September-October 2014

Golf For a Cleaner Greener Hampton Roads

askHRgreen.org and Keep Virginia Beautiful are both dedicated to keeping Hampton Roads a beautiful place to live, work and play---and we're looking for like-minded sponsors to join us for a great day of golf and networking during the inaugural Keep Hampton Roads Beautiful Golf Tournament, Oct. 13 at the Greenbrier Country Club in Chesapeake. The event will help us highlight the long-term importance of litter prevention, community beautification and recycling education, while raising funds to bolster local environmental education programs that provide residents with the information they need to go green. Support the tournament by becoming a sponsor, donating a prize, registering to play or just helping us spread the word about this opportunity to support a cleaner, greener Hampton Roads. Need more information? Email us at info@askHRgreen.org or register now!

An Environmentally-friendly Event!

We lead by example. When askHRgreen.org and Keep Virginia Beautiful hold events, we do it the green way. And while we know it's difficult to have an event with no environmental impact, we realize that small actions can make a big difference. That's why the Keep Hampton Roads Beautiful Golf Tournament will take the following steps to reduce, reuse and recycle:


Reduce: We will reduce waste through composting. Food waste from meals and even our cups, plates and utensils will be composted.	Reuse: This event will be bottled water free. Each attendee and volunteer will receive a reusable sports bottle to refill throughout the day.	Recycle: We would never host an event without recycling! Recycling will be provided in common areas and on the course, so that everyone knows to recycle more, trash less!

If you are planning to host an event of your own, please follow our lead---and think about ways that you can green up your party, festival or gathering. If you have a green party-planning tip or two of your own, we'd love to hear about it! Email us at info@askHRgreen.org.

Go Native on National Planting Day, Sept. 6

Celebrate National Planting Day from Keep America Beautiful by planting a native plant or tree in your community or participating in a community beautification project. National Planting Day celebrates the value of native plants and all they can do for the health of our local environment. Native plants are drought tolerant, reduce stormwater runoff and require little to no chemical fertilizers or pesticides to grow strong and healthy. Let's not forget that these trees, scrubs and foliage also provide food and habitat for wildlife and insects like butterflies and bees. So let's get out and start planting! Your habitat will thank you.

The Team Behind the Green: Dawn Oleksy

This is the second in a series of profiles featuring the behind-the-scenes folks who are part of the askHRgreen.org program. From Virginia Beach to Southampton County and from as far north as James City and Gloucester counties, they come together as one region to encourage environmental stewardship among all residents here in Hampton Roads. This month, we'd like to introduce you to Team Member Dawn Oleksy:

1. Tell us about your job.
As the environmental coordinator for James City County, I am the staff liaison to the James City Clean County Commission and the energy manager for all county facilities. Additionally, I collaborate with other county departments on all things green. Some of the specific programs that my office is responsible for include increasing energy efficiency of county operations, environmental outreach within the business and residential community, litter cleanup and prevention campaigns, administration of our neighborhood beautification grants and recycling education.

2. Why is the askHRgreen.org program important?
askHRgreen.org is a wonderful network of environmental experts in the Hampton Roads region and the go-to place for all things green. Not only is it a great forum for us to come together to share ideas and information, but it provides a tremendous opportunity for collaboration so that we can all make an even greater positive impact on our shared natural resources.

3. What is your favorite "green" tip to share?
I know there isn't a person alive who hasn't heard "reduce, reuse, recycle," but I don't think people really stop to think about exactly what that means. For example, when shopping, maybe you could buy juice concentrate in the freezer section rather than plastic bottles in order to reduce potential waste. Or better yet, choose a bunch of loose fruit in reusable bags and make your own fresh juice. The leftovers can go in the compost pile and you've completely eliminated any waste! But if you do buy bottles, be sure to reuse them. Rinse them out, fill them up with tap water (or your fresh-squeezed juice), refrigerate and then you have cold drinks to grab each time you run out the door! And when you finally get as much use as you can out of your plastic bottles be sure to recycle.

Green Events Roundup

Join us for the following events coming up this fall:

Hampton Roads Sustainable Living Expo (Sept. 13) - This years event focus is energy, but there will be so much more including a donation drive and electronics recycling from Goodwill Industries.

Prescription Drug Take Back Day (Sept. 27) - Never flush prescription meds! Safe disposal is easy during the nationwide take back day

America Recycles Day (Nov. 15) - We'll be celebrating throughout the region with electronics recycling and document shredding events again this year. Stay tuned for more details on an event near you!

Send us your green events!

If you wish to feature your own green event on the askHRgreen.org website, let us know we'd love to hear from you!