Green Spaces Competition

This year, the James River Green Building Council held their annual green spaces competition for the design of 34 acres of a 44 acre plot of land just East of Shockoe bottom and South of Church Hill. The competition event kicked off May 27th with a competition community forum, and will continue for the entire month of June as the entries will be on display at Gallery 5, starting this Friday, June 4th for Art Walk.

The vision for the Accessible Sustainable Integrated Community (ASIC) designed by myself, Jordan Starbuck, Leyla Peachy, and Jia Yan was a mix of recreational, retail, and mixed-income housing space. The focus was on a space that would be accessible and usable to all regardless of physical ability, income, ethnicity, or age. Key features include LEED certified buildings, with rain water and compost collection that would feed and water the surrounding urban farm and community gardens. The space would be an attraction for all ages, with many outdoor gathering spaces, nature trails, outdoor exercise equipment and activities, a community center, skateboard park, and bike rental/repair/storage/showers. We wanted to leave as much in-tact natural forest as possible, taking care to build structures in areas already open and cleared of trees. We wanted a space that people could feel proud to call home, which would be accomplished by involving them in the building of their own homes (through organizations like habitat for humanity) and community gardens. This would foster a sense of belonging and self-ownership of the space, which would help to improve space maintenance, reduce litter and graffiti, and reduce crime in general.

Community Meetings this Week to Decide the Fate of Churchill

The first of four community meetings will take place tonight at 5pm at the Robinson Theater that will change the face of Churchill as we know it. These community meetings, called a Charrette, are intensive planning sessions which will condense meetings between the community, city planners, city officials, and community leaders which normally take months into one week. While I definitely agree with the principle of bringing all of these individuals together to plan the future of Churchill, one wonders how much effort the city has really put forth to make this an event truly open and accessible to all. Advertising the event as a Charrette is the first mistake. I have a Master's degree, and I don't know what the heck a Charrette is. If you want to reach the public you shouldn't use any language above a 8th or 10th grade level at the most. When you use fancy words when simple ones will do when advertising these events, it's off-putting and intimidating to the people you're trying to reach. That being said, I hope everyone reading this with an interest in Churchill, and even Richmond in general, will attend. Forward this to as many people as you know - let's make sure our voices get heard!

MCV Earth Day a Big Hit!

Thanks to all of you who made it out to celebrate Earth Day yesterday at VCU MCV campus! The event was a huge success with a large turnout and plenty of enthusiasm in the air. Our plant give-away (thanks to Stranges Garden Center) was a big hit, and we were able to give out 200 plants to encourage people to garden at home. There was a huge variety in the amount of plants that Stranges was able to donate, so that we were able to cater to people who would be growing their vegetable in the garden, or in a container. Goes to show that you don't need much room to have a garden - even apartment dwellers can try it!

The Farm 2 Family bus was there with it's pet chickens, and live jazz music was on the stage. Many a person was walking away with their new veggie plants, a scene described by one person as a walking garden. MCV Green Unity had a great response for signing up for their email contact list, encompassing between 250-300 people! If only 1 in 10 people choose to become active in sustainable activities with this club in the Fall, I'd say we're off to a great start!

Bayscaping at VCU this Saturday!

This Saturday, April 24, 2010, volunteer gardeners like you will be completing the first of three projects designed to improve water quality of the James River and Chesapeak Bay in Richmond, Virginia. Every time it rains in Richmond, VA (and many other cities worldwide) the storm water treatment system is overwhelmed, discarding untreated waste water into nearby rivers, lakes, and bays. This means that every cigarette butt, every piece of litter, all of the oil slick and asphalt chemicals, and all the pesticides and fertilizers used in yards citywide are being dumped into the James River and Chesapeake Bay.

Bayscaping (Chesapeake Bay + Landscaping) helps reduce, slow, and treat storm water run-off being discarded into local waterways. The idea is to replace select areas of turf, ivy, cement, asphalt, etc. with native plants, which are able to absorb a significant amount of the runoff, reduce the flow rate of waste water, and filter the waste water before the water makes it into the storm drains. Native plants are adapted to their specific climate and environment, making them tolerant to the water conditions or droughts of the local area. Besides less watering, they require less maintenance, little to no fertilizer, and little to no pesticides, making them an ideal choice for economical and chemical-free landscaping.

You can be a volunteer gardener at VCU! Come out for an hour or two, or stay the whole day.

Day: Saturday, April 17, 2010
Time: 9:00am - 3:00pm
Location: Trani Life Science Building
Street: 1000 W. Cary St.
City/Town: Richmond, VA

Monroe Park Celebrates Earth Day with Style

Come out for the huge Earth Day celebration that VCU Monroe Park campus is holding this Wednesday, April 21, 2010. There will be free food. Live music. An Eco-chic fashion show. Free games and prizes. And of course, many educational vendors. Come on, how many reasons do you need to go to one event anyways? The real question is, why would you NOT want to go? Earth week at VCU kicks off with a free movie screening (with free snacks!) of the movie Food Fight, a documentary about local, sustainable and organic food. Don't forget to visit MCV campus' Earth Day event on Thursday, April 22nd too. I'll see YOU at Earth Day!

Food Fight Movie Screening
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Rodneys, Shafer Dining Court
VCU Monroe Park Campus

VCU Monroe Park Campus Earth Day
11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Wednesday April 21, 2010
Compass Point & Shafer Dining Area

Eco-Fashion Show: Re-fashioning the Future!
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Wednesday April 21, 2010
Compass Plaza, Shafer Dining Court

Effects of Global Change on Human Health

Nationally renowned speaker, Dr. Ricky Sinha will speak at Earth Day at Virginia Commonwealth University on MCV campus, April 21st at 4PM in Sanger Hall 1-044. His presentation, Effects of Global Change on Human Health, will be followed by a reception celebrating Earth Day.

Dr. Parikhit (Ricky) Sinha is a Technical Associate at O'Brien & Gere where he leads the greenhouse gas (GHG) program and GHG projects for industrial and institutional clients, development of baseline carbon footprints, estimation of project-specific GHG emission reductions, and forecasting of future GHG emissions from the operation of new facilities.

As a former study director at the National Research Council’s Board of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Dr. Sinha has led studies relating the science of climate change to federal policies for carbon mitigation and management. He has served as a member of the Pennsylvania Climate Change Roadmap Working Group and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Carbon Management Advisory Group.

Dr. Sinha has authored numerous technical papers in the areas of climate change policy, air pollution, environmental statistics, and risk assessment. He is a board member and former chair of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association. He has a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Washington, Seattle, and a B.A. in environmental engineering from Harvard University.

First Annual MCV Earth Day

MCV campus at Virginia Commonwealth University has been a little behind Monroe Park campus in terms of sustainability. And with one sustainability coordinator and a small group of dedicated staff spread between the two campuses it's no wonder! But all of this is beginning to change, and the first annual Earth Day at MCV campus is a sign of these positive times we live in.

MCV Campus Earth Day
11AM - 3PM
Thursday April 22, 2010
Kontos Medical Sciences Plaza
(outside Medical Sciences and Egyptian buildings)

Part of the Year of the Environment initiative, MCV Earth Day will feature live music, free food, prizes, and about 15 exhibitors including Dominion Power, William Byrd House Market, Farm to Family, 2nd Solutions, VCU Physical Plant, VCU Student Government Association, VCU Parking and Transportation, and many more.

You will also have an opportunity to meet me, your favorite blogger, at an exhibit advertising the new MCV chapter of the student sustainability club, Green Unity!

Be Heard at the Earth Day Climate Rally

Sunday, April 25th there will be a chance to have your voice heard at Washington, DC to tell politicians that we need to take a more aggressive stance on climate change. As a nation, the United States continues to be dependent on fossil fuels, without putting enough time and money into developing alternative energy sources. Whether you believe that climate change exists or not, the fact remains that fossil fuels are not an unlimited resource. They are running out, and we are increasing our reliance on foreign fossil fuels, and are having to develop new ways to extract remaining local fossil fuels using methods that are often both more dangerous to the workers harvesting them, or have significantly more environmental impact.

It is time for us to stop seeing ourselves as separate from the environment in which we live. If we pollute the air, we are the ones that have to breath it. If we pollute the water, we are the ones who have to drink it, and deal with reduced harvest from fisheries. And if we rely on just fossil fuels to provide jobs, we are the ones who will become unemployed when they run out. If we start the transition now to jobs in the green energy sector, we will not face a sudden economic crisis in the future, when the fossil fuels become exhausted.

I hope to see you at the climate change rally on April 25th. Come to make a difference, stay for the inspirational speakers and live music!

When:  11:15am - 11:15pm, Sunday, April 25th
Where: National Mall, Washington, DC
Why:    Because we want a better future!

Earthday.org