Church, Sprezzatura, and Duncan Street Sandwich Shop.

If you would like to volunteer to be a Fridge Steward for the Free Fridge project, contact petersn@einetwork.net. If you’d like to help stock the Little Pantry at Tupelo, contact danielle@tupelohoneyteas.com about what items are needed.

 

Etna

Spooky Free Little Library in Etna. The book selection at this location changes with the seasons. Photo courtesy of Megan Tuñón.

Megan Tuñón, executive director of Etna Community Organization, put up the first Free Little Library in her borough in August 2019, located at 19 High St. 

“It’s a central point where people can meet,” Tuñón said. “I love looking out my window and seeing little kids peeking in [the library], and I talk to them and their parents. Meeting neighbors that way is really nice.”

The library is made out of an old china cabinet that someone in the neighborhood had put out to the curb, and the glass etching on the front was done by a local artist. It reads: 

“Etna Little Library
Free Community Resource
Take a Book, Return a Book”

Tuñón said she has a basement full of books that people have donated, and sometimes she comes home to find a bag of them left at the library. She likes to sort the books into three sections: children, young adult, and adult, and she’ll curate the selection to fit the season.

When the pandemic hit last year and food insecurity was exacerbated, Tuñón said she converted the library into a food pantry and was filling it a couple times a week with nonperishable items like canned beans and rice.

“I didn’t always see people [using the pantry], but I would fill it up a couple times a week, and it would be almost empty the next day,” Tuñón said. “Neighbors really stepped up and donated a lot to help keep it full.”

The pantry was recently converted back into a little library, and Etna residents should keep an eye out for a new Little Library and a Little Pantry at ECO Park on the corner of Wilson Street and Grant Avenue.

Etna also has a Free Little Pantry at Etna Community Garden, and several Free Little Libraries. Click here for the map.

 

Sharpsburg

The Free Little Art Gallery in Sharpsburg. Photo courtesy of Nanci Goldberg.

A Free Little Art Gallery made its debut in Sharpsburg on May 22 this year during the Sharpsburg Art Adventure. Housed next to Gino Brothers, 713 Main St., it was built out of repurposed and recycled materials by a local handyman who goes by the name of “Scrappy.”

Inside the little gallery, residents can leave art they’ve made and art supplies, or they can take art home with them, or both. No even exchange is required. Follow @FLAGsharpsburg on Instagram to see what people are adding to the gallery.

Nanci Goldberg, owner of Ketchup City Creative, said the Free Little Art Gallery is co-founded and run by Susan Adams and her son Caleb of O’Hara Township. Caleb was really keen on starting a Little Art Gallery, so he reached out to Goldberg via zoom and the rest is art history.

“We were very fortunate to have a supportive member of the community, Ferdi Baylassin, owner of Gino Brothers Pizza, who was willing to give us space for this fun and creative adventure,” Goldberg said. “The arts really need a supportive community for them to grow and thrive. We see that starting to happen in Sharpsburg and it’s very exciting. We feel like art can be very placemaking and give people a sense of community pride. So far, we can’t keep up with the amount of art that’s coming in and going out, and it’s really exciting!”

The Free Little Pantry outside of Sharpsburg Community Library. Photo courtesy of Sara Mariacher.

Outside the Sharpsburg Community Library, visitors will find a Free Little Pantry that was installed this past February. Sara Mariacher, SCL director, said earlier this year the library received a sizable donation in honor of a patron’s 50th birthday to help those experiencing food insecurity. 

“We typically fill it three days per week,” Mariacher said. “One day per week we put out toiletry products. Otherwise, the pantry is for food. [It] usually empties within several hours of us filling it, but we cannot sustain daily fillings based on our donation intake.”

If you’d like to make a donation to this Free Little Pantry, Mariacher asked that items be dropped off with library staff during library hours.

Sharpsburg also has a Free Little Library located at Marion Gerardi Memorial Park.

Second Harvest thrift restores community cornerstone

Posted on by Alyse Horn

It’s said that good things come in threes, and for this story that happens to be true, except for the first thing: the Sharpsburg St. Vincent de Paul thrift store closing in 2018.

When it shuttered, the lack of its presence created a ripple effect in the community.

“All of the organizations that I had been working with, like Roots of Faith Food Pantry and Youth Empowerment, they all said what a void was left when it closed,” said Bonnie DeMotte, executive director at Second Harvest.

DeMotte is a retired chemist who wanted to build more relationships in Sharpsburg, which became the key to her position with Second Harvest today. That, and a serendipitous conversation she had with Pastor Chris Taylor of Fox Chapel Presbyterian. The two had been talking about their dreams; she shared hers about Sharpsburg, and Pastor Taylor said he wanted to open a community thrift store. 

“And that was kind of the beginning for me,” Demotte said.

Second Harvest Community Thrift Store, 624 Clay St.

Next, around the same time of DeMotte and Pastor Taylor’s conversation, a woman who attended Fox Chapel Presbyterian passed away and left $300,000 to the church to be used “for the care and support of the local indigents,” Demotte said.

As a church, they considered how they could use this generous gift to benefit their neighbors, and those conversations led back to the desire to open a thrift store. They knew that if done properly, it could be a community asset for decades by not only providing affordable necessities to the community, but also building relationships.

“All of the proceeds stay [in Sharpsburg], and over time, our generous benefactor’s gift will generate many times more than its $300,000 value as proceeds from operations are continuously reinvested.” Demotte said.

Once a consensus was reached around the need to replace and improve upon the important pillar that was the thrift store, DeMotte and her collaborators set about finding the right space. This is where the third good thing came in. Through the strong network of dedicated do-gooders in the Fox Chapel School District Area, and perhaps a little kismet, an excellent space was identified before it had ever even been listed. From there it was an easy decision to use the bequest as a down payment for this very appropriate structure. 

It sits on the foundation of a home from the 1800s and was once the BGI Club where many local’s parents got married or where people had their first alcoholic drink. For the last 30 years it was Colortech Photographic Imaging, a printmaking company owned by Eric Palmer that started with 18 different rooms for processing and printing. When everything went digital, Palmer was down to one printer that occupied one small room and he was ready to downsize his location.

“The building was never on the market. We heard about it through channels that he might be interested in selling it and it was perfect for our purposes,” Demotte said. “The funny part is that we bought a building that wasn’t for sale and we didn’t have any money.”

The Community Corner inside Second Harvest.

In January 2020 the building was purchased, but Covid-19 halted and stunted demolition and construction. While initially frustrating, Demotte said the silver lining to the delays was the fundraising aspect, which gave them more time to reach their goal of $2 million. On March 16, Second Harvest opened its door debt free with a cushion for projected operating deficits over the first few years.

The store contains clothing, shoes, books, home furnishings, electronics, and more. DeMotte said she has seen some unbelievable treasures come through, like Versace pillows and a vintage Ferragamo bag.

“Someone dropped off these Native American kachina dolls that are hand signed, they’re just incredible. You never know what you’re going to find, and it’s just as exciting to see what comes through the door everyday,” she said.

Prices are 75 to 90 percent off of what an item would sell for in retail and nothing will be on the sales floor longer than five weeks. This system is maintained by color coding each item when it comes in. For the first two weeks of its life it’s full price, the second two weeks it’s half price, and the fifth week it’s 90 percent off. Second Harvest has created a good relationship with the St. Vincent de Paul locations that still exist around the area, and items that don’t sell at Second Harvest will be picked up by St. Vincent de Paul to be sold by them or recycled.

Jill Chiu (left) and Bonnie DeMotte (right)

Jill Chiu is a Second Harvest board member and was the head of the operating committee, which created the pricing system and the structure of the store.

“We did some research and we knew that Bonnie had the vision of a community space, and that is unique in a thrift store,” Chiu said. “So in addition to the general layout and knowing we wanted to have a community space, we wanted to maximize how much we could fit on the sales floor and make it flow nicely and ADA compliant.” 

Chiu and DeMotte said the store benefited greatly from the collapse of traditional retail and they were able to purchase fixtures, shelves, and shopping carts second hand from places like JCPenney and SteinMart.

In everything Second Harvest does, they try to live by their mission of reduce, reuse, recycle, and not buying new if they can help it. DeMotte said she meticulously referenced the Sharpsburg Community Vision Plan when creating the space to ensure Second Harvest was in alignment with what the community wanted to accomplish.

“The development of the property has been done exclusively with the six lenses [of the Triboro Ecodistrict] in mind,” DeMotte said. “There are some stormwater management and energy pieces, the green space, and kind of going along the lines of the living streets that were talked about in the vision plan.”

The building has solar panels on the roof that were installed by EIS Solar, and the Triboro Ecodistrict granted money to Second Harvest to insulate the walls. In the future, they will have a permeable paver system out front that will help with stormwater management but will “still be accessible on top so our neighbors who use walkers and wheelchairs, including some of our friends at the towers, are able to cross the surface safely,” she said.

Since day one, the mission for DeMotte has been to build relationships with the community, which is why she made sure to include a community space inside the store. She said it’s been “heart warming and gratifying” to see residents’ excitement about Second Harvest opening. 

“I feel like the more you get to know your neighbors, the less divides there are, and you have that common human element to it,” DeMotte said.

Second Harvest serves the Fox Chapel Area School District and a truck is available to pick up donations within this area. Find more information about donating, store hours, and volunteering on Second Harvest’s website.

Ashley Johnson hired as Office Administrator at New Sun Rising

Posted on by Scott Wolovich

New Sun Rising is happy to announce that Ashley Johnson has been hired as Office Administrator for the organization.

As Office Administrator, Ashley is involved in the areas of operations, finance, administration, and capacity building, and is able to implement new methods and processes to help facilitate the back-end office practices more efficiently. 

Ashley said the best part of her job is “connecting with amazing program leaders who are dedicated to bringing about much needed local change.”

“I look forward to providing exceptional, timely support to the programs and leaders connected to NSR. I am excited to hone my organization, coordination and leadership skill sets in the nonprofit sector,” Ashley said. “My hope is to be directly connected to the growth and elevation of the purpose and mission of NSR.

Executive Director Scott Wolovich said Ashley’s cross sector experience brings new perspectives and skillsets which are critical to the adaptive approach that a core value at NSR. 

“Having worked in administrative roles with small creative entrepreneurs, an academic institution, and a large multinational corporation allows Ashley to bring fresh insights as we strive to deliver operational and relationship management excellence,” Wolovich said.

When speaking to Ashley’s references, Wolovich said it was “obvious that she is dedicated to her craft and makes those around her better employees and people,” and is a sentiment that Ashley echoed herself.

“I care about people and I take pride in the fact that the nature of my job positively impacts the lives of others,” Ashley said.

Class sparks environmental activism to Save Girty’s Woods

Posted on by Alyse Horn

Above: students with Shaler Area Middle School teacher Chris Lisowski (center) at a fundraiser for Girty’s Woods hosted by Sprezzatura in September 2020. Photo courtesy of Lauren Powell.

Girty’s Woods has been getting a lot of attention lately.

With Allegheny Land Trust approaching the March 31 acquisition deadline to preserve the 155-acre woodlands, and around $32,000 left to fundraise and secure the deal, the efforts of supporters over the last year will peak this St. Patrick’s Day at the Girty’s Woods Get Down.

The event, hosted by New Sun Rising and Mr. Smalls Theatre, will be an evening of live streamed music, a 50/50 raffle, and more to help raise the remaining funds to garner the $704,626 toal and purchase the land.

The importance of conserving Girty’s Woods from development for not only recreation opportunities and to protect native flora and fauna, but for the lands ability to absorb heavy rains that would otherwise flood Girty’s Run watershed, has inspired many within Millvale, Shaler, and Reserve Township to advocate for the purchase. 

It has also become an elemental part of a new sustainability class being taught by science teacher Abbey Nilson at Shaler Area High School.

“It’s a really cool coincidence that the class started at the same time there is this great need to preserve this forest in our district,” Nilson said.

The year-long class has around 70 Shaler juniors and seniors in the class, with that total being split into three sections. Around 50 of the students are taking the course for college credits through the University of Pittsburgh who partnered with Nilson and helped her create the curriculum for the class.

Nilson said the students in the class are taught to think critically about sustainability issues, like food production and energy consumption, by challenging them to change their lifestyle choices for a short time and document the experience. 

The support around Girty’s Woods, however, was refined over the summer when Nilson connected with Shaler Area Middle School teacher Chris Lisowski.

“He’s very into sustainability, and he told me about this grassroots group that was starting to meet over the summer regarding the preservation of Girty’s Woods,” Nilson said.

It was during these meetings that Nilson began to envision the role students could play in the preservation of the woodlands. In the classes she has taught over the years, it wasn’t uncommon for her to grow plants from seed, and when Nilson learned about logging in Girty’s Woods, she began to think about and research what it would take for her students to germinate and grow trees.

Lauren Powell, senior at SAHS, is in Nilson’s inaugural sustainability class and said the growing process has been “very interesting.”

“We are growing Kentucky Coffee Trees, Black Birch, and several other types [of trees]. The Kentucky Coffee Trees have been the most successful thus far, and germinated well,” Powell said.

After some months passed and it was clear to Nilson that the project was a success, she created a Go Fund Me campaign to sell the trees for a minimum donation of $15 to Allegheny Land Trust and raise money to help Save Girty’s Woods.

“It’s been going really well,” Nilson said. “Some students promoted it over social media and reached out to KDKA; they were interviewed by the local news. They’ve been getting businesses to post about it, and their efforts reaching out to the community have gone really well.”

Nilson said one of the first assignments she gave the class last fall was to visit Girty’s Woods, and she believes that initiated students’ connection to the land and gave them a sense of investment in the issue.

Powell said this class has inspired her to pursue a career in sustainability and she will be attending Point Park University this coming fall with a major in biological and environmental science, as well as interning for the Triboro Ecodistrict this summer.

“Mrs. Nilson has made this class more than anybody could have imagined. I thought I knew a lot about sustainability, and going into this class it has grown dramatically,” Powell said. “Her lessons are so fascinating… and I think she really highlights the importance of sustainability by making it fun for her students to get involved and positively help our climate.”