Kent Environmental Council

05/28/2026

More on the proposed data center in Shalersville

05/28/2026

A Singapore-based cryptocurrency company wants to build a hyperscale datacenter in Shalersville between Rte 44 and the Cuyahoga River (just north of the I-80 Turnpike).

Our friends at https://www.facebook.com/groups/portageresponsibledevelopment/ are planning a response.

See https://www.portageresists.org/home/shalersville-data-center on how to get involved.

05/27/2026

Thank you to everyone that came to the Edith Chase Symposium and poetry readings! We love that you stopped at our table! 🌳✨

The event was SUCH a success! We can wait to see you in our next event 🌱

05/16/2026

05/16/2026

🌿New Series Alert!

❎Next Monday we’re launching a new series—our Top 10 Most Wanted list of invasive, non-native plant species negatively impacting Ohio’s private and public lands. 🌿You may even have some of these species bordering your own property.

❎Invasive plants often outcompete our native plant communities and provide little to no nutrition for wildlife especially when compared to Ohio’s native plant alternatives. 🌿Challenging to remove, the sooner they’re identified, the easier it is to remove them (although most species take several seasons to completely eradicate)! Learn more about Ohio’s invasive plants at naturalareas.ohiodnr.gov

05/16/2026

05/16/2026

05/13/2026

The Kent Environmental Council 🌿 and the Kent Parks and Recreation Department (kentparksandrec) are offering a variety of activities and displays along with free tree seedlings 🌳 and free pollinator seeds 🐝🌱 to help the community celebrate Cuyahoga River Day on:

🗓️ Saturday, May 16
⏰ from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
📍 at the Haymaker Farmers’ Market.

There will also be:
🐠 electronic fish-shocking demonstration ⏰ from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
📍 at Tannery Park that same day.

Swipe to see the posters for more information.

05/11/2026

Instead of our SEEK programming this month, we will be joining the Edith Chase Symposium!

🗓️ Thursday, May 14th and the environmentally-themed poetry reading on May 15th.

As one of the co-founders of the Edith Chase Symposium, we are always fascinated to hear the topics they present. This year, the speaker will be looking at our 🌳 local environmental history and how we got to where we are today 🌿 We hope that you will all join us to hear about it.

Swipe for the save the date notice as well as a flyer with more details plus a picture of the cover for this years poetry book. 📖🌱

04/30/2026

May 14 and 15--The 10th Annual Edith Chase Symposium: How We Got to Now

In 2014 the League of Women Voters of Kent and the Kent Environmental Council joined together to establish a yearly lecture series to honor local environmental activist Edith Chase. Edith devoted her life to improving water and air quality in Ohio and beyond. She believed that democracy works best when citizens and political leaders are well informed about complex issues. The yearly symposium was established to carry on her mission. Beginning in 2015 we have brought in experts to talk and answer questions about complex environmental issues. The lectures are free and open to the public. Beginning in 2017 we added a poetry reading to the yearly symposium.

About the May 14 Lecture:

When and Where: 7 PM on Thursday, May 14, at Kent State College of Architecture and Environmental Design, 132 S Lincoln St, Kent, OH 44240. The lecture will be held in the Cene Lecture Hall on the 1st floor. Parking is across S. Lincoln at the KSU Museum parking lot.
Who: Our speaker is environmental historian Jonathan Wlasiuk, author of An Alternative History of Cleveland. Environmental history is the study of human interaction with the environment over time. It is interdisciplinary, relying on both historical records and research in anthropology, archeology, geology, and the natural sciences. Dr. Wlasiuk’s alternative history begins not with the founding of Cleveland, but with the first human interaction with the land where we live, Northeast Ohio, beginning just after the last Ice Age. He ponders questions like: How did a wide range of indigenous cultures-- hunter-gatherers, agriculturalists, and mound building urbanites—manage to live here for 13000 years without destroying the environment?, or, how and why did we turn a wild river into a sewer that caught on fire?, and, how have we cleaned it up? His book will be available at the lecture.

About the May 15 poetry reading:

When and Where: 4 PM on Friday, May 15, at Kent State College of Architecture and Environmental Design, 132 S. Lincoln St, Kent, OH 44240.
Who: Poets from Ohio and beyond will read from Our Natural Cities: Urban Nature Poems. You will hear over 40 poets in a dramatic reading with occasional musical interludes. Some Kent poets performing include, Sandra Perlman Halem, Roger Bacon, Alice Cone, David Hassler, Margot Milcetich, RC Wilson, Tiff Holland, Fred Freedom, Pauline Thornton, Toomas Tubalkain and Janice Bury. Joining them will be poets from Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, and other cities. The poems explore themes like the reemergence of nature in our cities, nature despite urban settings, as well as restoration and preservation efforts. Please join us!