Page 10 - January 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
Sustainable Lafayette Tip of the Month
Science Fair Projects with an Environmental Theme
There’s something about the words “Science Fair” that strikes dread in the heart of elementary school parents. Even people who are not intimidated by scientific or engineering concepts have trouble figuring out science fair projects that are age-appropriate for their children and that they can supervise while the kids really do most of the work on their own. Anyone who’s been to a science fair recognizes the projects untouched by the hand – or brain – of a child. Sustainable Lafayette proposes that Lafayette schoolchildren consider environmental themes for their science fair projects, and we are glad to help provide resources to help parents and kids pick ideas that are educational in a lasting way. And fun…maybe that’s even more important when it comes to learning about the world around us and why it’s worth preserving. We will be visiting all four elementary school science fairs, which begin toward the end of February, and awarding ribbons to all the projects with environmental themes. We will invite the best ones to be displayed at the Lafayette Earth Day Festival on April 24. Not surprisingly, the internet is a great place to find science fair projects with environmental themes. What’s great about most of the websites we’re recommending is that you can filter for the age of the student and complexity of the project. My favorite website for science fair projects is http://www.education.com/ science-fair/environmental-issues/. I found it to be the easiest to navigate. The experiments were described clearly, and the materials were easily obtainable.
UC Davis Mondavi Institute
My oldest daughter Lindsay is the General Manager of an intimate and elegant new Hollywood Regency style wine bar in Orinda. Lindsay’s immersion into the wine and culinary world, her organization skills, and her gracious personality are a good fit for keeping up with the savvy and sophisticated Bay Area clientele. She’s excited to bring great wines and unique beer to the venue. Although I am by no means a wine connoisseur, Lindsay has asked me to attend some of the wine tastings from different venders and wineries. What fun! The wines are as unique as the stories from each winemaker. One thing I discovered is that many of the wineries hire graduates from the Viticulture and Enology department at UC Davis. I recently toured the world renowned Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the UC Davis campus. The facility includes the Sensory Building, Good Life Garden, Jess S. Jackson sustainable winery, a brewery, and a food and milk processing facility. The winery is the first teaching and research winery anywhere in the world to be awarded a LEED Platinum certification which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and Platinum, the highest level of this certification by the Green Building Council. The buildings are as beautiful as they are remarkable. The UC Davis winery was the first zero carbon footprint winery, the world’s most water-efficient winery, and the world’s most self-sustainable winery. My favorite of the rooms we visited on our tour was the Special Collections Room in the Jess. S. Jackson Winery which is where the wine donated to the Department of Viticulture and Enology is stored. Floor to ceiling wine bottles from some of the most renowned wineries in the world are used for tasting and experiments by students in the program. The shiny, distinctive floor is made of recycled wine bottles, and the ceiling is made of recycled wood taken from a 1928 aqueduct near Chico. The UC Davis Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science is known for creative and interesting events. I spoke to Amina Harris, Executive Director of the Honey and Pollination Center at UC Davis RMI who mentioned the center will host “The Feast: A Celebration with Mead and Honey” on Saturday, February 6 with mead tastings and a four course Mediterranean inspired menu. Two esteemed chefs; Ann Evans, author of the Davis Farmer’s Cookbook and Kathy Riley, caterer and past chef at Zuni Café in San Francisco; are creators of the delicious menu. Guests will begin the evening at 6:30PM with mead cocktails; the fermented blend of honey, water, and often fruits, yeast, or spices; and end the evening festivities with an impressive after dinner mead flight. • Tours of the UC Davis Robert Mondavi Institute are offered Monday –Fri-
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I particularly liked the one about Energy Efficient Windows which asked the questions: Have you ever wondered why rooms with thick curtains tend to stay warmer in the winter? Any student interested in reducing his/her family’s carbon footprint or who simply wants to help the family save a little money on the heating bill can learn about insulating windows. Another great resource is http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fairprojects/Intro-Environmental-Science.shtml. The website’s environmental science fair project ideas explore topics such as air quality, water quality, and the effects of climate change. The description of each experiment estimates how much time it requires – you need to start some of these at least two weeks in advance of the science fair – and how much the materials will cost. Many of the experiments on http://www.sciencefairadventure.com/ EnvironmentalScience.aspx are pretty simple. How about creating your own little oil spill in a deep baking dish and then having to clean it up (with cotton balls)? Makes an environmental disaster such as Deepwater Horizon or Exxon Valdez really come to life. Between Richmond, Martinez and Benicia, we have several giant oil refineries in our vicinity, so this is a relevant project. Sustainable Lafayette will post more science fair project ideas on its website – sustainablelafayette.org – as Science Fair season draws closer. Our website is a great resource for ideas and inspiration on transforming your home and community into more sustainable places with enhanced quality of life for current and future residents.
Andy & Wendy Scheck Selected as Lafayette’s 2016 “Marquis” Business Persons of the Year
Andy and Wendy are the byline! The husband and wife team are the publishers of the local newspaper, the Lamorinda Weekly. Back in 2007 when it seemed like printed news was going to vanish with the wave of online publications, this couple took a “leaf of faith” and started a small business providing the Lamorinda community with an old fashioned way to get news. The content has provided Lafayette, Orinda, and Moraga with timely pieces on the most important issues facing the Lamorinda area. The “Marquis” Business Person of the Year Annual Dinner will be held on Friday, January 29 beginning at 6PM at the Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa. The evening also includes the introduction to our 2016 Board of Directors, our incoming President Dennis Garrison, and the “State of the City” address by Mayor Mark Mitchell. Reservations can be made online by visiting www.lafayettechamber.org or by calling the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce at (925) 284-7404.
925.934.3743 • 925.934.1515
www.dumploadsonus.com • www.erecycleonus.com 1271 Boulevard Way, Walnut Creek Monday-Friday, 8-5 • Saturday 9-1, Sunday, closed day during regular business hours 8AM-12PM and 1PM -5PM, excluding holidays. General tours are offered by students, and more specialized tours are led by senior faculty and staff. Tours last from 45 to 75 minutes. The fee is $5 for student led tours and $10 for faculty led tours. Call Cindi Bradshaw at (530) 752-5233 or visit their website at rmi.ucdavis.edu. They are located at 1027 Sensory Building, Robert Mondavi Institute, 392 Old Davis Road in Davis. • Burgers and Brew, a brew pub located at 403 3rd Street in Davis, is a great place to meet the locals. We tried the Banana Bread Brew from the UK which was a light and delicious accompaniment to our lunch. Their phone number is (530) 750-3600. • For more information on the “Feast: A Celebration with Mead and Honey,” contact the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at (530) 7549301 or email aharris@ucdavis.edu. Their website is honey.ucdavis.edu/events. Inspired by the many wonderful places to visit in the Bay Area, Linda Summers Pirkle organizes day trips, either for groups or for friends and family. To share your “Quick Trips” ideas email Coverthemap@gmail.com.
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Your Neighbor’s House
Lafayette Today ~ January 2016 - Page 11
By Erin Martin, Village Associates Real Estate
The end of the year is such a busy time. I hope everyone had a moment to come up for air and enjoy ringing in the New Year. Over the holidays my neighbor put his home on the market. Naturally, during the first open house my husband and I went next door to check it out. We were curious about the floor plan, what updates they had made, and bottom line how their home compared to our house. We were being nosey neighbors. This is a term I use affectionately, and I love it when neighbors come to visit homes I am holding open. I think that nosey neighbors show potential buyers that this is a neighborhood where people take pride in ownership and care about their real estate investment. My husband and I are very invested in the sale of our neighbor’s home because it provides a data point for how much our home is worth in the current market. For some of us this is important because we want to know how much equity we have in our home, or for others it helps to evaluate if it is a good time to sell. Home values are determined by comparison sales in the area. The condition, fixtures, square footage, lot size of recent sold homes helps realtors, appraisers, and buyers determine a home’s value. The bottom line is that it only helps us if our neighbor has a successful sale. Buyers are investing in a neighborhood and not just a home, so there are some important things you can do to help your neighbor in selling their home and ultimately yourself. The most important thing you can do to assist your neighbor is help ensure your neighborhood shines as brightly as possible. Keep your yard tidy and pull garbage bins off of the street. If you have animals be conscious of open house times and schedules, and keep animals inside. It can be stressful for animals when open houses draw more cars and traffic. Sellers have an obligation to disclosure a loud barking dog or a failing fence, so neighbors just need to seem, well, neighborly. I used my neighbor selling his home as a good excuse to encourage my husband to trim back our hedge and to encourage my kids to thin out all their bikes and toys littering our yard. I am hopeful that potential buyers did not hear me yelling at them to turn off the television and get outside and help me. I am looking forward to the New Year in Lafayette real estate. It is always exciting to see how the spring market unfolds. Please feel free to call or email me with your real estate questions or for a free home evaluation. I can be reached at (925) 951-3817 or by email at erin@erinmartinhomes.com. Advertorial
Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s TeleCare Connects with the Homebound
Since 1971, member volunteers of TeleCare, a philanthropic program of Assistance League® of Diablo Valley, have been making daily reassurance calls, Monday through Friday, to those in our community who are homebound. As the chapter’s longest standing philanthropic program, TeleCare empowers the clients, no matter what their ages, to remain in their homes. What ensures this is a daily confidential journal kept for each client that member volunteers consult prior to the phone calls then update accordingly. Last year alone, member volunteers devoted 765 hours to connecting with homebound clients. Unfortunately, many clients are socially isolated and don’t have anyone to check on them daily. Statistics indicate that loneliness can cause a 20% decline in health, a number that increases for seniors, the elderly and the homebound. TeleCare not only offsets that statistic, it ultimately serves as a safety net for clients and their families especially if volunteer callers are unable to reach the client. At a recent regular chapter meeting, Ruth Finlay, former member of Assistance League of Diablo Valley since 1975 and current TeleCare client, dropped in for a visit to say, “Thank you, TeleCare; you start my day.” She added that if it weren’t for TeleCare member volunteers, some of the homebound would never receive phone calls. If you live alone or know someone who does, a daily phone call would be a great way to stay connected with life and make new friends. Other TeleCare activities include attending an annual holiday party to meet fellow clients and member volunteers face to face, as well as receiving greeting cards from the Assisteens®, an auxiliary where kids learn to participate in a community service at a young age. So make that call to get you or someone you know connected. For more information about TeleCare, please phone 925-934-0901. To learn about Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s other philanthropic programs, funded by its thrift shop in Lafayette, and its recently Left, TeleCare member volunteer Sally Sprague interviews former member awarded GuideStar Exchange gold participation level status, please visit diablovalley.assistanceleague.org. and TeleCare client Ruth Finlay (right) at a recent chapter meeting.