All Posts Tagged With: "MD"

The Friends of Druid Hill Park work to "protect and maintain its magnificent woods and arbors, to preserve its historic monuments and buildings, and to reinvigorate the park as a central recreational, cultural and educational institution." Meetings are held monthly, where events like clean-up day and group gardening are coordinated. Contribute today and become a part of this thriving initiative.

Heathcote is an intentional community located in Freeland Maryland just 30 mile north of Baltimore City. It sits on 112 acres some of which is in a community land trust the other owned by several community members. All of the houses and communal facilities are renovated farmhouses and old grain mills. Additional houses have been built using straw bale. There are many efforts within the community to use renewable resources and become energy independent. Whether you decide to live at Heathcote or just take part in one of there exciting permaculure classes you can always expect to enjoy and organic/ vegetarian meal(s), some of which is fresh from the garden, music, hiking, lounging in a stream-side hammock or helping out with some of the many natural building projects. Heathcote is a drug-free and smoke-free community and is currently looking for members. To find out more about everyday life at Heathcote one of its members has started a blog called Hippie Chick Diaries . You can also go to their website or take a visit to the farm.

Bay Organics , located in Dorchester County, offers a unique composting process through nutrient-rich soil enhancement products that aid in healthy cultivation for agricultural purposes. One primary focus is to assure pesticide free and environmentally friendly waste disposal from agribusinesses on the eastern shore. Through this work, their unique composting methods, and decades long experience in the soil and mulch industry, offer some of the richest and environmentally friendly soil in the region. Check out their Bay Organics T-shirts. Proceeds go to preserve the health and natural ecology of the bay.

The City Tour for Solar Is a “mobile photovoltaic (PV) solar educational event that will travel across 50 cities in 100 days, educating citizens and city leaders on the benefits and viability of solar power.” The tour started on August 1st and will run through November 14, 2008 with the only disappointing aspect being that it will not reach the east coast, even though one of their leading sponsors, Sun Edison LLC, is from Maryland, boo! Visitors are able to interact with solar electric equipment and speak with professional individuals about how and where these systems are best utilized. The exhibits expand and changed from city to city which on occasion has included showcases in hydrogen power, recycled Styrofoam as building material, wind power, local solar installers, and various ways to increase efficiency.

Sun Edison LLC provides renewable solar energy solutions all around the world and we’re fortunate enough to have their headquarters right here in Beltsville, MD. Some of their projects have included an 8,700 solar panel installation at the White Marsh, Maryland GM plant . They’re also a lead sponsor of the City Tour for Solar which is a “mobile photovoltaic (PV) solar educational event that will travel across 50 cities in 100 days, educating citizens and city leaders on the benefits and viability of solar power.” Although the company has extensive experience in large solar system installation they also provide renewable power to smaller venues without ever having to actually own solar panels.

King Cow is a web and print collective with designers working on projects supporting art, environmental sustainability & social causes. They specialize in utilizing a web service that allows their clients to efficiently update their web design and manage on-line communications. King Cow is based out of Silver Spring, MD and will enthusiastically assist with any sustainability-minded web, print, or e-mail needs.

A few weeks ago, GOforChange visited the Furbish Company headquarters to tour their newly-renovated Lucky’s building, a green office space south of downtown. This Brooklyn warehouse was originally used as a wood mill, then became a convenience store warehouse in the late 1970’s. It is now home to several sophisticated systems and practices of ecological design and efficiency. As the developer and owner of Furbish Co., Michael Furbish approached the project by honoring the building’s existing integrity. He added only what was needed to update and enhance the structure’s inherent environmental sustainability.

Working with a hydraulic engineer revealed that the building was sitting on 8-feet of water, which quite often would spring up through the floor in the basement. Most people would see this as a problem, but with careful calculation and several hundred feet of tubing, a geothermal system was installed to assist with more than 70% of the building’s cooling needs.

Heat for the building is provided by a solar hot water system that transfers heat gain from the sun to a storage cistern that sits on the roof. Continued