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 A downtown community garden appears to be in the works as the Guilford County office of the N.C. Cooperative Extension, with the help of the city and county parks and recreation departments, attempts to convert about two acres on Prescott Street owned by Guilford County Schools. I don't have details at this point but I do know that two garden charettes will take place later this month for residents living in the area (namely the College Hills, College Park, Fisher Park and Westerwood neighborhoods). 

Local landscape architect Randal Romie will lead charettes on  Feb. 13 from 10 a.m. to noon, and Feb. 16 from 6-8 p.m. Both will be held at the First Baptist Church at 1000 W. Friendly Ave. Attendees should RSVP by calling the extension office at 375-5876. 

I have written quite a bit about the increase in community gardens over the past few years. You can find a local community garden map I created here. 

On a separate note, two nationally renown speakers will visit the Center for the Environment at Catawba College in Salisbury this month and March. Amory Lovins, cofounder of the Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado, will give a presentation at 7 p.m. on Feb. 23. 

Susan Susanka, a figure in the national "small home" movement, will will speak at 11 a.m. on March 16 in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel and again at 7:30 p.m. in Hedrick Little Theatre of the Robertson College-Community Center during Catawba’s February Community Forum. Details here. 

People who want to attend these free presentations should register by contacting  Amanda Lanier at allanier@catawba.edu or visiting centerfortheenvironment.org.

Feb. 9: The climate change film "The Age of Stupid" will show at 8 p.m. at the new a/perture independent theater in Winston-Salem. Tickets cost $10 and proceeds benefit the Piedmont Environmental Alliance. 

Feb. 10: The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman will speak at Wake Forest University about the need for a green revolution. His keynote address occurs during the university's Energizing the Future conference (free to the public).

Feb. 11: The Center for Sustainable Tourism at East Carolina University will co-present a webinar on renewable energy for the tourism industry at 10: 30 a.m. The webinar will cover market research on green-minded travelers and sustainable tourism trends as well as steps tourism organizations can take to reduce their energy use. Details here.

A statewide council focused on growing the local food economy in North Carolina will hold its first meeting on Feb. 2 at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.

The N.C. Sustainable Local Food Advisory Council will meet at 2 p.m. in the Martin Building. The meeting is open to the public.

State lawmakers created the council after advocates lobbied for it last year as a way to expand the production and consumption of foods grown sustainably and within the state. Read the history here and here (scroll down to March 30 post).

The council must focus its work on four subjects: health and wellness, hunger and food access, economic development, and preservation of farmlands and water resources. By law, the group mut meet at least four times a year.

Triad Mobile CARE will hold its quarterly meeting from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the Piedmont Triad Council of Goverments building at 2216 W. Meadowview Road in Greensboro. The meeting will include a presentation on ways for government agencies and businesses to reduce petroleum use and carbon emissions. Learn more about the meetings here. 

Former Senator George McGovern will participate in a panel discussion following the premiere screening of "Hungry for Green: Feeding the World Sustainably," written and directed by UNCG Professor Matt Barr and narrated by McGovern.  The screening will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27, in the Elliot University Center Auditorium at UNCG. Free parking in the Oakland Avenue parking deck.

Read more about the film and listen to a podcast with Barr here. 

On Sunday, Jan. 31, Slow Food Piedmont will hold a potluck from 3-6 p.m. at Beta Verde, 3733 Milhaven Road, in Winston-Salem.

Join area producers, cooks and chefs, local food enthusiasts, community gardeners and slow food members as Slow Food Piedmont kicks off the new year. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about Slow Food Piedmont's emerging Snail of Approval program and collaborative efforts from other local and environmental organizations, such as the Growing Young Farmers.

A seed swap will also take place. The organization asks that people bring a small plate or appetizer to add to the food table as well as their own utensils, cup and plate whenever possible.

RSVP by e-mailing info@slowfoodpiedmont.org.

People who shop at Whole Foods in Winston-Salem on Wednesday will help benefit Toxic Free NC, an organization that advocates for alternatives to pesticides. The Miller Street store will donate 5 percent of the day's net sales to the organization, which will spend the money on its farm worker documentary project.

The project works to bring farm workers' voices to the table in decision-making about pesticides in North Carolina. For more information, visit the Whole Foods Web site (look under store calendar).  

If anybody's wondering what ever happened to Mike Causey and Dodge Lodge Farm at the Greensboro Farmers' Curb Market, I have an answer for you. He has started another produce market at 505 N. Greene Street that operates six days a week and includes local and non-local produce (most of it comes from North Carolina). I'll have a full story in the newspaper tomorrow.

Also, I didn't have room to put this in the story, but another market of sorts could be in the works. Urban Harvest has applied for a federal grant that would fund a mobile produce market that could serve residents and workers in downtown and low-income neighborhoods. The organization would both sell fruit and vegetables and educate customers how to cook and plan menus around a seasonal diet. You can read more about it at the organization's blog.

Note: Starting next week, my position has changed from covering sustainability to covering Rockingham County. I will let you know about the future of this blog as soon as I know. I appreciate your readership.
 

Can a "green" home ever be affordable for a moderate income family? Guilford Technical Community College seeks to answer that question as faculty and students construct a demonstration home that will eventually go on the market in a mid-priced neighborhood.

GTCC students build a home every year as part of their learning experience, but this time the college wants to focus on sustainable construction and renewable energy training as part of the N.C. community college system's "Code Green" initiative.

The college received a $164,576 grant from Duke Energy to help design and outfit a certificate program in solar photovoltaic installation and repair, and to help pay for the design, construction and landscaping of the home. The grant funds will be used to develop the curriculum; train faculty in the construction technologies, architectural technologies, HVAC and plumbing departments; purchase training and equipment; advertise for public tours of the green home; and pay for the cost of seminars and speakers to educate the public about renewable energy.

Today, six faculty members met to review the blueprints of an 1,800-square-foot, three bedroom house that will be built on a corner lot in a subdivision near Walmart off South Elm-Eugene Street. A 2,400 square foot house is currently listed in the neighborhood for $139,000 so that gives you an idea of the price range GTCC has to deal with. In contrast, most of the new green homes in this area that I hear about cost at least $200,000-$300,000.

"We're trying to price it so it fits into the neighborhood but it still provides an opportunity for our students to do a PV installation and solar thermal and do as much sustainable construction as we can afford," said Shanna Chastain, who oversees industrial construction and engineering courses at the college.

The faculty intend to pursue some type of green building certification for the house, preferably LEED. The house will include passive and active solar elements, as well as full insulation, eco-friendly materials,  rainwater harvesting, and outdoor native plants. Construction should begin on the house next year using modified student designs. Chastain said she hopes to get a donated PV system or at least offer one for purchase to prospective homebuyers.

Chastain said she used to live in a 4,000-square-foot passive solar house with solar hot water and her utility bills were half as much as what she paid when she moved into a typical house half that size.

"I feel strongly that medium income homebuyers really need energy efficiency in a home," she said. "And using that location as an educational tool is really a strong part of our grant commitment."

I plan to follow this project and write about it formally once construction starts.