July Eco-Bulletin
Fun in the Sun
SLO Sunset, photo by Heath Hooper
We hope you have been enjoying some relaxation and warmth this Summer so far. We are excited to share with you all of the great programs and opportunities you can partake in this month. It is a beautiful time to connect with the community and us here at ECOSLO! As always, we are educating, advocating, and acting on the behalf of San Luis Obispo County thanks to the help of all of you.
We hope you can get involved and thank you for continuing to support and stay connected with your local environmental center - ECOSLO!
In This Issue:
ECOSLO Open House Information
Join the ECOSLO Team
Hike Tour: South Hills
Save the Date for our Silent Auction
Green Business of the Month
Urban Tree Facts
Clean Energy Choice for New Buildings
No New Plastic Week
Creeks to Coast Cleanup: Two Months Away
Cleanup Programs: Volunteer Opportunity
Support ECOSLO
Join Our Virtual Open House!
Be sure to join us for our virtual open house this week, on Thursday, July 15th. We are hosting two separate sessions of the same information from 10am-noon and 6-8pm. Choose the time that is preferable to you! We look forward to sharing about our programs and our partners. To register, visit Eventbrite or email our Office & event Coordinator, Jamie at info@ecoslo.org.
Interested in Serving a Year with ECOSLO?
You can apply to be ECOSLO's next AmeriCorps member for the 2021-2022 year. This position starts in mid August and will allow you to be a part of the programs, projects, and mission of ECOSLO. It is an excellent way to connect with the community while giving back. For more information please click the button below. You can also reach out to Hannah or Emma, current AmeriCorps members, with any questions.
Tour City of SLO Open Space Trail: South Hills
This is an excellent hike for the warmer months as it is a shorter 1.5 mile out and back hike that is perfect for enjoying sunset and some cooler evening weather. SLO Stewards docent Annie has a wonderful understanding of the botanical species that can be found here as well as a history of the land that may surprise you! If you would like to view this Hike Tour and other tours led by more of our awesome volunteer docents, check out ECOSLO's accounts on: Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
Save the Date for our Silent Auction
As we near our 50th year of serving the community, we are excited to host raffles throughout the County, as well as an online Silent Auction! The Silent Auction will be held Thursday, August 19th at 5:30pm through Friday, August 27th at 11:59 PM (specific website to be announced). The raffles will be held at:
Arroyo Grande - ManRock Brewing
Wednesday, August 18th
San Luis Obispo - There Does Not Exist
Friday, August 20th
Cambria - Cutruzzola Vineyards
Saturday, August 20th
Green Business Spotlight: Cal Coast Orchids!
We want to give a big congratulations to our newest Certified Green Businesses, Cal Coast Orchids! Cal Coast Orchids is a family-owned and operated small business that draws from generations of Dutch agriculture to produce sustainably grown, beautiful orchids of the highest quality for its customers — all grown in American bark.
The founders of Cal Coast Orchids have experience growing orchids all over the world - from Europe to the Asian Pacific region to the east and west coasts of North America. Cal Coast Orchids utilizes PRIVA technology to prevent waste, improve efficiency, and remain accountable for uses of light, CO2, and irrigation. Highly sensitive sensors and environmental controls minimize fossil fuels’ input and optimize greenhouse climates for the healthiest plants.
For lighting efficiencies, they optimize artificial lighting and curtains to retain natural heat and reduce the use of natural gases. As part of their Certification process, Cal Coast Orchids committed to using natural herbicides and beneficial nematodes, environmentally sound fertilizing practices such as compost to amend and enrich the soil, and even reducing the potential pest problems by planting a variety of species rather than a monoculture. Cal Coast Orchids also uses an automatic irrigation controller that uses local evapotranspiration data and soil moisture sensor data to create an irrigation schedule. We are so happy to add them to the Green Business Community!
Curious to Learn More About Urban Trees?
We have the tree facts for you! We often get a lot of questions about the trees we plant in urban spaces. Did you know that after a tree is planted it needs to be watered and looked after for 3 years? That may sound like a long time, but our supportive volunteer Tree Keeper volunteers make sure that all the trees get 5-10 gallons of water a week! We also mulch the trees, tighten their ties and stakes, weed the base, and more. You can learn more about our program and see the map of all the trees we have planted at the button below.
Clean Energy Choice For New Buildings
Did you know that the City of San Luis Obispo adopted a new policy to encourage all-electric building design? In June 2020, the SLO City Council voted 4-0 in favor of “clean energy choice” for new buildings as another initiative to keep the city on track for its goal of carbon neutrality by 2035. The Clean Energy Choice Program is projected to save 6,250 metric tons of CO2 per year.
The policy requires new single-family homes to be all-electric or outfitted for electricity use in the future if designed with natural gas. State-level studies have shown that going all-electric for buildings is on par or less expensive than buildings using natural gas. For more info on the Clean Energy Choice Program, please visit this link!
Keep Up With No New Plastic Week!
With the beautiful weather and everything opening up, we recognize how excited people are to be together again. If you are planning to host a cookout or picnic this summer, consider having a gathering that uses no new plastics.
How can you go about that? It’s as simple as using reusable or plant-based plates (bamboo plates are pictured here), asking your guests to bring their own utensils and cups, and setting your compost bin out for food scraps. There are lots of ways to reduce our plastic and summertime is a great way to try it out! So let’s make lots of small changes!
Our goal with No New Plastic Week is to help you avoid new plastic - meaning plastic that you don’t already have - for the last week of the month. You will be surprised how many items we all own that are or have plastic a part of them. We hope this reminder each month helps create awareness of how much new plastic we are consuming and its source.
Join us the last week of every month on Instagram to find out new ways to minimize your waste!
Creeks to Coast Cleanup is Only 2 Months Away!
We will be distributing cleanups kits for groups of 5 people. Creeks to Coast Cleanup, like last year, will run for a two week period from Thursday, September 16th to Thursday, September 30th. You can choose your time and place for where you would like to do a cleanup!
Volunteer Opportunity Available!
ECOSLO is starting up monthly cleanups at Pirate’s Cove with the County Park Rangers. These cleanups are for volunteer who are 18+ years, who have the ability to walk up and down a steep hill, and be able to safely handle trash that can be challenging. Email emma@ecoslo.org if you’re interested in joining once or regularly!
Help Support ECOSLO this Summer!
Interested in becoming a monthly donor? By starting an on-going donation to ECOSLO you directly fund our projects and programs. These programs all surround our mission of educating, advocating and acting in the San Luis Obispo County community. We are so grateful for your one-time or on-going donation to ECOSLO! Thank you to those who have given their time and support to ECOSLO throughout our organization's history.
