If you haven't been there, check it out: ELC

If you live in Fort Collins, you have most likely visited CSU's 212 acre Environmental Learning Center, and if not, you should. It is a great place to rack up some volunteer hours, go for a walk, learn some pretty cool stuff and just relax in the beauty of nature.

Visitors can walk a self-guided nature trail, relax at the picnic pavilion, observe the different birds at the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program cages or participate in programs put on by the ELC.

Although many of the programs are geared toward environmental education for children, the ELC puts on special events or programs throughout the year, check their list of events or calendar for more information.

If you are interested in volunteering, here's how:

• Service Saturdays: The last Saturday of every month is a service day, where volunteers help with different projects, from trail work to gardening.
• Individuals: If you are just interested in volunteering, tell the ELC what you want to get out of your experience and they will set you up.
• Groups: If your group needs volunteer hours, the ELC will put you in the books and get you to work.

To volunteer, all you have to do is contact the ELC for group service projects or fill out an application form for individuals.

If you need to log some volunteer hours, the ELC is a perfect place to go: they are easy to work with, you get to work outside and you can make a difference in the community.

A great resource to increase efficiency: City of Fort Collins Utilities

If you are interested in lowering your utility bill as well as increasing your environmental stewardship, the City of Fort Collins Utilities' website is a great resource for tips and tricks for both the residential and business sectors.

Fort Collins Utilities is working hard to not only instill sustainability in its customers, but in its own business operations as well. In fact, Fort Collins Utilities is the first municipal utility in the nation to be granted registration with the GRI producing an annual sustainability report. To read more about this commitment you can read an article on Fort Collins Utilities featured in Public Power Magazine.

So what can you do to increase your energy efficiency? The Fort Collins Utilities provides information on how to set up your home or business with charging stations for Electric Vehicles, discounts on CFL, LED and Lutron dimmers and occupancy sensors, refrigerator/freezer recycling rebates, free sprinkler system audits and much more. Just check out the Fort Collins Utilities Conserve webpage for a full list of energy-saving tips and offers.

"Our outreach campaign, Fort Collins Conserves, draws attention to the small, daily steps you can take to improve efficiency and reduce the community's overall energy and water demand," according to the Fort Collins Utilities' website. "By making efficient choices, we all win: the City moves closer to its conservation goals and your home or business will feel more comfortable, perform better, use less energy and water and save you money."

Also, if you stop by the Fort Collins Utilities office on 700 Wood St., you can pick up a free "Make Efficient Choices" water conservation kit, which includes a water-efficient shower head.

Why pay more money on your next utility bill when you can make choices that will lower your bill and benefit the environment?

"Chasing Ice" shows in Denver this month

This month, the long-awaited "Chasing Ice" film was released, with showings around the nation. Nov. 23, 2012 the film will come to Denver, premiering at the Landmark Theaters Chez Artiste.

So what is "Chasing Ice" all about? The movie uses time-lapse photography collected over several years to reveal the extreme changes in the Arctic glaciers as they disappear at an astonishing rate. A full synopsis of the "Chasing Ice" can be found on the film's website.

The film has received rave reviews:

“One of the most beautiful films of the year,” said Regina Weinreich of the Huffington Post.

“This is the climate change film we’ve been waiting for," said Caroline Libresco, Sundance Senior Programmer.

“The climate change debate is over," said Greg Reitman of the Huffington Post.

According to their website, the film has also won over 20 awards, including the Environmental Media Association’s 22nd Annual Best Documentary Award and the Sundance Film Festival's Excellence in Cinematography Award: US Documentary.

"Chasing Ice" is sure not to be a disappointment, check it out! 

Watch the trailer:

Perfect for the holidays: Gardens on Spring Creek

Gardens in winter? Yes. The Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins is open throughout the year and is perfect for a holiday visit. 

According to its mission statement, the Gardens is a "city-funded community horticulture program," which opened in 2004. The Gardens has nine gardens, including the Children's Garden, which aims to teach children about the different growing seasons, Colorado's ecosystems and more through interactive elements, the Rock Garden, which features plants native to and adapted to Colorado's climate, and the Garden of Eatin', in which everything grown in this three-quarter acre garden is edible. The Garden has four more gardens planned for the future.

The Gardens also organizes several programs and special events. And it is this time of year that beautiful poinsettias fill the greenhouse and the Gardens' puts on its Garden of Lights display — perfect for the holidays. 

Beyond the holiday season, the Gardens provides a lot of opportunities for people to get their hands dirty and grow sustainability and community. You can rent out your own plot in the Community Gardens for a $100 per season. Or if you just want to get involved in the Gardens, you can apply to become a volunteer and help garden, assist in youth programs, aid in organizing special events and more. 

You can visit the Gardens at anytime; they are open throughout the year from 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday and 9 am to 4 pm on Saturdays. May 1 through Sept. 30, the Gardens is open from noon to 5 pm on Sundays, however throughout the rest of the year, the Gardens is closed on Sundays.

I personally think the Gardens is a great asset to the Fort Collins community, providing residents an opportunity to grow their own gardens, educating the public on the importance of sustainable growing practices, connecting children with that education and just giving the Fort Collins community somewhere to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature. 

Learn how to reduce, reuse and recycle at the Larimer County Garbage Garage

As you drive south down Taft Hill Road, you will eventually reach the Larimer County Landfill. Unlike most landfills, the Larimer County Landfill has a Garbage Garage Education Center on site, in fact it is the only one of its kind in Colorado and one of a few in the nation.

The goal of the Garbage Garage is to educate visitors on the Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, as well as how landfills work and how to dispose of hazardous waste.

According to the Garbage Garage Center, the average Colorado resident produces 6.8 pounds of garbage per day in comparison to the national average of 4.5 pounds. The Garbage Garage is working to educate people about sustainable waste management in hopes of reducing this average.

Although the Garbage Garage primarily caters to children, the material is applicable to all age levels. It is also caters to all learning styles by including interactive elements, videos, signs and visuals into their displays.

The messages found in the Garbage Garage are made so much more important when you see the heaping piles of trash in the distance as you leave or as you enter the landfill. I would suggest this tour to anyone who is wondering why the Three Rs are important or how you can do more to recycle, reduce and reuse.

The Garbage Garage is open 10 am to 2 pm Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. You can drop in for a visit at any of those times or make an appointment. Visitors can also request to tour other areas of the landfill, such as Recycling Center or the Household Hazardous Waste site.

If you are interested in learning more about the Garbage Garage watch this video:

 

New Belgium - an environmental leader

This weekend I toured New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, and though I couldn't enjoy the tasting portion of the tour, I was struck by the company's commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. So if you are looking to see environmental leadership from prominent companies, not to mention getting some free samples, I would suggest this free tour. 

Our tour guide started off our journey through the brewery by explaining the companies beginnings — the owner, Jeff Lebesch, biked around Europe visiting breweries after a business trip in 1989. To me, that right there shows that even before the company took off, the owner, a Fort Collins native, was committed to sustainability.

That commitment remained strong as the company grew. New Belgium has 10 company values that they uphold. Number 4: "Kindling social, environmental and cultural change as a business role model." Number 5: "Environmental stewardship: Honoring nature at every turn of the business." Number 9: "Continuous, innovative quality and efficiency improvements." So three of the company values are centered around environmental and sustainable responsibility.

The list of New Belgium's actions toward environmental sustainability is extensive, from gifting their employees a bike on their one-year anniversary with the company to purchasing wind power credits. A full report of the company's environmental practices can be found in their Corporate Sustainability Report. The company even tracked the environmental impact of making one six pack of Fat Tire, full cycle in their "The Carbon Footprint of Fat Tire® Amber Ale."

New Belgium is a perfect example of a company committed to environmental sustainability not because it improves their image, but because it is honestly the right thing to do.

Help out the Fort Collins Bike Library

Fort Collins is well known for being bike-friendly, but did you know that you can check out bikes to use for free? This service is courtesy of the Fort Collins Bike Library, which allows users to check out bikes for an hour or up to seven days without any charge.

However, the organization's federal grant, which pays for half of the program, is expiring at the end of this year. For 2013, the Bike Library is turning to the Fort Collins community to help compensate for the funds it will lose at the end of this year. 

The Bike Library is utilizing the help of Community Funded, a Fort Collins based entity, that helps fund local organizations, small businesses and projects by asking community members to donate money towards a project, providing giftbacks to donators. 

So far the Bike Library has received $488 of its $195,000 goal through Community Funded; the Bike Library has 41 days left to make the rest of its funds. If you are interested in donating you can visit the Bike Library's Community Funded page.

To learn more about Community Funded and the Fort Collins Bike Library you can read the Coloradoan's news article. 

How does the Bike Library work?

Since 2008, the Bike Library has had over 15,000 bicycles checked out by over 12,000 users. 

After signing up online, users can either make a reservation or show up on a first-come, first-served basis to check out a bike. Users are required to make a $150 deposit but that money is returned in full when the bike is returned unharmed. 

The Bike Library also facilitates three self-guided tours: the brewery tour, the environmental tour and the historical tour.

Offering multiple bike types for check out, including tandems, children's bikes, cruisers, cargo bikes and more, there is a bike for any user, young and old.

The Bike Library has two locations: Old Town and on LaPorte Avenue. At their Old Town location, the Library is open on Thursdays from 10 am to 3 pm and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm. The Library will be open through the rest of November and on the first three Saturdays in December, with December 15 as their last check out day for the year.