Sugar Bush Foundation announces 2019-20 funding awards, seeks Letters of Intent for next award cycle

The Ohio University Foundation has approved awarding more than $296,000 in Sugar Bush Foundation funding to seven projects designed to improve the quality of life and environment in Appalachian Ohio.

Founded in 2005 by Athenians Mary Anne and Don Flournoy as a supporting organization of The Ohio University Foundation, the Sugar Bush Foundation provides funding for projects that bring Ohio University and community partners together for the betterment of Ohio’s 32-county Appalachian region. In recent years, projects prioritized by the Sugar Bush Foundation include renewable energy, zero waste, environmental restoration, food security, and sustainable development.

The Sugar Bush Foundation Board of Directors recommended support for seven projects – one new and six continuing – for the 2019-20 funding cycle. Those recommendations were approved by The Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees.

The one new project approved for funding will explore technology that has the potential to benefit homeowners while addressing a local environmental concern.

“Value-Added Products from Rural Wastes,” a collaboration between Dr. Sarah Davis, an associate professor in Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, and local nonprofit Rural Action, was awarded $35,000 for efforts to convert septage into nutrient-rich fertilizer. If successful, the project will reduce or eliminate homeowners’ septic tank maintenance costs, alleviate health concerns stemming from the lack of septic tank maintenance and improve aquatic and wildlife ecosystems – all while creating a viable consumer product. This project is expected to begin in September, and the funding will be used to help cover the costs of personnel, analytical services and supplies.

The six projects approved for continued funding are:

Appalachian Ohio Zero Waste Initiative

Spearheaded by the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs and Rural Action, the Appalachian Ohio Zero Waste Initiative was awarded $79,000, adding to the more than $1.2 million this initiative-turned-movement has received over the past nine years.

A comprehensive collaboration within Southeast Ohio, the Appalachian Ohio Zero Waste Initiative seeks to turn waste into resources and change the way the region thinks about waste. Over the past nearly 10 years, the initiative’s efforts have resulted in the doubling of recycling rates in Athens and Hocking Counties; a feasibility study that led to the construction of a new Athens Hocking Recycling Center, employing more than 30 people; the establishment of recycling drop-off sites and dump site cleanups in rural communities; and the formation of Zero Waste Events, a business that helps event organizers divert recyclable and compostable waste. For a closer look at the impact of this expanding and successful initiative, click here.

The City of Chillicothe’s Journey on the Zero Waste Pathway

A partnership between Ohio University Chillicothe and the City of Chillicothe, this initiative, which was awarded $21,588, will help support the second year of the city’s Curbside Recycling Project. The project was implemented last year with the help of student interns from the Chillicothe Campus who planned educational and media events and fielded phone calls about the new recycling services from local residents.

Funding from the Sugar Bush Foundation will allow student interns to continue working in the mayor’s office with recycling communications and marketing, event planning and collection of usage data. The project is not only diverting waste from local landfills but providing Chillicothe Campus students work experience and an opportunity to give back to the community.

Habitat for Humanity: Sustainable Social Enterprise Development

Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio and the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs were awarded $60,000 to continue their efforts to grow a regional circular economy through construction material reclamation, repair, retraining and repurposing.

Sugar Bush Foundation funding is supporting the outfitting of a new Habitat for Humanity campus in Chauncey. The campus includes a 3,000-square-foot training center, housing a wood shop, classrooms and training modules; a 6,000-square-foot warehouse, housing construction equipment and materials and ReStore donation overflow; and a large outdoor pad to accommodate the construction of pre-fabricated housing components and associated educational modules. Funding will also support a Social Return on Investment analysis of the impact of waste-diverting and economic development activities.

Initiative for Appalachian Food and Culture

The Initiative for Appalachian Food and Culture was awarded $40,000 to continue its efforts to strengthen the regional food system, enabling local farmers and food producers to move to larger production scales while increasing the availability of local food at Ohio University and in local communities. This project, now in its fourth year, is a collaboration between Ohio University’s Food Studies Theme, Rural Action and Community Food Initiatives.

Funding will support the expansion and facilitation of the Farm to OHIO Working Group; the coordination of Good Agricultural Practices training, technical assistance and certification for a network of regional producers; and targeted garden and culinary workshops for OHIO students and community members.

Sustainable Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage for Pigment Production

The Sugar Bush Foundation awarded $16,000 to an ongoing project focused on addressing acid mine drainage prevalent in Southeast Ohio after decades of coal-mining.

A collaboration between Ohio University’s College of Fine Arts and Russ College of Engineering and Technology, Rural Action, and the Sunday Creek Watershed Group, this project funds the operation of a pilot treatment facility in Corning where water polluted by acid mine draining is intercepted, a percentage of the iron oxide is extracted and converted into usable paint pigment, and the cleaner water returned to the stream. What is learned at the Corning site will be used to construct a full-scale water treatment plant at the acid mine draining seep site in nearby Truetown where the concentration of iron ore is 10 times greater than the site in Corning. When it is built, the Truetown plant is expected to remove all of the iron ore, produce pigment for sale, and clean the water. Sugar Bush Foundation funding will help cover pigment production, process testing, community outreach and art installations, with the project’s overarching goal of addressing pollution in a way that creates local jobs and demonstrates Ohio University’s innovation and a successful University-community partnership.

The Winding Road: Ohio’s Rising Appalachia

The Winding Road: Ohio’s Rising Appalachia initiative was awarded $45,000 from the Sugar Bush Foundation to further advance the region’s economy by promoting exploration of its cultural, historical and natural features. A collaboration between many regional organizations, entrepreneurs and Ohio University, the Winding Road Network seeks to foster an “experience economy” and brand for the Appalachian Ohio region.

An integrated effort, this initiative aims to provide mutually beneficial growth of the experience-based economy of Southeast Ohio and opportunities for experience-based learning and research for Ohio University students and faculty.

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The Sugar Bush Foundation is accepting Letters of Intent for 2020 funding. The deadline to submit a Letter of Intent is 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30. For more information, click here.