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Sustainability & Conservation > Sustainable Learning > What's New

What's New in Sustainability

Green Homes and Great Health Festival

Save the Date!

Green + Healthy = FUN!

WHEN: Saturday, September 29, 2012; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
WHERE: The Missouri Botanical Garden
ADMISSION: Included with Garden admission

Celebrate sustainable living along with the whole family. Learn about the many ways that plants, air, water, soil and energy sustain our homes, our health and our living Earth. Bike, walk, or take public transit and don't forget to bring your home improvement ideas!

Meet more than 100 green product and service exhibitors
Talk one-on-one with health experts
Shop the Home Made - Home Grown Marketplace of local crafters and farmers
Enjoy kids' activities: solar car races, puppet shows and recycled art
Check out presentations and demos with local experts
Enjoy local foods, beer, wine and live bands

Childrens Activities at the Festival Check back soon for 2012 Festival updates and past year's highlights and resources.

For information on 2012 Sponsorship, Exhibitor and Vendor opportunities, please email greenhomesfest@mobot.org or call (314) 577-0220.

Sustainable Education Update

EarthWays Center education programs for youth and adults explore sustainability topics. Join us to investigate energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy sources, solid waste reduction and recycling, green building, water conservation, and air quality.

Attention all educators!
Mark your calendar for this summer’s sustainability-themed professional development workshops!

3R’s Institute
Monday, June 18 - Friday, June 22
Learn more

Sustainability Institute for PK12 Educators
Tuesday, June 26 - Thursday, June 28
Learn more

Built Environment Update

EarthWays Center programs focus on improving all aspects of our living and working environments. The EarthWays Center is home to the U.S. Green Building Council – Missouri Gateway Chapter.

Save money while increasing the comfort of your home

St. Louis County is offering a low-interest rate financing program for home owners in St. Louis County—designed specifically for energy efficiency improvements to your home. St. Louis County SAVES™ is dedicated to providing you these benefits:

Save money on rising energy costs
Improve the comfort of your home
Keep St. Louis County green and growing

Learn more at www.stlouiscountysaves.com.

Charging Soon! At the Missouri Botanical Garden

What do the Moonrise Hotel, Novus headquarters, Anheuser Busch Credit Union, the Laurel Apartments, Ameren Missouri headquarters and the Missouri Botanical Garden have in common? If electric vehicle charging stations was your first thought, you’re correct! The Missouri Botanical Garden will soon be the newest electric vehicle charging station location in St Louis, with the ability to charge 4 vehicles at one time.

Fully charging an electric vehicle (based on recovering 40 miles of electric driving range) at 240 volts can take between 4 and 5 hours. There will be no charge for the use of the Garden’s charging stations.

If you are interested in more information about charging stations, the Chargepoint Network or electric vehicles, Ameren Missouri has an overview of frequently asked questions on their site.

Upcoming Programs

Take a Class – Build Something – Learn Green to Live Green with the EarthWays Center!

2012 Classes and Educational Opportunities

EarthWays Center spring and summer offerings include returning favorites like “Backyard Chickens” and “Rain Barrel Workshop,” plus DIY and "Greening Your Spring" how-to’s. The Garden continues its sustainability efforts by going GREEN with paperless registration for all of our classes! View full green living and other class listings.

Be sure not to miss:

Rain Barrel Workshop
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Learn more

Rain barrel workshop

Sustainability 101: Your Efforts Matter
Wednesday, May 16
Learn more

Visitors recycling at the Garden

Calling all cool planet kids ages 10-13!

Camp EarthWays images Camp EarthWays: Young Green Builders

Explore the built environment
Investigate sustainable building design
Interact with architects, construction, and city planning professionals
Hop aboard public transportation
Create a fantasy green home from the inside out

Each week will feature different activities so you can register for one or both! Many thanks to the St. Louis Jefferson Solid Waste Management District for making this program available at a lower cost to our participants.

Registration ends July 11 at 5:00 p.m. Learn more and register for Sessions 1 or 2 below.

Session 1: Monday, July 16 through Friday, July 20
Session 2: Monday, July 23 through Friday, July 27

Featured Organization

St. Louis Earth Day
Heroes for the Planet Festival & Recycling Extravaganza
Get ready for the 3rd-largest Earth Day celebration in the country! Enjoy two stages of live music, cultural performances, local food and hands-on activities for the whole family at the 23rd Annual St. Louis Earth Day Festival. Over 200 artists, educational exhibitors, food vendors, businesses and organizations will share how ordinary people can do extraordinary things.

For a second year, on the same day the Earth Day Recycling Extravaganza will accept your hard-to-recycle items. A complete list of accepted items is published online, so you can plan your spring cleaning strategy and item packing accordingly! This year features the DEA Medication Take Back Initiative. Improper disposal of medications poses serious risks to human health and the environment.

WHAT: St. Louis Earth Day Festival
WHEN: Past event - click link above for highlights and contact information

WHAT: Recycling Extravaganza a.k.a REX
WHEN: Past event - click link above for highlights and contact information

Volunteer Opportunities

The EarthWays Center Seeks Volunteers to Learn and Teach About Sustainablity

Everyday is Earth Day... and We Need Your Help!

Throughout the year volunteers are needed to assist with a number of easy and fun activities at various local events, schools, and universities. Duties include:

Tabling (interact with the public)
Children’s activities

Take action to bring more significance to your daily life. Become a part of a vital volunteer community. Sign up to volunteer with your school or community organization—volunteering together is a great way to build a team!

If you’re interested in assisting with our outreach events, please contact Katy Mike Smaistrla or download a Missouri Botanical Garden Volunteer Application and select EarthWays Center as your preferred location.

Green on the Go

Visit the EarthWays Center Staff and Volunteers at These Upcoming Events Around Town

A special opportunity to reduce garden waste by recycling plastic garden pots and trays

WHAT: Plastic Pot Recycling
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, Apr. 2 through Oct. 31
WHERE: Monsanto Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden, 4500 Shaw Blvd. at Vandeventer; visit website for satellite collection locations
SPONSORS: Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis-Jefferson Solid Waste Management District; Missouri Department of Natural Resources; Monrovia Growers, Inc.
INFO: www.plasticpotrecycling.org; (314) 577-5100, 1 (800) 642-8842 toll free

News Rewind

EarthWays Center People & Programs in the Media

Ongoing:
Tune in to Earthworms — environmental talk radio, hosted by the EarthWays Center’s own “Green Jean” Ponzi, Mondays 7–8 p.m. and archived online at KDHX 88.1 FM.

Ongoing:
Sustainability in St. Louis — Jean Ponzi is interviewed in this documentary film. A Kelly Twins Production, Inc. production. Supported by CALOP.

January 2012:
"Q&A: Urging Green Construction" — Emily Andrews, Executive Director, USGBC - MO Gateway Chapter, on the advantages of environmental planning. Suburban Journals

March 8, 2012:
GOOD Ideas for Cities in St. Louis — Katy Mike Smaistrla and Joyce Gorrell joined team "Arch City Revival" in tackling one of the city's most aggressive problems. Hosted by HOK and Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis.