What’s in our new name? A lot! Bluegrass PRIDE now Bluegrass Greensource

I know one of those people who did not know she was pregnant until she gave birth to a full-term, healthy little girl. The thing that horrified me most when I found out was not how difficult it was going to be for her and her husband to prepare to be parents (i.e., arranging day care, getting car seats, adjusting to the idea, etc.), but how difficult it would be to pick a name. When our first daughter was born, we had to be forced to pick a middle name or they threatened to not let us out of the hospital. Our second daughter’s name came a bit more easily, but to be honest, after 11 months, sometimes we still agonize over her middle name.

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Last week I launched the new name for my other baby, and though very exciting, it seemed just as heart-wrenching and almost as emotional as picking the name for my daughters. Bluegrass PRIDE is now Bluegrass Greensource. After 12 years, we took the plunge and did something we probably should have done years ago.

In 2001, our founders named us after the very successful East Kentucky PRIDE (Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment), and for a short time we modeled our fledgling group after them. We quickly realized that the needs were very different in the Bluegrass region, and went a different direction from our sister organization. That did not stop us from having visions of a statewide PRIDE network with regional organizations providing resources across the Commonwealth.

As the years went by, we realized that our name, unless the acronym was spelled out, was not descriptive of who we are. Even our logo – a horse with a Lexington skyline in the background — did not help anyone understand what we do. I felt, for a long time, that this was just the way it was going to be, and that we would always have to explain what we did without the crutch of having a descriptive name.

Then last year, during our first-ever strategic planning meetings, our board and county liaisons had the audacity to suggest we change our name! I was totally against it, but they convinced me to look into it. I think that by “looking into it,” I essentially agreed to change our name. I have been director for seven years, but I can still be naive sometimes.

The process of changing our name started very slowly and, therefore, kind of snuck up on me. All of a sudden, we had chosen a company to help in the process and they were about to present to our staff and a committee from the board. That was by no means the end of the process, but it sure was the tipping point. At that point, there was no turning back.

After a much longer than anticipated process, we decided on a logo, and a new name, Bluegrass Greensource. I am thrilled. For our entire 12 years, we have always been THE SOURCE for environmental education throughout Central Kentucky. I could not have asked for a better, more descriptive name.

We have developed a brand new website, too – bgGreensource.org – updated some brochures and given all of the staff new email addresses, business cards and nametags.* It has been a lot of work, but I am so excited about the possibilities we have with our new name.

We launched the new name last week with our 10th annual Rain Barrel Reception, and I have since received countless emails and comments commending us on our choice and expressing happiness about the new brand. I can’t say that it was easy for me, even though I love everything about the logo and name. I managed to keep it together while making the announcement, but it was definitely difficult.

As my husband and family can tell you, Bluegrass Greensource is like my third child, and as a parent, there are many things you do for your children that can be hard but are in their best interests. I know that this is one of those things, and as soon as I can get used to answering the phone, “Bluegrass Greensource,” I will be ready to say goodbye to Bluegrass PRIDE. I know I am ready to stop being mad at people who do not capitalize all of the letters in PRIDE!

*Because we are an environmental organization, we have recycled all of our old brochures, are using old business cards to write notes, have given old envelopes to staff to use personally and are using the back side of all old stationary. If anyone is interested in a limited edition Bluegrass PRIDE t-shirt, please let me know!

amy sohner

Amy Sohner is executive director of Bluegrass Greensource and a graduate of the University of Kentucky in Natural Resource Conservation and Management. Sohner has worked with Greensource since its inception in 2002 and is a Certified Environmental Educator. She is involved with the Kentucky Environmental Literacy Alliance, the Bluegrass Rain Garden Alliance, the Licking and Kentucky River Basin Teams, and serves as vice-chair of the Keep Lexington Beautiful Commission. Sohner lives near the Kentucky River palisades with her husband, two daughters and a multitude of pets.

This article appeared in KY Forward on June 27, 2013.

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Move toward zero waste means changing the way we look at waste

Lately, there’s been a lot of discussion about the possibility of making Lexington a zero-waste city. But what does that mean? Are we talking about never throwing anything away? Recycling every ounce of material that we use?

Actually, it means neither.

Instead, zero waste is the idea of significantly reducing the amount of waste produced by changing the way we look at waste. It includes rethinking before purchasing, reducing packaging, reusing materials to get the most use from them, looking at the waste we produce as a resource, recycling as much as possible, and composting our food waste and organics; thereby throwing very little material into the landfill.

Read this full article today on KYForward

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Outdoor spaces offer opportunities for fun and learning alike

As the Kentucky summer starts to ramp up, I enjoy spending more and more time outside. Being someone who struggles with the gloom and gray of winter, the changing seasons and warm temperatures mean more time spent out in the sun, enjoying all that the outdoors have to offer.

That said, as an apartment dweller, it is difficult at times to really capitalize on what summer offers nature-wise. I struggle with the fact that I don’t have a backyard to raise a vegetable garden or the ability to take a dog (none allowed in my apartment complex) on a walk through a neighborhood. Instead, I have to be a little more creative in finding ways to enjoy the season and being outside.

For those of us in apartments without any real outdoor space, a local park is the perfect place to capitalize on the season. Not only can parks offer spaces for recreational sports such as Frisbee golf, basketball, tennis and others, but they are a great classroom as well.

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Having a ‘green’ green lawn is possible when grass is healthy and happy

It is almost mid-June and I have not touched my lawn. What I mean is that I have not paid one bit of attention to making it lush and soft and green. Not “green” like environmentally responsible, but “green” like the color.

This is not abnormal for me. I do not mow, I do not fertilize and I do not worry about weeds in my lawn. However, now that my 10-month-old is crawling around and all but refuses to put one bare knee in our lawn, I am starting to reconsider.

There are many ways that the gender roles in my house are reversed. For the time being, I am the breadwinner, and my husband is in charge of kids, cleaning and cooking. The one thing that remains gender-typical is yard work. My husband bought a gas-guzzling riding lawn mower (used!) when we first moved to our eight-plus acres of paradise, and he has been in charge of mowing ever since. I do have to point out that 95 percent of our land is covered in trees, so mowing is not an insurmountable task.

Read this full article today on KYForward

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Rain Barrel Workshop

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Bluegrass Greensource will be hosting a series of rain barrel workshops sponsored by Kentucky American Water. These workshops are free to the public and are limited to one barrel per person. Registration is required due to limited availability. All you need is a drill and a jigsaw and at the end you get to take home your very own rain barrel.  Extra tools will be provided.

Upcoming Workshops

Bourbon County Rain Barrel Workshop

Sponsored By: Kentucky American Water

When: Tuesday, June 25th at 6 pm

Where: Community Room, Paris-Bourbon County Library

To register for this event, please go here.

The workshop will be held at the Paris-Bourbon County Library located at 701 High St in Paris KY. For questions or further information please contact Michelle Patterson at Bluegrass Greensource, 859-266-1572.

Clark County Rain Barrel Workshops

Sponsored By: (add KAW logo here)

When: Saturday, June 29th at 9am and 11am

Where: Clark County Extension office

To register for this event please go herePlease note there are separate registrations for the 9am and 11am workshops. The workshop will be held at the Clark County Extension Office located at 1400 Fortune Drive in Winchester. For further information please contact Michelle Patterson at Bluegrass Greensource, 859-266-1572.

 

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