Trees Make Sacramento Green in Many Ways

According to many people I speak with here, Sacramento currently has second highest number of trees per capita. We are only behind Paris France; that is pretty cool! Not only does it make our city more beautiful, but it also keeps us cooler in the summertime, warmer in the winter and it reduces smog in the region. We are fortunate that SMUD has the foresight to see the benefits of providing even more trees to shade our homes and The Sacramento Tree Foundation has the mission to help promote and facilitate the planting of trees, including the SMUD trees, in our region. They have a goal of planting another five million trees in our community. This is an incredibly economical way to reduce the energy consumption of your own home. Get a couple free trees and consulting and over time start seeing the saving in your bills.

To find out more information about getting trees, donating, volunteering or just educating yourself more, visit the Sacramento Tree Foundation’s website at www.sactree.com.

Josh

Congrats to Soil Born Farm for a great Day on the Farm!

The Green Living Center participated this last weekend at The Day on the Farm event at Soil Born Farm’s American River Ranch. Green Sacramento has been participating since the first event they had and I really must admire how much they have grown! What a beautiful site and great experience it is out there. Soil Born Farm is a non-profit farm and education center focused on local, organic food and food awareness programs to our community. This year the event was in conjunction with the Veggie Run, a 5K and assorted age variation run walk event. So many new people got exposed to this treasure and even though it was a bit chilly and windy the crowds were astounding. Thanks go out as well to the Sacramento Natural Food Co-op who has help sponsor this event since its conception several years ago.

For more information about events and ways to get involved with Soil Born Farm go to their website at www.soilborn.org.

The Emerald City

For years we have had some great city employees who have been pushing for the city to establish more sustainable practices and guidelines. But most of what we have gotten out of elected officials is rhetoric. Now we have a mayor who is trying to stand up and get all our elected officials to stand behind a green banner for many of the right reasons. We need job growth and the development of a more sustainable, local economy which we can accomplish through business innovation and planning guidelines that promote green practices.

Mayor Kevin Johnson kicked off his Green Initiative this week to a packed house and a visit from the Governor and his wife. After more than six years in the green building industry it was such a relief for me to see all of the people already engaged from our community and strong support from the top reaches of our local and state government. Mayor Johnson seems to have a good approach to address this initiative. His plan is not to reinvent the wheel or to detract from the great foundation of work that others have already done, but rather to identify and support what already exists and help identify and address ways to fill in the gaps.

I plan to support and attend all of the monthly meetings that will be hosted by the mayor through the end of this year. It will connect us directly to the mayor, city council, city and county staffs and so many of the other businesses and organizations that are already working hard to build our economy. With organization and support like that we really do have a chance for a green renaissance!

If you’d like to learn more visit the mayor’s website at www.teamkj.org.

Josh Daniels
Green Sacramento