Earth Day freebie!

To celebrate Earth Day, ReusableBags.com is offering its top-selling reusable bag for FREE! The Acme Ultra-Compact Tote is made of 100 percent recycled fabric and plastics (no petroleum). When not in use, the bag folds up into a tiny sack (the sack is built into the seam); when fully opened, the bag holds 25 pounds. The tote also comes with Acme Bags' lifetime guarantee!

There's no minimum purchase required to get the free bag; however, you must pay shipping costs (approx. $5). This special offer expires at midnight tonight (4/22/10), so hurry! When checking out, use offer code EDAYFREE in order to get the discount.

How you can help

Last year was the first year of Christ Church's Gardening for God, an on-site organic vegetable garden.

Want to get involved in something "green" but don't quite know where to start? The answer is as close as Christ Church! CUMC's Gardening for God ministry needs summer volunteers to help water the garden and harvest the vegetables once they start ripening.

Here's a message from Gardening for God coordinator Emily Dykstra:

I want to thank all of you who signed up to help with the garden this summer. You do not know how much your help will make a difference in so many people's lives.


There are two ways that we need help: One is harvesting; the other is watering. We are more in need of water volunteers than harvesting volunteers, but if you would like to do both, please feel free to do so.


Harvesting is done twice a week -- Wednesday mornings at 10 and Sunday evenings at 7. Harvesting usually takes about 30 minutes and is a great time to fellowship with other church members and see the fruits of our labors. If you decide this is how you want to help, all you have to do is sign up for one of the harvesting days and show up with a bucket and pick ripe vegetables. We have two volunteers who will be delivering the vegetables to people who need them.


If you want to water, all you need to do is sign up for one week this summer and go to the garden twice that week to water. We need volunteers to water from May through September. Only two weeks have been taken for this summer, and they are the weeks of June 6th and June 27th. The sooner you sign up for your week, the better chance you have of getting the week you want.


This Sunday at 2:00 pm (April 25th) we will finish planting the last of the seeds in the garden and will have sign-up sheets for harvesting and watering. At this time I will also do a run through of how to water the garden and show you where the hoses are. If you want to water this summer, please make every effort to attend this meeting. I will also have another watering demonstration next Sunday at 4:00 on May 2nd for those who cannot make it this Sunday.
Hope to see you all Sunday. Earth Week is this week, and WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

If you're interested in helping out or just want to learn more, stop by the Gardening for God info table in the atrium at tonight's church dinner, or call Emily at 933-4440. What a great way to celebrate Earth Week - by serving God, meeting new Christian friends, and learning a little about gardening!

Weekend plans??

Doesn't this look like a gorgeous place to spend a beautiful spring weekend? Well, it's never been easier (or cheaper!) to enjoy such an amazing setting. Come enjoy the Chattanooga Nature Center, which - in honor of Earth Day 2010 - is offering free admission Saturday, April 24, and Sunday, April 25!

For directions to the nature center, click here.

Photo courtsey of Hope Alexander, Chattanooga Nature Center

It's Earth Week!

Come back each day this week for a new fact, tidbit, or small thing you can do to help the environment - in honor of Earth Week!

Today's goodie comes courtesy of Publix grocery stores - CLICK HERE to receive a coupon good for $1 off a G.E. compact flourescent bulb two-pack and a free reusable grocery bag! (Once the coupon page opens, you'll need to print it.)

Need more incentive to switch to CFL bulbs? Consider these facts: Only 10 percent of the energy used in an incandescent bulb produces light; the rest is given off as heat. And even more staggering - If every American replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star compact fluorescent bulb, the energy saved could light more than 2.5 million homes for a year.

We at the CUMC Green Team encourage you to try making just one change this week!

Spring plant sale!

Don't miss the 10th annual Spring Plant Sale at Crabtree Farms this weekend! Chattanooga's downtown organic farm has prepared thousands of healthy, beautiful plants to fill your spring garden, such as Heirloom Tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, sunflowers, blueberry bushes, and lots more! All plants are cultivated in the greenhouse at Crabtree Farms using sustainable methods, which creates healthy, productive plants.

Vendors at the plant sale will also offer hand-crafted foods, vermicomposting bins, body care and crafts for purchase. Other vendors selling plants at the sale include: Sequatchie Cove Farm, Irie Hilltop Gardens and New Harmony Farms.

In addition, each day will feature a different Gardening Talk. Come on Saturday at 11 a.m. for an Organic Gardening Talk and Sunday at 1 p.m. for an Herb Gardening Talk.

Sale hours are as follows:

Saturday April 17, 2010: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sunday April 18, 2010: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Click below for:
Directions
Plant Sale Information
Crabtree's Plant Sale List

Eco Expo

Mark your calendars! On Tuesday, April 13, Chattanooga will host its very own EcoExpo. The Expo is Chattanooga’s biggest environmentally friendly expo and showcases practical solutions to learn green and live green. You can visit local businesses and industries that are working hard to minimize their environmental impact, and also learn how to make your home and lifestyle more ecologically friendly. You’ll even discover ways to save money by going green!

The Expo runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Chattanooga Trade & Convention Center.