June 2009
Topics in this months newsletter
- Volunteer Spotlights
- Help Wanted: What skills do you have to help green the Keys?
- Summer Jobs available for Keys' students ages 18-24
- KEYS MAKES FIVE ADDITIONS TO REBATE PROGRAM
- Solar Electric Class at FKCC this Summer
- FSEC's Solar Water Heating Systems Course
- Monroe County Increases Recycling
- The Power of One
- Food Sovereignty: It’s all about the worms
Volunteer Spotlight
Karin Wolfe
Karin Wolfe, a resident of Islamorada, has been a GLEE volunteer since 2006. She worked as a volunteer project leader on the R4 recycling fairs in Islamorada in 2007, and Key Largo in 2008. Since 2007, she has pushed the Village of Islamorada to incorporate green initiatives, attended many Village meetings and continues to work toward that end. "I am sure I do it for the same reason other people do," Karin says, "simply to try and give back to my community and to try and make a difference, however small."
Karin co-chairs the Upper Keys Green Team. She is on the list of volunteers for the Key Largo Community Garden, serves as VP of the Upper Keys Garden Club and with that interest and those contacts hopes to help create a Community Garden in Islamorada also. Karin represents GLEE's interests and the Upper Keys on the Monroe County School Board Go Green Committee, which meets quarterly. Karin has been involved in planning numerous events such as Cheeca Lodge's Earth Day Celebration and has attended training conferences and green living events in other cities to bring great ideas and enthusiasm to the Upper Keys.
Carole Dehart
Carole Dehart lives in Ramrod Key and has been an active volunteer with GLEE since she her first experience working in the GLEE booth at Expo 2008. From there, her involvement has grown to being an active coordinator at the Lower Keys Recycling (R4) Fair, a committee lead for Expo 2009 who coordinated the registration process (an important aspect of Expo for counting heads) and the 50/50 raffle, which helped raise needed funds to support.
Carole now offers her services one afternoon a week to update the GLEE database with news articles, email contact and membership information. She and her husband Bill were also winners of the 2nd Annual Green Living Award popular vote in the Individuals category. The awards were held in February at the Key West Botanical Garden. She and Bill live in one of the few dome houses in the Lower Keys that, by its design, has very efficient air circulation.
A self-confessed hippy, recycling has been a way of life for as long as she can remember. Carole even helped start the very first recycling center in Cherry Hill, NJ, back in the 60s. She has found a way to recycle everything possible, even the hurricane damaged wind turbine from the top of her house. After Wilma twisted the turbine beyond repair, Carole took it down, painted it, and now uses it to decorate her front yard as "garden art." She is very committed to educating her neighbors and community about what can be recycled. We are proud and fortunate to have Carole be a part of our volunteer community.
Kim Gabel
Kim Gabel's career as a horticulturalist has taken her around the world. From her agroforestry work in the Central African Republic with the Peace Corps to her work with the university extension service in the Keys, Kim has always had a passion for horticulture and green living. She is one of the founding members of GLEE, and has used her particular expertise and enthusiasm to create a strong volunteer base for a growing and successful organization. As volunteer coordinator since the first expo in 2005, Kim has put in countless hours getting together speakers, vendors, volunteers, and locations for these events.
She laughs when asked about her role in putting these events together, casually listing off the many difficult aspects. "Getting someone who can actually speak in front of a room of people, handing out materials and making sure the speaker is on time can all be a challenge." And though Kim is stepping down from her many years as volunteer coordinator, she has set up a successful framework to be used in setting up the many Expos to come, and she does plan to stay involved with GLEE.
Sometimes referred to as the "compost queen," Kim's expertise has been invaluable to GLEE over the years. With a B.A. in anthropology and a Masters in International Agricultural Extension, she is an expert in her field, and has a particular passion for composting and gardening. "People start digging around in our soil and realize it's a lot of rock," she says, explaining that composting is the best way to reduce waste and create good, rich soil. "The more that we can use rather than send to the landfill is a win-win situation for everybody."
Of her time at GLEE, Kim says, "The camaraderie with other people with like ideals working towards...how to live our lives in a greener manner is what I'll treasure the most." As one of the original members, her specific knowledge and dedication has been a great addition to GLEE over the years, and though she will be missed, Kim will continue to serve the keys through her wonderful work with the extension service.
Cary Trantham
Cary Trantham came to GLEE as an intern while working on her Master's of Arts in Earth Literacy and Global Sustainability, which she received from Saint Mary of the Woods College in Terre Haute, IN, in May.
During her internship, Cary worked with Kelly's Caribbean Bar & Grill to help the popular establishment green their operation. The project was part of Cary's master thesis, and her research and experience have contributed greatly to plans for GLEE's upcoming Green Business Program, to be launched in late August.
Besides her research on greening restaurants, Cary also served as a lead volunteer at Expo 2009 and graciously stepped up to take the assignment that most would avoid: Waste Coordinator.
She performed this mammoth task with the assistance of students, teachers and other volunteers from throughout the county, including Greg Konrath of Marathon Garbage Service and Greg Barosso of Latitude 24.
"We learned a lot about dealing with waste in crowd situations," said Cary, who is also a CPA and licensed pilot. Aiming for a Zero Waste event, Expo planners arranged for composting, recycling and trash receptacles to be available for the various types of waste at the event. "It was another great learning experience," said Cary, noting that most people did not know the difference between the different types of waste.
An advocate for reusable bags and doing away with plastic shopping bags, Cary is writing a children's book that tells the story of a dolphin who has a life-threatening run-in with a plastic bag and is helped by a turtle. She is also author of The Bermuda Triangle Pathway to Atlantis-Book 1, available at Amazon.com.
Cary and her husband Bill live part-time in both Big Coppit and Panama, where they have recently built a home.
Help Wanted: What skills do you have to help green the Keys?
Aspiring Green Businesses: GLEE is seeking businesses that want to green their operations to participate in a pilot Green Business Program. Businesses in upper, lower and middle Keys will be selected to participate in this free pilot project to help save energy, water and other resources. Contact: info@keysglee.com
Recycling Education: 2-6 hours per week, canvassing door-to-door in Key West to distribute handouts and provide information on mandatory recycling. Key West Recycles is a collaborative effort of the city, WM and GLEE. Contact: kwjody@yahoo.com
E-Newsletter Asst. Editor: 2-3 hours per week writing, editing, uploading photos and information using Constant Contact DTP. Experience preferred, but will train the right candidate. Contact: info@keysglee.com
Social Networking Networker: 2-5 hours per month, updating GLEE goings on to our facebook, myspace and twitter pages from your own home. Need: Internet Access, experience on networking sites. Contact ahiggins@tnc.org
Green Drinks help: 3-5 hours per month, assisting with the monthly Green Drinks effort in your region. Contact: mcdonaldbridget@yahoo.com
Database Connector: 2 hours a month updating GLEE's database from your home computer. Need: Excel and Internet access. Contact ahiggins@tnc.org
Video Editor: 2-6 hours per project, editing and posting recorded presentations from Expo and KSAP meetings. Need: Home computer, Internet access, Computer savvy. Training provided. Contact ahiggins@tnc.org
Leadership Volunteers: 2-10 hours per month, providing your knowledge as a Steering Committee Member, Technical Advisor or Board Member to help GLEE grow. Need: Attendance at monthly Steering meetings, Leadership and Organizational Skills. Contact info@keysGLEE.com
Booth Volunteers: 3-6 hours per booth event, as needed. Set up, talk about GLEE, get new emails, etc. Need: A friendly smile and ability to chat with strangers. Contact: mcdonaldbridget@yahoo.com
Chamber Liaisons: 2 hours per month, attending meetings and/or socials of either Key West, Lower Keys, or Islamorada Chambers of Commerce and updating them on what GLEE's up to. Prefer: Someone that already attends one of these Chambers and knows members. Contact: ahiggins@tnc.org
Green Shopping Guru: 2-4 hours per month from home, updating GLEE's Amazon Online Green Store and selecting items for the monthly eNewsletter. Need: Internet Access, Computer Savvy, Urge to shop! Contact ahiggins@tnc.org
Summer Jobs available for Keys' students ages 18-24
GLEE is one of the many Keys' businesses and agencies that has requested students for summer jobs through the South Florida Workforce program. Students interested in summer jobs can sign up now (before the June 15 deadline) for jobs that will last 8-10 weeks and pay $10 an hour plus. To fill out an application online, go to www.southfloridaworkforce.com.
KEYS MAKES FIVE ADDITIONS TO REBATE PROGRAM
Keys Energy Services (KEYS) recently made five additions to its rebate program for qualified energy-efficient products. Recently added rebates include those for: dehumidifiers ($50); dishwashers ($55); freezers ($75); duct leak repairs or replacement ($150); and LED exit signs for commercials customers only with a limit of five per account ($10 each). Other products that qualify for the rebate program include: solar water heaters, programmable thermostats, clothes washers, refrigerators, and central & room air conditioners.
KEYS’ customers looking for more information on the rebate program, and how to participate, should log on to www.KeysEnergy.com and click on the “Growing Greener Every Day” icon. Customers can also link directly to the rebate program page by logging on to http://www.keysenergy.com/rebate-forms.php. Once on the page, KEYS’ customers can select from the 11 rebate options available and download the applicable forms and applications.
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Solar Electric Class at FKCC this Summer
The final FKCC solar installation class of 2009 will be held at the Marathon FKCC Campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-5 p.m. beginning July 7 through July 31, with an all day lab in Key West on Aug. 1.
To register call 305-809-3185 and refer to CRN 30271. The cost of the course is $490. The text book “Photovoltaic Systems” is extra and can be purchased at www.JimDunlopsolar.com.
This class will be the fourth since October offered at FKC and taught by Doug Gregory, Monroe County Extension Director and a founding member of GLEE. Though these courses 43 local electricians, contractors, and others have received solar training. Fifteen students have gone on to obtain the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioner’s Photovoltaic Entry Level Certificate of Knowledge. Gregory anticipate training up to 15 more people in the July class.
Progress in the area of solar energy includes an invitation to FKCC to participate in the 2009-2010 Florida Solar Energy Center’s Energy Workforce Train the Trainer Program, where two FKCC faculty will be provided photovoltaic and solar hot water training to help develop an ongoing solar energy curriculum in the Keys.
FKCC is now an approved provider for the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) Photovoltaic Entry Level Certificate of Knowledge exam. Students who want to obtain the national certification can register for the exam for an additional $100 fee.
FSEC's Solar Water Heating Systems Course
The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) will host a solar water heating workshop on Aug. 12-14, 2009. The workshop is offered at the Florida Solar Energy Center, 1679 Clearlake Rd, Cocoa, FL, located approximately 45 miles east of Orlando International Airport and 3 miles east of I-95. The three-day workshop covers the essentials of residential solar system design, installation, troubleshooting and operation procedures for residential water and pool heating. It is targeted toward contractors, building officials, decision makers, government organizations, practitioners who install solar water heating systems, and those who wish to become familiar with solar thermal technology.
If you are interested in attending this solar thermal course, please click here, for detailed course information and registration information. Instructor: John Harrison, Senior Research Analyst
Monroe County Increases Recycling
Monroe County has continued expanding its recycling program. Recently launched programs at the Courthouse in Key West , the Detention Center , Higgs Beach (about 175 lbs. of mixed recyclables from the 12 recycling bins at the beach have been collected weekly), the Sheriff’s Office in Cudjoe, Marathon Govt. Center, and Marathon Library.
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The Power of One
A strange looking vehicle made its way down US1 on May 14, drawing the curiosity of all who saw it. The vehicle, resembling a futuristic spaceship from a sci-fi film more than a road vehicle, is actually a record-breaking solar car. The Power of One aka Xof1 is the project of Canadian Marcelo da Luz, who developed and built the solar car to set a new world record for distance. Inspired to create Xof1 after learning about the World Solar Challenge, da Luz has traveled more than 14,000 miles throughout North America on solar energy, attracting attention and educating on the power of the sun along the way.
Here in the Keys, Marcello and his crew spent their first night as guests of The Gardens Hotel, and the next morning at the Eco-Discovery Center where the curious gathered for a close-up look at the car and to talk with Marcello and his crew, who accompany him on his adventures in a back-up van. Needing time to make repairs before heading back to the mainland, the crew was hosted by the Southernmost Resorts for the night.
GLEE’s first contact with Xof1 crew was just before Expo 2009, when Alternative Transportation lead Karen Beal tried to find a way to bring the car to Marathon for the March 28 Expo. That didn’t happen, but the crew was determined to make it to the Keys and with the help of local green-minded citizens, many in the Keys have experienced the capability of this amazing vehicle and its determined crew.
Among other planned stops for Xof1 is the District of Columbia, where the car and crew will stop to do a demonstration at the school attended by the daughters of President Barrack Obama.
After a few false starts, hampered by high winds and too many open bridges, the Xof1 made its way out of the Southernmost Point, making pit stops in Marathon and Key Largo to meet GLEE directors T.J. Patterson and Karen Beal, respectively. T.J. was pleased to show the crew the solar project at the Florida Keys Energy Cooperative, where he works, while Karen and her husband Ike treated the crew to a lasagna dinner. The Xof1 then headed up US1 on its way to the Arctic Circle, where the crew plans to charge the solar batteries in the midnight sun.
Food Sovereignty: It’s all about the worms
On May 16-17, I attended a workshop “From the Ground Up” at urban agriculture center Growing Power in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After hearing MacArthur Foundation “genius” fellow Will Allen, founder of Growing Power, speak in Miami recently, I was inspired to attend the two-day workshop, in order to gain more knowledge and ideas on taking the local food movement to the next level in the Keys. I’ve been involved in GLEE’s very successful first community garden which was started in Key West last fall and, with over 40 participants and 6 school groups. Other groups in the Keys are also developing plans to start community gardens, in Key Largo and in Marathon.
Interest in local, sustainable and organic food is experiencing a re-birth across the nation, not seen since the government-supported Victory Garden movement during World War II. With some help from Michael Pollan, best selling author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, and first lady Michelle Obama’s organic garden on the White House lawn, there is an awareness that our food system is broken. Reliance on heavily subsidized and centralized agribusiness cash crops like corn and soy has led to an unprecedented obesity epidemic, skyrocketing health care costs, and greenhouse gas emissions of 18% contributed by food transport, methane emissions from livestock waste, destruction of forests, and fossil fuel fertilizers and pesticides.
At the Growing Power workshop, Will Allen talked about “food sovereignty” being the foundation of social justice, by creating accessible nutrition to populations that have been least served by the industrial agriculture model. Most low income neighborhoods are “food deserts”, devoid of access to nutritional whole foods, fruits and vegetables, and instead are reliant on fast food joints and convenience stores for their food supply. These are the very neighborhoods that suffer most from food related illness like diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Growing Power was founded in 1993 in the middle of just such a neighborhood, where one would have to travel four miles in search of a tomato. Now the center produces 159 varieties of food each year on its two acres, growing vegetables in its greenhouses, and raising goats, ducks, bees, turkeys and – in an aquaponics system designed by Allen – tilapia and Great Lakes Perch.
One goal I had in attending this workshop was to overcome a lifelong phobia about worms. Worms are at the heart of Growing Power’s success, what Allen calls “his best employees.” Worms are great “remediators” which extract virtually any toxin from contaminated soil, while breaking down four times their weight per day and adding a rich fertilizer in the form of their castings or, more simply put “worm poop.” Growing Power diverts 6 million tons of food waste per year and converts it into compost and castings, which it sells for $4/lb. In our breakout session on vermicompost (a fancy name for composting with worms), we divided into teams, carbon and nitrogen, and went to work building two 5 cubic foot compost piles, layering food waste donated by wholesale grocers and local restaurants, wood chips from the city of Milwaukee, spent brewer’s waste, coffee grounds, and straw. We made a layered lasagna pile of 75% carbon items (anything with a higher than 30:1 ratio of carbon-to-nitrogen, like wood chips and straw is considered a “carbon”) to 25% nitrogen (less than 30:1 ratio for food waste, coffee grounds, brewer’s mash.) When we thought we were done, we were told to add more, by stomping down the pile and adding to it until it was higher than the bin. The workshop group a few weeks before us had done the same exercise, and their piles were now a foot or so below the top of the bin, as the material broke down and was being converted into compost.
The next step was transferring finished compost (6 months after the lasagna building) to the worm bins inside the greenhouse. Compost done properly reaches temperatures of 140 degrees and above, as evidenced by the steam coming off the pile while we shoveled into wheelbarrows. This was actually a concern, as the worms don’t like temperatures above 90. The worm bins were layered with two wheelbarrows of compost and two 5-gallon buckets of worms, then watered down to cool down the pile and start the “compost tea” collection through a pipe system at the bottom of the worm bins. Red wiggler worms reproduce quickly when they have an adequate food supply, and at the end of the four-month period there should be four times as many worms, which will be “recycled” and sent back to the worm depository for future job placement.
I can’t say that I was brave enough to actually touch or hold the worms, but I definitely have a newfound respect for these little critters. Because of their contribution to the organic growing system at Growing Power, salad greens grown in hanging pots can be cut and reseeded for 10 years or more, just by adding the worm castings as fertilizer. Like everything at Growing Power, Will’s “don’t be anal” mantra applied to this practice, as he showed us his method of grabbing a handful of castings and tossing them (seemingly) randomly at the hanging pots, knowing that enough of them would land in the right place to have the desired effect. After 15 years of practice and the fantastic results we saw, I trust him.
All the systems we experienced at Growing Power were symbiotic in nature; that is, just like nature creates cycles where nothing is wasted. The Aquaponics system designed by Will uses a multi-level wooden rack where watercress and other nitrogen loving greens feed off the ammonia-turned-nitrite-turned-nitrogen fertilizer they excrete into the water on the bottom level. The water is pumped up to the top level and gravity sends it slowly down below, as it gets gently filtered by the plants which thrive on the nutrients and leave the remaining water pure for the fish. This spring Growing Power will be able to sell thousands of sustainably grown fish, free of the heavy metals and other contaminants that are now ubiquitous in our natural fisheries.
Exactly how the knowledge learned at Growing Power can be applied to the Keys will require further exploration and analysis. The “Planning Your Project” breakout session I attended was very helpful in focusing ideas and dreams into a practical framework that would be implementable and sustainable. As a result of Will Allen’s March talk in Miami, there are over 100 people from different south Florida organizations who are building a network of local and sustainable food advocates. They have a social networking Ning group to help them stay in touch and share information. There is no reason Keys residents can’t tag on to their momentum or start our own network. My roommate at the workshop was a Miami gardener who created the Urban Oasis Project.
What is clear and immediately doable is that we all need to stop throwing away our food and yard waste, and build a compost bin/pile/center. And get some worms to help you! Growing soil leads to growing food, which leads to growing community. To get involved in growing local, contact Jody Smith Williams.