It’s Not Easy Being Green –
We’re Here to Help
The 5th annual Go Green, Save Green Workshop, sponsored by LFUCG, is scheduled for March 20, 2014 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the BCTC Newtown Campus (500 Newtown Pike). This one-day workshop will educate businesses of all types and sizes on practices that are both environmentally friendly and money-saving.
This workshop is a fantastic opportunity to network with sustainability professionals and learn more about the steps that businesses can take to save energy, improve water quality, and reduce waste, all while reducing your costs!
Whether you’re just getting started implementing eco-friendly practices at your business or you’re a seasoned sustainability professional, there are sessions to fit your needs. This year’s workshop offers specialized tracks for various types of businesses including industrial-sized businesses, bars and restaurants, apartment complexes, and religious institutions.
This year, we have partnered with the Kentucky U.S. Green Building Council to expand our offerings, including a session that will provide continuing education credit for LEED professionals. Sessions on energy efficient thermal comfort, grants for developing brownfields, water incentive grants, low impact development, and net-zero building will offer much to consider for businesses looking to ‘go green.’
Homeowners as well as businesses will benefit from learning about current recycling efforts in Lexington, the ins and outs of composting, and water quality issues. There will also be a presentation from the builder of Kentucky’s first net-zero energy home.
The cost to attend is $25 (general attendee), $15 (student attendee), or $50 (vendor). On-site general registration on the day of the event will cost $40. The registration fee covers admission to all sessions, a zero-waste breakfast and catered lunch, a tour of the LEED Certified BCTC Newtown Campus, chances to win door prizes (including a Haiku Fan from Big Ass Fans), and a drink ticket for happy hour. Happy Hour and networking will take place at Blue Stallion Brewing Company after the sessions. Parking is free and conveniently accessible.
To register, please visit ggsg.eventbrite.com by March 18th. Registration after that date cannot be guaranteed to include lunch.
Support Bluegrass Greensource on KY Gives Day on April 9th
Bluegrass Greensource is participating in Kentucky Gives Day, scheduled for April 9, 2014, and we need your help! With just a few clicks, you can help us continue our work in protecting our local environment.
Kentucky Gives Day, organized by Kentucky Nonprofit Network, is a 24-hour online fundraising event bringing charities and Kentuckians together for a powerful day of action by encouraging people to donate to their favorite charities.
Greensource’s goal is to raise as much money as possible in those 24 hours! The funds we raise will help us expand our environmental education efforts in area schools, enhance our environmental outreach in Central Kentucky communities, and further our mission to help people make small changes in their daily lives that have a big impact in our environment.
“Bluegrass Greensource makes a difference every day through our environmental education and outreach programs in local schools and communities,” said Amy Sohner, Executive Director of Bluegrass Greensource. “By encouraging people, no matter what their age, to make small changes, they can not only save the environment but also save a lot of money.”
One of our many success stories includes helping a school district save over $50,000 annually on its waste hauling costs. The school district has been so inspired that they have set a new goal to reduce their energy consumption by 20% by 2017. To put this in perspective, if they were 20% more efficient in 2013, this school district would have avoided paying $1.6 million in utility bills. This money could have gone toward providing salaries for more than 30 faculty or staff, purchasing over 1600 new computers, or building 7 new elementary school classrooms.
Beginning at midnight EDT on April 9th and continuing until 11:59pm EDT, you can visit our online donation page at http://kygives.razoo.com/story/Bggreensource and make your tax-deductible donation. All online donations made to Bluegrass Greensource on KY Gives Day will go directly to support our mission.
You CAN make a difference. Help the environment on April 9th!
If you have any questions, please contact Chris Clabes at chrisc@bggreensource.org or (859) 230-2325.
First Annual Earth Day Main St. Clean Sweep to be Held April 22nd
Bluegrass Greensource needs your help this Earth Day for our first annual Main St. Clean Sweep! What better way to celebrate Earth Day than by getting out in your community and picking up litter? Litter thrown on the streets ends up in storm drains and trashes our environment. Storm drains often flow directly into streams, lakes, and rivers. When water becomes polluted, it is no longer safe for drinking or recreation, and this litter harms fish and other wildlife. Many of the items that are thrown from car windows or dropped on the sidewalk are not biodegradable, which means that their chemical decomposition takes a very long time and that these items will create long-term damage to environment (this is the case with cigarette butts).
You may have heard all kinds of things about how litter harms the environment, but did you know that litter also hurts local economies? Houses in littered neighborhoods sell for less money than those in unlittered neighborhoods. Also, cleaner communities have a better chance of attracting new businesses, residents, and tourists. Much of what is thrown away or littered (like cans and plastic bottles) could have been recycled and is thus a lost resource. So, let’s pick up some litter and help clean up the Bluegrass this Earth Day!
We are asking employees from businesses in Downtown/Main Street areas throughout the Bluegrass region to get outside during their lunch break on April 22nd anytime between 11:30 am and 2:00pm and pick up some litter (rain or shine). Bluegrass Greensource is planning cleanups in Frankfort, Lancaster, Harrodsburg, Winchester, Stanford, Irvine, and Danville. We will provide trash bags, gloves, and FREE T-SHIRTS at all locations! Stay tuned for kick-off locations and more details in the coming month!
Even if you aren’t able to get out on Earth Day and help with one of the litter cleanups, you can still make a difference by picking up litter anytime, anywhere. With your help we can make every day Earth Day!
If you are interested in being involved in one of the Earth Day Main St. Clean Sweep events, please contact Ashley at 859-266-1572 or vista@bggreensource.org.
Making Green Work at Franklin County Operation Preparation
On March 10th and 11th, the Bluegrass Greensource Green Jobs Program was at Kentucky State University for Franklin County Operation Preparation. Operation Preparation is a joint effort of the Kentucky Department of Education and the Department of Workforce Development and provides a powerful opportunity for schools, students, parents and communities to collaborate and focus attention to the importance of planning for college and/or career (education.ky.gov). This program is the perfect opportunity for students to learn about green career opportunities in their community.
Green Jobs Coordinator Ashley Bryant Cheney participated in the advising sessions for interested 8th graders and offered the first ever Green Jobs Information Session for all 10th grade students from Western Hills High School and Franklin County High School. Through these programs, Bluegrass Greensource provided green jobs information to over 400 students. Kenvirons and the Division of Forestry partnered with Bluegrass Greensource for the information session. Aaron Morgan (Kenvirons), Chris Jones (Kenvirons), and Ben Lyle (Division of Forestry) all talked about their green jobs and used real-life examples to engage students. It was clear, through the presentations and the questions that students asked, this session opened students’ eyes to green career options.
Franklin County Operation Preparation was a huge success! Bluegrass Greensource would like to thank Aaron Morgan and Chris Jones of Kenvirons and Ben Lyle from the Division of Forestry for talking to the 10th grade students about their green jobs. Bluegrass Greensource would also like to thank the Franklin County schools for featuring the Green Jobs Program as one of their workshop sessions.
If you are interested in learning more about the Green Jobs Program, please contact Ashley at 859-266-1572 or vista@bggreensource.org.
Bluegrass Greensource Staff Tour Rumpke Facility
A group from Bluegrass Greensource had the pleasure of touring the Rumpke Material Recovery Facility in Cincinnati, Ohio on February 19th. Each day Rumpke takes in tons of unsorted recycling and uses some very skilled people and amazing technology to sort everything that makes its way into the facility. When Rumpke’s old recycling facility burned to the ground in 2012, they committed to building a bigger, better, more efficient facility. This new facility includes six optical scanners, two electromagnetic eddy currents, hundreds of spinning discs as well as nearly 100 employees to sort 500 tons of material daily. Rumpke isn’t stopping there; they hope to have the facility running 24/7 and bring the facility up to maximum sorting capacity.
If you would like to schedule a tour of Rumpke, please visit http://rumpke.com/education/facility-tours
Earth Month is Coming Up…
Save the date for these upcoming Earth Month activities in the Bluegrass!
April 5th: Reforest Frankfort
April 12th: Reforest the Bluegrass (Lexington)
April 18th: Downtown Trash Bash (Lexington)
April 22nd: Restore: The Earth Day Event (Georgetown)
April 22nd: Main St. Clean Sweep (Frankfort, Lancaster, Harrodsburg, Winchester, Stanford, Irvine, Danville)
April 26th: Arbor Day at the Arboretum ( Lexington)
Follow us on Facebook to keep up with these and other Earth Month events.
Thank you for signing up to receive our newsletter. If you have any questions or comments about this issue, please contact us at info@bggreensource.org.
Sincerely,
Amy Sohner
Executive Director
Bluegrass Greensource
