CIVIC WORKS' RETROFIT BALTIMORE
BALTIMORE
GREEN FEST, SATURDAY 12-4 AT THE MOUNT WASHINGTON SCHOOL UPPER BUILDING
Retrofit Baltimore hosted the first Baltimore Green Fest at the Mount Washington Elementary School. It was a very labor-intensive organizing effort and were joined by numerous other environmentally-friendly businesses and organizations from the Baltimore community. The event raised awareness of “green” issues and the steps that people could take to reduce their carbon footprint and stimulate the emerging green economy in their neighborhood.
Well over 100 people showed up to learn more about the efforts to make Baltimore a more environmentally sustainable city. In fact, the level of enthusiasm and participation by Mount Washington residents was so inspirational that Retrofit Baltimore established the Mount Washington Energy Cooperative (MWEC). By joining the MWEC, not only can homeowners save up to 50% off a home energy retrofit through rebates offered through the state, but they can also reduce the expense by an additional 15% because of the combined purchasing power of their Mount Washington neighbors. That's almost a 2/3rds reduction in the cost of reducing residential energy needs (and utility expenses as well).
All of the workshops were well attended and included a presentation on native plants for residential landscaping from Mount Washington’s own Rick Kingsbury, a home energy efficiency presentation from Retrofit Baltimore and Baltimore Heritage, a storm-water management workshop by Dundalk Renaissance Corp. & Backriver Restoration Committee, and a safety commuter workshop from Bikemore. There was also a panel discussion on green schools with Mount Washington School parent Lee Dix, Renee Goodenow from the Baltimore Office of Sustainability, Allyson Bloom from the Maryland Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education, and other panelists.
Delicious, environmentally-friendly lunch options were provided by Clementine and Land of Kush, and Thread Coffee was on hand to warm people up with a steaming cup of their fresh, fair-trade coffee. Environmental engineer Ed VandenBosche even played the cello in between talking with people at his table and generous raffle prize donations from participating vendors helped raise some money for the Mount Washington School PTO. The gym was filled decorations made by students in the after-school art program and one student even showed up to showcase his artwork! Kristie Winther, a graduate student from MICA’s Community Arts Collaborative, helped kids draw native animals at the arts and crafts table. Julie Lin from Creative City Public Charter School painted the faces of little ones at her table.
1) 12:45pm: "Native Trees & Shrubs for the Landscape" Local landscape architect Rick Kingsbury will give you expert advice on the best native plants for residential landscaping.
2) 1:00pm: "Clean Up the Bay" Reduce your impact and eliminate stormwater pollution at home with tips from the Back Water Restoration Committee and the Dundalk Renaissance Corporation!
3) 1:30pm: "Weatherization & Historic Tax Credit Workshop" Discover how you can drastically lower your energy use and save money on utility bills while eliminating uncomfortable drafts and decreasing your home’s impact on the environment by combining historic tax credits with weatherization in your historic house.
4) 2:00pm: "Panel Discussion on Green Schools" Find out what it takes to become a green school with a presentation by the Mt. Washington School, the Office of Sustainability, Blue Water Baltimore, Tree Baltimore, and other panelists.
5) 2:30pm: "DIY Home Energy Efficiency" Learn all about low-to-no-cost home energy efficiency solutions with Rebuilding Together Baltimore!
6) 3:00pm: "Safety Commuter Workshop" Get up to date on how to bike safely around Baltimore with Bikemore and Bike Maryland. Adult riders, don't forget get to bring your bike for road ride immediately after the fest!
7) 3:30pm: "Watts New" Learn how you can save energy in your home with the Baltimore Energy Challenge!
Please clink the following link which is a video of GreenFest. http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/Page/21541
Retrofit Baltimore hosted the first Baltimore Green Fest at the Mount Washington Elementary School. It was a very labor-intensive organizing effort and were joined by numerous other environmentally-friendly businesses and organizations from the Baltimore community. The event raised awareness of “green” issues and the steps that people could take to reduce their carbon footprint and stimulate the emerging green economy in their neighborhood.
Well over 100 people showed up to learn more about the efforts to make Baltimore a more environmentally sustainable city. In fact, the level of enthusiasm and participation by Mount Washington residents was so inspirational that Retrofit Baltimore established the Mount Washington Energy Cooperative (MWEC). By joining the MWEC, not only can homeowners save up to 50% off a home energy retrofit through rebates offered through the state, but they can also reduce the expense by an additional 15% because of the combined purchasing power of their Mount Washington neighbors. That's almost a 2/3rds reduction in the cost of reducing residential energy needs (and utility expenses as well).
All of the workshops were well attended and included a presentation on native plants for residential landscaping from Mount Washington’s own Rick Kingsbury, a home energy efficiency presentation from Retrofit Baltimore and Baltimore Heritage, a storm-water management workshop by Dundalk Renaissance Corp. & Backriver Restoration Committee, and a safety commuter workshop from Bikemore. There was also a panel discussion on green schools with Mount Washington School parent Lee Dix, Renee Goodenow from the Baltimore Office of Sustainability, Allyson Bloom from the Maryland Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education, and other panelists.
Delicious, environmentally-friendly lunch options were provided by Clementine and Land of Kush, and Thread Coffee was on hand to warm people up with a steaming cup of their fresh, fair-trade coffee. Environmental engineer Ed VandenBosche even played the cello in between talking with people at his table and generous raffle prize donations from participating vendors helped raise some money for the Mount Washington School PTO. The gym was filled decorations made by students in the after-school art program and one student even showed up to showcase his artwork! Kristie Winther, a graduate student from MICA’s Community Arts Collaborative, helped kids draw native animals at the arts and crafts table. Julie Lin from Creative City Public Charter School painted the faces of little ones at her table.
1) 12:45pm: "Native Trees & Shrubs for the Landscape" Local landscape architect Rick Kingsbury will give you expert advice on the best native plants for residential landscaping.
2) 1:00pm: "Clean Up the Bay" Reduce your impact and eliminate stormwater pollution at home with tips from the Back Water Restoration Committee and the Dundalk Renaissance Corporation!
3) 1:30pm: "Weatherization & Historic Tax Credit Workshop" Discover how you can drastically lower your energy use and save money on utility bills while eliminating uncomfortable drafts and decreasing your home’s impact on the environment by combining historic tax credits with weatherization in your historic house.
4) 2:00pm: "Panel Discussion on Green Schools" Find out what it takes to become a green school with a presentation by the Mt. Washington School, the Office of Sustainability, Blue Water Baltimore, Tree Baltimore, and other panelists.
5) 2:30pm: "DIY Home Energy Efficiency" Learn all about low-to-no-cost home energy efficiency solutions with Rebuilding Together Baltimore!
6) 3:00pm: "Safety Commuter Workshop" Get up to date on how to bike safely around Baltimore with Bikemore and Bike Maryland. Adult riders, don't forget get to bring your bike for road ride immediately after the fest!
7) 3:30pm: "Watts New" Learn how you can save energy in your home with the Baltimore Energy Challenge!
Please clink the following link which is a video of GreenFest. http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/Page/21541
Our school hosted the Green Fest Event for the school community including students, teachers and parents and also invited all Baltimore City Schools that were interested in learning more about becoming a green school. The school created this event to share it's Green resources and knowledge with all Baltimore City Public schools and surrounding community. This was an amazing opportunity to bring together teachers and green advocates from across Baltimore to engage in green workshops at the school and meet partner organizations that could help schools with their green work.