Ready for 100 Columbus, a campaign to persuade the city of Columbus to commit to achieving 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 or before, is hosting an aerial art photography project on Earth Day.

Ready for 100 Columbus is launching its public campaign for 100 percent renewable energy with an aerial art project at this year’s Earth Day Columbus celebration.

Ready for 100 is a national campaign by the Sierra Club aimed at inspiring leaders in cities across the nation to embrace a vision of healthier communities powered by 100% clean energy. The Columbus campaign’s goal is to persuade the city of Columbus to commit to 100 percent renewable energy citywide by the year 2050.

The aerial art project will feature Columbus residents gathering in formation on the Scioto Mile greenway to spell out “100%”, which will be captured by a professional photographer with the Columbus city skyline in the background. The project will be held in conjunction with the annual Earth Day Columbus celebration, sponsored by Green Columbus on Sunday, April 22.

Participants will meet at 11 a.m. in Genoa Park, next to the Scioto River behind COSI, where Earth Day Columbus activities will take place starting at noon. At 11:30 a.m., participants will cross the river on the Broad Street bridge to Scioto Mile, where they will line up for the photo on the greenway near Coleman’s Point. Following the photo, the Ready for 100 team and all volunteers will head back to Genoa Park to join the Earth Day festivities at 12:00 p.m.

Those who want to participate in the aerial art project can come to the Ready for 100 table at the Earth Day Columbus celebration. To keep volunteers organized, the Ready for 100 team will pass out colored flags that will act as tickets. The aerial art project will take place rain or shine, and anyone who wants to participate is encouraged to bring an umbrella if rain is expected. 

By doing the aerial art project at the Earth Day Columbus celebration, the Ready for 100 team is hoping to draw attention to the campaign and get Columbus residents excited about the movement, said Cathy Cowan Becker, chair of Ready for 100 Columbus. 

“We’ve seen strong support from the community so far, from both residents and city officials,” Cowan Becker said. “The Ready for 100 team has put a lot of hard work and effort into the campaign, and we’re extremely excited to launch our campaign on Earth Day with such a memorable project.”

Ready for 100 movements in other cities, including Cleveland, have taken similar aerial art photos to launch their campaigns. Ready for 100 hopes to add Columbus to the growing list of cities, now at more than 50, that have officially committed to achieving 100 percent renewable energy community wide by 2050 or before.

“By investing in renewable energy, we’re investing in the future of Columbus,” Cowan Becker said.

For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/Readyfor100Columbus.

https://www.sierraclub.org/ohio/central-ohio/readyfor100columbus