Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Saturday was the beautiful, sunny day that was promised, and I set out bright and early to get 80 copies of the HOA-approved event flyer made.  I spent the next few hours going door-to-door to personally deliver the flyers.  Though I have lived in this neighborhood for nearly six years, I had a different view of the homes and the people by knocking on doors.  We drive through the neighborhood daily and frequently walk the dog in the neighborhood, yet I was shocked by some of the disrepair I noticed when actually standing on the porches of my neighbors.  It was not as if rats were scurrying past, but there were signs of a depressed economy that I had not noticed from a distance.

We have good relationships with all of our immediate neighbors, and I am familiar with many other neighbors because I served on the HOA Board for about a year in 2007.  There is not much turnover in our neighborhood, so I have seen many of the neighbors at previous events and meetings.  In addition to many people not being home (so much for that idea), many others did not come to the door even if there were three cars in the driveway.  One person looked at me through the window, but would not open the door.  (I'm scary, right?)  Another opened the door and stuck out her hand, but hid behind the door.  (It was like Thing from the Addams Family.)  At another home a woman lying on the bed in the front room called out through an open window, "We're not interested."  And one woman even told me that she would never have anything to do with the HOA again.

A third of the way through my route I stopped by my house and suggested to my wife that we should consider moving.  The fact is that I found myself judging my neighbors.  The little voice in the back of my head was telling me that these people are not my people.  My people wear Birkenstocks.  My people listen to NPR.  If my people are not home, it is because they are out in the woods communing with nature.  These people not only made me feel like an alien, they made me feel like I was wasting my time.  I had no reason to believe that these people would care about Earth Day, complete a survey, or read a handout.  In my mind, these people would not care that Simon from No Kidding Goat's Milk Soap was donating soap as door prizes for the event, or that Holli from Healthy Home Market has committed to support our event too.  Why?  Because Wal-Mart is cheaper!

But...I did meet Brandon and his wife Julie, who live just around the corner with their two young children, and they were excited about coming out.  And, if I'm honest with myself, a few other people were very nice, and many of the houses were in good repair.  Perhaps I was allowing a few odd situations to shade my view of everyone.  And we have invested too much in our house to sell anytime in the foreseeable future.  So I picked up my flyers and sunglasses and set off to meet the other 2/3 of the neighborhood.

I saw some very well kept homes (along with a few that needed work), but most importantly I met some neat, enthusiastic people - families with kids, a young woman and her German Shepherd Blue (I remember him best), and an older man who moved into the neighborhood in 1990 and raised his children here.  He talked to me for half an hour, and said he was going to bring his son's old laptop to the event to recycle it.  He also said he would bring his guitar to play if the weather was nice.

The road to a sustainable community seems really long right now, and I am not certain a survey will yield much useful information.  I wonder if I need to cast my net more broadly for a future project.  Perhaps I could start a meet-up group at the library for the Steele Creek area, which is the district I live in.  Regardless of what happens in the long run, in the near future my neighborhood will have its first Earth Day event!

Executive Decision

Today is my self-imposed deadline for distributing event flyers.  A draft of the flyer is complete and has been sent to the HOA President for feedback.  However, I have decided to wait until Saturday to distribute it, because the weather will be better and more people will be home, which will allow me an opportunity to make personal contact with neighbors rather than simply leaving the flyer.  While distributing flyers, I hope to encourage neighbors to use Facebook since it is an easier, more eco-friendly method than paper flyers.

I have completed almost every item from the list that I created on Saturday with the exception of the survey and educational materials.  The Peaceful Dragon, my former martial arts studio, has agreed to allow us to use several folding tables free of charge. All About the Pipes is tentatively planning to send a plumber out to the neighborhood event to discuss water conservation ideas that homeowners can implement themselves as well as ideas that likely require professional plumbers.  I am waiting on confirmation from the owner.  Most other items are still pending.  However, I am anxiously watching my inbox for good news!

Got Chickens?

Yes, I do!  I recently volunteered at the Southern Spring Show for Mecklenburg County's Wipe Out Waste program.  While I was there, I visited the display of Rooster Hill Farms to stoke my own backyard chicken fantasies.  In a last ditch effort to obtain chickens for the neighborhood Earth Day event, I sent an e-mail to Randy, the owner of Rooster Hill Farms.  Truthfully, I did not expect him to come through, but he surprised me.  Within four hours, I received an enthusiastic "Yes!"

When Randy and I spoke by phone, he committed to bring a small chicken tractor (mobile chicken coop), a few very docile hens for the kids to feed by hand, and baby chicks to tug at the heartstrings of neighbors, who will be voting in September about whether to allow backyard chickens.  Randy is very excited about the opportunity to teach kids about chickens and eggs.  He also shared that he was instrumental in convincing the city council of a small suburban town on Charlotte's outskirts to allow backyard chickens there.  Randy will be a great ally and perhaps the hit of the show!  Most importantly, this win has given me the psychological boost I need to stay excited about the project.

You Can't Always Get What You Want

First, the good news...Mecklenburg County Wipe Out Waste will provide printed materials for the Earth Day Event, including a schedule of composting workshops and the 2011 recycling guide.  They will also provide leaves for my composting demonstration, and leaves are a hot commodity to composters!  REI has committed to provide a $25.00 gift card, two outfitting certificates for camp gear rentals for up to 4 people for up to four days, and a few water bottles or reusable bags.  Lastly, I have set up a neighborhood Facebook page to communicate about this and future events.

The not as good news...I have not been able to find anyone willing to set up backyard chickens yet, nor have I been able to find anyone in the bee club willing to donate honey for a give away, pieces of comb for display, or their time to discuss the ecological benefits of, and threats to, bees.  Though I know logically that I will not get everything I request, it has still been a bit of a downer.

My next steps are as follows:

• Contact Earth Fare, No Kidding Soaps, Goodwill, All About the Pipes Plumbing, Uncle Scott's Rootbeer, Black Hawk Hardware, The Peaceful Dragon, Rooster Hill Farms, Breadsmith, and The Home Economist.  I will be asking Goodwill to send a truck to pick up swap items left over after the event.  I will be asking everyone else for either give away items, expertise, or, in the case of The Peaceful Dragon, the use of some tables for the event.
• Contact the HOA President to ask for funding.
• Solicit volunteers to take responsibility for aspects of the event.
• Prepare educational materials for the event.
• Prepare and distribute flyer by March 16 to promote both the event and to direct residents to the new Facebook page.
• Prepare survey.

Score!

Today I contacted the nearest reputable e-waste vendor, which, according to the e-Stewards website, is located in Columbia, SC.  Our city-county collection service does not provide pick up for e-waste, but does allow drop off (limited to computers and monitors).  However, there is no assurance that these items are managed responsibly.  Since I am from Columbia and visit my family there regularly, it would be easy for me to transport items for recycling during one of my trips.  In fact, the facility is very convenient to my mother's house.  However, the vendor charges for its service.  Undeterred, I sent an e-mail to the company asking if they would partner with me for my school project, and within seven minutes the president of the company e-mailed from Missouri to commit to helping!!!  He said that Dave from the Columbia office wold be in touch, and forwarded me Dave's contact information as well.   Hooray!

In planning my project, I am considering all possible resources within my current contacts.  Therefore, I e-mailed my employer to ask for support with give-aways, such as reusable shopping bags or bottles, and a kids education component.  REI typically does PEAK classes to teach kids leave no trace ethics, so I asked for an abbreviated class or materials that I could use to engage kids at the event.  I also made a pitch for a gift card to use as an incentive for the completion of surveys.  My idea is that everyone who completes a survey about ecological attitudes and concerns will be entered in a drawing to win a gift card.  My fingers are crossed that my employer will come through with at least a portion of my wish list, and perhaps even contribute a new idea.

Since the event is partially an Easter egg hunt, I still hold out hope of having chickens present.  I think it is important for kids to know where their food comes from (up close and personal).  This is also a self-serving way of winning my fellow residents over to the notion of backyard chickens.  Even though I know Henry is unavailable, I have sent him an e-mail to ask if he knows of anyone with chickens who might be willing to come out.  (Henry has already offered to provide a tour of his backyard for those interested, but he lives on the other side of Charlotte.)

Next I will be reaching out to my beekeeping friends to ask for local honey samples and to the man I met at the farmers market who makes goats milk soap.  Wish me luck!

Two Events Are Better Than One

The first major decision regarding my action project, organizing an Earth Day event in my neighborhood, is selecting the date.  I learned from Bill, the President of the Home Owners Association, that the next HOA event is an Easter egg hunt scheduled for Saturday, April 16.  On one hand that event would be a perfect opportunity for an Earth Day event because participation will be higher than usual, it will allow enough time for preparations, and we can use local eggs from the farmers market for the egg hunt.

However, it is also the date of Charlotte Clean and Green, which is the primary Earth Day celebration in our city.  This means that my friend Henry will not be available to bring his chickens and talk about backyard chickens keeping, and that other people who might provide “green” expertise will likely be unavailable as well.  It also means that neighborhood residents (like me) who want to attend Charlotte Clean and Green will have to choose between events.

I could select another date for the neighborhood Earth Day event, but holding two events close together will likely result in reduced attendance.  I could ask the HOA to change the date of their event, but they have already announced it in the community, which might create confusion.  Weighing the options, I have decided that there are more advantages to partnering with the HOA than there are disadvantages.

With that issue decided, imagine my chagrin to discover that the neighborhood association plans to fill plastic eggs with candy rather than using traditional colored eggs.  This caused me to wince because it is at odds with an environmentally responsible message.  However, it does present an opportunity for me to structure an activity for kids using natural dyes.  I remember one Easter my Memama (mom’s mother) forgot to purchase an egg coloring kit when my little sister and I stayed with her over the Easter holiday.  We were staying at my grandparents lake house, which was too far from any town to correct the oversight.  Memama prepared dyes with tea bags and beet juice, and we ended up with white, pink, brown, and striped eggs that year.  The funny thing is that experience stands out more than any other Easter experience in my life.  Hopefully, the experience of using natural dyes will make an impression on the kids in my neighborhood too.  And my wife has volunteered to organize this activity!