Greener Bloomfield » Earth Day 2009 http://greenerbloomfield.org Greener living, working, and community in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:30:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 en hourly 1 The Sun Came Out… http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/05/the-sun-came-out/ http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/05/the-sun-came-out/#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 01:37:41 +0000 John http://greenerbloomfield.org/?p=313 …and so did about 200 people to the Bloomfield Green Fest on Saturday, May 2, at Brookside Park. After a slightly soggy beginning, the sun brought more good cheer and more people, and some didn’t want to leave! Those who attended enjoyed finding out about the organizations and green businesses there. The kids had a great time building birdhouses, stools, and other kits, courtesy of Home Depot. About100 people pledged to change a lightbulb to a more energy-efficient one. Several learned how to compost at home. And we signed up several new members!

What did YOU like best about the Bloomfield Green Fest?

]]> http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/05/the-sun-came-out/feed/ 0 Sustainable Living, Working, Community at Bloomfield Green Fest May 2 http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/04/greenfest-1/ http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/04/greenfest-1/#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:00:08 +0000 John http://greenerbloomfield.org/?p=279  

Celebrate and learn about sustainable living, working, and community at the Bloomfield Green Fest on Saturday, May 2, 2009, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at Brookside Park.  This event continues Earth Day festivities locally and focuses on energy conservation and respect for the environment.
  • See exhibits from over 40 local businesses and organizations
  • Hear guest speakers talk about green living, working, and community 
  • Learn about recycling, composting, and home energy efficiency audits
  • Judge the Bloomfield Schools’ “Save the Earth” poster contest

Education and fun for all!  Admission to Green Fest is free.  Delicious food and drink will be available. The Bloomfield Green Fest is co-sponsored by Greener Bloomfield and the Bloomfield Recycling Committee.

Exhibitors:

]]> http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/04/greenfest-1/feed/ 0 Essex Greens Forum: A Healthy Lifestyle Equals a Healthy Earth http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/04/essex-greens-forum-a-healthy-lifestyle-equals-a-healthy-earth/ http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/04/essex-greens-forum-a-healthy-lifestyle-equals-a-healthy-earth/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:22:50 +0000 John http://greenerbloomfield.org/?p=288 Tonight, on Earth Day, April 22 at 7:30 pm in the Bloomfield Civic Center, 84 Broad St., the Essex County Greens will present a forum, “Healthy Lifestyle = Healthy Earth”.

Speakers at the event will be:

  • Jose German, a founder of Montclair Community Wildlife Habitat Project and active with the Cornucopia Network of NJ which promotes organic gardening and composting. German is a founder of Green Harmony Now, which helps people maintain their properties sustainably.
  • Bud Feder, PhD, a Montclair psychologist who specializes in stress reduction and meditation. Feder has authored many books and edited others and has facilitated training workshops in many countries across three continents.
  • Catherine Moon is in training to become a gourmet “Raw” chef at Raw Soul in NYC. She will discuss the health benefits of eating raw foods especially as they help healing from both minor and serious illnesses.

For directions and further details, go to www.essexcountygreens.org, or call 973-338-5398.

]]> http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/04/essex-greens-forum-a-healthy-lifestyle-equals-a-healthy-earth/feed/ 0 Happy Earth Day, Bloomfield! http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/04/happy-earth-day-bloomfield/ http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/04/happy-earth-day-bloomfield/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:02:03 +0000 John http://greenerbloomfield.org/?p=286 Today is Earth Day! (We’re extending it through to our Bloomfield Green Fest on May 2 at Brookside Park.) Remember: reduce, reuse, recycle. Use your own reusable grocery bags. Ban plastic water bottles from your life – use a reusable bottle. Try to go meatless at least one day/week. Buy organic when you can. When you have to drive, drive gently. What changes are you making for a more sustainable and Earth-friendly lifestyle?

]]> http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/04/happy-earth-day-bloomfield/feed/ 0 MEETING: This Thursday, March 26, 7pm http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/03/meeting-this-thursday-march-26-7pm/ http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/03/meeting-this-thursday-march-26-7pm/#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:27:26 +0000 John http://greenerbloomfield.org/?p=274

Join us for our monthly Greener Bloomfield meeting (the last Thursday of each month), on Thursday, March 26, at 7:00 pm at the Bloomfield Civic Center. We’ll discuss Bloomfield’s registration in the Sustainable Jersey certification program and begin strategizing how we’ll pursue the points for certification, and we’ll get an update on planning for our Earth Day Green Fest event on May 2. Everyone is welcome to join us. To RSVP, please go to www.meetup.com/GreenerBloomfield, join Meetup.com if you haven’t already (they have a great system for meeting notices, RSVPs, and connections to other groups and meetings you may be interested in), and let us know if you’ll be able to attend. We hope to see you Thursday evening! ]]> http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/03/meeting-this-thursday-march-26-7pm/feed/ 0 Feb 26 Meeting Inspires Many to Action http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/03/feb-26-meeting-inspires-many-to-action/ http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/03/feb-26-meeting-inspires-many-to-action/#comments Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:57:19 +0000 John http://greenerbloomfield.org/?p=249 At Greener Bloomfield’s February 26 meeting, over 20 residents participated at the Civic Center meeting room. First, John Palomaki presented the Sustainable Jersey program and website, which officially launched earlier that day. Councilman Nick Joanow described a field trip that several town administrators, John Palomaki, and he took to Westwood, NJ, a town that uses vegetable oil from local restaurants to produce biodiesel and has added 2 hybrid police vehicles and a DPW SUV to its fleet, saving thousands of dollars in fuel costs. Nick also invited everyone to an event at 7:00 pm on March 10 at the Civic Center with Dr. Nicholas Smith-Sebasto, a Montclair State professor who has implemented an aerobic food waste composting process that can consume 2 tons of food daily and yields nutrient-rich compost. Finally, the group “greenstormed” on the Earth Day event Greener Bloomfield is co-sponsoring with the Bloomfield Recycling Committee on May 2 at Brookside Park, with members volunteering for a variety of committees. More details will be provided in separate posts.

]]> http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/03/feb-26-meeting-inspires-many-to-action/feed/ 0 Earth Day Event May 2 http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/02/earth-day-event-may-2/ http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/02/earth-day-event-may-2/#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:56:56 +0000 John http://greenerbloomfield.org/?p=247 Earth Day may be on April 22, but Greener Bloomfield and the Bloomfield Recycling Committee will be extending the celebration to an event on Saturday, May 2, at Brookside Park. Similar to last fall’s successful Bloomfield Green Fest, we’ll have tables for local green businesses and non-profits. We’ll also have a schedule of guest speakers and demonstrations on the half-hour starting at 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. If you’d like to volunteer to help, to speak, to host a table, or have a suggestion, please submit a comment!

]]> http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/02/earth-day-event-may-2/feed/ 0 Feb 3 Meeting: Snow Outside, Enthusiasm Inside http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/02/feb-3-meeting-snow-outside-enthusiasm-inside/ http://greenerbloomfield.org/2009/02/feb-3-meeting-snow-outside-enthusiasm-inside/#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:44:51 +0000 John http://greenerbloomfield.org/?p=223 Despite the snow and the date change, an enthusiastic group participated in the Greener Bloomfield meeting on Feb. 3. Most of the discussion centered around the Sustainable Jersey program, a certification system for municipalities going green, which officially launches on February 26. We also discussed ideas for an Earth Day event. You can also read the Independent Press article on the meeting.

Sustainable Jersey is “a certification program for municipalities in New Jersey that want to go green, control costs and save money, and take steps to sustain their quality of life over the long term.” It identifies actions a town can take, provides toolkits for each action, and identifies funding and other resources available to help achieve the steps. Points can be earned in 13 categories of tasks, such as “Community Partnership and Outreach”, “Energy Efficiency”, “Sustainable Planning”, and “Waste Reduction and Recycling”.

John Palomaki outlined the program goals and the steps, and the group agreed that several of the actions could be easily achievable, and points could be earned for many other steps with some focused attention. Greener Bloomfield will work with the Township Council on a resolution to register with the program and develop a plan to gain certification.

For Earth Day 2009, officially on April 22, the group brainstormed several ideas for an event to be co-sponsored with the Bloomfield Recycling Committee somewhere around that date, hoping to avoid conflicting with the Essex County Environmental Center’s Earth Day 2009 event on Saturday, April 18. Some of the ideas include:

  • Set up a “Green Fest” of tables for green non-profit organizations and local green businesses
  • Sign up members and volunteers for Greener Bloomfield
  • Encourage greater recycling with information from the town and Waste Management’s truck, giveaways, and robot
  • Offer home composters to residents, using the DPW’s discount program
  • Kick off a Project Porchlight campaign to encourage people to change to more energy-efficient lightbulbs
  • Offer 20-minute discussions on the half-hour on topics such as:
    • Clean energy program – homes
    • Town Forester – tree planting
    • Bloomfield Center Redevelopment’s sustainability plans
  • Sponsor a School Clean-up Day
  • Use resources at StopGlobalWarming.org

Additional discussions will be held with the Bloomfield Recycling Committee on dates and venues. People wishing to volunteer for the Earth Day Committee should please post a note to this entry.

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