Grounded Strategies

Green Playces: Hill District Volunteer Day
2016-11-01 15:00 - 18:00 (America/Halifax) | Hill District Green Playce, 1852 Enoch St, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, United States
Join GTECH and the Jeron X. Grayson Community Center to help build out an outdoor classroom and educational space.
If interested in attending please contact:
Ian M. Brown
Project Manager
Growth Through Energy & Community Health [GTECH] Strategies
6587 Hamilton Ave #1W, Pittsburgh 15206
o. 412.361.2099 ext. 6

Citizens Toolkit
2016-11-03 06:00 - 19:30 | PA
Join PublicSource to learn how to use publicly available data to answer questions about your city and your neighborhood.
PublicSource’s Eric Holmberg will help you answer:
*How safe is my neighborhood?
*How clean is my favorite restaurant?
*How much do city officials make in salary?
*Thinking of buying a house? We’ll help you find independent data.
*What do you want to know? We want to hear from you!
Suggest additional topics using our google form here: https://goo.gl/forms/2AYir4VT7GeJFD8T2
or email us at info@publicsource.org

Velocity: Accelerating Fundraising for Your Nonprofit Session
2016-11-04 10:30 - 12:00 | PA
Join nonprofit expert Derrick Feldmann, author of Social Movements for Good and president of research and cause marketing agency Achieve, in a 90-minute session on how to choose a concept and theme for a campaign, and how to execute campaigns using multiple channels.
This session is part of the popular program –
Velocity: Accelerating Fundraising for Your Nonprofit.
Register today: Successful multichannel campaigns for your cause
Are you using multiple channels to
capture donors in fundraising campaigns?
Is your cross-channel message effective and consistent?
Are you using variable data and segmentation
— and if so, is it effective?
Your audience likely has its attention split among a myriad of communication channels. That means your fundraising efforts not only need to be heard through the clutter, but they also need to be delivered wherever your audience is listening.

GGH: Winter Workshop
2016-11-05 11:00 - 15:00 | PA
November 5 is the Grassroots Green Home Program’s “Winter Workshop” hosted at Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh (1816 Locust St. in Uptown). The event will include informational presentations from team members and partner organizations. Attached is a flyer for the Winter Workshop.

Homewood Volunteer Day
2016-11-09 10:00 - 15:00 | PA
Join the GTECH team at the corner of Race St and Collier in Homewood.
10am-3pm
Wednesday Nov 9th
Email l.kramer@gtechstrategies.org to volunteer or for more information!

GTECH Benefit night at Franktuary!
2016-11-09 17:00 - 19:00 | Franktuary, 3810 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA, 15201, United States
Hot Dog! Join us on Wednesday, November 9th at Franktuary in Lawrenceville! Open a tab between 5 and 7pm and a 10% of your bill will benefit GTECH!

Root Shock Book Launch
2016-11-09 18:00 - 20:00 | PA
Root Shock Book Launch
November 9 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST
Join Dr. Mindy Thompson Fullilove as she launches the new edition of her seminal work Root Shock at the Hill House Association!
For more information, contact Terri Baltimore at 412-392-6479
“People who have been displaced experience “root shock,” the traumatic stress reaction to the loss of some or all of one’s emotional ecosystem. Root shock can follow natural disaster, development-induced displacement, war, and changes that play out slowly, such as those that accompany gentrification. The idea of “root shock” has helped people conceptualize both the prevention of displacement and recovery from it.
Root shock is a condition mirrored at different levels of life. At the individual level, root shock is the emotional trauma a person experiences when his or her environment is devastated, such as in events of natural disaster or military conflict. It increases the risk for stress-related diseases like depression and heart attack and diminishes social, emotional, and financial resources. At the community level, root shock is defined by the loss of interpersonal ties and the “capital” — social, cultural, political and emotional — that is vested in the collective connections.
Dr. Mindy Fullilove’s Root Shock focuses on the presence of root shock in African-American neighborhoods that experienced urban renewal. Based on case studies of three historically black communities–Newark, NJ; Roanoke, VA; and Pittsburgh’s Hill District–Dr. Fullilove also draws on residents’ personal memories, useful theories of person and place, and historical accounts. Root Shock is an account of the invaluable things that Black America, and America generally, lost to urban renewal, and a guidebook for anyone interested in their recovery.
Given that the Hill District has been such a crucial part of her work since 1997, Dr. Fullilove will be coming “home” to the Hill to read from this new edition. A book signing and light refreshments will follow and books will be available for sale.”
https://www.go-gba.org/events/root-shock-book-launch/?utm_source=Master+List&utm_campaign=83907ac9a4-November+8%2C+2016+newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_458e074771-83907ac9a4-392402781

Hill District Work Day
2016-11-11 10:00 - 14:00 | Jeron X. Grayson Community Center, 1839 Wylie Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, United States
Come volunteer with GTECH and the Jeron X. Grayson Center to build out our outdoor classroom.

Green Playces: Wilkinsburg Dedication
2016-11-21 13:30 - 14:30 | Hosanna House, 807 Wallace Ave, Wilkinsburg, PA, 15221, United States
Join GTECH, Hosanna House and Holy Family Academy to celebrate the opening of our 5th Green Playce.

Thanksgiving
2016-11-24 - 2016-11-25 | PA
The GTECH office will be closed on November 24 and 25, 2016, in observance of Thanksgiving.

Equity Summit Follow Up Meeting - Moving Forward
2016-12-01 15:00 - 17:00 | Hill House Kaufmann Center, 1835 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, United States
On behalf of the service providers, systems, families, community members, and other stakeholders who work with girls, Gwen’s Girls will convene a meeting to debrief about the October 14 equity summit, “See the Best in Me: Equity Through the Lens of Resilience,” share the feedback from surveys completed at the summit, discuss recommendations regarding next steps, and define the working group process in order to move forward collectively in addressing the identified issues.
The event is open to the public and light refreshments will be served. Register here.

Tree Tender Course
2016-12-10 09:00 - 16:00 | Paulson Recreation Center, 1201 Paulson Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Join Tree Pittsburgh for a course covering urban forestry practices, tree biology and health, basic tree identification, proper pruning and maintenance, and instruction on how to lead your community in organizing tree plantings and tree care.
$40 secures registration, materials, lunch, and instruction. Register here. Contact Joe (joe@treepittsburgh.org) for any questions.

Ambassador Holiday Party
2016-12-14 18:00 - 20:00 | Grounded Strategies’ Office, 6587 Hamilton Ave., Pittsburgh, 15206, United States
Join our 4 generations of Ambassadors at the annual holiday party at GTECH’s office this year.

Green Workplace Challenge Workshop: Transportation
2016-12-15 08:00 - 11:00 | Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission Conference Center, 112 Washington Place, Suite 400, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, United States
In this workshop, participants will learn how to reduce their transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. Participants will learn how to take advantage of the region’s multi-modal transit options, including public transit, carpool and vanpool services, bicycling, and walking. Employers will learn how to offer affordable transportation benefits to attract and retain regional talent and will explore best practices in telecommuting. Participants will also hear from regional leaders about emerging transportation plans and projects that will shape our region’s future. To learn more, visit the GWC website.

GTECH Office Closed
2016-12-19 - 2016-12-27 | PA
The GTECH office will be closed from 12/19/2016 to 12/27/2016.

Steel City Codefest Presents: Is There An App For That? Hill District Edition
2017-01-17 18:00 - 20:00 | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Hill District, 2177 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, United States
Making Pittsburgh a healthier, safer, more connected, artistic and equitable place for all is hard work.
If you are a nonprofit, government agency, or social good program with a challenge, Steel City Codefest’s panel of experts are here to help! Join for a free evening of problem-solving and networking.
How it works:
You bring the challenges that face your nonprofit, government agency, or social good program and our panel of local technology experts will provide answers and recommendations for free or low-cost technological solutions you can adapt to solve your presented problem. If you can stump our panel, we will invite you to submit your challenge and participate in the 2017 Steel City Codefest happening the week of March 31.

Steel City Codefest Presents: Is There An App For That? Northside Edition
2017-01-18 18:00 - 20:00 | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Allegheny, 1230 Federal Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212, United States
Making Pittsburgh a healthier, safer, more connected, artistic and equitable place for all is hard work.
If you are a nonprofit, government agency, or social good program with a challenge, Steel City Codefest’s panel of experts are here to help! Join for a free evening of problem-solving and networking.
How it works:
You bring the challenges that your nonprofit, government agency, or social good program faces and our panel of local technology experts will provide answers and recommendations for free or low-cost technological solutions you can adapt to solve your presented problem. If you can stump our panel, we will invite you to submit your challenge and participate in the 2017 Steel City Codefest happening the week of March 31.

Steel City Codefest Presents: Is There An App For That? Downtown Pittsburgh Edition
2017-01-19 08:30 - 10:30 | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Downtown & Business, 612 Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222, United States

Smart Cities and Sustainability
2017-01-20 12:00 - 13:30 | Wesley W. Posvar Hall, 3911 Posvar Hall; 230 S. Bouquet St. , Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
UCSUR Brown Bag talk by Grant Ervin
Developing “smart cities” is a hot topic in the area of urban development and municipal management, but what is it? City of Pittsburgh was selected in 2016 as a U.S. Department of Transportation finalist for the department’s Smart Cities Challenge. Representatives from the City of Pittsburgh will discuss highlights of the proposal, lessons learned and opportunities for integration of smart city approaches to enhancing the sustainability and delivery of services within the City.
RSVP
Phone: 412-624-1019
Email SWPA@pitt.edu

Data Gathering, Cleaning, and Visualization: Learning Circle
2017-01-25 18:30 - 19:30 | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (Main) Oakland, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, 15213, United States
Join fellow community members who are interested in using data for journalism or advocacy in a four-week facilitated learning session. We will use online courses offered through Advocacy Assembly to explore data gathering, data cleaning, and data visualization.
Learning Circles are a way for people to come together to take top online courses in an environment that allows you to ask questions and discuss with fellow learners. Participants come together to watch web-based video tutorials, and then are led by a facilitator in discussion and activities. Learning Circles combine the best of online and in-person learning.
Space is very limited. Please register a week in advance so that the course facilitator can contact you.

Urban Ecostewards Winter Gathering
2017-01-26 18:00 - 20:00 | Wigle Whiskey Distillery, 2401 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Urban Ecostewards provides training for citizens who commit to becoming long term stewards of greenspace throughout Pittsburgh. Join the Urban Ecostewards for their Winter Gathering at Wigle Whiskey. Learn about this great volunteer opportunity, celebrate all that was accomplished in 2016, learn what’s happening in the year ahead, and support the program – Wigle will donate 12% of sales to supporting Urban EcoStewards.
For more information and to register for this free event, click here.

Wilkinsburg Train Station Restoration Project, Salvatore's Fundraiser Kick-Off
2017-02-01 17:00 - 19:00 | Salvatore’s Pizza House, 612 Penn Ave., Wilkinsburg, PA, 15221, United States
Starting February 1, Salvatore’s Pizza House will be hosting a month-long fundraiser to support the Wilkinsburg Train Station Restoration Project.
Salvatore’s is donating a portion of all sales from the Locomotive — a signature cocktail created just for the project — and any 16 oz craft draft beer.
Help them kick-off the fundraiser at happy hour!
Learn more.

Parcel Scale Green Infrastructure Siting and Cost Effectiveness Analysis
2017-02-03 12:30 - 13:30 | 3911 Posvar Hall, 230 S Bouquet St, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
Dr. Michael Blackhurst is currently a Research Development Manager at the University Center for Social & Urban Research at the University of Pittsburgh. His research is robustly interdisciplinary, drawing especially from engineering, economics, and statistics. Dr. Blackhurst oversees applied and basic research and consulting projects in the education, energy, and environmental sectors. His record demonstrates strong leadership in developing robust, data-driven decision-support resources for a wide array of stakeholders. Current research and consulting domains include energy and water demand-side management for the buildings sector, regional climate change mitigation and adaptation, regional water resource planning, and environmental life cycle assessment. His work has been profiled in the New York Times and National Geographic. Dr. Blackhurst has eight plus years of experience leading a diverse array of engineering consulting services for public sector clients.
To visit the project website, please click here.
RSVP
Phone: 412-624-1019
Email SWPA@pitt.edu

Inspire Speakers Series Presents: Inspirational Stories about Creating a Sustainable, Vibrant, Healthy, and Just Region
2017-02-09 17:30 - 19:00 | Elsie H. Hillman Auditorium at the Kaufmann Center, 1825 Centre Ave. , Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, United States
Storytelling is our way of expressing the soul of our community to one another. Stories expose our beliefs, emotions, and vulnerabilities that can resonate with people in ways that facts and statistics can’t. Stories foster empathy, remind us of what it means to be human, and challenge us to be the change we seek.
Join us for our second annual Storytelling Inspire Speakers Series event to hear stories from citizens who are working to create sustainable, vibrant, healthy, and just places for us all to live, work, learn, and play.
Register now.

CANCELLED: Woods Run Green First Planning Meeting
2017-02-09 18:00 - 20:00 | Morrow Primary School Auditorium, 1611 Davis Avenue, Brighton Heights, Pittsburgh, 15212, United States
This event has been CANCELLED.
Join PWSA and residents of Marshall-Shadeland, Perry Hilltop, Observatory Hill, and Brighton Heights at the Woods Run Community Meeting to discuss green solutions to stormwater challenges.

GTECH is working with PWSA, residents of the 4 affected neighborhoods, Brightwood Civic Group, the Brighton Heights Citizens Federation, Observatory Hill Inc, and Perry Hilltop Citizens Council to collect information on community preferences for green infrastructure and identify what other greenspace-related needs are community priorities. To learn more about that project, visit https://groundedpgh.org/projects/gsi/

p4 Performance Measures: In Depth on Valuing People, Planet, Place, and Performance
2017-02-15 08:30 - 10:00 | Green Building Alliance, 33 Terminal Way, Suite 331 , Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, United States
“We are poised for growth but cannot succeed unless we have a place for everyone. That’s one of the reasons why we created the p4 initiative – to ensure that this new growth benefits people, enhances a sense of place, contributes to a healthier planet, and achieves the highest levels of financial and social performance.” – Mayor Bill Peduto
Experience
Surely you’ve heard about p4 by now – the city’s new framework for creating a sustainable, innovative, and inclusive model for development and design which focuses on People, Place, Planet, and Performance. Launched in 2015 by the Mayor’s Office and the Heinz Endowments, p4 is meant to build on our city’s strengths and opportunities while ensuring inclusive and thoughtful decision-making around future growth and development. Layered with values like sustainability and equitable development, the p4 framework will play a pivotal role in ensuring that everyone in our city can benefit from its future growth.
But how can we be sure that a model like p4 will work? Enter the p4 Performance Measures Project. Over 100 people from all corners and sectors of the city engaged in a year-long, collaborative process to create a quantifiable system of metrics for informing and improving decision-making on public investments in development projects. Their work resulted in 12 priority focus areas for improvement – the 12 Performance Measures. Each Measure contains a set of metrics that together, provide a comprehensive evaluation tool for the consistent assessment of real estate development projects in the city of Pittsburgh to advance sustainable and equitable development practices. These Measures reflect a first step toward transformational change in how we plan and develop for the benefit of all. Implementation will require changes in policy, behavior, and practice that occurs over time.
At this breakfast briefing, Rebecca Flora – GBA’s founding executive director and current p4 Performance Measures Project team leader – will share insights into the process of developing these Measures, along with expectations and next steps for the city’s development. We’ll also take a deeper look at some of the Measures, including Energy, Connect, Rainwater, Air, Innovation, Opportunity, and Design.
Agenda
8:15 – 8:30 – Arrive, register, grab breakfast
8:30 – 9:30 – Presentation
9:30 – 10:00 – Questions and Discussion

Understanding and Practicing Map Literacy
2017-03-03 13:00 - 15:00 | Hillman Library, Digital Scholarship Commons, G-49 (3960 Forbes Ave), Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, United States
Everyday we interact with visualizations of space, aka maps. How we interact with a map is determined by many factors. Who made it? What is it trying to convey? Where did the underlying data come from? We ask these and more questions, often unconsciously, as we decide whether a map contains the information we seek. This workshop will begin with a brief history of the map, introduce the concept of map literacy and finish with participants interacting with a series of digital and paper maps using the information they obtained during the first part of the session.
Registration is required for this event.

2017 National Environmental Justice Conference & Training Program
2017-03-09 - 2017-03-10 | PA
Evaine, James, Sarah and Kate will be presenting at the National Environmental Justice Conference in Washington D.C. to a national audience. Evaine and Kate will present “ReClaim McKeesport: Environmental Justice Through Capacity Building. A Success Story” and James and Sarah will be presenting on the Northside Connections Urban Trail System, “Connecting Communities and Discovering Hidden Gems: Maximizing Resident Engagement in the Creation of an Urban Trail System”. The conference will bring together leaders from various sectors to exchange ideas and approaches to achieving environmental justice– check out this page to learn more about the conference.

Regional Data Center Property Data User Group Meeting
2017-03-09 14:30 - 16:00 | Knoxville Carnegie Library, 400 Brownsville Rd , Pittsburgh, PA, 15210, United States
The Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center is hosting an open conversation about property and housing data. This is one in a series of “Data User Group” conversations organized by the WPRDC. User groups are open meetings designed to build community among data users, identify data publishing priorities, and allow participants to share expertise and build collaboration around the use of data. If you use property or housing data, or are interested in using it, please join us.

Wild & Scenic Film Festival
2017-03-09 18:00 - 21:30 | Chatham University’s Eddy Theater, Woodland Rd, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, United States
Join the Pennsylvania Resources Council and Allegheny Cleanways at the 3rd Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival!
This film festival works to combine quality and powerful filmmaking with current environmental issues to inspire citizens to protect their environment and to take action for our local and global communities. Festival-goers can expect to see beautiful award-winning films about environmental issues from around the world, excellent raffle prizes, zero waste beer, and the opportunity to connect with local initiatives to protect Pittsburgh!
Please join us on Thursday, March 9th from 6PM – 9:30PM at Chatham University’s Eddy Theater for an evening of education, entertainment, and inspiration. Tickets and more information are available at www.prc.org/filmfestival2017/.
Join the Pennsylvania Resources Council and Allegheny Cleanways at the 3rd Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival! Discounted early bird tickets are available until February 10! Get your tickets now and save!
The Wild This film festival works to combine quality and powerful filmmaking with current environmental issues to inspire citizens to protect their environment and to take action for our local and global communities. Festival-goers can expect to see beautiful award-winning films about environmental issues from around the world, excellent raffle prizes, zero waste beer, and the opportunity to connect with local initiatives to protect Pittsburgh!
Please join us on Thursday, March 9th from 6PM – 9:30PM at Chatham University’s Eddy Theater for an evening of education, entertainment, and inspiration. Tickets and more information are available at www.prc.org/filmfestival2017/.
