Secrets to Success: Second Annual Earth Day Celebration

It’s actually no secret. The numbers speak for them-selves—more than 900 attendees, 13 event commit-tee members, 47 volunteers, 31 exhibitors/vendors, 29 sponsors, 8 performance groups, and 31 Green Art entries from Beaufort County Schools. The family-friendly event took place April 21, 2012 at Shelter Cove Community Park, and drew participants from Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, Beaufort and Port Royal, who came out to learn, celebrate, make healthy planet-people connections and build community awareness at the Earth Day Celebration!

“Get in the Loop” was the event’s theme, and the Green Resource Expo served as a green marketplace to connect consumers and businesses to products and services for healthy business and living. Attendees signed up for free spa services from Ahh Green Spa, took a pledge for greener living with the Girl Scouts, and pedaled a bike to learn how human kinetic energy can pedal-power a leaf blower at the Sea Pines Resort tent. They also learned about eco-preferred home fur-nishings, and participated in The Loop obstacle course.

Hybrid bikes and cars were on display at the Green Transportation Station, and the Slow Food District of-fered mouth-watering local foods, used compostable disposables and ReCups, Made in the USA, BPA-free beverage cups! The Earth Day Celebration 2012 was the area’s first Zero Waste event, achieving glowing results —with less than 90lbs total waste generated!

A complimentary bike valet was offered and the Cel-ebration Stage hosted a talk from alligator wrangler Joe Moffo about wildlife stewardship, as well as classes

and performances from Jiva Yoga, Zumba, Joan Maute, an aerial act, and by Lavon Stevens with Bob Masteller and Delbert Felix.

The Celebrate Community program was the event fi-nale, hosted by Annaliza from 104.9 The Surf. The gath-ering drew community leaders, families, and included a special musical performance by Teresa Wade and the Singing Sea Otters with Lavon Stevens and Delbert Felix. Mayor Drew Laughlin and the Karis Gallery made a presentation of internationally renowned artist Peter Max’s commitment to supporting the environ-ment through art, and Blanchard and Calhoun and The Kroger Co. showcased the Shelter Cove Mall Redevel-opment project, as the effort contributes significantly to building a healthy community.

It was an exciting day of entertainment, inspiration, recognition and motivation for all to “go forth” with increased pride and commitment to community and ways to contribute to advancing sustainability - ben-efiting the planet, its people, and prosperity for all! Experience Green appreciates the event copresenter, Hilton Head Monthly, the Island Rec Center, and the many, many sponsors, volunteers, and you—who made it a super success!

In March 2012 Experience Green hosted a Lowcountry first—RBC Greening Golf in Bluffton and on Hilton Head Island. Golf industry managers, tourism profes-sionals and golf patrons gathered to learn how green golf practices can contribute to the triple bottom line for sustainability.

Greg Lyman, the Environmental Programs Director at the Environmental Institute of Golf, the philanthropic organization of the Golf Course Superintendents Asso-ciation of America was the guest presenter. He shared facts and stories of golf courses’ positive impacts for communities, the environment, and the economy.

Jim Cregan, Superintendent, Sea Pines Resort; Chris Johnson, Superintendent, May River Golf Club at Pal-metto Bluff; and Mitchell Wilkerson, Superintendent, Moss Creek Golf Club contributed to the session. Tim Kreger, Executive Director of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association also spoke in support of sustainability for the Lowcountry golf community.

The offering was a partnership with the Environmental Club at USCB; the Sea Pines Resort hosted an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Certified golf course tour. We appreciate our sponsors, RBC, the Sea Pines Resort and the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce. Plans are developing for February 2013 offering.

“I have been a PGA member for 20 years, but this workshop gave me a different perspective on how golf course operations affect an entire com-munity; not just club membership!”

Jason Cherry, PGA, Director of Golf, Haig Point, Daufuskie Island

RBC Greening Golf

L to R: Teresa Wade, Greg Lyman, Cary Corbitt and Jim Cregan of the Sea Pines Resort

Experience Green is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission to build sustainable communities that benefit the planet, its people and prosperity.We accomplish this through efforts that: • Educate through experiences • Connect community resources • Advance sustainable development

theAUTUMN 2012 WWW.EXPERIENCEGREEN.ORG

In February, Experience Green hosted the first of its Profit Green workshop series entitled “The Business Case for Sustainability;” the event took place in Pal-metto Electric’s new LEED Certified headquarters on Hilton Head Island.

William Paddock of Sustainable Solutions, a local sustainability consulting firm, led the group through the strategic questions that sustainability presents as related to business processes and bottom line impact. The experiential education included group discus-sion and discoveries through activities that examined household products from candy to aluminum foil, to light bulbs, asking: What is the true cost of this prod-uct? How much waste does it create? How can it be improved to create greater value for the business – impacting the triple bottom line—people, planet and prosperity?

Teresa Wade, founder and executive director of Experi-ence Green shared examples of local businesses that incorporate green business practices as part of their culture and operations, including Pino Gelato and the Sonesta Resort, the first resort on Hilton Head Island to receive a South Carolina Green Hospitality certification, acknowledging its commitment and progress with sustainability. Within one year of launching its sustain-ability program, Sonesta reduced water consumption by 80% and saved enough electricity to power the entire facility for 20 days! That’s sustainability for business that also benefits the environment! The next Profit Green workshop is scheduled for October 9th, entitled “Sustainability in Small Business” and wel-comes Dodd Galbreath, executive director of The In-stitute for Sustainable Practice at Lipscomb University.

What is Experience Green?Experience Green (EG) is group of people who live, work and play in Beaufort County, SC; the heart of the Lowcountry. We love and care deeply about where we live, and we want our communities to succeed today, tomorrow, and beyond—mak-ing money, making memories, attracting visitors, providing resources and supporting our natural environment. EG operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We have a small staff, strong Board of Directors, wise Advisory Council, and dedicated volunteers.

How does Experience Green help the community?

• Our programs strengthen the community’s econ-omy, environment, and people

• Our efforts promote sustainable community growth and development

• Our work supports the journey to become a model for eco-tourism and sustainable living

When we are successful, what will our community look like?

Our community will be more than environmentally sensitive—it will become truly sustainable! It will have a culture that attracts investment, enhances property values, gains differentiation and competi-tive advantage, increases efficiency, strengthens the brand, attracts visitors and future residents, AND enhances and ensures quality of life for all in-habitants present and in the future. We see a future that is vibrant, resilient, and secure—sustainable.

1st Zero Waste Event

Sustainability Spotlight

How Does Experience Green Help the Community?

The 2012 Earth Day Celebration pioneered the first Zero Waste event for our area! Zero Waste is the idea that we can eliminate waste—that everything we use can be recycled, reused, or composted, and kept out of the landfills. With more than 900+ attendees, the Earth Day Celebration generated only 80.4 lbs total of waste that was all recycled or composted! Be Green Packag-ing provided compostable plates for the Slow Food Dis-trict; Smoothie Company sponsored reusable ReCups, made in the USA and BPA free; and the Boy Scouts, Hil-ton Head Island Lacrosse team, and other volunteers helped attendees understand the what, why, and how for proper collections. i2Recycle measured and audited the waste. It was a collaborative effort and a clear ex-ample of how Experience Green promotes sustainabil-ity, engaging the community to benefit it!

Experience Green spotlights the sustainable practices of Hilton Head Plantation (HHP) a local community that recognizes that the environment is its greatest asset. HHP has a weed-hungry fish called the Sterile Grass Carp, and a mechanical “Weed Harvester”, which floats on the lagoons and lakes to remove excess veg-etation and reduces herbicide use. Buffers along the lagoon edges are natural habitat, but also collect grass clippings, nutrients and other storm water runoff that might overwhelm the aquatic systems; less mowing also reduces costs with labor, fuel, and equipment. Used cooking oil from HHP restaurants is upcycled into biodiesel (that burns cleaner and is cheaper) and is then used in some of the off road equipment and vehicles. HHP treats its sanitary wastewater and recycles it back to irrigate HHP’s four golf courses. The community garden farmers grow crops for their per-sonal consumption, but also sell the excess produce to the community. These common sense—back to ba-sics practices support sustainability—benefiting the planet, its people and the pocketbook!

Experience Green: The LOOP!2

The Business Case for Sustainability

For Your Calendar

From the Founder Welcome to The Loop, Experience Green’s first printed publication, to get and keep you “in the loop”— informed and engaged in the work of our organization. We are excited to share who we are and what we

do and invite you to help in advancing the journey to sustainability for our communities.

I am often asked, “What does it mean to go green and why is sustainability important?” Going green means acting in an environmentally considerate or respon-sible way, but sustainability goes further. A sustain-able community doesn’t just survive—it thrives—in good times and bad. Every community has basic needs like clean water, abundant energy, food, jobs, schools and health care. These fit into three categories: people, planet, and prosperity. A strong economy brings pros-perity, a healthy and balanced ecology benefits our planet and economy, and well managed resources meet the needs of people; all are the building blocks for successful communities, and this trifecta produces sustainability.

Experience Green promotes communities that are more than environmentally sensitive, but that will become truly sustainable. In many ways sustainable thinking is “back to basics,” but it also requires com-mitment to long term development and change. This

means involvement from businesses, individuals, gov-ernment, community organizations—all stakeholder groups.

Since founding Experience Green in November 2010, we have produced many successful programs through our initiatives to educate through experiences and connect community resources. We are also pleased to announce that Experience Green was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry to facilitate the Organization Development process with the assistance of Sims & Steele Consulting.

If you are interested in being a CATALYST to build strong communities, now is the time! Experience Green was created to be an agent of change to ad-vance sustainable community development on Hilton Head Island and in greater Beaufort County, and we welcome your support of the Catalyst Campaign (see back page).

Thanks in advance for your support of Experience Green’s mission to build sustainable communities that benefit the planet, its people, and prosperity.

Teresa Wade, MBA, CT Graduate Studies Sustainability Founder and Executive Director

Experience Green appreciates its 2012 Annual Sponsors and Leadership Groups

Sustainability in Small BusinessProfit Green and Network Green

Sponsored by Hilton Head Monthly

Guest Presenter: Dodd Galbreath, Executive Director, Institute for Sustainable Practice, Lipscomb University

Oct 9, Bluffton, SC

$49 with box lunch, advance registration required

Why Buy Local Live Green and Network Green

Sponsored by Hilton Head Monthly

Guest Presenter: David Lamie, regional economist and Director of SC Market Makers, Institute for Economic and Community Development at Clemson University

Nov 12, Bluffton, SCNov 13, Hilton Head Island, SC

Admission is FREE with advanced online registration

experiencegreen.org 3

Sustainers

Platinum

GoldBe Green Packaging

SilverHilton Head Accommodationsi2ReycleSustainable Design ConsultantsThe GreeneryTom Crews ArchitectsTruitt Rabun AssociatesWood + Partners

Coming in 2013January “Carbon Nation”

A solutions movie that doesn’t care if you believe in climate change!

February “Greening Golf”

March Live Green & Network Green

April Earth Day Celebration

September Live Green & Network Green

October Profit Green & Network Green

November Live Green & Network Green

Board of DirectorsMark Baker, ChairBrian Herrmann, ViceChairMary-Stuart Alderman, SecretaryMike Bennett, TreasurerBoyd McClearyTom Trout

David Zunker

Advisory Council David AmesDana BeachErnst BrudererMargo FarnsworthJoseph B. Fraser IIIDodd GalbreathDave HarterEd PinckneyLeslie RichardsonAllen Ward

Founder & Executive DirectorTeresa Wade

Connect with Us info@experiencegreen.org 843.882.7616

REGISTER FOR EVENTS ONLINE

experiencegreen.org

UPCYCLE your cell phones,

laptops, and #6 plastic cups!

learn how at

experiencegreen.org

sustainablesolutions

HILTON HEAD

Experience GreenP.O. Box 6792Hilton Head Island, SC 29938

experiencegreen.org

green

Please make your check payable to: Experience Green, P.O. Box 6792, Hilton Head Island, SC 29938

Credit card gifts can also be made through our website: www.experiencegreen.org/engage.html#givegreen

You can also donate to the Experience Green Fund of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, a Designated Fund established in 2012; make your check payable to “Community Foundation of the Lowcountry” with “Experience Green Fund” noted on the memo line and mail to: Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, P.O. Box 23019, Hilton Head Island, SC 29925.

Gifts of securities or mutual funds are also accepted. Please email teresa@experiencegreen.org for more information.

Experience Green is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and all gifts are tax-deductible as allowable by law.

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We would “treasure” a gift from you as part of our CATALYST CAMPAIGN. When you support Experience Green with a tax-deductible donation, you’re contributing to sustaining the resources necessary to meet today’s needs as well as the needs of future generations. And you’re joining a community of caring citizens as part of the global green movement to protect, preserve, and grow the prosperity of mankind.

$35 + Member

$100 + Conserver

$250 + Connector

$1,000 + Catalyst

$2,500 + Steward

$5,000 + Founding Sustainer

$10,000 + Founding Visionary

* Level benefits are detailed on the Give Green page at www.experiencegreen.org

Catalyst Campaign

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The LOOP designed by Black Dog Press, printed by Curry Printing on FSC Mixed Content 90%, PEFC Recycled 10%