By Michelle Gibbs, Office of Sustainability Quick quiz: Which of these items can you recycle in Holland’s yellow curbside recycling bags? Plastic milk carton Paper milk carton Paper Junk mail Styrofoam cups Plastic bags Cereal boxes Think you know? The answers may surprise you. For example, while plastic milk cartons can be recycled at the …
Continue reading “LIVING SUSTAINABLY: Living Sustainably program will sort out recycling questions”
By Sarah Irvin, DeGraaf Nature Center We live in an age of consumption, as evident in our overflowing and expanding homes, garages, and external storage facilities. Studies have shown this accumulation is not making us any happier and comes with a cost to both people and our environment. So, we need to think about the impact of our …
Continue reading “LIVING SUSTAINABLY: Less stuff is more sustainable”
By Madison Ostrander ’17 Eating seasonally is one of the best ways to thank your community and environment. Doing so feels especially whimsical and effortless in the spring, summer, and early fall, when the Holland Farmers Market is filled with beautiful flowers, fresh fruits, and a wide variety of vegetables. But with cold and snow coming, many …
Continue reading “LIVING SUSTAINABLY: Fall and winter are local food seasons, too”
By Morgan Kelley, Holland Board of Public Works Being smart about your energy use is not only easy, but saves you money. The Energy Waste Reduction programs offered by Holland Board of Public Works seek to meet goals in the City of Holland’s Community Energy Plan and Sustainability Framework by promoting affordability, sustainability, and energy efficiency for residents …
Continue reading “Living Sustainably: HBPW wants to snuff out vampire power”
By Shandra Martinez, Ready for School Herman Miller employees were among the volunteers who fanned out to meet soon-to-be kindergarten students on a sunny August morning to personally present each child with a bright green backpack. Inside each was an outfit of pants, shirt, and shoes, plus school supplies, such as a pencil box, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, and …
Continue reading “LIVING SUSTAINABLY: Business talent pipeline begins with Ready for School”
By Andrea Goodell, Herrick District Library Making your home more comfortable, healthy and cost-effective doesn’t have to break the bank. Everyone knows the No. 1 tip: Lower your thermostat a couple of degrees in winter and raise it a couple of degrees in summer. (You won’t notice the difference, but you’ll notice the savings.) There are dozens of …
Continue reading “Living Sustainably: Energy seminar focuses on comfort, health, savings”
By Sara Hogan, Benjamin’s Hope Harvest Festival at Benjamin’s Hope has become a much-anticipated annual event that inspires hope for hundreds of families in West Michigan impacted by disability. The entire community is welcome for this annual family-friendly evening of fun. Families will enjoy pony cart rides, hayrides, roasting marshmallows around a campfire, games, and more at the Harvest …
Continue reading “Living Sustainably: Harvest Festival Saturday Celebrates Hope and Inclusion”
JIM AND MARTIE BULTMAN STUDENT CENTER EARNS LEED GOLD CERTIFICATION; WOOD FROM STORM-FELLED TREES LINKS PAST AND PRESENT September 17, 2018 — by Greg Olgers Organizations seeking LEED certification for their construction projects have many ways to earn it, including by using regional materials. In developing the Jim and Martie Bultman Student Center, which recently …
Continue reading “JIM AND MARTIE BULTMAN STUDENT CENTER EARNS LEED GOLD CERTIFICATION”
By Andrea Goodell, Herrick District Library A sustainable community takes more than just environmental health or economic health or social health. It takes everyone working together for all of those things.This month, Living Sustainably Along the Lakeshore will kick off its fall series of events addressing ways in which Holland is becoming a more sustainable community and telling …
Continue reading “Living Sustainably: Noise and neighborliness kicks off sustainability series”
By Ken Freestone and Lisa Uganski, GreenMichigan.org and Ottawa Food The issue of food waste is about more than disposal of food scraps from our tables at home or uneaten food at restaurants. It is about hungry families and individuals, about wasting environmental resources during growing and processing, about over-purchasing, and about creating methane in landfills. There are at …
Continue reading “Living Sustainabily: Food Waste Film – Just Eat It”
