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.

“The Total Mobility Plan is an in-depth planning effort which will emphasize sustainability, Complete Streets, Context Sensitive Design, non-motorized transportation and transit. The Plan will address the transportation network and specific facilities, but also the interaction between transportation and the community as a whole.  The thoroughfare planning component will address facilities for auto traffic, bicycles, pedestrians, and public transit vehicles, including intersections.  Workshop attendees will map context areas, creating a vision of the desired character in each community. The thoroughfare standards will then be shaped to achieve that vision.”

It’s encouraging to hear the phrase Complete Streets used in this context, as many of the area’s most important streets are woefully incomplete when it comes to safely accommodating pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders. The meetings will be held at the following times and locations from 5-6:30 p.m., and will use a “Drop in when you can!” format.

Tuesday, Jan. 10
Islands High School Career Counseling Center, 170 Whitemarsh Island Road

Tuesday, Jan. 17
Armstrong Atlantic State University – Armstrong Center, 13040 Abercorn St.

Thursday, Jan. 19
First Presbyterian Church, 520 Washington Ave.

For more information, contact Mark Wilkes at (912) 651-1451 or wilkesm [at] thempc.org

· 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.

• With My Own Two Wheels: “The story of four people whose lives have been deeply changed by bikes.”
• One Plastic Beach: A pair of artists “have collected plastic trash along a one-kilometer stretch of beach near their home in Northern California”. They make art from the debris, which they collect at a rate of up to “35 pounds per hour.”
• Chasing Water: “Photojournalist Peter McBride sets out to document the flow of the Colorado River from source to sea.”

More information is available on the Festival tour website.

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.

“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.

“As we choose our next mayor, it’s more important than ever to ensure that Savannah grows into the future and grows wisely,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, Chair of the US Green Building Council-Savannah Branch. “Through this forum, candidates can express their vision for how Savannah can be a leader by demonstrating responsible stewardship of our environment while incorporating innovative strategies as part of that solution.”

“We’ve seen a tremendous increase in the use of bicycles for transportation in the community. The City of Savannah government has been a positive influence in that growth, and we hope this forum allows candidates the chance to address how they will help continue this trend and also make transit and pedestrian options more viable,” said Drew Wade, Chairman of the Savannah Bicycle Campaign. “Several long-term transportation planning efforts are reaching the point where those decisions become a critical part of the community we live with for the next several decades; we need to make the right decisions.”

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Frank McIntosh at 912-272-1074 or frank@bicyclecampaign.org.

“The ride, now in its fourth year, is named for founding SBC board member Jerry Jaycox who passed away riding his bicycle. The ride will again take riders of all abilities through the trails and dikes of Fort Pulaski and include a spin out to the McQueen’s Island Rail Trail which parallels the south channel of the Savannah River.”

The ride begins at 2 p.m. and is followed by a cookout. Best of all, entry to Fort Pulaski is free! More information is available on the Savannah Bicycle Campaign website.

And there’s more news out of the market: The season is being extended to Dec. 17 and will reopen earlier in 2012:

“We are proud to officially announce that we will continue to provide fresh produce, high quality meats and delicious prepared food until December 17th. We will then take a short winter break before starting the 2012 season on February 11th, 2 months earlier than we typically do. This represents a 30% increase in your market experience and a great way to indulge in the southern luxury of a year- long growing season.”

More information is available on the market website.

Well Fed Savannah is sponsoring the Savannah Food Day Festival Saturday, Oct. 22 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mother Matilda Beasley Park on East Broad Street. What is Food Day? Organizers describe it as “an Earth Day for Food.”

“Aimed at promoting healthy, sustainable, affordable, and just food systems in America, Food Day is a national grassroots mobilization backed by some of the most prominent voices for energizing the food movement … people will gather at events big and small and from coast to coast in homes, schools, colleges, churches, city halls, farmers’ markets, supermarkets, and elsewhere to raise awareness about food issues and advocate for change.”

The Savannah event includes live music, vendors, exhibitors and workshops. The festival is free and open to the public. The Savannah Bicycle Campaign will provide valet bike parking throughout the event.