“Nature of the Game,” Preview of Spring 2012 presented by Green Fingers Garden Club
March 1 – 3, Christ Church Parish Hall, Greenwich
Nature of the Game Flower Show Schedule
Preview of Spring – Addendum
Note: Horticulture schedule correction: There is a 6 month ownership requirement for the orchid classes (9-14)
“Splish Splash,” presented by the Sasqua Garden Club, Westport, CT
May 17 – 19, 2012
Splish Splash Flower Show Schedule
April 3-5, 2011 at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT
Environmental Studies School (ESS) is open to all garden club members and non-members. Anyone wishing to become an Environmental Consultant accredited by NGC, Inc. must complete all four courses and pass an open book exam on the last day of each course. Courses may be taken in any order.
The ESS Mission is to teach environmental literacy and to cherish, protect and conserve the living Earth. Environmental literacy is a learning process concerned with the interrelationship within and between the various components of the natural and human-made world, producing growth in the individual and leading to responsible stewardship of the Earth. To view syllabus and registration information, click on the link: ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES SCHOOL
Horticulture Workshop: Prepping Plants for Preview (or any Show)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
10:00 am
Sign into Members Only for location.
Please bring your plants and containers that you are thinking of using.
Open to all members, whether you have signed up or not!
Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012
7:45-9:30 am
In Greenwich’s Town Hall Meeting Room
Audubon Greenwich, The Greenwich Land Trust & the Town of Greenwich Conservation Commission invite you to Greenwich’s only legislative forum concerning “Environmental Priorities for Connecticut’s General Assembly”. Join the local community and Facilitator, Sandy Breslin, Director for Government Affairs, Audubon Connecticut, for an in-depth Q&A session with our elected officials.
OFFICALS ATTENDING:
State Representatives
Livvy Floren (R-149)
Lile R. Gibbons (R-150)
Fred Camillo (R-151)
State Senator
L. Scott Frantz (R-36)
Registration & coffee 7:45 am ~ Forum starts promptly at 8:00 am
Free admission ~ Space limited ~ Advance registration recommended. Contact: Jeff Cordulack ~ 203-869-5272 x 239 ~ jcordulack@audubon.org (Snow Date: Feb. 1)
MEET AT:
Greenwich Town Hall Meeting Room, 101 Field Point Road, Greenwich, CT
Audubon Connecticut is the state office of the National Audubon Society. Our mission is to further the protection of birds, other wildlife and their habitats through science, education, advocacy and conservation, for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.
We envision a Connecticut with a rich and diverse natural heritage, where there is ample habitat for birds and other wildlife, where a majority of its people appreciate and participate in their natural environment, and whose children are educated and motivated to become the conservation leaders of tomorrow.
ALGAE ENERGY
I like hearing of ways in which some of our pollution problems are solved by new technologies, particularly ones, like hydro-power, that use the power of water. Also, we hear so many negatives about what is happening in the environment and to conservation efforts that I like to inform you when progress is being made. I can assure you things are so much better than in my EPA days, early 1971. At that time rivers where catching on fire because there was so much pollution!
An effort is underway in Venice, Italy to harness the bio-energy potential of algal life. Researchers on a tiny, thin strip of land, the Island of Pellestrina, hope to power the city’s entire port by harnessing the bio-energy potential of algal life. They are busy identifying which of the lagoon’s native species of unicellular micro-algae can be bred in new bioreactors to provide efficient biomass for electricity and motor fuel production.
Set to be operational soon, the experimental tanks will generate 500KW of peak capacity with oil derived from algal pulp. ( A medium sized car engine is rated at 50 to 150 kilowatts. If cruising, half that amount.) If successful, the project can be rapidly scaled up to 50MW. (A typical coal power station produces around 600-700 megawatts.) The entire port currently consumes 7MW. This is one of the growing number of projects extracting bio-fuel from algae. These simple organisms offer a slew of advantages. They can be harvested as often as once every three days, have higher oil content than alternative biological sources, and since they can grow in tanks, they reduce the risk of ecosystem damage and do not pinch increasingly scarce arable land as other biomass crops do.
Then there is the technology’s apparent carbon neutrality. So far no full life-cycle energy assessment has been undertaken. But, goes the argument, since algae can absorb carbon dioxide, the process is probably sustainable.
Yet despite broad support, scientists do not agree on whether the process can actually generate any useful energy to be used world-wide. To achieve the abundant algal growth necessary, a substantial amount of water, carbon dioxide and fertilizer are required. The costs of these, combined with the energy used in harvesting and drying the biomass, means that any net energy gain may be nugatory. Still it remains a possibility for smaller scale efforts. Perhaps, these efforts should focus on local solutions rather than universal solutions. What works in a dessert is unlikely to work in a rain forest (such as solar power).
Audubon Greenwich’s Winter Film Festival
Friday, January 20 – 6 to 9 pm
“Mother Nature’s Child”
Saturday, January 28 – 4 to 7pm
“American Meat”
Saturday, February 4 – 5 to 7pm
“La Cle des Champs”
Audubon Greenwich Walks
Saturday, January 14 – 1 to 2:30 pm
Family Bird Watch: Lifestyles of the Birds of Winter
Saturday, January 21 – 1 to 3pm
Hillside Trail Hike
Saturday, January 28 – 1 to 2:30 pm
Insects in Winter Walk
Saturday, February 4 – 9am to 4pm
Hudson’s River “Eagle Fest” Visit to Croton Park on the Hudson River to scan its icy waters for wintering bald eagles. (Snow date, February 5).
Saturday, February 18 – 1 to 2:30 pm
Great Backyard Bird Count “Training Session”
Friday, January 20 – 9am to 12pm
Connecticut’s Transportation Future
Building a link between needs and financial resources, Keynote Speaker Emil Frankel, Bipartisan Policy Center
Saturday, February 4
Friends of Mianus River Park – Monthly Trail Maintenance Work
For more details, visit Friends of Mianus River Park Web Page
Sunday, February 5, March 4, – 9 to 11am
Sunday Bird Walks at Greenwich Point
Sponsored by Wild Wings, Audubon Greenwich and Bruce Museum – free
Meet near the second (southern) concession stand.
Sunday, April 1
Join the Greenwich Land Trust and the Greenwich Tree Conservancy to learn about vernal pools at the Treetops Preserve. Details to follow
Sunday, April 10 – 9 to 12:30
Greenwich Point
Sunday Safe Road
