Green Neighborhood Council News

What:    Community Solar Workshop
Date:      Saturday,  May 12, 2012
Time:     1:00 – 3:00pm
Where:  First Unitarian Church’s Common Room (3114 Harney Street)

Community Solar is a relatively new concept that allows community members to reap the benefits of solar energy, even if it is not installed on their own property! Joy Hughes, Founder and Director of SolarGardens.Org in Westminster, Colorado has worked on this idea with communities across the country. On Saturday, May 12th, Joy will be in Omaha to help develop a Community Solar model for Nebraska.

Please register using this link: http://www.e-rezz.com/event/publicDetailsFull/272

Hope to see you there!

Brice Miller, Lead Coordinator on Community Solar for the Nebraska Solar Co-Op

Parking Information: If the church lot is full, the parking garage next to it is available. The first 3 hours are free.  If anyone stays longer than that for our event, there is a device in the Common Room to validate your ticket for the extra time, for which there will also be no parking fee.

You are cordially invited to tour the Fort Omaha Campus solar greenhouse, followed by a discussion of solar greenhouse designs & kits. Both will be led by MCC Solar Instructor, Michael Shonka.

When:    Saturday, April 28th at 1 p.m.
Where:   Metropolitan Community College
Fort Omaha Campus, 32nd & Sorensen Parkway (second right north of Sorensen)

This is one in a series of workshops sponsored by a Solar Energy Co-Op that is organizing in Nebraska and whose founding members include representatives from a number of local green organizations, including the Green Neighborhood Council and the Nebraska Solar Energy Society, among others, as well as solar enthusiasts not affiliated with any organization.

Please plan to join us for the tour & workshop, where you will have the opportunity to vote on a name for the Solar Energy Co-Op and become a founding member of it.

MCC’s greenhouse solar system was the first to be built in Nebraska and the only of its kind among community colleges nationwide. Students assisted with assembly of the eight-panel system, water tank and radiant tubing as part of MCC’s hands-on classes on solar energy and technology.  More workshops are scheduled for the new solar lab attached to the greenhouse in solar air, water and electric systems.

The technology used in MCC’s greenhouse system is readily transferable to greenhouses and hot houses across the state for bedding plants and vegetable crops, providing greenhouse growers year-round crops with little or no heating costs.

For more information, contact Michael Shonka: mshonka@mcc.edu

To RSVP, email GNC Co-Chairs Helen Deffenbacher:  hdeffenbacher@cox.net or Ken Deffenbacher: kdeffenbacher@cox.net.

When: Thursday, May 10th from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Where: Neighborhood Center, 115 S 49th Avenue
All GNC workshops are free and open to the public.

As everyone involved in the local urban farming movement knows, the number of backyard and community gardens in the Omaha area continues to increase each year. People of all ages are finding they can grow food for themselves, either learning on their own or from the many teachers and mentors who don’t just tell but show them how to garden, digging in the dirt along with them. Four of those teachers will discuss their work and suggest ways audience members can get involved. Please plan to join us for this informal roundtable presentation and discussion.

Ali Clark works with the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society as the organization’s Urban Agriculture Specialist.  With other community gardening enthusiasts, she recently helped launch a new Community Supported Agriculture farm, the Big Muddy Urban Farm: www.bigmuddyfarm.blogspot.com/

Chris Foster is the Director of Gifford Park’s Youth Garden Program. He’ll present a short power point slideshow, highlighting the variety of available activities in Gifford Park’s Youth Garden Program and Community Garden: www.giffordparkomaha.org/Community_Garden.html

Dana Freeman has been the School Garden Coordinator with Douglas County Health Department for the CPPW grant and was the Gifford Park Youth Garden Director for 5 years. By May 10th, she will no longer be with the Douglas County Health Department, but she remains a school and community garden advocate and has recently started her own small business called Growing Gardeners, Inc.

Dan Susman travelled across the country last summer with his friend, Andrew Monbouquette to film a documentary about urban farming, called Growing Cities: www.growingcitiesmovie.com. His latest creative endeavor, the Truck Farm, is an edible education project that will provide farm experiences to Omaha area youth.

A free book on gardening or another green topic will be given to each attendee, or while quantities last.

Questions? Contact GNC Co-Chairs Helen Deffenbacher:  hdeffenbacher@greenomahacoalition.org or Ken Deffenbacher: kdeffenbacher@greenomahacoalition.org

Green Neighborhood Council’s Roundtable Discussion
Facilitator: Glenn Pollock
When: April 12th – 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Where: Neighborhood Center, 115 South 49th Avenue

Glenn Pollock is a longtime ecologist whose hobby is conserving and restoring natural landscapes, including urban prairies like the Vincent Bluff, Audubon, Allwine, and T.J. Davis Prairie Preserves, among others. He will discuss how protecting our natural environment benefits everyone and how using native wildflowers and other native plants benefits our ecosystem.

Free packets of the following wildflower seeds from Stock Seed Farms will be given to the first 50 attendees to start or add to your bit of backyard prairie: Blackeyed Susan, Butterfly Milkweed, Common Milkweed, False Sunflower, Illinois Bundleflower, Joe Pye Weed, Pale Purple Coneflower, Purple Coneflower, Purple Prairieclover, Spiked Gayfeather, Upright Coneflower, or Wild Burgamot.

To read about each of these wildflowers, visit: www.stockseed.com or the website of Ion Exchange in Harpers Ferry, Iowa:  www.ionxchange.com

Prairie Preserves

Vincent Bluff: A Loess Hills Prairie Preserve in the Urban Heart of Council Bluffs, Iowa: www.loesshps.org/Photos/Maps/slides/VincentBluffMapaerialcolor.php

Allwine and T.L. Davis Prairie Preserves: www.unomaha.edu/prairie/app.php

Tallgrass Prairies in Eastern Nebraska:  www.nebraskabirdingtrails.com/trail.asp?trail=16

Audubon Society of Omaha Prairie Preserve (formerly known as Jensen Prairie):
  www.audubon-omaha.org/places.htm

When:  Saturday, March 10th from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Where: First Unitarian Church, 3114 Harney Street

This will be the second in a series of workshops co-sponsored by the Green Neighborhood Council (GNC) and the Nebraska Solar Energy Society (NSES) to provide information about solar energy and, for those who are interested, to work with one another and with local experts to organize a solar buying co-op.

The solar equipment has arrived for the first co-op installation on an Omaha area home, which the homeowners and Michael Shonka, solar instructor at Metro Community College and Vice President of NSES, will tell us about at the meeting.

Except for visits to solar homes and businesses, all Omaha Solar Buying Co-Op meetings will be held the second Saturday of each month from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in the Common Room of First Unitarian Church, 3114 Harney Street.

These workshops are free and open to everyone interested in learning about solar energy and the opportunity to help organize a community-led solar buying co-op.

Questions? Suggestions? Email Michael Shonka: mshonka@qwest.net or Helen Deffenbacher: hdeffenbacher@cox.net

Green Neighborhood Council’s March Community Roundtable
Facilitator: Kristi Wamstad-Evans, Omaha’s Sustainability Coordinator
When:  Thursday, March 8th – 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Where:  Neighborhood Center, 115 S. 49th Avenue

All GNC community events are free and open to the public.

Ms. Wamstad-Evans was hired as the City’s first Sustainability Coordinator in September, 2009. Over the past 2-1/2 years, she has worked to establish ECO-Omaha, the Office of Sustainable Development in City Hall, has been responsible for managing over $14 million in energy efficiency projects and programs, and has established many new tools to help facilitate and catalyze sustainability in the City of Omaha.

Ms. Wamstad-Evans will report on progress made since 2009 and discuss ECO-Omaha’s plans for 2012, including building a community-wide web-based tool for collecting information about local efforts to promote and implement sustainability. She is very interested in learning what community groups and individuals are doing to help make our neighborhoods and our city more sustainable.

The Mayor’s Neighborhood Grants provide local organizations with grants of up to $5000 to pursue and implement creative green solutions in their own neighborhoods. Applications for the 2012 funding cycle are due March 26th.  Kristi will be discussing the types of green projects that were funded over the last two years and provide details on how neighborhood associations and other organizations can apply for a 2012 grant.

Tom McCauley, administrator for the Mayor’s Neighborhood Grants will also be available to answer questions about the 2012 application process.

Green Projects For Earth Day & Beyond

For individuals and groups who want to bring project ideas, the Green  Neighborhood Council will have information tables set up for that purpose. These can be projects you’re currently working on or ones you’re planning on doing for  Earth Day—or any day of the year.

A free green book will be given to the first 50 attendees.

A Green Neighborhood Council Roundtable Discussion
When: February 9, 2012 – 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Where: The Neighborhood Center, 115 S 49th Avenue
All GNC workshops are free & open to the public.

The Green Neighborhood Council and the Nebraska Solar Energy Society are co-sponsoring a roundtable discussion on the steps involved in forming a solar-buying co-op: what other cities have done or are doing and the lessons learned, the benefits to homeowners and our community, 2012 tax credits and incentives, installation options besides our roofs, and how other co-ops have selected installers.

Solar buying co-ops provide homeowners access to easy and affordable installation of solar energy systems through bulk purchase discounts, tax credits and incentives. Educational and practical workshops to reduce the complexity of making a solar purchase are another benefit.

A solar-buying co-op is a “support group” for all who are interested in “going solar” and learning from one another and from community experts how to make an informed, cost-effective purchase.  Residents who already have had PV or solar hot water systems installed are also invited to come and share what you have learned.

Initially, we will use Solarize Portland and Minnesota’s Make Mine Solar H20 as model co-ops, and The Solarize Guidebook to help outline and focus the discussion.

Solarize Portland is a volunteer-driven community program led by neighborhood associations to bring renewable energy and weatherization to Portland, Oregon homes: http://www.solarizeportland.org/index.html

Make Mine Solar H20 – The Minnesota Renewable Energy Society recently initiated this volume purchasing program, with the goal of installing 1000 solar hot water systems in the Twin Cities by the end of 2012:  www.mnrenewables.org/MakeMineSolar

The Solarize Guidebook: A community guide to collective purchasing of residential PV systems (PDF). The guidebook provides lessons, considerations, and step-by-step plans for project organizers to replicate the success of Solarize Portland: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/50440.pdf

Free Books: A free green book will be given to the first 50 attendees.

Questions?  Suggestions?  Email Helen Deffenbacher, GNC co-chair and workshops coordinator: hdeffenbacher@cox.net

Solar-Buying Co-Op Schedule

After the first roundtable discussion on February 9th at the Neighborhood Center, co-op meetings will be held the second Saturday of each month from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the Common Room of First Unitarian Church, 3114 Harney Street. More dates may be added to the following: March 10th, April 14th, May 12th , and June 9th

Proposed Discussion Questions for the February 9th Solar Buying Co-Op Roundtable

•    Everyone who is interested in “going solar,” in a small or big way, is invited to participate.
•    No one will ever be pressured into purchasing any solar products or services.
•    Education is a major goal of the co-op, through roundtable discussions, Q & A sessions, and workshops.
•    Partnering with local non-profit organizations, such as the Nebraska Solar Energy Society and others, is another one of our goals.

The following questions are “starters” for our roundtable discussion and are not meant to be exclusive. Please bring additional questions and information to the February 9th meeting.

What are the benefits of solar energy?

How long do solar panels, in general, last?

How long does it take for solar energy systems to pay for themselves and I start to benefit from free energy?

What are the available options for portable solar systems for house and apartment renters?

What is net metering?

Does my neighborhood association have covenants or restrictions that prohibit me from installing panels: On my roof?  On the ground?

If I buy solar panels from a local retail store, how difficult will it be for me to install them myself? Will I need an electrician? Will I need a permit? Will the work need to be inspected?

Is ground installation of solar panels less expensive than roof installation?

Where are the closest U.S. manufacturers of solar panels located?

Can a solar-buying co-op purchase solar panels directly from a manufacturer?

Are there any local wholesale companies that will sell solar panels directly to our co-op?

On which of the following topics does the co-op want to hold workshops:

•    2012 tax credits and incentives for solar energy
•    net metering
•    energy conservation and efficiency/weatherization
•    installation process
•    other _______________________________________________

Does our co-op want to consider the following criteria in selecting businesses to partner with?

•    Are their products made in the U.S.?
•    Are they an independent company based in the U.S. or a subsidiary of a foreign company with one or more American manufacturing plants?
•    Does the installer partner with local community-based apprentice-training programs, like Metro Community College offers, for example, to develop local green jobs?

What other questions does our co-op want to ask retailers/wholesalers about their products?

What other questions does our co-op want to ask installers?

Does our co-op want to select installers on a competitive basis, following Solarize Portland’s model, in which we would partner with only one or two installers?

Or do we want to include all local installers who meet our criteria, have each one give us their prices, and allow homeowners to decide?

What benefits, according to The Solarize Guidebook and other sources, do co-ops provide local solar businesses and how might this enable them to provide our co-op a group discount?

How do I create a solar-friendly landscape and one that saves energy?

What can I do to make my home as energy efficient as possible, which will not only save energy but also the costs of solar installations?

How difficult would it be to build my own solar panels? How efficient would they be compared to commercial panels?

What are the available solar options for owners of RV campers and cabins?

The GNC plans to start up its community-service program again in March, and Cindy Smilley, Executive Director of Keep Omaha Beautiful, will be at our January 12th, 2012 forum to describe our first project, weather-permitting. Please bring your ideas for future green projects. (See the next post, reEnergize Omaha, for information about the forum).

The Green Neighborhood Council (GNC) is moving to a new time starting in 2012 – the 2nd Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m.

Our first speaker for the New Year will be Jason Kubicek, reEnergize Program Coordinator – Marketing and Engagement: www.reenergizeprogram.org

When: January 12, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Same Place – The Neighborhood Center, 115 S 49th Avenue

All GNC workshops and forums are free and open to the public.

Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s BetterBuildings  Neighborhood Program, the reEnergize Program is a collaborative effort between  the cities of Omaha and Lincoln to build energy smart communities. Their plan is to work with highly qualified contractors to complete energy evaluations and  upgrades on a total of 2,100 residences, commercial, and nonprofit buildings throughout the five stages of the program.

With this opportunity, the reEnergize Program will serve as a catalyst, intending to build consumer demand and contractor supply for energy-saving building improvements and to reduce energy use in local buildings.  For the participant, the program offers generous incentives for homeowners to make energy saving upgrades, and for building owners the program offers free energy evaluation and sustainability planning to formulate a plan of action (an estimated $6,500 service).

Local Contractors will benefit with the chance to bid on energy upgrade work and the certification process developed in conjunction with Metro Community College and a team of local technical experts. Visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s BetterBuildings Program for more information about this national initiative and the grant that is helping provide seed funding for this endeavor: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/betterbuildings/

Free Books: To celebrate the New Year, a free green book will be given to the first 50 attendees. Choose from 18 popular titles. These are publishers’ and bookstores’ overstock–new books that have never been read.

Green Energy Resources – See menu bar to the right.

Green Project of the Month: The GNC plans to start up our community-service program again in March, and Cindy Smilley, Executive Director of Keep Omaha Beautiful, will be at the forum to describe our first project, weather-permitting. Please bring your ideas for future Green Projects of the Month to the forum.

Facilitator: Kathe Lyons, PhD, Director of UNO Days of Service/Nonprofit Leadership Alliance
Where: Neighborhood Center, 115 S. 49th Avenue
When: 12 to 1 p.m.
Free and open to the public

Everyone who attended Green Neighborhood Council’s October 19th workshop,  “Community Service Partnerships,” enjoyed the opportunity to meet Kathe Lyons and to learn about UNO’s alliance with nonprofit groups, examples of the many community service projects the over 4000 volunteers have worked on, and the processes involved in recruiting volunteers from UNO as well as other organizations and businesses.

In this follow-up workshop, participants will have the opportunity to share current and future green project ideas and to learn more about the processes involved in building partnerships with UNO and other community nonprofit groups and businesses. Your projects may be small, requiring only a few volunteers, or large, involving 100 or more. Information resources and grant opportunities will also be available.

Bring your brown bag lunch (optional) your questions and/or ideas and join us on November 16th! Chocolate chip cookies from Whole Foods will be provided.

For questions about the workshop, please contact GNC Co-Chair and Workshops Coordinator, Helen Deffenbacher: hdeffenbacher@cox.net.  To read about green projects in our local communities and add your own information, click “Green Neighborhood Projects” on the right-hand menu.

Please note: Because of the holidays, the GNC will not meet in December.