Month: March 2026

Energy, Environment, Transit

Plug In America Launches Survey

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Plug In America has now launched its 2026 Electric Vehicle Survey and has invited residents of the US to take a few minutes to share their experiences with or perceptions of electric vehicles. Anyone who lives in the US is welcome to take the survey, whether they drive an electric vehicle or not. Plug In America will use the feedback to check the country’s pulse on topics such as charging, dealerships, purchase considerations, and barriers to adoption. Once the analysis is complete, it will be shared with the public. It takes about 20 minutes to complete the survey.

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Education, Events

Columbus Schools Transitioning to Clean Energy

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Safe Green Schools, in collaboration with Parents United for Public Schools and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, hosted a Building Safe Green Schools Together Roundtable on March 25th at the Columbus Mennonite Church, to discuss the Columbus City Schools’ transition to cost saving green energy infrastructure. The conversation featured State Senator Bill DeMora, School Board Vice President Sarah Ingles, School Board Member Jennifer Adair, Assistant Director of Sustainable Columbus Erin Beck, and parents & students who led the effort.

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About Simply Living, Bioregionalism, Sustainable Living

Continuing the Conversation on Bioregionalism

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Hopefully, you’ve already heard that Lynette Overholser of the Franklin County Pollinator Pathway (FCPP) will be speaking at the next meeting of Simply Living’s Bioregional Working Group. I am looking forward enthusiastically to hearing about FCPP’s activities and about the importance of pollinators to our bioregion. After Lynette’s presentation, there will be a discussion about the Working Group and about where we want to go from here. Read on for more information. Your input is valuable, so if you have an interest in bioregionalism, I encourage you to attend the meeting if you possible can.

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About Simply Living

Simply Living Adds New Directors

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Simply Living is pleased to announce that two new members have been added to its Board of Directors! Simply Living’s Bylaws state that its Board of Directors should consist of between 7 and 13 members, though 7 is a recommended minimum and not a strict requirement. With the addition of David & Paisley, Simply Living’s Board of Directors stands at 6 members. So, we are looking to add at least 1 more member to the Board.

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Ecology, Environment, Lifestyle

Make Your Yard a Pollinator Pathway!

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A Pollinator Pathway is a collaborative network of public & private pesticide-free, native plant corridors that provide essential habitat, food, and shelter for bees, butterflies, birds, and other insects. These projects connect fragmented green spaces, such as residential gardens, parks, and schoolyards, allowing pollinators to travel safely. Even the smallest green spaces, like flower boxes and curb strips, can be part of a pathway. Franklin County Pollinator Pathway (FCPP) is a local affiliate of the national Pollinator Pathway network. Its goal is to connect people & pollinator habitat in Franklin County. It works to expand pesticide-free corridors of native plants across Franklin County, linking yards, parks, schools, businesses, and community spaces so pollinators have safe, connected habitat.

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Bioregionalism, Culture, Ecology, Environment

What is The Bioregionalist Approach?

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Bioregionalism is an environmental philosophy advocating that human activity and governance be organized around bioregions, geographical areas defined by natural features like watersheds, mountain ranges, and ecosystems, rather than arbitrary political or administrative boundaries. It emphasizes living-in-place, sustainability, and local self-reliance to foster a deeper connection between communities and their native landscapes. Bioregionalism emerged in the early 1970s, developing primarily along the western coast of North America, and specifically from a broad coalition of poets, artists, writers, and community leaders, who envisioned a positive, place-based alternative to mainstream environmental efforts. It included many individuals (including Peter Berg, Judy Goldhaft, and Kirkpatrick Sale) working together through the Planet Drum Foundation to create a new place-based philosophy they called bioregionalism.

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Arts & Culture

Reader’s Corner: The War Within a War by Wil Haygood

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Wil Haygood was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, graduated from Franklin Heights High School and then attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where he earned a degree in Urban Studies in 1976. He became a staff writer at the Boston Globe in 1984 and moved to the Washington Post in 2002. Wil’s latest book, The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home (2026) describes the experiences of Black soldiers and their families navigating racial injustice in America while fighting the war in Vietnam. It highlights the disproportionate death rate of Black soldiers, the rise of racial tension in the military, and the fight for voting rights at home.

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Tree of the Month

Tree of the Month, March 2026

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Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), or Redgum, is one of our more attractive native trees, and is widely used in landscaping. Its leaves turn scarlet and orange in the fall, and its prickly fruits add lots of interest in the winter. Notice that “Redgum” is also a common name for a variety of Australian Eucalyptus, but you won’t find them growing in Ohio. 

The star-shaped leaves of Sweetgum are distinct. The leaves and branches are alternately-arranged, i.e., they are not attached directly across from one another. They are also simple, and do not share a stem with other leaflets in groups of 3, 5, 7, etc., as is the case with compound leaves. The leaves are somewhat like those of Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) as they have palmately-arranged (hand-like) veins, rather than pinnately-arranged (feather-like) veins. The 3- to 6-inch leaves have 5 (rarely 7) lobes and distinct teeth. The deciduous leaves are dark green in the summer, and often show lovely orange and red colors in the fall. Sweetgum leaves typically have a distinct star shape, but some have smaller, secondary lobes. This variation is said to be randomly distributed, with no clear geographic correlation. Sweetgums have distinctive leaf scars and buds. The leaf scars are crescent-shaped, with three small, round bundle scars. The buds have clearly visible, overlapping scales.

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Food, Health & Wellness

Tour of the Mid-Ohio Foodbank

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Members of Simply Living were pleased to be included in a tour of the Mid-Ohio Foodbank held for the central Ohio community on February 28. The Mid-Ohio Foodbank is a part of the Mid-Ohio Food Collective (MOFC) which, in addition to the Foodbank, consists of more than 600 partners (about half of which are Food Pantries) serving more than half a million people each year across 20 counties in central and eastern Ohio.

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Environment, Food

Keep Food Out of the Landfill!

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As hunger impacts our community, the folks at Food Rescue US are taking action! Food Rescue US is a national organization with 51 locations in 24 states & the District of Columbia, including one right here in Columbus, Ohio. The premise is simple: some businesses have extra food they can’t use before it spoils. Food Rescue US has a network of volunteers to pick up the food and deliver it to social services agencies that provide it to those in need.

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