your guide to local eco-friendly resources
2008 Solar + Green Tour
Cape Fear’s SEA and Coffee— New Osher series to premiere Eco-Friendly Gifts
OCEAN: explore. discover. Cape Fear Museum/UNCW
The year is closing so quickly! Looking back at our first year of publication, I find much to be grateful for: family who encourage and sustain me, advertisers who allow us to go to press. Contributors whose breadth of knowledge and vision have inspired me to continue to think outside the lines. My dog, Macy, who reminds me when it is time to step away from the computer and go frolic outdoors.
And members of this community, who every day offer me ideas, calendar items, photos, questions, stories and kudos and community needs, all infused with the spark that tells me a magazine like Going Green is needed in our community, and in our world. Thank you.
In this issue we welcome local nature expert Andy Wood as a regular columnist. We offer holiday and gift ideas that are easy on the earth, and wrap up local events like the Cypress Festival and annual solar tour. Don’t miss your chance to see the captivating OCEAN exhibit at Cape Fear Museum—it’s only here through the end of the year.
This issue marks the end of the first full year of our publication. We’ll see you again in January, when we can proudly write Volume 2 on the cover. Until then, be well, and take care of each other and the earth.
It’s time to take Macy for a walk. Perhaps I’ll see you in the woods.
Valerie L. Robertson Editor3 OCEAN: explore. discover.
6 Osher introduces new SEA and Coffee series in January
7 A Gift for People, Plants and Wildlife
8 Your Ecological House Reconnect with the Sun
9 2008 Solar + Green Building Tour
12 Cape Fear Sea Shells
13 Peregrine Falcon
14 First Annual Cypress Festival Draws Record Crowd
15 Sambuca Organic Boutique and Spa
17 Teal Is the New Green—UNCW Opens ECOteal
Transportation Store
18 Business News
19 Reds, Whites and Green!
20 Local Rain Barrel Sources
19 Eco-friendly Gifts for Your Family, Friends and Animals
22 Have You Visited the Troll Forest this Year?
23 Calendar
24 Help Build Fish Ladders in the Cape Fear River
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: Allison Ballard, Kemp Burdette, Sean Carr, Stephanie Celenza, Martin Friedman, Jeff Hall, Bill Holt, Dorothy Holt, the Kuuskoski family, Adriane Michaelis, Jamie Moncrief, Bill Murray, Scott Ogden, Adeline Robertson, Elise Rocks, Jacob Rudolph, Frances Sweeney, UNCW, Philip S. Wenz, Andy Wood, and John Zimmerman.
Special thanks to the staff of Cape Fear Museum of History and Science.
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 sixty area eco-friendly businesses and locations, including:
B + O Design Studio, Coastal Glass Tinting, The Napping Cat, Old Growth Riverwood, 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.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
Margaret MeadFront Cover: Scotch bonnet shells, the State Shell of North Carolina, are a rare find on Cape Fear beaches. See related article on page 12. Photo by John Timmerman
This interactive, marine science experience invites visitors to discover cutting-edge ocean research projects and explore our relationship with the ocean. The multimedia, hands-on exhibit – collaboration between Cape Fear Museum and UNCW Center for Marine Science – features leading research projects in the fields of marine exploration, biotechnology, coastal erosion and commercial fishing. Explore the science. Discover the ocean.
will close January 4, 2009.
Although our university and community colleges have a reputation for excellence in marine studies, how many of us know what our local scientists really do? How do marine scientists spend their work days? What kinds of projects are they pursuing? And, if we know so little about them, how could these endeavors have any direct effect on the rest of us?
For the next few weeks we have a unique opportunity to learn what scientists are studying in our region. Cape Fear Museum and the University of North Carolina–Wilmington have joined forces to create OCEAN, an exhibit that portrays local scientific research projects through photos, interactive displays, and signs, that allow sharing of this important work with nonscientists.
Because we weren’t designed to live under water, we have had to devise tools that allow us to gather underwater information. The ocean is not just deep, bluegray water. It’s even more ecologically diverse than a rain forest; yet we know
very little about it. Until recently we’ve been limited to observing it from just the top layer.
As you enter the exhibit, the emphasis is on the tools of the trade and the different approaches one can take to performing work in or even under the ocean. Each has its advantages and its limitations, but there is common ground in the
When Dr. Andy Shepard came to speak at the Museum in October, the underwater team of scientists using Aquarius as home base was in Day Four of Mission 7—studying ocean acidification. The research team, led by Dr. Chris Martens and Dr. Niels Lindquist of UNC–Chapel Hill, coordinated with Shepard to hook up a live videoconference during the lecture, so museum attendees could ask questions directly of the team sitting 50 feet under water.
Aquarius—the world’s only undersea research station—is located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Owned by NOAA, it is operated by the NOAA Undersea Research Program’s (NURP) Undersea Research Center at the University of North Carolina–Wilmington. Teams of half a dozen scientists can spend up to ten days living inside Aquarius. Shepard likened the experience to living aboard a space craft, which can be of comparable size. In fact, NASA uses Aquarius to determine whether astronauts in training have the emotional fortitude to live in a self-contained pod for days with no ability to leave. Aquarius can accommodate as many as nine or ten missions each year, if no tropical storm or hurricane activity intervenes. Mission 7 team members trained from October 6-10 for their ten-day mission that started October 14.
Andy Shepard is Director of NOAA’s Undersea Research Center at UNCW. (cont. on page 4)
tools marine researchers use regardless of the kind of information they are pursuing.
A scientist might use unmanned, remote control devices to gather data, or she might use a SCUBA tank (which stands for “self-contained underwater breathing apparatus”) to go beneath the water in person. A scientist studying oyster beds would be outfitted with rugged boots and hand tools for protection while gathering data samples. Museum signage poses questions to help viewers think about what kinds of research situations would be best served with each tool.
Oyster renourishment projects can produce benefits beyond serving as food and filtering and cleaning enormous quantities of water. Here, an interactive puzzle exhibit shows how creating oyster beds of different shapes and sizes allows them to deter erosion, and to serve as habitat for wildlife.
The Aquarius undersea laboratory, located off shore Key Largo, Florida in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and operated by the National Undersea Research Center (NURC) at UNCW, enjoys a prominent place in the exhibit, complete with an underwater diorama. This unique apparatus allows scientists to work efficiently over periods of days in a hostile environment. Its value as a research tool is this: divers who go down to a depth of 50 feet with one or two hours’ worth of air supply must return to surface slowly and carefully, decompressing gradually to avoid getting the bends. Research is done in one-hour increments. A diver who moves into Aquarius for ten days gets adjusted to the depth and stays there; she can step out of Aquarius directly into water at observation depth, and dive several hours each day instead of one or two. Decompression is performed once per project, not once per hour-long dive. This accelerates the research timeframe significantly. It’s one thing to dive for one hour in the water, as can be done with a SCUBA tank. It’s another thing to live underwater for days.
Underwater exploration seems pretty involved. If it’s such a challenge, and if it requires so much technology, why try? Teresa Thorpe, researcher at UNCW’s Center for Marine Science, explains that a lot of management decisions are based on what we think is happening in the ocean; it’s far more effective to base those decisions on what we know is happening.
CORMP, the acronym for UNCWilmington’s Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program, studies water
Tools of the marine scientist’s trade are on display, to show that for some projects, scientific work can require not only lab time, but many hours of getting in the mud, taking measurements, and gathering samples. The tools pictured here are what is required to gather information about local oyster populations.
What are gillnets? How do they work? This interactive display illustrates recent work to modify modern gillnets to minimize bycatch, the portion of a fishing catch that unintentionally ensnares and injures marine animals.
All life on earth is based on the oceans.
quality as well as marine conditions. CORMP buoys transmit oceanographic and weather data to satellite; marine forecasts and rip current warnings for coastal North and South Carolina are available to the public via the internet. Data from these buoys are used by CORMP and UNCW for ecological modeling, pollution mitigation and response purposes; by the U.S. Coast Guard for search and rescue operations, and by the National Weather Service for marine weather forecasts and warnings.
The OCEAN exhibit features seven projects being conducted in our area of North Carolina, including research on coastal erosion, commercial fishing, and biotechnology.
One such project looks at the Kure Beach borrow pits. Our beaches are constantly moving, and our efforts to keep them in place can seem frustrating at best. When you take sand from a borrow pit and add it to a beach, the sand eventu-
Why are marine mammal strandings common events along our beaches? Come to the Cape Fear Museum on Tuesday, December 9 at 6:30 p.m. to find out. UNC Wilmington researchers and marine mammal experts Ann Pabst and Bill McLellan will explore whale migration and discuss why our coastal waters are a critical habitat for threatened and endangered species.
“North Carolina’s Endangered Whales” is offered in partnership with the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. It is the fourth in a series of programs designed to explore aspects of our local ocean from unique perspectives. This program is free and open to the general public. Seating is limited. Call 910.798.4362 for reservations.
Cape Fear Museum is located at 814 Market Street in Wilmington.
ally washes away. But where does it go? Does it return to level out the borrow pit? How do you track a grain of sand? Marine scientists can now use sounding devices such as sonar to determine where the sand goes; this helps direct dredging and coast renourishment projects.
As North Carolina continues to develop its shoreline, the decline in the commercial fishery industry is troubling. Area scientists are examining how they can help protect the local fisheries, including oyster beds, in the midst of development.
Marine biologist Wade Watanabe and his team at the Center for Marine Science’s Aquaculture Program use biotechnological tools to raise marine fish in tanks. Some say the world will need 40 million tons of aquaculture by the year 2030 in order to meet an increasing demand for seafood. Aquaculture—learning how to develop technology for raising ocean fish in inland systems that don’t have access to sea
Web sites of interest...
www.uncw.edu/cmsr/newsite/
UNCW’s Center for Marine Science has offices and laboratory space for 40 scientists, 65 students, and more than 60 staff. www.uncw.edu/aquarius
Learn about underwater missions, or see inside Aquarius live via Webcam. www.cormp.org
UNCW’s Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program (CORMP) Web site gives marine forecasts for the Carolina coast and rip current forecasts for area beaches. sheparda@uncw.edu
Contact Andy Shepard, Director of NOAA’s Undersea Research Center at UNCW, with questions about Aquarius or to discuss arranging a presentation for your group.
water—has potential not only as a food source, but as a new industry for the state of North Carolina.
Many of the products we use every day contain chemicals and compounds found in the sea. Just last month we learned that UNCW biochemists may have discovered a potential medicine derived from red tide toxins—a discovery that could help people suffering from asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and cystic fibrosis.
Research is about problem-solving, and trying to understand how things work. Marine research brings its own set of problems. The deterrents to working in the ocean—storms, currents, wind—all present obstacles for people trying to understand our world. Scientists have to create new technology before they can even begin to study the sea.
Take a trip to the OCEAN exhibit before it leaves at year’s end to get a taste of what our local scientists are doing to learn more about life on the Carolina Coast.
Cape Fear Museum is a perfect place to entertain out-of-town or holiday guests! Reader, non-reader, adult or child–there’s an exhibit of interest to almost anyone.
Exhibit is free with Museum admission. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.
A note for the holidays: the museum will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
Admission: $6 for adults; $5 for seniors, college students, and military;
$3 for youth aged 3-17. Children under 3 are allowed in free.
Admission is always free for Cape Fear Museum members. Membership offers many benefits, including a 10% discount at the gift shop and free admission to the museum’s winter jazz concert series. See www.capefearmuseum.com for details. Or, better yet–drop on by!
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNCW (OLLI) will introduce a new Ocean Odyssey program in January.
Patterned on the popular Plato series, the program will comprise a series of weekly SEA (Science and Environment Academy) and Coffee sessions to present relevant environmental and marine science information. Unlike Plato, which is based on a discussion format with members teaching members, SEA and Coffee will have a presentation format with Q&A opportunities.
In addition to weekly events, SEA and Coffee registrants can attend special “You Heard It Here First!” presentations free of charge. Details and prices will appear in the Pathways catalog to accompany the January 6 Wilmington Star News, and also will be posted early in January at www.uncw.edu/odyssey.
Science and Environmental Academy (SEA and Coffee) meets weekly. UNCW professors and knowledgeable community presenters share their expertise and offer opportunities for enjoyable interaction in a friendly, relaxed setting. SEA and Coffee meets Thursday mornings 10 a.m.-noon in Suite 212, 5051 New Centre Drive, Wilmington.
Cost for SEA and Coffee has not been finalized but is expected to be in line with Plato pricing, which was $35 for OLLI members and $65 for non-members for fall semester 2008. In 2008 an OLLI membership for the semester was $20.
January 29 Echoes of Topsail: Stories of the Island’s Past with David A. Stallman, author
February 5 Impact of a Cement Plant with Joel Bourne, Environmental Journalist, National Geographic Magazine
February 12 Organic Farming in the Coastal Plain with Stefan Hartmann, owner and operator of Black River Organic Farm
February 19 Reptiles & Amphibians of Carolina Wetlands with Sherry Tregembo, Tregembo Animal Park
February 26 Book Discussion:
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
March 5 Protecting Our Coastal Lands with Nancy Preston, Outreach Coordinator for NC Coastal Land Trust
March 12 Creating a Natural Landscape with Evan Folds, President of Progressive Gardens
March 19 Pharmaceutical Processes & Costs with Stephen Eitelman, PhD & Steven Fontana
J.D. of UNCW, CMS
March 26 Film: Book/Film: Water, Water Everywhere BUT… with Dorothy and Bill Holt
April 2 Going Green in the Cape Fear with Valerie Robertson, Editor of Cape Fear’s Going Green magazine
April 9 Home Energy Efficiency with Mark Jabaley, Cert. HERS Energy Rater, Above & Beyond Energy
April 16 Alternative Energies with Kent Fonvielle, Mgr. Renewable Energy, Progress Energy Carolinas
April 23 Trees Over New Hanover with Melanie Doyle, Horticulturalist, Fort Fisher Aquarium
April 30 Book Discussion: Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman
May 7 Off-Shore Drilling: The Real Bit with Roger Shew, geologist of UNCW Geography and Geology Dept.
May 14 Water Quality in Our Community with Jennifer Braswell, NHC Soil & Water Conservation
www.uncw.edu/odyssey
Cape Fear’s Going Green is pleased to give you this unofficial PREVIEW of an exciting new series offered through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. PLEASE NOTE: the final program—dates, speakers, and prices—is all TENTATIVE until published in the January Pathways catalog (and posted online by UNCW). We wanted you to hear it here first!
Details of the SEA and Coffee offerings and prices will be posted on the UNCW Osher Web page early in January. Visit the site any time to learn about Osher, which supports high quality continuing education programming through UNCW. OLLI membership brings valuable Lifelong Learner benefits, such as privileges at UNCW’s Randall library.
UNCW Science professors are working on exciting research projects that are recognized internationally. In this series, professors present research findings in audience-friendly format and language. Check the Ocean Odyssey Web site for the price of individual presentations. (You Heard It Here First! presentations are free for those signed up for the SEA and Coffee series.)
February 23
Dr. Larry Cahoon Presents: The Effects of Beach Renourishment
March 11
Dr. Ann Stapleton Presents: Making Sense of Science: Working with Floods of Digital
April 1
Dr. Paulo Almeida Presents: Biomolecular Evolution
Ocean Odyssey Special events afford participants the opportunity to learn on site through field trips to area science and nature locations. Field trip prices range from $16 to $49; significant price discounts apply to OLLI members.
Jan 22
Center for Marine Science Tour
February 4
The Beautiful Blue Crab: Meet ‘Em and Eat ‘Em Lunch at Port City Chop House with Dr. Martin H. Posey
March 18
Keeping An Eye On The River at Cape Fear River Watch with Doug Springer, Director CFRW
April 29
Visit to Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital and Rehabilitation Center on Topsail Island with Jean Beasley
May 6
Waves, Beaches, Dunes and Barrier Islands, a Boat Trip to Masonboro Island with Spencer Rogers
Southeastern North Carolina is home to a wide array of coastal plain habitats, harboring over 1,000 species of plants that support a rich diversity of wildlife species including nearly 400 different kinds of birds. This unique region of the globe was once covered by vast expanses of long leaf pine savanna, broken only by meandering swathes of bottomland swamps, isolated Carolina bays and evergreen thickets called Pocosins. Human activity has altered the landscape such that today, southeastern North Carolina resembles a patchwork quilt of habitats including some wild lands, along with cultivated places to grow crops alongside our communities.
The wild places in and around our communities still remain vibrant places; some supporting plants and animals found nowhere else in the world, including the famous Venus’ fly trap, and less famous Carolina gopher frog. For wildlife, wild places provide safe nesting, foraging and sheltering habitat. Wild places are equally important to people, in part because undisturbed soils store and filter rainwater that recharges underground aquifers from which we derive potable water. Wild forested places are also valuable considering the trees within them filter toxic pollutants from the air we breathe; in addition to moderating climate change by storing (sequestering) carbon that the plants derive from carbon dioxide produced by our power plants and vehicles.
But wild places offer values beyond air and water filtering, as many studies have concluded; they also provide physical and emotional benefits to people. One of my favorite quotes regarding nature’s therapeutic value is from a 1989 study by Ulrich, et al., which states that: “…[R]estorative influences of nature involve a shift towards a more positively-toned emotional state, positive changes in physiological activity levels, and that these changes are accompanied by sustained attention/intake.” In other words, positive connection with nature outdoors provides an emotional lift, increases physical vigor, and extends our attention span.
We know that children form their most lasting impressions of nature before age eight and while it is easy for me to extol the virtues of spending quality time outdoors in nature, I understand it is a challenge for many of us to easily access wild nature. This means many children may miss important formative experiences that connect them to nature. But there is a way to overcome that challenge starting at home, where a child’s most accessible place in nature may be right in her own yard.
In an era of intensively manicured grass and shrubs, it may seem unorthodox to let go our desire to control nature, but doing so will release nature back into our yards and in the process, reduce energy and water consumption, which in turn reduces stress on ourselves and our environment. And when we come to know the natural wonders our yards invite, from furry caterpillars to bumpy toads, we may also be less tempted to use toxic designer chemicals that are dangerous to children especially, as well as plants and wildlife; including species that are beneficial to the community-wide ecosystem to which we belong.
A University of Georgia study discov-
ered years ago that in southeastern states, an acre of undisturbed wooded habitat may contain over forty thousand dollars’ worth of plants suitable for inclusion in a future landscape. With this in mind, leaving established native plants in place during the construction process will provide the “bones” for a future landscape. And with proper planning and equipment, many existing plants can be moved out of a
construction footprint, which saves plant replacement costs often associated with mandated building codes and property association covenants.
Naturalized yards even provide a helpful way to combat global warming by replacing high maintenance, energy-consumptive monoculture lawn with diverse and attractive native shrubs and trees that filter air, drink up stormwater, shade our homes in summer and buffer cold winter winds. Yards that contain a blend of native and non-invasive ornamental plants provide habitat for birds and pollinating insects, all of which contribute to the unique characteristics of southeastern North Carolina that drew people to this area in the first place.
Greening our community should be more than a catch-phrase; it needs to be a standard course of action. We each share responsibility to assure the health and well-being of our communities; a responsibility that can begin at home, one yard at a time.
Andy Wood is Education Director of Audubon North Carolina, and is the author of Backyard Carolina. Proceeds from the book support Andy’s work to protect two critically endangered species of freshwater snails, both endemic to southeast NC. His commentaries can be heard every other Monday on WHQR.
December is a good month to appreciate the sun—because we see so little of it. As the days grow short and cold and we rush from building to building on holiday errands, it’s good to take advantage of our few outdoor moments and pause to look upward. Whether it’s a blinding disk in a deep azure sky or pale specter behind menacing clouds, we can almost always find the sun, take a deep breath, and connect to the source of all life.
It was the fear of the sun’s disappearance, and the joy of its return that caused many of our earliest ancestors to celebrate the winter solstice season as the holiest time of year. They lived close to nature, and were acutely aware of their dependence on the sun’s heat and light. Most worshiped it as a god to propitiate, lest it abandon them.
We no longer fear that the sun will disappear in winter, of course; we know where it “goes” each year and can predict to the millisecond its rise on the day after the solstice. But our gain in objectivity and security has come at the expense of our spiritual connection to the sun and the gifts it brings.
Our predicament is exacerbated by our physical disconnection from the environment. When we’re cold or hot we push a button; when it’s dark we throw a switch.
Sitting in our warm homes and reading by our “little-sun” light bulbs, we seldom reflect that we are harvesting sunlight that was captured and converted to fuel eons ago.
We have come to think of our energy as packaged, just as little children think that milk comes from a bottle, not a cow. Thus we have lost our natural inclination to make direct use of the sun’s virtually limitless potential, and we look to technology to meet our needs.
Technological advances are important. We need cheaper, more efficient solar panels, turbines and solar-powered electronic devices. But by focusing on our endlessly proliferating technology, we have largely ignored the enormous potential for passive-solar development that is ours for the taking—almost immediately and practically for free.
Take, for example, the “environmental services”—gifts—that the sun can provide at your own home: direct light and heat; energy for water heating; energy for your house plants, garden and trees; warmth for drying clothes; ultraviolet light for disinfecting clothes and pond, pool and fountain water; energy for cooking and drying food or making tea; and illumination for myriad decorative devices, ranging from sun dials to stained glass windows.
It’s easy to invite the sun in and make greater use of its gifts, simply by adding solar features to your ecological house. Good solar design sets up overlapping functions that create synergetic effects.
breathe. They also increase indoor oxygen levels during the day (they use some oxygen at night), and can help regulate humidity. Letting in more sunlight by adding skylights or windows can greatly increase your home’s botanical potential while reducing your lighting bills.
The ways in which you can employ the sun’s free energy and significantly reduce your ecological footprint are limited only by your imagination. The more you work with the sun, the more you can connect with its nurturing qualities—and that connection will inspire you to do even more with sunlight.
The sun hangs low in the sky today, but before this holiday season ends, its powerful ascent will have begun. Rather than plunging into darkness, the natural world will be renewed. Whether humans will also ascend—and ultimately renew our ailing biosphere—depends on our ability to reconnect with the sun.
© Philip S. Wenz, 2008
Passive solar design starts with an understanding of the path followed by the sun in your local area. In a warm climate such as ours, properly place awnings, porchs, and extended overhanging roofs can shield indoor space from excessive heat in the summer, but allow the sun to warm the structure in winter when the sun stays lower in the sky.
Building an attached solar greenhouse, for example, can allow you to store the sun’s heat for nighttime use, grow food in winter, dry clothes without a dryer, and sit in the sun on cold days to read and recharge your biochemical batteries—all in one small space. Food from your greenhouse can reduce your trips to the store while providing you with high-quality organic food and natural vitamins.
Along with adding beauty and serenity to your environment, house plants can protect your health by removing carcinogens and other toxins from the air you
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.
The Cape Fear Green Building Alliance, a non-profit organization committed to furthering the awareness and education of green building in the Cape Fear Region, held its 4th Annual Solar & Green Building Tour and Expo on October 4, 2008.
This year’s Solar & Green Building Tour featured eight sites considered outstanding examples of the solar and green building strategies and techniques being incorporated into our area residences,
32 N. Front Street
The first commercial LEED-certified project in the Cape Fear area is this renovation of a neglected building from the 1870s into a contemporary office. Reuse of existing and recycled building materials is a hallmark of this project, which incorporated many green interior features. Read more about this landmark project in future issues, as it just won the 2008 Outstanding Recognition Award from the 4th Annual Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Awards. As John Monteith commented during his acceptance remarks at the awards banquet, one of the greenest aspects of the project is its
downtown location, which they already see encourages walking or biking to work and to meetings, fostering a connection to their local community.
commercial buildings, and landscapes.
Tour locations included examples of daylighting, solar water heating, rain gardens, green roof construction, whole house water filters, solar panels to generate electricity, and use of recycled and reclaimed materials.
The tour is part of a statewide series of self-guided tours sponsored by the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA.)
311 Judges Road
The new look of solar comes in the form of thin strips of PV panels that can run between the ribs of a metal roof. A new solar company in town, Advanced started by using its favorite technology to enhance its own commercial space.
Pictured here is their 10KW thin film photovoltaic solar-powered roof system, installed atop their 20-yearold office building in Dutch Square.
Leeward Lane
This new home, designed by Virginia Woodruff and built by The Farlow Group, incorporates solar water heating and a variety of recycled and reclaimed materials: reclaimed wood floors, concrete countertops,
spray
The Green Business Expo was held again this year downtown at Toomer’s Alley on the day of the tour. Always well attended, the free expo receives bonus walk-in traffic thanks to the crowds attracted to Wilmington’s annual Riverfest celebration.
(continued on page 10)
E. Lake Shore Drive
When Architect Gordon Hall designed and built this house for his family, he used the greenest materials available to him at the time. A highly efficient layout gives the house a small “footprint,” requiring less energy to heat and cool. Hall sited the house to make the most of sun and breezes to keep the house comfortable year-round. Natural daylighting from windows and the operable sunlights keep the house bright, while strategic roof overhangs and winter passive solar heating reduce the utility bills. Regionally-made porcelain floor tiles thoughout the house require no harsh chemicals
Builders kept sixty percent of the existing vegetation and introduced xeriscaping to create garden areas that require little water. The house itself was oriented within 15 degrees of solar south.
This custom home by Anne & Bradshaw came with a requirement to fit in with the traditional surrounding community, but still incorporate state-ofthe-art green features such as Energy Star appliances and sustainable construction materials. Seven solar tubes provide passive daylighting without heat gain, and the house uses solar-reflective shingles in the lightest color available.
Recycled carpets and countertops were used. A 17 SEER ductless HVAC system offers continuous in-room continuous allergen and pollutant filtration as well as continuous air cirulation and dehumidification. Sixty percent of the natural vegetation was maintained on the site; drought-tolerant landscaping was added. Existing tree clusters are used for shading.
430 Bluff Hill Drive, Navassa
Cape Fear Riverwood is an unusual milling operation: instead of cutting down live trees from the forest, it salvages logs from the river bottom. These found logs are then milled into flooring, paneling, beams, and mantel pieces. Owners Jesse and Anna Jarrell show their commitment to green practices: scrap material is made into outdoor furniture
and butcher-block countertops. The sawdust is even used, by local horse farmers.
to clean. Local materials used include a pine ceiling, cedar decking, and concrete block. The Halls left existing trees in place and have continued to restore the native ecosystem though systematic removal of invasive species and planting of indigenous varieties. They use no chemical fertilizers and the landscaping requires no irrigation.
Old logs are milled into planks for flooring, paneling, and countertops.
Using historical maps, sonar, and a crane, Cape Fear Riverwood retrieves sinker logs from the bottom of the Cape Fear River, where they have rested ever since being lost in transit to the mills over 100 years ago.
713 Stillwood Drive
Last year Chris Senior’s own home was on the tour; not only did it incorporate myriad green design principles from the ground up, but it was the first in the county to collect enough solar energy on his photovoltaic panels that he sells the excess back to Progress Energy on a monthly basis.
This year his company, Anchorage Building Corporation, built the first green model home in eastern North Carolina. The house has perfect “rear solar” orientation: shadows are symmetrical every day at noon (or 1p.m. when Daylight Saving Time is in effect). Active solar panels convert sunlight to electricity. The home is still available for visiting, as the model home for the Brunswick
Forest development on highway 17. Energy savings are guaranteed: the house has low flow, Energy Star appliances; Rinnai on-demand water heater, and water is pre-superheated by a geothermal WaterFurnace HVAC system.
5 Queen Street
617 Surry Street
An educational showcase for the community, the headquarters of Cape Fear River Watch (CFRW) offers ongoing demonstration of projects that incorporate stormwater best management practices. Rain barrels and rain gardens in the front and back accommodate rain water channeled off the roof. Filled with native plants that filter the water, the drought- and water-hardy natives are labeled so visitors can see examples of plants that do well. CFRW also offers a list of appropriate plants and instructions on calculating the appropriate size (and placement) of rain a
garden for the volume of water it will be expected to handle. Managing stormwater is important for CFRW not only from an educational standpoint, but from a practical one as well: they can see the Cape Fear River from their front door. Rain barrels, xeriscaping, and a new pervious driveway from Pervious Solutions are all part of their water management plan.
by John Timmerman
Whether you collect shells for their natural beauty, for scientific learning, or for some other reason there is a wealth of local species to excite all who explore this fascinating world.
The Cape Fear coast features an unusually large diversity of mollusks for a temperate region due to the presence of warm and cold ocean currents. The Gulf Stream flows north from the tropics making it possible for tropical mollusks to live in our offshore waters. Coastal waters cool during the winter and are influenced by the cold waters of the Virginian current flowing from the north. The interaction of the Gulf Stream and Virginian currents creates a coastal fauna of shells that scientists call the Carolinian Province.
To the beach walker, what is found is commonly referred to as a shell. An animal called a mollusk produces the shell. The mollusk has a soft body that produces shell.
Note: Hermit crabs do not make their own shell, rather adopting the shell left from a dead mollusk to house itself.
Living in the Carolinian Province are many beautiful mollusks, the shells of many of which commonly wash up on area beaches. Strong storms—especially hurricanes— may bring ashore tropical species such as the State Shell of North Carolina: the Scotch bonnet.
The Scotch bonnet is a tropical mollusk found off the North Carolina coast. Always a prized find, Scotch bonnets, are an especially rare find on Cape Fear beaches due to the distance off shore that the Gulf Stream flows. The Scotch bonnet cannot survive winter temperatures in our coastal waters. The Outer Banks provide a better chance to find Scotch bonnets due to the close passage to the Carolina coast the Gulf Stream makes there.
Scotch bonnets are not the only shell to look for locally. There are plenty of beautiful shells to be found locally and if you find a Scotch bonnet along the way so much more icing on your cake!
Cape Fear Museum of History and Science currently has on display a collection of shells from North Carolina, telling the story of why we have so many beautiful shells here. The shells on display were collected by and loaned to the museum by members of the North Carolina Shell Club, who found the shells while beach walking, fishing, and SCUBA diving offshore.
John Timmerman is an exhibit designer for Cape Fear Museum of History and Science, and designed the shell exhibit currently on display. He is also President of the North Carolina Shell Club. Learn more about local shells at the museum, or by visiting the Shell Club’s Web site: www.ncshellclub.com. Photos this page by John Timmerman.
The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) resides on our coast in winter and can often be seen on beaches where they hunt avian prey including shorebirds, gulls, ducks and songbirds. Duck hawk is another of their names and is a reference to their waterfowl hunting skills. Peregrine is a word that describes a traveler from another place; an apt descriptor for these longdistance migrants. This peregrine is a juvenile; class of 2008.
It was a soggy, soggy day, but that didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the folks who turned out to enjoy the First Annual Cypress Festival held at Greenfield Lake on October 11. Other area events were declared a rain-out, but that didn’t keep the bands—seven over the course of eight hours—from playing on, in the newly-renovated amphitheater near Greenfield Lake.
Cape Fear River Watch’s newly refurbished electric canoe.
Festival proceeds benefit Cape Fear River Watch in its mission to improve the water quality of the lower Cape Fear River. “Celebrate the Redwood of the East Coast”
was the theme of what promises to be a wonderful annual community event.
and cypress trees was available: the family-friendly festival is a fun outdoor opportunity sfor the public to learn about the special cypress eco-system right in the heart of Wilmington for all to enjoy. Urban forester Brion Capo distributed cypress saplings for attendees to plant at home; Joe Abbate gave free rides aboard
Riding in the electric canoe afforded festivalgoers a close-up view as Captain Joe Abbate explained the difference between a pond cypress and a bald cypress, the two kinds of
growing in our area. .
The Cape Fear River Watch offers guided birding tours of Greenfield Lake with trained naturalist Joe Abbate. Greenfield Lake, a 100-acre freshwater lake three miles south of downtown Wilmington, is a great birding venue to observe unique birds such as the Anhinga, Eurasian Wigeon, and migrating Blue Winged Teal waterfowl.
One-hour late-morning Birding Tours are conducted by reservation every Wednesday through March; cost is $15 per person. For more information or reservations for these or other birding tour options on the NC Coastal Birding Trail, contact Joe Abbate at 910-200-4002, 910-762-5606, or joe@cfrw.us.
It was a great day to check out the pervious paving installed by Polecat Concrete On Call during recent amphitheater renovations. Very little water puddles on the regular concrete, because the strips of pervious material in each row allow rain to pass through and travel below ground.
by Allison Ballard
Everything in Sambuca is there by purpose. Owner Kristen Myers selected the line of candles, for example, because they are soy-based and use essential oils for the aromas.
“It’s hard to find both of those in a candle,” she said.
The purses are made from recycled materials, the clothes are organic cotton and even a line of jewelry, made by local artists, uses ornaments of pressed onion and tobacco leaves. The shop’s signature T-shirts, which use low-impact dyes, have a logo that says “People who give a damn are sexy.”
Myers was born in Durham, but spent several years in Boulder, Co. studying nutrition and herbal medicine while shopping in a wide variety of eco-friendly stores.
“The seeds for this business were set there,” she said.
When she moved to Wilmington in 2003, she searched for a career in nutrition while working as a bookkeeper. She also made her own line of body care products called SeaSensuals and sold them at a few local stores.
Ultimately, though, she wanted to create something this area didn’t yet have.
“I was interested in trying to open a store that expanded the community here,” she said. “I wanted to offer more choices
for those who want to buy organic when they’re able and support fair wages,” she said.
She also wanted to create a better work environment for herself and her sixyear-old daughter.
“My daughter Maddie is a big part of the reason I did this,” Myers said. “I wanted more freedom at work. If she’s sick, I can put a closed sign on the door and take her to the doctor. If there’s no school or day care is closed, I can bring her here.”
Sambuca first opened at a small space on Market Street in 2005. It wasn’t long, though, before Myers thought about offering her customers something more, and adding spa space to her retail shop. That meant moving to a larger location at 200 N. Front Street.
“Making this move was hard, we put a lot of money into it. But it’s a better building,” she said. And having the spa rooms and a Pilates studio has been a good move.
The facials and other services link in with the line of organic and biodynamic skin care lines Myers sells in the store, such as Jurlique and Dr. Hauschka
Myers is an expert in these companies that grow 80 percent of their own herbs, harvest with the cycle of the moon, or hire a symphony to play to the plants.
“Everything in them nourishes your skin,” she said. “People come in to the store just for these.”
Lower-priced lines like Juice Beauty are also for sale and are used in lower-priced facials. “We want to make it affordable for everyone,” she said.
Every day, Myers says she learns more about owning her own business.
“To be successful, you go with the flow,” she said. She’s thinking about selling less clothing to make room for more of the better selling products.
One of the store’s successes is the TOMS shoes. For every pair the TOMS
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Sambuca
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company sells, they give a pair to a child in need. Thousands have gone to children in South America and Africa.
“People come in here especially for those,” she said. “Church groups talk about them.”
Like everyone, Myers shops at mainstream stores like Target, but she says it’s important to have a boutique like hers in town, too.
“It’s voting with your dollars,” she said. “People forget that they have more choices. It’s about supporting the products you believe in when you can. It doesn’t have to be every day. But it makes you feel good when you do.”
If you’re in need of a little low-priced pampering – and, hey, who isn’t? – come check out the monthly Spa Nights at Sambuca (200 N. Front St.)
You can sample organic wines and chocolate, get a 15 percent discount on products and $10 off a 1-hour facial appointment. The event usually corresponds with the Fourth Friday Gallery Walks on the fourth Friday of each month. (Although sometimes the schedule changes around the holidays.) Call (910) 343-0201 for more information.
The marbled salamanders (Ambystoma opacum) pictured are a male and female; male marbled salamanders are brighter than the females. During late fall and early winter these forest-dwelling salamanders travel to low places that fill with rainwater. After mating, the female lays her eggs under logs in the pond, then curls around them until the
pond fills with water, at which time the eggs hatch into half-inch long larvae with feathery external gills. Through winter and spring the larvae gorge on aquatic insects and tiny crustaceans and leave the pond to lead a terrestrial life under leaf litter and logs where they feed on worms and insects.
Dozens of students, staff, and faculty members gathered around the Fisher University Union excitedly awaiting the grand opening of ECOteal, a sustainability and transportation store. Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo, holding an oversized pair of teal scissors, smiled for the cameras as she cut the ribbon to allow public entry.
Customers pushed their way through the doors as employees, who are mostly UNCW students, explained products in the store and the reasons they are environmentally friendly. Ashley Scales, a UNCW student and proud employee of ECOteal, points to a bamboo skateboard mounted on the store’s wall as an example of store products made from recycled materials or sustainable materials.
Scales was working for UNCW’s One Card this summer when Sandy Ellington, ECOteal manager as well as One Card manager, pitched the idea of the store and asked her to get involved. Scales, along with assistant manager of ECOteal, Jonathon Grady, explain that they were in charge of picking out the store’s products. Grady states, “ECOteal is a store that is geared towards students. We asked for students’ input and supplied what they wanted. We also wanted to make sure that the store would educate students about sustainability.”
Some of the products found in the store include: water-powered clocks, bamboo shirts, water bottles, organic cotton clothing, reusable tote bags, bikes and skateboards, and bike repair services. To educate customers about the products they purchase, little signs are provided, explaining what each item is and how it promotes sustainability. Scales explains to the crowd about another sustainable item sold in the store. “ECOteal sells TOMS (a brand name shoe). For every pair of TOMS you purchase for yourself, another pair of
TOMS is given by the TOMS company to a child in need.”
Environmentally-conscious students, faculty, and staff are crossing their fingers for the success of ECOteal, in hopes that the UNCW community will continue to improve their green practices. Rita Gordon, director of Auxiliary Services, states, “The ECOteal store was developed to support two UNCW strategic goals: sustainability and unique educational experiences. Student input into the creation, marketing, design, and product selection has been instrumental in the introduction of this unique concept.”
Many departments on campus are doing what they can to “go green.” Gordon reveals, “Auxiliary Services has taken a lead role in working towards a greener campus in many areas. As the director of the department, I have personally challenged all of the staff to look at ways to make our department sustainable and to find ways to improve our green practices.”
Gordon, who has been instrumental in the university’s green movement, states, “I believe ECOteal will serve as a great resource for sustainable, ecological products and educational information to help the campus community learn about green practices.” She also expresses her excitement with the opening of ECOteal and with UNCW’s collaborative dedication to become greener. “Personally, I’m very excited that ‘teal is the new green’ because I try to set a positive example of sustainable practices not only for my colleagues but also for students who may not be aware that small actions have big impacts…As sustainability is one of UNCW’s Seven Strategic Goals, it is everyone’s responsibility—students, staff, and faculty—to do their part to support this important goal.”
UNCW faculty and staff are not the only people promoting green practices. The ECO club (The Environmental Concerns Organization) is pushing to improve the environment on campus, as well as the Wilmington community. The University’s Sustainability Committee is also pushing for campus green initiatives, and fully supporting ECOteal. Diane Reed,
ECOteal, an environmentally-friendly retail store, was launched by UNCW to offer students, faculty and staff a convenient, safe place to purchase transportation-related items, bicycle and skateboard repair services and sustainable products. ECOteal is the first of its kind in the UNC system. The intent is not to compete directly with area businesses, but to provide services to the campus community.
co-chair of the Sustainability Committee, explains that they are trying to reach out to existing student organizations to educate them on going green. Reed says the committee wants feedback and suggestions from students on better and more innovative ways for the campus to become more environmentally conscious. The Sustainability Committee plans on implementing an online suggestion box as well as recruiting and training sustainability peer educators that will “reach out and educate students and community members about sustainability.”
Alyssa Halle, an Environmental Studies student and a member of the Sustainability Committee, believes that ECOteal will be a success. She states, “I feel that the ECOteal store will be a great way to educate students on sustainability and sustainable practices. The store will provide a tangible way for students to see what environmentally friendly products really look like, that they are highly functional and fashionable and not the stereotypical thought that environmentally friendly items must look different.”
Stephanie Celenza is a junior at UNCW majoring in Communication Studies. She is Public Relations Coordinator for Alpha Gamma Delta, Public Relations Chair for Panhellenic Council, and a member of the Communication Studies Society as well as Lambda Pi Eta (The Communications Honors Fraternity).
The New Hanover Board of Commissioners, Wilmington City Council and Brunswick County Board of Commissioners recently adopted a resolution supporting an LID Guidance Manual and spreadsheet modeling tool in order to encourage the use of Low Impact Development (LID) techniques in New Hanover and Brunswick Counties. Planning staff from New Hanover County, Brunswick County and the City of Wilmington worked with the N.C. Coastal Federation, N.C. DENR, and several local developers, engineers and homebuilders over the course of 1-1/2 years to develop a comprehensive LID manual written specifically for the unique conditions in our area. To complement the manual, a spreadsheet tool was also developed for engineers to use for stormwater permitting processes when attempting to incorporate LID into their projects.
Advanced Green Technologies, offering efficient and affordable new thin film solar panel technology, has opened an office at 311 Judges Road (Suite 1-G) in Wilmington. Rick Campagna is regional sales manager. Check www.agtncsolar. com for real-time dials showing how much energy the solar panels on their own office roof are collecting at any given moment. Better than a Web cam! (910)790-0420.
Spurred by the promise of business at his original location at 120 Racine drive, four months ago Ed Moseley opened a second Rapid Refill Ink location at the intersection of 17th Street Extension and College Road, behind Smithfield’s. Come meet the staff and learn how using refilled ink cartridges can save you money. Telephone: (910)313-6992.
On October 11, 2008 Chris and Terrie Metz received their permits from the appropriate NC agencies (NC Division of Coastal Management & NC Underwater Archaeology) to pull their logs from the Cape Fear River. They will process logs that they recover from the Cape Fear River as well as reclaimed beams from historic structures from the surrounding area.
Old Growth Riverwood is located at 1407-B Castle Hayne Road, Wilmington. Telephone: (910)599-7333.
Surfs Bar & Grille has just opened for business, in the former Ale House at the intersection of Eastwood Road and Market Street. The restaurant partners have completely renovated the space, using recycled and eco-friendly components at every turn. If you thought reuse couldn’t be distinctive and beautiful, you owe yourself a look at what they’ve done.
The popular local line of Pet Escentials natural products for pets is now available not only at farmers markets, but at Aunt Kerry’s Pet Stop, 3600 So. College Road, Wilmington.
Since 1992
Pre-Development Consultation
Water-Thrifty, Pesticide-Free Gardens
Landscape Restoration
Sandy & Andy Wood Hampstead, North Carolina 910-270-9451
habitats@ymail.com
Progressive Gardens has completed its move a short distance out Oleander to its new home at 6005 Oleander Drive. This will double the store’s retail space, and allow owner Evan Folds to expand the store’s product line as well as offer classes on site. Progressive Gardens provides organic gardening supplies for outdoor and indoor gardening. Learn more at
www.progressivegardens.com. Telephone (910)395-1156.
Valerie Dryka has opened Mr. and Mrs. Green Clean, a new cleaning business serving New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick area residences and businesses. www.mrandmrsgreenclean.com or telephone (910)622-7379.
Sybil Mitchel Simmons writes that Veggies by the Sea is now accepting CSA subscriptions as well as buyer’s club subscriptions. Email veggiesbythesea@yahoo.com or leave a message at (910)754-8998.
Eleven families and 38 individuals signed up for the month-long “Eat Local” challenge organized by Tidal Creek Co-op this summer. Participants could specify what percentage of food they would try to eat from only local sources, defined for this purpose as being from within a 200-mile radius of home. Twenty-five participants pledged to eat at least 80% of their food from local sources. The challenge was celebrated at its conclusion July 19 with a potluck where people brought dishes prepared from local food.
The challenge was part of a larger national event, information on which can be found at www.eatlocalamerica.coop.
The winners in the 2008 Farm/City Essay Contest were:
1st place – Lacy Schupp – New Hanover County - $2000 scholarship
2nd place – Jason Graffius – Brunswick County - $1500 scholarship
3rd place – Tierra Morrisey – Pender County - $1000 scholarship
Money for scholarships was generously donated by the Farm Bureaus in the three counties. Wilmington’s Downtown Rotary Club sponsors the awards luncheon. The Farm City Week Essay Scholarship provides academic scholarships to students seeking educational opportunities beyond high school.
It’s that time of year again, when the holidays are around the corner and holiday parties are being planned. For lots of merchants, including those selling wine, this is the peak selling season. For those of us who endeavor to live a “greener” lifestyle, organically grown wines are very much a part of the holiday celebrations. Unfortunately there is a lot of confusion pertaining to the different designations and what they really mean. What is the difference between an organically grown wine and one that is labeled biodynamic? What exactly are sulfites and how do they affect wine? Are they harmful? And what about taste?
Today there is an ever-increasing interest in reducing our carbon footprint, and to use products without added chemicals. The wine industry is embracing the “less is best” policy in producing grapes and subsequently, wines, with little or no additional chemicals. Today an increasing number of wine-grape growers are choosing to put just as much weight on environmental sustainability as they do on profitability. The growers of nearly half of the wine grapes in the state of California have signed on to a code of sustainable practices, an unprecedented step for a major crop. They are using cover crops to control erosion and improve soil fertility. They are listening to nonfarming neighbors with concerns about expansion plans or pesticides. And, they’re conserving water with precision irrigation. When you see “sustainable” on a bottle of wine, the wine was produced using these environmentally-responsible practices.
Most of us understand what “organic” means. A simple explanation is that the product was produced free of any manu-
Wineries to watch:
www.ceago.com
Ceago Vinegarden
www.jeriko.us/jeriko/index.jsp
Jeriko Estate produces organically grown and certified grapes
Learn more about biodynamics: http://demeterbta.com
Demeter certifies biodynamics in California
factured chemicals, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides or sewage sludge. For a vineyard to be “certified organic,” an outside agency, such as the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) in California, certifies that the soil has been free of any chemical additives for at least five years prior to certification. You will see the CCOF seal on all “organically grown” wines produced in California. There are also organic wines from Australia, Chile, and a few other countries.
The next step up are “certified
organic” wines. These wines are bottled without the use of any additional additives to preserve, stabilize or clarify the wine. Basically, the difference between these two classifications is the addition of sulfites to the wine.
Sulfites are the oldest and most widespread preservative in our food supply, dating from Roman and Greek times. They occur naturally in wine as the grapes’ way of preventing microbial growth (yeasts, molds and bacteria) by killing the organisms outright and denying the existing microbes ability to reproduce. They help to preserve the wine’s natural flavor. White wine has a higher sugar content and therefore a higher level of sulfites. There is no such thing as a sulfite-free wine. Fermenting yeasts present on all grape skins generate naturally-occurring sulfites (6 to 6000 parts per million, or PPM). FDA regulations stipulate that wine with less than 10 parts per million can be regarded as “sulfite free”. Most “organically grown” wines do not have more than 70 PPM; they can be up to 350 PPM, but the finished product must contain less than 100 PPM. Also, according to the FDA, only 0.4% of the population is highly allergic to sulfites, with the highest group being asthmatics.
You will need to come to your own conclusions as to the sulfite question. In my own experience, when I have opened a “certified organic” wine and re-corked it to finish it the next day, the wine was undrinkable. On the other hand, I am one of those people who gets a terrific
headache when I drink some conventional wines, which I do blame on the sulfites. I generally stick with the “organically grown” varietals (or, species of grape), where limited sulfites have been added.
Wines in the highest classification of wines are called biodynamic. These wines carry the Demeter seal as well as the CCOF seal. Biodynamics is a science of life forces, a recognition of the basic principles at work in nature, and an approach to agriculture which takes these into account to bring about balance and healing. The belief is that each farm is an entity with its own unique individuality.
In 1924, Rudolf Steiner gave a series of eight lectures, laying the foundation for a new way of thinking about the relationship of the earth and the formative forces of nature. He showed how the health of the soil, plants, and animals depends on reconnecting nature with the creative forces of the cosmos. Biodynamics comes from the Greek words bios and dyn, which mean “life forces.” Biodynamics is a proactive approach to farming that looks at the individuality of each property and adds back with natural plant and animal life to emulate nature and create a selfsustainable environment. Biodynamic® farming integrates agricultural, biological and ecological scientific knowledge into crop rotations, compost production, plant diversity, homeopathic sprays and soil and animal practices. These practices are combined with our natural life forces to (continued on page 20)
reds, whites, and green!
continued from page 19
go beyond organic standards to heal the earth for future generations.
I recently had the great pleasure of spending time in Mendocino (the greenest county in California) and Lake Counties in California at several organic and biodynamic vineyards, and I must say that they are truly amazing places to visit. I might also add that the wines are top notch and I would put them up against any conventional wines on the market as far as taste, and they are way ahead of conventional wines in their farming practices.
Because of their limited production, until recently, only people living on the west coast
had access to these wonderful wines, but these wines are now readily available in Wilmington. In fact, Harris Teeter has recently installed an organic section in their wine department, which carries “organically grown,” “organic” and “biodynamic” wines.
I hope that this has helped to clear up some misunderstandings of the classifications and certifications of “green” wines and, as we say, in the wine business, Cheers!
Frances Sweeney is the Coastal Sales Manager for Vintopia, representing several green, organic and biodynamic wineries of northern California, here on the east coast. Learn more at www.vintopia.net.
The New Hanover Soil and Water Conservation District (NHSWCD) will continue its popular monthly barrel sale the second Thursday of every month. The black 65-gallon barrels, made completely from recycled materials, are available on a first come,
first-served basis. Quantities are limited, so come early. The next sale will be Thursday, December 11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the New Hanover County Government Complex. Call (910)798-6032 or email rain@nhswcd.org for details.
In addition to the monthly rain barrel sale available through New Hanover Soil and Water Conservation District, we found rain barrels available at several local retail outlets and non-profit organizations. Some of these are listed below—call ahead to make sure they are in stock:
Hampstead Ace Hardware, 15597 US Hwy 17, Hampstead, (910)270-3237 can order with about 4 business days’ advance notice.
Farmer’s Supply Co., 2025 Oleander Drive, Wilmington, (910)763-4664 has barrels in stock
Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse of University City, has them in stock at the back of the store. 354 So. College Rd., Wilmington, (910)3958433. Lowe’s at Monkey Junction will not have barrels again until the spring. (910)397-0137.
Progressive Gardens, 6005 Oleander Dr, Wilmington, NC now sells a 100gallon barrel. www.progressivegardens.com (910)395-1156
Cape Fear River Watch offers barrels for sale as a fundraiser for their programs. Call Joe Abbate at (910)762-5606.
In addition, several local companies such as Solar Weather Works and One World Design can design and install custom rain-gathering systems. North Carolina manufacturer:
4418 Park Avenue, Wilmington (910)452-1107
Support the earth and look great doing it. Tidal Creek has a fabulous 100% organic t-shirt so comfortable you may never take it off.
$22.79 at Tidal Creek Co-op, 5329 Oleander Drive, Wilmington. (910)799-2667.
Local pickled collards, okra, cucumbers, squash—in three levels of potency: Mild, Getting Hotter, and Hot! From $6 at Angela’s Pepper-Pickled Foods, Inc. Open weekdays 9-4 at 2021 Carolina Beach Road, or at Saturday morning market in downtown Wilmington. www.angelasppf.com (910)343-8103.
SillyPulls, MonsterPulls, and PentaPulls—all fun toys for your dog. These Doggle toys are made of recycled and durable plastic water bottles.
$21.99 at Aunt Kerry’s Pet Stop, 3600 So. College Road, Wilmington. (910)792-1311.
The AeroGarden is a fun selfcontained unit for growing food indoors in your own kitchen. Seed kits are available for growing your own fresh organic cherry tomatoes, lettuce blend, or salsa ingredients. Everything you need to get started in hydroponics!
$159 at Progressive Gardens’ new location: 6005 Oleander Drive, Wilmington (910)395-1156.
The Promise of Peanuts Buy the book, and help support Wilmington’s Full Belly Project, bringing peanut shellers, universal nut shellers, and other innovations to help feed the world. www.fullbellyproject.org.
$14.95 at Old Books on Front Street, 22 No. Front Street, Wilmington. (910)763-4754.
TOMS Shoes are good for your feet, good for the community. For every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. Styles vary from slip-on shoes, to slippers, to boots. $38-$118. Sambuca, 220 No. Front Street, Wilmington. (910)434-0201.
“Lammas” necklace
Recycled plastic birding products such as this bluebird house are made out of reused milk jugs and other plastics—very durable for many years of use. Bluebirds are a natural pesticide for the garden!
“Red Tile Wave” Beeswax, Natural Pigment on Khadi paper image 12” x 12”, paper 18” x 22”
2008
Greg Patch
These colorfast “wax colors” are made in Germany where the carefully selected pigments are food container safe. This form of painting/drawing is free of turpentine, processed oils, petro chemicals/plastics or any of the toxic chemicals like cadmium, chromium, lead, preservatives and fungicides that are routinely used in oil, acrylic, encaustic, watercolor, and guache paints. www.greenartstudio.com or Sapona Green Building Center. (910)313-6606.
18k yellow gold, sterling silver, Chinese turquoise, rubies, salvaged steel.
Mitzy Jonhkeer
“The salvaged steel was siding from an old barn. I like the rustic look it adds to my work, as well as the idea of recycling. I also recycle the scrap metal from my work by incorporating it into new pieces. I purchase my metals from companies that I know refine and re-use precious metals.” This piece is available at The Woods Gallery, Bald Head Island. (910)454-4892. Locally her work can be found at Edge of Urge, Blue Moon Gifts, or at her studio inside SOLA at 214 Pine Grove Drive. Prices from $25-500; custom work starting at $200. Studio hours Saturdays 1 to 5 p.m. and by appointment. (910)409-8758.
Bluebird house $46.95; other birding products $20-70 at Wild Bird & Garden, Hanover Center, 3501 Oleander Drive, Wilmington. (910)343-6001.
Finland’s loss is Wilmington’s gain: Helena Kuuskoski and her children, Minna and Johannes, have moved their troll operations to Wilmington. They provide our Trolldom cartoon each issue, and are working on plans for the next Troll theme park, to be built in the U.S.
After Minna and Johannes were born, Helena moved them out of the city of Turku, Finland and into the country, where they grew up in an evergreen forest: ancient spruce trees, pines, birches, junipers, and alder. We talked with Minna and Helena about the environmental aspect of growing up in Finland in the 1950s and 1960s.
Minna remembers, “Part of growing up was, back then, in the Finnish culture they instill in you the need to get out there and be active, just for health, but also the importance of respecting nature and the environment, understanding that we can’t just go out there and litter and destroy.”
Finnish children learn not to make loud noises in the forest.
“There’s a cute little rhyme we all learned as a kid:
Älä parjaa, älä pauhaa, älä riko luonnon rauhaa.
It doesn’t translate really well, but the gist of it is: Don’t shout, don’t yell, don’t break the nature’s peace.
“And I think that’s a good program, because it helps kids understand that there’s somebody living there. And if we go out there and yell and make a big mess, we’re disturbing nature’s peace. We’re not supposed to go into a neighbor’s house and raise a ruckus and disturb their peace.
“We didn’t know anything about ‘environment,’ “ Helena adds. “It was like a natural thing to do, the right thing to do.”
“And of course Finland is a small country,” Minna continues, “limited resources, and I guess part of the Finnish mental makeup is a certain amount of frugality.... So it was like a natural thing that if you had something that had served its purpose but it could be used for something still, you would reuse. If you couldn’t reuse, but your neighbor needed it for something, you’d recycle it that way. We would recycle paper of course, but first we would reuse. It becomes a habit when you start young.”
“The management of natural resources of course was very important as well, and still is, because of limited resources.
“Most Finnish people were very reluctant to pull out any (continued on page 24)
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. January and February event items received by December 15 are candidates for our print calendar as well.
December 1
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. Dr. Chris E. Fonvielle, Jr. of UNCW’s History Department will speak on the role of the Cape Fear River during the Civil War. www.cfrw.us.
December 9
Green Design & Development Workshop. New Hanover County Cooperative Extension Center, 6206 Oleander Drive, Wilmington.
Email: cathy_smith@ncsu.edu or call 919-515-6780.
December 9
Southeastern NC Food System Council monthly meeting. Brunswick County Cooperative Extension Office. 10:00-1:30 followed by a tour of the new Lockwood Folly Marketplace. hrb9594@uncw.edu. http://people.uncw.edu/hossfeldl
December 10
Cape Fear Green Building Alliance returns to its regular meeting night, the 2nd Wednesday of the month. The Balcony, 3rd floor of Roudabush building, corner of
So. Front & Dock Streets, downtown Wilmington. 7–9 p.m. The December meeting is always a holiday social. For details, check newsletter on www.cfgba.org.
December 19-20
Holiday Nature Adventures for children at Halyburton Park. 4099 S. 17th Street, Wilmington. (910)794-6001
Life in the Green Lane
Weekly radio environmental show, 8–9 a.m. Saturdays on WAAV 980 AM Hosted by Martyn St. David.
For additional calendar listings, visit our Web site, illustrated below, which is updated weekly: www.goinggreenpublications.com.
visit the Troll Forest!
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trees. If you were building a house you were looking for a way to preserve as much of the natural habitat as you could.”
Helena remembers as a child being distraught when her father needed to remove a single tree to open up space.
In the war-time years Helena recalls years of having to be careful with provisions such as coffee and butter. “For years we had to be careful of everything. One gets used to that, even with water.”
Many Finnish homes have a sauna, with rain barrels. Minna explains, “We would always want to get all that rainwater because it was the best thing for washing your hair. There are a lot of freshwater lakes in Finland, but
even there people would collect rainwater for washing.” People also maintained compost piles.
The mindset of conserving and being careful stewards was not a conscious choice: “It was just how we lived. Wise use of everything also was reflected in our business. In the troll-making if you cut out pieces to do something, the leftovers were put aside to see whether they could be used for something else. And we still do that.
The Kuuskoskis invite you to stop in to visit the trolls—and hear stories of their escapades— whenever the shop is open. And if you have some venture capital to invest in an environmentallyfriendly troll theme park, give them a call! (910)251-2270.
Cape Fear River Watch (CFRW) has begun an exciting initiative to gain support and funding for the building of rock weirs around the three dams on the Cape Fear River by organizing a catch and release Striped Bass Tournament in December. The proceeds will help fund efforts to recruit the business community, local, state and federal agencies and environmental and community organizations to the campaign for the building of the weirs.
Rock weirs mimic natural structures, allowing fish to follow their natural migration to freshwater spawning areas upstream.
The envisioned result: rock weirs around dams allow fish to spawn: the fish thrive and multiply, more fishermen come to our area, commerce increases with the increase
in tourism, our area thrives. Projected financial benefits are in the millions of dollars! The tournament and banquet are designed to raise awareness of, and money for, CFRW’s efforts.
The banquet will be Friday, December 5, from 6 to 9 p.m. at St. Thomas Preservation Hall in downtown Wilmington.
Tickets are $50 each and include two drinks and a dinner ($35 tax deductible) provided by Hieronymus Seafood. There will be a live and a silent auction at the banquet.
The tournament will involve twelve boats and more boat sponsors may be accommodated. Enter the competition! To reserve your spot or donate an item for the auction, please call Kemp Burdette at Cape Fear River Watch: (910)762-5606 or or email kemp@cfrw.us.
We at Cape Fear’s Going Green would like to acknowledge the help of the advertisers who believed in us enough to advertise with us throughout our first year.
