We are excited to sponsor Chicago Green Festival this weekend, May 16-17 at Navy Pier. Green Festival is a fabulous opportunity for ShoreBank to illustrate to others that by integrating economic development and environmental sustainability we can buildstronger, healthier communities.Amidst the backdrop of current economic conditions, this education has perhaps never been more important.
Green Festival is the largest environmental sustainability event in the world. It attracts tens of thousands of individuals interested in “green” living. Festival visitors can participate in green career workshops, kids activities, sample organic refreshments, and enjoy live music while gaining a better understanding and appreciation for the 350 small green businesses from across the country that are creating healthier individuals and helping to build strong, sustainable communities.
But, living a more sustainable, green lifestyle takes place in the community, one person at a time. That is why social media has such great potential to reach more people and make positive impressions. So, to celebrate Green Festival 2009, ShoreBank will plant a tree for every new person who becomes a ShoreBank Facebook Fan Page fan this weekend!
But we need your help. Please show your support for ShoreBank’s mission and help protect the environment by sharing our Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/ShoreBank/21702975841 with all of your friends and family.Green Festival might be in Chicago but environmental sustainability knows no boundaries.
If you are in Chicago, please come to Green Festival, compliments of ShoreBank. Find your free Green Festival admission coupon here. Please stop by our booth at #5000 and say hello!We look forward to meeting you and all of our new Facebook fans!
Green Festival™, a joint project of Global Exchange and Co-Op America, kicks off a three day festival today in San Francisco. ShoreBank will be there, and is very excited to sponsor tonight’s After Green Festival Party at Mars Bar. If you’re in San Francisco, we invite you to join other green leaders at the event to network and discuss how we can encourage environmental sustainability to change the world. But of course, exciting green innovation and dialogue should not be limited to one location. For example, the story of our clients Tim and Charles Heppner reminds us all that you don’t have to be in San Francisco to implement a ‘do-it-yourself’ approach to ‘greening’ the world.
Brothers Tim and Charles Heppner are rebuilding a 100 year-old wood frame single family residence on the South Side of Chicago, and are implementing energy efficiency improvements that will make it the greenest home in the city! Many DIY projects focus on interior finishes or fixtures while missing the energy basics, but here they are addressed head-on. In addition to the usual insulating strategies, triple-glazed windows with deep overhangs will be used for passive solar heating. The home will have no incandescent lights (perhaps a first in modern Chicago renovation). A shallow hydronic earth-loop will preheat or precool air entering the energy recovery ventilator – this simplified take on a ground-source heat pump (minus the heat pump) may also be a first in Chicago. Rough-ins for future solar electric or hot water panels will make it easy for the brothers to add these features over time.
Tim and Charles began work on this project by deconstructing the internal structure of the original house, reclaiming hundreds of linear feet of old growth forest wood framing, hardwood flooring, sub-flooring and joists. They also recycled all the metal, concrete, glass blocks and windows with the assistance of a local scrapper. All their new materials are required to meet at least one of the following criteria: sustainable, durable, recycled/recovered content, produced locally, low or no VOC, formaldehyde free, plantation grown, rapidly renewable, or FSC certified. They intend to utilize the reclaimed materials for framing up window openings, reinstalling hardwood flooring and building custom kitchen cabinets.
The home takes advantage of the ample property surrounding it by including a large rain garden and bioswale in addition to a vegetated garage roof. Crushed limestone will be used in place of concrete for all sidewalks, addressing both stormwater management and urban heat island. A new reflective metal roof will be installed – a rarity in the shingle-loving Midwest.
We are really proud to be a part of Tim and Charles’ project. Watch and listen to their story and let it inspire you to change the world.
We are excited to sponsor Chicago Green Festival this weekend, May 16-17 at Navy Pier. Green Festival is a fabulous opportunity for ShoreBank to illustrate to others that by integrating economic development and environmental sustainability we can build stronger, healthier communities. Amidst the backdrop of current economic conditions, this education has perhaps never been more important. 