December Newsletter 2014

Good Giving Guide Challenge

Bluegrass Greensource would like to offer special thanks to those who donated during the GoodGiving Guide Challenge! With your support, we raised  $3,275 for environmental education in central Kentucky!

Join Our Team!

Greensource is currently accepting applications for two outreach positions. Click here for job descriptions and information on how to apply.

New Year’s Resolutions: Go Green in 2015

It’s resolution time again, and we’ve made a list of earth-friendly resolution suggestions for you and your family in the new year. Resolve to be greener in 2015 and you’ll be entered to win a gift basket valued at more than $350 from our new neighbors in the National Avenue neighborhood!

Greensource Joins National Avenue Businesses for Holiday Meet and Greet

Bluegrass Greensource recently participated with other National Avenue area businesses in Love On Lexington, a business hop designed to introduce local residents to the variety of businesses popping up in the area. Guests made bird feeders, toured our new office, and more.

Our Eco-Friendly Workplace: Putting the Green in Greensource

Our outreach staff spends a lot of time working with local businesses to help them foster sustainability efforts in the office, but we don’t often talk about the things we do to be green in our own space. Since we’ve just moved to a new location, now is the perfect time to share some of the cool, eco-friendly things going on in our office – from our space, to our equipment, to our people.

Save the Date for Green Groups in 2015

Thanks to all who participated in Green Groups this year! Our 2015 meetings will be held on March 27, June 26, September 25, and December 4 beginning at 9:30am at McConnell Springs in Lexington. Green Groups meetings are open to any central Kentucky organization wishing to collaborate with like-minded groups interested in our local environment. Click here for more information. 

 

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

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A New Opportunity at Bluegrass Greensource!

A new unique leadership opportunity awaits you at Bluegrass Greensource! Are you interested in developing new skills, strengthening your leadership ability, implementing new ideas, and making an impact in your community?

If so, Bluegrass Greensource has a wonderful new opportunity for you!

In 2015, Bluegrass Greensource will be launching Bluegrass Greenforce. This is more than a volunteer program. It is an opportunity for you to be trained on important environmental issues, lead stream clean-ups and storm-drain stenciling events, collaborate with our education and outreach staff, educate the community at community events, and implement your own ideas for greening Central Kentucky.

Join us on Saturday January 10th at our new office (835 National Ave. Lexington) from 9am-12pm to learn about Bluegrass Greenforce. Whether you are interested in volunteering at community events, schools, in the office, or doing any volunteer work with Bluegrass Greensource, this training will give you the information and tools you need to start making an impact in our environment.

We hope to see you there!

Space for this training is limited. Please RSVP to the Volunteer Coordinator, Ashley Bryant Cheney, at ashley@bggreensource.org.

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Thank You for Your Support During the GoodGiving Guide Challenge!

Bluegrass Greensource would like to offer special thanks to those who donated during the GoodGiving Guide Challenge! With your support, we raised $3,275 for environmental education in central Kentucky!

GGG Thank You (1)

Many thanks to our donors:

Mary Arthur

Jack Barnett

Carol Bottoms

Tracy Brown

Martha Brown

Gregory Butler

Sandy Camargo

Susan Cohn

Michael Cronk

Blaine Early

Amy Eddie

Chris Eddie

Daniel Elko

Jane Eller

Lynn Garrett

Ann and Tom Garrity

Ken Gish

Lajuanda Haight-Maybriar

Teresa Hendricks

Kristin Ingwell Goode

Susan Janecek

Diane Kohler

Hope Lanham

Tammy Liles

Tresine Logsdon

Mari Long

David Mannino

Malissa McAlister

Mary Miller

David Miller

Lauren Monahan

Robbie Morgan

Stephen Noel

Angela Poe

Katherine Redmond

David Shehee

Jody Shoup

Amy Sohner

Pattie Stivender

Kenya Stump

Stephanie Trevor

Chris Tyler

Wayne Waddell

Schuyler Warren

Pamla Wood

Phillip Woolery

Danny Woolums

Christina Zavos

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Our Eco-Friendly Workplace: Putting the Green in Greensource

Our outreach staff spends a lot of time working with local businesses to help them foster sustainability efforts in the office, but we don’t often talk about the things we do to be green in our own space.  Since we’ve just moved to our new location at 835 National Avenue (come see us!), now is the perfect time to share some of the cool, eco-friendly things going on in our office – from our space, to our equipment, to our people.

Our Space

  • Repurposed Building: Our office was once an empty warehouse.  In a world of suburban sprawl, we’re proud to occupy existing infrastructure in the heart of Lexington.
  • LED Lighting: Our energy-efficient lighting cuts our carbon footprint down to size.  Lighting accounts for 25-40% of energy consumption in an average building; it’s an important place to strive for efficiency.
  • Natural Light: Windows and skylights allow us to turn off our overhead lighting on sunny days.
  • Recycled Paint: Our walls feature recycled latex paint: donated to the Lexington Habitat for Humanity ReStore, mixed by Greensource employees, and put to work brightening our space – not sitting in a landfill.
  • Low-Flow Facilities: Guilt-free flushing courtesy of our water-efficient restrooms.  We’re hoping to take it to the next level in the near future with the installation of dual-flush toilets.
  • Pre-Owned Furniture: Most of our couches, chairs, cabinets, and décor are pre-owned, refurbished, and reused.

Our Equipment

  • Hybrid Company Car: With a 19-county service area, we do a lot of driving.  Our fuel-efficient hybrid gets more than 40 miles out of a gallon of gas.
  • Programmable Thermostats: We don’t want to waste energy on heating and cooling our space overnight and on weekends; thanks to our programmable thermostats, we don’t have to.
  • Three Rosies, One Herbie, and Recycling Bins at Every Desk: We’re set up to make recycling easy and effective.  Our common area – and each individual work station – has a recycling bin, and we recycle more than we throw away.
  • Personal Lighting: Desk lamps cut down on energy usage; during low occupancy, the lamps are on and the overhead lighting is off.
  • Duplexed Printers: By setting duplex (2-sided) printing as our default, we cut our paper use in half.
  • Power Strips: Each workstation is plugged into its own power strip, making it quick and easy to eliminate energy waste when it’s not in use.
  • Reusable and Compostable Dishes: Americans use more than 14 billion disposable paper coffee cups every year, and more than 50 billion plastic water bottles, but we’re bucking the trend at Bluegrass Greensource.  Reusable dishes are provided, and employees are encouraged to bring their own mugs and water bottles – and when we have to go disposable, our cups, plates, and utensils are compostable.

Our People

  • Recycling: We recycle as much as we can: glass, paper, cardboard, cans, and plastic – all of which the city of Lexington collects – but also electronics and ink and toner cartridges.
  • Paper Reuse: Paper that’s been printed on one side doesn’t go to waste; we reprint the blank side with internal memos and documents.
  • Lights Out: Between natural light and workspace lighting, we don’t always need the overhead lights to be on – so we turn them off.  The same goes for any areas of the office that aren’t occupied or in use.
  • Shut Down: Each employee shuts down his or her workstation at the end of the day: computers and other electronics are never left running, and power strips are switched off to prevent vampire energy loss.
  • Vermicomposting: A compost bin with a hardworking team of red wiggler earthworms helps us dispose of food waste naturally.
  • Hand Towels: Yes, paper towels are still an option – but the hand towels in our restrooms and kitchen are our waste-free option of choice.
  • Carpooling and Alternative Transportation: We support and encourage biking and walking to work, and carpool to meetings, events, and activities every chance we get.
  • Green Purchasing: Our purchasing power matters, and we choose to support suppliers and manufacturers of sustainable products.  From printer paper to cleaning supplies to promotional materials to trophies and plaques, awe seek out post consumer recycled content, reclaimed materials, and safe, biodegradable components.

Being sustainable at work doesn’t have to mean major building improvements or expense; it can be as simple as a few extra recycling bins and a little staff training.  If you’re interested in making your workplace a little more eco-friendly, we can help!  Get in touch with our Outreach Specialists and find out what changes you can make to go a little greener.

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Greensource Joins National Avenue Businesses for Holiday Meet and Greet

Rain + cold + Saturday is typically a recipe for little more than staying in bed. Saturday, December 6th was an exception when roughly 40 community members joined Bluegrass Greensource for our holiday open house.  The open house was part of Love on Lexington, a neighborhood business hop organized by the National Corridor Businesses, and sought to introduce the community to the various businesses springing up along National Avenue, Walton, and North Ashland. Since moving our office to 835 National Avenue, we have found ourselves in terrific company with neighbors such as Lucia’s World Emporium who also recently relocated to the area from Woodland Triangle and donated 10% of their Saturday sales to our organization. Other wonderful neighbors include Squeeze and Centered, Kentucky Mudworks, the Carmalicia Salon, House, Fitness Plus, The Coliseum, Swim Bike Run, and Serif Group among others.

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The weather might have been suboptimal, but the spirits were high as guests were treated with hot cocoa and sweet treats. The holidays are a great opportunity to practice holding zero waste events and this was no exception. We supplemented our ceramic mugs and silverware with compostable cups, plates, and utensils in order to create a waste-free event, meaning that no garbage would end up in the landfill. Staff gave tours of the sustainable features of our office, including painted walls courtesy of Habitat for Humanity ReStore’s paint recycling program and used furniture from ReStore, our LED lights, and waste reduction methods. Open house visitors were invited to make a pine cone bird feeder, and a photo booth offering an array of props ranging from Santa hats to reindeer antlers got everyone in the holiday spirit.

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Thanks to everyone who joined us for the open house! We are excited to be in our new location on National Avenue, surrounded by our lovely new neighbors. Stop by and visit us at 835 National Avenue to learn more, explore volunteer opportunities, or just chat! Happy holidays from everyone at Bluegrass Greensource!

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New Video Series Highlights Lexington Green Businesses

At Bluegrass Greensource, we’re always looking for fun new ways to promote our LiveGreenLexington Partners. Our newest adventure takes us into the realm of video.  The recently-launched Green Stories series will take you on a tour of Lexington’s leading green businesses. Each episode will focus on one LiveGreenLexington partner, and we will be highlighting the things they do to be more sustainable.

Our goal is to show that any organization, no matter how large or small, can make a significant impact by making changes. We hope that this series will educate, inform, and inspire you to act in your own business or your home.

If you know of an organization doing a great job at being more sustainable, please let us know. We’d love to feature new ideas and new people.

We’ll be posting these every month or so on our News page, and on our new YouTube channel!

Our first episode focuses on local marketing and design firm Bullhorn Creative. Bullhorn has been a LiveGreenLexington partner since 2010. They are both recycling and energy partners, and this video gives a great intro to the work they have done in those arenas.

Coming up in our next episode, learn about the work the Lexington Public Library has done to make your library experience a more sustainable one!

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Holiday Open House: Saturday, December 6

Open house web slide

We’ve Moved!

Join us for a Holiday Open House in our New Location

Saturday, December 6th
11:00 am to 2:00 pm
835 National Avenue, Lexington, KY 40502

Check Out our New Home on National

We love our new space, and we can’t wait to show it off! Find out how Greensource is greener than ever, from our LED lighting to the recycled paint on our walls.

Crafts for the Kids

We’ll be making pinecone birdfeeders just in time for winter – bring beautiful birds to your yard with this quick, easy, and earth-friendly craft project!

Holiday Photos

Seasons Greenings! Put on your favorite ugly sweater and strike a pose.

Homemade Refreshments

Warm drinks and tempting sweets, coming right up.

Visit our Neighbors

Still got a little shopping to do? Head over to Lucia’s World Emporium and pick up some fair trade goodies, and 10% of your purchase will support Bluegrass Greensource. We’re located in a pretty cool neighborhood – check out some of the other open house activity going on this weekend.

greensource lucias

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New Years Resolution: Go Green in 2015

Another year is upon us, and it’s resolution time again. Will you join us in making a commitment to a green 2015? Below are just a few suggestions of things we can all do to live sustainably in the coming year, from reducing the amount of waste we generate, to conserving energy, to being good stewards of our water.

As a “Thank you” for including the environment in your New Year’s resolutions, Bluegrass Greensource will enter everyone who completes and submits a resolutions form by Januray 15, 2015 in a drawing for a gift basket valued at more than $350, full of awesome items and gift certificates from local businesses on and around National Avenue – our new neighborhood! Gift basket details here.

2015 New Year’s Resolutions

Use a reusable mug when getting beverages to go
Americans throw away 25 billion styrofoam coffee cups a year, and 2.5 million plastic beverage bottles an hour. One paper coffee cup a day adds up to 23 lbs of waste and 87.6 lbs of CO2 over the course of a year. Reusable water bottles, tumblers, and mugs reduce your waste production and your carbon footprint.

Buy items that are made from post consumer recycled material
Recycled content is good; post consumer recycled content is great. If you already seek out products that contain some percentage of recycled material, take the next step and prioritize post consumer content for extra environmental benefits; and as an added bonus, you’ll be using your purchase power to tell manufacturers that post consumer content is the way to go.

Compost food and yard waste, and use or give away finished compost
133 billion pounds of the available food supply in the United States goes to waste every year, according to a recent study by the USDA, and 21% of that happens right in our homes. Our country also generates 33.4 million pounds of yard waste annually. Don’t wrap up all that biodegradable waste and send it to the landfill – compost it instead! If you don’t have much use for the end product, consider donating your finished compost to community gardening organizations, or give it away to your green-thumbed friends.

Donate unwanted items, including furniture, appliances, and home goods, to thrift and resale organizations
If “out with the old, in with the new” is your New Year’s tradition, don’t send the “old” straight to the landfill – donate it instead! Your used furniture, appliances, home goods, clothes, books, and so much more can be someone else’s “new.” Check out Lexington’s Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and the Friends of the Library Book Cellar.

Use energy-efficient LED or CFL light bulbs (including in holiday decorations!)
Switching to LED or CFL light bulbs from incandescent is one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways to cut your energy consumption down to size. Learn more here. LED holiday decorations come in all shapes, colors, and sizes, too – so next year when you’re decking the halls, do it efficiently!

Seek out Energy Star, EPEAT, and WaterSense labeled products when replacing appliances, electronics, and fixtures
There are many eco-friendly labeling systems out there, but these are three of the big ones: Energy Star for efficient appliances, EPEAT for efficient electronics, and WaterSense for efficient bathroom and kitchen fixtures.

Landscape with native plants that require less water and fertilizer to thrive
Because native plants are perfectly suited to our local climate – they’ve grown up here, after all – they are naturally hardy options for your home landscaping, and require less water and fertilizer to thrive. They’re beautiful, too, and attract native wildlife. What’s not to love?

Organize a neighborhood litter clean-up or storm drain stenciling project
Both of these options are about water, when it comes right down to it. Our storm drain system drains directly into live streams – no filtration involved – so it’s up to us to do our best to keep that storm water clean. Litter clean-ups keep cigarette butts, food wrappers, and lots of other trash out of our water. Stenciling storm drains helps raise awareness of where those drains lead. Need help getting started? Contact our Outreach Specialists and we’ll be happy to lend a hand with planning and supplies.

Divert runoff with a rain garden and/or rain barrel
Runoff from rooftops, sidewalks, driveways, and other impervious surfaces carries fertilizers and pesticides, automobile fluids, litter, and more directly into storm drains and from there into our streams. Slow down and filter that runoff with a rain garden, or collect it in a rain barrel for later use watering your garden. You can purchase a rain barrel from Bluegrass Greensource at any time, or build your own at one of our rain barrel workshops (keep an eye on our events calendar or sign up for our monthly e-newsletter).

Make a monetary donation to support the programs and mission of Bluegrass Greensource
Bluegrass Greensource is made up of a small team working tirelessly to make central Kentucky a more sustainable place. We work with schools, businesses, community organizations, and individuals in 19 counties year-round. We can’t do it without you. If you believe, as we do, in living, working, and teaching sustainability, please make a tax-deductible donation today. If you prefer to donate by personal check, please make payable to Bluegrass Greensource and mail to (or stop by in person!):

835 National Avenue
Lexington, KY 40502

 

What’s in the Gift Basket?

 

Don’t Forget…

Complete the form to make your resolutions official and be entered to win our gift basket of National Avenue goodies! We will be accepting entries through January 15, 2015.

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