Let’s hear it for the tomatoes, watermelon, and, yes, corn on the cob that make Indiana such a delicious place to live this time of year. Whether you get locally grown foods from a market or your own backyard, homegrown produce is too good to keep all to yourself. So, in the spirit of sharing and sustainability, we invite you to attend the upcoming Hoosier Farm and Garden Dinner.

What: A dinner celebrating local foods. Hoosier barbecue baked chicken and soft drinks will be provided. Attendees are asked to bring a large salad, vegetable, dessert, or other side dish to share, using at least one ingredient from an Indiana farm or garden. After the meal, Todd Jameson, president of Slow Food Indy and owner of Balanced Harvest Farm, will discuss the benefits of eating local food.

Who: Anyone may attend. The dinner is co-sponsored by Epworth United Methodist Church, the Heartlands Group of the Sierra Club’s Hoosier Chapter, and Slow Food Indy.

Where: Epworth United MethodistChurch, 6450 Allisonville Road.

When: August 8. The festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. with ice cream-making and tomato juice canning demonstrations, plus games for kids and adults.

Cost: $5 per person. Proceeds from the event support Epworth’s Green Team programs.

RSVP: Call 251-1481 by July 31 to reserve a spot.

Can’t make it to the Hoosier Farm and Garden Dinner? Locally grown foods abound at the Indiana State Fair, taking place Aug. 7-23. (Sadly, elephant ears don’t count.)

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

I attended the green burial seminar today at Flanner and Buchanan Washington Park North. Fascinating! Here’s what I learned…

Embalming and Body Prep
Embalming is only required for public visitation. The green method of embalming uses fluids that are fomaldyhyde-free and non-toxic, either with iodine or iodine-free. My question…if you’re allergic to iodine when you’re alive, will you have an allergic reaction when you’re dead? I stumped them. Green embalming has a lower health risk on the embalmer, in addition to the other obvious environmental benefits. It also doesn’t make the skin quite as firm which makes it harder to apply make-up.

During body preparation they use natural linen, no plastics or biodegradable plastics for wrapping, instead of PVC for bone replacement they use wood, all-natural soaps, and wax. Reconstruction on trauma cases is difficut. Because green methods do no preserve like traditional embalming, a body may not last as long and sevices should be planned accordingly.

Casket or Shroud?
There are several casket makers in Indiana. They mentioned one - CJ Boots - who is revising a casket to be completely biodegradable. Green caskets are usually made from wicker, wood or grasses. Interestingly, the way they’re made now, weight must be taken into consideration. A green casket is not recommended for individuals weighing more than 200 lbs.

A shroud is kind of like being swaddled in cloth before being laid to rest. They sell all-natural shrouds complete with carrying handles and ties. You can also be shrouded in your favorite blankie or other material. I’m leaning toward a shroud if I choose to be buried - less expensive and just seems like less waste.

Services
As I mentioned above, green body prep may not last long (I think they said 4 days) so if you’re having a visitation it needs to happen fairly quickly - not ideal for traveling family. If your friends and family will be going graveside, they should be prepared that most green burial sites are very rustic, surrounded by nature. Heels not recommended!

Twisted Limb Paperworks, a green Bloomington business, has a Memorial Collection of beautiful and natural memorial cards, bookmarks, thank you notes, and guest books.

Burial Site
There are four levels of green burial sites: hybrid cemetery, low-impact, natural park, and preserve. Kessler Park at Washington Park North is a low-impact, meaning they do not require a vault, all materials must be biodegradable, the grounds will be naturally maintained, no pesticides are used (unless there are health risks), they will plant native plants, the grounds aren’t manicured, there are no headstones, and records of burials are maintained. Kessler Park has two sections: prairie and wooded. Currently there are two people buried there.

The grave depth is 4.25 ft. so that decomposition goes up into the soil rather than down to the water table. Graves are a bit larger - 4′ x 10′ at Kessler Woods. Bodies will breakdown in 10-15 years, but the land will not be reused.

Cremation
It takes about eight hours to cremate a body down to about nine lbs. Environmentalists say the fossil fuels used in cremation make the process not green; however, the particulates emitted are actually quite minimal. I was surprised to learn that a body must still be inside something (cardboard box or casket) to be cremated. Rumor has it they’re working on new processes that will replace cremation as soon as 10 years from now.

Kessler Park has a below ground scattering option where ashes are spread below a layer of sod in order to aid decomposition. One woman in the seminar plans to be scattered in the dessert. If you plan to be scattered somewhere, it’s a good idea for your scatterer to get permission…and stand up wind. Apparently you can get a hefty EPA fine for scattering in the ocean. That said, there are a lot of cool ways to leave your mark: ashes can be co-mingled and made into a natural reef of the coast, mixed with shot gun powder for hunters, or even go to space!

I was really pleased to learn that Washington Park North has another unique service for the living: Pot of Gold Community Garden. It’s a joint project of Covenant Community Church, Washington Park North Cemetery, Purdue Cooperative Extension, and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful 160 plot all-organic garden.

So, not as entertaining as Meghan’s clever writing, but hopefully informative!

Piece out,
Renee

You happily respond to polls about your favorite music, restaurants, and political candidates. But when was the last time you shared your thoughts on Indiana’s environmental progress? Don’t miss your chance to voice your opinion at the Central Indiana Land Trust’s public input meetings, taking place each Wednesday in August. With your help, CILTI wants to develop a Central Indiana Green Infrastructure Plan that brings together organizations, state and local government, and the public to protect our local environment. Meet at Land Trust headquarters (1500 N. Delaware St.) at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the following topics.

P.S. Green Piece Indy wants your opinion, too! Please take a moment to complete our survey start and let us know how we’re doing. We’ll select 15 subscribers to receive a GreenIndy ecobutton from Buztronics or an IndyGo day pass.

Whether you lack land or simply the know-how to grow your own fruits and vegetables, a community garden is a smart way to support local agriculture while keeping your food budget (and your waistline) in check. Over the past few years, we’ve noticed community garden plots springing up around the Indianapolis area. Interested in starting your own? The Purdue Extension website provides lots of helpful hints. Or, consider contacting Keep Indianapolis Beautiful to help organize your project. Here’s what we dug up (pun intended) on existing gardens.

Broad Ripple
Green Broad Ripple, a non-profit organization focused on improving the neighborhood’s environmental efforts, maintains a garden on 61st Street, between Winthrop and Guilford. The garden provides a space for residents to grow produce, some of which is sold to restaurants and bars in the neighborhood for the benefit of Green Broad Ripple.

Rocky Ripple
Residents of this small but active neighborhood near ButlerUniversity maintain a community garden in one of its park areas. Contact Nancy Barton (255-7628) or Vandra Lindner (259-8297) for more information.

Westside
Registration began this spring on the Mayor’s Garden Plots, located at located at 2400 Tibbs Ave., and runs through October. Indy Parks provides tilling services, but gardeners must supply their own plants and water. For more information, call 327-7418.

P.S. Didn’t see your community garden listed? Share your story on Green Piece Indy’s Facebook page.

Skateboarding bulldogs have their place in the viral video hall of fame. But what if you have something really important to say online? How can you be sure anyone will listen? If you’re ready to sound off about why green energy is important to you, we suggest entering the Hoosier Environmental Council’s Green Energy NOW online video contest.

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

Imagine a life where the nearest produce aisle is in your backyard, and you never receive a bill from the utility company. Sound like a dream? For one California family, it’s just business as usual. And it’s the subject of HomeGrown, a new film being screened at the Indianapolis International Film Festival this Sunday, July 19 (7:30 pm) and Tuesday, July 21 (3:00 p.m.) at the IMA.

For anyone who thinks it takes acres upon acres in a rural setting to live completely off the land, HomeGrown will floor you. It is the true story of Jules Dervaes and his three children, who are living off the grid (i.e., using biodiesel power, solar energy, and wastewater management) in the heart of urban Pasadena while harvesting more than 6,000 pounds of produce on less than a quarter of an acre. The film is, in the words of its producer/director, Robert McFalls, “an intimate human portrait of what it’s like to live like Little House on the Prairie in the 21st Century.”

We think it’s a powerful reminder of why supporting locally produced food is so vital to sustaining our community. And, by attending the film, you’ll be supporting another great local venture: the Indianapolis International Film Festival.

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

Correction/Update
Green Burials Seminars will be held on July 28 and 30 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Kessler Woods at Washington Park North Funeral Center and Cemetery, 2702 Kessler Boulevard, West Drive.

It may not be the most upbeat topic to discuss, but the fact still remains: We all die. And, when we do, a certain amount of waste (i.e., a non-biodegradable casket, concrete vault, and the like) is generated during a burial ceremony. (Not to mention all of the nasty chemicals involved with embalming fluid…yuck!) Cremation, on the other hand, releases things like dioxin, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, causing air pollution.

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

Downtown Indy’s transformation over the past couple of decades, from sleepy Naptown to hip hangout, is one of our city’s biggest accomplishments, in our opinion. Yet, for an area of town that relies so heavily upon tourism, it’s a shame that so many downtown hotels are in need of a wake-up call when it comes to being eco-friendly. Fortunately, not every hotel has checked out on the planet. We salute the following operations’ green initiatives.

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

Coke vs. Pepsi? You decide. But here’s something we can all agree upon without inciting a cola war: recycling aluminum can tabs for a good cause. No matter your drink of choice, collecting tabs for the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana’s 5th annual Pop Tab Drop is as easy as stop, pop, and roll.

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

Repeat after us.

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan