We did it! Our first newsletter is finally finished!
Over the months since starting EcoSherpa, if there was another motto aside from “Realistic, Responsible Living” that would be applicable it would “slow and steady” - since this is the approach we’ve taken with this website.
Well, I think in the case of our newsletter, “better late than never” might be even more appropriate than that!
Our original plans for a “May Newsletter” gradually morphed into a “Spring/Summer” idea, before finally becoming our current “Summer 2007″ offering. The combination of very busy schedules and technical challenges (it being our very first PDF newsletter and all) certainly didn’t help!
What’s important is that it IS now finished, and ready to be (hopefully) enjoyed by our newsletter members. If you have not yet signed up for the newsletter, you can find a link at the bottom of this post (or click on the newsletter link at the top of the blog).
So what’s inside?
Seeing Green II - As a follow-up to my original EcoSherpa “Seeing Green” update, I share my thoughts on our progress as we approach our 1 year anniversary.
2007 Water Conservation Project - Learn about the fun water conservation project I decided to start this summer. Goes hand in hand with my Water-Smart Gardening methods.
Urban Gardening - Steve discusses the joys of growing your own garden-fresh produce, and his plans to share his crop with family, friends and neighbours.
Summer Composting - Summer can represent a prime opportunity for fast, efficient composting - but not if you neglect your bin. Learn how to keep your heap happenin!
Terracycle Challenge - How will Terracycle stack up against solid worm compost, and MiracleGro? Should be interesting to find out! Learn about my experimental design and some of the limitations of this fun project!
Eating Locally - Steve encourages us all to spend the time getting to know our local food providers. Why give your money to the supermarket chains when you can support your local farmers and businesses, and enjoy much better food in the process!
Just so you know, we will make the newsletter available publicly in a month or so. But if you want to read it now and are not on our list, whadya waiting for? You can sign up >>HERE<< (at the bottom of the page)
Remember, it's completely free and your email address will be 100% safe with us!
As for the ETA on our next newsletter...no comment!
Ok, I'm kidding. With the first issue now under our belt, I don't think it will be too challenging to get another issue out for the fall.
Technorati Tags: ecosherpa, newsletter, water conservation, gardening, local produce, composting, compost bin
Written by Bentley on June 29th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Announcements.
I had an e-mail exchange with Franke James earlier this week and she happened to mention that she had enjoyed my post about ‘Water-Smart Gardening‘ and was wondering if I could recommend any drought-resistant grass species.
Franke recently went to battle with the city of North York when she discovered that building a permeable ‘green driveway’ was not permitted in the city. She gained a lot of publicity thanks to Toronto newspapers and news programs (as well as a post on Treehugger), and thankfully was eventually given the green light. For the full story, be sure to check out the post on her blog:
How my Eco-friendly Driveway got the Green Light from City Hall
Well now that her battle is behind her, Franke is looking for a suitable grass species for the PermaTurf® system she will be installing (or has already installed). Not being a huge fan of grass in general, unfortunately I did not have an answer for her off the top of my head, but I decided to see what I could find online. Aside from wanting to help out a friend, I knew there would be plenty of other people interested in learning more about this subject.
It didn’t take me long before I came across the mention a product called “Eco-Lawn”. With my curiosity piqued sufficiently I decided to learn as much about the product as I could.
Eco-Lawn was developed by Paul Jenkins and Miriam Goldberger of Wildflower Farm Inc., a native plant nursery and natural landscaping company located in Schomberg Ontario (~ 1/2 hour north of Toronto). Having heard that fescue grasses had a reputation for high performance with low maintenance, they decided to start experimenting with various fescue species. Eventually they hit upon a blend that offered all the beneficial qualities of fescue grass, while still providing the aesthetic appeal of a ‘normal’ lawn.
After a few years of successful testing, they decided to begin marketing their blend under the name “Eco-Lawn”. The rest is of course history!
Some of the Benefits Listed on the Eco-Lawn page:
- Drought tolerant
- No fertlizers/chemicals required
- Grows in full sun, part shade, and even deep shade
- Less vulnerable to grubs
- Reduced mowing requirements
I highly recommend you check out this video interview with Miriam Goldberger: Eco-Lawn
Unfortunately I don’t have any personal experience using Eco-Lawn, so I’d definitely be interested to hear from anyone who has in fact tried this grass.
Also, if you happen to know of any other drought-resist grass species, or interesting lawn alternatives in general, please let us know! This is a really interesting topic, and something I’d like to revisit again in the near future.
Related Sherpa Posts:
Water-Smart Gardening
Green Options For Your Driveway
Technorati Tags: eco-lawn, drought, lawn, grass, fescue, lawn care, xeriscaping, franke james, wildflower farm, lawn alternatives
Written by Bentley on June 29th, 2007 with 4 comments.
Read more articles on Water Conservation.
