News and Notes

Congratulations to the 2010 Growing Green Award Nominees! We’ve received 67 nominees over seven categories and are excited to be honoring so many who are positively impacting St. Louis’ built environment.

Judging will take place over the next few weeks by a panel of objective experts from around the country. Winners will be announced at the March 31 Growing Green Awards Dinner and Program at the Soulard Preservation Hall and will feature a yummy menu with local and organic food.

To purchase tickets, visit www.GrowingGreenAwards2010.EventBrite.com. Early bird ticket price lasts until March 24 – one week before the event – so now’s the time to get your tickets!

Program Advertising and Sponsorship opportunities are still available.

For more information, including last year’s winners and this year’s judges, please visit the Growing Green Awards website!

Hope to see you on March 31!

USGBC-STL is pleased to announce that we are offering two full and one partial scholarship to Greening the Heartland 2010! This year’s conference will be held May 19 – 21 in Minneapolis, MN with a theme of Bridging and seeks to make connections between people, places, and ideas to help create a sustainable heartland region.

Applications are due March 24, 2010 and scholarships will be announced before the April 15 Early Bird Registration deadline. For information about scholarship eligibility and requirements, please download the application as an MS Word or PDF.

Thanks to Grainger for making this scholarship possible!

USGBC-STL is committed to recognizing volunteers who have contributed significantly to the Chapter, devoting time and talents “above and beyond” on a particular project or program! This month, we couldn’t be happier to recognize Helene Mathis of the USGBC-STL Program Committee.

Helene Mathis is recognized for her work on the Program Committee and Growing Green Awards Task Force.  Planning for the March 9th Urban Agriculture and Edible Landscapes program was a long process with multiple players and ever-changing goals.  As lead planner for this event, Helene has “guided this ship” quite admirably! In addition to the great job Helene has done on this program, she’s been a long-time and very hard working Program Committee member!  And she serves on the Growing Green Awards Task Force as well!

Thanks, Helene, for your commitment and hard work!

Previous Recognitions

February 2010
Vicki Woodside, CI Select, USGBC-STL Marketing Committee
Christy Cunningham-Saylor, Vertegy, USGBC-STL Program Committee and Education Task Force

USGBC-STL will host it’s 7th Annual LEED Showcase this May and we’re looking for projects to feature. The project must be LEED Registered and ideally under construction. The program only features 4 projects, so space is very limited.

Please send your suggestions with LEED SHOWCASE SUGGESTION in the subject line to Brendan Smith, from the USGBC-STL program committee!

Don’t forget to nominate yourself or someone you know who is transforming the built environment for a Growing Green Award. Nominations are due Thursday, March 4 by 4 PM CST to GrowingGreenAwards@gmail.com. Nominations are being accepted in seven categories: corporate, educator, government, home builder, innovator, quietly green and non-profit.

Check it out – Emily Andrews, USGBC-STL’s Executive Director was featured in the “St. Louis Character” column in the February 26 issue of the St. Louis Business Journal. The print version features the entire story/interview, but you can see a sneak peak.

Healthy Youth Partnership is hosting the St. Louis Regional Food Summit on Thursday, March 4 in an effort to develop a Food Policy Council for the St. Louis Region.  The St. Louis Regional Food Summit is a conference that sill increase knowledge among key stakeholders in the Metro area about the importance and key benefits of food policy planning.

Mark Winne will deliver the Summit’s keynote address. Mark served as the Executive Director of the Hartford Food System from 1979 – 2003, a nonprofit that works on food and hunger issues in Hartford, CT. He is the author of Closing the Food Gap and active in the Community Food Security Coalition’s policy work.

WHEN: Thursday, March 4, 8 am – 4:00 pm

WHERE: Saint Louis University, Allied Health Building

For more information or to register, visit the Healthy Youth Partnership Website.

If this event is up your alley, be sure to check out the Chapter’s March 9 program in partnership with the Sierra Club on Urban Agriculture and Edible Landscaping!

A panel of sustainability experts will present an overview of Wal-Mart’s efforts to develop a “Sustainability Index” and discuss the reasons behind Wal-Mart’s efforts and how the index and sustainability labels will be developed.

Panelists will also discuss other key initiatives and trends that are driving corporate sustainability programs. Panelists include Tony Calandro and Eric Olson. John Traeger will moderate.

WHEN: Friday, February 26, 7:30 am – 9:00 am

WHERE: RCGA’s Regional Collaboration Center, One Metropolitan Square, Suite 1300 (63102)

COST: Free

For more information, see the event flyer.

The Growing Green Award nomination deadline has been extended to March 4. Nominations are due electronically to GrowingGreenAwards@gmail.com 4 PM CST on Thursday, March 4. Nominations are being accepted in seven categories: corporate, educator, government, home builder, innovator, quietly green and non-profit.

For more information or to download the nomination form or requirements, visit the Growing Green Award website.

Winners will be announced at the March 31 Dinner and Program. The evening will be emceed by KWMU’s Matt Sepic and the Honorable Linda Goldstein (Mayor of Clayton, MO and inaugural Growing Green Award Winner) will deliver the keynote. TICKETS NOW ON SALE!