Big Day for Dunwoody's Children Tomorrow

No, not because it's April Fools' Day and that always makes for some fun, but because our brand new City of Dunwoody Police Department will be in full operation. What does that have to do with children? Well, turns out that one of the first things our new police officers will do is escort the students of Kingsley Elementary School for that school's launch of "Walking Wednesdays." According to Tom Lambert (as posted on our Dunwoody Sustainability Community Forum), who has been spearheading the Safe Routes to School initiative for Kingsley as a pilot example of what's possible at all our Dunwoody schools:

Walking Wednesdays" is a program developed at Kingsley to encourage its students to walk to school. Walkers join a "Walking School Bus", which is simply a group of children and parents walking to school together along a predetermined route. The goal is to make walking to school a safe and desireable alternative to the current way most students get to school - being driven by their parents.

Walking Wednesdays is an extension of Kingsley's work on Safe Routes to School (SRTS). The school has been developing an SRTS plan for nearly two years, and in December it partnered with the City of Dunwoody on an SRTS grant application. The grant, if approved by the Georgia Department of Transportation, will bring nearly $460,000 of infrastructure improvements to the Kingsley neighborhood - all designed to increase walkability and improve pedestrian safety.

Two more Walking Wednesdays are scheduled for this school year for Kingsley students, April 15 and May 13, in preparation for an every-Wednesday schedule starting in August.

My younger daughter attends a different elementary school here in Dunwoody. We walked and rode our bikes until it got too dark, then rode once it got lighter out about a month ago and then got slammed back into submission by the time change and renewed darkness. The problems? The darkness. Limited sidewalks. Excessively heavy backpack. Going out of our way to cross Mount Vernon at a crosswalk yet an average of 25 cars pass us by without stopping even as we stand there with a blinking light. We were hoping to walk tomorrow as a sign of support for Kingsley, but without the police escort, I'm thinking we'll just have to wait until it's lighter out.

By the way, you may enjoy this post about some of the nice things that happened after we started biking and walking.

Congrats, Kingsley. Have fun tomorrow. But no fooling around out there! Our city is not quite that safe for walking to school just yet.

P.S. Kingsley is a Clean Air School, as is every school in Peachtree Corners and many schools elsewhere. According to my friend Judy, who spearheaded that initiative in Peachtree Corners, setting it up was a breeze through the Clean Air Campaign. I know that folks have been requesting this program at one of our elementary schools this entire school year, to no avail. Any thoughts on how to encourage this?

Why I Wrote a Letter to First Lady of Georgia Mary Perdue

My friend, Roger Doiron, ran that amazing campaign to encourage the planting of a veggie garden on the White House lawn for the first time since Eleanor Roosevelt did so during World War II. If you haven't seen this very cute video, This Lawn Is Your Lawn, click here (and, if you haven't heard, groundbreaking took place last Friday).

Granted, hundreds of thousands of folks involved in food policy, sustainability, health, and national security (these are all connected) worked tirelessly for years on many related initiatives as well. I, myself, even ran my own little Victory Garden Drive last year (I had about 86 signers/Roger had 86,498!).

I planted the first seed of my now-seven-year-old kitchen garden on 9/12/2001 as my small attempt to take a little bit of control in an uncertain world.

My children asked their grandparents about the Victory Gardens with which they grew up (and other questions--one per month via email for an entire year!), and we captured their stories in a document called Grandparents Say the Darndest Things.

And for you small business owners, I have an old-fashioned American success story for you right now. I met the owner of the company that supplied the seeds to the White House for the veggie garden last week at the Georgia Organics Annual Conference. Tom Stearns started his business when he was just 19. I'd say he's about 31 years old now. His company has 35 employees and is independently owned. Check it out.

Anyway, Roger is now asking folks around the country to encourage our state first families to plant veggie gardens at the State Capitols or governor mansions (Maine's First Lady Karen Baldacci already has one, California's First Lady Maria Shriver just committed to breaking ground in May). My friend Judy put a "bug in my bonnet" ( a "beneficial" one, of course!) the other day to get it up and going, so you'll now find Georgia's Garden here.

Oh, for goodness sake, who has time for all this clicking? I'll run the letter to First Lady Mary Perdue for you right here. And, by the way, wouldn't it be fun for us to have a video called Georgia On My Lawn that features all the wonderful food that can be grown right here in Georgia? (any filmmakers want to help?)

Dear First Lady of Georgia Mary Perdue:

In Michael's Pollan's now-famous New York Times Magazine article titled Farmer-in-Chief, he calls for a return to "sun-food agriculture" that relies on the way nature intended food to grow.

Well, if there is one thing we have in the great Southeastern state of Georgia, it is an abundance of sun. We also have a heritage of agricultural strength. As we watch our nation's families, schoolchildren and communities embrace the benefits of growing their own "solar food," we stand together as citizens of the ninth largest state (in population) in the United States and ask you, as our First Lady of Georgia, to hear the calling of this moment in history.

First Lady Mary Perdue, please follow the leadership of our nation's first lady and plant an organic vegetable garden at the governor's mansion. Invite schoolchildren to dig in. Teach our younger generation about healthy food and about harnessing the power of our abundant sun to create something good for our bodies, our communities and our country. Reap the rewards of a harvest whose time has come, and leave the legacy of a positive step forward for the agricultural leadership of our region.

Please forward this to all your Georgia-based friends, family members and colleagues. And go here to sign this petition! I'm hoping for more than 86 signatures this year. In fact, I'm hoping for a garden at the governor's mansion in time for tomatoes!

(As for City Hall in Dunwoody, perhaps a few pots of herbs?)

Introducing Farmer Sue!

So, where were you last Friday night? Perhaps at a movie or a dinner party or a ball game, or even home watching American Idol on Tivo? If you participated in the Georgia Organics Conference, perhaps you were at a restaurant that features local food? Well, if you were Farmer Sue of The Art Barn at Morning Glory Farm, you would have been up a tree. Literally.

Turns out Farmer Sue's bull got into a tussle with the bull next door and when she tried to break it up, she realized she was in the middle of a lot of male hormones, so up that tree she went. And if there were ever a Samsung phone testimonial moment, this was it, because Samsung's military strength phone is the only cell phone Farmer Sue will use. Which worked out well Friday night, because she called a neighbor to drive his tractor into the field and rescue her. Things didn't work out so well for that bull, however, since by Sunday it was clear the bull had lost the fight--and the fight for his life. Farmer Sue had raised that bull from a calf, so right now her heart is pretty much broken. But if that bull is anything like her fave rooster Bob, whom Farmer Sue used to bring to classrooms all over Atlanta, he'll get a place of honor as his resting spot somewhere on the farm.

You would have thought this whole story were bull if you had heard it nine years ago, when Farmer Sue went by the name Susan Shaw, lived in Buckhead, and worked as a graphic designer for corporate IT clients. She did what lots of us think about doing, at least at one time or another--she chucked it all and bought a farm. Actually, it's more like a homestead--6 acres just 30 minutes north of us. I mean, how far could it be when the 400 exit is Mansell?

The thing about Farmer Sue, however, is that everything she touches has to be "graphically pleasing," as her family jokes. So when you go to her farm, it's almost as if you have walked onto a movie set. Bright yellow and blue saturate the cute cottage she calls home, and there's the requisite big red barn, and there's even a "peanut butter and jelly" garden (where she grows peanuts and Concord grapes) with a fence painted purple.

Every animal seems like it came from Central Casting:

* The 40-year-old horse with the sweet old eyes

* The Vietnamese pot-bellied pig who has clearly been rooting in the soil

* The chickens with feathery striped "pajama legs"

* The smiling lambs

* The William Wegman-esque Weimaraner

* And a whole menageries of goats, donkeys, rabbits, and more.

Farmer Sue herself is a publicists' dream. With rosy cheeks, pretty jewelry and overalls, and a big straw hat with a flower, she walks with a skip in her step and talks in rhyme. If you happen to be there when she's instructing children how to do something new, you'll most likely hear them chant what she taught them: "Can do, Farmer Sue!"

It's not all show, however. It's grow, as in the tagline for The Art Barn, "where creativity grows." Farmer Sue has managed to build a business where she teaches children all about these animals and how to let their inner artist shine. If you haven't had the pleasure of attending a birthday party at The Art Barn, take a sneak-peek here. (That camp insert in the Dunwoody Crier recently has an ad for The Art Barn, and Farmer Sue illustrated the insert's cover!)

Now, with the surging interest in urban homesteading, Farmer Sue is planning a two-part workshop to teach families how to add a little "farm charm" to your suburban homestead (or perhaps to scratch that itch you might be feeling to chuck it all and buy a farm yourselves!) Stay tuned for dates--and act fast since the class will be an exclusive offering for just twelve families! In two four-hour sessions, your family will learn how to:

* Build a raised bed
* Start seeds from scratch
* Create compost
* Put worms to work for you
* Build a potato tower
* Keep chickens and bees
* Bake the easiest bread ever
* And paint a chicken!

You'll chat about CSAs (Community Supported Agriculutre, or those weekly farm box deliveries you hear about), the Slow Food movement, Victory Gardens and why soil is good for the soul. And your family will have plenty of time to tour the farm; meet the animals; snuggle the new baby lambs, bunnies and chicks; and hop a hayride.

I visited Farmer Sue the day after attending the Dervaes Family Urban Homesteading workshop (these are the folks living on a fifth of an acre right off the freeway in Pasadena--click the link and get blown away by what they're doing!) at the Georgia Organics conference, and I'm pretty sure I've sealed my fate as a future homesteader!

My favorite part of Morning Glory Farm? The wishing arch. You walk under it and you make a wish for something you want in life. "It's never too late," Farmer Sue says. Just look at her!

Oh, and by the way, I've introduced Farmer D and Farmer Sue. Now, this could be a turbo-charged combo of ready-to-go-national entrepreneurs if I've ever seen one.

Lots of Local Food at Alon's, and a Quick Overview of Backyard Chickens

So I've been having some of my one-on-one meetings at Alon's Bakery and Market, on Ashford Dunwoody Road right acrosss the street from Perimeter Mall (and awfully close to where our new City Hall will be). That's because Starbuck's is too crowded in the morning and the very nice manager who willingly French presses me my own cup of organic coffee is busy with other customers and I hate to trouble him (but that's the only way to get organic coffee there). Alon's is farther away for me, but the rough wood tables by the coffee bar (where they serve locally-roasted coffee) are plentiful (and there is a large outdoor eating area, for when it warms up just a tad more in the morning), I love the Tuscan yellow walls, and the jazz overhead could make you linger all morning, if you're not careful.

What I didn't realize was that, in addition to making its own gelato, chocolates, breads, pastries, prepared food, granola, and roasted nuts, Alon's carries a growing list of locally-produced items. The list I cobbled together, with the help of Chris the manager and Sandy from the cheese department, includes:

* A number of Sweet Grass Dairy cheeses. I visited and wrote the Edible Atlanta article about Sweet Grass Dairy, if you remember seeing that (the link is no longer online), plus I mention them in my column in the current issue of New Life Journal. (Also, I wrote the cover story about the "greening" of restaurants in that issue as well.)

* Johnston Family Farms milk. This is a small family farm of grass-fed cows where they use no growth hormones. I called and verified. They will be participating in the Georgia Organics Conference trade show this weekend.

* Featherwise Farms free-range, pastured eggs. These are Chad Carlton's eggs! I didn't recognize the name of his new egg farm! If you've never had real eggs like this, you might enjoy my Magic Eggs post.

* Arden's Garden. Here's my Foodshed Planet post about a manufacturing plant tour of this local juice company.

* Persimmon Creek wines. Big national award winners. Check out another post here.

* Terrapin beer. Out of Athens.

* Whynatte Latte. I don't know these folks, but Sandy told me they were local.

* Dancing Goat, J. Martinez and Batdorf Bronson coffees. See Dancing Goat post here.

* Bee Blessed and Savannah Bee Company honeys. Bee Blessed includes a honey from bees who fed on wildflowers in the Greater Atlanta area. Raw or minimally-processed local honey contains local pollens that can have an immunotherapy effect on those who consume it daily, thereby reducing allergies. I know this first-hand. My older daughter, my mother and I have all been allergy-medication-free for at least four years now as a result of local honey.

* SCAD houseware items. I love that Alon's included attractive small serving dishes designed by students at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

I talked with Alon yesterday and asked why he didn't identify these items as "local," that there are many people who are choosing to vote with their dollars for local items in order to have a "sense of place," support local farmers and artisans, and keep more money circulating in the local economy. He liked the idea and is considering some sort of labeling or blackboard that calls attention to these items.

Alon also said he'd like to have a farm stand in the parking lot so that this location has a little bit of the feel of the Morningside location, which is directly across the street from the stellar Morningside Farmers Market.

For those who have been following our community's work to help make farmers markets legal here in Dunwoody (our current zoning laws do not allow for it), you can imagine how I almost fell over.

"Not so fast, Alon!" I cautioned. "It's more complicated than it sounds!"

And speaking of local eggs and zoning laws, chicken-keeping is currently not allowed in Dunwoody, according to the City staff with whom I communicated yesterday in reaction to the chicken-keeping hearing at Roswell City Hall today. To amend the zoning law to reflect the many other cities where backyard pet chickens are allowed (with appropriate restrictions on size of coop, number of chickens, space from nearest occupied dwelling, no roosters, and cleanliness), we would have to do the exact same thing as we are currently doing with the farmers market amendment (which specifies a farmers market as an ancillary use at a place of worship's property, by the way, since it is the least complicated way to get approval and allows markets at locations with the necessary features, such as electricity, bathrooms and safety from traffic).

According to City staff:

The process starts with City Council directing staff to initiate a text amendment. After this direction is received, staff researches and compiles an amendment. All amendments are first heard by the Community Council, then the Planning Commission, and finally by Mayor and Council.

So, if you are in support of amending our zoning to include backyard pet chickens (this practice is way more Martha Stewart than Beverly Hillbillies, for those who are not familiar with what's happening nationwide, and most people do it not just for the eggs but to teach their children or to help keep bugs out of their gardens without pesticides), please contact your councilmembers (your HOA covenants are another story, by the way). You may also be interested in seeing the Chicken Whisperer at the Dunwoody Nature Center on April 4 and/or visiting the Chicken Whisperer's website. Also, there's the Decatur Chicks in the City Tour on Saturday, April 25 from 2:30-5:30.

As you get informed on this issue, please remember that some community and school gardens include at least a small coop for the educational value it brings to children, and it would be nice to one day have at least one community or school garden right here in Dunwoody. It might be nice to keep the option open of having a little coop.

In the meantime, Chad's eggs are available seven days a week at Alon's.

First Quarter Update: Sustainability Is Now Part of The Very Fabric of Our City's Operations

At our monthly Dunwoody Sustainability Commission citizen advisory board meeting last week, the City's Special Projects Manager/Director of Sustainability Jeff Timler and Special Projects Planner Kimberly Larson (with both of whom it has been nothing short of terrific to work) confirmed the ARC Green Community Certification measures for which the City of Dunwoody now qualifies, indicating that polices have been passed and these practices are now part of the very fabric of our City's operations:

1. Measure # 10: LED Traffic Lights (52% of our traffic lights are now LED, with more being replaced as needed)

2. Measure #13: Energy Codes

3. Measure #36: Green Fleet Policy

4. Measure #46: Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy

5. Measure #49: Recycled Paper Purchasing

These measures account for 35 points of the 175 points needed to achieve Level 1 of the Green Community Certification.
The following measures were listed as New Business:

1. Measure #45: Shared parking

2. Measure #42: Safe Routes to School

3. Measure #15: Outdoor Lighting Efficiency

4. Measure #25: Stormwater Management

Our committee is researching Best Practices around Atlanta, the country and the world and making recommendations about these measures and others on the list that are targeted for Year 1 achievement. See the City timeline for sustainability measures here. The blue and green ones are targeted for this year, our very first as the City of Dunwoody. We invite you to join in the conversation on our Community Sustainability Forum and to express your support of sustainability initiatives to our elected officials.

To see the City of Dunwoody Purchasing Policy (which includes Measures #36, #46, and #49 listed above), click here.

To see details about the ARC Green Community Certification measures, click here.

Please note that even though the City of Dunwoody does not yet have a Lights Out/Power Down Policy (Measure #11), the City is currently following those guidelines and saving energy and taxpayer dollars as a result. During Earth Hour (Saturday, March 28 from 8:30-9:30 PM), our City building lights will be dark, along with those of more than 1,400 cities in 74 countries and territories around the world.

(P.S. Do you have any idea how hard it was to not write "Dunwoody Goes Green!" as my headline, considering it is St. Patrick's Day? As the granddaughter of Irish immigrants and a native New Yorker where my best friends were named McLafferty, Rafferty and O'Callahan, I wish you all the luck of the Irish today!)

What The Evidence Shows

This is the view from the 5th floor of the Dekalb County Courthouse in downtown Decatur, where I had the privilege to perform my "civic duty" yesterday. I took this shot after a two-hour jury selection break during which I strolled around the shops of Decatur (having no need for my car, which was ditched in the public parking deck)with my Juror 43 sticker on like a moron.

I passed bike racks, pedestrian crosswalks with those wonderful "Stop for pedestrians; it's the law" signs in the middle of the road (like the one that is now on Mt. Vernon between Ashford Dunwoody and Abernathy), designated scooter parking spaces, a public bulletin board announcing Georgia Rides to the Capitol (in which our own Councilmember Denny Shortal rode, by the way) and Earth Hour, free dog waste bag dispensers, and lots and lots of local shops (many with beautiful new condos over them) and restaurants (none of which had an outside table to spare on such a beautiful 76-degree day). Most of all, I passed hundreds of people just out walking. Sitting. Talking. Visiting. Shopping. Eating. Circulating money back into the local economy (I was paid 15 dollars for the day's jury service and spent $30 in the absolutely lovely local independent book store, Little Shop of Stories).

Less than five minutes after leaving the courthouse, I was at the Oakhurst Community Garden, where spring transplants were for sale (just stick money in the box). A lot of changes had occurred since the last time I was there (before the holidays). There were a bunch of new raised beds (I'm guessing demand has increased, as news stories show a double-digit rise in sales relating to everything having to do with vegetable gardening), that big ole' fig tree was cut down (I am particularly glad I stood under it and gleaned handfuls of fruit this past August!), the chicken coop has been spiffed up and expanded (don't miss the Chicks in the City Tour of Decatur's urban chicken coops in April!), and much more. A little boy in a cape and his sister in pigtails ran through the garden laughing and playing as their parents reminded them to be careful of the bees, that this is where they live and we don't want to disturb them.

I left the garden and passed through the charming little business district of Oakhurst, with the brightly colored restaurants and the clearly marked reycling containers. The elementary school had just let out and many children were playing in the playground. Others were walking home to their front-porched houses, many of which had native plantings instead of front lawns. A little ways away, the middle school kids exploded out the front door of their school. I saw no less than eight crossing guards in just a few blocks, and guess what else I saw, too? Packs of kids walking. Packs of them. I don't think I've seen that many kids walking home from school since I was that age! And you know what? It looked like the most normal thing in the world.

As I was driving home (and passing several of those speed radars before leaving Decatur as well as a little traffic island that had a sidewalk and a bench and was bordered by a bike lane), I got to thinking about what's coming up for us here in Dunwoody. We'll be having discussions soon about our Master Plan. Our Transportation Plan. Our Greenspace Plan. May I make a suggestion? If you have the time and opportunity, spend a few hours in Decatur. I'm not saying Dunwoody should be just like it because we have different things to offer and will grow in our own unique way. I'm just saying I don't think the jury in this case would have any trouble seeing that the evidence shows there are a whole lot of nice things going on there.

Oh, and by the way, check out Decatur's website and see how easy it is for citizens to comment about Complete Streets, Smart Growth, and urban farming through the Open City Hall Forums.

Farmer D Organics Coming to Holcomb Bridge and Spalding

City of Dunwoody Council Member John Heneghan may be going bald come St. Patricks' Day, but I have big, fat news about something going green right around then! Avril's Car Wash at the corner of Holcomb Bridge Road and Spalding Drive is owned, drumroll please, by Farmer D's parents, just like the Avril's on Briarcliff at Lavista. And since the Farmer D Organics retail store at that location is going gangbusters (I was there last week and the flurry of activity is unprecedented in a retail location right now), Farmer D and his dad "Stan the Man" (woodworker extraordinaire) have decided to bring Farmer D Organics out here to this location as well. As Stan told me, "So many of the Raised Bed Gardens to Go we're building are for people out there anyway, it seems to make sense to bring the store there as well."

I think I hear my friends in Peachtree Corners cheering already, the ones who unloaded CSA farm box shares so diligently week after week and plotted their own kitchen gardens, only to find that supplies (and expert help!) were a wild goose chase to acquire. Now, we will no longer be in an organic gardening desert out here, stuck with Home Depot's lame chemical-laden root-bound transplants and nonorganic seeds, or having to make the trip to Brookhaven's Hastings Garden Center, where half the time what I need is sold out already or more often than not "hasn't come in yet," or dealing with the unpredictable delivery schedule of Seeds of Change catalog orders.

Farmer D Organics has High Mowing organic seeds, a wide variety of heirloom organic transplants (in fact, D told me that he'd like to get into contract growing for home gardeners, where you order the specific transplants you want six weeks in advance), quality tools, organic fertilizers, books, the most clever chicken coop I've seen yet, compost tumblers, and, of course, Farmer D's signature branded biodynamic organic compost. Oh, and yes, you can order custom-sized cedar Raised Bed Gardens to Go from D and Stan. They are working nonstop to keep up with the demand at the intown store. Want to check out the product offerings online? See the new Farmer D website here and check out D's show on the Mother Nature Network here.

For those who don't know, Farmer D started the farm at Serenbe (see last week's New York Times article about Serenbe here), Full Moon Biodynamic Farm and Research Center (in Athens), and Hampton Island Preserve and Trustees Garden (both in Savannah). Plus, he has designed farms for Richard Branson (of Virgin Atlantic fame), for New Orleans recovery efforts that incorporate a variety of food security solutions into new community planning, and for schools and prisons. He designed the children's garden at Zaban Park (and, in fact, he and I are about to clean that garden up and get it ready for the new season--come dig with us and learn first-hand about children's gardens, especially if you have interest in being part of one at any of our Dunwoody schools! Check back here for the date and time soon).

Farmer D designs farms and gardens not just with productivity in mind, but also with aesthetics. I hope he doesn't cringe when I say this, but he is the Martha Stewart of farming. If we ever decide to turn an acre or so of that Donaldson Chesnut House horse farm into a market garden (featuring heirloom Southern crops to tie in with the historic significance of that space), I would highly recommend it be designed and managed by Farmer D since I know we would get a beautiful and useful addition to Dunwoody as a result.

In the meantime, head on up to Farmer D Organics at Avril's Car Wash (which uses nontoxic biodegradable cleaners, naturally) and finally get that veggie garden going. Look for the bright green paint (no VOCs, of course) coming soon, and get ready to green up your life, the Farmer D way.

If you haven't met Farmer D yet, here's a glimpse:


Why Do You Do What You Do, Farmer D? from Pattie Baker on Vimeo.

The Cutting Edge of Efficiency

LEED, LEED, LEED. What on earth is that whole LEED certification all about? And why does it matter?

In short, LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a standards and certification program offered by the U.S. Green Building Council (a coalition of leaders from across the building industry that promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work). There are versions for all building types, including New Construction, Existing Buildings, Commercial Interiors, Core & Shell, Homes, Neighborhoods, and Healthcare. The criteria include six categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation and Design Process. There are four progressive levels of certification, based on the number of points that a building project earns: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

LEED-certified buildings:

* Increase productivity
* Conserve natural resources
* And cost less to operate and maintain

Currently, there are LEED-certified projects in all 50 states, 31 of which have adopted LEED standards. Additionally, 166 local governments have adopted LEED. About 30 percent of LEED-certified projects are owned by federal, state and local governments, plus many municipalities require not just government buildings but all new buildings (or all that are over a certain size) to be LEED-certified.

Increasingly, governments are offering alternative third-party-certified environmental building standards, such as the Green Globe program, which is originally a Canadian program that is gaining popularity in the United States. The building pictured above is the Newell Rubbermaid worldwide headquarters in Sandy Springs, which earned two Green Globes under that certification program. The 350,000-square-foot building features site design that minimizes its impact on the surroundings; energy-efficient lighting controls, HVAC equipment and building automation systems; water conservation systems; and materials made of recycled content. What's more, when I visited in a Prius, I got to park right up front in one of the parking spots designated for hybrid vehicles, which was particularly nice--and reminded me of when I used to get to park in those "for pregnant customers" spots!

As of right now, Georgia has no state policies about LEED (or similar) certifications. However, there are seven Georgia municipalities with local policies: Athens-Clarke County, Atlanta, Chamblee, Chatham County, Clarke County, Conyers, Doraville, and Tybee Island. A variety of "incentives" are offered to encourage environmental design in new buildings and renovations, such as density bonuses, expedited permitting, fee reductions/waivers for LEED certification, tax breaks, grants, and free technical and promotional services.

Government buildings built or renovated to meet environmental standards reduce costs to tax payers. Commercial buildings that meet these standards increase the long-term viability of the built environment by attracting and retaining tenants who are increasingly looking for ways to maximize their cost savings, increase their employee productivity, and align with their corporate sustainability objectives. So, in short, this stuff is important as part of a sustainability plan for a city, county or state. In fact, our city has LEED policy creation on its sustainability plan for later in the year. Tune in to what's happening around metro Atlanta and elsewhere on this topic, if you haven't already done so, so you can more fully appreciate what our city is trying to do to make a positive difference and to build a more secure future.

I found this Playbook for Green Buildings and Neighborhoods particularly interesting and useful. It provides local governments with guidance and resources to rapidly advance green buildings, neighborhoods and infrastructure. As we start to hone in on our vision for the City of Dunwoody, seeing "green" may help us be prosperous as a community in many ways for years to come.

Why Be Locked Into One Way of Doing Things When Opportunity Beckons?

January 1 may be the traditional day for resolutions, but, for me, that time of the year is way too hectic to be able to think straight and to set a true course for the future. For me, the day that has far more resonance is the one we are about to face tomorrow. March 4. March forth.

With our beloved one-snow-day-a-year behind us now, and the daffodils blooming all around the Dunwoody Farmhouse, and a particularly dark winter for the economy turning a corner, perhaps, as the potential of stimulus money and its effect on our country, state, and city titillates, today is a good day to spend a few moments reflecting on the path you want to forge this year, the course you want to set for the next stage of your journey. Then, tomorrow you can wake up and get up and stretch your arms and legs and mind and march forth into a new day and a new way of doing things that have the potential to make a positive diffference in your life. Why be locked into one direction, one way of doing things, when opportunity beckons?

If principles of sustainability figure into your plan, here are some ways to embrace March:

Georgia Rides to the Capitol
Today! From Roswell to Downtown

Join (or watch) as 20 mayors and more than 1,000 cyclists ride to the Capitol in order to raise support for improved conditions for cycling, including the development of regional systems of both on-road bicycling facilities and multi-use-trails.

Green Wednesdays: Townsend Bailey of Sustainable Atlanta
March 4, Pizza Fusion (2233 Peachtree Road)

Green Wednesdays is free and open to anyone with an interest in the green/ sustainable business world. It is sponsored by the Green Chamber of the South. This new business chamber already partners with Dekalb County, Fulton County, and our newbie city neighbor, Johns Creek.

Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable: The "Greening" of the Affordable Housing Market
March 6--634 West Peachtree Street (All Saint's), Atlanta

The “greening” of affordable housing should look beyond promoting sustainable construction practices and creating durable, healthy homes to also addressing the issues of quality growth. Come hear what steps are being taken by the State of Georgia and the City of Atlanta to ensure that affordable housing developments are promoting quality growth in our region. (Upcoming topics include water and transportation issues.)

City of Dunwoody Sustainability Commission Monthly Meeting
March 12--Dunwoody Nature Center (7:45 AM)

Join us for an update for the City of Dunwoody's progress so far this year on its pursuit of Atlanta Regional Commission Green Community certification, and find out what the month ahead holds and how you can have an impact. Connect with others in our community as we take sustainable steps forward.

Georgia Organics Conference and Trade Show
March 20-21--Agnes Scott College

This year’s 12th Annual Georgia Organics Conference and Trade Show is bigger and better than ever with more farm and food tours, focused In-depth workshops and Educational Sessions for growers, chefs, foodies, sustainability advocates, and food distributors. This year’s keynote speaker is author Michael Pollan (Omnivore's Dilemma). I am attending:

Workshop 4 - Urban Homesteading:
Eating and Living Off the Grid
Jules Dervaes, Path to Freedom

Since 2001, Jules Dervaes and his family have been living a protest— Path to Freedom—against corporate control of the food supply. They now grow over 6,000 pounds of produce annually on a onefifth acre residential lot in Pasadena, Ca.Their project incorporates alternative energy, transportation, and back-to-basics practices. Mr. Dervaes will present steps individuals can take where they are and with what they have, to become independent and live as responsible stewards of the earth

Greenprints Conference and Tradeshow
March 25 & 26, 2009--Atlanta, GA

The Greenprints Conference and Tradeshow, a leading southeastern green building symposium, returns in 2009. Join green building professionals, policy makers and industry experts as they come together at Greenprints to share trends, strategies and the latest environmental technologies in a stimulating and interdisciplinary environment. Learn how Atlanta measures up as a sustainable city and explore smarter ways to “green” our city.

Dunwoody Nature Center
Oakhurst Community Garden

Both offer classes that will help you increase your sustainability.

Green Collar Jobs Board
SustainLane

Pursue a new career in a green collar job. Be sure you are well-positioned to take advantage of opportunities as the "shovel-ready" stimulus money starts to flow, or take steps now by finding out what skills you need to learn in order to get in on the action in the future.

Break open the shackles of the past way of doing things and open up to the possibilities of tomorrow.