June 2008 Newsletter

Friday, June 27, 2008 Bethesda Green Night at the Big Train!

Come out to the Bethesda Big Train to see some baseball and support Bethesda Green! Bethesda Green will be the non-profit of the night on at Povich Field at 7:30pm. The opening pitch will be thrown out by Bethesda Green board member and Montgomery County Councilman

Roger Berliner.

We will have a booth with information and our new Bethesda Green t-shirts. Listen up because fun facts on recycling will be read in between innings.

We will hold a raffle for sponsoring a recycling bin at Povich Field. Raffle tickets are $10 and the winner, chosen at the end of the season, will have their name on the plaque on the recycling bin like those to be placed around Bethesda.

There are about 20 free Big Train tickets left for any working group member that has been to at least one working group meeting. If you would like a pair, contact Cindy at cindy.powers@gmail.com.

For more information on sponsoring a bin in Bethesda check out our press release and articles in the press: bethesdagreen.org

For more information on Bethesda

Big Train Baseball: www.bigtrain.org

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Wednesday, June25- Thursday, June 26 Healthy and Sustainable Communities Workshop

The County Executive and the Montgomery County Planning Board are launching a healthy and sustainable communities project to develop overall environmental policy goals and indicators that will measure our progress as the county strives to achieve a sustainable quality of life.

This free workshop will be held June 25th (6pm-8:30pm) and June 26th (9am-5pm) at The Universities at Shady Grove, Rockville.

For more information and to RSVP to the workshop: Montgomeryplanning.org

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Thursday, June 26 SBNOW - Meet the Executive Director

The Sustainable Business Network Of Washington has hired a new Executive Director. SB NOW is hosting a 'Night of Networking and Noshing' to welcome Pamela Skarda from 6-9pm at Hotel Helix.

SB NOW is a community of business owners, non-profit leaders, professionals, and government representatives dedicated to building a more socially, environmentally, and financially sustainable local economy.

For more details on SB NOW and the event: http://www.sbnow.org.

We're Looking for a Few Good Volunteer Coordinators!

If you are interested in being a volunteer coordinator, please send an email to dave@bethesdagreen.org.

The success of Bethesda Green is due to the generous contributions of many local businesses. We would like to thank the following companies for their support.

Honest Tea
Calvert Federal Realty
My Organic Market Reznick Group
Creative Parties
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
The Gazette
Clean Currents
Amicus Green
Klausner-Bendler & Associates, CPA

Green is here to stay!

          It seems that you can't pick up a newspaper or magazine today without seeing 'green.' I think we can claim it as the official color of 2008.

          Many in Bethesda and other parts of Montgomery County are doing their share to go 'green'. From new government initiatives to eco-friendly businesses, grassroots citizens programs to local schools, everyone wants to participate in this movement. Whether the motivation is protecting the environment, introducing new earth-friendly products or working more closely with your neighbors, the outcomes are positive. These changes enrich our lives and makes our community and planet a better place to live.

          Since our official kickoff in January, Bethesda Green has continued to bring people together to participate in this movement. Through working groups and community events as well as innovative sponsor and supporter programs we have encouraged people to get involved. We're obviously still in ramp up mode, but we are all proud of our progress to date. More than 70 volunteers regularly attend planning meetings and more than 25 individuals have supported our various programs. Just this past month alone, we celebrated some great successes which are shared in this newsletter. We are fortunate to have such dedicated and talented people participating in this group.

            This initiative will continue to evolve based on community engagement of citizen associations, businesses, faith-based groups and students. In September, we will be rolling out several new programs including an updated website to help us serve each stakeholder even better. We will also start a monthly feature that showcases a specific 'green' subject, both in our newsletter and 'green' programs. Our first theme is 'Back to School' so get ready to put on your thinking cap.

Enjoy the summer.

Dave Feldman
Implementation Director, Bethesda Green
CEO, Livability Project

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Off to a Great Start!

Welcome Cindy Powers and Ilaya Hopkins

We would like to welcome Cindy Powers to Bethesda Green as the full-time Environmental Program Coordinator . Cindy Powers is a recent Elon University graduate and native of Bethesda. She will work closely with the working groups, their projects, and support other BG operations.

We would like to also welcome our newest Board Member, Ilaya Hopkins. Ilaya will represent the residents of Bethesda and serve as a liaison between Bethesda Green and the many neighborhood associations in the community. She is currently president of the East Bethesda Citizens Association (EBCA) and represents her community at the county level in the ongoing work related to the National Naval Medical Center BRAC mandated expansion.

Recycling Bin Unveiling

bin1

Thanks to everyone who attended the Recycling Bin Unveiling on May 21st. The first bin is now located by Bethesda Row, on the corner of Bethesda Avenue and Woodmont Avenue. We had 60+ people attend on a beautiful sunny day to participate in the festivities. The event was picked up by the press on Channel 8, WAMU, WTOP and in the Gazette and Washington Post.

The initial goal, in cooperation with the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Honest Tea, and The Coca-Cola Company, is to have 20 recycling bins for glass, plastic and metal

bg logo beverage containers in the pedestrian-friendly areas of Bethesda Row, Woodmont Triangle and the Metro stop in downtown Bethesda.

There are still a few opportunities to sponsor! If you're interested contact Dave Feldman at dave@bethesdagreen.org.

For more on the unveiling check out the press release and press coverage on the Bethesda Green website: www.bethesdagreen.org.
bg logo

Imagination Bethesda

Bethesda Green had a booth at the Imagination Bethesda street festival event Saturday, June 7th staffed by about 10 excellent volunteers. A recycling challenge activity at the table for children tested their knowledge on Montgomery County's recycling program, which many adults also participated in.

imagination bethesda