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Eco Design + Living focuses on the built and natural environments as they relate to the two most important things we need to sustain ourselves, shelter and food. Written by Chandra F. Hartman, this blog provides vingettes of information about living sustainably on the Gulf Coast. Visit the Eco Design + Living website for more information. Most importantly, live well.
Architecture & Design
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Green Bay Expo

Posted 05-15-2009 at 11:08 PM by Chandra (Eco Design + Living)

Final Day of Bay Green Expo, Staurday, May 16, 2009!


THE BAY GREEN EXPO & THE FRIENDS OF ST. ANDREW BAY

The final event of the Thirty Days of Green is the Bay Green Expo on May 16 at Gulf Coast Community College. During this event, local businesses, non–profits, public agencies, and service organizations will display their services, products and knowledge to help the public live a greener, more sustainable lifestyle.

Throughout the event, classrooms at GCCC’s Student Union East will host a rich array of speakers presenting on such topics as Coastal Ecology; New Urbanism; The Water Efficient Landscape; The Natural Capital of Bay County; and, Solar and You, among others. This event is free and open to thepublic. “This is a great event for the whole family,” said Mike Brim, “and it is free!” There will be free drawings for rain barrels and additional items.

The Bay Green Expo will run from 9am-4 pm at Gulf Coast Community College in the Student Union East Conference Center.

For more information, call Carl Roberts at 850-381-8015, Jeff Allen, 850-625-3061 or The Friends of St.
Andrew Bay, 850-215-5590. Visit the website at www.baygreenexpo.com

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Thirty Days of Green & Green Bay Expo

Posted 04-23-2009 at 07:39 PM by Chandra (Eco Design + Living)
Updated 04-24-2009 at 09:09 AM by Chandra



When: April 17 - May 16, 2009
Where: Gulf Coast Community College and other locations
Contact: Joe Earp, EXPO Coordinator Phone: (850) 215-5590
Email: earp0321@hotmail.com
Website: Bay Green Expo

It's not too late to join in some of the Thirty Days of Green Events. See below for the list of events.

April 25, 2009: Green Saturday, Gulf Coast Community CollegeThe first of a series of informative workshops on a variety of green topics Contact Carl Roberts at (850) 381-8015, Jeff Allen at (850) 625-3061
April 25 and 26, 2009: Bay County Horseman’s AssociationIntro to Competitive Trail Riding- Two Day Clinic-Two local competitive trail riders, Debbie Jelks and Teri Stephens-Pankhurst will bring you though all you need to know to confidently head out to a competitive trail ride. Contact Amy Pachuki at Red Oak Farms- 850-722-5400
May 1, 2009: Downtown Friday FestLocated Downtown on Harrison Avenue from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm.
May 9, 2009: Learning from Traditional Neighborhoods: A Walking Tour of Historic St. Andrews
Older neighborhoods like St. Andrews were developed before modern zoning and the widespread use of the automobile altered the American landscape. St. Andrews is a close-knit, mixed-use neighborhood where residents can meet many of their daily needs within walking distance.
Join us for a fun walking...
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A Field Trip With the Seaside Garden Class

Posted 03-24-2009 at 06:39 PM by Chandra (Eco Design + Living)
Updated 04-22-2009 at 11:25 PM by Chandra

On Thursday, Snookie Parrish and Kim Gordon's Garden Class from the Seaside Neighborhood School, visited CFH Design Studio's urban permaculture homestead. Ms. Parrish and Ms. Gordon have been teaching the students about organic gardening and living lighter on the land. The students learn through hands-on experience at the Corner Garden that is located to the East of the Seaside Neighborhood Scool on Quincy Circle. Their garden is an edible garden and most of the garden infrastructure was recycled, re-used, or donated by individuals or local businesses.

Kim wanted to show the kids a real life example of a local family that is actively working to reduce their environmental footprint. So, she arranged a field trip to our home.

When they arrived, I greeted them outside, as it was a beautiful day, just before the Spring Equinox. There were five students and they presented me with a sweet little gift of two organic German Butterball potatoes in a ceramic pot. I have two potato growing bags where they will live for the next few months.

We started by talking about some of the volunteer succulents that have sprouted up around the front porch and two bottle brush ferns that I recently discovered to be as old as myself. We then talked about the house and some of the things that were incorporated into the home to reduce its environmental impact like building to dimensional lumber sizes to reduce waste, large overhangs to protect the structure, using...
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Architecture 2030 Adresses NYT Article

Posted 03-14-2009 at 11:41 AM by Chandra (Eco Design + Living)
Updated 04-22-2009 at 11:26 PM by Chandra

In this extreme, information overload age, it's often difficult to separate the truths from the non-truths. This is prevalent in many aspects of everyday life and sustainable living is no exception. We are sometimes left with many unanswered and debatable questions like, paper or plastic? cloth diapers or disposable diapers? new Prius vs. old reliable vehicle? local food or organic food? Wine in a box or wine in a glass bottle?* I hear from people regularly that say they just don't know what to believe, or what to do to live lighter on the planet.

These decisions are often compounded by financial anxiety. Won't this gadget or life style cost more? This is a popular counter tool for any organization that has an interest in discounting the merits of any individual or group adopting more sustainable behaviors.

Recently, the New York Times published an article about green building that read as a short discussion to end the discussion on pursuing better building practices...end of discussion. Upon further investigation, we discover that the article was based on a report by the Commercial Real Estate Development Association or NAIOP. According to Architecture 2030, "This disinformation campaign is obviously meant to stall, confuse and distort."

More from Architecture 2030...

Quote:
It is clear from a simple analysis of the study that NAIOP commissioned a building energy efficiency analysis to support predetermined results.
...
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Transect Based Planning - Another Option

Posted 02-26-2009 at 11:47 AM by Chandra (Eco Design + Living)

I'm going to jump right in, so follow along.

Fighting to maintain status quo planning regulations, for fear of losing one's personal property rights, often results in the rights of others being suppressed. When one group clamors to maintain the current planning regulations, they essentially reduce everyone's choices for housing, employment, transportation, and sustainable living. With the proposed EAR amendments, Walton County has found itself at a crossroads; it has the opportunity to explore other ways of doing things, or stay the path for fear of the unknown. The Planning Commission is open to and needs community suggestions. The Planning Department is doing the best they can with the tools they have available to them, and the NIMBY's and 's abound. Now, there's a new acronym to chew on.

So what does all this mean? What it means is that the current Comprehensive Development Plan and Land Use Development Code are written in favor of planning elements that encourage people to spread out across the land, removed from essential services with very little rhyme or reason. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with that is that not everyone favors this type of living arrangement and it greatly reduces the opportunity for other living arrangements. This type of regulation was fine when very few people actually lived here, though with higher population and more need for employment and services, spreading everyone across the land like peanut butter eats...
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