 |
 |
|
See that tally above?
That's how much CO2 you and your neighbors have saved -- so far. Tell us what you're doing to help that number grow! 
What's happening around Pittsburgh?
See how to volunteer, learn, and get in the green scene around the city with our Community Partner calendar. Come find our table at the Venture Outdoors Festival!  Spring has sprung! And it's time to get your garden going. This month, the Black and Gold City Goes Green campaign wants to help you to start growing your own food. According to research by Iowa State University, the average distance for locally grown produce to reach institutional markets was 65 miles, while the conventional distance for the produce to reach those same institutional points of sale was 1,494 miles – nearly 27 times further. From agricultural production, processing, transportation, packaging, and refrigerating, buying food that is shipped from hundreds of miles away uses a lot of energy and creates pollution. And as we all know, not wasting energy is one of the most important things we can all do to stop pollution! We know starting your own garden may be time consuming (c’mon, do you REALLY need to watch that rerun of Dance Moms?) and has some costs upfront. But growing even a portion of your own food will help you save money in the long run, create less waste, eat healthier, and lower your contribution to global warming. Not sure? Check out one woman’s garden adventure and how she saves hundreds on groceries now. Not sure where to start? Our friends at Grow Pittsburgh can guide you on issues like soil testing, buying seeds, plants, soil, tools, containers, renting a space at a community garden or building a raised bed. In the long run, you’ll save money and you might even save the time it takes to go to the grocery store. Also, growing your own food means you are buying less packaged food and ultimately cutting back your waste production. If you are new to the gardening scene, there are plenty of educational tools online, at the library or by talking to a Master Gardener at Penn State Extension. Some other benefits of growing your own food: The veggies or fruit you grow will be fresher than what you get at the store; Growing your own food helps you to spend more time outside, avoiding nature deficit disorder; and Gardening and weeding burns calories. Don’t have a backyard? Consider container gardening for small spaces or renting a plot at a local community garden. Check out this informational article on vegetable gardening in containers and Grow Pittsburgh’s interactive map of community gardens in Allegheny County. Good news for low income Pittsburghers! The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – formerly called Food Stamps – covers seeds to grow your own food, as well as food at some farmers’ markets and farm stands. Contact our friends at Just Harvest for details. Don’t have a green thumb? Then by all means, buy as much as your food as you can from local growers. You can do that through farmers’ markets and local stores that buy local. The average local meal travels only 200 miles. Buying local also has great benefits for both you and your community. For one, local foods tend to be fresher and taste better because they’re not shipped as far. Buying local also means that more of your money will go to help strengthen your local economy and support local farms.
|
Facebook
Community Partner Spotlight: Global Links We have tons of outstanding Community Partners doing great work around our region and beyond. Get to know our spotlighted partner, Global Links, with this video on their wheelchair repair program. Global Links creates a "virtuous circle" of recover and reuse by connecting medical surplus from the US destined for landfills to under-served communities abroad. Annually, Global Links saves over 260 tons of still-useful medical materials from landfills. Find ways to volunteer and donate with them here. Upcoming events with the Black and Gold City Goes Green campaign: This year we are working with four neighborhoods: Downtown, Oakland, Regent Square, and Dormont. Downtown Pool Party- A good amount of the pollution downtown is produced by people who don’t even live there – commuters. We are encouraging commuters to think about alternative ways of getting to work, including carpooling. If you work downtown, or know someone who works downtown that might be interested in carpooling, contact us! We are currently registering commuters interested in carpooling and hosting a meet and greet to follow where commuters can meet and discuss options with other people in their area. Oakland Neighborhood Blitz- Are you ready to get Blitzed Oakland? Our first Blitz of the year is May 20th in Oakland. If you are interested in volunteering, email us! We are also planning a recycling education event for students who rent in Oakland in the fall – watch out for updates! Regent Square Neighborhood Blitz- Our second Blitz of the year is happening in Regent Square on June 16th. We will also be working with Regent Square to distribute our Blitz bags to new residents so we can help get them off to a green start in a new city. Black and Gold will be tabling at Regent Square’s EcoFest at the Wilkins School Community Center in October – keep an eye out for more details! Dormont Business Blitz- We are working with Downtown First to do a business Blitz to encourage residents to check out their Downtown shops. Participating shops will be handing out items that will help residents save money and reduce their energy, gas, and water usage.
Interested in volunteering with us? We have plenty of events that will get you out into a community to help make a big difference! If you’re interested in any of the following, email us at: BlackandGold@PennFuture.org - May 20th – Oakland Neighborhood Blitz - June 16th – Regent Square Neighborhood Blitz - Month of July – Dormont Business Blitz |
 |
 |