Cape Fear's Going Green • Spring 2008

Cape Fear’s

Going Green

your guide to local eco-friendly resources

Earth Day 2008: Trees Please.

Choosing Trees

CFCC Enters Sustainability Design Competition

Field Trip to Solar Decathlon

Earth Day 1970— Recollections

Letter from the Editor

Happy Earth Day 2008!

Just for fun, we asked several people where they were and what they were doing on April 22, 1970 the first Earth Day. Ruth Haas was in the Peace Corps in St. Lucia; Jock Brandis was in war-torn Nigeria; George Scheibner’s college in New Haven, Connecticut bivouacked the National Guard during the Black Panther Trial.

We’ve printed some of their answers the enthusiasm and growing activism of that era inspires me even today, thirtyeight years later.

My high school in St. Louis chose to participate in the national teach-in: they cancelled classes for the day and sponsored a full-day seminar for the student body and faculty. Several students rode bikes to school; one even arrived on horseback. We learned about Rachel Carson, and the web of life; it was my introduction to ecology.

If you’re old enough to remember 1970, take a moment to think about where you were on the first Earth Day. If not, ask someone you may be surprised by the answer.

This issue covers just some of the many local celebrations of Earth Day 2008. “Trees Please” is the theme of New Hanover County’s celebration, so we’re featuring local agencies that promote the health of trees, including Wilmington’s Heritage Tree Program, where you can nominate your favorite tree for an award.

In this issue we also welcome columnist Skip Wenz, who provides us with an article on choosing trees for your home “ecosystem.” I met Skip at the Green Home Show in Eugene Oregon, last January, and liked his “reuse, then recycle” approach of improving the house you already have, rather than necessarily starting from scratch.

The variety and breadth of our Earth Day activities continue to inspire me. Celebrate Earth Day however you please; if you don’t want to attend an organized event, just spend a few minutes outside. Take your shoes off and feel the earth.

Valerie L. Robertson Editor

Contents

3 Earth Day 1970 and 2008

4 Recollections of the First Earth Day April 1970

6 Earth Day 1990

7 8 Pragmatic Reasons to Nurture Trees

7 Wilmington Tree Commission

8 Your Ecological House Choosing the Right Tree for Your “Home Ecosystem”

9 Wilmington Program Records City’s Heritage Trees

10 Spring Returns...

13 Brown-Headed Nuthatch

14 Field Trip to the Solar Decathlon

17 Cape Fear Community College Competes in Sustainable Building Design Competition

18 Business News

20 Business Briefs & Education Updates

21 Book Suggestions

22 Cape Fear River Watch Clean-ups

22 Calendar

Cape Fear’s Going Green is a bimonthly publication promoting eco-friendly resources and lifestyles in the Lower Cape Fear River Basin.

Publisher & Editor in Chief: Valerie Robertson

Sister City: Eugene, Oregon (Voted “Greenest City” 2006 by The Green Guide)

Eugene Contributing Editor: Mary Robertson

Advisors & Editorial Contributors: Bouty Baldridge, Jock Brandis, Brion Capo, Gwenyfar, Carol Bower Johnson, the Kuuskoski family, Robbyn Novak, Jennifer O’Keefe, Scott Ogden, Page Paterson, Adeline Robertson, Martyn St. David, Philip S. Wenz, Ron Wilson, & Andy Wood

Special thanks to Brion Capo and Andy Wood for their contributions to this issue.

Cape Fear’s Going Green Going Green Publications

P. O. Box 3164

Wilmington, NC 28406 (910) 547-4390

www.goinggreenpublications.com

Cape Fear’s Going Green is available by subscription or on our Web site. Print copies are available at more than forty area eco-friendly businesses and locations, including:

B + O Design Studio, CFCC, Old Books on Front Street, Pomegranate Books, Progressive Gardens, Sambuca, Sapona Green Building Center, Tidal Creek Co-op, UNCW, WHQR, and the Shelton Herb Farm booth at area farmers’ markets.

Editorial: If you have story ideas or calendar items to suggest, email us at editor@goinggreenpublications.com, or call (910) 547-4390.

Advertising information: Email ads@goinggreenpublications.com.

Cape Fear’s Going Green is distributed free through Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender counties. If you have a business and would like to receive multiple copies for the public to pick up, please contact us.

Front Cover: Spring comes to the creeks feeding into the Cape Fear River.

Photo by Valerie Robertson

Back Cover: Pink dogwood blooms in the woods.

Photo by Brion Capo

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

Earth Day

Earth Day was created in 1970 to promote environmental awareness and to encourage progressive action around the world. It is officially celebrated every year on April 22, although individual communities around the world and in our region host celebrations throughout the month of April. These festivals are just one way we celebrate the Earth and renew our commitment to building a greener, healthier, more sustainable planet.

Earth Day 1970

On June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River on the southern shores of Lake Erie caught fire as oil, chemicals, and other materials, which had oozed into the lake, somehow ignited. The fire captured national attention and made the people of the United States aware of the many insults that had been heaped upon the environment of our nation and of our planet. It also helped lay the foundation of NOAA’s major coastal resource management responsibilites and usher in the environmental protection or “green” side of NOAA.

As a result of the Cuyahoga River fire and other horrendous environmental insults–the decline of the bald eagle from the pesticide DDT, whales hunted to near extinction, and the Santa Barbara oil spill–Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson (1916-2005) began planning in September 1969 for an environmental teach-in known as Earth Day. On November 30, 1969, Gladwin Hill of the New York Times reported:

“Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation’s campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems... is being planned for next spring...when a nationwide environmental ‘teach- in’... coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned....”

Grassroots Environmental Activism

Conceived as an environmental teachin by Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson, nearly 10 percent of the nation’s population participated in the first Earth Day.

Earth Day took place on April 22, 1970. It was spectacularly successful, achieving grassroots concern for environmental problems facing the nation. More than

Earth Day 2008—trees please.

New Hanover County celebrates Earth Day 2008 on Saturday, April 26, from noon until 6 at Hugh MacRae Park in Wilmington.

Come out for a fun-filled day of live music, good food, and environmental information and activities for all ages! Discover what issues affect our environment, talk with local groups, and learn how you can get involved.

Bring the whole family to celebrate Earth Day 2008 from noon until 6pm on Saturday, April 26th at Hugh MacRae Park. This is a FREE event! There will be exciting activities for all ages. The popular Kid’s Eco Zone will be providing hands-on activities for kids of all ages.

Over 70 environmental exhibits will be on display representing various organizations and businesses. Check out local environmental programs, enter to win a kayak package (valued at over $1200), or go shopping in the Green Market, plus much more!

Food and beverage will include organic and local beer; local bands will entertain with music from funk to bluegrass.

Trees Please!!! This year’s theme was chosen to inspire residents to learn more about our local canopy cover, and how it has changed over the last 30 years.

Wilmington’s Earth Day Celebration is organized by the Earth Day Alliance consisting of Airlie Gardens, Keep America Beautiful, New Hanover County, New Hanover Soil & Water Conservation, NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher, and Tidal Creek Co-op.

2,000 colleges and universities, over 10,000 high schools and grade schools, and 20 million citizens participated, nearly ten percent of the U.S. population at that time. American Heritage (October 1993) magazine referred to this first Earth Day as “one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy….”

This vast outpouring of support for the environment marked the day that the political system in the United States truly recognized that caring for the environment and accepting stewardship responsibility for its resources was the hallmark of a great nation. This grassroots political movement helped establish a political climate conducive to forming both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency on October 3, 1970....

The first Earth Day marked the day that our nation accepted responsibility for our environment; the outpouring of public sentiment in support of protection and stewardship of our environment significantly influenced our political system. Earth Day has continued every year since as an icon of the movement to monitor, protect, and restore our environment. As such, NOAA has been and continues to be guided and influenced by the spirit and philosophy of the first Earth Day.

—National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

U.S. Department of Commerce

NOAA 200th Anniversary Web site http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/welcome.html

Printed with permission.

Earth Day 1970— Where were you on April 22?

Robbyn Novak

In order to divert the massive numbers of students going to college in the midst of the baby boom after WW II, the University of Wisconsin built 2-year satellite campuses all over the state. To save money, I postponed my dream of escaping my hometown, and attend UWRock County (we called it U-Rock, which seemed to reflect the times!) for my first year of college. As I look back to 1969-70 I’m thankful for the experiences and opportunities I had in that “little pond.”

That year, of course, was punctuated with anti-Vietnam War protests, and the term “teach-in” became the buzzword for all consciousness-raising activities, with the understanding that when people joined together, we could influence policymakers’ decisions. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed the use of similar tactics to make people aware of ways they could help improve the environment and promote conservation of America’s natural resources and wildlife.

We were just learning about the negative effects of DDT, which had been used in a futile effort to save the beautiful elm trees from the deadly Dutch elm disease (my hometown was nicknamed “the City of Elms” prior to the blight’s arrival). Everyone was reading Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, and Paul Ehrlich’s Population Bomb. Water pollution became front page news when the Cuyahoga River caught fire. A significant amount of this energy converged in the activities for the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970. It was a new decade; we were young, filled with hope and anxious to do whatever we could to make the world peaceful and cleaner.

U-Rock’s Student Government elected to mark the occasion with tree plantings on our young campus and a panel discussion in the evening to which the community would be invited. I was selected

to chair the Earth Day committee and organize the panel discussion. We knew we wanted a variety of points of view to be represented. I got a representative from the coal-burning power company to talk about their efforts to reduce their smokestack emissions; a representative of the city’s waste disposal program would speak about ways to reduce the amount of trash we threw away and future plans for the city’s landfill. We needed at least one more speaker. My economics professor said he had a friend at Marquette University, a fellow economist, who could talk about the economic perspectives that affect business and manufacturing decisions to pollute or not pollute. This sounded like a different and interesting point of view, so I asked him to see if he was available. As it turned out, he was, and Les Aspin became the third panelist for the first Earth Day at U-Rock.

We had a standing-room only crowd (OK, it was just a medium-sized auditorium), lots of great information, lively discussion, and some tough questions from the audience. The energy in the room was palpable! Dr. Aspin was easily the most dynamic speaker and gave practical, down to earth answers to all questions addressed to him. After listening to him I began to understand that there had to either be economic incentive or a significant economic penalty to encourage business, manufacturers and citizens to make good use of the resources we have and stop polluting our land, water and air.

We started at 7:30 and the Teach-in didn’t end until well after 10:00 p.m. As the chairman of the event, I was there to the very end and had the opportunity to talk with my professor and Dr. Aspin after most of the crowd had left. I complimented Dr. Aspin on how effectively he had answered the questions directed to him. He thanked me and then asked if I had ever worked on a political campaign.

I ended up recruiting many of my friends to help organize his local campaign for U.S. Congress; we worked hard to help him win his first election in the fall of 1970. He served in Congress until being tapped to be Bill Clinton’s first Secretary of Defense. I’m sure that much of his local support came from the impressions he made on the people who came to our Earth Day Teach-in.

It’s gratifying to know that Earth Day has been celebrated every year in some form or another since 1970, with its emphasis on local environmental issues, wherever it takes place. I’m proud to have been part of the first Earth Day with its “Think globally, act locally” emphasis. I know Senator Nelson and Congressman/ Secretary Aspin would also be proud!

Robbyn Novak is now a teacher at Pine Valley Elementary School.

Martyn St. David

In April of 1970 I was living at Ft. Eustis, Virginia – married to an officer in the army; a registered Republican and pretty conservative. I paid no attention to Earth Day and the hippies. The following month, when the Kent State students were killed by our National Guard, I believed that the National Guard was right and justified – after all, our government was always here to protect us and the “outlaws” were certainly here to tear our country apart.

Then I grew up.

Martyn St. David is Producer and Host of “Life in the Green Lane,” airing Saturday mornings at 8 on WAAV 980AM

When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money.

—Cree Prophecy

Earth Day 1970— Where were you on April 22?

Andy Wood

In April 1970 author, ecologist and educator Andy Wood was a budding environmental activist with a Youth Museum near his hometown in Connecticut, an experience that helped direct his life career in the field of conservation.

In a very real sense, I grew up with that museum, having been at the ground breaking in 1960, and later participating in all the programs they had to offer from weekend butterfly treks to weeklong summer camps. At 13 when I was old enough to become a Junior Staffer, I proudly joined the ranks of my likeminded teenage peers for a life-forming experience that later included becoming a Nader’s Raider; an environmental activist group led by consumer advocate Ralph Nader.

In 1970, the museum’s lively band of Junior Staffers spent the weekends participating in a variety of public events including river clean-ups, roadside clean-ups, newspaper collections, anti-war protests and environmental fairs. All this as college students also involved with the museum, working with Nader’s group and Earth Day planners to organize Connecticut’s environmental movement.

My involvement with that first Earth Day was really most intense during the weeks leading up to April 22. On Earth Day weekend itself, I was on Cape Hatteras, North Carolina along with several other Junior staffers and Museum staff members for a spring-break field trip arranged by the museum as thanks for all the work we had done that previous year, including the

months leading up to the first Earth Day. The trip was a rare opportunity for us reptile and amphibian fanciers to explore a place well known for its frogs, snakes and lizards.

We returned to Connecticut from our Hatteras adventures, flushed with herpetological successes, and quickly resumed the real business of fighting for the environment and against the war in Viet Nam. My life after that first Earth Day has been framed by the lessons and experiences I was provided, through mentoring and guidance, from numerous young adults who were then leading the charge to halt war in particular, while encouraging global environmental health in general.

Many slogans have come and gone since that first Earth Day in 1970, but one line from a poster I once had, and now paraphrase, still rings true today: “War, and pollution, are not healthy for children and other living things.” The simple message was a clarion call then, and should today continue to spur us to good works that have meaningful and lasting benefits for present and future generations. Works that lead to wiser use of our precious water and priceless arable soils, and more work in the education arena to increase appreciation for all the natural resources Earth’s six billion human inhabitants require.

With the 38th anniversary of Earth Day happening during this highly charged election year, I hope our candidates will recall that first Earth Day, and accordingly prioritize their campaign platforms with a focus on the health and well-being of the global environment that connects and supports all living things. It’s a simple environmental wish, just like we had 38 years ago this week; a wish for a healthy planet, which is one thing that truly binds us all.

Happy Spring, and, Happy Earth Day! Andy Wood is Education Director of Audubon Carolina, and the author of Backyard Carolina. His nature commentaries air every other Monday on WHQR.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.

—Chief Seattle, 1854

Carol Bower Johnson

I remember reading, with hope, about first Earth Day, in the newspaper before driving over to work on back wards at Boston State Hospital, preparing with other nurses to march on the governor’s office to call attention to deplorable conditions. Here we are 38 years later. Same deplorable mental health system conditions, AND carbon emissions crisis at global level affecting all creature life. What can I say. It’s either give up, or join up. We need everyone in a watershed (that is EVERY one) to join an environmental group here and insist on groups formally joining each other in alliance roundtable to address our environment with common strategy. That means Sierra Club, Audubon, NC Coastal Federation, Cape Fear Citizens For A Safe Environment, Cape Fear River Watch, Pender Watch – every group with a table at the Wilmington Earth Day. Guiding principle: what will we be saying and doing in Hugh MacRae Park in another 38 years at Earth Day 2046?

Carol Johnson is Coordinating Committee Member of Cape Fear Climate Action Network.

Bouty Baldridge

I had just graduated from college and was set to enter the military. I was in Portland, Oregon, one of the environmental Meccas of the world. While I had no distinct awareness of Earth Day at the time, I believe that my experience with the people of that area nurtured my environmental roots to eventually pursue the paths that I have enjoyed these many years hence.

Bouty Baldridge was an early adopter of electric vehicles, and was the first Cape Fear Riverkeeper.

Earth Day 1990—

Sitting in his pick-up one day, naturalist Andy Wood came to the conclusion that local efforts on the part of individual environmental groups and interested companies could be much more effective if they were to collaborate, and in February 1990 the Earth Day Alliance was born. The objectives of the newly formed environmental organization included increasing public awareness and understanding about local and regional environmental concerns, with an eye to how these problems contribute

Life in Trolldom

to global conditions. A stated purpose was a dedication to maintaining a safe, just and sustainable planet through proactive educational programs designed to increase environmental awareness among the citizenry.

Affiliated with Earth Day 1990, Earth Day Alliance organized the Cape Fear area’s first large, organized celebration of Earth Day. Hundreds attended a rally at Riverfront Park, to listen to speakers and musicians and to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the first Earth Day. The Wilmington Star reported that about 750 people joined in the short march from Cape Fear Community College, but many continued on to exhibits on environmental issues at the Coastline Convention Center.

The annual celebration continues today. In addition to the big celebration in Hugh MacRae Park, area events for Earth Day 2008 take place throughout the month of April, and include an Enviro-Fair

in Swansboro, an environmental fair at New Hanover County Public Library, and an environmental awards ceremony to honor local individuals for keeping Onslow County clean and beautiful. Numerous clean-up events are scheduled, whether on land or creeks and other waterways. Schools at all levels participate in raising ecological awareness, from elementary children who plant flowers in the schoolyard and eat waste-free lunch using biodegradable place settings, to university students involved in ongoing efforts to share knowledge and implement practices that are sustainable. (See www. uncw.edu/sustainability to learn what UNCW’s Sustainability Committee is doing in April and throughout the year.)

Where will you be next Earth Day?

Earth day CElEbration 2008

The Gleason family came from Carolina Beach for the Earth Day rally held on Water Street in 1990.

Like schools throughout our area, Ogden Elementary School devised creative ways to involve students and teachers alike in activities that would encourage discussion of environmental topics.

8 Pragmatic Reasons to Nurture Trees

1. Trees increase property values by 5-15%. The average home in New Hanover County sold for $245,687 in February 2008. Trees could contribute $12,284 to $36,853 to the value of the average home.

2. Property with trees sells better than a properties without them. A survey of real estate agents revealed that 84 percent feel a house on a lot with trees would be as much as 20 percent more saleable than a house on a lot without trees.

3. Trees help improve water quality and save $$$. Stormwater runoff is the number one source of pollution of our rivers, creeks and oceans. Forested areas reduce runoff by 17% and can save millions of dollars in infrastructure to treat runoff. Atlanta’s canopy cover(27%) saves $883 million in one-time capital costs to build retention facilities that provide the equivalent benefit of trees.

4. Trees can reduce energy bills. Wellplaced trees around a house can cut heating and cooling costs by 10-50 percent. The average homeowner could save between $150 and $760 per year.

5. Trees can reduce erosion. Leaves and branches intercept rain before it hits the ground, slowing the water and reducing the amount of soil washed away. Trees also reduce erosion by binding the soil through root systems.

6. Trees can reduce the impacts of flooding. Mature trees can take up between 50 and 800 gallons per day, depending on tree species and size.

7. Trees offset air pollution. One mature tree absorbs approximately 13 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. The average American creates 41,887 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

8. Trees provide great places to recreate. Fishers, hunters, birdwatchers, hikers, nature photographers, horseback riders, skiers, snowmobilers, and campers are examples of people whose activities benefit from trees.

—complied by Jennifer O’Keefe Keep Americal Beautiful of New Hanover County

Wilmington Tree Commission

Recognizing the need to protect and promote our urban forest, in 1996 the City Council of Wilmington established the Wilmington Tree Commission. The Commission is tasked with promoting programs to support the urban forest, increasing public education, and establishing awards and recognition programs as incentives to encourage a healthy and attractive natural environment.

The Tree Commission stewards many projects that include Arbor Day, participation in the Tree USA program, Treefest, and the Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Award Program rewarding positive work by developers in our area. The Tree Commission seeks to reward positive actions in the community regarding trees.

“All too often it is easier to focus on the negative than the positive, and we are fortunate to live in a community with so many positive actions deserving of recognition,” says Gwenyfar Rohler, a member of the Commission. “The WTC seeks to draw attention to and reinforce the positive. “

At the City of Wilmington’s 2008 celebration of Arbor Day 500 saplings were given to schoolchildren for free. This year’s celebration was held at Sunset Park Elementary School. The Arbor Day celebration moves to a new elementary school each year, in order to reach as many children as possible. Teachers prepare children for Arbor Day by creating lessons on the importance of trees. As part of the event, a tree is planted on the grounds of the hosting elementary school.

The city’s Heritage Tree Program serves as a registry of significant trees, and is described further on page 9.

Annual Tree Preservation Awards are presented annually in up to nine categories, for properties located within Wilmington’s city limits. Anyone can nominate his or her own tree, or that belonging to another (with the owner’s permission).

Up to four awards are given annually for tree care, maintenance and use, in the following categories:

• Outstanding pruning, maintenance and/or good tree health practices

• Outstanding tree restoration

• Outstanding tree preservation

• Outstanding handling of unique location challenges.

Up to five awards are given for landscape design, in the following categories:

• Outstanding use of native trees

• Outstanding naturalized plantings

• Design that complements architecture or topography of site

• Design/style appropriate to history and/or significance of the site

• Outstanding functional design Nomination forms and further details are available from the City Web site, or by contacting Lauren Galleher at galleherl@ mindspring.com or (910)520-5516.

PLAY THE GAME I Spy a Tree... for Free

Wilmington’s Urban Forester has devised an online game to encourage people to observe the trees around them. Each month a new tree image from somewhere within Wilmington is posted at the following site:

www.wilmingtonnc.gov/tabid/290/Default.aspx

If you recognize the tree of the month, email its location according to the directions on the Web site, and you might win a tree from a local nursery!

Mayor Saffo conducted an impromptu Town Meeting at last year’s Arbor Day celebration.

your ecological house™

Choose the Right Tree for Your “Home Ecosystem”

by Philip S. Wenz

Deciding which tree or trees to plant is one of the most important choices you’ll make as you plan an environmentally friendly home. Just as they dominate natural ecosystems, trees dominate the landscape of your “home ecosystem,” influencing your microclimate and soil conditions and determining which shrubs and flowers will succeed or fail in their shadows.

The environmental, economic and personal benefits of trees are legion. A huge deciduous tree on the south side of our house, for example, provides enough shade that on a 100-degree day last summer the temperature inside our house was 82 degrees . . . and we don’t have air conditioning. Our tree drops its leaves in the fall, allowing the sun to warm our house in winter. I use the leaves as mulch in our vegetable garden.

Evergreen trees, especially when planted in groups, can provide a year-round windbreak, protection from road pollution, and privacy.

Longleaf Pine Forest Fundraiser

Mature trees are almost ecosystems unto themselves, hosting moss, insects, birds and other organisms. On a planetary scale, trees absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and incorporate it into their tissue, where it remains for decades or centuries. Planting trees is one of our best hedges against the worst effects of global warming.

Trees also yield economic benefits, even on the small scale of a typical house and yard, as fruit and wood can be harvested for personal use or for sale. And trees provide handy hangers for rope swings or hammocks and spiritual companions for the contemplative.

However, the wrong trees, or even the right trees in the wrong places, can be problematic or destructive. Mature “problem trees” or their branches that can fall with damaging or even deadly effect on your house or your neighbor’s house. Root damage to foundations, driveways, patios and drains can be serious and costly, and fallen leaves and fruit can be hazardous on walkways.

Nonnative trees can damage the environment, and as a consequence can destroy human lives and property. When Australian eucalyptus trees were introduced into California in the 1850s, they spread rapidly, disrupting native ecosystems. The highly flammable eucalyptus trees contributed to the eruption of the 1991 fire in the Oakland, California, hills that killed several people and destroyed more than 3,000 homes.

The first step in choosing the right tree is to define its purpose. You’ll need a deciduous tree if you want summer shade and winter sun, of course, but you’ll also have to decide where and when you’ll want shade. That’s determined by the path of the sun on your property, the location of the tree, and its size and shape when it matures.

Would it be better to plant two smaller shade trees side by side? Trees support each other against the elements, and some species need a mate for pollination to produce fruit or nuts.

If a native tree meets your requirements, it is usually preferable to a nonnative. Natives support other natives, even

at a distance, through pollination. We can promote genetic diversity and help preserve threatened species (such as the American elm, prey to Dutch elm disease) by giving trees a home and keeping them healthy.

Choosing the right native takes some thought. For example, in most areas, some natives are water-loving and others need a drier environment. You’ll have to choose one that suits your property and won’t demand water where it’s scarce.

Sometimes, your needs just can’t be met by native trees. Most fruit trees, for example, have been spread from their place of origin by humans for so many centuries that they are considered part of the local landscape. Try to choose locally-adapted trees, however, and let the arboretums exhibit the exotic trees.

People often buy a tree for the way it or its picture looks in the nursery, without learning about its many requirements or understanding its complex interactions with their house and landscape. Similarly, people plant trees where they think they will look good, without considering how their branches or roots will grow or what kind of maintenance they’ll require. (Pruning a big, overgrown tree, for example, is expensive.)

Thankfully, we are rich in public libraries, well-informed nursery people, arborists and extension services to help you select the right trees for your ecological house.

© Philip S. Wenz, 2008

Philip S. (Skip) Wenz is a freelance writer specializing in ecological design issues. He was a general contractor, residential designer, teacher and writer in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the early 1990s he founded, and for ten years directed, the Ecological Design Program at the San Francisco Institute of Architecture. He also teaches “Creating Your Ecological House,” at Berkeley’s Building Education Center and wrote the book, Adding to a House (Taunton Press, 1995). Skip now lives with his wife, Pam, in Corvallis, Oregon and divides his time between various writing projects and retrofitting his older home to be more environmentally friendly. He may be reached by email through his web site at www.your-ecological-house.com

wilmington’s tree canopy

Wilmington Program Records City’s Heritage Trees

It seems fitting that the Airlie Oak was the first tree to be registered with the City of Wilmington’s Heritage Tree Program. This renowned specimen tree dates back to the year 1545, and is North Carolina’s largest live oak (Quercus virginiana). It graces the lawn of Airlie Gardens, where it can be enjoyed by the 50,000 visitors to the gardens each year (photo, page 11).

The City of Wilmington Heritage Tree Program was established to help increase public awareness about the important contribution of trees to our history and heritage.

The program identifies and records trees that are important to the City’s history

or natural landscape. A tree may be designated a heritage tree because of its size, age, rarity, historical significance, or overall beauty. Registration of individual heritage trees or groves of trees promotes appreciation of these significant members of our community.

Since the registration of the Airlie Oak in 2007, two additional trees – or rather, one tree and a grove of four – have been added to the registry. The second individual tree recognized is a cherry tree off Holly Tree Road, measuring 50.5 inches in diameter. The third registry listing was given to a grove of four oak trees on a single residential property.

Trees may qualify in one of four different categories. A tree may be notable because of historic significance, or because it is a City landmark. It might be a considered a specimen

tree, because of its exceptional size, form, or rarity. Or, like the registry’s third entry, a tree might be located in a notable grove, avenue or planting.

Anyone can nominate a tree for recognition and registration as a heritage tree. To learn more about the different categories, or to download a form to nominate a tree you think deserves to be considered, visit the City’s Web site at www.ci.wilmington.nc.us.

Or call contact Brion Capo, Wilmington’s Urban Forester, at brion.capo@wilmingtonnc.gov or at (910)341-0078.

Photo by Brion Capo

This magnolia tree, in front of the Bellamy Mansion on Market Street, was planted in 1870. Although not yet nominated, both trees pictured on this page are examples of good candidates for the Heritage Tree Program.

Photo by Brion Capo

This Deodar cedar tree by St. James Church at Third and Market Streets in Wilmington measures 42 inches in diameter.

Spring returns...

Photos these two pages by Valerie Robertson

Brown-Headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla)

This brown-headed nuthatch is resting between tasks that include gleaning insects from tree bark and seeds from pine cones. A pine woods inhabitant, this southern species uses its long pointed bill to cache seeds and other foodstuffs in cracks and furrows of tree bark. Excavating a nest cavity in dead trees and limbs in late March and early April may take three weeks to complete. Eggs are white with uniform reddish-brown speckling.

These energetic birds travel in small groups that may include other species such as chickadees and warblers. The nuthatch’s chattering call resembles the sound of a child’s squeaky toy. Adult nuthatches weigh ten grams, or about as much as two nickels.

Conservation Note: Brown-headed nuthatches are declining over much of their range due to habitat loss and

alteration. They require dead tree trunks and snags for nest sites and cannot breed in forests that have been “cleaned” of this important habitat structure.

US Coinage

Penny Standard weight 2.5 grams

Nickel Standard weight 5.0 grams

Dime Standard weight 2.268 grams

Quarter Standard weight 5.670 grams

Photo and text by Andy Wood | Audubon Carolina

Field Trip to the Solar Decathlon

by Valerie Robertson

Twenty teams of architectural students descended on the nation’s capitol last October, and they brought their houses with them. They came to compete in the third Solar Decathlon, a competition in which student teams showcase their ideas for better living with solar and demonstrate how well they can make those ideas really work. The house they bring to Washington must be a fully-functional, energy-efficient, completely solar-powered home.

Students devote up to two years designing and building the competition home, which they then must disassemble, transport and reconstruct on the grassy Mall running between the Capitol building and the Washington Monument.

During the nine-day Decathlon, the homes are open to the public, and students are judged in part on how well their signage and student-led tours convey

information about the workings of their design. Homes compete in ten different contests, and receive scores for each. The home with the highest score is winner of the overall Solar Decathlon. The competition is designed to make sure the entire two-year process is a valuable training ground for learning to use solar technology, while mindful of the comfort, appeal, and livability factors

that are necessary components of any home-building enterprise.

“It was a sign of the times to see the Solar Decathlon in the most powerful and influential city in the U.S.”

The design challenge the team from Georgia Institute of Technology set themselves was to open their building to sunlight without creating glare or overheating the space. They used several techniques, the most visible of which was their use of transluscent walls, consisting of two sheets of polycarbonate enclosing an aerogel filler. Aerogel, also called “solid smoke,” is the lightest solid known. It’s transluscent, and allows filtered light into the home. It’s also an excellent insulator. The roof is also made of transluscent material—a product normally used for big installations like football stadiums.

The orange and green house in the distance is the entry from two-time Decathlon winner, University of Colorado at Boulder. They consider the Solar Decathlon size guidelines too limiting, and so this 700 sq. ft. entry will, once back home, serve as the core of a 2,100 sq. ft. house. The team’s sponsor, Xcel Energy, has already agreed to buy the final structure to use as a permanent research and education facility.

Each house is judged in ten different categories over the course of the nine-day event. Because generation of power is key, specific tests are set up to judge how effective the system would be for a family inhabiting the home. In the Appliances contest, for example, it’s not enough to show that the solar power is sufficient to run the refrigerator. To gain maximum points in the Appliances contest, the team must maintain certain temperature ranges in their refrigerator and freezer. During the competition, they must wash and dry twelve towels for two days, cook and serve meals for four days, and use the dishwasher to clean dishes for four days.

Similar tests assess whether the solar hot water systems can supply all the hot

“My favorite aspect of the Solar Decathlon was Maryland’s countertop made from a fallen maple tree. I loved that they incorporated mother nature’s deceased for home beautification.”

–French Sconyers

This entry from the University of Maryland got high marks for livability. We were intrigued by the focal point of the living room: a dessicant wall that resembled a water wall, but carried a steady stream of liquid dessicant material, fully enclosed behind glass, that captured humidity within the house and discharged it outside. Designed around the concept of a leaf, LEAFHouse won second place in the Decathlon.

When you’re in a solar village it’s easy to remember which direction is South, since all the solar panels face that direction. (If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, the panels would be oriented to face North.)

Photo by Helen Griffith

Members of the Cape Fear Green Building Alliance and friends carpooled to Washington, D.C. to visit the solar homes on the Mall in front of the Capitol building. From left, Valerie Robertson, Sunny Kumar, Gordon Singletary, Elise Rocks, Ari Rapport, Tracy Rapport, and Carl Lorenz.

–Michael Tyler

Solar Decathlon

water needed by a household for bathing, laundry, and dishwashing.

The Communications contest challenges teams to share information with a wide audience about the technical and experiential aspects of their project. Points are given for clear, consistent messages, for complete Web site communication about their plans from design through execution, and for their ability to speak with the public. On-site signage and studentled tours provided good explanations of the processes inside each house.

Each team was issued an electric car upon their arrival at the Mall, for The Getting Around contest, which grades teams on how much electricity they can generate above that needed to run the systems of the house. They charge the car, and their success is measured by how many miles they can drive.

Decathlon sponsor U.S. Department of Energy maintains a wonderful Web site, www.solardecathlon.org, that includes not only information on the competition, but contact information and live links to the Web sites of all the student teams. Teams for the 2009 event have already been chosen, and you can track their progress online. You can also check the progress of teams from the 2007 Decathlon, to learn more about their projects and to learn the disposition of each house, whether it’s back on campus, or has been sold for community use or to be used as a residence.

If you’re intrigued by the potential of incorporating solar energy into your home, consider a trip to Washington, D.C. for the 2009 Solar Decathlon.

“Being exposed to the various ways the teams employed solar power in their designs made me more aware than ever that clean alternate-energy sources are not just a good thing, but a necessity.”

–Keith Burke

“My favorite thing was getting ideas for our upcoming design project and also the incorporation of those ideas for a healthy, green sustainable future.”

–Alex Dortschy

The Santa Clara University team used electrochromic windows for their house. The innovative glass used in these windows allows the homeowner to flip a switch to either darken the glass to block the sun’s rays, or lighten to allow the sun entry. Pictured here are the exposed I-beams in the living area, made of bamboo. Santa Clara came in third overall.

“Go green and keep the environment clean.”

–J.W. Pegg

“I greatly enjoyed conversing with the international teams (Puerto Rico, Spain, and Germany) about the solar/renewable mindset in their home countries. It was stunning to hear how advanced they are in solar innovation and the incorporation of renewable energy and resources in their every day living. We must push forward and continue down a similar path.”

–Alyssa Halle

Germany’s entry, made of their local German oak, was the overall winner of the 2007 Solar Decathlon.

The German entry was encased in a shell of computer-operated louvered panels. As seen at left, the panels on sunny sides of the house contained a photovoltaic strip on each slat. PV panels also cover the roof, and on this sunny day the house was generating far more energy than it could use.

Elise, Carl, and Ari admire the amenities of the kitchen/dining area of the entry from the University of Texas at Austin. Note the opportunity for fresh air and cross-ventilation.

Photo by Mike Tyler

Ron Wilson’s architectural technology students included a side trip to the National Building Museum , a metro ride away from the Mall where the Solar Decathlon homes were on display for nine days in October. Back row, from left, Scott Biggs, Ron Wilson, Alex Dortschy, Keith Burke. Front row: J.W. Pegg, French Sconyers, Alyssa Halle, David Bettencourt.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Honored on Stamp

Best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Yearling and her memoir Cross Creek, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was commemorated on February 21 at the site of her Cross Creek, Florida, home. Rawlings is remembered for short stories, novels and non-fiction works about life in the Florida backwoods. Rawlings’ collections of southern recipes remain a popular addition to many kitchen libraries today. [Michael Deas created a portrait of the novelist with a background depicting a fawn at a watering hole in Florida scrub country.]

But what of the land? It seems to me that the earth may be borrowed but not bought. It may be used, but not owned. It gives itself in response to love and tending, offers its seasonal flowering and fruiting. But we are tenants and not possessors, lovers and not master. Cross Creek belongs to the wind and the rain, to the sun and the seasons, to the cosmic secrecy of seed, and beyond all, to time.

aia SCOTT aia

LARA BERKLEY LARA BERKLEY BERKLEY, asla ,, asla ,

— Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

sustainability

Cape Fear Community College Enters the North Carolina Sustainable Building Design Competition

The North Carolina Sustainable Building Design Competition in conjunction with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Natural Talent Design Competition provides an applied learning experience in the principles of integrated design, sustainability, innovation and social consciousness. Initiated in 2000, the two competitions merged in 2006 to continue the vision of incorporating the principles of sustainability into collegelevel curriculums.

Under the direction of Ron Wilson, lead instructor, the Engineering Division’s Architectural Technology Program has participated in the competition since 2003. The design goals of the competition include:

• Whole house design

• Creativity in process, design and innovation

• Conceptual design and program fulfillment: how the project’s vision has met the requirements and the family’s needs

• Engagement of environmental, economic and social aspects of program and site

• Integration of local home programs such as LEED and Healthy Built Homes

• Overall energy reduction and its documentation

Each participating team’s design must use the following categories to produce a high-performance green residence for the specified family:

• Energy-efficient design

• Renewable energy

• Building science

• Materials

• Indoor environmental quality

• Water

• Community and historic preservation

• Hazard mitigation

• Universal design

The competition has grown to include twelve two- and four-year colleges from North Carolina and Virginia.

The commitment of the faculty and students in the Architectural Technology Program has allowed great success in the competition. The program is considered a leader in educating students about energy efficient design and renewable energy. The dedication and hard work has resulted in the following:

• 2003 – Third Place (first year in the competition)

• 2004 – First and Second Place (unprecedented)

• 2005 – First Place

• 2006 – Second and Third Place and Honorable Mention

• 2007 – Second and Third Place

• 2008 – ?

Thus far in the competitions, local and state prizes awarded directly to CFCC Architectural Technology students total over $24,500.00

Every year students from the CFCC’s Architectural Technology Program compete in a North Carolina design competition. The designs are created in response to an actual building need; the winning design is actually constructed.

The 2008 design challenge was to create a duplex designed for seniors, on a specific site associated with a facility in Virginia. Students worked to incorporate design principles tailored to the needs of an older population.

This year’s local competition was April 9; at this writing, two student teams of second-year architectural tech students from CFCC are at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh participating in the statewide competition.

Photo by Ron Wilson

Student teams from CFCC come to the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences to compete in a state-wide program, hoping their entry will be judged the best high-performance green residence.

business news

Sapona Green Building Center Grand Opening

Early this year Elaine and Matt Jack opened the area’s first building center featuring exclusively green products. The store is located at Anderson Square, 4113 Oleander Drive, Suite B in Wilmington, and carries a wide range of non-toxic and eco-friendly products, including paint, flooring, countertops and partitions, and wall coverings. Stop in to enjoy all the different textures and colors, or learn how affordable solar can be. For more information, visit the Web site: www.saponagreen.com.

More New Businesses in Our Area

New Gourmet Market

Mr. Seyoum Joseph opened The Gourmet Market in downtown Wilmington, and provides fresh fruits, vegetables, locally grown produce, healthy snacks, healthy drinks, and more. Lunchtime sandwiches and salads are now available, and he plans to expand his offerings each month. Coming soon: glutenfree items, organic coffee & juice bar, and supplements.

The Gourmet Market is located at 27 No. Front Street, near the corner of Front and Princess Streets, Wilmington, and is open 9a.m.–10p.m. daily.

Door to Door Floors Opens in Belville

Thomas and Amy Brite have opened Door To Door Floors, the first Anso Premier Dealer in the state and the only one in the Wilmington area. Anso nylon is the only cradle-to-cradle recyclable carpet on the market and there are hundreds to choose from with price points better than traditional carpet and great rebates for going green. The showroom at Door To Door is 90% “Green” with the selection growing every month. No matter what you’re looking for, Tile, Laminate, Hardwood,

Cork, Bamboo, or Carpet, the environmentaly friendly floors at Door To Door Floors have it. Come speak with Thomas and Amy to see how affordable going green is. Located at the Waterford shops beside Urgent Care and behind Edward Jones. Door to Door Floors is located at 497 Olde Waterford Way, Suite 108 Belville, NC 28451. Telephone: (910)371-9662.

May 15 is the submission deadline for the June/July issue of Cape Fear’s Going Green (910)547-4390

Local rain barrel sources

North Carolina manufacturer: Rain Water Solutions, Inc. www.rainwatersolutions.com

(919)835-1699

Rain Water Solutions designs are available year-round in Wilmington from the following:

Local Retail outlet:

Progressive Gardens, 5732-A Oleander Dr, Wilmington, NC www.progressivegardens.com

(910)395-1156

Barrel fundraiser:

Cape Fear River Watch will soon offer barrels as a fundraiser for their programs. Call Joe Abbate at (910)762-5606.

Local Retail outlets for other brands:

We found two local Ace Hardware stores carrying rain barrels–call ahead to make sure they’re in stock. They are:

Harold’s Hardware, 6756 Market Street, (910)791-6991. View their model online at www. haroldshardware.com (or order from their site if you prefer).

Hampstead Ace Hardware, 15597 US Hwy 17, Hampstead, (910)270-3237.

Lowe’s had two in stock when we called, and can order them. Lowes Home Improvement Warehouse of University City, 354 So. College Rd, Wilmington, (910)395-8433 or at Monkey Junction (910)397-0137.

In addition, several local companies such as Solar Weather Works and One World Design can design and install custom rain-gathering systems.

Workshop for Plug-in Hybrid Conversions

Mike and Paula Moore of Ampmobile Conversions LLC are offering a workshop in converting your car to a plug-in hybrid. May 21 is the registration deadline for the workshop, which will be held June 6-9 outside of Carowinds. If there is enough interest, a second class will be scheduled for June.

The Moores specialize in the conversion of cars and

trucks (and soon, motorcycles) to all-electric power. They also conduct ongoing research, development and education in alternative energies, as well as promoting alternative modes of transportation and alternative energy.

For more information, visit www.ampmobiles.com, or email info@ampmobiles.com or call them at (866)831-1082.

Shell Recycling Increases Sharply; New Site at Hilltop Grocery

“After pickups through mid-March, the tally of shells dumped onto the stockpile since October first stood at 800 bushels,” reported Jack Spruill, head of the PenderWatch & Conservancy shell recycling program. “The response of citizens, our five merchants and volunteers has been tremendous and much appreciated.”

A new, fifth site at Hilltop Grocery and Service Station on Highway 17 in Hampstead became active in January.

“Hilltop Grocery should develop into a high volume

site,” said Spruill, “because the Sloop Point area has a long, rich history of oyster and clam fishing and harvest. Commercial oyster fishermen, as well or better than anyone, know that we have to get shells back in the water to replace the structure for new oyster growth when we harvest oysters. And, the owner of Hilltop does commercial fishing.”

Spruill said that we are well on the way to seeing as many bushels of clam and oyster shells recycled back into Pender County waters as are

bushels of oysters harvested each year.

“This should bode well for our oyster habitats in the future,” said Spruill, “if we can complement this with two further achievements.”

First, he said, PenderWatch volunteers plan to work in cooperation with UNCW and Marine Fisheries to get recycled shells properly placed in Pender waters during the 2008 spawning season, June through August.

Second, citizens, along with local businesses and

government need to stem the tide against further deterioration of our water quality due to storm water runoff, runoff of chemicals from lawns and golf courses, and destruction of valuable filtering vegetation along Pender waters.

“This last achievement requires a commitment,” the program director concluded, “but it can be done.” For further information on PenderWatch & Conservancy or to become a member, call 270-4133, or sign up for PenderWatch e-notification by emailing vufinder@ mac.com .

Spring Rain Barrel Sales a Success in Area Counties

One month after the City of Wilmington’s spring rain barrel sale sold a record 270 rain barrels, Brunswick Soil & Water Conservation District hosted its first Spring Rain Barrel Sale this year. Organizers were gratified to sell 106 at their first such event.

Barrels for both events were delivered from Rain Water Solutions, in Raleigh. If you missed your chance, see the sidebar on page 18 for a list of places you can buy a barrel... if you don’t want to wait until next year!

Transporting the barrels home took a variety of forms, although many were happy just to stash their barrel in the back seat of the passenger car.

Mike and Lynn Ruck of Rain Water Solutions delivered freshly made barrels to the parking lot of the Brunswick County Government Complex in Bolivia.

This enterprising shopper rounded the corner and filled the other side of his Rabbit with plants from the Brunswick County Master Gardener Volunteer Association Plant Sale.

Community Supported Agriculture will be the focus of our June/July issue. If you know of a CSA in our area you’d like for us to mention, let us know.

Editor@goinggreenpublications.com or (910)547-4390

Kokopelli Kilts

Fun practical kilts for the whole family!

Mary Robertson, Kiltmaker

business briefs & education updates

Milestones & Awards

Martyn St. David has started a new hour-long radio environmental show called “Life in the Green Lane” on WAAV 908AM. Tune in every Saturday morning at 8 to learn how your daily actions can make a difference.

UNCW named Jock Brandis their 2007 “Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholar” for his invention of the Universal Nut Sheller and his pursuit of solving the problems of hunger in developing countries. The purpose of the award is to recognize a person in the Cape Fear area who exemplifies the attributes and ideals of Albert Schweitzer. The honoree delivers a lecture to the Honors Scholars Freshman Seminar class in the fall.

New Meeting Day for CFGBA

2376 Friendly Street

Eugene Oregon 97405 541-729-5972

kokopellikilts@clearwire.net

The Cape Fear Green Building Alliance has moved its monthly meetings to a new night of the month, to eliminate schedule conflicts with meetings of City Council and with meetings of other building-related groups in town. Starting in May, the NEW meeting night is the second Wednesday of the month. Visitors are always welcome. Meetings are held at The Balcony on Dock

Street, on the third floor of the Roudabush building at the corner of Dock and Front Streets in downtown Wilmington. Look for the CFGBA sign at the back entrance (the one with a street-level elevator) on Dock. Come early or stay late for dinner at Yosake.

Education/County Policy

Shawn Ralston, Senior Environmental Planner with the New Hanover County Planning Department and CFGBA Board member, recently participated in the National Association of Counties (NACo) first-ever County Climate Protection Forum in Washington, D.C. This two-day dialogue and peer-to-peer networking forum provided county officials from across the country the opportunity to discuss and learn more about best practices, tools and resources to assist counties in developing and implementing successful climate change programs at home. To follow up to this meeting, New Hanover County will be developing a climate action plan which could incorporate energy efficiency, renewable and alternative energy, green building, water quality, land use, purchasing and recycling to facilitate green government practices.

Take Action Tour on Climate Change— May 3

The Take Action Tour on Climate Change is coming to Wilmington. “Feeling the Heat? Solutions for Climate Change” will make its second stop on Saturday, May 3rd from 1 p.m.–3 p.m. in UNCW’s Warwick Center, Ballroom 3. The event is being sponsored by the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Environmental Defense Fund, North Carolina Conservation Network, and Environment North Carolina.

From rising sea levels, to more intense tropical storms and hurricanes, North Carolina faces no shortage of consequences as a result of global warming. In order to avoid a dangerous shift in our climate, significant changes need to be made immediately. In the absence of federal action, many cities, states, and individuals are taking action to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted. Now it is time for North Carolina to join the grow-

ing numbers of people and governments taking action.

Learn how a changing climate can impact North Carolina and find out ways North Carolina decision-makers can address these problems. We’ll discuss why North Carolina should set a goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, how we can clean up our cars to reduce carbon emissions, and ways our state can adapt to the anticipated harmful impacts of a warming climate.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn what North Carolina can do to solve global warming and find out ways you can influence North Carolina leaders to make wise choices.

For more information and to RSVP visit www.ncconservationnetwork.org or contact Veronica Butcher veronica@ncconservationnetwork.org or Margaret Hartzell margaret@environmentnorthcarolina.org.

book suggestions

Unbowed A Memoir

Wangari Maathai

Anchor Books• $14.95

Wangari Maathai is a remarkable woman who, dismayed by the disappearance of trees in her native Kenya, started planting trees and creating systems to encourage poor rural women to plant and nuture trees—a crime punishable by jailings and beatings. Her continued efforts to build tree-planting networks resulted in the planting of more than 40 million trees. Elected to Parliament in 2002, in 2003 she was appointed Assistant Minister for the Environment. In 2004, she became the first environmentalist, and the first African woman, to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Going Green on the road... Eugene, OR

Our January trip to the Good Earth Show in green Eugene was a chance to see new technologies in action and meet new folks. One “find” was writer Philip S. (Skip) Wenz, who has kindly agreed to write a regular column for this publication.

See page 8 for “Your Ecological House.”

LOOKING TO GO GREEN?

VISIT sapona green

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder

Richard Louv

Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill• $13.95

“Every parent would benefit from reading Last Child in the Woods,” says Karen Linehan, teacher at Friends School of Wilmington and a former natural science educator with the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. “Richard Louv’s book is an inspiring reminder to parents, educators, and community leaders of how important it is to continue this work of connecting children to the natural world. It is a book to keep handy and refer to often as we collectively nurture the unique and intimate relationship that children share with the natural landscape around them.”

The World Future Society ranked naturedeficit disorder as the fifth most important trend (on a list of 10) that would shape 2007 and the years to come.

The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man’s heart away from nature becomes hard.

Luther

4113-B Oleander Dr. Wilmington, NC 28403 in Anderson Square by Tazy’s & CopyCat 910.313.6606 www.saponagreen.com ~ open M-F 10-6, Sat 10-3

  

Standing Bear Oglala Sioux

Photo by Kelly Windhaven Skip Wenz and Valerie Robertson met earlier this year at the Good Earth Show in Eugene, Oregon.

Cape Fear River Watch Clean-ups Downey Creek Clean-up a Success

calendar

Send us your calendar items! Email us at calendar@goinggreenpublications.com, or call (910)547-4390. The online version of the calendar is updated weekly. June and July items received by May 15 are candidates for our print calendar as well.

May 1

Brunswick Beekeepers Association monthly meeting. Bolivia Complex, 7p.m. Contact Barry Harris at (910)352-7868.

May 3

Cape Fear River Watch offers a free educational seminar at 9 a.m. the first Saturday of each month, at their headquarters at 617 Surry Street, downtown Wilmington. Come early for breakfast. Check their Web site for the topic of the month: www.cfrw.us.

May 7

Cape Fear CAN (Climate Action Network) monthly meeting, 7 p.m. Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Wilmington, 4313 Lake Avenue, Wilmington. www.capefearcan.com.

May 8

Members of Cape Fear River Watch collected trash along both banks of Downey Creek during one of the routine monthly clean-ups sponsored by the organization. Cape Fear River Watch organizes a clean-up of some local body of water each month, usually the third Saturday. If you’d like to join the group for a future clean-up, visit their Web site to learn of the next event. No experience is necessary; wear old clothing and bring rubber gloves. The group will provide trash bags and tools, unless you have a favorite “pick-up” tool you’d like to bring along. See www.cfrw.us for dates of upcoming clean-ups.

Cape Fear Biofuels monthly meeting, in the upstairs community room above Tidal Creek Co-op, 5329 Oleander Drive. Meets the 2nd Thursday of the month at 6 p.m. See www. capefearbiofuels.

May 14

Cape Fear Green Building Alliance has a NEW MEETING NIGHT: It now meets the 2nd WEDNESDAY of the month. The Balcony, 3rd floor of Roudabush building, corner of So. Front & Dock Streets, Wilmington. 7–9 p.m. May’s speaker: Brion Capo, City of Wilmington Urban Forester. For details check newsletter on www.cfgba.org.

 www.goinggreenpublications.com

Photo by Valerie Robertson

calendar

May 16

2008 SMARTT Challenge Final Event. Come cheer on the student team from Topsail High School.

May 16: Historic Oak View Park, Raleigh, NC 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

May 17: McKimmon Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Join hundreds of students from across the southeast as they assemble in Raleigh to drive, test, present, and compete with their custom-built electric cars and trucks in the culmination of the 13th Annual Electric Vehicle Challenge on May 16-17, 2008. Free admission for spectators.

May 20

Cape Fear Regional Beekeepers Association monthly meeting. New Hanover County Arboretum, 6206 Oleander Drive, Wilmington. 7 p.m. Contact Barry Harris at (910)352-7868 or see www.ncbeekeepers.org/chapters.htm.

May 20

North Carolina Native Plant Society monthly meeting, north campus of Cape Fear Community College. Contact Duane Truscott at truscottd@bellsouth.net or (910)675-1205 for time.

November 21-23, 2008

Carolina Living Green Expo, Concord, NC. Phone (910)795-0292 or visit www. CarolinaLivingGreenExpo.com for exhibitor information.

ONGOING EVENTS

Downtown Riverfront Farmers Market

Weekly market at Market & Water Streets, downtown Wilmington.

Saturdays 8:30 a.m.–1 p.m. For information: (910)341-0079 or see www.wilmingtonfarmers.com.

Poplar Grove Farmers Market

Poplar Grove Plantation, Hwy 17 North. Wednesdays 8 a.m.–1 p.m. The 3rd Wed. each month Pender

County Master Gardeners offer a plant clinic. www.poplargrove. com/farmers_market.htm.

Life in the Green Lane

Weekly radio environmental show, 8–9 a.m. Saturdays on WAAV 980 AM Hosted by Martyn St. David.

OCEAN: explore. discover. Exhibit through January 4, 2009 at the Cape Fear Museum, 814 Market Street, Wilmington. Ocean research exhibit prepared jointly with UNCW’s Center for Marine Science. (910)798-4350 or www. capefearmuseum.com.

For additional calendar listings, visit our Web site, which is updated weekly: www.goinggreenpublications.com.