New Years Resolution: Go Green in 2015

December 1, 2014By 0 comment

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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November Newsletter 2014

November 19, 2014By 0 comment

Support Greensource in Annual GoodGiving Guide Challenge

Greensource is participating in the annual GoodGiving Guide Challenge, and every donation gets us closer to our goal! Learn more about the Challenge, how to donate, and a unique partnership with West Sixth Brewing. 

Dupree Outdoor Days Connect Garrard and Jessamine County Students to Nature

In October, Greensource provided 400 area students with an outdoor learning experience at Dupree Nature Preserve. Click here for more information and photos from Dupree Outdoor Days!

We’ve Moved!

Our new office is located at 835 National Avenue, Lexington, KY 40502 (behind Kentucky Mudworks and CrossFit Maximus). Stop by and see our new space!

Career Fairs Introduce Local Students to Green Job Opportunities

Bluegrass Greensource recently hosted three career fairs in central Kentucky, providing more than 1,200 students with access to basic green jobs information and to businesses and colleges that offer green career opportunities, education, and/or training. Find out how to get involved in next year’s event here.

Greensource Board Welcomes Greg Butler

Bluegrass Greensource extends a warm welcome to the newest member of our board, Greg Butler of Republic Services. Greg has worked with local governments in four states on a variety of projects such as food security, strategic planning, and waste management. Learn more about Greg here.

Join Us for Green Groups in December

The next quarterly Green Groups meeting will be held on Friday, December 5th at 9:30am at McConnell Springs in Lexington. Our featured speaker will be Jessica Ballard of Greenhouse 17. Green Groups meetings are open to any central Kentucky organization wishing to collaborate with like-minded groups interested in our local environment. Click here or contact Sandy for more information.

Donor Spotlight

Bluegrass Greensource thanks the following donors for their generous contributions: Ashland Inc. and Republic Services.

 

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 little clothing TLC can do a lot to keep ‘textile waste’ out of our landfills

November 19, 2014By 0 comment

Confession: I didn’t separate my laundry in college. I didn’t even realize the temperature of the water mattered until my roommate, whose mother had instilled good clothes-washing habits in her, scolded me for washing my jeans on a warm cycle. I could probably fake my way through sewing a button on a shirt, but it might not look very good or last very long. I am a product of my generation – a generation with an overwhelming lack of knowledge about clothing maintenance, according to a recent study by the University of Missouri department of Textile and Apparel Management.

That’s right, we Millennials have a serious problem when it comes to clothing care, and it’s a serious problem for our environment, too. The EPA reports that the U.S. generates about 25 billion pounds of textiles each year, and 85 percent of that ends up in our landfills. Much of this can be attributed to the lack of emphasis being placed on clothing care, repair and recycling to young people. Home economics classes are mostly a thing of the past, and many of us didn’t think to learn these basic skills via other avenues.

The good news is that now that this problem is being brought to light, we can do something about it. Taking the time to learn how to properly care for and responsibly dispose of clothes and accessories can save you the money and hassle of buying new things as often and can dramatically decrease the amount of post-consumer textile waste heading into our landfills each year. Here are a couple of easy ways to keep your things from becoming waste as long as possible:

When you can, spring for higher quality. We’ve all heard it a thousand times: They just don’t make things like they used to. Lots of clothes aren’t manufactured to last more than a season in order to keep costs down and fashion dynamic. This creates a lot of unnecessary waste that would be avoided if we all invested in long-lasting, classic pieces to make up our wardrobes. This may mean more money up front, but reduces future spending and means less being thrown away after just a few uses.

Read care instructions on your clothing’s labels. This one seems obvious, but many people simply don’t know how to wash their clothes. Ignoring the wash directions on one’s tags is a common millennial mistake that can be easily avoided, exponentially increasing the life of the item. If your sweater tells you it needs to be washed cold, it needs to be washed cold. Hand-washing doesn’t take that long, and the gentle cycle is a thing that your delicates appreciate. Your sheets are serious when they say, “tumble dry, low heat.” These things are important.

Learn sewing basics. If your favorite shirt gets a hole in it or last year’s winter jacket loses a button, don’t panic or feel the need to replace it right away; repair it! It may seem like a daunting task if you’ve never mended anything before, but many snags and tears are quite easy to fix. Lots of online tutorials exist to help beginners learning to sew, or ask a friend or family member to help you pick up this new and important skill.

Donate or recycle things when you are done with them. Just because you don’t have use for something doesn’t mean someone else doesn’t. Taking your clothes to a secondhand shop is the perfect way to give them new life, and there are a lot of nonprofits who can benefit from your donations. For example, The Hope Center takes donations of men’s clothing, and if you take things to Goodwill or the Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore in the name of Greenhouse 17, they will provide families with vouchers to shop with. If something is irreparable or truly worn out beyond use, recycle it instead of tossing it in the trash. For more information on how to do this, check out the Council for Textile Recycling’s website.

 
1 macyMacy Gould is the AmeriCorps VISTA member who serves as Bluegrass Greensource’s green jobs coordinator, working with educators to ensure that students are aware of and prepared for the variety of green career paths that await them after high school. Macy is originally from Minneapolis but considers Lexington home and enjoys visiting her family in Colorado Springs. She recently graduated from Transylvania University. Outside of work, you could likely find Macy planning for her community radio show or taking a long walk downtown.

This article appeared in KY Forward on November 13, 2014.

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Support Greensource in Annual GoodGiving Guide Challenge

November 13, 2014By 0 comment

Bluegrass Greensource is participating in the 2014 GoodGiving Guide Challenge, making us eligible for thousands of dollars in cash prizes when our supporters donate through the Challenge website! We are already off to a great start, raising $1,335 in just under two weeks.

As an added bonus from the Challenge, Greensource recently won a contest hosted by West Sixth Brewing. All nonprofits participating in the Challenge were invited to submit a t-shirt design for West Sixth’s Pay It Forward Cocoa Porter, and our Outreach Specialist Beth Oleson submitted the winning design. The t-shirts are available for sale at West Sixth (501 W. 6th Street, Lexington). Greensource will receive 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the shirts for the next year!

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The Challenge is a partnership between Blue Grass Community Foundation and Smiley Pete Publishing. Last year, the Challenge raised over $1.67 MILLION for 107 local non-profits. This year, 155 nonprofits are participating, and we’re expecting great things!

We are asking friends and supporters like you to help us reach our goal of raising $3,500 by donating at least $25 to Bluegrass Greensource during the Challenge! Visit our donation page at BGgives.org anytime between now and 11:59pm on December 12th. Many thanks to all of our GoodGiving Guide Challenge donors!

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Free Green Purchasing Workshop Offered for Lexington Businesses

November 12, 2014By 0 comment

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When we work toward a more sustainable lifestyle, we spend a lot of time thinking about the things we should do (or not do): turn off the lights, recycle and compost, don’t leave the faucet running, don’t litter.  Equally important – but less discussed – is the impact of the things we buy.  In our consumer-driven society, the way we spend sends a major message to manufacturers; and we want that message to be, “I support sustainable, responsible practices.”

Every person can do their part to green the supply chain, but sustainable purchasing is even more important in the workplace, where major accounts and large quantities carry more weight with suppliers.  That’s why Bluegrass Greensource, LFUCG, and the LiveGreenLexington Green Business Challenge are teaming up to offer a lunch-and-learn style Green Purchasing Workshop for Lexington professionals.  Attendees need only worry about the learning half of the equation; a catered lunch is on us.  The workshop will take place at the Barrel House (903 Manchester Street #150) on Tuesday, November 18th from 12-2pm.

Led by industry sustainability leader Office Depot, the Green Purchasing Workshop aims to provide Lexington’s business community with an overview of green purchasing past and present, its benefits (and yes, you will save money by going green), product samples from sustainable vendors, and tips to get your organization moving in the right direction.  The workshop is free and open to anyone representing a Lexington business, and is ideal for purchasing managers and green team members – but any and everyone can benefit from this great information, so don’t be shy!  If your organization purchases anything from office supplies to appliances to cleaners, this is the workshop for you.  To reserve your seat, register here.

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Career Fairs Introduce Students to Green Job Opportunities

November 12, 2014By 0 comment

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In October, Bluegrass Greensource held three regional Green Career Fairs in central Kentucky. These events connected students with basic green jobs information and with businesses and colleges that offer green career opportunities, education, and/or training. The career fairs also featured interactive activities for students to engage with business and college volunteers.

The three Green Career Fairs were held at Danville High School, Locust Trace Agriscience Farm, and Kentucky State University. The Locust Trace Green Career Fair featured student tours of the net-zero energy and waste facilities. The KSU Green Career Fair featured break-out sessions on developing small businesses, green consulting, and a student-led session on caring for the environment. Over 1,200 students from 17 schools across Central Kentucky attended these Green Career Fairs.

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Participating teachers were impressed with this program and hope to see more Green Career Fairs in the future. One teacher said, “Students do not realize that these careers are right here in their community, and these are jobs that pay [well].”

Bluegrass Greensource would like to thank Danville Independent Schools, Fayette County Public Schools, Franklin County Schools, and Kentucky State University for partnering with the Green Jobs Program to make the Green Career Fairs possible. We would also like to thank Central Vending and Aramark for providing snacks and lunch for the events.

Macy Gould, Green Jobs Coordinator, is already planning the next Green Career Fair for the spring. She wants next year’s Green Career Fair to be even more impactful than this year’s three – that’s why she is focusing her efforts on one, even bigger fair this time around as opposed to several in different parts of central Kentucky. Macy plans to reach out to many green businesses and high schools who were unable to attend this year and hopes that next year’s event will exceed the high expectations set by this year’s successes.

The fair will take place in the spring in Lexington, with an exact date and location to be determined soon. Be on the lookout for more information in the coming months, and contact Macy at Macy@BGGreensource.org if you’re interested in participating.

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Dupree Outdoor Days Connect Garrard and Jessamine County Students to Nature

November 12, 2014By 0 comment

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“Passion is lifted from the earth itself by the muddy hands of the young; it travels along grass-stained sleeves to the heart. If we are going to save environmentalism and the environment, we must also save an endangered indicator species: the child in nature.”

― Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

The Nature Conservancy’s newest Kentucky nature preserve invites people to connect with nature in order to deepen their understanding, appreciation, and support for Kentucky’s lands and waters. Schools in the area responded to that invitation with a resounding yes! During the month of October, approximately 400 students from Garrard and Jessamine Counties visited Dupree Nature Preserve to experience outdoor learning days.

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The focus of the outdoor learning days was to allow children the opportunity to explore the trails of the preserve while learning about environmental subjects. Students attended sessions that highlighted Kentucky animals, watersheds and water quality, orienteering, tree identification, and raft construction with the goal of developing knowledge and skills by participating in real-life projects. Students were able to connect to their local environment and learn the importance of stewardship of their community’s natural resources.

Although favorite activities varied from student to student, raft building received the most enthusiastic response. This activity highlighted the ferry that was once found on the preserve. Water travel was important to the settlers that lived here, as it allowed them to ship their goods to a wider market. The questions posed to the students were: How did the settlers cross the river? How did they send and receive goods in this setting? Students were challenged to use natural materials to construct a raft that could transport goods in the absence of a ferry.

One student summed up her experience as the buses were leaving by shouting “Thank you! We had a great day!” Bluegrass Greensource would like to thank Toyota for funding Dupree Outdoor Days and TNC volunteer Ken Brooks for coordinating the events. We had a great day, too!

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Greensource Board Welcomes Greg Butler

November 12, 2014By 0 comment

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Bluegrass Greensource extends a warm welcome to the newest member of our board, Greg Butler of Republic Services! Greg has worked with cities and counties in Virginia, Texas, Oregon, and Kentucky on a wide array of projects ranging from strategic planning, community visioning, natural hazards mitigation, food security, parks and open space planning, waste management, economic development, and alternative transportation. Greg has lived in Kentucky since 2010 with his partner Lily, who assures him that she’ll be done with graduate school soon, and their mostly useless dog, Crowder. When not working with governments, Greg, Lily, and Crowder are working on their startup company to reinvigorate heirloom dried bean production in Appalachia and the Southeast.

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Sustainability partner Office Depot to lead free Greensource green purchasing workshop

November 7, 2014By 0 comment

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Those working toward a more sustainable lifestyle often spend time thinking about the things they should do or should not do such as turning off the lights, recycling, composting, making sure the faucet isn’t left running or picking up litter. What is equally important, and often not discussed, is the impact of things we buy.

In this consumer-driven society, the way we spend sends a major message to manufacturers and retail outlets. Bluegrass Greensource wants that message to be, “I support sustainable, responsible practices.”

To that end, BG and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government launched the LiveGreenLexington Green Business Challenge and are now offering a free green purchasing workshop for Lexington professionals.

The lunch-and-learn event is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 18, from 12-2 p.m. at the Barrel House in Lexington. The Barrel House is located at 903 Manchester St. in Suite 150.

“Every person can do their part to green the supply chain, but sustainable purchasing is even more important in the workplace,” reads a BG news release, “where major accounts and large quantities carry more weight with suppliers.”

The workshop will be led by Office Depot, an “industry sustainability leader,” as identified by Greensource. The event is intended to give Lexington’s business community an overview of green purchasing past and present and its benefits, such as saving money. Product samples from sustainable vendors will be available, and there will be tips to get any organization “moving in the right direction.”

The free workshop is open to anyone representing a Lexington business, but is ideal, say organizers, for purchasing managers and green team members of businesses from office supplies to appliances to cleaners. To register, click here. For more information about Bluegrass Greensource, click here.

This article appeared in KY Forward on November 6, 2014.

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