LiveGreenLexington School Recognition Ceremony

The third annual Earth Day Celebration organized by the Bluegrass Youth Sustainability Council  and Bluegrass Greensource featured more than 60 schools getting kudos for their “green” efforts in 2013-2014 and an unusual keynote message from acclaimed cellist Ben Sollee, who performed onstage amid his remarks.

Opening with “Something, Somewhere, Sometime,” Sollee described how he feels about using so many resources in his extensive travels. “To travel is to take. That’s been hard for me to reconcile,” he told the audience of students and other environmental supporters. To ease the impact and simply slow the pace, he actually travels by bicycle for part of the year, which allows him a chance to experience sustainability – like a light way of living.

The sustainability council’s student facilitator, Marie Armbruster, noted how her peers’ engagement and hard work are also making a difference. For instance, teenagers have volunteered at The Nature Conservancy, placed recycling receptacles at high school stadiums, painted eco-art on storm drains to raise awareness and conducted energy audits in schools and city buildings. “Our generation is where culture change will start,” said Marie, a senior at Lafayette High School. “As we branch out, we will have made sustainability a priority for our lives.”

Transylvania University hosted the April 28 countywide celebration, which encompassed public and private schools. About 15 organizations set up resource tables for the Earth Day expo, ranging from Elmwood Stock Farm with its jars of salsa and bags of peas and the Transylvania Environmental Action League with its borrow-a-bike program, to Farm 2 School with samples of fresh honey and the STEAM Academy with artwork made of recycled plastic bottles and leftover bulletin board paper.

“It’s all about taking responsibility to do the right thing. We have to teach each upcoming generation how to take care of our land, air and water,” said Susan Plueger, LFUCG commissioner of environmental quality.

The recognitions included “Excellence in Water Education” awards presented by Kentucky American Water; awards from Live Green Lexington and Bluegrass Greensource for its recycling, water and energy partner schools; and nods from Fayette County Public Schools,  Kentucky NEED (National Energy Education Development project) and Kentucky Green & Healthy Schools.

Article originally posted by Fayette County Public Schools on April 29, 2014.

Photographs by Malcolm Stallons, Division of Environmental Policy.

DSC_0019 web

DSC_0018 web

DSC_0013web

DSC_0008 web

DSC_0002_web

DSC_0053 web

DSC_0055web

DSC_0057web

DSC_0060web

DSC_0062web

DSC_0065web

DSC_0066 BRECKINRIDGEweb

DSC_0068web

DSC_0072web

DSC_0074web

DSC_0089web

DSC_0087web

DSC_0083web

DSC_0080web

DSC_0077web

DSC_0094web

DSC_0095web

DSC_0098web

DSC_0100web

DSC_0103web

DSC_0121web

DSC_0117web

DSC_0114web

DSC_0110web

DSC_0106web

DSC_0124web

DSC_0127web

DSC_0131web

DSC_0132web

DSC_0136web

DSC_0151web

DSC_0149web

DSC_0146web

DSC_0143web

DSC_0139web

READ MORE

So, what’s your watershed? Find out, then work to keep pollutants out

Several years ago while attending a conference, I chose a session on rain gardens. As a horticulturist with a penchant for native and heirloom plants, I found the concept intriguing.

 
(Graphic from EPA.gov)(Graphic from EPA.gov)

To my surprise, the presenter started out by asking if we could identify our watershed. “My what?” This led into an unexpected but undeniably interesting talk about stormwater runoff, storm drains emptying directly into our streams, and “best management practices” for handling this runoff – finally, we were talking about rain gardens.

Little did I realize that a few years later I would be planning watershed festivals in three nearby counties and using the Watershed Enviroscape model as an educational tool in classrooms throughout Central and Eastern Kentucky. Now I am the one asking students “So what’s a watershed?” (and no, it is not a shack by the water).

Now I know that a watershed is the land area that drains (or sheds) rainwater runoff into a common water body (and that land use within that area affects the quality of the water). In Kentucky, with our Karst topography, this affects both surface and underground water.

Ironically, when using the Watershed Enviroscape, the kids’ favorite part of the demonstration is watching the water with red food coloring pour out of the factory and into the stream (indicating “point source” pollution). But as educators, we focus more on “non point source” or “runoff” pollutants that are carried in rainwater runoff, and what we, as conscientious citizens, can do to prevent that pollution.

The easiest of all these “best management” practices is don’t litter. Take personal responsibility, recycle and make sure that your bins have secure lids.

Next, use fertilizers and pesticides sparingly, opting for composting yard and kitchen waste and choosing other ways of deterring pests, like companion planting.

Install a rain garden to capture runoff in your yard and/or a rain barrel to catch rooftop runoff and conserve water.

Plant native flowers, grasses and trees, with deep roots, to prevent erosion and reduce topical watering. This is especially important near waterways, creating a “riparian” buffer to filter out pollutants.

Pick up after your pets, and if you farm, keep livestock out of the streams to prevent erosion and large amounts of waste from entering our watershed.

Maintain your septic system.

Maintain vehicles to prevent leakage of oil, gas and other fluids.

And remember, our storm drains lead directly into our streams, so don’t sweep contaminants into the street or down storm drains.

I participate in volunteer water sampling for Kentucky River Watershed Watch in my local watershed, the Mock’s Branch/Spears Creek sub-watershed of the Dix River. I find that identifying my watershed and participating in testing gives me a personal investment in the quality of the water that flows behind my home.

Want to find out about your watershed? If you live in Lexington, click here. Outside Lexington, visit Surf Your Watershed here or Kentucky River Watershed Watch here.

 
1 deborah-larkin-1Deborah Larkin joined Greensource in 2010 as an environmental educator. She works with numerous schools in Fayette County as part of Greensource’s partnership with LFUCG and is responsible for outreach activities in Boyle, Clark, Garrard and Lincoln counties. She received her bachelor’s in horticulture from the University of Kentucky. Before coming to Greensource, Larkin worked for 27 years at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, near Harrodsburg, where she researched and re-established the 19th century apple orchard, herb garden and heirloom seed industry.

This article appeared in KY Forward on April 24, 2014.

READ MORE

Clive Pohl: Accentuate the Positive

Lexington architect Clive Pohl was our keynote speaker at our 2014 Go Green, Save Green Workshop. We have had many requests for a text version of his presentation, and so with his permission, we are posting it below. Thanks again, Clive!

Accentuate the Positive

by Clive Pohl, AIA
Pohl Rosa Pohl

Prior to the storm of human ingenuity known as the Industrial Revolution our planet was
not immune to catastrophe. Earth’s long history may best be described as a continuous
ebb and flow of conditions alternately hospitable and hostile to life. The continuum of
increasing biological abundance followed by varying degrees of extinction has been
packaged for our comprehension into what is now widely recognized as the “Big Five”.1

I will cite just two examples: The End Permian (Permian-Triassic) extinction of 251
million years ago – the “Great Dying” was caused by massive volcanism in the
convulsions of an evolving planet. The End Cretaceous extinction (66 million years ago)
is now widely believed to have been caused by Earthʼs collision with a 6 mile wide
asteroid. In one fell swoop it put an end to the dinosaurs and made possible our rise to
dominance.

Most of these “events” and the extinctions that followed were the result of complex
seismic and atmospheric conditions and the exact course of events is the subject of
some debate. However, we can say with absolute confidence that none of them were
caused by any one species. Until now.

Welcome to the The Sixth Extinction. In her recent book Elizabeth Kolbert concludes
through careful examination that we are the cause of the next big event. This epoch, the
anthropocene, OUR time, is the only one in which one species has managed to change
the course of Earth’s natural history.

Kolbert illuminates a list of examples of our devastating impact with an even hand.
Whether inflicted by over-hunting, pollution, the destruction of habitat, or transportation
of invasive species, every casualty can be traced back to humanity’s myopic appetite for
forward motion, progress, and material wealth. Because the casualty list is long and
most of us feel powerless when we hear the tragic stories.I will resist the temptation to recap her examples. I will, however, briefly reference one casualty – coral reefs – as hopefully we can all accept some degree of complicity when the devastation is caused by our collective carbon footprint.

Even climate change deniers3 are beginning to feel the impact of global warming. But it
is the loss of our planet’s biodiversity, not our thermal comfort, that is most
disconcerting. Ocean acidification (caused by the dissolution and reaction of CO2 in
water) is threatening coral species with extinction at rates that exceed those of
terrestrial animal groups. The reefs (resulting from corals’ secretion of calcium
carbonate) which serve as the home to biodiversity beyond our capacity for imagining
will cease to grow in the next 50 years.4 There is no need to wait for bad news,
however, as Earth’s biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial, is already as low as it was
during the End Cretaceous extinction.

But bad news is not the focus of this essay despite early evidence. We are enthusiastic,
industrious, profit driven souls capable of revolutionary innovation and there are many
examples of our capacity to modify our behavior to serve a desperate cause5
particularly when it threatens to impact our wallets.

Can we course-correct in the face of mounting evidence? As profit driven souls can we
find a new business model that incorporates the value of nature? The answers are yes
and yes.

Natural Capital Accounting

Every company, large or small, has “externalities” and typically none have a place on
the company ledger. Air pollution, for example, is a visible externality of manufacturing,
the cost of which is generally paid by others. If the cost of these externalities were
understood 6 and charged, as they should be, to the business of origin, managers would
quickly take steps to curtail destructive corporate behaviors.

Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) places economic value on nature by identifying,
measuring, and managing externalities. Many of the guiding principles have been
developed by TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) under the
guidance of it’s team leader Pavan Sukhdev. Since 2007 they have produced a series of
studies and guidance manuals that aim to standardize methods for natural capital
accounting.7 This is an emerging field with increasing acceptance and credibility in
governmental policy circles and the establishment of protocols and standards is well
underway. In fact, organizations like the UN and the World Bank are beginning to invest
heavily in this new paradigm as evidenced by these initiatives:

SEEA (System for Environmental-Economic Accounts): The UN Statistical
Commission recently adopted this protocol to provide an internationally agreed upon
method to account for material natural resources like minerals, timber, and fisheries.

WAVES (Wealth Accounting and Evaluation of Eco-Systems): A World Bank
global partnership launched at the 2010 Convention on Biological Diversity WAVES
will promote sustainable development by ensuring that natural resources are
mainstreamed in development planning and national economic accounts. Work
plans include compiling accounts for natural resources like forests, water, and
minerals, as well as experimental accounts for ecosystems like watersheds and
mangroves.

NCA is also making it’s way into the private sector as for-profit companies blaze their
own trail. In 2010, a consultancy named Trucost, was commissioned by PUMA to assist
in developing their Environmental Profit and Loss Account (EP&L). Admirably, all of this
information, their process and their reports, are available to the public due in large part
to the courage and confidence of Puma’s CEO, Jochen Zeitz, and can be found readily
online.

As with any transformational idea forged by caring thought leaders, widespread
acceptance may be years away – the amount of time inversely proportionate to the
gravity of our perceived threat. Regardless, these visionaries are defining a new era of
sustainability metrics in which degradation of our ecosystems and biodiversity will
quantified and revealed as an untenable expense. The relentless quest for an economic
upper-hand is the root cause of environmental degradation in the Anthropocene and a
wholesale reconsideration of our economic models is essential. The valuation of nature,
acknowledged through natural capital accounting is cause for great hope. Given the
foibles of human nature it may be our only hope. After all, Mother Nature has limited
natural capital and it is up to us to recognize the economic imperative for conservation.

 

1 In a 1982 paper by Jack Sepkoski and David Raup.

2 Ex 1: 10’s of thousands of giant sea turtles are killed every year as “bycatch” (the unintended target of commercial fishing). Ex. 2: In the tropics 14 species per day are being lost according to a calculation based upon loss of habitat by biologist E.O. Wilson

3 Timothy Egan put it succinctly in a recent NYT article: “It is human nature, if not the American way, to look potential disaster in the face and prefer to see a bright and shining lie.”

4 Studies conducted at volcanic vents near Castello Argonese, Ischia Island, Italy

5 The conversion of American automobile production to fighter planes during WW2, for example.

6 The world’s top 3000 businesses are estimated to have annual externalities of almost 2.1 trillion dollars (or 3.5% of the global GDP) – A Trucost analysis

7 Pavan Sukhdev’s excellent TED Talk (“Ending the Economic Invisibility of Nature”) can be found online

READ MORE

Vote For Your Favorite Barrel

RollOutLogo

Bluegrass Greensource will host its 11th Annual Roll Out the Rain Barrels Reception from 5-8 p.m. on June 20th. The event will take place at the Fifth Third Bank Pavilion in Lexington’s Cheapside Park, and for the third year, will be a part of Gallery Hop.

Painted by local artists, the barrels serve as a reminder of the importance of proper stormwater management and are seen by thousands of people throughout Central Kentucky, both in person and online. Visitors can cast a vote for their favorite rain barrel and the artist who receives the most votes will win the coveted ‘Earth Artist Award.’

Join us at this year’s Roll Out the Rain Barrels Reception to see this year’s artistic rain barrels in person, meet the artists, buy a painted rain barrel and enjoy live music from the Big Maracas.

Resized Picture 1

 

To view and to vote for your favorite artistic rain barrel, click here.

READ MORE

April 2014 Newsletter

Help Keep Lexington Clean and Green at the Downtown Trash Bash

Come on out to the Downtown Trash Bash on Friday, April 18th and make our downtown more beautiful while helping to protect water quality in the Town Branch watershed! Individuals and businesses are invited to join us any time between Noon and 4 p.m. at one of five starting locations, where we will provide the tools you need to help remove litter from our cityscape. Continue reading…

Volunteers Needed for First Annual Main Street Clean Sweep

Bluegrass Greensource needs your help this Earth Day for our first annual Main Street Clean Sweep. On April 22nd, employees from seven downtown communities throughout the Bluegrass region will work during their lunch break to pick up litter and keep their Main Street clean. Learn more…

Upcoming Festivals Will Celebrate Clean Water in Central Kentucky

The birds are chirping, the trees are in bloom, the weather is warming up – spring has sprung and it’s the perfect time to celebrate the Earth! Bluegrass Greensource is working with a variety of local partners to host three watershed festivals this spring in Boyle, Garrard, and Lincoln Counties. Find more details here.

Beth Oleson Joins Our Team

Greensource welcomes Beth Oleson, our new Outreach Specialist, to the team! Beth will be working with Fayette County businesses through the LiveGreenLexington Partner Program. She began her own environmental education as a toddler, flipping over rocks in her Lexington back yard to check out the bugs living underneath. Learn more about Beth.

Go Green, Save Green Workshop A Success

The fifth annual Go Green, Save Green workshop brought together over 105 members of Lexington’s business community. The workshop, sponsored by LFUCG and organized by Bluegrass Greensource, aims to provide various types of Lexington businesses with information from experts in waste reduction, water, and energy efficiency.  Continue reading…

Check out our new Events Calendar to learn more about upcoming green events in your community! Submit your organization’s green event for inclusion here.

READ MORE

This Earth Day, consider the small things you can do to help environment

April 22 marks the 44th annual Earth Day celebration. Earth Day events, held worldwide, demonstrate support for environmental protection. The first Earth Day saw 20 million Americans who peacefully demonstrated for environmental reform. Today it is coordinated by the Earth Day Network and is celebrated by more than 1 billion people in more than 192 countries.

1 earth day

Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson organized the first “national teach-in on the environment” after witnessing the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, Calif. His goal was to bring environmental protection into focus. Within a year of the first event, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was formed. Before the EPA was formed there were no legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect our environment. After its formation it led to the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species acts.

As the world’s population continues to grow and our natural resources are stretched thin, it’s even more important to keep a watchful eye on the natural environment. Not all acts and participation must be large. Many small changes help to reduce our impact on the earth. Following is a list of small changes you can make this Earth Day to improve environmental health.

1. Buy local. Visit your local farmer’s market. Your food will be fresher and will have traveled fewer miles than the majority of foods found at your local grocer. Use the items you purchase to plan an Earth Day dinner serving locally grown food. Remember to take a reusable bag!

2. Compost your food waste. Food thrown into the trash ends up in a landfill. Food rinsed down the drain goes to a waste water treatment center where it is removed from the water and then sent to a landfill. By composting you save land space, save fuel energy from waste removal vehicles, and have a nutrient rich additive for your plants.

3. Attach a rain barrel to your home’s downspout. When structures are built they change the natural flow of rainwater, producing greater amounts of runoff. A rain barrel holds the water during a rain event and is available for later use.

4. Organize a litter cleanup. Litter is not only unsightly, it’s also detrimental to water quality. Litter left on the ground can be picked up by rainwater and swept into a stream or a storm drain, which discharges into a stream. By removing litter you are improving water quality and improving the appearance of your community.

5. Reduce gasoline consumption. Instead of using your vehicle for short trips, walk or ride a bike. Whenever possible, use public transportation. You will not only reduce the amount of gasoline being used (gas is made from a nonrenewable natural resource), you may also see an increase in your funds.

This is just a sampling of the small changes each individual can make to improve the environment. With a world of over 7 billion, individual actions add up. Small changes can make a big impact.

1 Pattie-Stivender

Pattie Stivender is the education outreach and volunteer coordinator for Bluegrass Greensource.

This article appeared in KY Forward on April 17, 2014.

READ MORE

Upcoming Festivals Will Celebrate Clean Water in Central Kentucky

The birds are chirping, the trees are in bloom, the weather is warming up – spring has sprung and it’s the perfect time to celebrate the Earth! Bluegrass Greensource is working with a variety of local partners to host three watershed festivals this spring in Boyle, Garrard, and Lincoln Counties.

The Boyle County Earth Day Festival, held in conjunction with Clarks Run Environmental and Educational Corporation, Boyle County Cooperative Extension, and Bluegrass Community and Technical College, will be held Saturday, April 26th from 11:00 to 3:00 at BCTC’s Danville campus. The event features a 2K “fun hike” and 26K bicycle ride, children’s activities, a display of artwork by Junction City Elementary 5th graders, live music, concessions by Lucky Dog BBQ, and environmentally-themed displays from local vendors such as Boyle County Solid Waste, Boyle County Public Library, Community Arts Center, Smart Growth Boyle, and more. Informational sessions will be offered about local water quality, septic system care, and home composting. Additionally, Boyle County Cooperative Extension will offer a two-part rain garden workshop beginning on Friday, April 25, during which participants can learn to design and build a rain garden using native plants.

For detailed information about the Boyle County Earth Day Festival, click here.

The Garrard County Earth Day/Watershed Festival will be held on Saturday, May 10th from 10:00 to 4:00 at the Garrard County Extension office. The event is co-sponsored by Earth Angels, Garrard/Lincoln Solid Waste, and Garrard County Cooperative Extension and will feature children’s activities, a display of watershed posters by Paint Lick Elementary students, a display of Garrard County nature photography, vendors selling recycled and handmade items, concessions, nature walks on the Pleasant Retreat trail, a recycled fashion show, and environmentally-themed displays from local organizations. Informational sessions will be offered about local water quality, septic system care, monarch waystations, and Garrard County flora.

For detailed information about the Garrard County Earth Day/Watershed Festival, click here.

The Lincoln County Earth and Arts Festival will be held on Saturday, June 14th from 10:00 to 3:00 at the First Southern Community Arts Center in Stanford. The event is co-sponsored by the Community Arts Center and Garrard/Lincoln Solid Waste, and will feature children’s activities, live music, food vendors, rain barrel sales, environmentally-themed displays from local organizations, and more.

For detailed information about the Lincoln County Earth & Arts Festival, click here.

The spring festivals are funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under §319(h) of the Clean Water Act. Bluegrass Greensource will work with local partners to host a total of nine Earth Day or watershed festival events over the next three years in Boyle, Garrard, and Lincoln Counties.

Nature 4shrunken

READ MORE

Go Green, Save Green Workshop a Success

The fifth annual Go Green, Save Green (GGSG) Workshop was held on March 20, 2014. The weather was kind, the presentations enlightening, and lunch was delicious. Many agreed the post-workshop happy hour held at Blue Stallion Brewing Company was an added bonus. The workshop, sponsored by LFUCG and organized by Bluegrass Greensource, aims to provide various types of Lexington businesses with information from experts in waste reduction, water, and energy efficiency. Learning how to be a greener business can result in cost savings through reducing landfill-bound waste, saving on water costs, and/or reducing energy bills. The workshop brought together over 105 members of Lexington’s business community. Industrial and small businesses, restaurants, churches, LEED professionals, apartments, and non-profits had specialized tracks based on their needs and specific interests. The event was held at BCTC’s Newtown Campus, the former site of Eastern State Hospital, in the beautiful Main Building. The LEED certified building was the perfect venue with its brand-spanking new technology, abundance of natural light, and friendly staff.

IMG_1661 web large

Above: Clive Pohl delivers keynote address.

To start the day, Susan Plueger, Director of LFUCG’s Division of Environmental Policy, gave opening remarks and discussed the city’s green initiatives. Later, Susan also gave a presentation on low impact development guidelines for stormwater management. Clive Pohl, Architect at Pohl Rosa Pohl, delivered the lunchtime keynote address, “Accentuate the Positive,” putting into context the need for sustainable business practices. Businesses, says Pohl, can be more sustainable through Natural Capital Accounting. This form of accounting places economic value on nature and accounts for the negative externalities – the costs of industrialization, such as air pollution, which do not factor into most business calculations. Pohl concluded by saying, “it is up to us to recognize the economic imperative for conservation.”

Workshop LEED and sustainability highlights included Sy Safi of Louisville discussing building the first net-zero home in Kentucky. The home’s energy is provided by solar panels while the water is provided by a cistern which stores rainwater. No-VOC and low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) building materials were used to prevent off-gassing and air pollution. Energy Star appliances and recycled materials like old barn posts combined to make the home both eco-friendly and charmingly eclectic. Chris Zitelli from Ecos Materials and Services shared his expertise on HERS and the LEED process. Joan Pauly, Sustainability Coordinator for Berea College, educated workshop-goers on the STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System) framework and illustrated the process with examples from the college. Tim Darst from Louisville’s Interfaith Power and Light delivered the first ever session for a religious institutions GGSG workshop track and shared ideas on how one can “green” their house of worship. Greg Phipps from Big Ass Fans discussed the mechanics behind thermal energy and low-velocity, large-diameter fans in conditioned spaces.

IMG_1569 web large

Above: Joan Pauly, Berea College

Waste and recycling issues specific to Lexington were discussed by Esther Moberly, LFUCG Recycling Program Specialist, and Ryan Farley, Environmental Educator for Bluegrass Greensource. Barry Prater, LFUCG Commodity Market Manager, discussed the details behind Lexington’s recycling program and complexities of selling recyclables on the global market. Harriet Dupree-Bradley presented her company’s journey to becoming a certified Green Restaurant (Dupree Catering was the first business in Kentucky to become a 2 Star Certified Green Restaurant Caterer). Lastly, Lexington-based non-profit Seedleaf was represented by Ryan Koch, who shared details on creating low-tech composting.

READ MORE

Beth Oleson Joins Our Team

Greensource welcomes Beth Oleson, our new Outreach Specialist, to the team! Beth joined us in March 2014 and will be working with the LiveGreenLexington Partner Program, helping local businesses and apartment complexes expand recycling efforts, improve energy and water efficiency, and reduce stormwater runoff.

Beth

Beth began her own environmental education as a toddler, flipping over rocks in her Lexington back yard to check out the bugs living underneath.  She graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.S. in Marine Science and a minor in Environmental Studies in 2008, and promptly moved back to Kentucky and several hundred miles from the nearest ocean (although she still enjoys scuba diving whenever the opportunity arises).  In her free time, Beth is passionate about native plants and animal rescue.  She still flips over rocks to check out bugs.

READ MORE
  • 1
  • 2