Thursday, November 4, 2010

Christmas Light Trade-in at Home Depot

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Home Depot is offering a 10 day program to trade in those old incandescent energy hog Christmas lights for $3 off new high efficiency LED Christmas lights.  The offer is good through November 14, 2010 so be sure to act on it now. Home Depot will even be recycling the old lights.

Read more at Jon & Alicia's blog:


Green Lifestyle Consulting:  Holiday Light Trade-in and Recycling Program at Home Depot
Do you have strings of old incandescent holiday lights around your house?  Do they even work?  Even if they don't you can trade them in for a discount on energy efficient LED holiday lights at Home Depot from now until November 14, 2010.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Reverse Trick or Treat in Medford

What do Candy and compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) have in common this Halloween (Sunday)?  Both will be given out during trick or treating in Medford, but with a twist.  

While residents will be giving out candy to the kids of all ages that come in costume, a group of environmentally minded Medford residents be reversing the custom and distributing CFLs to home owners.

In addition to the energy efficient light bulbs, volunteers will also be distributing information on saving energy and appropriate disposal of the CFLs and other mercury containing devices.  The goal is to give out about 200 CFLs in two hours in the region of South Medford.

If you are interested in helping out either before hand or during the event, you can speak to Catherine Smith or contact the organizers directly:

    Tuesday, October 26, 2010

    Now Collecting Ink Jet Printer Cartridges for TerraCycle

    In addition to the candy wrappers, coffee bags, juice pouches, etc., Grace Church is now also collecting ink jet printer cartridges for recycling through TerraCycle.  We'll earn a quarter ($0.25) for each cartridge we recycle, so bring in those used up ink jet cartridges and help Grace Church recycle.

    We'll have a small box next to the other TerraCycle stuff in the kitchen behind the recycling so as not to mix the sometimes sticky juice pouches or chip bags with the ink jet printer cartridges.

    Sunday, October 24, 2010

    Join Bishop Bud at Green Grants Initiative Gathering

    This Thursday, October 28th, The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts will be hosting an event featuring Jim Gordon, the Developer of Cape Wind, to help raise funds for the Diocesan Green Grant Initiative

    The details:

    Green Grants Initiative Gathering
    with Bishop Bud Cederholm and
    Environmental Stewardship Leaders

    When: Thursday, October 28, 2010
    6:00 to 7:30 p.m.


    Where: First Parish, Unitarian Universalist
    23 Dedham Avenue
    Needham, Massachusetts
    National Energy Star Church

    Keynote: Jim Gordon, Developer of Cape Wind
    • Hear of Jim’s perseverance, courage, and commitment to the Earth
    • Learn about renewable energy and what your congregation can do
    • Help us reach out and reach our fundraising goals for Green Grants
    • Join us in answering God’s urgent call to Care for Creation
    Refreshments and Fellowship for All
    Suggested Donation $25
    RSVP Online

    Jonathan Hunt will be representing Grace Chruch, so contact him if you are interested in carpooling or want additional information.

    To make a gift to the Green Grants Program, visit the donations page and use the drop-down menu to indicate “Green Initiatives,” here.

    Grace Church is in the process of applying for a Green Grant from the Diocese.

    Tuesday, October 5, 2010

    Join the Global Local 10-10-10 Events - Getting Involved

    350.org, which was started by a fellow New England Episcopalian, Bill McKibben, is organizing a Global Work Party on this Sunday, October 10th aka 10/10/10 as a call to action to address climate change.  With over 6,300 events across 187 countries already planned, this will be a massive effort to raise awareness world wide about the need for action to address climate change.

    Grace Church has contributed left over supplies from our recent HEET Weatherization Barnraising to the Barnraising ATO at Tufts event being organized by Tufts students who volunteered at our own barnraising a few weeks ago.  This is a great opportunity to lend a hand, learn something new and have some fun.  Join Alicia Hunt and others.  For more details visit the Barnraising ATO at Tufts invitation.

    If a little caulking and changing light bulbs is not your preferred way to spend a Sunday afternoon, there are lots of events planned one town over in Winchester ranging from guided walking tours to bike rides to a movie night on the Commons.  For a full list of local 10/10/10 events check out the 350.org Map of Action - 10/10/10 events in and around Medford.


    View Actions at 350.org
    The Lord has called us to be stewards of this Earth our fragile home.  Get involved!

    Monday, September 20, 2010

    GreenUp CleanUp 2010

    This post is to preserve the contents from the GreenUp CleanUp project for 2010 as we plan the 2011 series of cleanups.

    Come join Grace Church in our spring GreenUp CleanUp of Medford's Parks

    Grace Church has embarked on a parish-wide environmental stewardship program, Greening Grace.  This spring's GreenUp CleanUp aims to organize over 250 members of the Grace Church and our surrounding community to clean up some of Medford's shared open spaces (such as parks and playgrounds).
    • Sunday, April 11th - Kick Off Event at 11:30am for ice cream and information 
    • Saturday, April 24th, 10am - 12noon - Mystic River - lending our hands to the Friends of the Mystic River spring cleanup
    • Saturday, May 1st, 10am - 12pm - Cummings Park - Ann Frenning Kossuth
    • Saturday, May 8th, 10am - 12pm - Brooks Estate- lending our hands to the Brooks Estate Spring Spruce-up
    • Saturday, May 15th, 10am - 1pm - Wright's Pond - Jonathan Hunt
    • Saturday, May 22nd 
      • 9am - 11am - Carr Park - Linda Rogers
      • 9am - 11am - Barry Park - hris DesAutels
    • Saturday, June 5th, 9am - 12pm Capen Street Park - Melanie Tringali


    View GreenUp CleanUp in a larger map




    If you have questions about the GreenUp CleanUp project, please email the team at GreenUpCleanUp@gracemedford.org or speak to a member of the team:
    • Ann Frenning Kossuth
    • Jonathan Hunt
    • Rachael Pettengill
    • June Pietrantoni
    • Linda Rogers
    • Margaret Smist
    • Chris DesAutels
    • Melanie Tringali

    We look forward to learning how we can work together as a parish to achieve our mission of preserving God's green earth!



    Friday, September 10, 2010

    Update on GreenUp CleanUp at Tufts Park

    Tomorrow morning from 9-11am Grace Church is hosting another GreenUp CleanUp to clean Tufts Park! This is a part of the Sept 11th Day of Service.

    Tasks include:
    • raking sand
    • laying out mulch
    • planting bulbs
    • pruning trees
    • weeding the infield
    • and hanging out with our neighbors!
    Tufts Park is located on Main Street in South Medford.

    View Larger Map

    If you have any questions, you can contact Rachael Pettengill (rachael@gracemedford.org).

    Sign up through the Day of Service site at:
    http://diomassintern.eventbrite.com
    select Grace, Medford

    See you there!

    Wednesday, September 8, 2010

    GreenUp CleanUp of Tufts Park - Saturday, September 11th

    Grace Church is organizing another Green Up Clean Up. We will be cleaning Tufts Park on Saturday, September 11th from 9-11am. This park clean up will be part of a larger effort to involved the whole Diocese in a Day of Service, our site is one of twelve who will be recruiting people in our community to serve. 

    To learn more information and to sign up please visit: http://diomassintern.org/911/Welcome.html or speak with Rachael Pettengill (rachael@gracemedford.org).

    Wednesday, September 1, 2010

    Energy/Water Saving Parts and Materials used for HEET

    The following companies and organizations helped by providing us with materials for the HEET Barn-Raising.

    Hillside Hardware (325 Boston Ave, Medford)

    Our local hardware store that has been very good to Grace Church over the years.
    Parts/Materials used
    • Weather Stripping Kits for doors
    • Caulk for around windows (Siliconized Latex in brown, white and clear)
    • Misc Nails

    Advanced Energy Panels - Albany, NY

    Interior Storm Window
    Jim Devine went to extraordinary lengths to get us the interior storm windows in time for the event.  They do custom fit interior storm windows as well as DIY kits.  We installed 4 AEP interior storms at the back of the stage to eliminate the cold draft that has been coming through those very leaky stained glass windows.  Installation was a breeze.  Check out their site for video instructions on measuring and assembling kits.

    Parts/Materials
    • 4 AEP Interior Storm Windows custom built to fit

    Energy Federation Incorporated (EFI) - Westbourough, MA

    Q-lon weather stripping kits being
    installed on double doors
    EFI is the go to supplier for other HEET events as well as for many energy auditors in the New England area.  They have a wide range of good quality affordable products for saving energy and water including CFLs, faucet aerators, insulation and more.  They even sell the AEP interior storm window kits.  They environmentally friendly packaging and are great all around to work with.

    Parts/Materials used (EFI Part# Description)
    Toilet Tank Bank
    • 5000.58 AUBE TH 140-28-01-B millivolt
    • 6560.052 TAYL Refrigerator Therm. #3507
    • 7005.149 BITS SmartSurge 7-Outlet SCG3
    • 3540.13 Q-lon White w/Metal Carrier
    • 3540.18 Q-lon White w/Wood Carrier
    • 5010.16 Intermatic TN311C Timer 120v
    • 3020.10 NIAG N3137 Toilet Tank Bank
    • 1100.324 20w Earthmate T-2 Spiral 27k
    • 1100.322 13w Earthmate T-2 Spiral 27k
    • 1100.325 23w Earthmate T-2 Spiral 27k
    • 4000.031 MD 3/4" Pipe Ins. 4x3' pieces
    • 3000.422 WHE UA1C Ultra Saver Aerator

    MA Water Resource Authority (MWRA)

    low flow shower head, faucet aerators
    and toilet leak detection dye pack
    MWRA supplies water for most of the Metro-Boston area.  They are big into water conservation and will provide home owners with free low flow water fixtures:

      • low flow 2.0 gpm shower heads
      • 1.5 gpm faucet aerators
      • toilet leak detection (dye packets)
    MWRA provided us these materials for free and we handed out the shower heads, faucet aerators and dye packets at the HEET and have some left over.  Talk to Jonathan if you would use these in your homes or apartments.  You can request more from the MWRA site.

    Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) - Cambridge, MA

    Without help from HEET to identify the projects to tackle and help organize the event, it would not have been as successful as it was.  A special thanks to Audrey Schulman for her assistance, coaching and support.  They can always use more volunteers and have several barn-raisings planned already for this fall.

    HEET Barn-Raising Big Success!

    Congratulations and Thank You to all the volunteers that came out to help on Monday.  What a great event and we made a difference. We had over 30 volunteers from Tufts, Grace Church, Medford and beyond.

    A longer post with more details will be coming out, but for now here are the preliminary numbers from Monday. Our work should result in the following annual savings for Grace Church:
    • 6,400 pounds of CO2 emissions avoided per year
    • 34,000 gallons of water saved per year
    • $1,300 saved on energy and water bills per year
    Check out the slide show of some photos from the event.  If you have some photos, please contact me at jmhunt@mit.edu.


    May God be with you!

    Saturday, August 21, 2010

    More Recycling through TerraCycle

    So far we have recycled over 1,700 drink pouches and now you can recycle even more "trash" to earn money for Grace Church. We are now collecting:
    • Cookie Wrappers
    • Coffee Bags
    • Chip Bags
    • Candy Bar Wrappers
    • and of course the Juice Pouches
    Please start saving your wrappers and bags to bring to church.  You can leave them by the recycling in the kitchen.  You can combine all the wrappers/bags/pouches into plastic grocery bags and I'll sort them.  TerraCycle will take the wrappers and turn them into heavy duty trash cans that should be available at some point through Home Depot.

    If you are doing Coffee Hour please save the empty coffee bags.

    Details from TerraCycle:
    We accept any empty brand or size chip bag.

    We are collecting all brands and sizes of cookie wrappers such as Nabisco® and Keebler®. Unfortunately we do not accept the inner trays of cookie wrappers, so please remove them before sending your shipment.

    We accept any brand and any size coffee bag.

    We will accept any brand and size candy wrappers. Please keep in mind that we donate *$0.02 for all candy wrappers. We do not accept candy boxes or gum packaging. Please note: If you have gum packages, please join the Gum Package Brigade to send in your gum packaging.

    We accept any kind of brand of drink pouches. We do not accept juice boxes (but they can be recycled in Medford's co-mingled residential recycling).

    If you have any questions, please ask me, Jonathan Hunt.

    Friday, August 20, 2010

    Join Grace Church for a Weatherization Barn-Raising Party

    Are you interested in learning how to save energy and money at home?  Come learn new skills while helping to weatherize Grace Church in Medford.

    When: Monday, August 30th 4-8PM
    Where: Grace Church, 160 High St, Medford, MA


    Please sign up in advance

    We will have experienced energy savers on hand to teach you techniques to save energy and conserve water. Learn hands on by applying these techniques on our church and then take your new skills home and apply them there.

    Projects to be undertaken include:
    • window & door air sealing
    • water conservation
    • programmable thermostats
    • and more.
    We can also use more leaders who are already skilled in these areas to help teach and coordinate others.

    We will be joined by a group of incoming freshmen from the CAFE group at Tufts. After the afternoon of working together, we will all celebrate with some pizza in the common room.  Even if you cannot join us at the start, please sign up and come by after work on Monday.

    On site childcare is available for those who request it in advance (through the registration system).

    This barn-raising is organized in part by HEET Cambridge.  

    Thanks,
    Jonathan, Alicia and Rachael

    Friday, June 18, 2010

    Talk to your Senator About Climate Change


    Our elected officials cannot represent us if they do not hear from us, their constituents, on the issues at hand.  Climate Change Legislation is going to be debated in the United States Senate and now is the time to let your senators know how you feel about it.

    Last week Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown voted for the Murkoswki Resolution that would have stripped the EPA's authority to regulate green house gas emissions.  Those opposed to the bill, like Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, termed it the "Dirty Air Act."

    On the morning of the US Senate vote, I called Senator Brown's office to let him know that I thought the best action for Massachusetts, the US and the world would be to oppose the resolution.  I spoke to Laura and she took down my opinion.  An organization like 1Sky.org makes it easy to contact your elected officials by providing tools for looking them up based on your zip code and then providing you with guidance about what to say.

    Another way to get involved and let your opinion be known is by joining with organizations, like Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light and the Massachusetts Council of Churches, as they contact our elected officials. Grace Church is an active member of both of these organizations.  They are currently seeking signatures on a petition in support of the Kerry-Liberman, American Power Act.  You can get a summary of the legislation and the campaign by clicking on the poster above.

    On Sunday, I will be collecting signatures for their petition in support of their efforts.  I welcome the opportunity to discuss the topic with you during coffee hour especially if you have a different position on this important topic.  Please see me Sunday to add your name to the signatures or to discuss it further.

    The opportunity to debate issues and disagree on topics is one of the things that makes our nation great.

    See you Sunday and don't forget it will be Father's Day!

    Sincerely,
    Jonathan Hunt

    Friday, June 4, 2010

    Our 2nd box of Juice Pouches enroute to NJ

    We mailed our second box of juice pouches to be upcycled by TerraCycle today. This box was a bit bigger than the last one weighing in at 10.5 pounds. We'll see how many pouches that works out to when TerraCycle weighs them. As the school year is winding down, I expect that the supply of juice pouches will also dwindle over the summer. You can still bring them to the kitchen for recycling and we'll collect them, but it will probably be the fall before we send the 3rd box of juice pouches to TerraCycle.

    A special thank you to the 3 kids that have done so much to collect juice pouches so far. At next Wednesday's Celebration, we will recognize these three over achievers with a small token of appreciation.

    We are also collecting foil coffee packages like Starbucks and the ones we use on Sunday for Coffee Hour.  More soon on that.

    Saturday, May 15, 2010

    Working together in the Lord's name we can move mountains (of leaves)

    Today, with the wind blowing hard and the sun shining, a few people started to gather, and then more and eventually we had a crowd gathered together. As Mathew wrote,
    "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20
    The Lord was certainly there in our midst as we toiled and labored to clean up Wright's Pond.  We had an amazing showing from Grace Church, the community of Medford and beyond.  In the short span of a few hours, a few more than 75 people (21 from Grace) collected 113 bags of lawn waste, a half dozen big bags of garbage and several bags of recyclables from around the pond and along the trails.  We also cleaned, scraped and painted three picnic tables, the Wright's Pond letters and the main gate, not to mention all the planting and weeding done in the various flower beds.

    In addition to the amazing outcomes from today's work, including some statements like "I have to check that Grace place out" and "Maybe I'll switch teams to Catholic lite," we also experienced some miraculous generosity from the parish and community.  I have been pleasantly shocked by how generous our local businesses have been for this worthy cause.  We had a wonderful lunch today thanks to Kelly's Roast Beef, Mayor Michael J. McGlynn & Whole Foods Medford.  The City of Medford provided tons of tools and supplies as well as access to the parking and bathrooms at Wright's Pond.  We had delicious coffee thanks to the Magnificent Muffin & Bagel Shoppe as well as numerous individual contributors that helped make this amazing day possible.  The Friends of Wright's Pond helped to organize and publicize today's event and we had gloves and pokers thanks to the Friends of the Mystic River.  Thank you to everyone else who volunteered today and help make it happen.

    And we are not stopping here.  Next Saturday, we are doubling the stakes and taking on the cleanup of two parks:

    Saturday, May 22nd 9-11am
    • Barry Park (Chris DesAutels)
    • Carr Park (Linda Rogers)
    Join us and sign up to volunteer or donate something for GreenUp CleanUp!

    Enjoy the slideshow from the event:

    Tuesday, May 4, 2010

    Adding 2 More Parks to GreenUp CleanUp

    The Cummings Park cleanup on May 1st was amazing with over 50 people working hard to make the park a better place for our community.  They filled 41 lawn waste bags and made countless other improvements.  Stay tuned to hear about the wonderful time from Ann.

    As a result of the success at Cummings Park, new leaders from the community have stepped forward and offered to organize additional GreenUp CleanUp events at two other Medford Parks:
    • Barry Park on Saturday, May 22nd from 9am-11am (same time as Carr Park on other side of Medford)
    • Capen Street Park on Saturday, June 5th from 9am-12noon
    Stay tuned for more details about these and other upcoming GreenUp CleanUp events.  For the full list of events and to sign up to help by donating refreshments, equipment and/or your time visit


    Amazing things happen when you get the community organized around such a wonderful and positive thing.

    Monday, May 3, 2010

    Discounted Rain Barrels Available in Medford

    If you've ever considered a rain barrel to collect rain water and water plants and garden, now is a great time.  The Mystic River Watershed Association has teamed up with the New England Rain Barrel Company to offer 55 gallon rain barrels for $75.  Orders must be placed by May 27, 2010 and pickup for all orders will be Thursday, June 3rd between 4-7pm at the WholeFoods in Medford (2151 Mystic Valley Parkway).

    We [The Hunts] have a pair of these rain barrels from the New England Rain Barrel Company and love them.  Rain water is better for the plants than the chlorine treated tap water and good for the environment by savings treated drinking water and lessening the runoff that goes into the sewer system. Here are some more photos - the blue ones are the NE Rain Barrel ones. - Jonathan Hunt
     To get more details or order your own for pickup on June 3rd, visit the MyRWA site or the New England Rain Barrel Company.

    Here is a little video about rain water collection featuring a couple of our youth:



    And you only need a few minutes of rain to fill these, not 40 days.

    Saturday, April 24, 2010

    Mystic River Clean Up a Great Success


    For where two or more are gathered together in My Name, I am there in the midst of them."
    -- Matthew 18: 19-20
    This morning way more than two gathered together in Jesus's name.  By the end of our cleanup we had a crew of 18 from Grace Church and friends in Medford cleaning along the Mystic River.  The kids were especially helpful at reaching under the brush to gather the trash where the adults could not reach.  John Rogers had made some pick-up sticks for us and our friend Joni and Cecilia brought a tiny rake which was perfect for fishing plastic bags and bottles out of the river as well as raking up the numerous broken glass bottles we found.

    Check out some of the exciting things we found below in the slide show.  The count for balls, was 3 softballs, 2 lacrosse balls, 2 tennis balls and a couple golf balls.  Ironically, we pulled a receipt from a recycling yard from the river.

    Come join us next Saturday, May 1st beginning at 10am at Cummings Park for our next GreenUp CleanUp community gathering and fun cleanup of the park.  We are still looking for some donations, so please let us know by filling out the form at GreenUp CleanUp if you will join us or want to help in another way.

    Here are some images from our fun today:


    May the Lord be with you!

    Thursday, April 22, 2010

    Happy Earth Day!

    Today we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.  I hope you will take a few minutes today to appreciate the wonderful gifts God has given us and think about what we can all do to help preserve and protect them for ourselves and future generations to come.

    Last night's Earth Day Eve Movie Night was great.  We had a fun time learning and experiencing together over pizza, movies, popcorn and ice cream.

    Be sure to sign up and join us for our GreenUp CleanUp project.  Our first clean up starts this Saturday at 10am in the Church Parking Lot when we will be helping to clean up the Mystic River.  Margaret is going to register us and get the supplies from the Friends of the Mystic River folks and then we'll head down as a group to the section of the Mystic River we overlook.  Advanced sign ups preferred, but don't let that stop you from coming over Saturday morning.

    Happy Earth Day 2010!

    Sunday, April 18, 2010

    Earth Day Eve Movie Night This Wednesday 6pm

    Come join Al Gore or Eva & Wall-e at Grace Church for a night at the movies. Alicia and I will be hosting this environmentally focused movie night from 6-8pm on the evening before the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. We will be serving pizza and popcorn and start the movies shortly after 6pm in the Parish Hall and Common Room.

    If you haven't let us know you are coming, please drop us a line so that we can plan the food, etc.  Email to jmhunt@mit.edu or iggy@mit.edu or call us at (781) 874-0493.  We'll plan on a little extra, so if you forget to let us know, come anyways.
    Wednesday, April 21, 2010 from 6pm to 8pm at Grace Church

    Featuring


    We look forward to seeing you Wednesday!
    Jon & Alicia

    Monday, April 12, 2010

    Find TerraCycle Products at Walmart During April

    As a special promotion in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day this month, Walmart will be featuring over 60 TerraCycle product including some new ones in their stores across the country.  The promotion will only last through April 29th, so go check out the products at Walmart.

    If you decide to buy some, please save the receipts as there will be a chance to submit those to TerraCycle to get some additional donations to Grace Church's Juice Pouch Brigade which has already raised $13.10 with more to come.

    Wednesday, April 7, 2010

    Join Us Sunday 4/11 for GreenUp CleanUp Kick Off with Ice Cream

    Grace Episcopal Church has embarked on an environmental stewardship program. This spring's "GreenUp CleanUp" effort aims to organize over 250 members of the community to clean up some of Medford's shared open spaces (such as parks and playgrounds).

    The organizers will be holding an open information session about the spring "GreenUp CleanUp" at Grace Church at 160 High Street on Sunday, April 11th following the 10 o'clock service.
    If you are interested in learning more, please come either to the 10 o'clock service or enter the church hall afterward at 11:30 to enjoy our special GREEN ice cream social!

    Also, please visit our GreenUp CleanUp site to learn more about this project and to sign up in advance. One lucky person on the pre-sign-up list will be randomly drawn for a special prize!

    Remember, get the '411' on 4/11!

    Sunday, April 4, 2010

    Drip, Drip, Drip - Saving The Planet, One Faucet at a Time

    Many of you have probably noticed the dripping faucet in the Parish Hall bathroom and realized that it is very difficult to turn the hot water completely off. I often found it trickling hot water because a kid or an adult didn't manage to turn it completely off.  Did you know that a dripping faucet typically wastes 1,000 gallons per year at the rate shown in the video below.  A slightly running toilet can waste even more.



    The week before Easter we installed a new faucet that is easier to turn off and uses less water. We hope to see a noticable savings in the water bill, both by stopping the dripping and because it uses about 50% less water than the old faucet.

    Some comments since the faucet was installed:

    It is so easy to use.  I really like it.

    I can't even tell the difference [in how the water feels].

    Check out the new faucet with the easy to use handles:

    The new faucet uses almost 50% less water when in use than the old faucet (1.2 gpm vs 2.2 gpm).

    To save water, be sure to always turn off faucets all the way, especially when brushing your teeth. If you have a dripping faucet or toilet, be sure to get that fixed right away.  If you are replacing a faucet or toilet, be sure to look for the EPA WaterSense label (equivalent of EnergyStar). 

    Happy Easter!  The Lord is Risen!
    Jonathan

    Thursday, April 1, 2010

    Great CleanUp at Grace

    This past Saturday we had great weather and a great time cleaning up Grace Church inside and out. Many thanks to the volunteers that came out to help and especially to Steve Viggianni for coordinating the event. We had volunteers of all ages helping out. Enjoy the some photos of the day courtesy of John Rogers and be sure to join us for ice cream and more information about the GreenUp CleanUp project after the service on Sunday, April 11th.

    More photos below the fold

    Saturday, March 27, 2010

    Earth Hour Tonight at 8:30pm - Turn off your lights for 60 minutes

    Join in this world wide call to action to support our planet.  Turn off your lights, and other electrical devices, for Earth Hour on Saturday, March 27th at 8:30pm local time.

    Monday, March 22, 2010

    Grace Church Eco-Bottles Available While Supplies Last


    The shipment of Grace Church's "eco-water bottles" has arrived and will be available during coffee hour on Sundays and dinner on Wednesday nights while supplies last.  The reusable eco-bottles are $12.50 and proceeds go to support the GreenUp CleanUp project this spring.  The eco-bottles are 26oz stainless steel and are BPA free and FDA compliant.  They feature a wide mouth so that you can add ice to keep your water cold.  They are not insulated and are not intended for hot beverages.


    Be careful of the slip of paper with cleaning instructions and warnings inside (like not dishwasher safe).  Ellie was so excited about her bottle that she filled it up with the paper still inside.  If you want to reserve your a bottle for you (even better several for your family), be sure to fill out the eco-bottle reservation form and we will set them aside for you.

    The eco-bottles are compatible with Klean Kanteen, a popular brand name stainless steel water bottle, so you can get a sports cap if you prefer that to the wide mouth for drinking. They run about $4 on Amazon.com.

    Have a Blessed Day!
    The GreenUp CleanUp Team

    Thursday, March 18, 2010

    First Batch of Juice Pouches Heading to New Jersey

    The first box of 547 juice pouches collected by the kids of Grace Church has been boxed up and mailed to TerraCycle in New Jersey where they will be made into cool things like backpacks, folders and pencil cases.

    So far, we have collected 547 juice pouches which weigh in at over 6 lbs, raising $11 for Grace Church in a month and a half.  That is 6 pounds of stuff not going into our local landfills.

    Great Job Kids! Keep up the good work. 

    If you need help or ideas on how to collect more juice pouches from your classmates at school, ask Hannah, Ellie or Christor at Godly play or coffee hour.

    Tuesday, March 16, 2010

    GreenUp CleanUp


    Grace Church has embarked on a parish-wide environmental stewardship program, Greening Grace. Our team includes: Ann Frenning Kossuth, Jonathan Hunt, Rachael Pettengill, June Pietrantoni, Linda Rogers, and Margaret Smist. This spring's GreenUp CleanUp, which aims to organize 250 members of the Grace church and community to clean up some of Medford's shared open spaces (such as parks and playgrounds), represents the first fruits of this endeavor.

    The team will be holding an open information session about the GreenUp CleanUp

    at Grace Church Sunday, April 11th following the 10 o'clock service 

    If you are interested, please stick around for green ice cream in fun flavors!

    Please sign up in advance! There will be a random prize given to one lucky person on the pre-sign-up list!  Remember, get the '411' on 4/11!

    Seek out any member of the team for more information or email the group at GreenUpCleanUp@gracemedford.org.  We look forward to learning how we can work together as a parish to achieve our mission of preserving God's green earth!

    Earth Day Eve Movie Night at Grace

    Come celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day by joining us for an environmentally focused movie night Wednesday, April 21st showing Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth and for those younger ones, Hoot, a kid safe movie about protecting animal habitats.

    Because of school vacation week, we do not have our usually scheduled Godly Play & Community Dinner that Wednesday, but we will have dinner at the Movie Night.

    6pm-8pm – Wednesday, April 21st at Grace Church Parish Hall

    Pizza will be served promptly at 6pm and the movies will start a few minutes later.   We want to get started quickly so that those with young kids can leave by 8pm, others are welcome to stay for discussion afterwards. Alicia and Jonathan will be hosting the event in the Parish Hall and Common Room.

    Please RSVP to Alicia or Jonathan at jmhunt@mit.edu or (781) 874-0493 or signing up via the web so that we can have enough food, popcorns and beverages.

    Thursday, March 11, 2010

    Get Your Eco-Bottle to Support GreenUp CleanUp

    Reusable water bottles ("eco-bottles") save money and the environment by reducing the need to purchase water bottled in plastic.


    The GreenUp CleanUp Project will be selling 100 shiny blue 26oz stainless steel eco-bottles for $12.50 each as a promotional fund-raiser for the church.

    These lovely bottles make wonderful gifts for friends and family members and the wide mouth means you can even use normal ice cubes to cool your drinks.

    We will unveil the new eco-bottles at 12 noon at the start of the Saturday, March 27th Clean-Up, organized by Steve Viggiani.  Members of the GreenUp CleanUp team will actively be taking pre-orders in advance.

    For questions about the bottles or the GreenUp CleanUp project please ask one of the  team: Ann, Jon, Linda, Margaret, June, or Rachael.

    Also, be sure to join us for the GreenUp CleanUp Kick Off Event after the 10am service on Sunday, April 11 to get the '411' on 4/11.  We need your help, so please sign up today.


    Thanks,
    GreenUp CleanUp Team

    Tuesday, March 9, 2010

    Video Tour of the TerraCycle Factory

    Christor asked Alicia:
    How do they turn the juice pouches into money?
    She explained that they recycled the pouches into products that they sold at stores and that is how they get the money gets donated for each juice pouch.  I happened to come across this new video tour of the TerraCycle factory today and can't wait to show it to Christor and all the others who have been helping collect juice pouches for Grace Church.


    Our first box of juice pouches is going to be shipped to TerraCycle later this week. The kids have been doing a great job!

    Save Water at Home with Free Water Conservation Kits

    (Update 3/11/2010 - DPW no longer has the water conservation kits)

    I was visiting the Medford Department of Public Works in regards to the GreenUp CleanUp project when I noticed they were giving away free low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators.   I picked up a bag to see what was included and was pleasantly surprised to find the same massaging shower head we installed in our own home, though with a slightly higher flow rate (2.0 gallons per minute - gpm).  We love this shower and installed one in my mother-in-law's bathroom.  She loves it too. You can literally save thousands of gallons of water per year with a low flow shower head.

    The shower head and faucet aerators (one for a kitchen faucet at 2.2 gpm and one for a bathroom faucet at 1.5 gpm) came in a bag that you can use to measure your current showers' and faucets' flow rate, i.e., how many gpm they use.  Basically, you put the bag over your shower head and run the water for 5 seconds and then read on the side of the bag how much water it uses.  Included in the bag were little dye tablets to test your toilets for leaks because leaky faucets and toilets waste tens of thousands of gallons of water per year.  I also picked up some brochures on composting, indoor and outdoor water conservation, recycling and hazardous waste disposal for Medford.

    If you have not already switched all your shower heads and installed aerators on your faucets, stop by Medford City Hall and pick up your free water conservation kits from our local Department of Public Works, Room 304.  You can also drop off button batteries and old cell phones for recycling while you are there.

    Have a Blessed Day!
    Jon

    Tuesday, March 2, 2010

    Grace Church is Using Eco-Palms for Palm Sunday

    This year Grace Church is switching to using Eco-palms for Palm Sunday which are sustainably harvested palms. The harvest of palm products is an important income source for many tropical families and communities. For example, more than a half of the farmers in Guatemala’s Central Peten region earn income by harvesting palm fronds and more than a quarter support themselves exclusively by collecting palm fronds.

    Over-harvesting can threaten the livelihood of these communities as well as the forests where the palm plants thrive. Similarly, decreased harvesting caused by reduced market demand could have a detrimental effect because forests that no longer provide a source of palm income are at risk of destructive conversion to large agricultural fields or pasture. Protecting these forests and jobs require a delicate balance between retaining a market for palm fronds and encouraging sustainable harvesting practices.

    By purchasing Eco-palms we are supporting small farmers in developing countries and protecting the environment – a great practice in environmental stewardship and reaching out to those in need.

    For more information visit: www.ecopalms.org

    Peace,

    The Rev. Noah H. Evans 

    Saturday, February 27, 2010

    Sign Up for GreenUp CleanUp

    Grace Church is organizing the community of Medford to cleanup several parks this spring. We will be hosting an information session on Sunday, April 11 at 11:30am. Come get the '411' on 4/11 and enjoy some green ice cream.


    Complete this web form to volunteer or speak with any member of the GreenUp CleanUp Team for more information:
    • Rachael Pettengill
    • Ann Frenning Kossuth
    • June Pietratoni
    • Linda Rogers
    • Margaret Smist
    • Jonathan Hunt
    Join Us as we work together to improve the environment around us!

    Thanks,
    GreenUp CleanUp Team

    Thursday, February 18, 2010

    Grace Church Joins Mass Interfaith Power and Light

    Along our path to being better stewards of our environment, Grace Church has become a member of Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light (MIP&L). Working with MIP&L will provide us access to numerous resources focused on making houses of worship more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable. Currently we are collecting the preliminary data to conduct a thorough energy audit of the church buildings including Grace Works.

    MIP&L has resources available for parishioners as well. They will help arrange for free home energy audits for our parishoners' homes as well as provide follow up advice. More information on the available resources can be found on the Resources page of the MIP&L site. We will be providing information to the congregation when we have it available.

    The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts has had good experiences with MIP&L and we hope that Grace will continue that trend. You can read some recent MIP&L success stories for inspiration.

    Thanks,
    Jon

    Wednesday, February 17, 2010

    Juice Pouch Recycling Update - 225 and Counting

    Thanks to the exceptional efforts of Hannah, Ellie and Christor, who have collected over 225 juice pouches in the first two weeks.  I hope they'll share their secrets to collecting so many juice pouches because I know they are not drinking that many themselves.  So far we have diverted over 2.5 pounds from the landfills and we are just getting started.  At the end of the month, I'll package up the pouches we have collected and mail them to TerraCycle.

    If you have or know of kids (or anyone for that matter) that drinks Capri Sun, Kool-Aid or Honest Kids juice pouches, please collect them.  Try to drain as much of the liquid out and bring them to Grace Church.  There is a small box behind the recycling in the kitchen.  Please put the pouches in the zip top bag.

    Thanks,
    Jon

    Wednesday, February 3, 2010

    Grace Joins TerraCycle to Recycle Juice Pouches

    Last Sunday, Grace Church began collecting Capri Sun, Honest Kids and Kool-Aid juice pouches to upcycle through TerraCycle.  What is upcycling you ask?  Typically when we recycle something the resulting products are of a lower grade and value, also referred to as downcycling.  For example, each time paper is recycled, the fibers that make up the paper become shorter.  That is why you usually see writing paper with a percentage of recycled content and not 100% recycled content.  Eventually the fibers become so short they won't stay together as paper so the only thing left is for them to be composted.  Upcycling on the other hand is actually making a product with higher value than the recycled material such as juice pouches.  TerraCycle takes the juice pouches we collect and turns them into products like back packs and reusable shopping bags which they sell at stores like Home Depot and Walmart.

    In addition to doing our part for the environment by recycling, we also receive 2¢ per pouch for the church.

    We have a box behind the recycling bins in the kitchen that you can put your empty juice pouches, either Capri Sun, Honest Kids or Kool-Aid.  Once we have enough to make it worth while, we will send them to TerraCycle to be upcycled.

    So, have your kids bring back home their juice pouches from school lunches and snacks.  If you're willing, have them ask their friends to give them their juice pouches as well and we'll recycle and raise even more.  Then drop them off in the box when you come to church.

    TerraCycle upcycles a number of other things that we could collect, so please let us know which of these we should sign up for and start collecting:
    If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact:
       Jonathan Hunt at jmhunt@mit.edu or (781) 874-0493.

    Let us all be stewards of this earth our island home.

    Thanks,
    Jon


    Details from TerraCycle's FAQ:

    Do I need to clean the pouches before putting them in the bag?
    We ask that you remove the straws and ensure that the liquid is removed from the pouches as much as possible. If you can, it does help if you cut the pouch at the top above where the straw is inserted, however this step is NOT required. This cleaning process will also help eliminate unwanted pests.

    How much do you pay per drink pouch?
    We credit your charity $.02 per Honest Kids, Capri Sun and/or Kool-Aid drink pouch.