Like so many people I wanted to do my part on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Since the weather forecast was not so rosy, I looked for another option and found Planet Indy: Gestalt Gardening with Felder Rushing. Irreverent, humorous and knowledgeable, Felder spoke of Horticulture versus Gardening and his gestalt approach to enjoying his own sacred place.

Horticulture is linear, planned, regimented, processed and goes by the book, which is full of Latin. It requires chemicals, weeding, watering, fussing, mowing, trimming, backaches, headaches and heartbreak when plants won’t grow.

Gardening gives people the right to lighten up, be outside the box, plant what they love and what grows naturally, requires low maintenance, little to no watering, weeding, chemicals, mowing or trimming. A true garden is a place of divine beauty as it reflects the spirit of it’s’ owner. The Gardener’s Bill of Rights proclaims:

 You can have as many wind chimes as you can afford to buy
 You are free to miss-pronounce names of plants or not know the names at all
 You are allowed to place clashing colors together just like nature
 You can plant in clumps not rows or plant just one of something
 You are allowed to pronounce the “H” in herb
 You are free to grow NO GRASS AT ALL
 You can create a garden anywhere
 You must accessorize
 You are free to plant Bottle trees – they are beautiful!

Free your garden and yourself by trying something different. Give yourself a sacred place to enjoy. For inspiration visit Felder’s website at http://www.felderrushing.net

Presented by the Indianapolis Museum of Art Planet Indy is a monthly series of guest speakers addressing Sustainability. For more information and future events go to
http://www.imamuseum.org

by: Melanie Wilhelm

Every year as the winter season comes to an end and the buds of spring begin, I get excited with anticipation for planting season. I can hardly wait to visit my favorite greenhouses, seeking plants to use in my containers and landscape.
Weeks before the plants start to show up on the racks, I start thinking about colors, textures, shapes and heights of plants, how to arrange them and where to put them around the house.
Once I’ve made all of my purchases, I set up a planting bench and get to work. I get everything planted in a certain arrangement within the container, fill with soil, and then water well before setting or hanging the containers around the house.
But then, the blasting heat of the summer gets here. When it is really hot, I have to water the plants every day in order to keep them alive and healthy. I can use a lot of water in one summer just watering the plants (not to mention watering our newly planted grass). As many of us who pay a city water bill know “Water isn’t free”!
Or could it be free?
Last year, one rainy day as I was looking out the window, I observed all of the water gushing out of our five down spouts. “Wait a minute.” I said aloud to myself, “How can I capture that water so I can use it to water my plants?” So I started doing some research and found that I was not the only one wondering this same thing.
I found a plethora of rain barrels for sale on line. There are many different companies selling various sizes, shapes and colors of containers that can capture your rainwater from your home’s down spouts. I thought I would share a few with you just in case you might be interested in saving some money and capturing the free water that nature already gives us: Rain.

Home Depot
Lowe’s
Rain Barrel Source
Rain Barrels and More
Aaron’s Rain Barrels and More
Video Example of Installation

I’ve recently come across a few articles about the green initiative of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and I have to admit I’m pleasantly pleased with their sustainable efforts. I can’t say that I’ve been paying 100% attention to the games this year, but this is the first I’ve heard about it. I wish that the media would take a time out to report on some of the good the city has been doing, rather than point out what has gone wrong thus far. The sustainable initiative was actually instituted by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) back in 1992, to encourage active participation in sustainable development. Only in the last 10 years has it started to be wholly embraced by the host cities, and this year Vancouver has gone above and beyond in doing their part. Although I am listing a brief synopsis of their efforts, this list is by no way complete, yet still very impressive…

• The pledge from Vancouver to convene a carbon-neutral event
• Utilization of existing facility buildings wherever possible, and designing the new facilities for realistic and simple conversion for post-game reuse
• Planning a dense village design to promote walk ability rather than individual transportation
• Construction of LEED Platinum and Gold certified buildings in the village
• Implementation of urban agriculture and green roofs
• The roof structure of the Oval Building was built from trees that were killed by pine beetles – great reclamation, plus the elimination of carbon dioxide and methane gasses from the potential rotting wood
• Recovery of waste heat from melting ice and sewer systems to produce space heating and cooling
• Reclamation of building and vehicle graphics – approximately 200,000 square feet of material will be diverted from landfills and be recycled into new flooring product
• Reuse of the village after the games as affordable housing for the local workforce

The impact of some of these efforts won’t be able to be measured for a few years to come, but Vancouver has a plan to actively monitor and publish their results. I think they’ve done an excellent job in raising both awareness and the bar for future cities to come. It’s amazing to me how far this world has come with sustainability in the past 10 years; where being green just used to mean planting trees and recycling, and now is seen as the consideration for global social, economic and environmental impact. Whether or not Canada wins the gold for hockey, the city of Vancouver gets the GREEN … I mean gold medal in my book.

Submitted by: Suzanne Mayberry
Photo from: Vancouver Sun, Doug Pensinger, Getty Images

Recently, I’ve skimmed over a few articles that have mentioned the Copenhagen Climate Council and the conference that was held not too long ago. I realized I haven’t heard the outcome and thought I’d better look into it! Very quickly, I learned that the council did not agree on any terms. The conference began with a lot of hopeful and positive energy, but in the end, it seems most leaders involved left feeling the extreme opposite. From what I understand, the goal involving 193 nations was to make measured efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and therefore keep the global temperature from rising no more than 2 degrees centigrade by 2020. With this commitment to be made, there was also hope that the nations involved would pledge more monetary help to third-world nations in their efforts to cut emissions and improve their economic situations within their countries. However, no concurrence toward this effort was made either. The council also decided to forego an agreement to be made in 2010 to have official regulations put in place in order to reach the goal.

It seems to me as though there were too many parties with differing opinions on how best to reach a consensual, realistic objective. One would also have to consider that taking actions to better the environment might change economic relationships with other nations. There would be restrictions on transportation, thus likely limiting our ability to send goods quickly or get places ourselves as easily as we have so far in this modern world. Importing and exporting would also experience a drastic paradigm shift, as it would surely be different.

Those involved apparently found out it would be much more difficult to reach an attractive target strategy and keep all parties accountable.

I know that there are many different forms of media who have likely shared different communication on this topic. Because of my extreme passion to learn more about this subject, please share with me any information you may have learned, and what you think! What is your take on “global warming” or “climate change,” and how can we best curb further damage to our planet?

Submitted by: Lee Boyland

I just read an interesting article entitled, “2009 Annual Recycling Search Report” from the Earth911 website. This organization’s website has grown into the leading proper disposal and recycling database for the nation, as confirmed by both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DE). It is a fantastic site with so much information for your use. It contains, not only the “why”, but the “how” and “where” of recycling.

Did you know this site provides a toll-free bilingual hotline and a free iPhone or iTouch app called iRecycle to help you find a recycling location in your area or wherever you happen to be!

In this report, it highlights several different interesting facts. This evidence was based on what a person was looking for where they hit the Earth911 website. For instance, electronics were the #1 most sought after item looking to be recycled and followed by 24% hazardous items, 10% paper, and then 9% metal. In addition to this, the 2009 Top 10 Products Consumers were looking to recycle were computers, batteries, televisions, paint, aluminum cans, used motor oil, CFLs, glass, fluorescent lamps and lastly, Christmas trees.

Also, what were the top 10 states that searched out the Earth911 website for more information? California was first; along with Texas, New York, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan and Virginia. I was wondering why Indiana did not make the top ten. Is it, that as consumers, we have a great knowledge base on the recycling of our items? Or is it that we have not yet visited this dynamic website and explored what it has to offer?

Please take a moment to tour the Earth911 site and sign up for their newsletter. And while there, find out where you can recycle your bottle caps or how to green your trash!

Now go and eliminate your fear of the “R” word!

Having just gotten married about four weeks ago, I was knee-deep in all kinds of wedding planning. As a bride-to-be, I used online wedding resources such as www.theknot.com for inspiration and advice. One of the trends that became apparent to me was sustainable wedding-planning practices. Among topics such as “Spring Weddings” and “Wedding Hairstyles,” you will find “Eco-friendly Weddings.” Upon looking into such a type of wedding, I found that some practices are quite simple, and may be something you’d do without thinking about … while others require more effort and could be more costly.

Here are some ideas that I found:
• Use recycled paper for your invitations and minimize as much as possible the amount of paper you use
• Choose in-season flowers and a florist who grows flowers locally and organically
• Grow your own flowers for the ceremony and reception arrangements
• Re-use ceremony flowers for the reception; donate what’s left to a nursing home or send them with your guests
• Use small plants as centerpieces that guests can take home and plant later
• Use recycled glass bowls or vases to hold the centerpieces
• Make a donation to a charity in honor of your guests
• Research and buy from a jeweler who does not sell “blood diamonds”
• Purchase wedding bands made of recycled metals
• Purchase your wedding gown-second hand or wear one that’s been passed down to you from a relative
• Donate your wedding gown to a charity
• Serve a menu of organic and locally-grown and raised food
• Donate left-over food to a food rescue group or take it to a shelter
• Use natural beauty products for your wedding beauty routine
• Take a volunteer honeymoon—one in which you give your honeymoon time back to a good cause

Wow, so many ways to be sustainable! In looking back, one thing I did was rent vases for the centerpieces. This saved money, and created no waste. Also, I made my own invitations, so I was able to recycle what paper waste I had left.
As you can see, there are many ways to conserve materials, take advantage of local resources, and give to others while planning a wedding. While scanning through the above list, you’ve probably thought of some other ways to practice sustainability in preparation of a wedding, so please share! For more ideas, visit www.theknot.com and www.greatgreenwedding.com; the two resources I used in this blog.

Submitted by: Lee (Miller) Boyland

How to do your part…last weekend a dream of four young girls’ became a reality at Brownsburg East Middle School when a team of volunteers, eager students along with the local firefighters volunteered their time and efforts. The school’s teaching staff and the school corporation’s Facility Director, John Voight, allowed the student group to pursue a vision of making a green roof. The dream of creating a living, green roof over the media center at BEMS was made possible through the assistance of a few local grants. The planning and research was done by the students and deligient staff members, like Ron Strahle, to pursue the dreams of the students. The education process will continue on this project not only for the students, but for the staff as well. The plantings will go dormant this fall/winter, so in the spring they will start to see the benefits of the “living roof.”

The kids in computer class can look out onto the garden. It will be interesting to see how the kids react to seeing green outside on the roof instead of rocks…only time will tell if this has an impact on their learning or attention spans.

Has anyone read anything or a come across a study that has been done on the effects of learning near a green roof?

Submitted By: Donna Metallic

With the onslot of students moving into Indiana University for the beginning of another year, I had a chance to examine if the campus was doing their part to be sustainable to the community at large. The campus does recycle all aluminum, glass, plastic 1-7, paper, news print, and cardboard. In fact, every dormitory and classroom building has recycle bins for the co-mingling of these items. Particularly on move-in day, each dorm has a cardboard dumpster large enough to take all the cardboard for the entire week. They further educate all students with an all-dorm floor meeting to inform the residents of all opportunities that each person can take to ensure the 3R’s – recycle, reuse, reduce!

Other examples are in the food services areas of Wright, Foster, and Read Quads. Here the students are informed by use of a large information center at the point-of-disposal on how to sort their plate and utensil waste into recycle bins.

Within the dorm rooms of Wright Quad, each resident has a restricted showerhead, faucet and toilet power flusher to help increase water efficiency. Each room has flourescent lighting and blinds to help control the use of energy. Also, each student can choose to purchase a water bottle and the water refills are free! No redundant purchase of plastic bottles.

The IU campus has developed a great transit system. Any person can ride the IU bus system at no cost and the Bloomington bus transit is free to students with their ID. The endless bike racks and persons walking is very evident on any given day as well. They also provide bike lanes on most campus roads. All are a great way to save energy and promote individual health. And, with OnCourse, the IU website, the university has tried to become more paperless. Here are posted all assignments, class syllabi, lecture slides, grades and handouts. All important ways to conserve energy and materials. Not to mention that students can return books for cash or drop off to a recycle bin, if unable to return for cash.

But the quest to be green does not stop on the campus. With some students choosing to live in off-campus apartments or homes, there is still the need to be considerate of potential waste. As furnishings go, a student has the option of renting their furniture or, if they are leaving an apartment, they can sell to the next student that is moving in. This is a great solution for the ever changing campus.

But is there room for more greening? Always, and the IU campus might be interesting in hearing more.
Do you have any suggestions to pass on to IU?

Submitted by: Julie Knight

As you may know, i.d.o. Incorporated’s office located in downtown Indianapolis was the first LEED certified building in the city, achieving the LEED-Silver designation. We (i.d.o. Associates) are all very proud of this that we could all work together to achieve this accomplishment and be the pacesetter in LEED design in Indianapolis.

But we didn’t stop there! To further support our dedication to environmental design, several of our associates have taken their commitment to environmental stewardship and passion into their own homes. I will admit that I was slow to practice environmental stewardship in my own home. However, after being intimately involved with the LEED process, I realized how simple it is to live a “green” lifestyle!

For instance, I was never really into recycling, at home, due to the extra costs involved…However, after researching, I found that my little town actually had a recycling drop zone located just ½ mile from my home that consists of basic recycling of paper products, aluminum, steel, glass and plastics (Type 1 and 2)! I didn’t realize how much recyclable waste my husband and I produced until we began recycling. It was eye opening. Now I can’t help but to consider if everyone took the small steps and initiative to recycle, how much waste could we divert from the landfills that not only are an eye sore, but also contribute to the deterioration of our precious environment!

I could provide a nearly endless amount of simple steps to help you turn your homes “Green” (such as composting, implementing a cistern and programmable thermostats). However, I will open it up to you to provide some of your own ideas and practices to share! i.d.o. Inc., and its associates look forward to hearing what you are doing to help green your own homes and our world!

Submitted By: Amanda Medlen