Upcoming events
None scheduled, but that’s good news! Citizens of Onondaga County have taken advantage of all of Save the Rain’s rain barrel supply. More events will be scheduled when the next shipment of barrels comes in.
Featured project
Win-win-win: Building gets a new green roof, jobs created, rained saved
A new green roof is currently being installed on the Monroe Building at 333 Onondaga Blvd. in downtown Syracuse. Made possible through the county’s Save the Rain Green Improvement Fund program, this project is a collaboration between building owner Jeff DeRoberts, Onondaga County, Helping Hands and MotherPlants.
DeRoberts applied for a GIF grant in June 2010 to replace approximately 5,200 square feet of the roof with a storm water retaining green roof surface of sedum and chive. He was awarded $92,832 through the GIF program and the roof is projected to capture 91,581 gallons of water per year. Executive Director of Helping Hands, Mike Atkins, said the Green Collar Job Training program will provide the labor to do the installation, and the sedum will be provided by MotherPlants of Ithaca.
Helping Hands is a not-for-profit organization assisting both unskilled as well as enhanced laborers who already have skills in carpentry, find jobs in the “green sector.” The creation of “green-collar” jobs or quality, career-track, hands-on jobs in industries like renewable energy, water and energy efficiency and green building are becoming more prevalent.
The “Save the Rain” program is a comprehensive plan to cleanup and restore Onondaga Lake that includes construction of traditional gray infrastructure projects and the development of an innovative green infrastructure plan to reduce the effects storm water pollution to the lake and its tributaries. Each month, we’ll list upcoming Save the Rain events and feature an update on a noteworthy project. For more information, visit savetherain.us.
