Green City

Turn in unused medication at Albany City Hall March 13

Matt Neznanski — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:47:44 +0000

The following came across the Sustainable Corvallis Google Group this morning:

Do you have unwanted medications around your home? Help protect your family, your community, and the environment by properly disposing of them.

Prescription Drug Turn-In Event

Free unwanted and expired medication collection www.cityofalbany.net/rx

Saturday, March 13, 2010
9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Albany City Hall
333 Broadalbin St SW, Albany, OR 97321

For more information contact Carmen Westfall, Albany Police Department, 541-917-3206

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OSU Extension Small Farms Program classes begin March 10

Matt Neznanski — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:34:26 +0000

The OSU Extension Small Farms Program and its partners are excited to be offering their Growing Farms Workshop Series again, this year. In collaboration with Oregon Tilth and the USDA Risk Management Agency, the Small Farms Program is presenting this workshop series to provide introductory tools and information for beginning specialty crop and livestock farmers.

Growing Farms is geared toward farmers who are in their first five years of business, and who would benefit from knowing the risks associated with farming. Topics included in the series are strategic planning, farming operations, marketing, production systems, farm finances, and managing liability. The course will consist of both classroom and field instruction, and will give the information necessary to design a whole farm plan.

The Growing Farms workshop series will be held every Wednesday from March 10 – April 14 from 5 to 9 pm. A full day farm field tour will be on Saturday, April 10. The course will be held at the Linn County Extension Office in Albany. Cost for the course is $200 per person or $350 for a couple from the same farm. Fees include weekly classroom instruction, accompanying field trip, dinner each week and resource binder.

To decide if this course is right for you, please visit the Small Farms website where you may view a detailed curriculum outline or register for the workshop. If you have further questions, contact Melissa Fery at the OSU Extension Office of Benton County, 541-766-3553.

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Wednesday market reopens in new downtown space

Matt Neznanski — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:44:24 +0000

Tomorrow (April 22), the Wednesday Farmer’s Market in Corvallis will reopen in its new location at S.W. Second Street and S.W. D Avenue:

View Larger Map

Hours are from 3 to 7 p.m. (in hopes of attracting more after-work, before-dinner shoppers). Market organizers are offering a free strawberry plant for people who show up dressed like any kind of animal, and they say there are more vendors signed up for the first market of the season than could have fit in the Fairgrounds space at peak season.

Should be a great market. If you go there or take pictures, blog about it, whatever, post a link in the comments.

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Sustainable ag discussion Tuesday

Matt Neznanski — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:36:24 +0000

Feeding Our Community – Promoting Self-Sufficiency

Learn about federal and state regulations on agriculture, present status of mid-valley agriculture, and its potential for feeding our population.

Find out what sustainable agriculture means for our soil, our local food supply, our health and the downside of inexpensive industrial agricultural products.

Hear about the need for urban agriculture, some of the many local projects currently in operation or in the planning process, and some ideas about how local government can help.

There will be time for questions, discussion on how local governments can help increase local food production and security, and displays by organizations promoting local food self-reliance.

Details

When: 7 to 9 p.m., Tuesday, April 14
Where: Corvallis-Benton County Public Library Meeting Room
Panel:

Dan Sundseth, USDA
James Cassidy, OSU Soil Science Department
Joan Gross, OSU Professor of Anthropology
Jen Myers, Corvallis Environmental Center

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Catherine Mater Q&A: Creating sustainable business through balance

Matt Neznanski — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 23:35:46 +0000

Catherine Mater

Gazette-Times Publisher Mike McInally spoke with Catherine Mater, president of Mater Engineering and posessing more than 30 years of research and design experience in the forest industry.

Some of the interview was in the print version of the monthly InBusiness publication, but the entire thing is online and worth a read.

Mater’s got some interesting points to consider about creating and sustaining business and environmental action.

Here’s one:

What I see most prevalently is a misunderstanding about the necessary connectivity between profitability and sustainability. In my world, it’s not sustainable unless it’s transfering to the bottom line, unless investors can be brought to the plate. …
(We) have to be really smart about how we do this and recognize that the two worlds of business and sustainability are not incompatible. They’re critical partners in making one another work

Give it a read and sound off in the comments.

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Want a booth at the OSU Earth Week Community Fair? Sign up now.

Matt Neznanski — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:16:18 +0000

If you’re a member of a group that would like access to people during the Earth Week Community Fair, now’s the time to sign up for a booth to spread your word.
Earth Week is a week of events focused on environmental issues put on by groups from campus and the greater Corvallis community.
This year’s events will take place between Saturday, April 18 and Saturday, April 25 this year. Earth Week is sponsored by OSU Campus Recycling, the Student Sustainability Initiative, and the ASOSU Environmental Affairs Task Force.

What to do

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OSU plans series of climate change seminars

Matt Neznanski — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:06:46 +0000

Oregon State University will host a seminar series focusing on different aspects of climate change that begins Wednesday, April 1, with a talk by Ricardo Matano, who will discuss the oceans and climate.
The series is being coordinated by the Global Environmental Change Organization, an OSU student group.
These climate change talks will be held each Wednesday spring term beginning at 3:30 p.m. in Burt Hall 193. They are free and open to the public. The series is sponsored by OSU’s College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences and the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute.

Schedule

April 1 – “The Oceans and Climate,” Ricardo Matano, OSU College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences.
April 8 – “Disturbance, the Surface Energy Balance, and Climate,” Tom O’Halloran, OSU College of Forestry.
April 15 – “Ice Age Lessons for Global Warming,” Jeremy Shakun, OSU Department of Geosciences/College of Science.
April 22 – “Climate Feedbacks in Climate Models,” Karen Shell, OSU College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences.
April 29 – “Humidity and the Seasonality of Influenza,” Jeffrey Shaman, OSU College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences.
May 6 – “Drilling for Ice Cores in Antarctica,” Logan Mitchell, OSU Department of Geosciences/College of Science.
May 13 – “Introducing the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute,” Philip Mote, director of OCCRI/OSU College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences.
May 20 – TBA.
May 27 – “Linking Population Growth, Development and Global Warming,” Derric Jacobs, College of Liberal Arts.
June 3 – “Life History Traits Predict Bird Range Shifts Northward,” Matthew Betts, OSU College of Forestry (tentative date).

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Spring local foods cook-off registrations open

Matt Neznanski — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:26:45 +0000

Have a great recipe for springtime local produce? Enter the spring local foods cook-off sponsored by the Ten Rivers Food Web.
Use your favorite spring vegetable in your favorite dish for a chance to win gift certificates to local restaurants or gift basket full of local stuff.
What you need to do:

Register for the contest.
Plan your recipe. This can be anything: casserole, quiche, salad, whatever.
Cook away. Drop off your creation between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 17 at the Meeting Room of the South Co-op on Friday. Bring enough for 2 servings.
Go see who wins. Maybe you? Winners will be announced at the Corvallis Farmer’s Market the next day.

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'All sustainability is local' lecture in Eugene March 26

Matt Neznanski — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:44:04 +0000

Michelle Long, executive director and co-founder of nonprofit Sustainable Connections, will speak in Eugene Thursday, March 26 about how ‘All Sustainability is local.’
Long has been actively working with Sustainable Connections to address social and environmental challenges through business for over a decade. The nonprofit was formed to model an economy built on sustainability
Long is the co-author of Local First: a How to Guide, and teaches workshops on creating effective networks of sustainable businesses, and successful community campaigns.
Long’s lecture is part of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council’s Transformative Lecture series, geared toward building industry professionals to inspire them to take up green practices.

Details

All Sustainability is Local
Connecting the dots between green building, renewable energy, local farming, and sustainable business development in your hometown.
Date: 5:30 p.m Thursday, March 26
Place: University of Oregon Baker Center, 975 High St.
Cost: Free to full-time students & Cascadia members; $10 for non-members.
Click to register or, for more information, e-mail Jenna Garmon or call (541) 682-5541.

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Corvallis backyard chicken tour coming up

Matt Neznanski — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:03:06 +0000

Curious about keeping chickens in town?
The Corvallis Environmental Center will feature an array of backyard chickens and ducks living in Corvallis. Participants will learn how to design an effective coop and incorporate fowl into gardens of all sizes.

See mobile coops, straw bale coops, passive solar and automatic doors created by the eight families featured on the tour. Participants receive a self-guided map containing information on the coops and fowl-keeping facts.

The tour is sponsored by the CECs Edible Corvallis Initiative to increase home food production and help create a just and sustainable food system in the mid-Willamette Valley.

Details
What: Cooped up in Corvallis tour
When: Noon to 4 p.m., Sunday March 15
More: The self-guided tour is all over town. For information and to buy a map ($6 per person or $10 for a family) contact the Corvallis Environmental Center or First Alternative Co-op.

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