· Subha Karthik · 5 min read
What a Week: EcoPal’s Cincinnati Climate Week Recap
Cincinnati’s first-ever Climate Week is in the books-and EcoPal showed up in a big way. A virtual live walkthrough, a youth-led fest in Mason, and a booth at the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit. Keynotes, networking, kids, popcorn, and collective action. We’re still buzzing.
For the first time ever, Greater Cincinnati declared a whole week for climate-and honestly? The city showed up. EcoPal got to host two events, exhibit at the region’s biggest sustainability conference, and spend seven days surrounded by people who actually get it. We’re proud, grateful, and still replaying the best moments in our heads.
Cincinnati’s first Climate Week-and we felt it
June 8–14, 2026 will go down as a milestone for our region.
Presented by Green Umbrella in partnership with the Climate Week Network, Cincinnati Climate Week brought dozens of in-person and virtual events across Greater Cincinnati-talks, tours, art, expo halls, and neighbors trying things together instead of alone.
This was the first time Cincinnati has ever done this. Not a one-off Earth Day booth. Not a single conference. A week-decentralized, local, and built so anyone could find a lane that fit.
EcoPal was honored to be part of it from start to finish. Our team touched three anchor moments during the week-two we organized ourselves, and one where we rolled up our sleeves at the region’s flagship sustainability gathering.
Collective action. Lasting change. That tagline stopped feeling like marketing and started feeling like a report from the field.
3 events. 2 hosted by EcoPal. 1 unforgettable booth.
Here’s how our week broke down:
1. Virtual: EcoPal in Action (citizens, companies, cities-connected)
We kicked off our Climate Week programming with a virtual event on Google Meet: EcoPal in Action: Connecting Citizens, Companies, and Cities for Lasting Change.
Individual action is powerful. Collective action is transformative. That was the whole point-and we walked through it live.
We hosted an inspiring live walkthrough of the EcoPal app, showing exactly how neighbors, local businesses, and cities can track green habits side by side without it feeling like homework. Attendees tuned in from their couches, offices, and lunch breaks-because climate work doesn’t always require a parking pass.
The energy on the call was real: questions about community impact, org challenges, and what “lasting change” looks like when technology stays simple and human.
Hosted by EcoPal ai & Green Umbrella · Part of Cincinnati Climate Week · ClimateTech
2. In-person: Our Planet, Our Turn - Youth Climate Action Fest (Mason)
If the virtual event was the brain, Saturday in Mason was the heart.
EcoPal hosted Our Planet, Our Turn: EcoPal’s Youth Climate Action Fest at ORCA Coworking-a free, youth-led afternoon that proved kids don’t need a lecture to lead.
Book swap, climate art, zero-waste popcorn, a big-screen A Life on Our Planet screening, youth volunteers running the show, and a meet & greet with Mason City Council Member Murali Swamy. Free, local, and built for the next generation of planet protectors.
41 families joined us. Thank you to every volunteer, artist, and kid who showed up.
3. Booth: Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit (Sharonville)
Sandwiched in the middle of the week was the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit-the region’s largest sustainability conference, also presented by Green Umbrella.
Friday, June 12 · Sharonville Convention Center
EcoPal exhibited at the Summit-and what a day.
We were pumped. Not in the performative conference way. In the we genuinely could not stop talking to people way.
- Presenting EcoPal to sustainability leaders, curious newcomers, and everyone in between
- Listening to a fantastic keynote that reminded us why regional gatherings like this matter
- Networking with orgs, cities, and companies building a more resilient Midwest
- Engaging kids and families who wandered over and asked the best questions (“So… what’s an Eco Gem?”)
- Showing how collective action scales when citizens, companies, and cities share the same platform
The exhibitor expo hummed. Poster sessions sparkled. Conversations ran long. If you stopped by our booth-whether you were a sustainability pro or someone who followed the coffee smell-thank you for saying hello. Your questions and ideas go straight into what we build next.
What we’re taking away
Climate Week could have been a poster and a press release. Instead, it was a movement with a calendar.
We saw:
- A region willing to try something new - first-ever Climate Week, and it worked
- Virtual and in-person working together - a webinar for reach, a fest for joy, a summit for depth
- Youth leadership that wasn’t performative - kids didn’t just attend; they ran the afternoon
- Partnership in action - Green Umbrella, Cincinnati Climate Week, local orgs, and neighbors showing up for each other
EcoPal exists because isolated green habits aren’t enough. Connected habits are. This week was proof-on a screen in Google Meet, in a big hall in Mason, and on a convention floor in Sharonville.
Thank you, Green Umbrella
None of this happens without Green Umbrella.
Thank you for presenting Cincinnati’s first Climate Week, for anchoring the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, and for building the kind of regional infrastructure where ideas turn into action. Thank you for partnering with us on both hosted events and for the trust you place in local orgs stepping up.
To every organizer, speaker, volunteer, sponsor, and attendee across the week: you made history for Greater Cincinnati. We’re proud to have done our part-and we’re already thinking about what next year could look like.
Still here? Good. Keep going.
Climate Week may be over, but the habits aren’t.
- Missed the fest? Read about the art competition and what we built together: Kids’ Eco-Adventure Fest recap
- Want the app? EcoPal.ai/app - sign in, log eco actions, join your community
- Explore the week’s home base: CincinnatiClimateWeek.org
Our planet. Our turn.
Collective action. Lasting change.
