Green Advantage Certification Training

Green Advantage Training is coming to Berryville, VA on October 29th.

From the Green Advantage Website:
"At the local level, commercial and residential owners directly benefit from green building practices:

• Lower energy bills
• Lower water bills
• Lower maintenance costs
• Healthier buildings and homes

Green Advantage® Certified Practitioners have demonstrated their knowledge about building structures that are:

• Energy and water efficient for reduced monthly bills
• Insect and disaster resistant for a long life
• Healthier for the well-being of its occupants
• Environmentally friendly for the health of the planet"

This is a great opportunity, if you're in the building community, to be trained in and recognized for your commitment to building greener homes and buildings.

Go to their website http://www.greenadvantage.org/index.php for more information and to register online!

Forest Watch Celebration

The folks at Virginia Forest Watch are celebrating their 10^th Anniversary.

Local favorite Blue Mule will perform in its own Blue Grass style. .

Readings by nature writers Fred First and Chris Bolgiano.

Silent auction.

November 8, 6:30 pm, Hollins University Chapel.

No cost of admission.

www.virginiaforestwatch.org

September 25th Green Drinks

Ferguson Bath will be hosting Green Drinks in September. Hooray for free snacks. But more than munchies, hooray for Ferguson's inviting many of their product vendors to come and show off their green wares. Suppliers like Moen, Ecopure, Hansgrohe, KitchenAid, Decorua, and more. It'll be a great chance for all of us to learn more about what green building products are available right here in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. Who knows, maybe you'll find that new, water saving kitchen faucet that you've been looking for. Invite your friends, we'll see you there.

Where? Ferguson Bath 312 Front Royal Pike in Winchester, directions here.

When? September 25th at 5:30ish

Why? Free munchies! Oh, and the eco-friendly product showcase.

Freecycling Rocks!

As I was cleaning out my basement yesterday (yawn, I know) I found a few things that I no longer wanted in my life. Usually with clothes, I donate them to either Goodwill or Salvation Army. But with those random household items, or with things that Goodwill or Salvation Army won't take (like old window sashes, moving boxes, half used rolls of wrapping paper, extra cucumbers from my garden (no, seriously, we've been taken over by cucumbers), yard rocks that you want out of the way of your lawnmower but don't want to use in your landscaping plan, you get the idea) the best way to keep them out of the landfill is Freecycle.

Like the name implies, it's free, it's recycling, and it's local. In the past 3 months, I've given away several items (including a used George Foreman Grill and a wine bottle holder) and I've received some really random stuff (like window sashes from an old building, those will make very nice cold frames for my garden, and an old wooden bowl that is now sitting on my kitchen table holding fresh fruit). In our area, there are two Yahoo groups that have been set up. One is Freecycle Frederick County, VA and the other is Shenandoah Valley North- Freerecylce. If you've got some clutter to clear, or if you have need of something that you think others might have, check out these two groups.

AUGUST Green Drinks

The next Green Drinks will be Thursday, August 28th at 5:30(ish) pm) in Winchester, at the Virginia Brewing Company in the Zeropak. Go to their website and get directions here

At 6:15, Valerie Cookson-Botto will share with us about "how to avoid toxins on our skin" to get the conversation started. Bring your friends!

July Green Drinks - Thanks and thoughts

Thanks to the Half Note Bar for hosting, to Cheryl Ash for sharing with us about greening our homes on a budget (the 16 points were great little nuggets to get the conversation started), and especially thanks also to everyone who showed up. We had a great conversation, and I saw lots of networking going on (it really does warm my heart to see people passing out business cards and talking about potential collaborations!) If anyone has ideas for a future green drinks topic, something you'd like to learn about, or maybe even something you'd like to share about, please let me know, I'd love to hear ideas and feedback.

Quite a few people asked if Green Drinks was an open or closed event. Great question, and the answer is OPEN!!! Bring friends. colleagues, business partners, clients, kids, parents, grandparents, neighbors, your postman, anyone! And just to help you spread the word, here's a little explanation of what we're trying to do.

Where do we go from here

Thanks to everyone who came out to the June Green Drinks at Brewbaker's!

The question was asked, "where do you see this going, what is your vision for Green Drinks?" Honestly, I've only thought cursorily about this question until that night, at which point I realized that I would LOVE for Green Drinks to become a safe, nonthreatening environment for all of us eco-minded people in the area to bring our non-eco-minded friends. A place to learn about sustainability techniques, technologies, and challenges, but more importantly, a place to learn about what people right here in the Northern Shenandoah Valley are doing to become more sustainable. As someone else mentioned to me later in the evening, "its great to know that we're not alone in our efforts." She's right! It's great to know that there are others in the Valley that really care about the impact of their actions. To that end, if you are doing green things in your home or your business and you want to share with the rest of us about it, please let me know! If you know of someone else that is tackling a green issue in a refreshing way, again, please let me know! I'd love to see Green Drinks become not just another social hour, but a social hour with a purpose. If it becomes a place that you bring your friends to teach them a little bit about your sustainable mindset, that'd be fabulous too!

Thanks again to everyone who came. I know that I am more encouraged in my green efforts for talking with all of you.

Greening the Valley, one conversation at a time.