GO GREEN - BECAUSE GREEN GOES WITH EVERYTHING!
Dec. 2009 Green Tip: Green Your Local Economy
Did you know:For every $100 in customer spending at a national chain, the total local economic impact is only $13. The same amount spent with a local merchant yields $45, more than three times the local economic impact. Local retailers spend more of their revenue to pay Austinites to run their businesses, and spend/invest more of their profits in Austin’s economy.
What you can do this holiday season:
1. Start an online “alternative gift registry” for yourself and your children, to offer family members who want gift ideas. For instance, you could suggest a donation to your favorite charity in your name, a cooking class, a sweater you saw at a local store. Create free registries at alternativegiftregistry.org
2. Consider buying (or making!) gifts that have have less packaging* AND help our local economy. Some ideas:
· Shop at locally-owned stores, especially ones that support our school and advertise in our directory. Search the directory at ibuyaustin.com to find out who’s local.
· Purchases from our Scholastic Book Fair (Dec. 1-5) not only fund HALF the budget for our school library, they also support an environmentally responsible publisher.**
· Shop for original gifts made by local artists and craftspeople at fairs:
--Blue Genie Arts Bazaar (Dec. 3-24)
--Wheatsville Arts Festival (Dec. 5-6)
-- new! Etsy Austin’s Craft Riot (Dec. 5-6)
--Cherrywood Arts Festival (Dec. 12-13)
· Shop Local ONLINE
-- If you are used to downloading music from iTunes or giving iTunes gift cards for music, you can now support our local Waterloo Records by shopping their digital music store at www.waterloorecords.com
-- Etsy.com is an online marketplace for independent artists/craftspeople. Just type TeamEtsyAustin in the search field to “localize” your search for everything from jewelry to candy to housewares to “geekery.”
* Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year's holiday period than any other time of year.
**"Scholastic's green publishing policy is truly industry-leading and will do much to continue advancing positive transformations in the book sector," --Tyson Miller, Director, Green Press Initiative.
(Dec. 2008)
Grow Local!
Community Classes, Meetings & More
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Looking for a way to spread the word about school gardens?
Join the planning committee for the 2010 Get Growing & Keep Going conference! This
conference teaches school faculty & staff about incorporating school gardens, wildlife
habitats, and environmental topics into the curriculum. The 2008 conference was
a big success, and we're looking forward to an even more successful event in 2010.
You can help make this happen!
- Contact Jess at jess@
sustainablefoodcenter.org to find out about how to join a committee and to get more
information!
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In this email...
* Grow Local - Upcoming Classes
* Texas Conservation Alliance Annual Meeting
* Austin Comprehensive Plan - Community Forum Series
* Free dirt in South Austin
Grow Local
Upcoming Community Classes
Registration required. Please call Jess Guffey at
236-0074 x105 or email jess@sustainablefoodcenter.org.
Composting Class
This free class will describe the whys and hows of basic composting.
Composting is a great way to recycle kitchen and yard waste, as well as
produce a rich organic fertilizer for your vegetable garden. Everyone
can compost (even if you don't have a garden). We will describe some of
the different methods that you can use. If you've been interested in
learning how to compost, this class will help you get started!
When/Where
Tuesday, November 17
6-7 pm
Virginia L. Brown Recreation Center - Conference Room B
7500 Blessing Ave, 78752
How to Start a Community Garden Workshop
A community garden is a place for growing food, friends, flowers and
community. Find out how to contribute to the economic, social, and
environmental vitality of your neighborhood by starting a community
garden. In this workshop, we will cover:
- How to Secure Land
- Finding Funding & Resources
- Organizing Friends & Neighbors to Create a
Community Space
We will also take a tour of an established community garden.
There is a high interest in community gardening in Austin, and very
limited spaces available at the current community gardens. Come learn
about how we can work together to start more gardens! Cost $5 per participant to
cover food and printing of materials.
When/Where
Saturday, December 12
9am-1pm
Austin Mennonite Church
5801 Westminster Dr, 78723
Seed Saving Class
Ever wondered how you can develop even more sustainability in your
garden? This free class will go over the basics of how to save your own
seeds for future planting. Learn the difference between hybrid and
open-pollinated varieties. Several seed saving techniques will be
covered.
When/Where
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
6pm - 7pm
Location TBD (NE Austin)
Texas Conservation Alliance
Annual Meeting
Saturday, Nov. 7th, 9:30am-4:30pm
You are enthusiastically invited!
SCHEDULE
9:30
- 11:00 Registration
Nature
Walks
11:00
- 11:45 Workshop on Hot Topics
11:45
- 12:15 Lunch - RSVP to reserve a $10 box lunch,
Cheryl@TCAtexas.org
or 903-592-0909
12:15
- 1:00 Guided Tour
Audubon Center
Guided
Nature Walks
1:00
- 1:45 "Getting Kids Outdoors"
Kirby Brown,
Texas
Wildlife Association
Scot
McClure, Dallas
Safari Club
2:00
- 3:30 Special Guest Speaker
Larry
Schweiger, President and CEO
National
Wildlife Federation
3:30
- 4:30 Social to Meet Our MemberOrganizations
and Book Signingsby
Larry Schweiger, Gina Donovanand
Richard Donovan
Where:
Trinity River Audubon Center
6500 South Loop 12
Dallas, TX
For more information, call the Alliance at 903-592-0909. http://www.trinityaudubon.org
Austin Comprehensive Plan
Community Forum Series
November 9-12
SAVE
THE DATE...
for
Imagine
Austin!
Remember how it felt to
dream about your future when you were a kid?
The possibilities seemed
endless.
Now is your chance to
dream like a kid again!
The City of Austin
invites you to imagine the city of
your dreams. Bring your kids, your family, your friends, and together, we'll
write a story about Austin's future.
This is YOUR Austin! So go ahead. Dream.
Get
involved in the AUSTIN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN!
Participate
in Community Forum Series #1:
November
9, 2009, 6 pm - Westwood High
School
12400 Mellow Meadow
Drive, Austin TX 78750 (Map)
Northwest
Austin
November
9, 2009, 6 pm - Baty Elementary
School
2101 Faro Drive, Austin
TX 78741 (Map)
Southeast
Austin
November
10, 2009, 7:30 am - St. David's Episcopal
Church
304 E. 7th Street, Austin
TX 78701 (Map)
Downtown Austin
November
10, 2009, 6 pm - Bowie High
School
4103 Slaughter Lane,
Austin TX 78749 (Map)
Southwest Austin
November
12, 2009, 6 pm - Reagan High
School
7104 Berkman Drive,
Austin TX 78752 (Map)
Northeast Austin
November
12, 2009, 6 pm - Travis High
School
1211 East Oltorf, Austin
TX 78704 (Map)
South Central Austin
CHILD
FRIENDLY! REFRESHMENTS! MUSIC!
Click here to RSVP: http://www.surveymonkey.com/rsvpImagineAustin
For more information on
the comprehensive plan, visit: www.cityofaustin.org/compplan
Free Dirt -
at a South Austin home
Claudette Lowe has a huge pile of really good dirt that she needs to get rid of!
If anyone needs some, and has a pickup to move it, you're welcome to it. Contact
Claudette at claudettelowe@sbcglobal.net.
Sustainable Food Center cultivates a healthy community by strengthening the local
food system and improving access to nutritious, affordable food.
Bryker Woods is among Austin's GREENEST schools
For the third consecutive year, Bryker Woods Elementary School has been selected by Keep Austin Beautiful (KAB) as one of the five
From increasing their paper recycling from 2 to 4 tons a month to hosting a Styrofoam recycling day to address the mounds of packaging generated over the holidays Bryker Woods is a leader in school efforts to go green. Recently they took a big step in reducing their environmental footprint by replacing disposable Styrofoam trays and sporks with reusable trays eliminating 6 bags of trash a day that were generated by the disposable trays.
Sixth-grade teacher
Joe on the Go
If you like coffee like I like coffee, you could be decimating a forest with your weekly habit (I'm talking paper, not beans. How can you cut back? Take in your own cup. Many coffee houses allow reusable cups and may even give you a discount. What a great idea - saving paper cups and money all with one cup of joe!
Elegant Dining
How can you protect Mother Earth and enjoy fine dining at the same time? Why, Cloth napkins, of course! For each cloth napkin you use, you save on paper napkins and paper towels which equates to saving trees. They do not take up much space in the washing machine and can be picked up on the cheap at local thrift stores. Whoever thought mac and cheese was so high class?
PARTY ON, MOTHER EARTH!!!
Planning a party? Frequent entertaining? Tired of throwing out paper plates ans styrofoam cups? Afraid guests might run off with your fancy silver? Try a party pack (http://store.kidskonserve.com/Party-Pak-p/kkpp.htm). Not only are you saving future landfill space, but you are wisely using recycled materials. Be the hit of the party!!!
My, How You Have Grown!
One of the greatest recycling efforts are thrift stores. We all know how quickly kids grow out of their clothes. Why not turn it in to your "green" advantage? Shopping at thrift stores creates a recycling of clothes and does your wallet good. Donating to thrift stores keeps that recycling going and does your heart good. A couple of good stores in the BW neighborhood are Savers (Burnet and North Loop) and the Assistance League of Austin (49th and Burnet). Happy hunting and Happy recycling!