Well here we are in 2010 and there still isn’t much activity on the CEC blog so I will kick start the new year with a quick message. How did everyone do on their goal to be more green in 2009? If you remember I had vowed to start composting and even though I labored about how to do it all during the year I started right away. First I did it the hard way…let me explain. I live in a subdivision where you can’t just have a big stinky pile of garbage in your back yard. I already had a pile of dirt in my side yard that was left over from a landscape project. I kept a plastic bucket under the sink and later in the garage to put my compostable stuff in. Whenever it would get enough in it to make it worth it I would dig a small hole in the dirt pile and bury the kitchen scraps under the soil. I also put yard waste on the pile and that was about it. I felt good that I was “composting” but I knew that I needed a better plan for winter when the ground was frozen and I couldn’t dig. I had been looking at the commercial compost bins and thought about building one from a variety of materials but I just couldn’t decide on the right approach. Finally on one of my trips to Sams Club I found a composter that met my requirements. Below is a link that shows it.

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=361729

This unit is well made, assembles quick, can be moved (although you start over), and it is resonable priced. You can get different colors but the black is the best for composting because the sun warms it to accelerate the process.

If someone tells me they can’t compost because they don’t have any place to put the compost pile so the neighbors won’t complain…problem solved. Now for the price of a dinner out for 2 you can reduce the waste going to the sewage desposal plant for processing, reduce or eliminate sending compostable material to the landfill, and never buy nutient rich soil for your flower garden.

Chuck

(Centerville, IN) CEC is proud to announce their Executive Director, Stephanie Hays-Mussoni, as the recipient of the first Bill Frazier Memorial Award in recognition of environmental leadership given by S.P.U.R. (Society for the Preservation & Use of Resources). Stephanie accepted the award at S.P.U.R.?s May meeting. ?It is such an honor to receive an award in Bill?s name. He was such a community minded person who worked hard for preservation,? said Stephanie.

?Stephanie was the logical person (to receive the first award). She exemplifies everything Bill was about. Bill was always involved in everything related to the environment and Stephanie is, too. She?s the modern Bill Frazier,? said Dick Roeper, member of S.P.U.R.?s Board of Directors.

S.P.U.R. is a non-profit citizen?s volunteer organization. Its primary concerns are environmental problems and opportunities in urban and rural Wayne County, Indiana. SPUR was organized in 1966 by conservation-minded citizens to further the goals of protecting significant local land areas and to support programs, legislation and zoning to protect or provide for the best use of our natural resources.

Cope Environmental Center is a local not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote the sustainable use of the earth?s resources through education, demonstration and research. CEC works with children, school groups, communities, businesses and individuals teaching environmental stewardship and sustainability. Bill Frazier was an active supporter and participant in both organizations.

Great job, Steph!