April 2011

April 2011

In this month's newsletter:

April Earth Day Events Abound throughout Florida Keys

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park's Native Plant Day: An Earth Day Event is on Saturday, April 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Stop by and Visit the GLEE booth! Entrance to the park is free to Earth Day attendees. 

Scheduled talks in the visitor center, nature walks, children's activities and exhibits from local environmental groups are planned.  A Native Plant Giveaway for locals is first come, first serve.  Plants have been grown by volunteers at Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park.

Activities Include:

  •  9:00 a.m  Exhibitor's booths open and plant giveaway begins

  •  9:30 a.m.     Nature Walk

  • 10:45 a.m.   Lecture by Jim Duquesnel on Butterflies of the Florida Keys followed by a half hour walk to look for butterfly host plants.

  • 12:30 p.m.   Lecture by Janice Duquesnel on Birds of the Florida Keys

  •  1:45 p.m.     Nature Walk

Exhibits and plant giveaway to be located between the Visitor Center and the Concession building.  Lectures will be inside the Visitor Center and the nature walks will be on the Wild Tamarind Trail.  The park is located at Mile Marker 102.5 Oceanside. Call Elena Muratori at 305-451-1202 for more information. 

Bring the family and enjoy our beautiful state park, learn about your native environment and take a native plant home for free.

 

 
GLEE Sustainable Solutions: Build a Rain Barrel Workshop -- “Water Conservation through Rain Water Harvesting”
 

GLEE & KWBG will host a rain barrel workshop at 7 p.m. Tuesday April 5 at the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden on College Rd. Participants have the choice of watching, learning and taking notes, or actually building a 55-gallon rain barrel to take home and use. There is no fee to attend and learn. To build a rain barrel, the fee is $45.  Kim Gabel of Monroe County Extension Service will lead the workshop. To reserve Rain Barrel supplies as a workshop participant, call Bridget McDonald at 305-923-1994. Potluck will take place at 6 p.m. in the KWBG Courtyard; Workshop will be held in the Nature Chapel. 

Attend the seminar in person or watch online as part of GLEE’s new Sustainable Solutions education program! To attend online, go to the www.keysglee.com homepage (top story) where a link and password are available to sign in.

Learn more about how you can Become a Sponsor of Sustainable Solutions and other GLEE programs. Please write to info@keysglee.com or call 305-923-1994 questions.

 

Painted Rain Barrel Auction
 

Artists in Paradise Gallery will host a Painted Rain Barrel Silent Auction and reception to begin at 7 p.m. Friday, April 15 at the gallery located in the Big Pine Key Winn Dixie Shopping Plaza. Final Call for bids is at 8 p.m. that evening. Bids may be placed in advance at the gallery where the rain barrels are available for viewing. A portion of the auction proceeds go to GLEE. For more information call 305-872-1828.

 
Earth Day cleanup at Garden Cove
 

April 16 Saturday – Meet at Garden Cove, the adopted shoreline of Paradise Paddlers to clean this popular paddlers launch site at 10 a.m. Bring your kayak and paddle 1.5 miles out to Rattlesnake Key to clean up this beach rest stop. Take the scenic route back thru the Meadows (area closed off to motorized vessels) and mangrove creeks. Bring lunch. Water bottles, ice water for refills, trash bags and gloves provided. Back at the launch site around 3 p.m. Email Monica@kayakfloridakeys.com if you can help or call 305-853-3571 (office), or 305-394-9252 (cell).

 
Bahia Honda Earth Day Event
 

April 16 Saturday – 9 a.m. -2 p.m. Visit  environmental and educational booths, free park entrance. Bring your kayak and go for a paddle after viewing all the activities.

 

FKCC Environmental Club Schedules Earth Week Events:

All speakers scheduled noon-1p.m., Monday-Friday, will speak in the FKCC Library; selected TedTalks also shown in the Library. 

4/18 Monday, Noon:  Ed Russo, Independent Environmental Consultant, “Why I Hate Earth Day;” 5pm:  TedTalk presentation

4/19 Tuesday, Noon:  Patrick Garvey, Monroe County Director of “Gardens of Hope Program;” 5pm:  TedTalk presentation

 4/20 Wednesday, Noon:  Peter Anderson, Chairman of Reef Relief, Founder of Conch Repubic, “Save the Humans;” 5pm:  TedTalk presentation

4/21 Thursday, Noon:  Doug Gregory, Florida Sea Grant Agent of NOAA; “Solar Power, Greening the FKCC Campus;” Afternoon (12-2pm):  Campus Concert at the Outdoor Amphitheater featuring local musicians “Da Skank.” 

4/22 Friday:  Reef Relief, “Coral Reef Preservation,” 5pm:  TedTalk presentation

Food, Giveaways and Scavenger Hunt are also planned. For more information, contact Meagan at (305) 879-3042.

 
GLEE Hosts Nutritious & Delicious Finger Food Cook-Off on Earth Day
 

The Annual GLEE Earth Day Fundraiser this year will feature a Nutritious & Delicious Finger Food Cook-Off from 5-8 p.m. Friday, April 22 at the Bottle Cap Groove Lounge. 

Bring a tray of your favorite finger food to our Annual Earth Day event and you become eligible to win a special prize in this open competition to be judged on nutritional value, flavor and creative use of local ingredients. Your entry will be tasted and judged by attendees who make a $10 donation for the privilege of tasting and grading each entry. 

  • Dishes are to be prepared in advance and delivered to the Bottle Cap by 5 p.m. when the judging begins

  • Only finger food (no eating utensils required) will be eligible to compete.

  • Entries will be identified only by a number, the name of dish and a list of ingredients on a table card. 

  • Professional chefs and non-professionals will compete side by side. 

  • Entries should include enough "tastes" for at least 50 judges.

  • If desired, recipes may be shared on GLEE's website following the cook-off

  • Funds raised from the cook-off go to GLEE’s ongoing education programs.

  • Participants must register by 5 p.m. Wed. April 20th to compete. Register by writing to info@keysglee.com with your name and name of your dish.

 
Volunteers, Help GLEE Continue to Green the Florida Keys!
 

Want to know more about organizing grass roots efforts and events? Want to collaborate with like-minded individuals, promote green business and sustainable practices?

Now more than ever, GLEE needs individuals like you to help sustain the momentum with programs, outreach and implementation. In exchange for your efforts, we'll teach you useful skills that you can use in many aspects of your life and work.

Please review the current Volunteer Jobs and contact us if you can help! Send an email to volunteer@keysglee.com for more information.

 

 

Nominations Open for 4th Annual Green Living Awards

Is there someone that you admire for green leadership?  Or perhaps you know someone that’s done something cool and green at their home or business? Then let us know!  Green Living Awards nominations can be made via GLEE’s Report A Greenie weblink until Sunday, April 10th.  You can also view applicants and awardees from our last three years of Green Living Awards. 

Is there something green you’ve done that you want to share?  Green Living Awards application forms are on GLEE's website now, so nothing is stopping you from starting your application right away.  Please be as detailed as possible when summarizing your green achievements.  See here for see past applicants and awardees. 

Learn more here

 
GLEE Offers Sponsorship Opportunities for GLEE Programs New & Old
 

We want to reach out and touch more Florida Keys residents, businesses and policymakers and we need your help to make it happen.  GLEE has developed new programs that will effect real change in our island communities, and Sponsorship is being sought! Check out the new opportunities for you to support GLEE’s mission while receiving benefits that work for you!

 
Green is the Color of No Name Key

No Name Key residents and their supporters demonstrated against the installation of electric lines in the model solar community at Keys Energy Service board meeting on March 23. The board voted to wait for a judge’s decision in the matter before installing electrical poles that have already been purchased.

 
Florida Bottle Bill Dead But Not Forgotten
 

According to Recycle Florida Today, Florida’s bottle bill legislation quickly died just a few days after it was introduced this year in Tallahassee. This has not deterred supporters of a bottle bill, who are already looking ahead to next year.  Environmental groups, the recycling industry and a handful of Florida lawmakers have received preliminary approval from House and Senate leaders to study the idea of requiring deposits on bottles and other glass products to promote recycling.

A new poll by McLaughlin & Associates shows that more than 60 percent of state residents support a bottle bill. Even though many communities in Florida have curbside pickup of recyclables, only about twenty percent of beverage containers that could be recycled are. Bottle bills in other states have drastically increased recycling rates of these commonly used items. 

David Hudson with Strategic Materials, a recycling company, says Florida will also benefit economically from a bottle bill  "There are tremendous markets for recyclables in the Southeastern U.S. in terms of glass, in terms of plastic and in terms of aluminum. The Southeastern U.S. in particular has a tremendous need for these materials. There are viable markets domestically for them as well, which I think is unique to our area of the country."

Read more about plans for a Florida Bottle Bill.

 

GLEE Goes to Sigsbee School’s Spring Fling

Sigsbee Charter School Students shared their recycling knowledge while learning more about how to reduce waste during the schools Spring Fling outdoor event on March 11. Students were asked to identify items for recycling, and also learned about the danger plastic bags and bottles create for our marine environment and wildlife.

 
Help Wipe Out Dengue Fever through Volunteerism

The Keys Action to Break the Cycle of Dengue (ABCD) partnership is looking for volunteers to help distribute door hangers across Key West on April 15-17 and help eliminate standing water in public areas April 29-May 1. To volunteer, call (305) 809-5612. 

The Monroe County Health Department and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District are taking the lead and have developed a colorful door hanger and other education materials to encourage all residents and business owners to play their part in eliminating standing water.

To learn more about dengue, download All About Dengue.