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 ReStore »
Habitat's ReStore Assists with Oil Spill Relief June, 2010
Greater Lycoming Habitat's ReStore is now a drop off site for supplies needed in the Gulf to assist with oil spill relief. All of the supplies will be donated to N.O.R.E. or the NEPA Oil Spill Relief Effort . From there, the supplies will be delivered to organizations such as Save Our Seabirds and The Ripple Effect Foundation. From the N.O.R.E. Facebook page, "A local group, NEPA Oil Spill Relief Effort Group (N.O.R.E.) has started a collection to help with the Gulf Oil Spill Disaster. The group is being head by Wallenpaupack students and alumni. N.O.R.E. was created after hearing a radio ad for Gustonian Gifts, who is also collecting items. Wallenpaupack Area School District students Kara Davy, first grade, Erin Irwin, sophomore, and Taylor Nutt, fifth grade, immediately went to work. They contacted their school principals and set up boxes to begin collecting items at their main offices and classrooms. After that, few contacts quickly spread the information to coworkers and friends. The word spread throughout the commonwealth as citizens quickly showed their support, quickly expanding the collection efforts to five counties including Wayne, Pike, Lycoming, Clinton and Monroe. Support grew quickly thanks to a Facebook Fan page that the group created, “NEPA Oil Spill Relief Effort”. Within twenty-four hours, the group had gained over one hundred members-many wanting to start collection sites at their offices. Items that are being collected at the Habitat ReStore include: Batteries (all sizes), Linens, Bungie Cords, Dawn Dish Soap, Pepto-Bismol, New Toothbrushes, Heavy Rubber Gloves, Bleach, Laundry Detergent, Latex Gloves, Chemical Proof Gloves, Scotch Brand Scrubbies, Wire Cutters/Bold Cutters, Paper Towels, Tarps (green or camouflage), WD40, Flashlights, Rags, Towels, Wet Mops, Hand Sanitizer, Zip Ties, Sand Paper, Clorox Wipes, 409, Lysol, Mr. Clean, Crayons, Adhesive Bandages and Gas Cards to offset transportation costs to the Gulf Coast. For more information, please contact the Habitat office at [ email ] .
Summer Fun The Green Way Summer is here and the kids are out of school the question now is how to keep them out of the house. A good way is to take them and yourself for a nature friendly walk in our many parks or along our water ways. Aside from showing them the many different types of plants and animals everyone will get some exercise and fresh air. Walks work best if you can make them an ongoing activity as you and your children will be able to see how nature changes over the seasons, so pick a route you can do all year round. Pack a picnic lunch and if you like living on the edge have your children pack the lunch or at least help and set off on a local adventure by going to the zoo, one of our many museums or have a day at the beach. If you have a clothes line and some blankets make your own tent in the backyard and have a camping trip without leaving your home. If you do not have clothes line use lawn chairs and such like for the support poles for your blanket tent.
Put up a bird feeder and bird bath, plant some butterfly friendly plants and have the entertainment come to your house.
Have the children keep count over the summer of all the different types of bugs they see and for bonus points have them find out some facts about those bugs. For those birthday parties, get together or pot lucks you will have over the summer time make them green by using plates and cups that you can wash and reuse and not just throw away. Encourage people to carpool or bike or walk over to the party. Wrap presents in newspaper or recycled paper bags or old clothes you are not going to wear again.
Go to the library and find some fun summer reading, also a good activity for those rainy days.
The 40th anniversary of Earth Day is a great opportunity to remember that recycling reusable materials benefits the environment and families in need! Habitat ReStores are outlets that accept donated goods and resell them to the general public at a fraction of the retail price to help local Habitat affiliates fund the construction of Habitat homes within their communities. Founded by former U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson in 1970, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement. Here is a link with information on local Earth Day celebrations:
Sun Gazette Earth Day Announcements March 2010 As many now are paging through the seed catalogs getting ready for putting in their gardens, we thought we would say a few words about keeping your garden green and were not talking just plants but gardening methods. Have your soil tested so you know the correct amount of fertilizers you need because the first step in being green is not wasting resources. Choose the types of plants that will grow well you your soil type and climate zone. Here is a link on the plant zones in Pennsylvania: www.growit.com/bin/USDAZoneMaps.exe?MyState=pa Also make your own fertilizers by composting your yard and food waste products from your home. Your garden area should be constructed so that when it rains the water does not run off into the storm sewers, which leads to the lakes as this runoff water will have nutrients which can help the lake algae grow. For watering for those times between rains thinks of setting up a rain barrel to collect rain from your roof as this is soft water and it is better for your plants than the water out of your tap. Pest control can be done in a green way depending on the amount and type of pest you can pick them off your plants and put them in a container which is filled with water and common dish washing soap. Here is a website with some green ways to do pest control .
If you have some room in your garden put in some plants that are useful to endangered butterflies and that will provide food for song birds as the move through your neighborhood on their migrations. Halloween is on the way; lets do it in a “spooky green” way. For starters you can make costumes out of your old clothes or go to your local resale store to find fun clothes for a costume or use your imagination on using other items in your household to make fun costumes. Dress yourself up as a recycled or recyclable item like a newspaper, plastic bottle or cardboard box or as a green item such as a solar panel or windmill. Do not forget the treats you give out can be “spooky green” too. Give out organic food items to your little monster visitors such as raisins or fruits and out there somewhere there is green candy although most dentist may disagree. Instead of giving out edible items you could give out little trinkets that the children can play with over and over again and not just eat up one time. As for your pumpkin get one that is grown organic and when you carve it save the seeds and roast them in your oven as they make a good green snack. If you want to be “super spooky green” instead of carving your pumpkin, paint a face on it and after Halloween is over cook it up to make pumpkin pie or squash. Below are a few websites that have many ideas for having a green Halloween:
http://greenoptions.com/tag/green-halloween Booooooo!
Keeping Your Cool
Now that summer is upon us it is time to think of keeping cool. To that end here are some ways to keep cool and be green at the same time and maybe even save a little money. •Use a programmable thermostat so your air conditioner runs only at the times you are home and not when you are away. Also if your air conditioning unit is old you should look into getting a new Energy Star rated unit as the newer units are much energy efficient than older units. Of course you can just put a fan in the window as for most of the summer you do not need to use air conditioning, especially at night. Lastly check the temperature outside as many times because people keep the air conditioner running even though the outside temps are cool. •For your windows that face the sun be sure to close the shades or blinds during the day to keep the heat of the sun out. •Insulate the attic door to keep the heat from leaking down into your home and as when you insulate to keep the heat in during the winter you also want to make sure your house is well insulated to keep the cool air in. •For those of you who like to bake do it in the morning or evening when, normally, the temps are lower and you can open the window to let the hot cooking air out.
•Keep it green around your house with plants, grass or trees; avoid, if possible, having rocks, concrete or asphalt near your house, especially on the south and west sides, as these materials absorb the heat of the sun and will raise the temperature around your house. Having shade trees around your house are another good way to keep the air temps down.
Living Green: Turning Trash Into Treasure
We know all the benefits of reusing things… and shopping at the Habitat ReStore is a perfect place to start. What are some other practical ways to integrate reusing into everyday life? The following are some fun and creative ways to use everyday items in brand new ways! • Put shredded paper in your compost bin • Put an old blanket in your car trunk for emergencies or keep with your picnic basket so you're ready to go for a spontaneous picnic! • Use old greeting cards as bookmarks, in scrapbooking, or to make new cards • Use large glass food jars in new ways such as storing food (ie: homemade soup, canned food, etc) • To protect new plants in your garden, cut the top off of a milk jug and put the jug upside on the plant. • Use mugs you don't need for coffee as storage for pens, a vase full out small flowers, a place for extra screws and nails, etc. • Have an old shower curtain? Save it to cover the table when the kids are doing a messy craft, or save it and use as a dropcloth for your next painting project. • Save old toothbrushes for cleaning tools, for in between bathroom tiles, polishing shoes, or cleaning greasy auto parts. • Reuse plastic bags as garbage bags • Since Lycoming County residents can't recycle yogurt containers- wondering what alternatives exist to throwing them in the garbage? Use them as snack holders for your kids, plant seedlings in them, hold screws, paperclips, etc. i
Living Green: A Few Tips Now that it is the time of year that taking a loooong hot shower is a joy, it seems like a good time to talk about water conservation. Starting with that shower, check to see if it has a low flow showerhead. A low flow shower head restricts the amount of water that is allowed to flow through it, but keeps the pressure of the water coming out the same as if it had a standard opening. The way to check your showerhead is to remove it from the pipe and see if it has a restricted flow, which means that the opening to the main part of the showerhead is not the size of the pipe but the only part of the pipe that is open is a small area in the middle of the pipe. If not you can either put a new showerhead on or put a rubber washer inside the neck of the showerhead and that will reduce the water flow. Your toilet is also another big user of water. All new toilets use reduced amounts of water compared to older toilets. A quick way to reduce the water used by your older toilet is to put a brick in the tank and thru the magic of physics you will the reduce the amount of water your toilet uses but keep the flush at the same pressure. Another way your toilet uses a lot of water is if it does not seal properly and it leaks water from the tank to the bowl, kinda of like a dripping faucet. This is hard to notice but if you hear you toilet fill up every now and then when no one is using it you most likely have a leak. To check this, put some food coloring in the tank and you will be able to see the colored water leaking into the bowl. If it is leaking, the first fix is to put a new flapper on, since over time the rubber on the flapper can degrade. The flapper is the part in the tank that cover the drain hole to the bowl.
Leaks in your faucets can waste alot of water. If you have a leaking faucet, replace the washer as even a small leak, one drop a second can lose you 3000 gallons of water a year. Most washers can be replaced with a few tools and basic know how. So fix those leaks and besides saving water your will also save money. In addition, an increasingly popular reason that people shop at the Habitat ReStore is that it supports “Green” living! In a time where protecting our environment is becoming a serious concern for many, the ReStore is a perfect example of reusing and recycling. The following are a few other “Green” living tips: Not driving? Turn off your car!
Reduce!
you’ll use less energy. • Buy quality products that will last longer. Over time, you'll buy less products and reduce consumption. • Buy a reusable coffee mug instead of using disposable ones when you get your morning cup of joe. • Buy a resusable water bottle instead of disposable bottles of water. Trim Down on Heating & Cooling
everyone did this, the cumulative impact would be significant. • Save 5% in heating costs by keeping your furnace clean and lubricated. • Use a programmable thermostat, which can reduce energy use by 5-30 percent and save you $100-$150 in energy costs each year. | |
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