The Reservoir Hill Improvement Council Leads by Example

One of the earliest partners in Mayor Dixon’s and the Baltimore Community Foundation’s Initiative for a Cleaner Greener Baltimore, RHIC has been committed to environmental issues under the leadership of John Ruffin, Executive Director. Currently RHIC is developing a Model Green Community and their goal is to become one for other communities to emulate. RHIC’s Greening Reservoir Hill is at the forefront of its programs as a main focus of their revitalization strategy. While the program certainly helps to enhance property values and marketability, and to unite residents, it is also important for the environmental health of the community and the surrounding area.

There are five principles underlying the Greening program:

Energy Efficiency
Waste Reduction
Youth Education
Greening / Beautification
Storm Water Reduction

Christiana Usenza heads RHIC’s Environmental Program which officially got underway in 2008. "I was lucky to fill this position," said Christiana. "It was one of the first neighborhoods to have a Greening Coordinator to focus on just the neighborhood." The program was designed by Christiana, with the help from the school of social work at UMBC and Rick Gwynallen, associate director.

Energy Efficiency-RHIC promotes, educates and provides resources to residents about how to conserve energy in their homes. RHIC is one of nine neighborhoods in the pilot of the Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge. They already have more than 40 households signed up.

Waste Reduction-RHIC was an early partner in the City’s One Plus ONE Recycling Campaign. The Baltimore Community Foundation awarded them a grant to purchase recycle bins and to hire Kids on the Hill to go door-to-door and educate the community about the values of recycling.

Youth Education-Christiana was originally hired to educate students in the Kids on the Hill after-school program. During the school year of 2008/09 she worked with Kids on the Hill to develop a program called Environmental U. The program focused on our daily lives and our connection and impact on the environment. They mostly focused on watershed health, and stenciled drains, visited the Bay and installed rain barrels. She gets the kids outside of the classroom, "to experience those things they have not been exposed to and connect them to the environment," said Christiana. Her role quickly expanded to neighborhood sustainability organizing as she developed the Greening Reservoir Master Plan.

Greening / Beautification-includes the community gardens and the City’s commitment to double the tree canopy in 30 years. There is a coordinated team of 12 people called the "Green Team". They have conducted a survey of the 1085 existing street trees including age, size, location, health and the tree well sizes. They developed a report that includes a map of all trees, the empty tree wells and a plan to increase the tree canopy. The first step is to fill the 64 empty wells, all of which will meet the city’s standard of 30 sq. ft. A grant from Chesapeake Bay Trust and free trees from the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks will help RHIC meet its 2009 goal of planting 150 new street trees. A bike path, with input from residents, is currently being designed by Nate Evans in the Baltimore City Department of Planning and will be installed by spring of 2010.

Storm Water reduction-RHIC is providing the community with education about their watershed. Go to

Contact:
RHIC’s website