Our Landscapes
and Our Watershed

We all live in a watershed - the area that drains to a common waterway, such as a stream, lake, estuary, wetland, aquifer, or even the ocean - and our individual actions can directly affect it. Working together using a watershed approach will help protect our Valley water resources.

The average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day at home. Nationally, outdoor water use accounts for 30 percent of household use. As shared by Steve Wickstrum, general manager of Casitas Municipal Water District at last month's Watershed workgroup meeting, in our arid region we use about 50 percent of our household use on our landscapes.

At tonight's (Thursday, August 8) Watershed meeting, planning commissioner, Kathy Nolan, will share information on the city of Ojai landscape ordinance to be discussed at a special joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission on Tuesday, September 10th.

The Coalition plans to submit a formal comment to the city on the ordinance.

Please join us at the Resource Center, 206 N. Signal St. #S (upstairs above Blatz Law Firm) at 5:30 p.m. tonight to learn about this important water-saving ordinance upgrade and give your input.

Solarize Ojai Valley
Next Workshop August 15

Coalition member and Solarize participate, Carol Vesecky, with new 'leased' solar system

We're about a month into our Solarize Ojai Valley three-month group purchasing program designed to make going solar easier and more affordable for Ojai Valley homeowners. Solarize Ojai Valley (SOV) will be available through October 9, 2013. During this time, homeowners in the Ojai Valley can purchase solar installations at a set, discounted price.

If you have an interest in going solar you are strongly encouraged to attend one of the introductory workshops hosted by CEC and the Coalition. Participants will learn about energy efficiency, conservation, solar energy and the Solarize Ojai Valley program.

Thursday, August 15
Oak View Park & Resource Center
555 Mahoney Avenue, Oak View
6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, September 17
Ojai Grange Hall
381 Cruzero Street, Ojai
7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Coalition member Carol Vesecky went solar in last year's program - read her story.

If you're ready for an estimate go to SolarizeOjai.org for the simple 5-minute application process. Within 48 hours of submitting the application, CEC will contact you to discuss the process and expectations. You can also get more information on the Solarize Facebook page.

to read more click here.

Fall: A Time for Reflection
and Connection

Mark Your Calendar to Attend and Contribute Time
To These Community Service Events

The Coalition is hard at work organizing for its autumn activities. We hope you will plan to attend in support of our efforts AND sign-up for a shift!

Saturday, October 19 - Ojai Day Bike Valet For the 6th year the Coalition will offer Ojai Day attendees a free bike valet service. To reduce the number of cars descending on the downtown area as people arrive for the festivities, the OVGC will set up a bike check service at Ojai Avenue and Ventura Street on the 'Go Green' block. In offering this service, the Coalition hopes to encourage attendees to benefit the environment by pedaling to the event, rather than driving.

Saturday, October 26 - 'Small is Beautiful' Green Home & Building Tour In the spirit of E.F. Schumacher ('Small is Beautiful'), the Coalition's 5th Annual Green Home & Building Tour focuses on the idea of 'less is more' or put another way 'small is the new BIG'. You'll see several examples of living spaces with under 1000 square feet - some way under. Information and ticket purchasing is available at the home & building tour site.

Sunday, November 10 - 'Harmony' screening and reception The Coalition is honored to be the 'host' of the Ojai Film Festival "Focus Earth" film - Harmony. The film will be followed by a panel discussion and reception with filmmakers and prestigious guests. Look for details in our September newsletter.

Hit reply to be contacted to volunteer for a specific event - thank you!

Pesto Recipe, By Way of a Story

Deborah, Executive Director

I try to avoid waste in the kitchen, probably more than the average American. Very rarely does anything go bad in our refrigerator, we compost all our scraps, and when a jar gets emptied I scrape out the last morsel with my finger. I'd probably be a plate licker to this day, if Mrs. Blumenstein had not embarrassed me about it to the whole lunch room in 5th grade.

So last summer when massive amounts of basil I had gotten from my Mano Farms CSA (community supported agriculture) subscription started turning brown in the refrigerator, I started panicking. For most of you some basil-rich recipe would come to mind and you would not have a problem, but I AM NOT A COOK. If a recipe has more than four ingredients, I'm thinking, who's going to make this, it's too hard! When I did an Internet search for basil recipes, you guessed it: pesto came up. I groaned - what a chore! - but there was no way my pound or so of basil was going to go to waste.

Fast forward to this year - I am now thoroughly addicted to pesto, and whipping up regular batches. This is the recipe I settled on because I liked the combination of ingredients, and I can get all of them between my CSA and the Farmers Market. It was a little too oily and salty for my taste, so I reduced those amounts as shown in parentheses.

Share YOUR favorite pesto recipe with us, at www.facebook/ojaivalleygreencoalition!

4 cups (I really pack it) basil
1 cup walnuts
6 garlic cloves
1 cup (1/2 cup) olive oil
¾ tsp (1/2 tsp) salt
Juice of ½ a lemon

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor and store in refrigerator