Sustainable Savannah » Education

Savannah Bicycle Campaign seeks matched donations to fund ambitious new project

John Bennett — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:12:20 +0000

The Savanna Bicycle Campaign has been active since its founding in 2008, working with government officials to improve bicycle infrastructure, offering bicycle safety courses, and sponsoring events that encourage people to make bicycling part of their daily lives. Now the group is seeking to establish a physical space from which to operate programs that will benefit Savannahians in need. The group aims to:

“Put in place an SBC Bike Restoration and Education Center, to serve as a center of cycling activities in Savannah-Chatham, to provide a physical presence for SBC and to allow for collection and rehabilitation of discarded bicycles to be put into safe operating condition and distributed to members of the community who have limited means for transportation and often resort to dangerously ill-fitted, poorly maintained bicycles. Distribution of these bikes will be a means to improve mobility for this at risk community and to allow us to deliver basic bike safety education and equipment.”

Tax deductible donations will be matched at 100 percent for the first $4,000 raised. For more information, visit the Savannah Bicycle Campaign website.

Skidaway Institute offers Marine Science Day, Oct. 15

John Bennett — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:18:20 +0000

The Skidway Institute of Oceanography is hosting Marine Science Day on Saturday, Oct. 15 from noon – 4 p.m. The focus of the event is the natural environment of the Georgia Coast:

“The Skidaway Marine Science Day is a campus-wide open house with activities geared for all ages from young children to adults. These will include programs, tours, displays and hands-on activities, primarily related to marine science and the coastal environment. The event is open to the public and admission is free.”

More information is available on the Institute’s website and in this Connect Savannah story by Jessica Leigh Lebos.

Savannah Earth Day Festival assembled of popular components

John Bennett — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:21:14 +0000

Forsyth Park will be home to the City of Savannah’s annual Earth Day Festival again on Saturday, April 23. The long-running features individual events and programs that have become immensely popular. The Savannah Bicycle Campaign’s Earth Day Wheelie Bike ride, which attracts hundreds of cyclists, departs from the park at 4 p.m. Earlier in the day, the RecycleRama begins at 8 a.m. and offers drop off service for folks who want to recycle paint, batteries, cooking grease and other materials. Last year’s RecycleRama collected 8,500 pounds of paint and 1,000 tires. It ends at 11 a.m. on the dot. More than 100 exhibitors will offer information on topics from beekeeping to bicycling to green roofs. More information is available on the festival website.

April 29 community forum examines health effects of infrastructure, transportation

John Bennett — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 10:38:57 +0000

Healthy Savannah is sponsoring a community forum on April 29 at 6 p.m. at the Savannah Civic Center. The forum takes an important, but not often examined (at least locally) angle on community health. Instead of focusing entirely on personal nutrition and exercise, the forum will examine the health impacts of infrastructure — specifically related to transportation — along with physical activity, nutrition and smoking.

A press release describes the goal of the forum “is to help people understand what factors have the greatest impact on our health in Savannah. Keynote speaker Dr. Evelyn Lewis will provide an opportunity for citizens to learn about how their health is affected by factors like public policy and the environment in which we live. Participants will also engage in active dialogue around actions we can take to improve our health individually and within the communities where we live.”

Healthy Savannah — coalition of businesses, nonprofits, healthcare agencies, governments, schools and neighborhoods — is an initiative of City of Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson formed in 2007. It is a public/private collaboration of over 65 community organizations and growing. The community forum is sponsored by the Junior League of Savannah, The 100 Black Men of Savannah, The City of Savannah, St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System, Memorial Medical Center, GeoVista Credit Union, Savannah State University and the A Phillip Randolph Institute.

Thee vent is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Healthy Savannah Web site or call Kimberly Pannell at (912) 658-8769.

Islands Elementary School to host Recycled Art Festival, April 27

John Bennett — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:52:38 +0000

The students at Islands Elementary School are holding a Recycled Art Festival, which will include an art exhibit, performances by a recycled band, a recycled pre-K marching band and a chorus, and a fashion show. Doors open for the exhibit at 5:30 and the fashion show begins at 6 p.m. The concert starts at 6:30 p.m. The school is located at 4595 US Highway 80 East on Wilmington Island.

Bamboo Farm Spring Festival presents opportunity to show support for threatened program

John Bennett — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:21:49 +0000

The 16th Annual Spring Festival at the University of Georgia’s Bamboo Farm and Coastal Garden on March 20 provides a great excuse to visit the largest collection of bamboo specimens available for public viewing in North America and maybe even buy some to take home at the plant sale. Also worth checking out is the Xeriscape demonstration garden. The festival takes place from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

It’s a critical time for this important resource. The Bamboo Farm, which attracts 120,00 visitors a year and employees nine people, has been identified as a potential victim of the latest round of state budget cuts. Here’s a good description of what could be lost and what can be done to protect this important resource.

Sustainable agriculture conference to be held in Savannah, April 16 and 17

John Bennett — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:43:44 +0000

The Greening the Southeast Regional Summit is scheduled for April 16 and 17 at the Coastal Georgia Center in Savannah. According to event organizers, the summit will, “bring together regional and national experts and grassroots organizations to provide training/information and successful models that focus on renewable energy sources for agriculture and forestry, to discuss how does sustainable farming and forestry impact climate change in the Southeast.” Session topics include:

Farming and Forestry
Non-traditional Funding Sources
Climate Change, Renewable Energy Sources, Food Access and Watersheds
Successful Grassroots Models
Green Action Plans for College Campuses

For more information, visit the summit Web site.

It’s a big week for bicycles in Savannah

John Bennett — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:47:26 +0000

While the big news on the streets of Savannah yesterday involved a presidential motorcade, a different sort of vehicle should get more attention as bicycle-related events round out the week. On Thursday, March 4 at 9 p.m., the bicycle culture movie “Veer” will be screened at SCAD’s River Club. Sponsored by SCAD’s student news organization and Desoto Row Gallery’s “Spoked” bicycle art festival, the Matthew Modine-narrated film is free and open to the public. It’s preceded at 7 p.m. by a screening of the indie rock music poster documentary, “Died Young Stated Pretty.”

On Friday morning, the Savannah Bicycle Campaign’s 2Wheels 2Work bicycle commuting event returns, this time with the support of Savannah’s legal community. You don’t have to be a lawyer to enjoy free coffee from Jittery Joe’s in Davant Park or ride in the Wheels of Justice bicycle convoy from Habersham Village. You might even win a free bike!

On Friday evening from 6-9 p.m. an opening reception for Spoked will be held at Desoto Row, located in the Starland District. Artists included in the show are Graham Carswell, Ashley Dowling, Angela Petsis, Evan Pomerantz, George Retseck, Cecily Upton, Kevin Willsey and Jessie Jones.

Spoked continues on Saturday from noon-6 p.m. with a Bike Expo. The event will feature demonstrations, contests, informational booths and a group ride sponsored by the Savannah Bicycle Campaign.

Local sustainability efforts will take center stage at [Un]discliplined event

John Bennett — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:05:34 +0000

To borrow the title for Tommy Linstroth’s 2007 book, tonight’s SCAD Sustainability Council event is all about local action. Having heard from international industry leaders on Tuesday night and professional journalists last night, tonight’s program is all about local folks working to make our community and world more sustainable. Representatives from the Emergent Structures Project, the Savannah Bicycle Campaign, the SCAD physical resources department and New Moon of Savannah are among those scheduled to describe their efforts and take questions from the audience.

The event begins at 7 p.m. at River Club, 3 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. The event is free and open to the public. A complete minute by minute schedule is available on the sustainability council Web site. The event will be streamed live by District, SCAD’s award-winning student news source. Video from the last two days of [Un]disciplined can be viewed here and here.

Tonight: Panel to examine media coverage of sustainability

John Bennett — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:31:41 +0000

The SCAD Sustainability Council’s [Un]discliplined series continues tonight at River Club with a panel discussion from 7-9 p.m. Cosponsored by SCAD’s chapter of the Society for Collegiate Journalists, news professionals will discuss how media coverage has shaped public understanding of sustainability. Scheduled to participate are Bill Dawers, columnist for the Savannah Morning News; Orlando Montoya, news producer for Georgia Public Broadcasting and Jim Morekis, editor in chief of Connect Savannah. The panel will be moderated by Travis Walters, editor-in-chief of District and president of SCAD’s SCJ chapter. The panel will also be streamed live on the District Web site. The event is free and open to the public.