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Teaching the world outside
Nature is one of the biggest teachers at Academe of the Oaks in Decatur. The
Waldorf School affiliate has built two outdoor classrooms - a beautiful Tuscan garden
to study and relax in and a butterfly garden featuring vegetables, flowers, bees, goats and
chickens for students to tend. Students at the school learn to take care of the gardens,
including creating compost piles, planting and then preparing what they’ve grown for
dinner. The goats keep the grass mowed and can be found happily chomping away.
The school even rents out the goats to individuals who want to have their lawns taken
care of rather than cutting with a mower. In the fall, Academe of the Oaks will host its
annual fundraiser, The Farmers Market, where they sell some of the garden bounty to
the community and invite local growers to sell as well. For more information about the
school, visit academeatlanta.org. ESI
-Annie Kinnett Nichols
The Academe of the
Oaks in Decatur has built
two learning gardens on
campus, giving students
an opportunity to learn
about growing plants and
food. At far left, teach
ers Tara Wyman and Eva
Handschin at the entrance
to the vegetable garden.
Photos by Annie
Kinnett Nichols
Eco-Briefs
The City of Atlanta Mayor's Office of Sustainability has announced that the Atlanta
Better Buildings Challenge Water Pilot program exceeded 22 other cities in a national
water conservation program. Atlanta buildings participating in the pilot accounted
for 43 percent of the total 377 million gallons of water saved - the equivalent of 570
Olympic-sized swimming pools - in the first year of program. “We are extremely
proud of the ABBC participants across the city who have rallied around the goal to
reduce energy and water use,” said Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, Director of the Office
of Sustainability. “To account for nearly half of the total water savings is something
the entire city should celebrate, and we see this achievement as a true reflection of the
water conservation work being done across the community.” The results of the program
were revealed at the recent Better Buildings Summit in Washington, D.C. The Better
Buildings Water Pilot was launched by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2014. Under
the program, commercial buildings in 23 cities agreed to voluntarily measure and
reduce their water consumption. In the City of Atlanta, 406 buildings have voluntarily
committed to reduce energy and water use by 20 percent by the year 2020.
Two Buckhead companies
earned top honors at the
Georgia Commute Honors, an
event recognizing outstanding
participants in Georgia
Commute Options, a program
of the Georgia Department
of Transportation. Cousins
Properties earned the "Best
Overall Program - Property
Management" award for its
leadership in Buckhead's
congestion mitigation efforts,
and for its embrace of commute options, specifically vanpooling at their Terminus
property. This award was presented to a single metro Atlanta commercial property
management company for taking creative measures to offer Georgia Commute
Options incentives and programs to their tenants. PulteGroup relocated their
corporate offices to Buckhead in mid-2014, citing Buckhead's proximity to transit
connections as a major factor in its site selection. Since then, the company’s
commitment to transit has delivered incredible returns and earned PulteGroup the
“Rising Star - Employer" award. This honor was given to only one employer in the
entire metro Atlanta region, and it recognizes company that has made promising early
efforts to promote clean commuting through Georgia Commute Options. For more
information, visit GaCommuteOptions.com.
28 July 2015 | iNtown
It
r
Atlanta-based LIVBAG, a
fashionable and functional line
of tote bags, has announced a
new line of chic bags made in
an effort to bring awareness
to child hunger in the United
States. LIVBAG has two new
bags including a signature tote
and drawstring backpack that
are made of organic canvas
and hemp. Both the tote and
backpack are versatile and can
be used as everyday handbags,
gym bags, diaper bags, beach
bags and market bags. Half of
all LIVBAG annual profits will
benefit Blessings in a Backpack,
an organization that discreetly
provides elementary school
children who are on the federal
Free and Reduced Price Meal
Program with a backpack of
food to take home for 38 weekends during the school year. According to founder
Joanne Credi, the company’s name was inspired by a little girl named Olivia, who in
lieu of receiving gifts for her 9th birthday asked the other children to bring brand
new pairs of shoes to be donated to other kids in need. For more information,
please visit livbag.com.
HUY AI3AG
ITHIEDAC
The Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA) is the recipient of
a grant from The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta’s Grants to Green
initiative. This matching grant of $370,074 will enable the MJCCA to upgrade its
interior lighting, HVAC equipment and controls, and kitchen ventilation, among other
facility systems, to ensure the energy efficiency of its Zaban Park campus in Dunwoody
at 5342 Tilly Mill Road.
The Association of Energy Engineers’s (AEE) new international headquarters
building at 3168 Mercer University Drive has earned EPA's ENERGY STAR for label
year 2014 with a score of 85. The new headquarters was decorated using paint and
carpeting low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), LED lighting, double-paned and
glazed windows and more. ESI
AtlantalNtownPaper.com