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 The updated listing is not reflected on the UNCG Sustainability Committee's Web site yet, but I received an e-mail from the committee today that it will kick off this fall's film showings with "Earth Days" at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The film series, which is free to the public and typically includes follow-up dialogue, is sponsored by the committee, the museum (corner of Tate and Spring Garden streets), Tate Street Coffee, Sustainable Health Choices and the Sierra Club. 

 In an effort to build support for proposed No Child Left Inside legislation, students at Greensboro Montessori School have invited U.S. Rep. Howard Coble to learn about the school's environmental education initiatives. Learn more about the legislation here. 

Coble, a Greensboro Republican, will visit the school on Aug. 31 and take a tour of the school, which has organic gardens and owns a separate 42-acre natural learning lab in Oak Ridge, said Karen Howland, the school's marketing director. The No Child Left Inside Act would essentially provide funding for school systems to offer environmental education, which is considered by some people vital to child development. The bill passed the House in a previous Congress and was resubmitted for consideration this year. 

"We just think that it's terrific legislation" Howland said. "It's something that our faculty is supporting in terms of talking with our older students. We think our school is a terrific example of environmental education."

The school invited writer Richard Louv to speak at the school last year and also hired a director of sustainability. Coble's visit comes about a month before the national Take a Child Outside Week. 

I asked Coble yesterday about his position on the bill, but he said he has yet to read it. 

Farmer Bill McCollum had a point: Sometimes proponents of sustainable agriculture are more concerned about the philosophy of eating local and organic foods than they are about the practical matter of making money. On the other extreme, McCollum said, is "rat race" industrial agriculture that can devalue family farms and leave their owners with an increasingly shrinking piece of the economic pie.

Massey Creek Farms, a Madison meat animal farm owned by McCollum and his son, Garland, seeks to avoid both extremes by making a profit while being socially and environmentally responsible. The McCollums are part of Rockingham County effort to promote locally grown foods and I took a tour of their farm yesterday.

What I found interesting about Madison Creek Farms was its journey from a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) to a virtually entire free-range environment (they supplement with some feed). The McCollums started their commercial hog business in 1989 and raised as many as 25,000 pigs a year in 6 large buildings. The pigs were transported during their youth to farms in the Midwest to finish growing and were later processed and distributed to grocery stores all over the country.

Bill McCollum compared the contract arrangements with integrators to indentured servantry.

"It's stressful and not something you necessarily want to do," he said. "In bad times, even though you have a contract, you might not get paid on time. There's a tremendous amount of stress in doing that and I'm tired of it."

Last year, the McCollums ceased their commercial operation and now raise on pasture about 200 pigs, which root and wallow in red dirt between three of the six buildings. (I would have taken pictures but my camera battery died.)

"They love it out here," Garland said. "When they first came out they were running and just seemed like they were having a good time."

Massey Creek Farms also raise pastured lambs and chickens for eggs. This is the first year they have sold processed lamb at farmers markets in Rockingham County and Greensboro, and they plan to add meat chickens (broilers) and heritage turkeys next year.

I asked the McCollums if they felt guilty about the loss of productivity in raising 200 pigs versus 25,000.

Garland responded: "There's a lot of ways to measure productivity and one way to measure it is, is it productive for me? We were producing a lot of pigs but not in a way that was sustainable for our families. If there were more people raising pigs like we do then we could maintain some of that productivity."

He added: "We are more productive from our standpoint because we're getting higher value per animal."

Garland also said the farm depends less on fossil fuels. They used to spend $20,000 a year on liquid propane gas and another $20,000 a year on electricity. Now they spend $0 on propane and about $1,200 a year on electricity. In fact, Garland said, electricity use dropped so quickly that a representative from Duke Energy visited the farm to find out if there was a problem.

Still, the McCollums must charge higher prices for their meat because volume is much lower. The success of their experiment depends on the willingness of meat buyers in the region to pay those higher prices.

"For this local-sustainable agriculture-slow food movement to ultimately work, it has to be able to provide a reasonable income for the farmer," Garland said.

Update (Aug. 24): The problem has been addressed.

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Much ado has been made in the media about the Energy Citizens rallies being promoted by the American Petroleum Institute (background here and here). I've confirmed that one of the national rallies -- sponsored by the N.C. Petroleum Council, will take place at the Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. I'm trying to get in touch with the coordinator to get details about who's showing up.

The N.C. Conservation Network has planned a counter-rally at the same location (clarification: at the corner of Patterson Court and High Point Road across from the coliseum) starting at 4:30 p.m. I spoke with organizer Chris Gianino who said the network planned the event on Friday after finding out about the Energy Citizens rallies. He said he didn't yet know how many people will attend his group's rally. 

"We're going to do the best we can," Gianino said. "When you don't have the resources that the American Petroleum Institute and the oil industry have, it's hard."

Any of you planning to attend either of these rallies?

The Piedmont Green Gala returns to Burlington on Oct. 3, giving Triad greenies and wannabes an opportunity to network and learn about sustainable lifestyles and business practices in the area. Read my blog post from last year's event here. It's amazing how sustainability festivals are becoming a regular occurrence in North Carolina. At least six events occurred in the Triad over the past year, some of them connected to Earth Day.

TS Designs is holding this year's event later in the day to give the gala more of a festival feel, said Amy Kisko, the company's operations coordinator. The event will feature local music, food, wine and beer, tours of the T-shirt printing plant, and presentations. Here's the E-vite invitation. If that doesn't work, RSVP by e-mailing Kisko at amy@tsdesigns.com.

It's no secret that local food cultures are evolving in North Carolina cities, including Greensboro and Winston-Salem, where industrial food-fatigued urban dwellers are rediscovering and rebuilding connections with their food and area farmers (yea, I helped let that cat out of the bag).

On the other side of that evolution are the rural farmers who seek to diversify their crops and improve distribution channels to ensure consistent demand for locally grown foods. In Rockingham County, farmers and concerned citizens have met since December to both figure out how to best educate residents about the benefits of local foods and  identify market and production gaps. The Local Foods Coalition has held two sustainability festivals in Reidsville and Eden and plans to hold a third event in Madison this month to help accomplish those goals. 

"I feel like that's just phenomenal progress," said Brenda Sutton, coalition coordinator and director of the county's extension service.

Now the coalition seeks non-profit status  and plans to create a distribution system modeled after Foothills Connect in Rutherford County. Farmers there sell their meat and produce to Charlotte area restaurants through online orders. One Charlotte chef has had so much success incorporating local produce that he's been invited to prepare his Southern cuisine (which include, curiously, a local "kudzu jelly") at a prestigious dining event in New York City this month. 

The Rockingham coalition also wants to bring under its umbrella the county's community kitchens in Reidsville and Madison, which are operated by the Business and Technology Center. The kitchens allow people to prepare value-added products, such as jellies, in a certified commercial kitchen. 

I'll have formal print and online stories in the coming days. The next coalition meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 8 at the agricultural center in Reidsville. 

New "local food" converts looking for creative ways to cook fresh collards, sweet potatoes, squash and other produce from gardens and farmers markets will get some help from the N.C. Cooperative Extension. The Extension Master Gardeners plan to publish a cookbook focusing on North Carolina fruit and vegetables this fall and sell it during the holidays.

Here's an e-mail message from Karen Neill, urban horticulturist for the extension office in Guilford County:

"It's time to hand those recipes over - we're looking for everything from Aunt’s eggplant parmesan recipe to Martha across the street's crunchy salad using red, yellow, and green peppers. I, myself, will be submitting a recipe given to my grandmother by Lois Burpee of the Burpee Seed Company. They were neighbors in Pennsylvania where a lot of winter squash was grown, so my recipe will be for candied butternut squash....

Remember these recipes don’t have to be complicated. What I have found in talking to folks is they are looking for different ways to utilize that which they are producing in their garden or buying fresh produce at local farmers markets. We’re looking for recipes for peaches and sweet potatoes from the sandhills, to the squash, tomatoes, and cucumbers from the piedmont. Send us what you have; I know all of us could benefit from adding more fruits and veggies to our diets."

(Personal note: Here's hoping the Master Gardeners do some taste tests to weed out the duds!) Neill asks that you e-mail recipes as a Microsoft Word attachment to Sue West (suziQwest@aol.com) or Jane Ralston (jralston1@triad.rr.com) by Aug. 31.

Perhaps you, like me, spent most of your adult years pursuing – through both fantasy and action -- the American dream of homeownership, a cultural narrative being re-examined by many people in light of the Great Recession.

You’ve struggled to overcome the yearning for permanence, security and control that comes with owning a place, especially when you now think of all the ways your family could live a healthier and more responsible lifestyle, such as installing a solar hot water system, growing a vegetable garden and buying ENERGY STAR appliances. And you use the renting excuse to procrastinate on eating differently and improving your use of energy and resources.

Well, let me tell you how I got over that hump. I no longer view my situation as a limitation, but instead as an opportunity to be creative and resourceful. A rental can be the perfect way to:

• Start small. For example, I view my family’s two-bedroom rental and 1/8th acre lot as an opportunity to practice for larger scale projects. I mean, there’s no point installing a greywater system if we can’t turn off the faucet while we brush our teeth. Moreover, sustainable living can be practiced to varying degrees in suburban single-family houses, downtown condos and rural eco-villages. My husband and I want time to figure out which housing style fits us best.

• Focus on what you can do, which is a lot: recycling, composting, telecommuting, weather-stripping your windows and doors, using non-toxic cleaning products, switching to compact fluorescent bulbs or reducing the number of incandescent bulbs you use, etc.

• Choose a house or apartment in a versatile neighborhood that allows the use of clotheslines and rain barrels, encourages walking, cycling and public transportation, and is close to grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants and other businesses.

• Share land, tools and services with neighbors. For example, a neighbor once offered to let me use some of her garden space to grow vegetables. I also rent plots at a community garden and have permission from my landlord to garden in the backyard.

The biggest roadblocks to practicing sustainable living in a rental situation is getting over the fear of asking people for things and letting go of a project or investment when the lease ends. Many renters are just afraid to hear the word “no” from their landlords or have to give something in return, such as sign a longer lease. (And landlords: It does help to advertise your openness to tenants practicing a green lifestyle.)

In addition, renters have to get over the psychological barrier of believing that making structural changes are a waste of time and money if they don’t own the property. For example, I’ve debated whether to create garden beds in my backyard only to have to pull the plants up should I move in a couple of years. I’ve since realized that the food I grow and the skills I build during that short time span are rewards in and of themselves. Other renters might decide to leave behind re-insulated walls or rain barrels they’ve installed as a gift to new tenants. Perhaps their investment pays dividends by adding greener housing stock to a community while giving renters the freedom to move when necessary.

Get ideas:
Re-nest.com
Low Impact Living
Permaculture for Renters blog
Renters Guide to Sustainability (This handy guide is from the Australian Alternative Technology Association, but most tips apply to Americans)
Green Renter (new national listing service)

And I encourage any of you Triad area renters out there to share your stories of how you’re practicing sustainable living at home.
 

Benevolence Farm, a new North Carolina nonprofit, is looking for land in Alamance County  to start a farm-based  transitional program for women leaving state prisons. Founder Tanya Jisa's mission is to enable the women to support themselves by growing their own food on an organic farm and selling that produce at local farmers markets and CSAs (community-supported agriculture programs).

Programming would include: entrepreneurship and small business skills; career building; financial health; family reunification; agriculture, horticulture and permaculture; food preparation and presentation; value-added production; nutrition education; 12-step recovery support; physical exercise; diverse food traditions; community building; and spiritual exploration and growth.

"We're moving along slowly but surely," said Jisa, a Carrboro social worker who moved to North Carolina five years because of her interest in sustainable agriculture. "We want to do everything as sustainable as possible."

Jisa has received 501(c)3 status and established a board of directors. The board includes a LEED-certified architect, a Chatham County farmer, faculty at UNC Chapel Hill and others. Her project also was a finalist on PBS NOW's "Project Enterprise Contest." The board is currently developing a business plan and researching funding and land opportunities. Jisa said she hopes to start accepting women into the program by 2012.

Jisa describes her concept more in an e-mail: 

"The need for Benevolence Farm exists because over 3,500 women are released from NC prisons each year and the majority of re-entry programs in our region target men and/or are short-term. Benevolence Farm will offer safe, stable housing, employment that is meaningful and fulfilling, opportunities to grow skills - life and career - nutritious food, and physical exercise for up to two years. Because residents will be contributing to the operations of the farm, essentially paying part of their own expenses through their labor contribution - they secure their involvement with the program and have the time and space, figuratively and literally, to make real, lasting changes. The lengthier stay of up to 24 months is more in line with the research that shows more time is necessary to establish a firm footing for complete independence and staving off recidivism. Benevolence Farm draws upon a number of best practices with the results being good for women participants and their families, the greater community, the communities to which the women return, the farmland, the economy, and the earth....

"The vision of Benevolence Farm is women possessing the physical, spiritual, and financial health necessary to return to their chosen community with the knowledge and tools necessary to live independently and successfully. Another desirable outcome is for the program to become fully self-supporting through the production and sale of organic produce and products, thereby ensuring that the program continues to serve as many women as possible. Benevolence Farm is unique in combining a sustainable environment with a holistic social service mission thereby creating a mutually beneficial relationship enabling the healing of people with and through the healing of the earth."

People interested in supporting the project can contact Jisa at info@benevolencefarm.org or (919) 724-5311.