With nearly a dozen different farmers markets setting up around town, it has never been easier to stock our larders with fresh, local food. In this pictorial feature, Fresh Water managing photographer Bob Perkoski takes us on a colorful tour of Cleveland's increasingly popular farmers markets. Bring cash, a cloth bag, and a healthy appetite.

MC2 STEM High School was named a regional runner-up in an energy conservation competition sponsored by Alcoa Foundation and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change in Arlington, VA. The competition, called Make an Impact: Change our 2morrow (CO2), awarded STEM High School a $1,000 grant for completing the most calculations on how to reduce the carbon footprint with a carbon calculator.

"It was an opportunity for students, teachers, parents and administrators to have hands... Read more >

The North Union Farmers Market now operates eight different markets around the Greater Cleveland area. Three years ago, the nonprofit launched a new market at the Cleveland Clinic, bringing healthy, farm-fresh produce to a neighborhood that could use it most. Here is a video of the popular Cleveland Clinic market in action.

The Tremont neighborhood recently celebrated the opening of a new parking lot at Jefferson and Professor avenues that will not only help alleviate the neighborhood's parking crunch, but also help solve the region's storm water management problem.

The parking lot incorporates bioswales that will prevent rainwater from entering the sewer system. When rain falls onto the property, it runs off into carefully designed plant systems that gradually release it back into the groun... Read more >

Rhonda Sincavage has vivid memories of the day that a dilapidated shoe factory in her hometown was torn down. The incident sparked her lifelong passion for historic preservation.

"My grandfather worked there, along with many people that lived in our town," said Sincavage, Program Associate for State and Local Policy at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, at last week's sold out TEDxCLE event. "It was our town's namesake and a symbol of our community."

... Read more >

When Michael Walton bought a hoop house for his city farm, he envisioned an urban barn-raising of sorts. He put out a call for volunteers, and soon had 30 people who offered to help.

Yet by noon on the big day, only 10 were left. The next day, there were five. Two days later, the group had been wheedled down to three hardy souls. And still the hoop house wasn't completed.

Frustrated, Walton and his coworkers began to ask themselves: Is this really the best prod... Read more >

Times have changed since the Stanford House, an historic farm in the Cuyahoga Valley, was built in 1830 by George Stanford, one of the first settlers of the Western Reserve. Back then, the nearby Ohio and Erie Canal was the main link to the outside world. Today, the property is situated near highways and two urban centers, yet remains protected by the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a natural retreat in an urbanized area.

Now the Stanford House has gained renewed life fol... Read more >

West Creek Reservation, a 278-acre Metropark in Parma that originally opened in 2006, will undergo a $12 million makeover to be complete by fall 2012, including sustainable landscaping designed to reduce pollution and test a new national rating system.

Cleveland Metroparks held a groundbreaking March 7th for park improvements, including a new visitor center, picnic shelter and all-purpose trails. The visitor center landscaping will feature a natural storm water treatment ... Read more >

A soon-to-launch program from Cleveland's Office of Sustainability will provide energy audits and retrofits that will make older homes more energy-efficient. The program, which is funded in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), is intended to spur the market for green retrofits.

"There's not enough scale or demand yet to support an industry here, but we think there's an opportunity for a public or nonprofit entity to stimulate the marketplace," said P... Read more >

Making buildings more energy efficient may not sound sexy, but once owners begin to save money on their utility bills, it gets a lot sexier, said Andrew Watterson, Cleveland's Chief of Sustainability, at last week's forum at the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University (CSU).

"Every dollar saved from energy-efficiency measures has an impact not only on the environment but also on your pocketbook," Watterson said at the event, entitled "Sustainable Clev... Read more >

Five years ago, Deby Cowdin was cleaning up after a party. As she picked up the empty wine and liquor bottles on her porch, her friend and partner, Mindy Bohannon, dared her to do something that would change her life. "She said, 'you're a glass artist, figure out something to do with them.'" So Cowdin did exactly that. She founded Blue Bag, a company that transforms bottles into serving plates, cheese boards and other works of art.

Cowdin started the business out of her h... Read more >

If Walter Wirth has his way, every restaurant in Cleveland will soon offer wine on tap. Yes, you read that right -- wine served from a keg. In fact, there is no good reason not to. In addition to providing the freshest possible product at the lowest possible price, the wine-by-the keg approach is as eco-friendly as it gets. While the concept may be new to Ohio, it is by no means a new concept.

Although jewelry maker Heather Moore moved into her rehabbed Midtown studio earlier this year, she's still getting used to her spacious new digs.

Maybe that's because she's spent the last 11 years running her fast-growing business out of her house. Granted, it was no ordinary home office: the Cleveland Institute of Art grad bought her great-grandmother's estate, a rambling Heights mansion, after moving back from New York City in 1999.

"We just couldn't grow any... Read more >

Rather than make a beeline for warmer climes, environmental advocate Philippe Cousteau will leave the chilly Arctic Circle (current temps: brutal) and head straight to Cleveland. The handsome grandson of Captain Jacques Cousteau, and environmental correspondent for CNN, will be in town to headline the third annual Green Gala. To be held Friday, April 8 at Executive Caterers, the event is the principal fundraiser for EcoWatch, an Ohio-based nonprofit that provides a voice for envir... Read more >