What Works

What the signs are telling us…..

Despite our proximity to the Great Lakes and its abundance of fresh water, the pristine beaches of Presque Isle, and the variety of beautiful natural environments throughout the inland region, overall county health, including both natural and built environmental factors, ranks Erie County 60th out of 67 Pennsylvania counties.

Our perceived high quality of life, supported by a beautiful natural environment, proximity to water, vibrancy of the changing seasons, low density, and other factors, is a cornerstone of the region’s future and one of the key attractions for businesses and families looking to relocate. Protecting and sustaining our natural and built environment through intelligent land use planning, creative design, development of renewable energy, protection and conservation of land, and collaboration for sustainable development are all important issues for our county and region as we move forward.

What Works: Traffic Patterns, Promising Practices, and Pilots

From a national scan of programs led by nonprofits that are making a difference in other communities, we see hope in:

Our Wider Region’s Shared Environmental Agenda

Other Great Lakes and Rust Belt communities have also determined that the health and enhancement of their region’s natural assets is crucial to the wellbeing of their residents and their local economies. In Western New York, the Western New York Environmental Action Steering Group has joined with the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo to launch a Grow WNY Shared Agenda for Action which strives to pool energy and resources to enhance the region’s environmental literacy, preserve its biodiversity, and ensure that energy use is sustainable, water is drinkable, air is clean, fish are edible, and forests, farms, and gardens are plentiful. The joint effort is serving to preserve and restore the region’s natural assets through collaborative projects. One tangible result of the coalition efforts is the launch of the Grow WNY environmental web portal.
For more information, see www.cfgb.org.

Pittsburgh is another community that has rallied its environmental forces in a common direction. The emerging high-tech sector is leading efforts to research and promote sustainable energy practices. A burgeoning community of cyclists is changing the thinking around regional transportation, and an active higher education environmental movement has been behind environmental justice efforts and recent environmental conferences and gatherings that are helping to build the momentum for progressive policy and action around energy and climate, food and agriculture, nature and habitat. parks and recreation, transportation, waste and pollution, and clean air and water. See:

www.pittenvironmental.org
http://pittsburghsec.wordpress.com
www.urbanhabitat.org/node/329

Philanthropic On-Ramps

Modest philanthropic investments that can get Erie County environmental action moving in the fast lane:

• Initiatives to define a common agenda and build collaboration among the broad array of organizations working to improve and protect the natural and built environment. Common web portals, efforts to unite and focus the community around sustained progressive environmental work, and building coalitions to identify, pursue, and leverage new resources for environmental investment are priority considerations.

• Efforts to enhance environmental education in K-12, higher education, and community-based education settings build the foundation for understanding and action.

• Promoting intelligent land use planning and design that reduces environmental impact, promotes efficiency and the building of healthy community, and preserves and protects the natural habitat and the region’s biodiversity.

• Initiatives that improve and protect the quality of the region’s housing stock and built environment, improving the quality and livability of neighborhoods and commercial areas.