Transcript:

A few years ago, the city of Cincinnati held dozens of public meetings to gather residents’ ideas about ways to reduce carbon pollution and improve the city’s resilience to climate change.

Kroner: “And we heard thousands of ideas.”

Oliver Kroner, director of the city’s Office of Environment and Sustainability, says some ideas were programs that the city should implement.

Kroner: “But many of them were ideas that people wanted to implement themselves. And we thought, wouldn’t it be cool if we provided a little bit of seed funding to set those visions in motion?”

So his team created the Seeds of Change program.

In its first three years, the program has provided almost $1 million in grants to more than 170 community-based projects – many in some of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods.

It’s invested in community gardens, composting efforts, solar installations, a bike repair program, and more.

Kroner: “These are grants of $5,000 to $20,000, so not huge, but enough to get a ball rolling.”

Kroner says it’s a way for city government to support grassroots action and empower people to become climate leaders in their communities.

Kroner: “This is a program that sets those leaders in motion. … And the more we can plant those seeds of leadership around the city, the further we’ll go.”

Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media