Sunday, January 6, 2013

Gift Circle and Promised Land




Our monthly meeting of Sustainable Monroeville will be on Monday evening, January 7, 2013. We will have a short discussion about the movie Promised Land whether or not you've seen it, hear a talk by Wanda Guthrie of Murrysville Marcellus, and host a Gift Circle. You can bring a gift of any kind to share with others and/or be prepared to take whatever there is to give! 

See you at the Monroeville Public Library in the downstairs program room at 7:00 PM! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHQt1NAkhIo Here's the link to the trailer for the new movie Promised Land. 

Friday, November 30, 2012

Vegan and Vegetarian Holiday Pot Luck Dinner December 3, 2012

Join us Monday evening, December 3, 2012, for our December raw vegan and vegetarian pot luck holiday feast! Dinner at 6:00 PM followed by discussion and planning for 2013. Please pack your plates and utensils and we will pack in and pack out, and of course compost yet another zero waste event! We like to begin meetings by talking about what we have done over the past month that is 'Sustainable." What does 'sustainable' mean anyway?!

How is our Monroeville Food Garden a model for the Food Not Lawns movement for our suburbs? We will discuss the opening of the Schwartz Living Market as a new model for hatching green businesses and linking the urban and suburban Food Not Lawns Movement with the urban core throught the Schwartz Living Market Transition Town process in Pittsburgh's Historic South Side. See http://1317eastcarson.blogspot.com for details and join us as our guest on Saturday, December 1, 2012, to get a preview of what's to come and to become part of the dialogue and creative process!

Sustainable Monroeville meetings are free and open to the public and are held at the Monroeville Public Library. We give thanks for our public library that has been hosting our meetings for the past almost four years. We are thrilled that the Monroeville Food Garden outside the library produced over 500 pounds of vegetables for five commmunity food banks for the second season in a row. Thanks to Lois, Sandy, Pam, the Girl Scouts and all of the other volunteers that continue to make this project a success. This permaculture style food garden has some of the healthiest soil around, and healthy living soil is a huge key to good health!

Nick Hein, Rachel and Stan Beck looking at the pedal generator powering a blender!

Pedal Generator built by Nick Hein of Postive Spin in Morgantown, WV. bike donated to the Schwartz Living Market project in Pittsburgh's Historic South Side. What will be powered by this set up? How much pedaling is needed to recharge a cell phone? How about a blender?



We look forward to being with you and eating and drinking with you on Monday evening! Elisa Beck:)


Saturday, November 3, 2012

A Drop in the Ocean: Sustainable Monroeville

A Drop in the Ocean


From the album: Cover Photos
By dropintheocean.co


What has Sustainable Monroeville, rather the people in the group, and the Monroeville Library and the Monroeville Food Garden and all the volunteers accomplished over these past, almost four years?Perhaps just a drop in the ocean, but we certainly have begun to educate ourselves about what it means to be a sustainable community and help to move Monroeville forward in the Green Economy. Join us this coming Monday evening, November 5, 2012 to plan our future! 2013, Here We Come!

Please watch this video short and share images of what you see here in Western, PA so we can reach out further and educate more and more people here in Western, PA and around the world for the need to understand and implement the work we do. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4abGpdEXf6g

Who conceived this video? It was a group of folks, including my friend Diana Rotberg Bray and a few of her children, and their friends. We have known each other since perhaps even before kindergarten. We were in a photography class together in eleventh grade. And then she married an amazing Australian man, had four children and well, what led to this video, that part, is history.

Be present in this moment. Linking the world together. Connecting the dots. Raising Awareness. One moment at a time.

See you on Monday, November 5, 2012 in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library from 7:00 to 8:30 PM.

Elisa Beck
Sustainable Monroeville, founded February, 2009
A Transition Town Process

Monday, October 8, 2012

Act 13 Educational and Accountability Event, Monday, October 15, 2012


Act 13 Educational and Accountability Event
Monday, October 15


Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale Gas Act (Act 13) will have a mayor impact on the environment and on communities in our region. It is therefore important to know how our representatives voted on Act 13, why they did so, and how they would like to see Act 13 amended.
 
6:30-8:30 PM, Monday, October 15,Murrysville Community Center
3091 Carson Avenue
Murrysville, PA 15668

Act 13 is Pennsylvania's controversial new oil and gas law, which stripped local governments of their right to plan where natural gas drilling operation can happen in their communities. In July portions of this new law were challenged by local township government officials, a Monroeville doctor, and Delaware Riverkeeper, and overturned by the Commonwealth Court and declared “unconstitutional.”

But the battle continues, as Governor Tom Corbett and his administration appealed the Commonwealth Court decision. These two sides, will argue their cases before the state Supreme Court on Wednesday, October 17th in Pittsburgh.
Many other municipalities and organizations have filed amicus briefs in support of the Commonwealth Court’s decision that preemption of local municipal control over shale gas extraction is unconstitutional, including American Planning Association (Pennsylvania Chapter), Association of Boroughs, Association of Township Officials, Clean Water Action, Mountain Watershed Association, Murrysville Council, Pittsburgh City Council, and the Sierra Club. 

Two days before the historic court October 17 hearing, the public is invited to a free, educational discussion about the new law, which covers all aspects of natural gas development in the state, as well as how the law came to be.
Our event will include a question and answer period and conclude
with an optional phone bank to call state legislators. 
For more information, contact Melissa at Mountain Watershed Association,
724-455-4200 ext. 6#  or Melissa@mtwatershed.com.

Sponsored by: Clean Water Action, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, PennEnvironment, Sierra Club, and Westmoreland Marcellus Citizen Group.

===============

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Genetic Roulette and Pot Luck Dinner on October 1, 2012 at the Monroeville Public Library

On Monday evening, October 1, 2012, we will have a vegetarian, non-GMO pot luck dinner at 6:00 PM followed by the movie Genetic Roulette at 7:00 PM. Remember to pack your plates and utensils as this will be a zero waste event.

 Join Us! All meetings of Sustainable Monroeville are free and open to the public. They take place in the Monroeville Public Library. See you on October 1! Elisa Beck :)

Genetic Roulette Movie Trailer - YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv96D_ZURzsUploaded by GeneticRoulette
This seminal documentary provides compelling evidence to help explain the deteriorating health of Americans ...

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Food Not Lawns in White Oak, PA!

What a joy to see the descendent of a farming family farming her own suburban property and feeding the neighborhood! We went to the home of some friends in White Oak, Pennsylvania, and across the street I had the honor of finally seeing the garden my husband had been telling me about for ages:
Rows and rows of corn, tomatoes and more crops were abundantly producing all summer with only water from the sky! Amazing and wonderful!

The tall fence is to keep the deer from eating all the crops!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Natural Choices Lawn Care and A Chemical Reaction Movie on September 10, 2012n

Join us for the next meeting of Sustainable Monroeville on Monday evening, September 10, 2012, at 7:00 PM to hear Ed Hoffman of Natural Choices Organic and Natural Lawn Care and to view the movie A Chemical Reaction Go to http://www.safelawns.org/a-chemical-reaction/ for details.

Transition Pittsburgh http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dTcvO-o8NTA



So many beautiful colors! These tomatoes on the shelf in Pittsburgh's East End Food Coop are locally grown by responsible farmers. Yippee for the East End Food Coop!

How do we figure out where our food comes from and if their genome has been genetically modified? Peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, peaches, tangerines. Would you grow these on your front yard? Do you spray chemicals on your lawn? If so, would you consider not doing that any more and morphing your lawn into a lawn that produces Food Not Lawn? How bold are we anyway?

How long does it take to transform a formally sprayed lawn into one where we are comfortable growing food on it and eating that food?

The food grown in the Permaculture style garden behind the Monroeville Public Library that supplied 500 pounds of fresh vegetables for four local food banks last summer (we are still counting the bounty from this summer) does not use genetically modified seeds. How do we know?

What is the relationship between understanding the composition of the soils on our urban and suburban lots and how the grass is growing and our food systems in the United States? So much to learn! For the October meeting of Sustainable Monroeville, we will show a movie on genetically modified organisms called Genetic Roulette. Join us at the Monroeville Public Library for our meetings. They are free and open to the public!

Jeff Newman of Steel City Soils talking about Permaculture at the Cedars of Monroeville. The Cedars has worked with Jeff to put in a Permaculture garden as part of their landscape. The hearty local plants have done extremely well this season!

Jeff Newman Peddling with his Pierogies on Pittsburgh's Historic South Side! Peddlin' Pierogies uses whole wheat flour from Clarion River Organics and wonoderful organic potatoes too! Mmmm, mmm good!


Thursday, August 30, 2012

Alcosan Draft Wet Weather Plan Public Meeting on September 5, 2012

Where, oh where, does water go once it falls from the clouds? What happens to sewage? What alternatives can we suggest to Alcosan? Join the Public Meeting that is FREE and open to the public in the Eastern suburbs on Wednesday, September 5, 2012 from 9:30 to Noon, learn and speak your truth. You can make a difference!


Monday, August 20, 2012

Sustainable Monroeville at End of Summerfest in Monroeville, PA



This was the first 'officially' combined composted and recycled event, that we know of, in Monroeville, PA. How exciting! Kudos and thanks to PA Resources Council, PRC.org, and their Zero Waste Pittsburgh program for making this possible! In collaboration with Sustainable Monreoville, the Municipality of Monroeville, and Temple David at the End of Summerfest, the PA Resources Council provided 10 recycling containers and one compost container for us.


Kyle came to pick up the compostables and enjoyed posing for this photo with his Steelers Zero Waste shirt! Thanks so much Kyle for all you do! Thanks Temple David, and the Municipality of Monroeville for making all of this possible! Here's Kyle Winkler, of PRC helping out at the end of the day along with a member and huge organizer and helper of the End of Summerfest from Temple David. 




Hey, we wanted a bunch of compost containers, but were educated by Kyle and changed our minds. We decided one compost container for this first collaborative event would be just right. But why? Well, folks, that is, the general public, understands recycling and what to do with their plastic bottles and aluminum cans. But composting? That's a whole different story!

In the 1500's, composting must have been the norm. Or was it? These Renaisasance folks sure were a bit confused looking at these oversized plastic containers. They had chalices hanging from their belts and carried their pewter plates with them. Now that's a vote for sustainability! To learn more about the Renaissance and have lots of fun, consider going to the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival sometime between August 25 and September 30, 2012. Go to www.pittsburghrenfest.com for details. And tell the King and Queen we sent you!


The King and Queen recycling their water bottle. Wait you might think, we just mentioned that the Renaissancers were carrying chalices with them. So here's the real scoop: They were adding bottled water that was supplied by the festival to their chalices in the big tent on the field, their hideaway for the day. But those Renaissance folks are responsible, yes they are. At the end of the day, one of them asked where to recycle the 70 bottles of plastic they had accumulated over the past many hours! They put all of their empty used bottles in the proper blue receptacles. We were informed that usually they have a giant urn filled with water that they use to fill their chalices. Another vote for sustainability! We sure are interested to know more about the Renaissance and what we can learn from looking back. Thanks for being such wonderful participants in our frecycling and composting efforts, King's Court and the King and Queen! We had fun dancing with you too!

    Ira, of Sustainable Monroeville and his beautiful wife visiting us at our booth.

                                                                                         

These ladies were sampling meatballs and cheese. Neither of these food items could go in our compost. Why is that? For small scale composting, meat and cheese are kept out of the pile so as not to attract pesky animals. If not eaten, that meat and cheese was put in the trash. 
        


Dana of Healcrest Farms in Garfield, an awesome urban farm, was selling delicious teas and other wild provisions. Their booth this year was the only booth that intentionally provided compostable tea sampler cups this year. Bravo to Dana and Healcrest!


Who are these groupies? Must be Lois, the hugger guy, a local couple,Pam, Skip, and Lu! Check out that wheatgrass on the table, the beautiful flowers, the great photos of the Monroeville Food Garden and more!

Elisa, founder of Sustainable Monroeville, with Kyle of PRC, at the end of the day. PA Resources Council is the oldest environmental non-profit in the state of Pennsylvania and their work is fantastic!
Thanks again and again for working with us!








Saturday, August 18, 2012

End of Summer Festival 2012 in Monroeville Park 2451 Tilbrook Road with Sustainable Monroeville


Join Sustainable Monroeville and the Monroeville Food Garden to celebrate at the End of Summer Festival on Sunday, August 19, 2012, in Monroeville Park. Through Pennsylvania Resources Council's Zero Waste Pittsburgh program, along with Temple David, and the Municipality of Monroeville, we'll be recycling bottles and cans and composting food and other products! Look for the blue containers to recycle glass, plastic and aluminum containers, and look for the green container to compost food waste and other compostables at the event!


Monroeville End of Summer Fest

August CalendarWHEN: Sunday - August 19, 2012
WHERE: Monroeville Community Park, Tall Trees Amphitheater,
399 Tilbrook Road, Monroeville PA 15146-4232
(Allegheny County Pennsylvania.)
DESCRIPTION: Monroeville End of Summer Fest is a food and music festival open to the public. Admission is free. There will be vendors, arts, crafts, food, a band playing on the stage, carnival-type game booths, face-painting, activities, raffles, and contests.
The event benefits the Weiger School at Temple David.

CONTACT: Email: "endofsummerfest @ gmail.com"

 End of Summer Fest

Sunday, August 19th   11 am – 7 pm

Monroeville Community Park
2451 Tilbrook Road, Monroeville, PA 15146

The I Made IT Market will be bringing 16 artists to join in the festivities at End of Summer Fest in Monroeville Community Park from 11 am – 7 pm. It’s second year, End of Summer Fest is a fundraiser for the JESP Preschool at Temple David in Monroeville (this school is open to all for enrollment).
This family event centered on health and wellness.  Featuring a kids area with games, activities, and face painting, live entertainment from five bands including Rox Academy, Chasing 9, Lightening Box, and the Pittsburgh Passion, this event will keep the family busy all day long.
Meet and shop from local retailers, food and our local artisans selling handmade wares as part of the I Made It! Market.  This event is free to the public to attend.
A portion of each artist’s sales will be donated to JESP Preschool.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Eating, Third Edition: It's the biggest cause of disease, disabilities and death in the U.S. today

Join us on Monday evening, August 6, 2012 at the Monroeville Public Library for the August meeting of Sustainable Monroeville. Our Raw Foods Pot Luck Dinner begins at 6:00 PM and at 7:00 PM, the movie will begin. We will be screening the movie Eating. Mmmm. mmmm. good! Bring along a raw foods dish, preferably with locally sourced food. Remember to bring along a place setting and a cup as we like to pack it in, pack it out, and make our events, zero waste!


Eating third Edition
A documentary film
"A compelling and often shocking look at the standard American diet." "...asserts that following federal nutrition guidelines can kill you." American Library Association
"Rivet yourself to your chair and watch Eating, a mind-blowing video experience that will forever change the way you think about food."
Joel Fuhrman, M.D.,            author of Eat To Live
"Eating is a brilliant program, showing a side of the food industry that many will find shocking. It also provides an easy and engaging path to health through good food. I highly recommend it." Neal Barnard, M.D.,            author of Breaking the Food Seduction
"I want both to congratulate and to thank you. You've done us all a major service." John Robbins, author of Diet For a New America
Don’t miss the Eating experience! 88 minutes that will change your life!

Reactions

This is part of an email RAVEDIET.com received which describes a showing of Eating:

"WOW! It was unbelievable! We had over 100 people show up to our fundraiser. After the film was over, about 30 people stayed around and talked and asked questions and ate free samples of fake meats and soy/ice/almond milks, etc...that had been donated by our local grocery stores. Before the movie, I decided not to put out handouts and books. I did it during the film, so that when people came out, they came on to the resource table where we had our cook books and our table full of free literature. There was SO MUCH excitement and energy in the theater lobby area. It felt like we changed a lot of lives and a lot of diets. It was enormously successful. Andy helped me and my students set up and break down, and he was also very engaged in talking to people and answering questions. He thought it was incredible! It is a great film to see on a big screen."


Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Fourth of July Parade with Sustainable Monroeville! Monthly meetings on July 2, and August 6, 2012

Join Sustainable Monroeville on the morning of July 4, 2012, to walk or bike with us in the Municipality of Monroeville's Fourth of July parade. This will be our first annual walk in the parade! We will hand out flyers with our e-mail address, sustainblemonroeville.com, our web site address, www.sustainblemonroeville.com, our Twitter address, SustMonv, remind folks to friend Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook and to go to monroevillefoodgarden.wordpress.com for updates on the Monroeville Food Garden. Lineup for the parade begins at 8:00 AM on Wednesday, July 4, 2012, at the Miracle Mile Shopping Center in Monroeville. Wear some healthy sunscreen (Go to EWG.com, that's the web site for the Environmental Working Group and has wonderful information on healthy sunscreens), a comfortable hat, comfortable shoes and drink lots of water before walking or biking! 

At our monthly meeting of Sustainable Monroeville on Monday evening, July 2, 2012, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library, we will construct a banner from re-purposed materials and decorate our bikes with petroleum memorial materials, plastics from the recycling bin and beyond! Bring along scraps for re-purposing, and any materials you can think of to use for our creations.  Join us to walk or bike in the parade on July 4.

Following the July2 meeting, our next regular meeting of Sustainable Monroeville is in the program room of the Monroeville Public Library on Monday evening, August 6, 2012, beginning with a local raw foods pot luck dinner at 6:00 PM and movie Eating from 7:00 to 8:30 PM followed by discussion. All meetings of Sustainable Monreoville are free and open to the public. We look forward to meeting you!
~Elisa Beck, Sustainable Monroeville