Your Weekly Green

This morning on WYEP (91.3 fm) I heard a promo for a new series of talks to be held at the radio station on the South Side of Pittsburgh. The series is called "Your Weekly Green" and it begins tonight at 6:30 p.m., running for the next 7 consecutive Wednesdays. Tonight's topic is "Water Stewardship in a City of Rivers" presented by Allegheny CleanWays, Friends of the Riverfront, and RiverCubes. Each one hour talk will be followed by a tour the LEED certified WYEP Community Broadcast Center. To register or to learn more about the series, visit the WYEP web site.

GO Green Club Earth Day activities featured in The Almanac

The GO Green Club is in the news! An article in todays' edition of The Almanac about the 40th anniversary of Earth Day includes interviews with Library Director Pier Lee and GO Green members Angie Phares and Barb Schnabel. It also highlights the many activities scheduled at the library for Thursday, April 22 as part of our Earth Day celebration. Pictured at left are Angie and Barb with part of the recycling display created by Barb and her husband, Scott. See the complete recycling display by visiting the Peters Township Public Library's main lobby!

Earth Day Events at Peters Township Public Library

The library, along with their newly formed GO Green Club, has a variety of programs and displays for the whole family planned to mark the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day on Thursday, April 22, 2010.

The library’s GO Green Club will offer a free film screening of the documentary No Impact Man on April 22 at 7:00 p.m. The "No Impact Project" web site explains, “For one year, Colin Beavan and his family unplugged from the electrical grid, produced no trash, traveled exclusively by foot or bike, and bought nothing except food (all of it locally grown). By the end, they discovered something surprising: living simply wasn’t just good for the environment; it made them healthier, happier, and richer in ways they’d never expected.” This film is rated PG and suitable for family viewing.

A large display in the main lobby of the library created by members of the GO Green Club will explain everything you need to know about recycling in Peters Township. Books about sustainable living, organic gardening, and other earth-friendly topics are being featured on the second floor of the library. The GO Green Club members have also registered for township’s annual Clean-Up Day on Saturday, April 24 from 9:00 a.m. until noon and will be working outside the library and in the parking lot that morning.

The Young Adult and Children’s Departments at the library have also planned activities for Earth Day. After school from 3:30-5:00 p.m. on April 22, teens in grades 6-12 will be doing a craft from recyclable materials and watching the film Planet Earth. From 6:00-6:45 p.m. kids and parents of all ages will celebrate Earth Day with a special storytime, activities and crafts. Children can sign a leaf for a promise tree to keep our world growing green. Families are then encouraged to remain for the film, No Impact Man, which will begin at 7:00 p.m. Register at the library’s circulation desk.

To join the library’s GO Green Club, please email Carrie Weaver or register at the library’s circulation desk.

Upcoming Household Chemical & Hard-to-Recycle Collections in our area

Go Green Club member Lisa forwarded these two notices to me to share. The first is a Household Chemicals Collection taking place on Saturday, May 1, 2010 at the North Park Swimming Pool parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Click here for the flyer which provides details about items to be collected and what will NOT be accepted. The fee is $2/gallon - cash only.

For those Hard-to-Recycle items like tires, useable building materials, and CFLs, there are several collection events taking place in and around Pittsburgh over the next several months. Click here for the flyer that lists items that will be accepted and the fee schedule. Questions about these collections can be directed to the Pennsylvania Resources Council, Inc. at 412.488.7490 ext. 236.

Alternative Energy Workshop

Alternative Energy is the future. The future is NOW! The truth is the world is running out of fossil fuels and our future depends on finding alternative ways of producing energy. Learn about alternative energy options and how you can use them to reduce or eliminate your carbon footprint and/or electricity bill. This free program will be offered at the library on Wednesday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m.by Philip Long and Shane McLynden. You will also learn about available rebates and tax credits related to energy usage reduction. To attend this program you may register online or call 724.941.9430.

Philip Long is a solar specialist who is certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) and was the first individual to become a certified installer for the rebate program that Pennsylvania is currently offering. Shane McLynden is accredited by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) and as a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rater. He is certified by the U.S. Green Building council and is also a Green Rater who verifies "LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ) for Homes" in the Pittsburgh and surrounding areas.

Rain Barrel Workshop

Did you know that you could be saving money every time it rains? By creating a rain barrel and strategically placing it to collect rain water, you can provide your garden with clean, fresh water free of charge! Learn how to make your own rain barrel out of inexpensive materials at the Peters Township Public Library on Thursday, March 25 at 7:00 p.m. This free program will be presented by Laura Delach, Penn State Master Gardener. You may register online for this program or call 724.941.9430.

Doug Oster, the Organic Gardener, talk and book signing at PT Library

Garden columnist and radio host Doug Oster will visit the Peters Township Public Library on Saturday, March 20 at 10:00 a.m. He will discuss how to get started now to have your best garden ever, provide tips and tricks on getting seeds growing, and talk about his favorite varieties. His new book, Tomatoes Garlic Basil, The Simple Pleasures of Growing and Cooking Your Garden's Most Versatile Veggies was just recently released. It is filled with practical gardening advice along with wonderful stories from Doug's life in the garden. A book signing will follow Oster’s program.

Doug Oster writes a garden column for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a nationally syndicated cooking and gardening column for the LA Times Syndicate, and contributes to national and regional publications. He is co-host and producer of The Organic Gardener's Radio Program, a weekly show on KDKA, and appears weekly on KDKA-TV's Pittsburgh Today Live. He received the 2009 Outstanding Documentary Emmy for Gardens of Pennsylvania, written and produced for WQED. He co-authored two other gardening books, Grow Organic and A Gardener's Journal.

Register for this free program at the library’s circulation desk, call 724.941.9430 or email Carrie Weaver.