Sprucing up South Park–A United Way Day of Caring Event!
Chase volunteer hard at work!
What do you get when a non-profit, a bank and a government agency join forces? A lot done in a very short time! On Friday, September 16, ECOSS teamed up with JP Morgan Chase Bank Corporation and Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to help spruce up the South Park business district as part of King County’s United Way Day of Caring (UW DOC) – and what a sprucing it got! For five hours, 24 desk jockey volunteers from Chase, alongside SDOT and ECOSS employees, sweated, toiled and grinned their way to replanting the tree wells along 14th Avenue South.
South Park resident and landscape architect, Meredith Hall, had dreamed of installing drought resistant plants along the street for more than a year. Collaboration with ECOSS and UW DOC program, her vision finally came to fruition.
Because the trees are part of the SDOT right of way, ECOSS needed permission to do the planting. Working closely with SDOT personnel, a plan of action developed that created a safe working environment for the volunteers, as well as access for watering, and plant and mulch delivery. SDOT will continue to water the plants through the fall until the rains come, to ensure that the plants get well-established.
Logistically, we also needed a location for the volunteers to meet, space to house plants and compost, and water for the plants once installed. South Park Discount Foods donated their parking lot for the day for our meeting location. Ms. Nguyen at Bias & Sewing Co. allowed us to house plants overnight. Compost was staged at SP Plus Transportation and Loretta’s. SDOT provided a 200 gallon tanker truck of water, but that only covered about 20 tree pits. So several businesses stepped up to provide water, including SP Plus Transportation, Napoli’s, and South Park Groceries.
A Chase volunteer gets ready to plant!
In addition to getting the plants installed, it was our hope that the project would connect some Seattleites who didn’t know of South Park’s existence to the neighborhood and its businesses. To this end, Chase bank provided Napoli’s pizza for lunch, and ECOSS provided some wonderful cookies from Pasteleria y Panaderia La Ideal. Chase volunteers also lifted a few brews after the event at Loretta’s, and have vowed to return for a weekly lunch, as well as happy hour.
ECOSS and the South Park community would like to extend a huge “THANK YOU” to SDOT, the local businesses, and most especially the Chase employees who volunteered their work day to spruce up South Park!
A plot on 14th street before the Day of Caring...
Beautified!
Chase volunteers outside of South Park Discount Foods
ECOSS Executive Director Kevin Burrell and Associate Director Elizabeth Loudon thank the Chase volunteers and lend a hand!
Powerful Neighborhoods—Uniting Energy Saving Strategies in Seattle!
In 2010, Seattle City Light and ECOSS joined forces to bring energy and water saving tools into the homes of Seattle-area residents through their Powerful Neighborhoodsprogram. The program reached out to seniors, recent immigrant households and low income families who had not yet taken advantage of Seattle City Light’s lighting efficiency programs. The single-family phase of the project has come to a close, and has thousands of lowered electricity bills to prove its success! Additionally, Seattle City Light has chosen to continue the program with a shift to multifamily housing.
This household-based project involved installing CFLs and educating individuals about conserving electricity through the use of efficient light bulbs, showerheads and faucet aerators. ECOSS continued its tradition of multi-cultural outreach by providing this free service in Amharic, English, Spanish, Tigrigna, Vietnamese and 10 other languages! These trained staff members visited more than 7,500 homes throughout the two year program, and helped educate community members understand ways to “green” their homes and basic water conservation tactics
How many people does it take to screw in 100,000 light bulbs? The team, left to right: Osman, Benito, Ramiro, Satish, Jin, Sophorn, Jackie, Moges
The effects are huge, especially when adding up results of all partners in the program, in addition to ECOSS. Just ask Seattle City Light who will receive a savings of 13 million kWh for this year alone, enough to serve over 1400 Seattle area homes! This will save participants in the program a combined total of $1.2 million per year on their light bills. A few other impressive numbers include over 10,400 efficient showerheads delivered and over 360,000 energy efficient light bulbs installed from Shoreline south through Burien within more than 20,000 homes in Seattle City Light territory throughout the course of this program.
The report of this successful project boils down to a fairly simple idea: to bring the green movement to the homes of the citizens of Seattle. However, the efforts and commitment of ECOSS’s staff members should be applauded. This was no easy task, and the apparent environmental and economic repercussions balance the educational message that saving energy means saving money and uniting our community.
If you or anybody you knows lives, manages, or owns in an apartment building that Seattle City Light provides service to and wants to help save money and save energy with the multi-family program, call ECOSS at 206-767-7004 or email john@ecoss.org.
Market Days at Marra Farms!
Every Sunday afternoon from 2 to 5pm, enjoy a day at the farm.
Purchase locally grown veggies, fruit and herbs. We now have lettuce, sour cherries, garlic, radishes, green onions, kale, flowers, herbs, and more for sale.
If you plan to attend, have a particular interest to suggest, or wish to volunteer your expertise, please let us know so we’ll be ready for you. The more the merrier!
Market Day Schedule:
2-3pm Greens Cuisine
An original salad or dish is prepared and shared.
3-4pm City Kids
We sing songs, play games, read books, plant stuff.
4-5pm Garden Culture
Grownups get to learn something new about gardening.
Directions:
600 S Director St.
Seattle, WA 98108
Look for our table under the big trees.
If you have trouble finding us out there, please feel free to call:
Amanda 206-963-9428
Christina 206-307-4860
Incorporating Sustainability Into Your Business Plan
Want to make your business more sustainable but don’t know where to start? ECOSS is here to help.
ECOSS, The Puget Sound Industrial Excellence Center and EnterpriseSeattle are partnering to create a workshop that is aimed at industrial businesses to help incorporate sustainability into their business plans. This workshop will help evaluate, design, and implement sustainable practices within your business operations. We’ll hear from experts and industry leaders on how to create, update or revamp your business plan to stay competitive and proactive. To register for this FREE Sept. 20th 2011 workshop click here.
Visit our website to learn more. To learn more about the impact your business has on the environment fill out a CO2 impact worksheet and sign a CO2 reduction pledge.
P.S. Check out ECOSS staff member Bill Pease in a Seattle Times article on Seattle’s South Park: http://bit.ly/r0nIUo
The Washington State Department of Ecology’s Industrial Stormwater General Permit went into effect January 1, 2010. Since then, many questions have been raised as to what the permit requires and how to comply. July 13th & 14th in Spokane ECOSS will be hosting a workshop addressing these questions. This course offers a rare opportunity to interact with a diverse panel of experts to get practical solutions to your business’s tough stormwater issues.
Who should attend? What topics will be covered?
The workshop will provide important information and resources geared to help Washington State Industrial General Stormwater Permit holders effectively implement their permits. The target audience is decision makers and field staff from businesses and municipalities who oversee and implement the permit. Attendees who are new to the field as well as seasoned stormwater practitioners will both benefit from attending this highly interactive workshop.
Key topics include: Washington stormwater regulations for industrial facilities; recent permit changes; SWPPP & SPECP development; effective sampling, monitoring, reporting and lab QA/QC; Best Management Practices (BMP’s); and case studies highlighting key strategies for industrial facilities.
Workshop Format
The workshops will go from 9-4:30, with an hour break for lunch:
Interactive classroom component the first day. On the second day, participants get the opportunity to go out in the field for hands-on instruction.
Click here to sign up or contact us at alex(at)ecoss.org.
Future Workshops
Yakima: September
Olympia/Tocoma: October
Everett: November
Seattle: December
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