The Green Center in the News

Last week was a big one for the Green Center at Lincoln Land Community College.

First, an article about the Green Center and our upcoming renewable energy certificate program appeared in the State Journal-Register. Then, on Thursday night, Channel 3 news ran a clip about the Green Center and its initiatives on the 10 p.m. news.

We haven't found the Channel 3 clip to share with you yet, but you can read the SJ-R article here.

The Story of Stuff

Have you ever stopped to ponder where all that stuff that surrounds you--from computers to backpacks to kitchen gadgets--comes from and what impact its production has on the environment?

Wonder no more. Annie Leonard's 20-minute video, The Story of Stuff, illustrates our materials economy--the way the items we purchase every day go from raw materials to finished products and then, eventually, to the landfill. It's an eye-opening, not to mention engaging, video that's worth watching.

After you've watched the video (see below), you can learn even more by reading Leonard's new book on the same topic. Or take a peek at her other videos, including The Story of Bottled Water, The Story of Cap & Trade, and the newest addition, The Story of Cosmetics.

Fall Classes You'll Love

Lincoln Land Community College recently released its Fall 2010 Community Learning schedule, and it's loaded with great green classes.

Check out our new Good & Green series of courses for food professionals, food entrepreneurs, and foodies or all sorts. I'm particularly excited about the canning class that's being offered in November.

Then there are our fantastic Farm to Fork dinners and Farm Field Trips, not to mention a composting class taught by master gardener and Green Center favorite Bill Harmon.

What are you waiting for? Check out the course descriptions yourself over at our website. Then be sure to sign up soon. Classes this great are bound to fill up fast!

Office Recycling Made Easy

A new resource provided by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Illinois Recycling Association makes reducing waste at your business, school, or institution easier.

Recycling Works: A Tool Kit for Reducing Waste in the Workplace, is available for download online. The 94-page guide walks you through all the steps involved in successfully developing a waste reduction program at your workplace and provides plenty of terrific resources to help you make it happen.

And it's only one of the many resources available online. Head over to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity website to learn about recycling grant programs in Illinois.

Or visit the U.S. EPA website for a step-by-step guide on setting up a recycling program. And the Sustainable Office Toolkit created by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources provides a handy information module as well.

Regardless of which approach you take for making office recycling happen, our only recommendation is to watch out for Recyclops!

What's Your Water Footprint?

Let's start with some water facts.

Did you know that less than one percent of all the water on Earth is fresh water available for human consumption? [Source: The Water Information Project]

How about that the average American uses 176 gallons of water per day (compared to 5 gallons of water the average African family uses each day) [Source: Water.org]

And how about this one: Only 5 percent of the water we use comes from toilets, faucets, and garden hoses. The other 95 percent isn't as easy to track because it comes from the food we eat, the energy we use, the products we buy, and the services we rely on. [Source: National Geographic]

Those general stats and facts are useful, but if you're like me you want to know how much water you actually use, so you can begin to identify ways to consume less of it.

That's why I'm excited about the new Water Footprint Calculator from National Geographic, which helps you find out your own water footprint and provides information and ideas on slashing water use. According to the calculator, I come in just under the average at 1,877 gallons. I might argue a few options are missing--for instance, although I don't have a new toilet, I do have a bottle in the tank to displace water. And nowhere does it ask if I water my yard with a rain barrel as opposed to the traditional spigot (I do).

But overall, it's eye opening to think about just how much water my commute to work each day or my travels to visit friends and family by plane costs in terms of water. And I'm reminded yet again of the benefits of eating a bit less meat.

Try it yourself, then be sure to peruse the tips included on the site for reducing your water footprint.

And while you're at it, check out the water footprint calculator at waterfootprint.org too. It might require a bit more contemplation on your part, but I think it's worth spending some time thinking about your consumption habits, don't you?

Photo: gehat via Flickr

Farmer's Markets and Farm Tours

Last week, in honor of National Farmer's Market Week, the folks at the Illinois Stewardship Alliance kindly invited me to tag along on a tour of Jubilee Farm in Springfield and a peek at a community garden and the Illinois Products Farmer's Market.

First stop: Jubilee Farm, which is run by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield and, although it is not certified organic (an expensive and difficult designation to get), it is maintained using organic farming methods.

The farm is lovely and productive, and the sisters in charge are passionate about their land and incredibly sweet.

One of the coolest things about Jubilee Farm is that some of their produce goes to feed the Dominican Sisters in Springfield and the rest goes to a Community Supported Agriculture program (in other words, people pay money at the beginning of the season to subscribe, and then receive a bountiful box of whatever produce is ready each week throughout the growing season). Here, they were getting ready for a CSA pickup.

Getting a subscription for the CSA is hard to come by, but if you can snag one it's certainly worth it. Next to the usual summer garden fare, the Sisters like to share a few unique varieties you might not otherwise try, like these tasty cucumbers. And they provide recipes to help subscribers with using their week's produce, too.

After touring the farm, I also got to stop by the Illinois State Fairgrounds to see the big 100-plus plot community garden there. One half of the community gardeners take care of their plots using conventional gardening techniques, while the other half use natural pest prevention and fertilization, so there's something for every type of gardener.

Finally, I stopped at the Illinois Products Farmer's Market, located right on the state fairgrounds on Thursday afternoons (except, of course, during the state fair). It was another great market, where I attended a press conference about National Farmer's Market Week and picked up some terrific locally made pasta, local cheese that makes me wonder why I ever buy anything else, and of course a bit of fresh produce.

All in all, not a bad end to a great National Farmer's Market Week!

Free Flour at the Farmer's Market

Yesterday, I headed downtown to the Old Capitol Farmer's Market to see what terrific fresh produce I could find. It was incredibly humid, but there were still plenty of vendors and shoppers lining the street.

After purchasing a glass of lemonade to cool off, I proceeded to fill my shopping bag with peaches, blackberries, homemade soap, a loaf of bread from Sweet Kneads, and even a cilantro plant.

Oh, and perhaps most importantly, a bag of flour.

But this wasn't just any flour. It was free flour packaged and handed out by Illinois Stewardship Alliance executive director Lindsay Record.

It was shipped to the Illinois Stewardship Alliance as part of the Industrial Harvest project, which aims to distribute flour purchased through the Chicago Board of Trade to food banks, soup kitchens, local farmers, and more as part of a project to learn about how commodities travel through the system.

You can find out more about the Industrial Harvest project and see photos of the bags of flour at the ISA website. And if you're interested in baking something with your own bag of flour, you're in luck. ISA will be handing out more flour at the Illinois Products Farmers Market today and at the Old Capitol Farmers Market on Saturday.

Just get there early, because the wheat flour goes fast!

Eating Seasonal

Even in the middle of winter, it's easy to find strawberries and tomatoes and other colorful produce at the supermarket. But the appearance and flavor of a strawberry purchased in January is a far cry from the vibrant, juicy fresh-picked fruit you had in June.

That's because a lot of the fruits and veggies found at the grocery store year-round are out of season in Illinois, so they have been shipped from California or Florida or even South America, where such crops are still growing strong long after the Midwest growing season ends. By the time they reach the supermarket, these products were picked days or weeks ago and have traveled hundreds, even thousands, of miles. No wonder those "fresh" tomatoes purchased in winter are mushy and flavorless.

By purchasing freshly picked, in-season foods from local farmers, you can enjoy the health and flavor benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables. At the same time, you're supporting local agriculture and forgoing the environmental damage of shipping food long distances.

Stop by your local farmer's market this week in honor of National Farmer's Market Week or anytime there's a market in your area to find the best seasonal produce.

Or if you're still not sure what fruits and veggies you should be buying this time of year. Sustainable Table lets you search what's growing by state and season. And the Epicurious Seasonal Ingredient Map makes it easy to get the scoop on this month's produce picks.

For recipe ideas that match the season, check out the Epicurious Seasonal Recipe Planner or Harvesteating.com. And follow along with Grist's Jennifer Prediger as she attempts seasonal cooking in the Urbivore's Dilemma series.

What are you waiting for? Get to the farmer's market this week!

Photo: thebittenword via Flickr

Celebrate National Farmer's Market Week

It's National Farmer's Market Week in the United States, which means it's time to celebrate the bounty and beauty of farmer's markets large and small across the country.

Start the week off right by reading the National Farmer's Market Week Proclamation from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (PDF).

Then it's time to find a local market near you. Search for markets in your area on the NRDC Simple Steps website or the Illinois Department of Agriculture website. Or visit the Illinois Stewardship Alliance website to download their Buy Fresh Buy Local Central Illinois Directory.

Or visit these Central Illinois farmer's markets:

• Clinton Farmer's and Artisans Market, Mr. Lincoln's Square downtown (Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon)
• Illinois Products Farmer's Market, Illinois State Fairgrounds Commodities Pavilion (Thursdays 4 p.m.to 7 p.m.)
• Old Capitol Farmer's Market, On Adams St. between 5th St. and 3rd St. (Wednesdays and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.)
• Urbana's Market on the Square, Corner of Illinois St. and Vine St. in downtown Urbana, (Saturdays 7 a.m. to noon)
• Lincoln Farmer's Market, Scully Park (Wednesdays 4 to 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays 7 a.m. to noon) and Farmer's Market Lincoln, Latham Park (Wednesdays 3:30 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 7 a.m. to noon)
• Pawnee Farmer's Market, Village Square ( Tuesdays 4 to 6 p.m.)
• Downtown Bloomington Farmer's Market, Old Courthouse Square (Saturdays 7:30 a.m. to noon)
• Downs Village Market, SW edge of Downs (Wednesdays 4 to 6 p.m.)

I'm going on a farmer's market tour this week. I'll be at the Old Capitol Farmer's Market in Springfield Wednesday morning, the Illinos Products Farmer's Market at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Thursday, and both Lincoln farmer's markets on Saturday morning.

Which markets are you headed to this week?