Green Business Training Series

Green Business Training Series
Burbank Green Alliance
May 26, June 2 and June 9
Wednesdays: 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Burbank Green Alliance and Community Development have partnered to present a 3-part introduction to the basic principles of running a lean, green business.

Learn how to build your world-class green business
Attend this 3-part Workshop
Register ONLINE or Call: 818 . 238 . 5198

May 26: Zero Waste
Improve bottom line by reducing waste
Community Services Bldg – 150 N Third

June 2: Start It Out Right
Energy and water efficiency, reduce toxics, save money

June 9: Maximize Being Green
Build culture - engage customers - green contracts

Cost:
FREE: Burbank Chamber of Commerce Members
$10: Burbank Residents
$15: Non-Burbank Residents

COB: Community Demonstration Gardens

Going native: Burbank residents redesign front yard with eco-friendly plants in mind.
Burbank Leader: May 7, 2010 by Riley Hooper

In a neighborhood full of lawns, Jeena and Eric Schoenke’s front yard stands as an anomaly.

The Burbank residents tore out their front lawn and redesigned the space about a year ago. They poured a patio, created a path, brought in several large boulders and planted California native plants.

The yard features many native flowers — Baja snap dragons, tiger lilies and varieties of poppies, penstemon and sage — which are in full bloom. Every plant in the front yard aside from one tree is native, Jeena Schoenke said.

“If you stand at my house and look at my yard, you’ll see red and yellow and purple and orange flowers everywhere,” she said.

The Schoenkes decided to go with a native landscape out of a concern for the environment, she said.

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Burbank residents looking for lawn alternatives and examples of native or drought tolerant gardens can visit one of four community demonstration gardens sponsored by the city of Burbank Water and Power Department.

The department has given four out of eight possible grants to nonprofit organizations and local schools to develop gardens that demonstrate irrigation products, plant material and practices for cultivating a water-efficient garden. While these gardens also use drought tolerant plants from similar Mediterranean climates, the majority of the plants are native, department Conservation Manager Joe Flores said.

The four gardens are at Burbank Temple Emanu El, the Burbank Family YMCA, the Burbank Housing Corp., in front of Elmwood Achievement Center, and one is under construction at Burbank Adult School, Flores said.

These gardens are part of a larger effort by the department to cut down on water usage by 20% by 2020, as mandated by Senate Bill X7, which went into effect in November, Flores said.

Therefore, the department offers rebates through the Metropolitan Water District for water-saving products like low-flow irrigation systems and offers classes in conjunction with the Glendale Department of Water & Power on water efficient landscaping, which includes a component on California native plants.

It is estimated that more than 50% of drinking water in Burbank goes toward landscaping, Flores said.

The city’s water and power department is also looking to implement a program that gives rebates to Burbank residents for removing their lawns, Flores said. READ MORE !

Book Watch

New Green Books @ Burbank Public Library

Compost: the natural way to make food for your garden
Ken Thompson – DK, 2007
631.875
THOMP

Ecoholic: your guide to the most environmentally friendly information, products, and services
Adria Vasil – Norton, 2009
640.4
VASIL

Power hungry: the myths of "green" energy and the real fuels of the future
Robert Bryce – Public Affairs, 2010
~ contrarian assessment of America's energy situation--and the gulf between the goals of the green movement and our vast need for power--by the author of Gusher of Lies
333.79
2010
BRYCE

Recycling - SCARCE

Finder's keepers and reuses
Nothing goes to waste at a self-proclaimed Dumpster diver's group. Old keys are melted for their metal, and wine corks go toward classroom art projects.
LA Times: May 10, 2010 by Heidi Steven, Chicago Tribune

Kay McKeen has sent microscopes to Ghana, zippers to Ethiopia, textbooks to India and a baby grand piano to a high school on Chicago's South Side.

She outfits classrooms across Illinois. She turns wax nubs into bright, gorgeous crayons. She collects, sorts and donates hundreds of thousands of books.

She's equal parts environmentalist, Dumpster diver and missionary, and her motivation is simple: "If we don't rescue it, it's in a landfill forever."

McKeen, 59, of Wheaton, Ill., is the founder and executive director of SCARCE (School and Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education), an organization dedicated to collecting people's unwanted stuff and finding a use for it — from bottle caps and old keys to overhead projectors and, in one case, a 16-foot balance beam.

"It came from a school whose insurance no longer covered gymnastics," McKeen recalled. "We found a magnet school in Chicago that just happened to need a new balance beam."

When you walk though the front door at SCARCE headquarters in Glen Ellyn, Ill., tidy suburbia gives way to delightful chaos. Thousands of books line the walls from floor to ceiling. A shelving unit holds containers of American flags, dried-up ballpoint pens, eyeglasses, old keys, wine corks, cellphones and other items that often get tossed.

"It's not trash," McKeen said. "It's resources."

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"We're throwing out stuff that can help save lives." READ MORE !

Green Gifts: Mother's Day - May 9

Green Gifts for Mother’s Day

Ideas from . . .

@ Inhabitat by Yuka Yoneda

Glass Bead Necklace
Bambu Bowls
Weleda Almond Facial Care
Eggling
Garden In A Bag
Plant A Tree @ American Forests.org

@ Nature Moms by Tiffany

1. Gift the Gift of Time
2. Donate to a worthy cause in their name - The National Wildlife Organization
3. The Gift That Keeps on Giving – A family membership to the local zoo, museum, or . . .
4. A Mother's Helper
5. A Good Book - If the moms in your life like to read then you cant go wrong with a good book.
6. Do Pretty Without Doing Flowers - a vintage tablecloth, or . . .
7. A Gift That Makes Mom's Life Easier - a blender, a Kindle, an iPad, or . . .
8. Give Reusables – Green moms love resuable products

@ Treehugger by Blythe Copeland

Fair Trade Chocolates from Global Exchange
Think & Write & Grow Plantable Journal
Protect Our Earth Glasses
Eco Yoga Gear
Bluewick Pocket Candles
Bamboo Pashmina

@ Planet Green by Blythe Copeland

7 Perfect Mother's Day Gifts That Help Other Moms Around the World
Forget the flowers: Instead, treat your mom to gifts and accessories handmade by other moms around the world, choosing Fair Trade, artisan-made, and one-of-a-kind classics (like jewelry, bags, shoes, and even gourmet snacks) that help impoverished women and local entrepreneurs make their mark on the global economy. From intricate bags beaded by women in Africa to gulten-free crackers from a pair of moms in Colorado.

Burbank Survey: Are You Green?

Burbank asks “Are You Green?”
Survey results to assist in future communication efforts

BURBANK, Calif. (April 27, 2010) – The Sustainable Burbank Task Force is asking for public input on what citizens and businesses in the City are doing to be more environmentally responsible.

The short, seven question survey asks participants to highlight some of their current behaviors and practices when it comes to sustainability. Topics include driving, recycling habits and familiarity with the City’s already existing ‘green’ efforts.

“It’s essential to find out what people are actually doing to protect and preserve the environment,” says Burbank Vice-Mayor Anja Reinke. “We want to prioritize our efforts and goals and community input is very important.”

The Sustainable Burbank Task Force is a 15-member body intended to advise and make recommendations to the City Council on matters related to the implementation of the Sustainability Action Plan and to help engage the community by participating in various public education, outreach and promotional activities. The Sustainability Action Plan is the framework for the community to be environmentally proactive.

The survey can be found by clicking here. Results will be compiled in June and presented to both the Sustainable Burbank Task Force and the Burbank City Council.

Public Works: Transportation

Region’s 1st hybrid bus unveiled
City takes step in sustainability with fuel cell bus that can travel 250 miles before recharging, officials say. It can carry up to 67 passengers.
Burbank Leader: April 30, 2010 by Christopher Cadelago

DOWNTOWN — Burbank officials on Wednesday unveiled the first plug-in hybrid fuel cell bus in Southern California.

The 35-foot-long bus, which emits water as exhaust and uses a hydrogen fuel cell instead of a gas or diesel engine, will be put into service on city routes beginning next week and can travel 250 miles before recharging, tripling the fuel economy of a diesel bus, officials said.

The California Air Resources Board and state Energy Commission awarded the city $1.37 million to fund the roughly $1.7-million program. Burbank operates a hydrogen station and a stable of converted gas-to-hydrogen Toyota Prius models, City Manager Mike Flad said.

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Sustainability, a repeated goal for the council, has manifested itself in the city’s range of public transit options, with every resident living within a 1 1/2 -mile radius of a public park or recreational open space.

BurbankBus operates in and around the city on four fixed routes during morning and evening rush-hour periods. READ MORE !