Environment column
Kent Environmental Council has been fighting for us for decades
Here’s a look at their sweeping impact over the years and how you can get involved
On a Sunday morning in June 1969, an oil slick, formed by decades of companies dumping industrial waste into the Cuyahoga River, caught fire near the Republic Steel mill in Cleveland.
The event drew little attention at first because the river had already flared up 12 times before. But then Time magazine suggested that Cleveland and the other towns along the river were the center of environmental degradation in the region. Cleveland was already on the national radar because Mayor Carl Stokes was elected as the first black mayor of a major city in 1967. To add to his notoriety, Stokes became deeply involved with the issue, holding a press conference at the site of the fire and eventually testifying before Congress with the support of his brother, U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes, urging federal involvement in pollution control.
It was against this backdrop that the Kent Environmental Council (KEC) was born in 1970. The founding members were a subcommittee of the Kent Citizens for Progress, which was developing a “Plan of Action” for the river in May 1969. The KEC evolved as a separate organization for Kent citizens to undertake a variety of environmental actions. Today, KEC functions as a 501(c)(4) citizen advocacy group under Ohio law.
In the early years, strong leadership and extensive volunteer work achieved remarkable goals, long before the concept of environmental stewardship was even on the radar of most cities and towns in America. Early KEC projects included the Cuyahoga River cleanup campaigns, projects to extend and develop the Kent city parks system, the initiation of the Kent recycling program in 1970 and, from 1979 to 1989, the management of Ohio’s first comprehensive self-supporting recycling program.
Because of its strong membership and progressive actions during its first 25 years, the KEC won numerous national, state and local awards for its volunteer-based projects, including one of the four national awards in the Civic/Citizen category of the Take Pride in America Campaign in 1986. It also received substantial grants from the state in the late ‘80s to help support the activities of the KEC-sponsored Kent Recycling Center.
KEC pursued environmental education by putting on workshops and public forums, distributing publications throughout the city and backing recycling campaigns with the Kent City Schools and Kent State University. Its set of “Principles and Guidelines for Sustainable Kent” (1994) and “Transportation Week” (1995) are later attempts to anticipate and take action on issues affecting the quality of life in the city and region.
The KEC organizers have had a hand in many other projects, from the founding of Franklin Mills Riveredge Park to the establishment of the Kent Environmental Commission. They push the City of Kent sustainability goals. And they helped start the Throw and Go program at Kent State University, which reduces solid waste.
KEC President Renee Ruchotzke says the organization has become an online and face-to-face conduit of information and communication between like-minded groups that are focused on sustainability and other environmental topics in Kent and beyond. KEC attempts to create community connections that will allow individuals and voters to support environmental initiatives and to say no when political projects do not support a healthy, livable lifestyle for the average citizen.
KEC provides a platform for individuals to stand in solidarity when programs are mandated by the state that do not support the best interest of local ecosystems. It also organizes in opposition when the state legislative disables communities’ ability to protect their own environments.
One example of this is the 2011 Ohio Supreme Court ruling that cities and towns cannot enact fracking bans through their zoning laws, endangering local fresh water reserves. Another is the 2019 bill by the Ohio state legislature that forces Ohio citizens to pay an energy tax to subsidize failing coal and nuclear power plants while removing subsidies for sustainable energy programming such as solar.
If you are passionate about any of KEC’s supported topics, there are a number of ways to participate in their events, which are advertised in a bi-monthly newsletter. These include:
- Friday morning breakfasts at the Little City Grill at 8 a.m. (via Zoom during social distancing)
- An annual face-to-face meeting, typically held in January or February
- Participation in the Crooked River Environmental Network listserv and meetings
- Lectures and other events
- Participation in the Trash Flash Mob, inviting participants to take trash bags with them while walking around Kent
KEC operates on a budget of approximately $5,000 per year and is governed by an executive board that meets monthly, usually on the third or fourth Thursday. The nonprofit uses most of its income to provide small grants and micro-loans to local individuals and organizations. Their newsletter is published about six times per year in both print and online. A spring and fall forum is sponsored each year on relevant environmental topics and issues. Membership is on an annual basis.
Ruchotzke suggests that Kent residents will benefit from being exposed to a different story about the environment than the one that is typically delivered through the traditional media, especially at a time when we are seeing fundamental shifts in our world as a result of a worldwide pandemic and environmental tragedies caused by climate change.
KEC is one tool that the average citizen can use to express their desire for change and resist toxic policies set by out-of-touch politicians who often value profits over environmental stewardship.
Please contact them at kentenvironment.org to find out how you can become a member or contact Renee at info@kentenvironment.org if you have additional questions about the organization.
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