From the Executive Director
My daughter came home from school last week complaining that there were no recycling bins in the cafeteria at her new school. She asked if kids were breaking the law by throwing away their plastic bottles because she is aware that, as of October 1, 2009, it is against state law to put plastic bottles, such as water and soda bottles, in the trash. Recycling plastic bottles conserves energy and resources and creates jobs. More than 14,000 people are employed in the recycling industry in North Carolina. Bottles can be recycled back into plastic bottles or can have a completely new life as a different product, such as carpet, lumber, other types of containers, or even clothing. North Carolina and the southeast are home to plastics recycling factories hungry for material to make new products. Recycling plastic bottles is a great way to close the recycling loop. Unfortunately, many area families either do not participate in the curbside recycling program or do not have services offered to their residence. Most schools and businesses don’t recycle at all. It takes a combination of education, availability of products and services, and municipal support to bring about environmental change. Creating meaningful change starts when concerned individuals take action. To this end, PEA has decided to make the 2010 Piedmont Earth Day Fair a Day of Action. Visitors to the Fair will have opportunities to take action that day and to pledge to take action over the next year in ways that minimize their impact on the environment. We will collect and create a database of these actions and follow up with people later in the year to track their results. It is our hope that by inspiring action at the Earth Day Fair, we will motivate people to continue to take action throughout the year and throughout their lives. I hope you will join us. The 2010 Earth Day Fair will be held on Saturday, April 17, 2010, at Wake Forest University. And, you can take action today by volunteering to serve on our Fair organizing team. Several opportunities remain for you to make a real impact. I have encouraged my daughter to take action by suggesting she write a letter to her school principal to request that they follow the law and recycle plastic bottles at school. Terri E. LeGrand
Executive Director  PEA Hires Membership Coordinator
PEA is pleased and proud to announce that Amy Oves has accepted our offer to become the first paid staff member of PEA. Amy will serve as Membership Coordinator beginning October 12th. Amy is an environmental educator and holds a Masters in Environmental Education from Slippery Rock University. Amy is excited to share her commitment to sustainability as she recruits new members to PEA. Amy will also be building the PEA Partner Savings Program, which will directly benefit local businesses that offer eco-friendly products and services as well as our members. Amy lives in Kernersville with her family, pictured here from left to right: Simon, Jeff, Jack, and Amy Oves.
Local Wine & Food Tasting … oh, and a Little “Business” too
Please join PEA for its annual meeting and Environmental Exchange on October 22, beginning at 6:00 pm. The event will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem, 4055 Robinhood Rd. The brief business portion of the evening will recognize the PEA Volunteer of the Year and Green Business of the Year. Subsequent to the annual meeting there will be a networking event featuring local wines and local foods, compliments of PEA. We are pleased to have Shelton Vineyard, Sanders Ridge, Rag Apple Lassie and The Country Vintner join us to sample their locally grown and made vintages. Several local eateries including Meredian, Milners, Sweet Basils, Camino Bakery and Cafe Gelato will sample delicious local food. These fine establishments are known for their desire to use all natural, fresh and local ingredients. It's a great line-up of local wine & food so please join us.
PEA Announces Slate of Candidates for Board of Directors
Six outstanding candidates have been nominated to serve a two-year term on the PEA Board of Directors. The term runs from November 1, 2009, to October 31, 2010. PEA members will elect board members at the PEA annual meeting on October 22, 2009. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. Executive Director Terri LeGrand will share a retrospective on the great successes PEA has enjoyed during the last program year, announce the Green Business and PEA Volunteer of the Year, and oversee the election of our Board of Directors. All are welcome to attend but only members can vote. Stay for local wine and food tasting after the meeting. View candidate bios.
Earth Day Fair Planning Team Needs You
There are still a few positions left on the 2010 Earth Day Fair Planning Team. If you’d like to lend your talent and enthusiasm to the Team, please join us for our next meeting on Wednesday, October 14, 7-9 pm, Benson University Center, Room 344F, Wake Forest University. View current volunteer job openings.
PEA Sponsors an Evening with Jon Bowermaster - Writer, Filmmaker and Adventurer
Writer and adventure filmmaker Jon Bowermaster will be speaking at Annenburg Forum in Carswell Hall, Wake Forest University, on October 26, 2009, beginning at 7 p.m. Mr. Bowermaster's recently completed high-def film, Terra Antartica, documents a six-week long exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula by sea kayak. Though just-finished, it is already garnering awards: a finalist at the Blue Ocean Film Festival and winner of the "Ocean Issues" category. A six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council, his 2007-2008 Antarctic expedition was the final in his OCEANS 8 project, which over the past decade has taken him and his teams around the world by sea kayak, including expeditions to the Aleutian Islands, Vietnam, French Polynesia, Chile/Argentina/Bolivia, Gabon, Croatia and Tasmania. Seeing the world from the seat of a sea kayak over the past decade has given Bowermaster a one-of-a-kind look at both the health of the world's oceans and the lives of the nearly 3 billion people around the globe who depend on them. Read more.
First Friday Eco-Exchanges We gathered on the patio at Caffe Prada for our first First Friday Eco-Exchange last Friday. It was a beautiful evening, capped off with a spectacular sunset and full moon over the downtown skyline. Join us next month, on the first Friday of the month, Nov. 6 from 5:30-7:00, at Caffe Prada. It’s casual, so just show up, bring a friend or two, and enjoy the company. It’s a great way to meet new, eco-minded people.
Not a PEA Member Yet? Join Today! Please join and become part of the solution for a sustainable future. To become a member, you may join on-line or download the membership form from our website and mail it to us. PEA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported solely by membership dues and donations. |
