I talked to Marissa, the Huff Run Watershed & Mud Run Watershed Coordinator, and her partner in crime for the day (I wish I could remember his name – he has great ideas for documentaries!). I also talked to my personal local organic produce provider from Creekview Ridge Farm. I visited with the gentleman from Stark County Health Department and we discussed everything from septic systems to the breakdown of the various divisions at the health department (If you think about it, having one person cover the food AND septic divisions is utilizing my favorite whole systems approach! In one end … out the other)
We also reconnected with Julie Berbari, Urban Resource Coordinator at Stark County’s Soil and Water Conservation, and Wendy Bullock, Education Specialist at STW Joint Solid Waste Management. Both Wendy and Julie have been community partners in our Environmental Media program, and yesterday was  the first time Wendy saw the documentary she appeared in!

I also met one of my favorite new connections, and a hopeful new community partner for Environmental Media – Sara Starr of Foxfield Preserve. This is a project of The Wilderness Center, and is a green burial project where people can choose a natural burial that is better for the environment. Apparently there is a growing movement across the country for this service – which is nice, because I was at a total loss as to how to handle this final aspect of life.

There were TONS of other people we connected with, including the Bicycle Club, Aultman Hospital, Total Health and Wellness, Upper Tuscawarus Watershed, and more. I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone, and if I have, please forgive my oversight!

Apart from connecting with the other vendors, there was also interaction with the various Stark State students that meandered their way around the room. I was lucky to have Isa with me (Great Dane Service Dog) – she made for an awesome icebreaker, and really got their attention. Unfortunately, holding that attention after moving the conversation to environmental topics was a little more difficult. Not impossible however! We talked about the water sampling project, and EVERYONE is looking forward to seeing those results, and we went over the Environmental Media class – what it is, how it pertains to each of them individually, and how they can get involved. There were multiple students that had decided to look into the crossover program and to come take the class. We also had a visit from Oakwood Middle School students, and some of the students were very interested in what we are doing to with media and the environment.

Of course, I completely forgot to take my camera, so I got 3 quick snaps with my webcam. Feel free to check them out on the Facebook page!

Thanks again to Stefanie Smith and Maureen Wise from Stark State for helping to corral us to this event! We look forward to collaborating some more very soon!

Mark shows us the story behind farming, and why our local farmer’s are inherently stewards of the land. Click on the picture to be taken to Mark’s video.

Congratulations  to Mark, and all of our Environmental Media students for all of their hard work!

For the second year in a row, all of the 2012 Environmental Media films were shown at the festival, and we look forward to continuing this unique collaboration with the Palace. As well, the Palace Theatre has also dedicated the “Green Documentary” block to our beloved late professor, Dr. Penny Bernstein. You can read more about the festival, and this heartwarming dedication HERE.

Please view all of the Environmental Media films on our Vimeo site.

Do you have an idea for next year’s films? Are you a student or a community member with a pressing environmental concern? Please contact us to discuss your ideas!

A very special thanks to the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, and to Kent State University at Stark’s Bio Club for helping to provide photos from this event, as well as for volunteering your time and energy!

Back by popular demand! Are you a student at Kent State University? Are you interested in learning how to create an influential documentary about the environmental issues facing our local region? Are you excited to expand your work outside the classroom? Join us for our 3rd round of Environmental Media, a course designed to allow you, the student, the ability to produce a high quality environmental documentary to be used in educating the campus and community about solutions to our area’s most pressing environmental concerns.

Through the sponsorship of the H. W. Hoover Foundation, and collaboration with the University of Miami Florida’s Arnold Center for Confluent Media Studies, students are provided with state of the art filming and editing tools and equipment. You will also work side by side with award winning documentary filmmakers, and specialists in news reporting and aquatic biology. Though we welcome and encourage seasoned film makers, no experience is necessary to take advantage of this unique opportunity. [And hey, it's an upper-division class to boot!]

As part of this class you will learn about environmental issues facing the region, including important facts and terminology, and partner with a community expert on the subject of your choice. Working with your team and community experts, you will develop a short, effective documentary, highlighting not only the environmental issues of the region, but also some of the leading solutions. Your documentary will premier on campus, on the web, and in a variety of public appearances – including being entered into the annual Canton Film Fest.

This course is limited to 16 students, so don’t delay. Class is scheduled for Fridays, 11:00am – 2:00pm.

For more information, contact Mitch McKenney at mmckenne@kent.edu or 330-244-3364.

It’s part of a project launched with help from a Herbert W. Hoover Foundation grant. Students working with expert researchers in biology, chemistry and related sciences are helping to show what condition the water is in at various sites around Stark County.

The project, formally named “Making the Invisible Visible: Water Quality in Stark County,” will explain what’s happening to the community. Part of the effort includes student-produced media to tell the story of the county’s water.

In what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the students hail from Stark State College; Mount Union, Malone and Walsh universities, and Kent State University at Stark. Their work began with training in May, and joined in a June 5 kickoff of the actual sampling with a breakfast event at Kent State University at Stark.

The researchers involved, also coming from the five colleges and universities, are working with community, government and nonprofit experts on the area’s watersheds to make recommendations based on what’s found in the samples.

You can read coverage of the kickoff event and the start of sampling in these stories in The Repository and in North Canton Patch.

You can also watch the student produced Webisodes that help to explain the project on Vimeo, and follow the student run Facebook Page to keep up to date with how the project is progressing.

Thank you Penny.

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In loving memory of Dr. Penny Bernstein
March 30, 1947 – July 15, 2012

Campus Memorial Service
Friday, Sept. 28, 2012 at 3 p.m.
Campus Pond Gazebo

Her legacy will live on in the hearts of Kent State University at Stark students, faculty and staff, and her monumental contributions to the campus and community will not be forgotten. The vital work of the Herbert W. Hoover Initiative will continue, as a tribute to her life.

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It’s with sadness that we report the loss of Dr. Penny Bernstein, the Kent State at Stark biology professor who led this project.

Kent State at Stark Dean Walter F. Wagor offered the following in a message to Dr. Bernstein’s colleagues on July 15:

“Words cannot express the shock we all are feeling.  Our campus community has lost a vibrant spokesperson for students, for the environment, and for this campus.  Her influence has been and will continue to be wide-spread.  She will be deeply missed.”

The services are Monday, July 16, at Anthony and Bascan Funeral Home, 4178 Massillon Road, Uniontown, OH 44685. Calling hours will be from 1:30-3:30 at the Funeral Home, with services at 3:30. A burial will follow services.  Here is a link to the Funeral Home: http://www.kakfh.com/anthony.aspx

Below is the text of an article about Penny’s work posted in June on the KSU-Stark site:

= = = = =

Puzzles intrigue Penny Bernstein. Whether they are presented in a colorful box, in the natural world or as part of her work, her first inclination is to look carefully for patterns that lead to a solution. A field biologist and an associate professor of biological sciences at Kent State University at Stark, Bernstein was asked to play a key role in what has evolved into an innovative consortium dedicated to saving Stark County’s watersheds. But, before the Herbert W. Hoover Initiative in Environmental Media could move forward to achieve its purposes, someone needed to put the pieces in the right place.

“When I learned about the idea for the Hoover Initiative more than four years ago, I could see what it was – a framework with great potential to spur environmental change, but with lots of ideas, goals and expectations that had to be placed in the proper order,” she says.

Initially, she admits she wasn’t sure who would embrace the concept of environmental media. However, she quickly discovered that many students were already using media to document ecology issues. They just didn’t know what to do with their photos and videos. The “Hoover Initiative” – funded by a grant from the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation – would become an outlet for them, as well as an opportunity to voice their concerns.

She notes, “With the rise of environmental activism among students again, I knew this project would fill a need for area students and help them work in very tangible ways toward a common goal – which is to preserve and protect our watersheds.”

When Bernstein accepted the position as coordinator of the Hoover Initiative, one of her biggest expectations – and subsequent challenges – was to build a partnership between many groups that, on the surface, seemed disparate. Yet, the idea of an interdisciplinary effort excited her, and since 2008, she has been the driving catalyst behind this environmental consortium, forging bonds between individuals, businesses, corporations, nonprofits, government departments, county agencies, K-12 schools and groups of faculty members and students at Stark County’s five colleges and universities. Currently, 14 organizations are involved, with more joining every year.

Thanks to funding from the Western Reserve Conservation and Resource Development Council, the Hoover Initiative now has two environmental stewardship liaisons that connect faculty, students and community partners. Bernstein says they play an important part in keeping everyone connected and overseeing smaller projects that students and partners work on together.

Tina Biasella, director of external affairs at Kent State Stark, describes Bernstein as a person of petite stature who makes big waves. As a result of her efforts to bring people together, every college and university in Stark County is collaborating to address local issues related to the environment.

“Efforts to improve the environment in general and our watersheds in particular are more widespread than we ever dreamed possible,” Biasella says. “However, few recognize all that Dr. Bernstein has done. She is so humble. Her work speaks for itself and demonstrates our strong commitment to making the community a better place to live, work and play.”

A number of opportunities are underway for the Hoover Initiative, including a new grant for water sampling in select locations throughout Stark County. As part of this project, Dr. Bernstein’s vision is to create a database of statistics and content (images, videos, papers, etc.) that students across the consortium can update regularly. Water sampling began in spring 2012.

READ MORE ABOUT DR. BERNSTEIN AND THE H W HOOVER INITIATIVE.

You can view six-minute montage of the five documentaries here.

Or click on the titles to see the individual films on Vimeo. They are:

Trash vs. Treasure, by Amanda Pritchard, introducing elementary school-age children to recycling in Stark County.

Mucking Up the Silt, by Zack Baer, on efforts to prevent stormwater from polluting Meyers Lake and its outflows into the Nimishillen Creek.

A Problem of Mine, where Matthew Lemmon looks for answers about orange water flowing from the area’s abandoned coal mines.

A Question of Survival — subtitled “Mitigation: Unnecessary Destruction or Viable Alternative?” — in which Lori Hershberger questions the wisdom of permitting development on wetlands.

Farmers: Our Story, by Mark Kover, which offers an alternative lens on agriculture’s need for a healthy environment.

Students created these stories in one semester’s time, with the help of Kent State course instructors in biology and journalism: Dr. Robert Hamilton, assistant professor of biology, and Dr. Joe Murray, associate professor of journalism.

The students worked with community partners who informed their work, though the point of view is their own.

The course was created with support from the H.W. Hoover Foundation and Ali Habashi of the University of Miami’s Arnold Center for Confluent Media.

Do you have a love of nature? Do you have an interest in making short films? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then this class is for you!

This is a special opportunity brought to you through the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation in coordination with the Kent State at Stark Environmental Media Initiative.

10 Days, 3 credit hours, and an unforgettable adventure in Environmental Film Making!
June 18 – June 29th
9:00 am – 5:00pm

Canoe the Tuscarawus River while learning to create a documentary on nature! Led by award winning environmental filmmakers Joe Murray and Danny Ledonne!

Space is limited -  register today at stark.kent.edu

This class is open to all Majors and all Colleges! Don’t miss out on this very special opportunity!

Please direct all questions and concerns to Dr. Penny Bernstein at pbernste@kent.edu.

Ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber told a Kent State audience that fracking is a human rights issue and people need to take action to study, mitigate and stop it.

Steingraber is an acclaimed author and an international expert on the connection between cancer and the environment. Her appearance March 14 in Main Hall Auditorium drew more than 200 people.

In hydraulic fracturing, a driller pumps water, sand and chemicals underground to break up rock and release natural gas and oil. Steingraber said this causes two environmental crises — harm to the atmosphere and harm to our bodies and animals. The release of chemicals such as mercury and lead into the atmosphere and can lead to asthma, cancer and early puberty in girls.

“This is, I think, the human rights question of our day,” Steingraber said.  “Do we wait till we have absolute proof of harm before we take action, or do we act when we have an indication of harm?”

Right now in Ohio, she said, the oil and gas industries are paying civilians for the right to use their property for fracking — which she sees as a bribe.

“People get big checks, in exchange for their silence and complicity,” Steingraber said, noting that “when the oil industry takes away our right of choice, we throw away our right to stay healthy.”

Despite the health risks, communities find it hard to ban it, she said.

“We stand out-lawyered and out-bankrolled in front of a line of tanks in Tiananmen Square,” Steingraber said. Still, she described her successful efforts to ban fracking in upstate New York, where she said the process contaminated a town’s water.

Steingraber won an award for her research into fracking, and donated the $100,000 check to opposing its spread.

“This is what love looks like,” Steingraber said. She also referred to “what love looks like” about two Salt Lake City residents who were arrested for protesting fracking.

She compared the fracking fight to “The Wizard of Oz.”  She said that you pull back a curtain and see people shaking because people caught them doing wrong.

As she closed she focused on a community that has fracking, showing video of diesel trucks parading by houses. Black smoke poured from the drove past front doors of families. Steingraber asked her audience if this is the future they wanted.

“Fracking needs to be banned permanently,” she said, “as in forever.”

Marissa Eisenbrei is a student in Mitch McKenney’s Newswriting class at Kent State University at Stark. Jon Reisdorf and Chelsea Kiko contributed to this story.

As one of the campus’s seven core values to “respect and protect the campus green space and our region’s ecological environment,” Kent State Stark is committed to reducing the environmental impacts of campus operations and promoting environmental sustainability.”

Our efforts to reduce our current carbon footprint and energy conservation projects include:

AASHE
Kent State Stark is a member of AASHE, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability for Higher Education. Read more.

Herbert W. Hoover Initiative in Environmental Media
Our Water Webs
In 2008, Kent State University at Stark, in response to discussions with the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation, began exploring the possibility of engaging in a multi-disciplinary study of the surrounding environment. The idea was to develop a network that would provide an opportunity for students, faculty, and the local community to investigate and learn about their environment, how they interact with it and how those interactions could be improved and enhanced. Learn more about Our Water Webs.

Tree Campus USA
Kent State Stark has been named a Tree Campus USA University by the Tree Campus USA program sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation. Read more.

Pond & Wetland Research Area
The pond, an original fixture of the farmland purchased by Kent State University in 1967, was re-established as an EPA-approved wetland research area in 2007. The update included the addition of indigenous plants and wildlife, along with a gazebo and walking path. Read more.

Recycling & Waste Minimization
As one of the largest recyclers in Stark County, Kent State Stark students, faculty and staff recycled more than 50 tons of paper and nearly 11 tons of plastic, aluminum and glass (combined) for the 2008-09 FY, as reported by the Stark County Regional Planning Commission. Each campus office and public space has recycling containers. Read more.

Energy Conservation
Kent State Stark is presently working with The Brewer-Garrett Company, an Energy Service Company, under the auspices of Ohio House Bill 7 to implement Ohio House Bill 251 goals. HB 251 requires all Ohio state office buildings to achieve a 20% reduction in energy consumption by the year 2014 based upon 2004 baseline figures. When completed, this campus-wide design build energy conservation program will actually achieve a guaranteed 37% reduction in energy consumption at Kent State Stark. Read more.
The University Center at Kent State Stark
The University Center has achieved Gold Tier status from the IACC, International Association of Conference Centers, for adoption of environmentally responsible practices in its business operations; and by continuous improvement of its management efforts; all with the goal of reducing its carbon footprint and environmental impact. Read more.

Reusable Cup Program & enviroware™
Students can now “save green” when they “go green” with Kent State University at Stark’s new reusable cup program. The special cups, which are double-wall insulated, BPA-free and microwave and dishwasher safe, are for sale in the Bookstore for just $5.99. When used in the Emporium, soft drink refills are just $1.00 and coffee refills just $1.25. Plus, the first fill-up is free (coupon inside cup). The program helps eliminate waste caused by disposable cups and contributes to the campus’s overall goals towards improved sustainability. Also, the Emporium is now using enviroware™. enviroware™ products contain an average of 21.8% pre-consumer recycled materials and 100% recycled Carbon Dioxide (CO2) making them green at the beginning and end of their lifecycle or more simply 2 times green.