Lately, Indiana weather has resembled a jumble of bad song lyrics: gray skies, long cold nights, and lots of ice, ice baby. Before you schedule your next Bahamavention, consider the win-win appeal of an eco vacation. After all, shouldn’t sustainable hotel business practices and planet-friendly activities be just as important as sun, sand, and surf?  

• Ambassadors for Children, a local humanitarian aid travel organization, is offering a trip to Costa Rica (March 7-14), where you can help with rainforest reforestation efforts while also taking part in some cool outdoor adventure activities (think swimming in volcano hot springs, taking a zip line across the rainforest canopy, or swimming under a waterfall lagoon). Or, travel with AFC to Peru (May 15-23) and hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, while also working at a local food program for the needy.

• Rather spend your vaykay learning how to grow organic vegetables than eat them at a high-priced resort? Check out this list of spring break alternatives, which incorporates environmental service projects in places like Grand Canyon National Park, Jamaica, and even Australia.

• If you’d rather get your R&R the traditional way (on a beach!), the U.S. Virgin Islands offer several eco-themed activities. Renee recommends Maho Bay Camp, an eco-resort on St. John. In February, she’s taking off for another eco-trip to Northside Valley on St. Croix.

But before you skip town, be sure to check out Green Piece Indy on the cover of this week’s NUVO, available on newsstands Wednesday, Jan. 28.

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

You don’t have to sling red paint at a mink coat to be an environmental activist. Effecting change can be as simple as speaking with your legislators. If, like us, you don’t have time to chase them all down, consider attending Conservation Day at the Indiana Statehouse, taking place Tuesday, January 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Check out some of the following myths and learn why Conservation Day is worth your time.

Myth #1: Legislators don’t have time to listen to your concerns about the environment.
At Conservation Day, regular people like us will have a chance to chat up our legislators about environmental issues. Representatives from local conservation groups will also be on hand. Myth #2: There’s little an average citizen can do to bring about positive environmental change in Indiana.
False! According to the Indiana Conservation Alliance, even small actions, like purchasing an Indiana environmental license plate, can do a lot of good. Since its inception, sales of the plates have raised more than $26 million for the Indiana Heritage Trust, a conservation program that helps protect parks, forest lands, fish and wildlife habitat, and more.  

Myth #3: There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Well, friends, there is here. Attending Conservation Day, which includes lunch, is absolutely free. Please be sure to register (it’s ok that it’s after Jan. 16).

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

WWJD bracelets may have fallen out of popularity (no thanks to your yellow rubber wristbands, Lance Armstrong), but it hasn’t stopped eco-minded churchgoers from pondering what role their congregation should play in caring for the planet.

To that end, Second Presbyterian Church (7700 N. Meridian St.) will host a Green Congregations Workshop, open to people of all faiths, on Jan. 31. Learn how to start or build upon the green ministry at your place of worship in this informative three-hour session. To register, contact Brady Hansel 317-686-4790. Registration deadline: January 24.

If you’d rather sit back, relax, and get your environmental education on with a hearty helping of popcorn, check out Epworth United Methodist Church’s Eco-Movie Series. In conjunction with the Heartlands Group of the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter, they’ll feature free monthly Earth-themed flicks, which cover topics like clean energy, food production, and climate change. Showing February 21 at 7 p.m.: Burning the Future: Coal in America, a prize-winning film about the conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia.

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

You can call it Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the Day of Service, or Inauguration Eve, but whatever you do, make this Monday, January 19, about giving back to the community. Whether your passion is the environment or another worthwhile cause, check out the searchable database of area service events taking place this weekend and Monday.

For green types, there’s a Kessler Boulevard Clean-Up this Sunday, as well as several Monday activities: a Grassroots Action discussion at Earth House Collective, a Sierra Club Photographic Day of Service on the Monon Trail, and numerous food, clothing, and blood drives. Meghan’s pick: The Indiana Canine Assistant Network pet food drive, which helps people who risk losing their pets because they can no longer afford to feed them.

If you can’t take time off this Monday, consider contacting Keep Indianapolis Beautiful to arrange a special day of service for your office or civic group that could include activities like planting trees or picking up litter.

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

Green Piece Indy earns a portion of each sale when you click and shop for  Fair Trade fashion and footware at this link: Autonomie Project.

We get it. The economy’s in the toilet, and everyone’s looking for ways to save a buck or two. But shouldn’t we also be looking for ways to help rebuild our ailing economy?

Case in point: Buying a 50-cent apple shipped from China instead of a 75-cent one from a local farmer may save you 25 cents, but you’re also supporting the Chinese economy, not our own. Choose to help your local community and the planet by purchasing foods that are, in the immortal words of Bruce Springsteen, born in the USA.

A good place to start is with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). You simply sign up, pay a flat rate, and pick up your share of just-picked local produce each week. Several area CSAs are now taking orders, and many fill up fast. Find one in your area by visiting LocalHarvest.
 

Trust us, it’s way more fun than another routine trip to the supermarket. You’ll get fresher food and a chance to keep Old McDonald and his farm in business.

E-I-E-I-Oh, yeah!
Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

Support our Supporters  Having trouble comparing CSA apples to oranges? Consider supporting one of Green Piece Indy’s advertisers: Nature’s Harvest Organics or Balanced Harvest Farm & CSA.

Crumpets, Mad Hatters, sympathy…some things just go hand-in-hand with tea. Now you can add sustainability to the list. Around Indy, several cafes have begun offering organic teas and, in some cases, eco-friendly cups. Here are a few of our faves.

• Located in Fall Creek Place, Tea’s Me serves all organic single-brewed tea and recently upgraded to biodegradable takeout containers.
• Look for Peace Leaf Tea, certified organic whole leaf tea, at the Indy Winter Farmers Market, and four local restaurants: Serendipity (Carmel); Serenity (Zionsville); Nancy Noels Art Gallery Restaurant (Zionsville); and Trader’s Point Creamery Loft (Zionsville). Contact peaceleaftea@yahoo.com for more info. 
• The Tea Cozy (web site temporarily down) offers two organic tea varieties at their downtown shop.
• Whether you’re downtown, midtown, in the burbs, or catching a flight out of Indianapolis International, be sure to grab a cup of Revolution organic green tea from Café Patachou, served in a mug or compostable to-go cup.

After tasting some of these delicious blends, we may never go back to non- organic again…not even for all the tea in China. 

Piece out,

Renee & Meghan

The holidays are over. And from now until spring’s first sunny day, you’ll probably be spending a lot of time indoors. Sitting around. Staring at the walls and slowly going stir-crazy. Stop cabin fever in its tracks by planning your next home improvement project. Whether you’re planning to sell your home this spring or just spruce it up, painting is an easy, economical option.

By now, you may be aware that paint containing little or no VOCs (volatile organic compounds, which may cause cancer, asthma, and other respiratory problems) is widely available. But do you know where to find eco-friendly painters? Recently, Indianapolis-based T. Scott Schmitt Painting Services added a new branch to their business: Green Brush Painters, which uses only earth-friendly paint products, such as The Freshaire Choice, Aura by Benjamin Moore, and Sherwin-Williams’s line of low-VOC paints. 

Making your house attractive and earth-friendly just got a lot easier. Selling it, well, that’s a whole other story.

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

Recycle Your Christmas Cards
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children is accepting used, all-occasion greeting cards until February 28, 2009. Find out how to donate cards or purchase new recycled cards at www.stjudesranch.org/help_card.php.

Not only is January 1 the first day of the year, it’s also the birthday of several notables who shaped American history: Betsy Ross, Paul Revere, and (you guessed it) Green Piece Indy! Exactly one year ago, we sent out our first Green Piece Indy e-mail to about 200 friends and family with the hope of making Indianapolis a more environmentally friendly place to live.

The response has been phenomenal. In the past year, our readership has grown tenfold, to about 2,000 subscribers. We have increased our presence in the community, often appearing at festivals, trade shows, and speaking engagements. And our fantastic advertisers have continued to support us even in the face of a difficult economy. From the bottom of our green hearts, thank you to everyone who has helped make the past year a successful one for GPI.

But enough about us. What will you do in 2009 to make a difference for the planet? Finally going to start recycling? Buy more local produce? Make less trips in your car and more on your bike?

We would love to hear your green resolutions. E-mail them to tips[at]greenpieceindy.com.

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan