Having a picnic this Memorial Day?

Having a picnic this Memorial Day?

Here are some easy green tips and money saving coupons for your picnic:

Outdoor furniture
Clean with green and natural cleaning products instead of using toxic chemicals. Seventh Generation is a great product and has some good coupons available at http://www.seventhgeneration.com/coupons

Create Less Waste
Use biodegradable utensils, bowls and cups to create less waste for your local landfill. Have guests write their names on the items so that they can be reused. Marcal has a new product line of napkins and paper towels that are 100% recycled. Their website has a coupon at http://www.marcalsmallsteps.com/promotions or give guests reusable napkins so that they can be rewashed and used again.

Compost and use biodegradable trash bags
Use biodegradable plastic trash bags to clean up any surrounding trash. Ask your grocery store if they carry them or purchase them online at http://www.biobagusa.com/order_retail.html

Buy reusables
Compare a sponge to a roll of paper towels. One sponge may cost as little as $.99. A roll of paper towels runs around $1.99. But one sponge lasts as long as SEVENTEEN ROLLS of paper towels. You could save as much as $33 in paper towels before you have to throw the sponge away. Keep sponges fresh by washing in the dishwasher with the dishes or microwave on high heat for 30 seconds to kill germs. After doing a little research on sponges, there are tons of good, bad and ugly sponges out there - let us save you some reasearch and they are even on sale at Williams Sonoma.

You can have a fun, affordable and green Memorial Day weekend if you just commit yourself to earth-friendly practices.

Earth Day Contest Winners Announced

Thanks for all of the great posts to our blog last week. It's great to see the community working together to make Earth Day special!

We randomly selected the winners of the blog:
Kris Schultz
Greg Marshall
Jess at Alvernia
Elizabeth at Bullfrog Films
Judy at Tilden Twp.

Winners will receive a $10.00 Gift Certificate for the Berks Conservancy store.

WINNERS: Please email Kim Lewis at the Berks Conservancy at kim.lewis@berks-conservancy.org for complete details on how to redeem your certificate.

Thanks to all who participated!

What did you do for Earth Day last week?

The Berks Conservancy was VERY BUSY last week celebrating Earth Day with Berks County friends and neighbors. We held presentations, visited schools and organizations, planted trees, and much more.

But we want to know WHAT YOU DID!
Post what you or your group did for Earth Day right here! Five randomly selected entries will receive a $10.00 Gift Certificate for the Berks Conservancy Store.

Make sure you put your first name and on the post and check back here next Tuesday to see who won!

If you never posted a comment on a blog before, the easiest way is to type in your comment, and select "Name/URL" for your comment as selection. Just type in your first name. You don't need a URL to post.

Great tips to start growing your native plants!

Native plants are the trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, ferns and other plants that have evolved in a particular area (such as southeast Pennsylvania) over thousands of years. Over this long period of time, the plants have adapted to the particular growing conditions present here, including temperature, rainfall, winds, soils, slopes and wildlife.If you haven't worked with native plants before, you may be wondering how natives are different than any other plant. The following information answers these questions and will help you begin to see why using at least some natives in your garden can be beneficial to the environment all while saving you time and money:

• Native plants are beautiful, providing an entirely new palate of plants to a traditional landscape.
• They are well-adapted to local conditions, therefore requiring little maintenance once established. They eliminate or significantly reduce the need for fertilizers, pesticides, water and maintenance equipment. They also often attract beneficial insects, which prey upon pests, decreasing the need for pesticides.
• Most native species are perennial, or self-seeding biennial plants. This means you don't have to purchase and plant them each year - they remain in your landscape - and are sure to bring onto you the admiration of the next generation who will benefit from your foresight.
• Native plants attract our native songbirds and butterflies.
• Using native plants promotes biodiversity. Planting a small meadow that once was lawn replaces one plant species with many, increasing the opportunities for beneficial wildlife and insects to live.
• Natives reduce air pollution and energy consumption, improve water quality and reduce soil erosion. Using native vegetation, unlike cultivated landscapes, does not require the use of lawn maintenance equipment, a major contributor to air pollution. They improve water quality by filtering contaminated stormwater, and reduce soil erosion by stabilizing soils with their deep root systems.
• Native plants maintain our natural heritage and our community's character. What would Berks County look like without its majestic oaks and familiar meadow plants?
• Native plants are less expensive to maintain. U.S. EPA reports that a meadow or wetland costs approximately $150 a year per acre to maintain, while the same amount of lawn costs $1,000 per year per acre to maintain.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources maintains a native plant reference list. Visit www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/wildplant/native.aspx to learn what types of plants to buy for your new native garden! Also visit http://nativeseedbank.blogspot.com/ -
a GREAT resource for Berks County!

Fixing Small Leaks Conserves Water, Saves Money

The sound of a dripping faucet or running water inside the toilet is more than a minor annoyance; you are wasting water and pouring money down the drain. In fact, more than one trillion gallons of water are wasted each year in U.S. homes due to leaks. To raise awareness of the problem, the Environmental Protection Agency organized the “Fix a Leak Week” (March 15-21) campaign aimed at educating homeowners on how to locate and repair water leaks.

For example, during Fix A Leak Week, Pennsylvania American Water teamed up with plumbers to demonstrate how to find and repair leaks, as well as install water-saving fixtures. Live demonstrations for the media took place at the Ronald McDonald Houses in Hershey and Scranton; the Rainbow Kitchen in Homestead, Allegheny County; and Krause Youth Center in New Castle, Lawrence County. Pennsylvania American Water and many industry leaders are members of the EPA’s WaterSense program.

Leaks can account for an average of 10,000 gallons of water wasted in the home every year, or enough to fill a backyard swimming pool. These tips will help you save water -- and money -- by correcting household leaks:

Regularly check your toilet, faucets, and pipes for leaks. Pennsylvania American Water offers leak detection kits, which are available under the Customer Service tab of our Web site at www.pennsylvaniaamwater.com. If you find a leak, have it fixed as soon as possible.

Reduce faucet leaks by checking faucet washers and gaskets for wear and replace them, or, if necessary, replace the faucet with a WaterSense-labeled model.

Leaky toilets are most often the result of a worn toilet flapper. Replacing the rubber flapper is a quick fix that could save a home up to 200 gallons of water per day.

For a leaky garden hose, replace the nylon or rubber hose washer and ensure a tight connection to the spigot using pipe tape and a wrench.

Tighten connections on your showerheads if drips appear when the shower is off.

Check your garden and lawn irrigation system for leaks, or hire a certified WaterSense expert to check it for you.

Consider installing water and energy-efficient appliances. The EPA reports that certified Energy Star washing machines use up to 35 percent less water per load. Water-saving shower heads, toilets and faucet aerators also help cut your water usage.

If you have to replace plumbing fixtures, look for the WaterSense label. WaterSense-labeled toilets and faucets are independently tested and certified to save water and perform as well as or better than standard models. Visit www.epa.gov/watersense for more information.

-Terry M. Maenza
Director, Communications & External Affairs
Pennsylvania American Water

Greening Your Home

The energy section of The State of the Environment Report has a very useful list of green initiatives for homeowners. These include installing compact fluorescent light bulbs, using low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) products, plugging the leaks, setting back thermostats and installing low-flow showerheads.

I want to add one more --- dividing your heating and cooling system into zones. Especially if you live in a large home adding zones for heating and cooling will save energy and money. The concept is simple: You create separate zones for heating and cooling so that you are only making the spaces you occupy comfortable. Adding zones initially or after the fact is more costly than caulking or changing light bulbs but it can pay substantial dividends.

We added zones to our home and the building where my business is located. I want to focus on is what we did in our residence because it was a relatively economical solution. We added thermostatic radiator valves in the rooms that we did not need to use on a daily basis. I first came across these when I lived in New York where they were in common use in large buildings with rooms that had wide ranging heating requirements.

Thermostatic valves replace the knob valves on radiators and can be adjusted from about 46 degrees to 74 degrees. We had a plumber do the work. The cost was about $300 per radiator, including the valves. We just had the valves installed prior to this heating season so we only have a few months’ gas bills to compare our consumption to previous winters. So far, it looks like we cut our gas consumption by about 20%. We estimate that the energy saving investment will pay for itself in three to five years. In the meantime, we’re consuming less natural gas and reducing our carbon footprint if ever so slightly.

One caution is that these valves only function as cut back heating elements. Your central thermostat will continue to control your central boiler. The valves cannot “call” for more heat than your central thermostat.

Two manufacturers of thermostatic radiator valves are Dan Foss and Honeywell.

For more information on thermostatic radiator valves:
Thermostatic radiator valves explained
Dan Foss valves
Honeywell valves

Bill Vitale

Top "Cleanest" Fruits and Vegetables

Like the dirty dozen of produce, there is a list of the top cleanest produce you can purchase that is not organic. These are least likely to contain pesticide residue.

Here's the Cleanest:
Bananas
Kiwi
Mangos
Papaya
Pineapples
Watermelons
Asparagus
Avocado
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Corn
Onions
Peas

When organic is not available, here's some tips to protect you from "non-organic" produce:
Buy fresh vegetables and fruits in season.

Trim tops and the very outer portions of celery, lettuce, cabbages, and other leafy vegetables that may contain the bulk of pesticide residues.
Peel and cook when appropriate, even though some nutrients and fiber are lost in the process.

Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. This would limit exposure to any one type of pesticide residue.

Wait until just before preparation to wash or immerse your produce in clean water. When appropriate, scrub with a brush.

Special soaps or washes are not needed and could be harmful to you, depending on their ingredients. Read the label!