It’s that time again.
GLEE is putting the final touches on what promises to be the biggest and best ever Expo. The event, scheduled for May 9-11 at Marathon High School, will feature an exciting roster of speakers, incredible opportunities to learn, and exhibits of everything from solar panels to alternate fuel vehicles.
The three-day event offers practical solutions for people to learn about sustainable living, water and energy conservation, renewable energy, and green building so they can lead healthier lives, reduce business costs, improve their community and save energy, water and the earth.
On Friday, GLEE will stage a business-to-business reception in the evening. That will be followed by the very first annual Green Living Awards for Cumulative Efforts leading up to Expo 2008. Featuring local efforts, the 1st Annual Green Living Awards will highlight progressive steps towards sustainability taken by local citizens, businesses and policy makers.
Four local awards will be bestowed upon GLEE’s three audiences: individuals, businesses, and policy makers. Nominations may be made via GLEE’s website and will be voted upon publicly, with the final award winners chosen by GLEE’s “Green Ribbon” committee.
During the day, those who wish to earn continuing education credits can attend classes to do so.
Saturday is the day for the Expo exhibits and workshops. More than 50 developers and distributors of green technologies and services will showcase their products, including solar-water heaters, alternative building materials and energy- and water-saving devices at the high schools.
At the same time, GLEE will stage free workshops for consumers, businesses and the building trades. Speakers from around the country will cover solar power, water conservation, building green, biodiesel, selecting energy- and water-efficient appliances, global warming, green transportation, green lodging and more than two dozen other informative topics.
The Expo will also put on display alternative fuel vehicles including electric and bio energy-fueled cars as well as an outdoor biodiesel workshop.
Attendees can purchase healthy food from several vendors including some who grow organic food in South Florida.
On Sunday, May 11 GLEE plans a Mothers Day “Love Your Mother Earth” brunch in Marathon. Later, people will be able to tour green homes throughout the Keys. These include houses powered by renewable energy, built from alternative building materials, and renovated houses that are now energy- and water-efficient.
For more information and details about specific events, go to www.keysglee.com.
Visitors to the 2008 GLEE Expo will get an opportunity to sample a wide range of energy saving products from electric boats to green building products at more than 50 booths of exhibitors. Those attending the Expo will be able to discover ways to make their homes and businesses more energy efficient, how to lower their fuel expenses, and even how to keep their swimming pool heated and warm.
The exhibitor booths, scheduled to be both in the auditorium at Marathon High School and also outside the school, will be free and open to the public from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 10. Food vendors will sell their wares outside the school and an organic farm will offer fresh fruits and vegetables for sale.
Here’s a brief sample of some of the vendors who will exhibit at the event.
A complete list of vendors will be available soon at www.keysglee.com/html/08_expo/08_exhibitor.html
Theaters in Marathon and Key West will feature movies about global warming, the environment, urban sprawl and even trash as a precursor to Green Living & Energy Education’s (GLEE) annual Expo. The film series in Key West launches on April 26 and continues through April 30 at the Eco Discovery Center. GLEE will show films on three nights in Marathon at Crane Point Nature Center and Museum beginning on May 2 and running through May 4.
The environmental films will show at 5 and 7:30 p.m. in Key West and at 7:30 p.m. only in Marathon. The GLEE Expo runs from May 9-11 at Marathon High School. All films are free and open to the public.
Some of the movies to be shown include “Garbage Warrior,” a feature length documentary about a creative architect, with an out-of-the-box style, who makes buildings literally out of garbage, from discarded beer cans to car tires and more.
Another film, “The Queen of Trees,” follows the ecology of a fig tree growing at the edge of a river in Africa for years, using cameras to show us the microcosm of the fig environment, and how interconnected every tiny aspect of life truly is. The film has some of the most spectacular nature footage ever seen. Both films will be shown in Marathon.
Other movies that will be shown in Marathon include “How to Save the World,” “A Life Among Whales” and “The True Cost of Food.”
In Key West, the series at the Eco Discovery Center will feature a number of films including “Gimme Green,” a humorous look at the American obsession with the residential lawn and the effects it has on our environment, our wallets, and our outlook on life. From the limitless subdivisions of Florida to sod farms in the arid southwest, “Gimme Green” peers behind the curtain of the $40-billion industry.
Another film to be shown in Key West is “No Room to Move” that explores the effect of urban sprawl on sensitive wildlife in Florida. This documentary also examines how Florida could accommodate the needs of its wildlife and its growing human population through a development model known as The New Urbanism.
Other titles include “Point of Return,” “The Recyclergy,” and “Return of the Scorcher.”
GLEE will publish full schedules for both series at a later date.
For more information about the film series or the GLEE Expo, go to www.keysglee.com.