GREENING GUILFORD

Upcoming events

Various dates: Greensboro Community Television, Cable Channel 8, will air a 90 minute presentation about peak oil given in July by Peter Kauber of Guilford Solar Communities at the following times: Sunday, Aug. 17 at 6:00 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 29 at noon; and Monday, Sept. 1 at midnight.

Aug. 20: Greensboro Green Drinks (5:30-7:30 p.m. at Natty Greene's)

Sept. 20: A "Growing a Just, Green Economy" conference will take place in Durham on the campus of North Carolina Central University. Early registration fee is $20.

Keynote speakers include environmental justice activist, Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx, and minister, community activist and State President of the NAACP the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II. The day-long event will also feature panels and workshops covering policy, business development, job assessment, education and training, and resource security.

Sept. 25: “No Child Left Inside” talk and book signing, starting at 5 p.m. at Greensboro Montessori School, 2856 Horse Pen Creek Road. Call 668-0119 for more information.

According to the school: Author Richard Louv, whose award-winning book "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder" has sparked an international movement to reunite children and nature, will bring his message to Greensboro at a public lecture and book signing at the school.  The free event, which will be held (appropriately) outside, will begin with an array of family-friendly activities; Louv will speak at 7. 

Louv’s visit to Greensboro will be the centerpiece of a community-wide celebration of national "Take a Child Outside Week," September 24-30 that will include everything from a night hike at the library’s Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch to a workshop on wilderness skills at Bur-Mil Park. 

Sept. 29: Starting on this day, UNCG will host a "Sustainability" book club. To register, call Barry Miller at 256-0112 or go here.    

Other events here and here.

First Green Drinks gets strong turnout

About 40 people showed up for Greensboro's first Green Drinks socializing event at Natty Greene's on Wednesday, a pretty strong turnout for the first meeting. Participants included folks from the building industry, the city of Greensboro, Elsewhere Artist Collective and local colleges and neighborhoods (I even met a recent Guilford College graduate who was looking for a job). Very cool indeed.

Brian Higgins, who just moved to Greensboro with his wife from Seattle in February, is responsible for getting Green Drinks going.

He said he was going to the one in Winston-Salem but realized it would be better to get one going here than commute. Now it's established that there is a legitimate interest in green living here; now it's up to Green Drinks to be a tool for positive and progressive change in the city. Can you drink to that?

Green Drinks comes to Greensboro

Yay! I've been waiting for this to happen. Green Drinks, a social networking opportunity for those interested in green living and sustainability, is finally coming to this city. Winston-Salem has had one for a while but I could never justify driving 30 minutes out of my way in rush hour just to chit chat.

But then I got this message, and my toes curled because I realized I could easily swing by after work:

When:   June 18th, 5:30pm
Where:  Natty Greene's Brewing Company, 2nd Floor
Why:      See below...

What is Green Drinks Greensboro? It's a social hour.  It's a networking event.  It's unwinding with friends.  It's a time and place where it's okay to be green and to find out what others in your city are doing to be green, work green, play green, or live green.  And it happens all over the country and the world in over 300 cities.  Proving that it's never too late to join the green movement, Green Drinks Greensboro will begin meeting every third Wednesday of the month on the 2nd floor of Natty Greene's Brewing Company (345 S. Elm St.) starting on June 18th from 5:30 until 7:30(ish).

Green Drinks Greensboro invites all those who care about the environment, teach about and learn about the environment, work in an environment-related field, have interest in the environment, environmental products, sustainable building, environmental protection, eating local, ecological design, alternative energy…you get the idea.  There will be no agenda and there are no dues. From time-to-time we will allow a few minutes for short presentations. To get on our e-mail list, simply send an email to [email protected] and we will keep you posted on our events.  See you there!

And, to truly make this a fun event for all, please forward this message on to others who would enjoy this event.  You can search www.greendrinks.org to see what other groups around the world are doing.

Upcoming green events

This Saturday, from 10-11:30 a.m.: Guilford Solar Communities will feature passive solar design.

Where:  Barn Kitchen Meeting Room, Guilford County Agricultural Center,
             3309 Burlington Rd., Greensboro, NC 27405. (Nearest cross
             street is Huffine Mill Road.)

Description:  This month’s presentation will be about Passive Solar Design. Passive Solar is the system of making use of the sun’s energy without mechanical devices.  It’s a system that was already used by the native Indians, but was “forgotten” in the modern world due to the availability of air-conditioners and heaters.  Passive solar principles are now slowly making a comeback in buildings in the U.S.
 
Presenter:  Michiel VanderSommen.  For more information, contact Michiel directly, at 558-4405.

Also on Saturday, from 2-4 p.m.: “Take Action Tour” on climate change at the Museum of Natural Science in downtown Raleigh. Will include the following topics: setting a reduction goal for carbon dioxide emissions, adapting to climate change, clean cars, and ways you can make a difference. Please RSVP. Click here for more information.

On July 31: Greening Your Events & Parties (from Piedmont Environmental Alliance). Planning a wedding, conference, race or festival?  Or, maybe just a backyard BBQ?  Events and parties typically generate a lot of waste.  Learn how to make your events eco-friendly, perhaps even zero waste.  Reduce, reuse, recycle, compost – we will provide lots of suggestions, alternatives and local sources for greening your event. Join the alliance on Thursday night, July 31st, for its quarterly Environmental Exchange.  More details in the coming weeks. 

In the news: Ten Thousand Villages, with local stores in Greensboro and Winston-Salem, was recognized this month as one of the "World's Most Ethical Companies" by The Ethisphere Institute and Forbes Magazine.

Another group catches the green spirit

The Elsewhere Artist Collaborative in downtown Greensboro hosts "Green Dialogues," an eight-part series of North Carolina-based eco-thinkers presenting DIY environmental projects for urban living. They take place every other Saturday through September.

The group has started a hanging garden system in the back alley of the collective. Charlie Headington of UNCG will speak Saturday at 2 p.m. of living vertically in the city. Sounds interesting. 

The Homegrown Revolution: Will it hit Greensboro?

I oscillate between striving for simplicity and security, flexibility and permanency. For more than a year my husband and I have been trying to decide whether to continue renting in Greensboro or make the commitment and try homeownership again.

But the beacon toward homeownership burns brightly when I see the work going on with these urban homesteaders in Pasadena, Calif. They show what is possible when you stop complaining about politicians and corporations and start making changes in your own life. This family's personal efforts to produce more of their own food and become energy independent has turned into a formal non-profit educational tool and a revolution. I want to join in.

Check out this video about the Homegrown Revolution:

I believe this spirit is catching on in Greensboro. Yesterday, I spoke to two Glenwood residents, one a teacher who has a community garden plot and is starting a garden in her backyard; the other who intends to microfarm in a neighbor's yard. I myself have a garden plot and some herbs growing for the first time on my apartment patio.

What if one out of every 10 homeowners in Greensboro had a 2008 version of a Victory Garden? What if apartment complexes provided space for residents to develop their green thumbs? Imagine the possibilities for both income generation, self-sufficiency and better health.

One might scoff at this idea and say, "Hey, it's just easier to buy one's food at a supermarket. If everyone gardened at home, imagine the possibilities for businesses to close and people to lose their jobs!"

My response is people are already losing their jobs due to global wage arbitrage and the consolidation of corporations. I believe that food reliant on fossil fuels for production and transportation is a system that is under stress now and people need an alternative.

I also believe that if you both provide the infrastructure and education on how to microfarm, more people will do it. It may take time, but it will happen. For example, as an apartment dweller I started gardening when a community garden opened up in Glenwood. The infrastructure provided an outlet for me to exercise my interest. It's kind of like the argument that people don't bike in Greensboro so why pay to expand bike lanes. Well, it's hard for people to bike with no lanes! Chicken and egg.