A Final Earth Day Thought...

Confessions of a Green Committee Member

Does it seem sometimes that “going green” or “being green” is a competition or an opportunity to judge others, whether positively or negatively? It shouldn’t be necessary to categorize people in terms of their greenness or their willingness to become so. I find that we go through life absorbing and responding to whatever we can at that moment, and boy is it an ever-changing process! I remember back to the days when I would go on long car rides for fun, not having any idea of the impact of gasoline use (granted I had just gotten a drivers license…). I remember that it was normal to let the water run the entire time that I was brushing teeth, and that a visiting high-school friend once turned off the faucet for me, shocked that I could be so wasteful; I had honestly never thought about it before.
My green habits have evolved gradually over the years, some gleaned from friends, others derived from books, yet others through my own observations. I’m one of those people who think that if something is the “right” thing to do, it should happen overnight! So at times I have felt frustrated and guilty about my still un-green habits, either because I haven’t been able to expend the energy (no pun intended) to make the shift quite yet, or because I honestly don’t know what the better solution is. So I confess that we are still working our way through a humongous box of cheap plastic kitchen trash bags from Target. And I confess that we’re still using pull-up diapers at night more than 3 years after being potty-trained during the day. And I confess that we still don’t turn off and unplug our electronics regularly. I confess! But I am working on these things to the best of my currently overtaxed abilities. More important, however, than the details of our greenness, is the fact that each of our actions produces ripples that impact us all. “One could not pluck a flower without troubling a star” (Loren Eiseley). I see both the potential beauty and the potential destruction lurking within each of us, but I am choosing to focus on the beauty.

Post by Linda Kealey

GREEN TIP FOR THE WEEK

GREEN TIP: Every Day Water Saving Tips

Ever wonder what to do with your child's small swimming pool filled with water at the end of the day? You can use it to water your plants in your garden. After a hot day, the children will also enjoy this simple task of watering the thirsty plants, and you will avoid mosquitoes sticking around at the same time!

Here are some useful water saving tips for the household:

-Check to make sure there are no water leaks in you household.
-Insulate your water pipes.
-Install low-flow, water saving showerheads, and avoid taking long showers.
-Fill a bottle or plastic bag with gravel and put it in your toilet tank to lesson the volume of water used with each flush.
-Wash only full loads in your clothes washer and dish washer.
-Don't leave the water running while brushing your teeth or shaving.
-Consider developing a greywater system to re-use shower, sink, and dish-water for garden irrigation or for use in toilets.
-Avoid over-watering your lawn. As a general rule, only water every 5-7 days in the summer and 10-14 days in the winter.
-Wash your fruits and vegetables in a bowl of water rather than under a running tap.
-Adjust your lawnmower to cut grass no shorter than three inches. Taller grass encourages deeper roots and shades the soil to reduce moisture loss.

Upcoming Events:
Saving Water/Creating Soil
Mill Valley Community Center, Mountain View Room
May 26, 2009 - 7pm-8:30pm
link to event: http://www.cityofmillvalley.org/index.aspx?recordid=447&page=34

Local websites:
http://www.watersavinghero.com/partners/marin_municipal_water_district.html
http://www.nmwd.com/conservation.php
http://www.marinwater.org/
http://www.sonoma.watersavingplants.com/default.php

OUR GREEN SCHOOL

MdTL set up its first compost…well, when many of us were still in school. Today through a commitment from faculty and staff and a little guidance from two allstar parents, nature’s quiet march is turning yesterday’s lunch scraps–and Lemody’s scat–into tomorrow’s clean earth. Two of our Green Committee members, Jenn and Alex Bottmeyer, and MdTL’s own Business Manager Karen Walls, decided that it was time to perfect the school’s composting efforts. When many of us were enjoying a day off, our faculty and staff were learning all about successful composting techniques; their little investment in time has spawned another compost bin, and united a movement with our neighboring Christ Presbyterian Church, to co-compost with us.

The last several months have been a period of tremendous learning for the MdTL Green Committee; with PG&E Audits, Marin Municipal Water Audits, and Solar Audits teaching each and every one of us how very necessary and simple conservation efforts can be. It’s also been a very reaffirming time because as parents we’ve been able to see how ‘green’ this little school of ours is. We’ve learned that MdTL has been: serving wholesome and organic foods, using non-toxic cleaners, biodegradable soaps, energy efficient light bulbs and fixtures, water tap screens to reduce waste, low-flow toilets, heating timers, power shut down policies and composting–all before it was in vogue to do so.
It’s only fitting that our beautiful little school should be recognized as a Certified Green Business; and the Green Committee has been working with the Marin Green Business Program to do just that. Montessori de Terra Linda has embodied a true commitment to children and to the environment for a long time, and their efforts shall be duly recognized.

So you see, as parents and committee members extending green practices to our community and our social functions, we are simply just trying to keep up with our forward thinking school. The composting, the cutting back on paper products, the sharing of information–it’s our own little way of matching your pace MdTL, and saying: Thank you Montessori de Terra Linda, for setting the bar so high.

by Amy McKelvey