Sustainability in March
Planning and acting at the tail end of winter...
Here’s a rundown of the sustainability-related things happening in Oxford at the tail end of February/ the beginning of March:
#Take3Oxford Oscars Awardees
Congratulations to this year’s #Take3Oxford Oscars awardees, recognized for their contributions to waste reduction and trash pickup. Awardees were as follows:
Trash Picker of the Year: Dick Munson, recognizing his dedication to picking up litter along Brown Road, and to his creative re-use of items he finds on the Hueston Woods golf course.
Lifetime Achievement in Waste Reduction: Peggy Branstrator, recognizing longstanding service to the Oxford Community by implementing our compost program both at Uptown Events and at Oxford Seniors.
Trash Pickup/ Prevention Group Effort: Oxford Kiwanis, recognizing Kiwanis’ successful efforts to reduce the waste from their annual Pancake Breakfast by both adopting compostable products AND by composting the food waste from the event alongside those products.
You can see photos of the awards ceremony at the MOON Co-op Chili Lunch here.
As the snow recedes this spring, you will likely find many opportunities to do your part to pick up 3 pieces of litter and throw them away properly. That’s all it takes to be part of Oxford’s Premiere Trash Pickup Club!
If you’d like a more formal opportunity to pick up litter, mark your calendars for Oxford’s Second Annual Plogging event, April 11, 2025 9-11 am at MLK Park. Register here!
Friday 2/27 Potluck and Screening of “Banded” and “Banded in El Choco”
Oxford Presbyterian Church’s Caring for Creation Team invites you to shake off winter and imagine Spring and the return of migratory songbirds. On Friday 2/27 OPC will host a light potluck dinner (sign up here) at 6pm followed by a film screening at 7pm of two short films. Banded: How A Birder’s-Eye View Made a Community (27 min, 2025) tells the story of the Avian Research and Education Institute Bird Banding Station in Hueston Woods State Park, and of the community of researchers and avian enthusiasts whose work seeks to track beautiful and increasingly threatened songbirds as they make their way to their summer breeding grounds in the northern hemisphere. We will also offer a preview screening of Banded in El Chocó, (17 minutes) which documents the expansion of the Avian Research Education Institute work into the El Chocó region of Ecuador– a biodiversity hotpot in the Andean Cloud Forest. Following the films, stick around for a Q+A with filmmaker Andy Rice and Ornithologist Dave Russell, and learn more about how we can support migratory bird populations. Event will be held at the Oxford Presbyterian Church Seminary Building, 104 E Church St. Oxford OH 45056.
Saturday 2/28 New Leaf Turners: Plant-Based Nutrition, Recipe & Potluck Club
Join a new quarterly meet-up for health-minded folks wanting to discuss, learn and share how to incorporate plant-based foods into our diets. Our first meet up will be a nutrition presentation/Q&A from Bryn Beeder, MS, RD, LD, Miami University. Lane Library, 441 S. Locust St., Oxford, OH 45056 Register here .
Sunday 3/1, Submissions Due for “Changing Climate, Changing Communities”
Engaging for Climate in Oxford (ECO) announces the fourth Changing Climate, Changing Communities art exhibition at the Oxford Community Arts Center. Featuring works from local students and regional artists, the show explores climate change through creative interpretation, fostering dialogue and enhancing community engagement. Free and open to the public, the exhibition’s opening reception is on March 13, 2026, 6–8 p.m. Applications for art are accepted through March 1, 2026.
Monday, 3/2 7:00 - 8:30 PM AMV PROGRAM - Project Owl Net: Northern Saw-whet Owls on the Wing
Presenter - Luke Thies, Naturalist, Fernald Preserve. Toot-Toot-Toot goes the call of the Northern Saw-whet Owl, where does this secretive migratory bird go throughout the year and how do we know? Project Owlnet might have that answer! Come out to find out all about the life history and habits of this migratory marvel! Open to the public. For more info go to https://www.audubonmv.org/details
Programs will be held on the first Monday of the month through May at the Oxford Senior Center, 922 Tollgate Dr, Oxford, 7:00 PM. Programs are free, open to the public.
Saturday 3/7 1:00-2:30 p.m. Butterfly Gardening 101: How to Support Ohio Wildlife With Your Garden
Butterfly Gardening 101: How to Support Ohio Wildlife With Your Garden will present the basics on how you can support the entire lifecycle of Ohio’s butterflies with your landscaping. More than just attracting butterflies to your yard, this workshop will help you learn how to identify invasive plants that don’t support Ohio wildlife and how to grow the butterfly population by choosing plants and practices that nurture them from egg to chrysalis.
In addition to an adult presentation, a simultaneous drop-in program on Butterflies for Kids on the landing outside the Havinghurst Room will make it easy for the whole family to get excited about springtime gardening.
This presentation is a collaboration between Wild Ones Miami Valley and Miami University students in the Campus Compact Envirocorps (CCEC) program (an Americorps program).
To be held at the Oxford Lane Library Havinghurst Room (Adult Presentation) and at the top of the stairs (Kid’s Activity). 441 South Locust Blvd., Oxford OH 45056
March 7-8 and 14-15 Hueston Woods Maple Syrup Festival
Spend the weekend learning the art of maple syrup production, hike the “Big Woods”, a designated State Nature Preserve and learn the cultural and natural history of the area. Food, beverages and maple syrup will be for sale at various locations throughout the park on these designated weekends.
Fri 3/13 6-8pm, “Changing Climate, Changing Communities” opening at OCAC
Come to OCAC for the opening of the 4th Changing Climate, Changing Communities Exhibition. Using artistic expression, we will feature reflections on how climate change affects our local community and how we, as a community, can catalyze and amplify hope, resilience, and solutions to climate change to inspire hope and action.
Wed. 3/18 7pm Wild Ones National Webinar with Joe Santore
In this candid Wild Ones National Webinar, Joey Santore invites participants to step back and examine where those expectations came from and what they cost us ecologically.
Drawing from decades of field experience and his work on the forthcoming book Concrete Botany: The Ecology of Plants in the Age of Human Disturbance, Joey explores what real plant communities actually look like when allowed to organize themselves. He unpacks how plants interact in space, how disturbance shapes vegetation, and why irregular, dense, and sometimes “messy” growth often signals ecological strength rather than neglect. Register here.
Wed. 3/18 7pm: Wilson Lecture in Botany: Duplicated genomes: twice as nice or double trouble?”
On Wednesday, March 18, Dr. Tia-Lynn Ashman, Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, will give a presentation entitled, “Duplicated genomes: twice as nice or double trouble?” The Roger E. Wilson Lecture in Botany, hosted by the Biology Department, will begin at 7:00 pm in 112 Pearson Hall on Miami’s Oxford campus. Dr. Ashman will draw on her research on whole genome duplication and what traits and environments dictate when this is advantageous. The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow in Pearson Hall. On Thursday, March 19, Dr. Ashman will also give the Biology Department seminar at 4:15 pm in 218 Pearson Hall. That presentation is entitled, “Consequences of sharing pollinators: drivers of interaction diversity across scales & implications in the Anthropocene.”
Thurs. 3/19 CZBG Sustainable Urban Landscapes Symposium
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden hosts an annual symposium for green industry professionals, municipal and county planners, and gardeners has always gotten great reviews and often sells out. Register early! Registration closes at 11:59PM, Friday, March 13. Register here $129 covers Zoo admission, parking, breakfast, lunch, and snacks.
Sun. 3/22 2026, 10:00 - 2:00 PM AMV Field Trip, Bird-walk to Spring Grove Cemetery led by Denis Conover, UC Botanist
Early signs of spring will be present, if not abundant. A diverse botanical community and seasonal birds are found the Cemetery. Denis will help identify the birds and other fauna we are sure to see. Be prepared for several hours of steady walking and wear waterproof footwear and dress for cold conditions. Restrooms are available at the cemetery office. For more info go to https://www.audubonmv.org/details Located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45232
Sat 3/28 8am-12pm Butler County Soil and Water Conservation District Tree and Shrub Sale
Butler County SWCD annual tree sale will be in-person only this year, with no pre-order. Details here.
Spring Event Signups
Sign your organization up for:
Bee Festival Saturday April 18 1-8pm sign up here if you are a community organization partner.
Earthfest Saturday April 25 11am-2pm sign up here
Fresh Air Fair Saturday April 25
Opportunities to speak out for renewable energy, against fossil fuels, against data center expansion
The Ohio State Legislature is considering ALEC-drafted legislation SB 294 to pre-empt approval of solar and wind projects. This is a bill worth following.
The Ohio Power Siting Board is set to reverse itself and deny permits to a Utility-scale solar farm in Morrow County, possibly based on fake comments. Sign a petition in favor of approval.
Did you know data centers get a tax break in Ohio? Find out more here.
Follow Ohio Citizen Action and Policy Matters Ohio to keep track of these topics.
That’s all for today. You can add the Oxford Sustainability Newsletter Calendar on google calendar here. Email future event listings to oxohsustain@gmail.com