July 28, 2015 – America in Bloom 2015: Holland competes among best of the best
July 27, 2015 – New Holland, Eighth Day Farm team up for local hops
July 24, 2015 – Mayors endorse UN sustainability goals at Vatican
July 16, 2015 – Miranda’s Park Party
July 3, 2015 – $12M project to clear up ‘Lake Macatawa’
July, 2015 – City of Holland and Good Samaritan Ministries Landlord Energy Efficiency Upgrade Program
June, 2015 – Huntington Bank Summer Concert Series at Kollen Park
June 30, 2015 – Holland Civic Center $11 Million Redevelopment Announced
June 19, 2015 – Want to volunteer for the Macatawa Water Festival? Go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4cadaa2ca3f49-water to sign up.
June 18, 2015 – Michigan Saves recently published two reports about clean energy in Michigan. One of the reports profiles seven communities, one of which is Holland. The communities were evaluated on: Energy Efficiency, Distributed Renewables, Mircogrid/smart grid, and electric vehicles. 1 Michigan Clean Energy Report – Statewide Profile of Energy Use and Deployment of Four Clean Energy Technologies 2 Michigan Clean Energy Report – A Profile of Clean Energy Efforts in Seven Michigan Communities
June 16, 2015 – Retrofit Report: Holland energy efficiency efforts on target with summit ideals
June 6, 2015 – Creative Dining Services expands Grow Sustainability Program to include animal welfare policies For information: creativedining.com
May 28, 2015 – Retrofit Report: Top 10 reasons to join Holland’s Energy Blitz
May 18, 2015 – Retrofit Report: Student scientists take it personally
May 14, 2015 – ‘Energy Blitz’ coming to Holland neighborhoods, volunteers sought
May 12, 2015 – DOE Grant Continues Development of Isotope Retrieval System (Dr. Graham Peaslee of the Hope College chemistry faculty has received a second major grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to create a system for doing some recycling at the atomic level.)
May 10, 2015 – Retrofit Report: ‘It’s so much warmer,’ couple says after energy fixes
April 28, 2015 – 10 Things to know about renewable energy
April 22, 2015 – NSF Grant Supports Exploring Commercial Use of Test for PFCs
April 22, 2015 – Holland-Hope Sustainability Institute Launches Website
April 20, 2015 – “Right thing to do” drives home energy project
April 13, 2015 – Green the New Orange on Hope Campus
April 2, 2015 – Hope Athletics To Accept Shoe Donations For Soles4Souls
April 7, 2015 – Seven Students and Recent Graduates Receive NSF Program Recognition
April 5, 2015 – Retrofit Report: Good energy savings among pilot project lessons learned
April 2, 2015 – Hope Chemistry Students Win National Award for Research Presentation
April 1, 2015 – David Van Wylen Named Dean for the Natural and Applied Sciences
March 29, 2015 – Retrofit Report: Other teams taking the floor in Energy Prize competition
March 26, 2015 – Senators Stabenow, Peters Applaud Great Lakes Investment in West Michigan EPA Awards $250,000 to Outdoor Discovery Center Macatawa Greenway for Project Clarity Effort!
March 22, 2015 – Retrofit Report: Put eyes on the energy prizes at city website
March 16, 2015 – Address to Focus on “Energy in the Age of Sustainability”
March 15, 2015 – Retrofit Report: First pilot project home energy upgrades begin
March 8, 2015 – Retrofit Report: Five things to know about sustainable eating
Februray 25, 2015 – Retrofit Report: City likes early energy retrofit findings, moves to next step
February 24, 2015 – Harvard Scientist Cherry Murray to Discuss “The Electricity Grid”
February 11, 2015 – GLCA Grant Partners Five Campuses in Using Environmental Dashboard
February 9, 2015 – Event for Girls in Grades Six to Eight Will Emphasize Engineering Careers
February 4, 2015 – New Director for the Holland-Hope College Sustainability Institute
December 2, 2014 – Dow Foundation Gift Establishes Residential STEM Program on Watershed
February 4, 2015 — by Public Affairs and Marketing
http://www.hope.edu/news/2015/02/04/michelle-gibbs-named-director-of-sustainability-institute.html
Michelle Gibbs has been named director of the new Holland-Hope College Sustainability Institute.
A partnership between the City of Holland, Hope College and the Holland Board of Public Works, the institute supports outreach, education and practices geared toward creating a more sustainable community. Gibbs brings to the position extensive professional and volunteer experience in sustainability partnerships, conservation and education, including in West Michigan, where in December she was honored as the 2014 Volunteer of the Year for the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council’s Watershed Project.
“We think the community will find in their contact with Michelle a very knowledgeable resource who can provide creative and flexible professional advice on a host of environmental education and outreach matters,” said Ryan Cotton, city manager with the City of Holland.
Gibbs and the program are based at Hope, located in the college’s A. Paul Schaap Science Center. She started work in November.
“Hope College and the City of Holland are exceptionally fortunate to have Michelle Gibbs in the leadership role for the new Sustainability Institute,” said Dr. James Gentile, who is dean for the natural and applied sciences and professor of biology at Hope. “Along with her winning personality, her work as an educator at Holland Christian and her experience at Lakeshore Technical College as energy coordinator combine to provide her with the expertise to create a culture of sustainability for the Hope academic community, for the wider Holland community and, importantly, inclusive of local businesses.”
Gibbs, in turn, noted that she is excited about working with the people and organizations of the Holland area, which she said has already established a solid foundation on which the community can build in working for sustainability.
“It’s a dream come true,” she said. “There are many exciting things already going on in the community. The Sustainability Institute will be a go-to resource for people hoping to become involved, a place where those with ideas and new programs can share them, and a resource to help everyone—individuals, groups, businesses—interested in learning more.
As one example of the latter, a program coming in the near future is “Eating Sustainably along the Lakeshore,” scheduled for Monday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. at the Haworth Inn and Conference Center on the Hope campus. The free event will feature perspectives from local growers, experts and activists about eating locally and its impact on sustainability, as well as tips on ways to make sustainable food choices. In addition to the City of Holland and Hope, community partners in the event include Grand Valley State University, Herrick District Library and the League of Women Voters.
Gibbs has been in West Michigan since 2013, and prior to joining the Sustainability Institute volunteered and worked with the Grand Rapids-based West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum. In addition to her additional volunteer activities in the Holland area, she has also been teaching science courses part-time in the Homeschool Connection Program through the Holland Christian Schools, which she is continuing as she leads the institute.
She was the energy coordinator at Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wisconsin, from 2010 to 2013, with responsibilities including community outreach, developing and implementing programs, and teaching a sustainability course. From 2007 until 2010, she was an environmental scientist with Hydro-Logic Associates Inc. (HLA) in Brighton.
Gibbs is a graduate of Michigan State University, where she majored in zoology with a specialization in environmental sciences, and is pursing a Master of Science degree in sustainable management at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. While an undergraduate, she held an internship in environmental education and served as a student assistant in the Land and Water Management Division with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
The city and college announced the Holland-Hope College Sustainability Institute in May, along with a $65,000 grant in support of the project through a national initiative: the Local Sustainability Matching Fund, a project of the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, in partnership with the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. The Fund is supported with leadership grants from Bloomberg Philanthropies, JPB Foundation, Kendeda Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, New York Community Trust, Summit Foundation, and Surdna Foundation. The Fund is designed to catalyze partnerships between local governments and local, place-based foundations and to advance community-based sustainability initiative.
The Holland-Hope College Sustainability Institute has also received a three-year grant of $25,000 each year ($75,000 over three years) from the Community Foundation of Holland/Zeeland, in addition to receiving support from the city, Holland Board of Public Works and Hope.
