Park Pride works tirelessly to increase Atlanta’s parks and greenspace through education, volunteerism, and community engagement. They’re also working hand-in-hand with the Atlanta BeltLine on the Adopt the Atlanta BeltLine program in order to get people directly involved in creating and protecting this ring of linear parks (another nonprofit I’m pretty excited about, as you probably know).

Now, maybe I’ll get a smart phone for Christmas so I can go check in at REI…

• What: 5% day at Whole Foods on Ponce to benefit Art on the BeltLine
• When: Wednesday, May 26th from 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
• Why: The donation will be used for Art on the BeltLine, which will support the creation of visual arts, performing arts, and historic site interpretation in the BeltLine this May-October!

For more information on this big public arts exhibition, visit art.beltline.org.

Not yet a Georgia Conservancy member? No worries – it’s just $15 for friends and you get a one-year membership. Information will be available to sign up for Generation Green events and trips for 2010.

• What: Save Water, Drink Beer!
• When: March 29th, 2010 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
• Where: Sweetwater Brewing Company (map it!)
• How much: $10 for Georgia Conservancy members and $15 for non-members (includes a one-year membership)

Click here for full event details on the Georgia Conservancy website (and look for it on facebook!) and register today!

If you would like to pay by check, you can also contact Bryan Schroeder, membership coordinator, at (404) 876-2900 x 110 or bschroeder@gaconservancy.org.

• What: The Incredible-Edible-Grow-It-Yourself Fruit Tree, Vine and Berry Bush Sale
• When: Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 9 a.m. – noon
• Where: The Atlanta Community Food Bank at 970 Jefferson Street, Atlanta, 30317 (map it!)
• Why: The Atlanta Community Food Bank is hosting this plant sale to benefit the Atlanta Local Food Initiative
• Payment: Cash or check only please

Experts will be on hand at the plant and tree sale to answer any questions you may have and to help you learn the basics of planting, pruning and caring for your fruit trees, berries and vines.

Not sure how to to go about planting and caring for an edible tree? After the sale, join Robby Astrove of Trees Atlanta for a Community Orchard Planting in East Atlanta. Here’s a snippet from the Georgia Organics website:

As a follow up to the Incredible Edible Fruit Tree Sale, join Georgia Organics and Trees Atlanta for a “serve and learn” at Burgess Peterson Academy (map it!). Come to learn more about farm to school efforts at Atlanta Public Schools and then get down and dirty while learning about proper tree planting and care. Gloves and tools will be provided.

Click here for more information and to register for this free gardening workshop!

If you’re on the fence about whether to plant edible trees and bushes (or your ability to keep them thriving, a big concern of some people’s!), Farmer D Organics can help you out with a Fruiting Tree and Berry Workshop on Janaury 19, 2010, before the sale. The class is 1 to 3 p.m. at the Briarcliff Road location. $10 per person.

And when harvest rolls around and you have more fruit than you know what to do with, check out Concrete Jungle – an organization dedicated to gathering unused fruit from residential yards around metro Atlanta and north Georgia and donating it to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Funny how things come full circle!

Even little Christmas trees (like mine above) need to be mulched! You can recycle your Atlanta Christmas tree with Keep Atlanta Beautiful on January 9th, 2010.

Size doesn’t matter when it comes to recycling your Christmas tree this year. Keep Atlanta Beautiful invites metro Atlanta and Decatur residents to transform their Christmas trees into mulch this year with their annual “Bring One for the Chipper” program. As an added bonus, after saving your tree from a sad fate in a landfill, you can even request a pile of mulch for your own yard! Here’s how, direct from the Keep Atlanta Beautiful website:

The mulch from these trees has been used for playgrounds, local government beautification projects, and residential yards. The high quality, weed-free and pest-free mulch can be obtained for your large-scale landscaping project free of charge. Contact Davey Tree Service at 770-451-7911 for more information or download the Mulch Request Form.

This year’s event will take place at two Home Depots here in Atlanta from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 9th, 2010:

• 650 Ponce de Leon Avenue (map it!)
• 2525 Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta (map it!)

And Keep Atlanta Beautiful would like to extend a big thanks to Boy Scout Troop 298 for their service in helping unload the trees this year!

Don’t live in Atlanta? Just click here for the Keep Georgia Beautiful website where you can type in your zip code to find a recycling drop off point near you.

So come be one of thousands of Georgians recycling their trees into useful organic material and keeping them out of a landfill! Peggy Denby, the Executive Director of Keep Atlanta Beautiful, thanks you and encourages you to spread the word! You can also check out their website for more information.

Morningside Parks is continuing its Engraved Brick Fundraiser for an environmentally-friendly playscape / play structure at Sidney Marcus Park that is suitable and safe for infants and toddlers. Each individual gift of $75 will purchase an engraved brick to be placed on the Sidney Marcus playground plaza. Please visit www.morningsideparks.org to learn more about MPC, to join, and to download a Brick Order Form. Please mail in your Brick Order Form and $75 check by October 31, 2009.

The Morningside Parks Commission offers fundraising services for the improvement and maintenance of the first-class parks, trails, and green spaces of the Morningside/Lenox Park neighborhood, as well as to provide a cohesive vehicle for communication with respect to their management.

Thanks!
The Morningside Parks Commission, Inc. Team

www.morningsideparks.org |  po box 8683  |  atlanta georgia 31106  |  a nonprofit organization

* Please also connect with MPC via its blog and Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages.

WSB-TV and The Trust For Public Land:
Calling All Conservation-Friendly Citizens

Cox Conserves Heroes program to include public nominations, online voting

ATLANTA (May 26, 2009) — Do you know an everyday hero who is making great strides today to ensure a greener tomorrow? WSB-TV Channel 2, in partnership with the Trust for Public Land (TPL), today launched Cox Conserves Heroes – Atlanta, a national awards program to honor and celebrate conservation in everyday life.

Cox Conserves Heroes-Atlanta is now accepting nominations at www.wsbtv.com/community. The Cox Conserves Hero, chosen by online consumer voting, will be awarded $5,000 to donate to the environmental nonprofit of his or her choice.

“The Trust for Public Land’s mission is to conserve land for people to use and enjoy forever, so we are thrilled to partner with Cox to identify and honor people who are making a personal difference in Atlanta,” said TPL’s Executive Director, Helen Tapp. “We’re fortunate to have engaged citizens who want to be actively involved in creating more greenspaces, promoting environmental best practices and enhancing the quality of life in the metro area.”

WSB-TV Channel 2 Action News reporter Justin Farmer will broadcast public service announcements encouraging viewers to nominate people in their community who are helping to create, preserve or enhance places for everyone to enjoy – parks, greenways, gardens, waterways, plazas, streets and public squares. By improving our shared environment, these conservation heroes make Atlanta a better place for everyone to live.

Following the nomination stage, finalists will be selected by the Cox Conserves Judging Circle, a group of local civic leaders. Their stories can be accessed through www.wsbtv.com/community, so the public can learn more about the finalists before voting. The finalist receiving the most online votes will be named the Cox Conserves Hero.

Cox Conserves Heroes Timeline:

• May 26 – June 19: “Call for Nominations.” The public can visit www.wsbtv.com/community to nominate an individual;
• August 10 – August 31: “Cast Your Vote.” The public can view videos of the finalists and cast their vote;
• September: “Cox Conserves Hero Announcement.” Following the online voting, Atlanta’s Cox Conserves Hero will be announced in early September.

By showcasing these unsung heroes, WSB-TV and TPL hope to inspire more people to take an active role in neighborhood conservation activities.

The Cox Conserves Heroes program was created in 2007 through a partnership between The Trust for Public Land and Cox Enterprises, the parent company of WSB-TV. The partnership stems from Cox Enterprises’ national Cox Conserves program designed to reduce the company’s carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2017, and promote eco-friendly behavior among its employees, communities and other corporations. The Cox Conserves Heroes program is active in Seattle and San Diego and will launch in San Francisco and New Orleans this year.

Media Contacts:
Elizabeth Halter
elizabeth.halter@coxinc.com; 678-645-0762

Ellen Adair Wyche
The Wyche Group for The Trust for Public Land
eawyche@thewychegroup.com; 404- 233-4480

# # #

About WSB-TV
Channel 2, WSB-TV, is part of Cox Media Group and is an ABC Affiliate. Cox Media Group, Inc. is a broadcasting, publishing and digital media subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises. It includes the broadcast stations of Cox Television; publishing titles of Cox Newspapers; majority-owned, publicly-traded Cox Radio [NYSE: CXR]; and the national advertising rep firms of TeleRep, HRP, MMT Sales and Cox Cross Media.

About The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, and natural areas, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. Since 1972, TPL has worked with willing landowners, community groups, and national, state, and local agencies to complete more than 3,500 land conservation projects in 47 states, protecting 2.5 million acres. TPL has helped states and communities craft and pass over 330 ballot measures, generating almost $25 billion in new conservation-related funding. In Georgia, TPL has conserved over 20,000 acres and has been instrumental in three primary programmatic areas: Parks for People (including the Atlanta BeltLine and other urban projects), Chattahoochee River Protection Campaign (Phase III) and Georgia Green (also called G2).

• A Karite nutrition oil pre-shampoo treatment – to add moisture and repair dry ends
• A Complexe 5 treatment – a stimulating scalp treatment to cleanse and rejuvenate the scalp and strengthen the hair
• A Curbicia treatment – a purifying clay mask to help reduce over-production of oil for overly oily hair
• This treatment will include a relaxing scalp and hand massage as well as a shampoo and blow dry
• All of this with stylist Andrew Keller

Additionally, all first time clients to Clove Salon leave with a gift bag full of samples of Rene Furterer to try at home!

Clove welcomes to embark on a different salon experience, from its location in an older house in Midtown to its views of the plant and herb garden in back. The relaxing atmosphere is enhanced with the scent of oranges and cloves to create the natural sense of being outdoors. The main focus is on being as green as possible, from the recycling program to energy efficient bulbs and appliances to allergy-free flooring to products that are 100 percent free of animal testing and so much more. Time to take a break from the typical factory salon!

In order to enter the contest, please leave a comment below with your favorite green beauty or health product or tip! May the best tip win! We will announce the winner next week on this blog, between June 1-5, so be sure to check back and see if you won! The contest closes Saturday, May 30th, 2009  at 12 p.m. midnight EST. Only residents of the greater Atlanta metro area are eligible for this giveaway (due to the difficulty of long-distance scalp massages), but there will be more giveaways in the future for different eco-friendly products, so stay tuned!

To schedule an appointment, you can contact Clove online, call 404.249.7855, or visit them at 165 6th Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30308.

A Seat At Our Table will feature local Georgia farmers and producers and benefit the Oakhurst Community Garden Project

The Whole Foods Market at Briarcliff Road and LaVista is recognizing its 10th anniversary and, in celebration, is teaming up with local businesses to bring you a fundraiser in support of the Oakhurst Community Garden! “A Seat At Our Table” will showcase local Georgia farmers and producers and the event will take place on May 30th at 6:30 p.m. at the Whole Foods on Briarcliff Road (map it!).

The flyer for the event states:

Join us for a family style, farm to market feast benefiting the Oakhurst Community Garden Project. The menu features products from our many local and regional farmers and producers including: Crystal Organics, Whippoorwill Hollow Farm, Harris Family Heritage Farm, Thompson Farms Smokehouse, Via Elisa Pasta, Byne Blueberry Farms, Belle Chevre Fromagerie, and Persimmon Creek Vineyards.

Tickets for “A Seat At Our Table” are $50 (and are a tax deductible donation to the Oakhurst Community Garden Project).

Click here to purchase your tickets and reserve your seat! You can also stop by the customer service desk at Whole Foods. Enjoy!

Want to participate? Check out the official rules here!

Come out and party with your Druid Hills neighbors and surrounding communities for the 2009 Olmsted Linear Park Alliance (OLPA) Gala this Sunday, February 22 from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.! All funds raised will go directly to support the Olmsted Parks which we all know and love as the string of green spaces, large trees, and playgrounds along Ponce de Leon Avenue stretching across the Atlanta and Decatur city lines. A ton of progress and restoration has been accomplished along this stretch n the past few years thanks to a major capital campaign, so let’s keep up the fantastic work!

This year’s festivities will take place at the Fernbank Natural History Museum (directions & map here!) and will include:

• Exclusive catering
• Swinging jazz band
• Live & silent auctions with fine art, photgraphy, vacation getaways, fine wines, airline tickets, and more!
• IMAX film with special movie screening

Tickets are $100 and can be purchased through online through the  Olmsted Linear Park Alliance or by calling 404.377.5361. You can also email OLPA at olpa.atl@att.net!

Oh yes, I also happen to know one of the artist’s who has two pieces to be auctioned off on Sunday. Here’s a preview of these two pieces:

Deepdene Park illustration in pen and ink by Rod Pittam

Illustration of a long stone bridge through the woods in Deepdene Park by Rod Pittam

He’s my dad, Rod Pittam, and I’m pretty proud of him. He’s been supporting Druid Hills with his artwork for many years and you can check out his portfolio here at www.PittamAssociates.com (a shameless plug for one’s talented parents is acceptable, right? )

Inspired by President Obama’s inaugural address, Commissioner Kathie Gannon is offering a challenge to District 6 constituents to “spread the love” during February by making non-perishable food item and/or monetary donations to benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank and Decatur Cooperative Ministries. Because of our current economic crisis and the toll it has taken on many of our families who are forced to make difficult choices and often go without even the necessities, many of our social service agencies and charitable organizations are also experiencing cutbacks in giving and Commissioner Gannon thought this would be an opportunity to help them help our neighbors. Food collection barrels will be placed in the lobbies of the Maloof Building (1300 Commerce Drive) and 330 Ponce de Leon Ave during the month of February.

The most needed food items currently are: canned tuna, beans, soups, stews, fruit and vegetables; pastas, macaroni and cheese dinners, whole grain and low sugar cereals. Online donations can be made directly to the Atlanta Community Food Bank‘s secure site, just visit my website, www.kathiegannon.com, click on constituent information, then news to access the link. The food bank can leverage over $8 in food and services for every $1 donation. If you have questions, please contact Rita Morgan at 404-371-6353 or remorgan@co.dekalb.ga.us. Please help spread the word and let’s show the spirit of “love thy neighbor” in DeKalb’s District 6.