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Dear Live Green in Plano Volunteers,
We have been super busy since the February issue of this newsletter! Of course, what kept us so busy was our annual Learn 2 Live Green event at the Shops of Legacy on April 14th. I hope you were one of the more than 11,000 people that participated in that beautiful Saturday with us. The weather was perfect, the spectators were learning and  doing, the volunteers and staff were hardworking yet happy. It was truly a successful day.
Earth Week, immediately following L2LG, kept us just as busy. We visited UTD, Frito-Lay, Dr. Pepper, JC Penney, and the tenants of the Pitman Atrium building. We love visiting with so many Plano residents and area commuters!
Now we each turn towards our upcoming programs. Abby has a schedule of water conservation classes lined up. Autumn is busy with Community Clean-ups and Love Where You Live. Kim is finishing up with her Eco-teens and the final stages of the Recycle Right Plano campaign. Erin is in in the middle of Kids in the Garden and is in high demand for her gardening and composting classes at the elementary through adult levels. Renee is juggling the ever-increasing demand for rentals of the Environmental Education Center. Heather is already in the planning stages for next year. I am getting ready for the final class in the Library series, Electric Vehicles - What's the Buzz? and the Summer round of LGIP Volunteer Training. No matter what your interest, we have a class or volunteer opportunity coming up for you this spring and summer!
~Charlotte |
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Green Cleaning
by Alison Tsai
Winter is over and many are beginning to stockpile their cabinets with Lysol, Windex, and more to prepare for spring cleaning. What may be surprising to hear is that while these chemical products effectively eliminate grime and germs, they are also a hazard to one's health and the environment.
To read more click here... |
Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair
by The Sustainability Steward
 On Sunday, February 26, the 36th annual Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair (DRSEF) was held at Fair Park. This annual event, hosted by Southern Methodist University, is one of largest student fairs in the country and brings together over 1000 of the top middle and high school students across the Dallas-Ft. Worth area to exhibit their projects. All have won at the local level and, by attending the DRSEF, have a chance to compete for over $100,000 in cash, prizes, and scholarships as well as a chance to progress to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the largest pre-college science competition in the world, which will be held in Phoenix in May.
To ready more click here... |
Home Gardening Series
Step 3: Pest Control
by Jan Eppard & Brenda Steib
Reaching for a chemical spray is no longer the solution to pest problems when gardening organically. Organic gardening looks at managing garden pests naturally and realistically. The ideal alternative is to control the destructive pests without harming the beneficial organisms. It is important to understand that bugs should be expected in the garden. Pest control is most effective when infestations are addressed early. It is critical to educate yourself on the early signs of problems, and take actions early to control them.
To read more click here... |
Book Review: Garbology
Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash
by Keith Scott  In Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash by Edward Humes, the author quickly sets the stage for the pace of the book, "Americans make more trash than anyone else on the planet, throwing away about 7.1 pounds per person per day, 365 days a year." He continues with a comparative calculation of lifetime quantity; "a single person's 102 ton trash legacy that will require the equivalent of 1,100 graves." This astounded me...1,101 graves for me and my stuff.... really? I suddenly remembered the visual during our Live Green in Plano volunteer training class. We were shown a big box of trash, just the cigarette butts that are thrown away during one hour of a Dallas day. I wanted to know how much space on earth I would need for all my daily trash; an internet search and a quick calculation later I learned the answer. I could not read this book fast enough as the specifics regarding trash "disposal strategies" throughout history combined with those currently used provided details, not surprisingly, about our inability to dispose of all the trash worldwide.
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For this month's volunteer spotlight, I'm featuring YOU....all of YOU wonderful Live Green in Plano Volunteers. As I'm writing this we are  almost through the first quarter of the calendar year but most of this numbers are from just January and February.
To read more click here... |
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Upcoming Programs
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