Biking to work at CEC

I’m Katrina Cohoe, and I’ve been working in the Cope garden since the beginning of the 2009-10 school year. Groups from Girls, Inc. and Meridian services have been working away on their plots, and they look wonderful! Lettuce, radishes, cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, and one cucumber have been harvested, and many more vegetables are on their way. While I could talk off your ear off about the garden, I wanted to write instead about something I’ve been thinking about while commuting to work: bicycles.

I’ve talked with a lot of people about the reasons why they bike, and I have sometimes felt disconnected from biking communities that I have interacted with. Sure, it’s healthy, but I’m no health nut. There can be an air of competition surrounding bicycle knowledge and the quality of your bike and gear. The biggest reason I could come up with for riding is that I don’t have the money for a car, and that’s not an inherently positive thought.

I ride my bike to work most of the time when it is nice outside (about 5.5 miles one-way), and while riding, I have had a lot of time to think about bikes. A couple days ago I began to smile as I was riding because I became amazed at how fast I could move with a machine powered by my own muscles. Think about it: bicycles are the fastest commuting machine that’s commercially available that requires no external power source. It's a great thing you can do for the environment, and for me, it is so empowering!

A Spring Walk At Cope Environmental Center

A Spring Walk At Cope Environmental Center

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Get Up!

Okay, people. I know it's early, but the 7am Monday morning bird hikes are worth it! A few things we saw this morning: Sora, White-throated Sparrow, Phoebe, Yellow-throated Warbler; we also heard a Prairie Warbler, but didn't see it. This is a great way to start your day, so don't be shy! Hope to see you there next Monday at CEC- 7am sharp!

Gorgeous Day

Hello!
Alison Zajdel, here. The sun is shining SO bright today that the remaining snow nearly blinds you when you walk outside. What a great day to come out to CEC to see the sap flowing, hike the trails, and enjoy the land. Got a camera? Take some pictures for us! We love to see people's different perspectives of the property, so let us know if you have some to share. Just thought I'd give people a nudge to get outdoors today in case you needed one. Take care!

Bonner Scholars Great Asset to CEC

Non-profit organizations have the wonderful perk of working with great people who are willing to give of their time and talents to make your organization a better place! These are volunteers! Cope Environmental Center has the privilege of working with Bonner Students from Earlham College. This program allows us to grow very close to our Bonner Students during their four years. We have been blessed with several students who have spent all four of their years here at CEC.

Unfortunately for us, college students graduate and move on. We are so proud of all our students. They have all been a tremendous asset to Cope Environmental Center and have completed thousands of hours of service and projects! Please read the comments to this post to learn more about each one of our graduating Bonners and what they completed and learned during their time at Cope Environmental Center.

Composting in 2010 by Chuck Warner

Hi All:

Well here we are in 2010 and there still isn't much activity on the CEC blog so I will kick start the new year with a quick message. How did everyone do on their goal to be more green in 2009? If you remember I had vowed to start composting and even though I labored about how to do it all during the year I started right away. First I did it the hard way...let me explain. I live in a subdivision where you can't just have a big stinky pile of garbage in your back yard. I already had a pile of dirt in my side yard that was left over from a landscape project. I kept a plastic bucket under the sink and later in the garage to put my compostable stuff in. Whenever it would get enough in it to make it worth it I would dig a small hole in the dirt pile and bury the kitchen scraps under the soil. I also put yard waste on the pile and that was about it. I felt good that I was "composting" but I knew that I needed a better plan for winter when the ground was frozen and I couldn't dig. I had been looking at the commercial compost bins and thought about building one from a variety of materials but I just couldn't decide on the right approach. Finally on one of my trips to Sams Club I found a composter that met my requirements. Below is a link that shows it.

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=361729

This unit is well made, assembles quick, can be moved (although you start over), and it is resonable priced. You can get different colors but the black is the best for composting because the sun warms it to accelerate the process.

If someone tells me they can't compost because they don't have any place to put the compost pile so the neighbors won't complain...problem solved. Now for the price of a dinner out for 2 you can reduce the waste going to the sewage desposal plant for processing, reduce or eliminate sending compostable material to the landfill, and never buy nutient rich soil for your flower garden.

Chuck