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In this issue...

Grow a Healthy Lawn with Yardscaping

Spring Festival at Wolfe's Neck Farm

Governor's Awards for Environmental Excellence

Plants, Plants, Plants!

Partner News

Save the Date

Sustainable Living Events

May 2015

Greetings!

We love all of the seasons in Maine...but sometimes they just make you swoon. As it is with spring. While peepers sing their evening serenades, fiddleheads and lilacs make their brief appearance, and fruit tree petals blow in the wind, we wish you time to soak in its fleeting beauty. And as always, we hope the information, tips, news and events that follow will add some extra enjoyment to your May.

Grow a Healthy Lawn with Yardscaping

The key to a lush, green lawn is healthy soil. And Yardscaping, a program of the Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District, seeks to help Mainers improve soil health, reduce the use of lawn care products, and grow a beautiful lawn with little or no additives. Read the full article and learn tips for improving the health of your lawn soil...just in time for spring!

Spring Festival at Wolfe's Neck Farm

The annual Spring Festival at Wolfe's Neck Farm takes place Saturday, May 30th. It's fun for the whole family with music, games, food and learning activities. Explore the trails and gardens, interact with the animals, learn about seeds and plants, and try your hand at fiber arts. Face painting, a hay pile and tractors to climb, as well as hayrides and live music round out the fun! Visit Wolfe's Neck Farm's website for a full list of the activities.

Ticket giveaway for Spring Festival

We are giving away a family four-pack of tickets for the Spring Festival - click here to enter by midnight on Monday, May 25th, and we'll select winners by random drawing that week.

The SunriseGuide Mobile Edition

Have you downloaded the new SunriseGuide mobile app? It makes finding and redeeming coupons with your favorite local businesses a breeze. Plus, new coupons are added all the time to the mobile app. Recent additions: Half-price bottles of wine with dinner at Vinland, 20% off your first visit to Organic Roots Salon & Spa, and 10% off any walking tour of your choice with Maine Foodie Tours. Save on dining, yoga & wellness, shopping, kids activities and more!

Governor's Awards for Environmental Excellence

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Governor LePage are inviting nominations for the annual Governor's Awards of Environmental Excellence. The awards program honors businesses, not-for-profit organizations, public entities and new ventures for their extraordinary efforts to protect and improve Maine's environment, and spotlights those who serve as a model for creative new ways to shift a culture toward sustainability. Applications are due on June 26th and more information can be found here.

Plants, Plants, Plants!

Spring is here...so it's time to get planting! And luckily, plant sales are sprouting everywhere over the next couple of weeks. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension will host its annual Grow It Right! benefit plant sale at eleven locations around the state from May 16-19. In addition, nurseries, co-ops, garden clubs, nonprofits, and more are holding their own plant sales this month -- keep an eye out for events near you!

SunriseGuide Partner News

Happy 20th Anniversary to Gorham Bike & Ski!

Congratulations to Kate McAleer, founder of Bixby & Co., named the Maine Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Goodwill is moving their Portland store (Forest Avenue) to Westbrook - stop by to see their new location at 200 Larrabee Road after May 14th.

Congratulations to Heliotropic Technologies for winning the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce's Environmental / Green Award!

Happy 90th anniversary to Portland Symphony Orchestra - WOW, ninety years!

Congratulations to The Farm Stand, The Ecology School, Garbage to Garden, and Hannaford for recently winning a first annual Source Award for people and programs moving Maine toward greater sustainability.

Like us on Facebook and stay up-to-date on green and healthy happenings in Maine; including exclusive online offers, local business news, sustainability news, events, and more! Just click the thumb to become our fan on Facebook.

Sustainable Living Event Highlights

This list is just a sampling of the many events happening around Maine. Please visit the Local Events section on our website for even more events.

Bike to Work Day!

May 15, 7:30-9:30am, Monument Square, Portland

Film Showing: "Scaling Wind" with the Sierra Club

May 15, 6:30pm, First Unitarian Universalist of Kennebunk, Kennebunk

Film Screening: "American Meat - Our Meat is Changing for Good"

May 15, 7pm, F.A.R.M.S. Community Kitchen, Damariscotta

Nacho-nal Bike to Work Day with Portland Trails

May 15, 12-2pm, El Rayo Taqueria, Portland

Spring Foraging Workshop

May 16, 10am-12pm, Merryspring Nature Center, Camden

Fiddlehead Foodie Fest

May 16, 6pm, Fiddlehead Art & Science Center, Gray

Electronics Recycling Fundraiser

May 16, 9am-2pm, Preble Street Parking Lot, Portland

Bee Friendly Landscapes Using Permaculture Principles and Design

May 16, 10am-12pm, The Honey Exchange, Portland

2nd Annual "Not Your Ordinary 5K" with NRCM

May 17, 8am, Augusta

Branching Out: The Future of the Forest Industry + Biobased Maine with E2Tech

May 19, 7:15-11:30am, Holiday Inn By the Bay, Portland

Climate Change, Ocean Acidification, and Maine's Fisheries

May 21, 6-7:30pm, Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm, Wells

Freeport Birding Weekend

May 22-24, L.L.Bean, Freeport

Maine Audubon's Birdathon

May 23, Statewide

Maine Days

May 23-25, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay

Snowy Egret 5K Run/Walk

May 25, 8:30am-12pm, Scarborough Marsh, Scarborough

Fermentation Series: Lightly Fermented Drinks - Kombucha

May 26, 6:30-8:30pm, The Resilience Hub, Portland

Eating from the Maine Landscape

May 28, 6:30-8pm, Belfast Free Library, Belfast

Spring Festival on the Farm

May 30, 10am-2pm, Wolfe's Neck Farm, Freeport

For a complete list of events, please visit the Local Events section on our website.

Save the Date

15th Annual Maine Fiber Frolic

Jun. 6-7, 9am-4pm, Windsor Fairgrounds, Windsor

Maine Women's Ride

Jun. 7, 7am-2pm, L.L.Bean Casco Conference Center, Freeport

Maine's Economy & Climate Change: Challenges & Opportunities

Jun. 12, 8am-3:30pm, Colby College, Waterville

Peony Bloom & Ice Cream Social

Jun. 16, 5-7pm, Maine Audubon, Falmouth

Energy Storage: Saving for a (Renewable) Rainy Day with E2Tech

Jun. 18, 7:15-9:30am, Location TBD

Trek Across Maine

Jun. 19-21, Bethel to Belfast

Have a sustainability event we can help you promote?

Please e-mail us the details.

About Us
Part handbook, part coupon book, the SunriseGuide is a resource for learning about, supporting, and living in a healthy and sustainable way in southern and coastal Maine.