Eight Pennsylvania Nonprofits Receive $72,500 in Grants From Verizon to Support Sustainability Initiatives

  Funding to Assist Groups in Expansion of  Community-Based Environmental Programs

            PHILADELPHIA – For students from Conestoga High School in Berwyn, a recent visit to Maysie’s Farm Conservation Center in Glenmoore was more than just a typical field trip.  It was a hands-on lesson in environmental sustainability where, through the center’s Down to Earth Farming program, students learned about filtering soil, planting seeds and picking vegetables, and how to be responsible stewards of the environment.

            Because of the conservation center’s efforts, it is one of eight nonprofit organizations in Pennsylvania to receive $72,500 in grants from the Verizon Foundation to support programs designed to increase awareness of environmental sustainability initiatives in our communities.

            “At Verizon, we believe that environmental sustainability is something to think about every day, not just once a year on Earth Day,” said Jim Gowen, chief sustainability officer at Verizon.  “Sustainability needs to be an ongoing part of everyone’s life, whether it is turning off the lights, recycling, volunteering in the community or sharing ideas for going green.”

            In addition to Maysie’s Farm Conservation Center, the other grant recipients are:

• Central Pennsylvania Conservancy, Carlisle 
• Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education, Philadelphia
• Lawrenceville United, Pittsburgh
• Major Artery Revitalization Committee, Philadelphia
• Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation, Camp Hill
• The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia
• Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy, Schwenksville

            Gowen cited Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy as another outstanding example of sustainability initiatives in action.  The conservancy has invited students and teachers from throughout the Perkiomen Creek’s 362-square-mile watershed to participate in a My Water video competition via its email burst service, Facebook and its website.  Video submissions illustrating why water is important and why it is vital to protect water supplies are due on Earth Day, April 22, 2012.  Judging and the awarding and installation of the grand prize, a new rain garden at the winning school, will take place in May.

            “Verizon is proud to partner with all these nonprofit organizations because when it comes to sustainability, one leads by example, and our joint endeavors will help to expand outreach in the community,” Gowen said.  “Verizon is committed to a 360-degree view of our processes, our people and our products to improve our actions when it comes to our impact on the environment.”

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, uses its technology, financial resources and partnerships to address critical social issues, with a focus on education and domestic violence prevention. In 2010, the foundation awarded nearly $67 million to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation’s largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered nearly 6 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

Did you know that less than 2% of the Earth’s water is fresh? Why conserve it? Well, the plants and animals need it. We do not replace the fresh water that we consume as fast as it is used. When you use water wisely you save money and you save energy. Aren’t these great reasons to cut back on your usage?  

This product is great to teach youngsters to conserve water. Build these habits early on and our children will hold onto them for a life time.  Conditioning our kids to live a green life and do their small part can make a significant difference for their own future and their kids and their kids… you get it.

This device is easy to use, contains a mini hour glass and teaches young and old alike to conserve water in a fun way!  All you have to do is rotate the timer and when the sand runs out you stop your shower. After a few times, you will know exactly how long it will take to wash your hair!

Here are some websites that you can buy this item:

• http://letsgogreen.biz/pages/water.html
• http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/shower-coach-shower-timer
• http://www.yeebiz.com/c/17/666-173/Promotion-Gifts.html
• http://www.amazon.com/ChangeForGreen-Niagara-Shower-Coach-Timer/dp/B004HEBTH8

By Dena Fritz

Recycle, reuse and reduce. That is the mantra of anyone who is environmentally conscience. There is no better way to to be eco friendly than to recycle old goods into new decor for your home. Antiques are an excellent way to reduce your carbon footprint, you know, someone’s trash can be someone’s treasures and all that…. Possibilities are endless when it comes to antiques and that shabby chic vintage look which is so “in” right now. The lovely patina (wear and tear) that antiques hold is what makes them so desirable. Shopping for antiques can be tons of fun and educational too. You can learn much from things that are old, they represent a different era, a time in history, sometimes more than 100 years old.  Craftsmanship is another reason that antiques are so alluring, made from a time when manufacturing with quality and a personal stamp on an item meant great pride. Antiques are almost always unique in their making, some handcrafted and one of a kind. Usually the more unique, the more expensive an antique is. Get started, begin small, take your time and look around. There is something out there for everyone. Good luck!

 The Nature Conservancy offers 5 practical steps to prevent nutrient pollution

Harrisburg, PA – (May 12, 2011) – Everyone needs clean, fresh water. Keeping our water clean is crucial to supporting life, for both people and nature. As spring weather spreads across North America, The Nature Conservancy wants consumers to know that the decisions they make about lawn and garden care can affect the fresh water in your local river and everything downstream – all the way to the ocean.

Hundreds of millions of people across the country rely on fresh water for drinking water and recreation, and these sources need to be protected so they can stay clean for us and for future generations. One frequent way that water becomes polluted is through excess nutrients – fertilizers, both chemical fertilizers and manure, running off farm fields and suburban lawns.

 “Every living thing needs nutrients, but overloading a freshwater system with nutrients can be disastrous,” said Jeff Opperman, a senior freshwater scientist with the Conservancy. Too many nutrients cause algae to grow in unnaturally high quantities, leading to fish kills, drinking water problems and “dead zones” in places like the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico.

“Globally, agricultural chemicals are a primary source of these nutrients, but the way people manage their lawns and gardens has a real effect on the streams and lakes in your neighborhood,” Opperman said.

What can you do to make your lawn truly “green,” and not just lush?

Five Ways to ‘Green” Your Lawn and Garden Care

Use Less Fertilizer
Excess fertilizer flows off your lawn and garden and ends up in nearby rivers and lakes and eventually make its way to the sea.  If you must use fertilizer, get a soil test first. Find out what your lawn needs.    Many lawns don’t need phosphorus, for example, so phosphorus-free fertilizers might just work for you. Use only what you need, and make sure it stays on the lawn. If you spill some on the sidewalk, sweep it up. And only use it when the lawn is growing.  Remember that any kind of fertilizer, organic or chemical, can be over-used.

Slow Your Runoff
We all want to keep our properties from flooding, but when all the water washes off city streets and our rooftops and yards, it carries a lot of nutrients and sediment with it. These materials can be harmlessly processed by the soils and plants on your property, but in a lake or river they can cause real problems. To slow that water down, don’t cut your grass along a creek or drainage swale.  Better yet, replace grass with native plants that will bind the soil and slow down the water. Or maybe create a water garden, which is both functional—it holds and slows down stormwater—and an attractive landscaping feature. Or buy a rain barrel for the water coming off your roof.  The rain in the barrel can then be used to water your gardens and lower your water bill.

Create Less Waste
Grass clippings are high in nutrients so you want to keep them out of the water.  Use a compost bin or use a mulching mower or both. Often, mulching your grass clippings can help reduce the need for fertilizer. And it’s good to keep the nutrient-rich grass clippings and leaves out of storm drains and of ditches.  Cutting your lawn high (3-4 inches) also increases its vigor, shades out unwanted weeds, and requires less water.

Use Native Plants
In general, using more native plants that are right for your part of the world reduces the need for fertilizers, pesticides and watering.  Replace some of your lawn with wildflower gardens, for example.

Buy Sustainable
Although home lawn care can play a significant role in keeping fresh water clean, you can also help promote healthy land and water with your food choices: what you buy, when you buy it, and the producers you support with your purchases. You can make choices about food that support the kind of farmers who work to minimize water pollution. Organic farms, for example, don’t use chemical fertilizers and are required to demonstrate that they are protecting their watershed.

For some practical steps consumers can take to reduce the amount of excess nutrients they add to the watershed where they live, see the video “Green Choices for Lawn and Garden, by visiting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWey6JtlTEY

Read more about protecting fresh water resources at www.nature.org

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org/pennsylvania

By Dena Fritz

Great idea founded in 2008 by Mike Marone in New York, the world’s largest recycling event on May 14th in North Chili, NY. Kudos to Mike for coming up with this idea! It is an event held to give away your goods to save them from ending up in a landfill. Are you a hoarder or on you way to being one? This event can help you help others! Wouldn’t it be great if the idea spread to more neighborhoods? How about a national event? This is what I am talking about. Your trash is almost always someone else’s treasures. All you do is place your items on the curb for others to take away free. It’s like a “curb alert” for all in the neighborhood. No cost and very little effort, you can clean out your junk and help out someone who may need that item. I do this all the time with craigslist offering things for free that I would have to pay to have hauled away, you wouldn’t believe what people look for. Start an event in your neighborhood or just give it away on a site like craigslist, you will be happy you did!

By Dena Fritz

Streamlining your life can benefit you in many ways. Minimalists swear by this saying that clutter can burden your life and add stress needlessly. De-cluttering your life can help you be more efficient, organized and happier. When I talk about clutter, I am not just talking about the junk you have laying around. I am talking about all of it, the emotional baggage you carry around with you, in your relationships, in your past, your guilt, anger, the files on your computers and the junk laying around your house, all of it. From an eco standpoint, you can begin by starting small, working on one room at a time in your living space. If that seems insurmountable, you can start even smaller, a corner of a room, a closet, a shelf. Cleaning out even a small space can give you gratification and the motivation to go to the next small space. Keep going and soon you have your house organized and then you can move to your computer, if you haven’t used it in over a year, back it up and pack it away on a disc consolidated with all old files. This takes very little space and holds a lot of information. Then you can start with the emotional stuff. See a therapist, face your greatest fears and de-clutter. It’s wasted energy to carry all that around. You can live a more efficient life by doing this and feel more productive by focusing on the things you can change.

In your living space, remember that you can reuse items instead of buying new. When de-cluttering, keep only the essentials, I don’t recommend keeping the old manual for that boom box that you used in the 80’s. If you haven’t used it in a year, is it necessary? Analyze this for yourself. Some things have sentimental ties for absolutely no reason. I have these things myself and I have learned to rethink what is meaningful and what is not. You can do this too. Did you ever clean your purse out? What is the first thing you do? Dump it all out on the kitchen table and going through it bit by bit, throwing out the trash first then separating items in order of significance. You can’t keep too much because it is a small space so most of it goes in the trash or reused somewhere else in your space. Clothing can be one of the biggest space hogs of all, donate the stuff that you don’t wear, why keep it hoping you will fit back into those size 5’s? Not worth it. Give it some realistic thought and don’t be afraid to go with it. You will feel incredibly empowered and unburdened when you are finally done. Good luck, you deserve it!

Used and worn-out tires are one of the earth’s worst nemeses. There are thousands of tires produced in America annually and it is said that one tire per year, per person is discarded. Old, worn-out tires are stockpiled around the country and create their own set of problems for the public and the environment in the way of health and safety risks. Tire amnesty programs are held in various cities to give citizens an opportunity to dispose of old tires properly. Look for one in your area. These programs help to decrease illegal dumping of tires and help to combat mosquito infestations.

 Rotating tires can help in the reduction of waste and manufacturers are taking steps to reduce waste at production. But still, it isn’t enough.  The material that is used in the making of tires is very resilient, thus creating an almost impossible degradation. Recycling processes are taking off in the US and are producing some positive results. Many of the usable goods that can be recycled are asphalt pavement, barriers such as: collision reduction, erosion control, rainwater runoff, wave action- that protects piers and marshes, and sound barriers between roadways and residences. Rubber mulch is a very popular way to recycle tires. Increasingly useful in building sustainable landscaping and playgrounds, it has many positive effects, from insulating soil offering a higher temperature, soil moisture retention and reduction of fungus growth. It also makes for an excellent weed barrier. In playgrounds, recycled tires create a soft cushion for children to protect them from falls. Handbags and accessories are now being made from recycled tires. A company called English Retreads has a great site selling stylish and eco friendly products from inner tubes collected from local truck stops.

It seems fundamental to say, “DO NOT LITTER”, but I see litter everywhere and I just can’t imagine where it comes from. Who is throwing their trash on the street or out their car windows? Do you know someone who does this? I personally do not and I cannot even imagine throwing something down on the ground. No matter where I am or what I am doing. If I have a piece of trash and nowhere to put it, I will throw it in my car or purse until I get home. If I see a piece of trash, I will always pick it up and throw it away when near a receptacle.

Telling the public not to litter seems like a ridiculous thing to have to do but it needs to be done. Not to mention the stiff fines for littering, it is ugly and terrible for our environment. I notice signs on our highways and byways to warn citizens of the repercussions of littering yet I still continue to see trash on sidewalks, parks, streams and elsewhere. Our highway systems pay millions of dollars to clean up after a few who don’t care about the environment or who don’t care about receiving a big fine. There are adopt-a-highway programs that exist for this very purpose to alleviate the stress put on taxpayers, but why do we have these programs? If littering didn’t happen, we wouldn’t need to clean up, right? Teach your children not to litter and tell them why, if your kids are like mine, they will grow up with the same habits of disposing trash where it belongs.

Dishclothes can be loaded with bacteria and can get smelly. The Twist Euro Sponge #10 is what I tested and it is 100% biodegradable, it cleans, wipes, dries and is for all household uses. An added bonus: the packaging that the sponge comes in can be converted into a little bird feeder! Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!!!

Reusing paper from around the house to wrap holiday gifts is a great alternative to wrapping with traditional paper or recycled paper. There are many items that make nice wrappings for the holiday and I found this great website that “presents” many options. Squawkfox.com is the site and they have perfected the art of being frugal and eco-savvy! 1. Reusable shopping bags. 2. Swaddle in baby blankets. 3. Can it in Cookie Tins. 4. Jar it. 5. Drape it in fabric. 6. Bag in reused gift bags. 7. Tie it in a scarf. 8. Crate it in a jewelry box. 9. Dress it up in wallpaper. 10. Wrap it in used gift wrap. 11. Pack in painted postal parcel paper.

I have a few of my own ideas. How about wrapping in newsprint, or comic pages? I saw another idea recently of using dishtowels or bath towels to wrap gifts. What a nice gift wrapped around a gift!