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| Sustainable Santa Monica Newsletter | May 2010 |
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| Greetings! | Thank you for receiving this Newsletter-- Keeping you informed of everything Sustainable in Santa Monica, from community events, news, and resources, to business and educational opportunities!
The purpose of this Newsletter is to provide Santa Monica residents, businesses and organizations with the information and resources needed to help meet the goals of the Santa Monica Sustainable City Plan in eight target areas: Resource Conservation, Environmental and Public Health, Transportation, Economic Development, Open Space & Land Use, Housing, Community Education & Civic Participation, and Human Dignity.
You are sure to find inspiration this month as May offers some amazing ways to participate in our sustainable community!! |
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Final Call for Entries: GREEN PRIZE FOR SUSTAINABLE LITERATURE | 
DUE BY MAY 30, 2010
The Santa Monica Public Library and the City's Office of Sustainability and the Environment announces the fourth annual Green Prize for Sustainable Literature. Books published in the US during 2009 are eligible. Publishers, authors and the public can submit titles on sustainable issues for consideration according to criteria on the Green Prize website. Winning titles will be announced in October 2010!! |
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VOTE For Your Favorite Garden |
Beginning April 30, 2010 go to www.sustainablesm.org/landscape to cast your vote to decide which gardens will become the newest public gardens in Santa Monica. The top 3 garden designs will be installed across from Airport Park. These designs include the latest features in sustainable landscaping: raised veggie gardens, play areas, outdoor rooms, permeable paving, native and Mediterranean plants, cisterns, drip irrigation and lawn alternatives. Winning designs will be available on-line for free and come with a list of plants and local stores that will provide plants and materials. |
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Santa Monica College Environmental & Urban Issues Lecture Series |
 All events are on Tuesdays at 6:30 pm at SMC's Bundy campus, Bundy 123.
MAP
May 4: It's All Local
Frank Gruber, columnist and author of Urban Worrier: Making Politics Personal, talks about local land use decisions and how they affect the sustainability of cities.
May 25: SMC Moves Toward Sustainability for You
Meet today's leaders of campus sustainability at Santa Monica College and learn how SMC is being a good local and global citizen. |
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2010 Sustainable Quality Awards |
 The Chamber of Commerce, Sustainable Works and the City of Santa Monica are proud to announce this year's Sustainable Quality Award (SQA) winners. For fifteen years the Sustainable Quality Awards have honored local organizations and businesses that make extraordinary contributions to our community. The SQA celebrate business' achievements in economic development, social responsibility, and stewardship of the natural environment.
We are proud to recognize this year's Sustainable Quality Award Winners~
Grand Prize
Co-opportunity
Natural Resources Defense Council
Excellence in Stewardship of the Natural Environment
Pacific Park on Santa Monica Pier, Sheraton Delfina, Unitarian Universalist Community Church, West LA Print
Excellence in Social Responsibility
Gensler, Living Homes, Sheraton Delfina, Unitarian Universalist Community Church, West LA Print
Excellence in Sustainable Economic Development
Flair Cleaners
Please Join us for the 2010 SUSTAINABLE QUALITY AWARD LUNCHEON
When: Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Time: 11am-2pm
Location: Sheraton Delfina Hotel
530 West Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA.
Tickets for the SQA luncheon can be purchased through the Chamber at www.smchamber.com. Includes lunch, eco-friendly gift bag, groovy raffles, and special prizes!
For More Information about this year's SQA Winners, be sure to check the website www.smsqa.com.
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"Menu Minuet" Library Panel | |
 How chefs and farmers communicate throughout the changing seasons to keep restaurant menus lively and customers satisfied.
Chefs like to have consistency on their menus and customers expect to find their favorite dishes, but the changing seasons offer new tastes that chefs love to explore. Join farmers and chefs in discussion about how to balance the need for creativity and flexibility with consistency and customer preference.
When: Thursday, May 6, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: MLK Auditorium
Santa Monica Public Library
601 Santa Monica Blvd. 90401
Chef- Akasha Richmond of Akasha
Chef- Mark Peel of Campanile, Tar pit and the Point
Farmer- Romeo Coleman of Coleman Family Farm
Farmer- Alex Weiser of Weiser Family Farms
Moderator- Jonathan Gold, Pulitzer Prize winning writer for the LA Weekly
*Free and Open to the Public!
*Stay afterward for market treats prepared by the Chefs! |
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Green Drinks- West Side | |
When: Thursday, May 6, 2010
Time: 7-10pm
Location: Check website for current location
The West Side Green Drinks location changes frequently. Please check the Green Drinks website to confirm before heading over. Green Drinks allows for anyone concerned about environmental issues to get together over a drink. Green Drinks events are very simple, informal, unstructured, and self organizing, but help connect the green network. Let's bring together the huge LA environmental community and have fun doing it! |
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7th Annual AltBuild | |
The Expo is free and open to the public and includes over 150 exhibitors featuring the best in green building materials, energy efficiency, newly passed legislation on green building and the new California building codes, and water conservation products including cisterns, graywater and sustainable landscaping for homes. |
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Santa Monica Festival | |
 SATURDAY, MAY 8
11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Clover Park, 2600 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica
The City of Santa Monica presents the Santa Monica Festival each spring in Clover Park, located at 2600 Ocean Park Boulevard. Through the performing and visual arts, the Festival honors the unwritten ethnic history of Santa Monica as well as the rich environmental resources that sustain it. Each year the celebration features an eclectic array of traditional and contemporary music and dance on several stages, demonstrations of traditional crafts by local artists, and hands-on art and environmental workshops to engage people of all ages. The Festival is presented by the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division and is produced by Community Arts Resources.
Presented by The City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division &
The City of Santa Monica Office of Sustainability and the Environment
Free admission, free bike valet and free parking!!
Click here for Festival Website |
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Green Business Networking |
 When: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 Time: 6 - 9pm
Location: The Ambrose Hotel
1255 20th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90404
You're invited to the only pure networking event for owners and decision-makers of LA's green businesses. We meet at Santa Monica's award-winning, sustainable Ambrose Hotel - where upscale tranquility meets affordable luxury www.ambrosehotel.com. Delicious organic snacks provided by Whole Foods Market. Wine and non-alcoholic beverages will also be available. |
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Solar Thermal Rebates Workshop | |
On the evening of May 12, join Solar Santa Monica for an all-hands-on-deck meeting on rebates, with speakers on the new solar thermal rebate program. Get updates on solar photovoltaic rebates, and info on potential new financing available through the City of Santa Monica. Plus, solar thermal contractors will be there to answer your questions about how you can use the sun to cut your gas water heater bill.
When: Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm
Location: MLK Jr. Auditorium
Santa Monica Main Library
601 Santa Monica Blvd
MINI-EXPO 6:30pm Featuring Solar Santa Monica Preferred Contractors:
California Solar, PermaCity Solar, & EnviroSolar
PROGRAM 7pm
Pam O'Conner, City Council Member
Expert Panel: Santa Monica Preferred Contractors
Representative, CSI-thermal rebate program
Michael Ware, Solar Santa Monica- latest on panel prices
Susan Munves, City of Santa Monica- New Financing
Space is limited. RSVP to Solar Santa Monica~ 310.804.8449
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Santa Monica College E-Waste Recycling Day | |
 When: Friday, May 14, 2010
Time: 10am-1pm
Location: Santa Monica College Parking Lot on the Southeast Corner of Pico Blvd & 14th Street, enter from Pico Blvd. MAP
Recycle your old, unwanted electronic waste: computers, cell phones, CD/DVD players, etc. -- anything with an electrical cord (excluding ovens and refrigerators)
CLICK HERE to see a complete list of items that California Recycles will accept. |
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FREE Annual Compost Giveaway!! | |
 When: Saturday, May 15, 2010
Time: 8am start time
Where: City Yards, 2500 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica
Gardeners have the opportunity to cart away free compost at Santa Monica's Annual Compost Giveaway, until supplies run out. Our compost is made from yard trimmings collected curbside every week and is processes at a nearby composting facility. Compost has been recognized as a valuable soil amendment for centuries. Its use in gardens is an effective way to improve soil health, increase plant production, and reduce the use of water, chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Residents: Bring Shovels, Gloves, Containers, and Proof of Residency!
If you're interested in making your own compost, try backyard or worm composting. Subsidized composting bins are available to residents and will be available for purchase at this event!!
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Bicycle Festival- Get in Gear and Ride on Over! | |
When: Saturday, May 22, 2010
Time: 10am-4pm
Where: Santa Monica Main Library,
601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica
A festival of bicycles and cycling, featuring workshops on safety, repairs and maintenance; bicycle registration; gear and accessories demonstrations; children's crafts and bike parade; and entertainment. FREE BIKE VALET! For More Information go to www.smpl.org/icycle. |
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Sustainable Cinema: The Unforeseen | |
 When: Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Where: Santa Monica Main Library, MLK Jr. Auditorium
601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401
The American Dream of owning a house goes head-to-head with environmental sustainability in this beautifully-crafted documentary. When a real estate developer sets out to transform thousands of acres into a suburban development, a community fights back.
**Seating is limited and on a first arival basis only...make sure to arrive early! |
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Bioneers Meeting | |
Los Angeles Bioneers- A Revolution from the Heart of Nature
Speaker: Sheila Laffey, Ph.D.
When: Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Where: Santa Monica College, HSS 105
Sheila is an Environmental Filmmaker & Adjunct Professor of Film at Santa Monica College. She will be presenting, GREEN SCREEN: FILMS ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSFORMATION, which will include a number of popular enviro shorts; such as, "Meatrix," "Store Wars," "Story of Stuff," an enviro music video and lastly her own short, SOUTH CENTRAL FARM: Oasis in a Concrete Desert. |
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Cash for Appliances Program April 22-May 23 |
 Cash for Appliance Program available April 22-May 23 (similar to cash for clunkers and rebates expected to go just as fast). Rebates for washers, refrigerators and A/C units will be available through the State. The State program allows rebates for clothes washer with a water factor* of 6.0 or less and the Socalwatersmart rebate program is for washers with a water factor of 4.0 or less. To get both rebates, you must purchase the 4.0 or less model and recycle the old one.
Visit www.cash4appliances.org or www.socalwatersmart.com to apply for additional
$200 clothes washer rebate!
*Water factor = water per load per cubic foot of the machine. The lower the water factor the more water-efficient. | |
Last Fridays on Main Street -- TGILF!! | |
The Friday Before First Fridays Is Here At Last! On May 28th and the last Friday of every month, participating Main Street businesses will stay open late with specials and special events!!
Santa Monica Bike Valet is on Main Street every Friday evening! Bicyclists who valet on Last Fridays will receive discounts from participating merchants. The Bike Valet is on the east side of Main Street between Ashland and Pier Avenue from 5 p.m. to midnight every Friday until further notice. Note: Some merchants will be offering discounts to those who valet their bikes! Look for the *.
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Car Free Friday! | |
 THE LAST FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH IS "CAR-FREE FRIDAY!" More bikes on LA streets for a healthier and cleaner Los Angeles! Car-Free Friday encourages more people to ride a bike at least one day a month. Experience the greater Los Angeles area by bike and stay healthy, save money, reduce green house gas emissions and have fun! Get a friend who does not ride yet, to join you on the last Friday of the month to ride to work, to party, to shop, to eat, to hang, TO BIKE IT!!
When: Friday, May 28, 2010
Where: Everywhere, Los Angeles County |
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SAVE THE DATE!! Sustainable Works-- Green Living Workshop | |
We have three Green Living Workshops starting in April. Including an evening time collaboration with Mother's Green House especially designed for Santa Monica parents and the long awaited day time workshop!
Participants can now earn a special Completion Bag filled with eco-goodies if all workshop requirements are met. The workshop is free for Santa Monica residents and we suggest a $50 donation for non-Santa Monica residents.
Learn about environmental problems and sustainable solutions!
The Green Living Workshop covers the following topics, one per week:
Water, Energy, Waste, Chemicals, Transportation, and Shopping & Food.
Workshop meets for six sessions at the same location and time. Learn about the problems related to each of the above topics on a global, national and local scale. Then with the help of the WorksBook take action on ten related solutions.
Starts Thursday, June 3, 2010
9:30-11am
The UCLA Family Commons, 1221 2nd St, Santa Monica 90401
6 Thursday meetings: 6/3, 6/10, 6/17, 6/24, 7/1, and 7/8
FREE For Santa Monica Residents/ $50 for Los Angeles Residents
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Train to Become a Volunteer Solar Panel Installer |
 GRID Alternatives is a non-profit organization that installs solar electric systems for low-income homeowners in partnership with local families, volunteers, and job trainees.
To volunteer, please visit their WEBSITE and follow the simple instructions. |
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Use the IPhone to Green Your Neighborhood |
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 Want to report someone hosing off, using a leaf blower, or dumping in the storm drain? Now it's as easy as pushing a button! Use the new iphone app to report eco-violations to the City of Santa Monica. Going green has never been so easy!
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Thank you for your commitment to a Sustainable Santa Monica!
Sincerely,
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Samantha Sommer
Sustainable Santa Monica
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