Sustainable Savannah » Conservation

Savannah Riverkeeper hosts Roast on the River event Jan. 20

John Bennett — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:02:59 +0000

The Savannah Riverkeeper’s Third Annual Roast on the River event is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 20 and organizers sent out a “last chance to register” announcement this morning. Held at Hogan’s Marina on Wilmington Island, the event begins at 6:30 p.m. and features drinks, oysters, Low Country Boil and a silent auction. Tickets may be purchased through the SRK website.

Savannah Tree Foudation offers pair of Tybee events, Jan. 12 and 14

John Bennett — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:12:48 +0000

The Savannah Tree Foundation is hosting two events on Tybee Island this week.

A trivia night at Tybee Island Social Club on Thursday, Jan. 12, features tree trivia and food and drink specials beginning at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, Jan. 14 the foundation will plant trees at River’s End Campground, from 10 a.m. until noon, rain or shine. Twenty-five volunteers are needed to help with planting trees and mulching previously planted trees. Volunteers should wear closed toe shoes, long pants and long sleeves. Gloves and tools provided by Savannah Tree Foundation, but bring your own if you have them. Community Service credit and refreshments provided.

For more information, call 912-233-8733 or visit the Savannah Tree Foundation website.

Don’t trash that Christmas tree, recycle it this Saturday

John Bennett — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:53:51 +0000

On my evening walk today I passed a Christmas tree set out on the sidewalk for collection by sanitation workers. Not only did it impede pedestrian traffic, there are much better things to do with trees after the holiday season has concluded. The City of Savannah is holding its annual Bring One for the Chipper event Jan. 7, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the following locations:

· Home Depot, 11180 Abercorn St.
· Home Depot, 190 Pooler Parkway
· Home Depot, 1901 Victory Drive
· Dean Forest Landfill, 1325 Dean Forest Road
· Bacon Park Landfill, Shorty Cooper Road
· Wilmington Island Landfill, 7022 Concord Road

Christmas trees dropped off at this locations will be converted to mulch and used in neighborhood beautification projects. More information is available on the City of Savannah website.

Take a walk in the woods, combat alien invaders on Saturday, Dec. 10

John Bennett — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:54:52 +0000

Twenty-five volunteers are needed this Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon to help with invasive species removal and trail maintenance and cleaning work on the natural walking trails in Bacon Park Forest. Volunteers will learn about the environmental and economic benefits of urban forests and native and non-native species. Here are the details of this important mission:

Volunteers should be sure to wear long sleeved shirts, long pants and closed-toe shoes with socks to help protect from sun, bugs and plants, and may bring work gloves, bypass pruners and pruning shears if they have them. Refreshments, community service hours, gloves and tools will be provided. Please park at the east end of the shopping center parking lot at 2150 Bonna Bella Ave. For more information call 912-233-8733 or visit the Savannah Tree Foundation website.

Savannah Tree Foundation needs volunteers on Dec. 2

John Bennett — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:28:11 +0000

The weather is beautiful in Savannah this week. It’s hard to imagine a better way to enjoy it than spending this Friday afternoon outside volunteering for the Savannah Tree Foundation:

“Volunteers are needed to help young trees as they mature into an urban forest at the Westlake reforestation site by staking and mulching. This afternoon event will entail some hard work, but promises to be a fun afternoon and will help Savannah’s newest urban forest. Refreshments and community service credit provided. Tools and gloves also provided for volunteers who don’t have them. Please wear closed toe shoes, long pants and long sleeves. Gloves and eye protection are helpful, too. Meet at the Westlake site by the service road at the south end of Oriole Road at 2 p.m.”

Call 912-233-8733 or email karen [at] savannahtree.com to RSVP for this volunteer opportunity.

Coastal Georgia rivers top “Dirty Dozen” list

John Bennett — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:27:43 +0000

The Ogeechee, Altamaha and Savannah rivers have the dubious distinction of appearing first, second and third on the Georgia Water Coalition’s Dirty Dozen report. It’s aimed at “exposing the worst offenses to Georgia’s water.” A press release describes why coastal rivers were selected:

“Topping the list is the Ogeechee River where a textile manufacturing plant in Screven County is blamed for a fish kill earlier this year in which 30,000 fish perished. Rayonier’s pulp mill in Jesup, the proposed Savannah River Harbor deepening project…”

The group identifies a lack of regulation as a key cause of pollution in Georgia Rivers:

” The Coalition blames continuing funding cuts to Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and a lack of political will to aggressively enforce state and federal environmental laws and implement state policy that better protects and manages Georgia’s water.”

This is the first year the list has been compiled. The complete report can be viewed here.

Kroger brags about not using plastic bags

John Bennett — Thu, 12 May 2011 12:34:33 +0000

Early adopters of reusable grocery bags probably remember the reactions of confounded cashiers and baggers, who weren’t sure what to make of shoppers who wanted neither paper nor plastic. But the practice has become so commonplace, shoppers rarely have to ask a bagger to stop shrouding their groceries in plastic before placing them in a reusable bag. Pretty much everyone’s gotten with the program, at least from the store employee side of the equation.

On the way out of the Gwinnett Street Kroger store earlier this week, I noticed the cling decal, right, on the window. By saving bags, in this case, Kroger means not giving so many away and fitting more into the bags they do, according to the 2010 Kroger Sustainability Report.

Curious about how the 138,825 bags figure was tallied, I called Kroger headquarters and got the answer. Nationwide, Kroger claims to have saved 159 million plastic bags.

“The way we account for bag savings is pretty simple,” said Keith Dailey, Kroger’s director of corporate communications. It turns out that the 159 million bag figure is derived from some 80 thousand cases of plastic bags the company did not order, based on the previous year figures. “It’s likely they did the same calculations at the store level,” he said, to arrive at the 138,825 bags saved number for Gwinnett Street. Dailey confirmed the reduction in bag use was achieved by promoting (and selling) reusable bags and training baggers to be more efficient.

Kroger’s sustainability report also describes the company’s efforts to reduce its energy and carbon footprint, improve transportation efficiency and reduce waste. While the word “bicycle” does not appear anywhere in the 32 page document (I hoped to see bicycles mentioned in the “Enabling Customer Sustainability” section), it’s worth noting that the Gwinnett Street Kroger provides more bicycle parking than any other store of any kind in Savannah. And it’s right at the front door, not out by the loading dock or on the side of the building. Providing ample and convenient bike parking clearly enables customers to make sustainable transportation choices. They should put that in the next sustainability report.

Savannah Tree Foundation seeks volunteers for “Forestkeeper Saturday” on April 16

John Bennett — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 16:27:22 +0000

The Savannah Tree Foundation needs volunteers to help with invasive species removal and trail maintenance at its Bacon Forest walking trails. The event begins at 9 a.m. on April 16 and volunteers should come prepared:

“Volunteers should be sure to wear long sleeved shirts, long pants and closed-toe shoes with socks to help protect from sun, bugs and plants, and may bring work gloves, bypass pruners and pruning shears if they have them. Refreshments, community service hours and tools will be provided.”

More information is available on the Savannah Tree Foundation website.

Connect Savannah story looks at local geothermal projects

John Bennett — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:01:35 +0000

“Energy Underground” in the Dec. 7 issue of Connect Savannah surveys geothermal efforts underway in the area, including one particularly interesting project:

The recent, and under-reported, symbolic groundbreaking of what will be the Savannah Gardens neighborhood redevelopment of Strathmore Estates, unearthed the city’s game plan to provide geothermal energy to 150 single family homes. According to Martin Fretty, city director of housing, “We’re trying to find ways to put in both Smart Meters and geothermal.” If the city succeeds in this Eastside development, it will be the largest residential use of geothermal in the region.

The recent, and under-reported, symbolic groundbreaking of what will be the Savannah Gardens neighborhood redevelopment of Strathmore Estates, unearthed the city’s game plan to provide geothermal energy to 150 single family homes. According to Martin Fretty, city director of housing, “We’re trying to find ways to put in both Smart Meters and geothermal.” If the city succeeds in this Eastside development, it will be the largest residential use of geothermal in the region.

Local effort seeks supplies to help with Gulf clean-up

John Bennett — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:56:20 +0000

Supplies are needed to aid in Gulf Coast clean-up operations and may be dropped off at Blowing Smoke BBQ parking lot (514 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd) Saturday, June 12 from noon to 5 p.m. or at the Coastal Pet Rescue Pet-a-Palooza event on Saturday, June 19 from noon to 8 p.m. at Molly McGuire’s on Wilmington Island. Catnip N Biscuits on Skidaway will also accept items all week long from 9 am to noon and 2 – 6 p.m. until June 28.

Needed items include:

Heating pads (w/o auto shut off if possible)
Large Rubbermaid containers with lids
Heating lamps
Large backyard portable pools like found at Wal-Mart
Disposable Towels
Plastic Trash Bags
Plastic Trash Cans
Newspaper
Linens
Sheets
Toothbrushes
Heavy Duty Rubber Gloves
Kennels (Small to X-Large)
Adhesive Bandages
Shovels
Rakes
Stand by fire extinguishers
Bottled water
Detergent – (Biodegradable)

The supply drive will end June 30, at which time Green Lifespace will deliver the collected items to Apalachacola River Keeper in Franklin County, FL and St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge. “I believe strongly in the power of people coming together for a common cause,” said Maria Castro, President and Founder of Green Lifespace. “As an avid animal lover and environmentalist in Savannah Georgia, I felt it was my responsibility to step up and take action and invite others to do the same in support of our precious wildlife being affected.”

In addition to the supply drive, Castro will attend training on cleaning oil spill by PEC (Petrolium Education Council) so that she may volunteer her efforts while in Florida. Businesses or individuals interested in contributing toward the supply drive and travel expenses may contact Maria Castro at mfcastro@greenlifespace.com or (912) 844-3184.