Be part of our Sustainable Community

Together we will

Improve our Quality of Life,

Protect and Conserve our Natural Resources, and

Strengthen our Local Economy.

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Join an EcoTeam Today!

EcoTeams are small groups of friends, neighbors, co-workers, or others who get together for a few weeks or months to learn about and take action on sustainable living, at home and in the community.  In partnership with Leon County and the City of Tallahassee, Sustainable Tallahassee has coordinated a number of EcoTeams that are now meeting at various locations around the city. 

The EcoTeams project is looking for new teams to form.  Current teams that meet in the Betton Hills neighborhood, the St. Johns Episcopal church, and the Unitarian Universalist church are entering their last scheduled meetings.  A new group is looking to form in a local business and another local community. 

Forming your own team is easy and a great way to meet neighbors over the summer.  Just set up a location and a date to get started.  Be ready to discuss such things as how we use energy, how we get around the city, what we use and throw away, and how we value our water. 

Find out more HERE, or contact Daniel Parker, our EcoTeams Coordinator at ecoteams@sustainabletallahassee.org.  He will prepare and guide you to have a great team experience.

The resource materials for your team can be found HERE on our website, including videos of some of the recent ancillary programs we’ve had on Water, Waste, Energy, and Transportation. 

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May's Green Drinks

Dr. Tim Lynch will be our speaker at the May 29^th Green Drinks.  Many of you know Tim personally, and so you know he’s a wealth of information on the economics of sustainability.  Details are HERE.  Don’t miss!

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The Next Generation of Stormwater Basins & Rain Gardens

All around town we see stormwater drainage basins on commercial properties and rain gardens on residential properties that catch runoff and allow water to slowly dissipate in order to filter water and keep contaminates from reaching the aquifer.  However, the effectiveness of these basins may be reduced or eliminated depending on the type of soil and plant material:  for plants in these basins to adequately remove contaminants, the water should be held at the root level of the plants, about twelve inches below ground level, for about 48 hours. 

Jennifer Cherrier, who is Associate Professor in the School of the Environment at Florida A&M University where she teaches and conducts research, has been working with her doctoral students to develop an improved way to construct stormwater basins and rain gardens that will more efficiently remove contaminants and yield cleaner water.  As the speaker at our April 23, 2013 Green Drinks, she described the process that she and her students have developed.  There are already projects underway and a patent pending – this may prove to be a significant advancement in protecting our water resources.

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Local Seasonal Foods

by Anthony Gaudio, our Sustainable Tallahassee President

“Winter harvest meets early spring with this stir fry from my garden. I took half of my last two remaining winter cabbages that I had stored in my fridge, combined it with those seemingly never ending recently harvested carrots, and freshly picked sugar snap peas to make this tasty stir fry. This combination makes a delightfully satisfying dish with sweetness coming from the peas and carrots.

If you have a favorite seasonal recipe that you would like to see used in this series, email me at anthony@gaudioenterprises.com."

Anthony Gaudio

Click HERE for Anthony's recipe for Cabbage, Carrot and Peas Stir-Fry.  To see all the recipes Anthony has posted, click his new page Anthony's Seasonal Foods. 

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