CT Green Scene

Deadline Today for Farm-to-Chef Harvest Celebration Week

Farm-to-Chef Harvest Celebration Week, a new promotion initiated by the CT Department of Agriculture's Farm-to-Chef Program, will run Sunday, September 26, 2010, through Saturday, October 2, 2010. Open to all restaurants and foodservice businesses in the state, it invites participants to create and offer a separate Farm-to-Chef menu showcasing CT Grown ingredients and CT wines.

"While many Farm-to-Chef members source locally on a regular basis, we hope this special event will entice new restaurants and businesses to give CT Grown ingredients a try. Because it is only a one-week commitment, it is an easy way for chefs to try local farm products without feeling overwhelmed," said Linda Piotrowicz, Farm-to-Chef Program Manager.

Green Things in Wilton This Weekend

Looking for something to do in the Wilton area this weekend? We've got a couple of ideas for you. Empty out your medicine cabinet and head on over to the Comstock Community Center. Got an outdated prescription? Drop it off at no extra charge! Then, on Sunday, enjoy Wilton's green festival. Activities are planned all over town! See below for more details.

Kroon Hall Makes Top Ten Green List

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected Yale University’s new Kroon Hall as one of the top ten examples of “sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.” Centerbrook Architects collaborated on the project with Hopkins Architects of London and an all-star team of consultants that included ARUP engineers, atelier 10, Nitsch engineering, Kalin Associates, and Olin Partnership.

The new home for the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, the 66,818-square-foot building was designed to use 81 percent less water and 58 percent less energy than a comparable baseline structure and to generate 25 percent of its electricity onsite from renewable sources.  It was recently certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council and has won more than a dozen design awards.

CT Green

The Connecticut Post showed its green today with stories of particular interest:

Governor M. Jodi Rell rode on the train line from New Haven to Hartford with Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood. There is talk of a future high-speed commuter line between the two cities.

"The target date of 2016 for the New Haven-to-Hartford line to feature commuter and high-speed lines sounds far in the future. But there are deadlines to meet every step of the way, and the next governor, whoever it is, will need to maintain the state's focus, even as other matters inevitably take center stage."

Here's hoping Connecticut doesn't drop the ball on the rail line before 2016. To read more of the article, click here.

But area hospitals such as St. Vincent's, Bridgeport, and Griffin are not dropping the ball these days by ditching their polystyrene cups and plastic utensils. Since hospitals have a high carbon footprint, this is one way to lower it.

"In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, several hospitals are phasing out products made of plastic foam, which resists biodegradation and is not always accepted by recycling programs.

On July 1, St. Vincent's will begin replacing its non-green cups and the like with more environmentally sound paper products. Griffin Hospital in Derby is also planning to replace its foam products with 'green' items and will do away with plastic cutlery, in favor of starch-based products. Meanwhile, Bridgeport Hospital has already gotten rid of plastic foam trays, and is in the process of replacing plastic foam cups with the paper variety, as well as selling reusable mugs."

To read more, click here.

Images courtesy of the State of Connecticut and St. Vincent's, respectively.

Celebrate Spring with NYR Organic 4/29/10

Please join a special group of women that want to learn more about how to have Perfect Skin…Naturally!

Celebrate Spring with organic skin care & remedies by Neal's Yard Remedies Organic! You will experience the pure luxury of our intensely nourishing, radiance boosting elixirs, balms, creams & polishes.  Everyone will receive an intensely nourishing hand treatment…COMPLIMENTARY!

When:   Thursday, April 29
Time:   10:00am – 11:30am  -or- 7:00pm-8:30pm
Where: Greenwich Water Club, 43 River Road, Cos Cob
RSVP:   Tuesday, April 27 Liz 203-273-2566
Contact: Liz  Norfleet LizNYROrganic@aol.com 203-273-2566 or schedule a private consulatation

Shop online at us.nyrorganic.com/shop/norfleet  

Products do not contain any of the following: GMO ingredients, parabens, nano particles, synthetic fragrance, synthetic color, silicones, mineral oils, phthalates, EDTA, propylene glycol, carbomer, DEA. No animal Testing! Celebrating 29 years of making the best organic and natural skincare products!

Learn To Be A 'Greenscaper'

Looking to start a green career or simply expand your landscaping skill set?

Learn To Be A ‘Greenscaper” is a practical 1.5 day short course for both landscapers and other design and maintenance pros. Learn how to correctly design, size, and install a water garden; a perfect way for landscapers to expand their clientele and protect the planet. Classes will teach the fundamentals of Low Impact Development, materials needed, planet selection and care, and both long and short-term maintenance.

Classes begin with a full classroom day Tuesday, May 11 from 8:30am-5pm at Hansen Pavilion, Beardsley Zoo (lunch included). Also a field demo (half day) Tuesday, May 18 from 8:30am-12:30 pm (location TBD). The following week put your newly acquired skills to work by spending a morning participating in the evacuation and installation of a new rain garden on the grounds of Beardsley Zoo!

For details and to register contact:
Deborah A. Caviness
203-576-8473
Deborah.Caviness@Bridgeportct.gov

Opening the Doors on Natural Childbirth

by Michelina Docimo

In Italian, dare la luce, a phrase that literally means “to give light,” is used to allude to the act of a woman giving birth. Natural childbirth, a concept that seems so foreign today, has been replaced with a delivery process that takes place behind closed doors in a steely gray, windowless room. The physical labor has been removed from the woman by performing quick, convenient C-sections, often for the doctor’s sake of avoiding liability in the event that something might go wrong. Laura DePreta, a Bradley Method® childbirth educator, is shedding light on childbirth options, which empower pregnant women and their partners in making educated decisions on how they will bring forth a new life into the world.

What’s so green about having a baby naturally? Everything – it’s about taking responsibility and making healthy decisions for yourself and your family. As a society, we’ve become so detached from nature, that we even have lost sight of something so primal as how to give birth – something women’s bodies are made to do naturally.

A Mild March

by Courtney Dumais

Was last month warm or was it just me? There were periods of balmy weather, but a few frigid days snuck in as well. The truth, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is that combined land and global temperatures in March 2010 were 56.3F, the highest since record keeping began more than a century ago. Ocean temperatures in March were the highest ever recorded and were 1.01F higher than the average 20th century ocean temperatures. Surface temperatures were the fourth highest on record; March 2008 holds the record. March 2010 surface temperatures were 2.45F higher than the 20th century average.

CSA's: Get ‘Em While They’re Hot!

by Eileen Weber
 
Along with farmers’ markets and organic produce available in certain grocery stores, CSAs are relatively commonplace these days. So I probably don’t have to tell you that CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You already know that it supports local farms. And, you know that it provides fresh produce for you and your family for (break it down, now) a fraction of the cost you end up spending at the supermarket.
 
Here’s what I can tell you: What’s still open. If you’re anything like me (and I sincerely hope you are not), you procrastinate like crazy. In fact, if procrastination were a disease, I would have slipped into a deadly coma and perished from it long ago.

FEATURED CAMPAIGN: The Conservation Fund

The Conservation Fund and award winning filmmakers from Nomadsland have teamed up to create our first environmental documentary. The 5-6 minute high-definition film features the Fund’s partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, leading companies and thousands of donors as we help address two of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges – habitat loss and climate change.

Climate change has become one of the most complex and pressing environmental issue of this century. But while many of us agree that we must do something, the challenge sometimes seems great. What small action can you take to make a difference? Go Zero. The Conservation Fund’s Go Zero program makes it simple for individuals, corporations, or even entire communities to first measure their carbon dioxide emissions, learn helpful ways to reduce those emissions, and then offset the remainder by planting trees.

Click the link below to watch the video

FEATURED CAMPAIGN: The Conservation Fund.

An Earth Day Lecture from RFK, Jr

by Eileen Weber


Last night, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke at Fairfield University’s Quick Center for a little over an hour about a range of environmental issues. Known for his passionate views on global warming and what we as a society can do about it, Kennedy spoke about renewable energy, excess waste and landfills, clean waterways, electric cars, and the role politics plays in our environment.
 
As part of the university’s Earth Week, Kennedy’s lecture kicked the activities off. Organized in part by Zachary Gross, a member of the Student Environmental Association, and Alexandra Roem, President of the Green Campus Initiative, the two students were pleased to have such a notable and prestigious environmental leader speak.
 
“The fact that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. lives his life as a champion of the environment makes him an ideal person to speak at Fairfield and energize the campus community during Earth Week,” said Gross in a university press release.

Earth Day @ Nature's Temptations Ridgefield 4/24

Join Nature's Temptations of Ridgefield Saturday, April 24  from 10am-4pm for the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. Educate, support, and participate in the effort to reduce your carbon footprint. Meet local, sustainable, and organic vendors. Sample tons of free products, food and all-you-can-eat BBQ. Activities for the kids. Bring the whole family!  Enter to win a X5 35d for the weekend from BMW of Ridgefield! Also enter to win a Free Stay at the Green Rocks Inn!  ...and much more. Rain or shine! outdoor activities are under a tent. For more information visit www.naturestemptations.com or contact Nature's Temptations at 32 Prospect St, Ridgefield or 203-438-5443

Green Food Tips for Earth Day

by Analiese Paik, Founder and Editor of the Fairfield Green Food Guide

One of the easiest ways to make Earth Day every day is to green your kitchen. Here are some delicious and fun ways to reduce your family's "foodprint" while eating well. Click here to view the video from this segment on News Channel 8’s Good Morning Connecticut Show.

Buy locally grown food from a farmers' market and learn to cook with the seasons.
 
Best-selling author, restaurateur and Wholesome Wave Foundation founder Michel Nischan's new cookbook, Sustainably Delicious, presents over 100 recipes for home cooks looking for delicious and nutritious ways to prepare seasonal food that is good for the environment, for animals, for farm workers, and for our tables. Michel advises us to "Eat what's available in season, celebrate variety, respect the land and eschew waste." His mission is to show that choosing local and sustainably grown food offers innumerable rewards, including some of the very best flavors Mother Nature has to offer. Who thought a humble parsnip could be this delicious?

Wilton's First Go Green Festival

Come to Wilton on Sunday, May 2nd, from 8:30 am to 4 pm, to enjoy a community-wide celebration of green living with bike rides, a stroller derby, yoga, film screenings, many guest speakers, a Norwalk River Walk and much more.

The Festival will take place all over town at venues including Woodcock Nature Center, Wilton Library, and the Town Green Gazebo. The day's activities are sponsored by a grant from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund through the Community Innovation Grants Program. The event is hosted by the Wilton

Energy Commission in partnership with Wilton Library, Ambler Farm, Cannon Grange, Wilton Conservation Commission, Wilton Clergy Association, Wilton Family Y, Wilton Garden Club, Wilton Public Schools, Woodcock Nature Center and the Wilton Rotary Club.

Visit the Wilton Go Green Festival website for more information on all the terrific activities planned.
Registration for individual programs and events at GO GREEN or call (203) 762-3950 ext. 213 unless otherwise noted.

Panel: American Marketing Association and the UCONN School of Business Alumni Association

Proudly Present

Sustainable Energy Marketing - Challenges & Opportunities

A Panel Discussion with Key Industry Leaders
University of Connecticut Stamford Campus
Stamford, CT

Speakers:

Jonathan Edwards, VP of SmartPower

Bob Wall, Director of Energy Market Initiatives for the CT Clean Energy Fund

Heather Burns, Consultant and Founder of GreenScenes

Carolyn Humphreys, Marketing Director for Sunlight Solar

The Fairfield County Chapter of the American Marketing Association & the UCONN School of Business Alumni Association are pleased to offer a special program on Sustainable Business on April 14th at the UCONN Stamford Campus. Come and learn about the new and evolving relationship between business and the environment. Learn about Sustainability, Sustainable Energy and the new marketing challenges for businesses related to Sustainability.

When
Wednesday, April 14, 2009 from 5:00pm –9:00pm at the University of Connecticut, Stamford Campus - Schreiber Room, located at One University Place in Stamford. Attendees will enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres, and refreshments. Registration, networking & refreshments begin at 5:30 PM, the program begins at 6:30 PM.

Where
University of Connecticut-Stamford Campus
One University Place
Stamford, CT 06901
(203) 251-8400
(Corner of Washington Boulevard and Broad Street)

Directions
http://stamford.uconn.edu/maps.htm

Register at:

http://www.amafairfieldcounty.org/events.html#041410

Emergency House Call

by Eileen Weber

What would you do if you knew a house built in the 18th century was going to be dismantled, its parts and pieces thrown away? If you're anything like Joe DeRisi, founder and owner of Urbanminers in Hamden, you’d come to the rescue.

DeRisi and his crew spend their time “deconstructing” houses to dismantle and resell salvaged items. With the mantra, “It’s still good,” DeRisi has a booming business keeping perfectly good materials from ending up in a landfill.

Last Thursday, he got a call from Steve Bielitz, owner of Glastonbury Restoration, a company that restores historic and landmark buildings. Bielitz told him that a pre-Revolutionary War house in Fairfield County was scheduled to be demolished because of ensuing development. Bielitz said he wanted to break it down to its main historic components and, hopefully, move it to a new site.

There is one problem with that hope: There is no place to move it to. It needs a buyer, and fast. With only a matter of weeks to work in, the house needs to be demolished and off site by mid-May.

16th Earth Day Bonanza @ New Morning in Woodbury CT!

In its 16th year, Earth Day is the largest, (friendliest)  event in Connecticut. Over 100 hundred exhibitors sampling the latest in natural and organic – many handmade in CT - will gather on Saturday, April 24th, 2010.

Visit the food tent and leave happy with products such as crusty whole grain Bantam Breads, Boxed Goodes’ Heirloom Red Rice of Litchfield, Fresh farm-fresh yogurt from the contented Jerseys of Simmons Family Farm of Farmington, and Winding Drive Jams and Jellies of Woodbury. Don't miss award-winning, gluten-free cookies from Gilbert’s Gourmet Goodies, Newtown CT. Stop by the ever-popular wooden Brookview Sugar House, with real maple treats from the Litchfield Hills. Be on the lookout for David from Dan’s Chocolates of Burlington, Vermont –working the crowd with fresh, hand-made gourmet truffles.

Kids play all day- from seed planting to face painting. By popular demand the Backyard Beekeeper’s Association is returning with its kid-friendly insect display. All time favorite, EARS- Equine Animal Rescue Sanctuary is returning with two horses in tow.

Happy Earth Day to you….

by Courtney Dumais
           
Thursday, April 22nd marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Founded by former Senator Gaylord Nelson, the first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970. It marked the beginning of the environmental movement in the United States. On that day, under the leadership of Dennis Hayes, millions of Americans came together in the form of rallies and protests to promote preservation and to raise environmental awareness. The first Earth Day not only gained national attention, but it also resulted in the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a national organization charged with creating and maintaining a safe, clean environment.

Four decades later, environmental issues are more serious than ever before. Many factors such as population growth, increases in greenhouse gas emissions, and rises in average global temperatures, pose new threats to the future of the planet. According to Climate Change: A Reference Handbook by Kate Brash, David Downie and Catherine Vaughan, annual carbon dioxide emissions has increased over the past forty years by 80% and eleven of the past twelve years have been the warmest recorded.

Sun Roaster: Not Just a Glowing Tan

by Eileen Weber

Plainville has bragging rights on organic fair trade thanks to the Sun Coffee Roasters company. Since last April, they’ve grown their coffee company through a bad economy. While other industries felt the sting of a sinking Dow, organic fair trade has seen growth. That’s largely due to two main reasons: Investors willing to secure their excess cash in an upstart instead of a volatile financial market and, well, a bunch of college kids.

In fact, the college and university market is their biggest fan. It seems that college kids drink a barge load of coffee. That, plus an insatiable desire for all things environmental and socially conscious, makes for a good cup o’ Joe on exam night.

“The college market is our core focus right now,” said Ken Lewis, Chief Marketing Officer and Partner at the Sun Coffee Roasters Company. “It’s a growing business. We’ve got 37 licenses with schools around the country.”

Fresh Hope

by Eileen Weber

Last summer, I wrote an article about a group of Fairfield residents who came together to grow an organic garden for Operation Hope. The idea was hatched by Eleanor Fraser, a petite Scottish woman with a shy smile and a whole lot of ambition. Her mission, should she choose to accept it, was to feed the hungry, one fresh vegetable at a time.

When she pitched the idea to Operation Hope, she said “they loved it.” With her wide-brimmed hat in hand, Fraser went to the town to secure a plot of land in one of their community areas. After more than a little bureaucratic red tape, she was assigned a plot on Warde Terrace.

“She’s been amazing,” said Michelle Stearns, Operation Hope’s Volunteer Coordinator, of last year’s efforts. “It was such a hard time getting a plot. There was all that rain. The garden started late. But she persevered and got it off the ground.”

Eileen Noel, a garden volunteer who is returning this year with her daughter Hanna, agrees that Fraser has been the garden’s foot soldier, fighting for its existence. “I think the community garden concept is such an important thing and I was shocked that no one I have talked to knew about it,” she said. “The more I learn about the way plots are assigned, the more important it seems that the town needs some type of committee to oversee it and run it more efficiently. They might look to neighboring towns to see what works and doesn't.”

A Honey Tasting Workshop at Red Bee ® Apiary in Weston 5/18/10

Fairfield Green Food Guide and CT Bites present A Honey Tasting Workshop at Red Bee ® Apiary in Weston

Via Fairfield Green Food Guide: www.fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com/2010/04/01/a-honey-tasting-workshop-at-red-bee-apiary/. Join us for a Tasting Flight of Seven Artisanal Honeys with Red Bee Apiary’s own Marina Marchese. Learn how honeybees make this liquid gold we call honey, how location and nectar source determines a honeys color, and flavor and how honey is harvested and extracted from the comb.

Marina will show us how to taste and evaluate honey using the Honey Sommelier tasting guide in her new book HONEYBEE Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper. Each guest will receive one sample 2 oz. jar of Red Bee’s signature Wildflower Honey. The Red Bee Honey Tasting Menu includes: Farmhouse comb honey, Red Bee’s signature wildflower, Alfalfa honey, Goldenrod honey, Blueberry blossom honey, Tulip poplar honey, Star thistle honey. The Featured Bread will be Fairfield Bread Company’s “The Flaxette”, a baguette with a crisp, caramelized crust surrounding a flavorful, tender and chewy center that’s studded with ground organic flax. The tasting will also include some locally produced cheeses and garden accompaniments. The even will take place Tuesday, May 18 from 1pm-3pm at Red Bee Apiary and Gardens, Westport CT. Rain date Tuesday, May 25 1pm-3pm. Cost $15 per person. Seating is limited to 20 people, reserve your seat via online check out at Red Bee Honey www.redbee.com. If you have questions you can send an email to info@fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com

Going green on the throne

by Simon Pipek

What goes in must come out, especially if it’s chili con carne. So why not use the human waste to help green our planet? The question remains on how to turn the theory into practice. Try the NoMix toilet. It separates your number ones from your number twos right there in the privacy of your home. By doing so, the technology promotes water pollution control and conserves resources. A step up from the widely accepted dual-flushing system for toilets, which allows you to choose between a light or heavy “wash” of your toilet bowl depending on its current content (urine or feces), NoMix simply takes this technology further. Nutrients recovered from urine could be recycled to agriculture (used as fertilizers), and micropollutants could be directly removed.

At first glance, 1% of urine in the total wastewater volume seems like an incredibly low number, but it contains 50-80% of all the nutrients in wastewater. With conventional toilets, these nutrients have to be degraded in complex, hence expensive, operations in wastewater treatment plants. So if there is a way to divide liquids from solids right where the magic happens, it could simplify or even erase the process of nutrient elimination at those plants, according to Eawag, a Swiss aquatic research institute.

Eawag, who explores all kinds of ways to reduce water waste and water pollution, initiated Novaquatis, a cross-cutting project that brought together researchers from the fields of sociology, economics, natural sciences and engineering. They worked closely together with the sanitary technology industry, local authorities and China, a country trying to reinvent itself as green.

A Healthier Future

by Courtney Dumais

The “Food For Thought” Expo on Saturday got me thinking about the country’s youth.  After all, if we fail to responsibly protect the Earth’s resources, our children and their children will suffer from our negligence. For me, these future generations are a large driving force behind the need to keep the Earth clean, healthy and safe.

Granted I have only inhabited the planet for a mere twenty years (and am not a parent), I have nonetheless, witnessed a variety of significant transformations, many of which resulted from important technological advancements. In my lifetime, these advancements entered the home in the form of computers, cell phones and genetically modified foods. For my parents, televisions and microwaves invaded.

Many Americans have difficulty imagining life without these things, certainly most children cannot fathom life, or even a day, without a cell phone, television, game-cube, X-box, Cheez-Its and so on. Despite my mother’s best efforts, my little brother arrives home from school, grabs a box of Trix and proceeds to engage in violent wars on the latest and greatest gaming system. I am in no way saying all the above should be eliminated, rather examining how such things will alter the future.