What Grows On in Rhode Island News

The Earth-Friendly Food Chain

Announcing the Publication of The Earth-Friendly Food Chain

Cosmick Press has just published The Earth-Friendly Food Chain, by Linda Riebel, a San Francisco Bay area environmental educator. Rhode Islanders interested in healthy eating, urban agriculture, community-supported agriculture, farmers' markets, local food, and slow food will find a great resource guide in this book.

The Contents include:

• Your 5 Most Important Decisions

    Eat Food, Not Chemicals
    Eat Lower on the Food Chain
    Eat Shorter on the Food Chain
    Eat Wider on the Food Chain
    Nude Food!

• Finding Earth-Friendly Food
• Meals at Home
• Join the Movement

    Sustainable and More Humane Agriculture   
    Food Professionals   
    Growing Your Food
    Spice Up Your Social Life

• Food for Thought

    Are the Dangers Real?
    Dueling Data: Trade-offs and the Learning Curve
    Help Endangered Species
    Animal Farm
    The Elephant in the Room
    Good Intentions

• The Win-Win-Win Situation
• Time and Money

Last LEED Workshop ~ November 23, 2009

From US Green Building Council RI Chapter:

LAST LEED WORKSHOP OF 2009

USGBC - RI Hosted Events

LEED Core Concepts & Strategies Workshop   LAST CALL!! Monday, Nov. 23, 2009 For anyone pursuing the non-technical Green Associate or the more advanced LEED AP+ credential, this course is a must! Take advantage of the last USGBC faculty-led class in the Northeast for 2009.

RI Recycles Day ~ November 21, 2009

From RI Resource Recovery Corporation:

WHEN: Saturday, November 21st from 8 a.m. to Noon.

WHERE: Central Landfill, 65 Shun Pike, Johnston, RI 02919

WHAT: Recycle your hard to dispose items all in one place!

Accepted items include:

• Sensitive Personal Documents for Shredding
• E-Waste
  
• Household Hazardous Waste

For more information, see the website!

The Wonderful World of Poinsettias ~ November 21, 2009 - January 3, 2010

From the URI Master Gardeners:

Unique plants cultivated by URI Master Gardeners will be the centerpiece of a seasonal exhibit at the Botanical Center. 

Every year, the URI Master Gardeners participate in Poinsettia growing trials to aid plant breeders in determining the growth habits and the viability of newly hybridized Poinsettia varieties.  This year, as one of only 30 trial sites in the country, the Master Gardeners volunteered hundreds of hours of their time to plant and cultivate over 1200 Poinsettias in their Kingston, RI, greenhouse facility.  

Consisting of 65 different varieties, these are not your typical, everyday poinsettias!  Plants can have varying shades of red, white, pink and green; some have combinations of one or more of these colors giving them a  "paint-splashed" or "tie-dyed" appearance,  while others may feature curly leaves or other unusual textural features.

This exhibit, the result of a partnership between the City of Providence, the Master Gardeners and the URI Outreach Center, will also feature an educational poster presentation outlining details about the plants such as their history, the myths that surround them, their intricate growing process, and their botanical "peculiarities".  The posters will also highlight the Master Gardeners and their roles as horticultural and environmental educators, researchers and highly dedicated volunteers. 

**** Exhibit opens Saturday, November 21, 2009  ****    and runs through Sunday, January 3, 2010
   ************************************************
Botanical Center Hours: 
Tuesdays - Sundays, and Monday Holidays, 11:00AM - 4:00PM
LAST TICKET SOLD AT 3:30PM
The center is also open on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Botanical Center Admission Fees:
Age 13+ - $3.00
Age 6-12 - $1.00
Age 5 & under - free

Providence Recycling Bin Sales ~ November 21, 2009

Bins will be sold to the public from 9am – 10am on Saturday, November 21

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PROVIDENCE – Mayor David N. Cicilline today announced that residents will be able to purchase recycling bins from the Department of Public Works at five satellite locations throughout the city on Saturday, November 21 from 9am until 10am.   Residents still have the option of using any waterproof container from home for recycling, as long as label the container and separate the paper products from the plastic items.  For those who would like to purchase bins from the City, the limited number of blue and green containers may be purchased at the follow locations on Saturday for $5 each:   §         Joslin Recreation Center 17 Hyat Street   §         Selim Rogers Recreation Center 60 Camden Avenue Phone: 455-8854   §         Vincent Brown Recreation Center 438 Hope Street Phone: 273-2390   §         West End Recreation Center 109 Bucklin Street Phone: 461-4570   §         Department of Recreation One Recreation Way, Providence, 02904 Phone: (401) 421-7740 extension 323

RI Now Has 3 Winter Farmers' Markets ~ North & South Kingstown, & Pawtucket ~ November 21, 2009

DEM ANNOUNCES OPENING OF INDOOR WINTER FARMERS’ MARKETS IN NORTH KINGSTOWN AND SOUTH KINGSTOWN

Both Markets, Which will Feature a Large Variety of Local Products, Are Set to Open on Saturday, November 21

[Ed. note: Pawtucket Winter Farmers' Market started November 7 at Hope Artiste Village, Main St, Pawtucket. - sk]

PROVIDENCE – Starting this Saturday, November 21, shoppers in South County will have two new winter farmers’ markets available where they can purchase a wide variety of locally grown and produced products. 

We're Killing the Oceans ~ Providence Phoenix, November 19, 2009

See today's Providence Phoenix feature story We're Killing the Oceans: Is it too late to save the seas that sustain us? It's hard to believe we can seriously damage the entire world's oceans, but that's what's happening.

Also tonight note a related lecture, November 19, at URI: Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales: A Crash Course in Conservation Science and Policy. Details in What Grows On in Rhode Island!

As we figure the cost of living, we have to figure the cost of cleaning up the oceans and preventing further damage. Things are cheap today because this damage is not accounted anywhere.

Providence Recycling Program and City Council ~ November 19, 2009

Environmental Community Calls on Providence City Council to Maintain “Green Up Providence” Recycling Program While Addressing Residents’ Concerns
 

Providence RI –A coalition of environmentalists and community residents are urging the Providence City Council to maintain the city’s new recycling policy while addressing concerns from residents about the implementation of the program.
 
According to the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, the early reports from the Providence’s program already show a marked increase in recycling.
 
A number of council members proposed delaying the implementation of the program, but supporters of Green Up are urging the city to stay the course and continue to troubleshoot according to residents’ concerns until the new recycling policy is running smoothly.

Providence Green Drinks ~ November 19, 2009

Providence Green Drinks is Nov 19, 5pm to 8pm at Napa Valley Grille, 111 Providence Place.

Jim Gibson and Bill Horn from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney are hosting Green Drinks on Thursday, November 19th at the Napa Valley Grille in the Providence Place Mall. Napa Valley Grille emphasizes using local produce and food producers in the Rhode Island market. This will provide a great opportunity to meet the new Executive Chef, Erik Wicklund, who has just moved to Providence from the Chicago area. Come enjoy free appetizers and some fine libations.
 
Jim Gibson and Bill Horn are financial advisors who can appreciate that investment opportunities can be consistent with your personal values.  They help identify "green" investments that are designed to meet not only your performance standards, but your standards of environmental and social responsibility as well.  They are located in the Providence office of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in the CitizensPlaza building. Learn more at their website.

2009 Beautiful Landscape Award Recipients Announced ~ November 17, 2009

From The East Providence Beautification Commission:

The East Providence Beautification Commission has selected four City properties to receive the 2009 Beautiful Landscape Award.  This prestigious annual award recognizes organizations and businesses, which add to the aesthetic and environmental beauty of the City. Since 1967 the Beautification Commission has acknowledged those organizations, whose well-maintained properties exceptionally reflect pride of residence in East Providence. All neighborhood organizations are considered.

The 2009 Beautiful Landscape Award recipients are: