Sustainable Salinas - Environmental Action Group
 | Our Mission: Through education direct action and policy advocacy, community volunteers bring sustainable living practices to the City of Salinas.
NEWS: SUSTAINABLE SALINAS is hosting a Social Mixer for those that are passionate about Local Sustainability, Environmental Stewardship and Improving the Quality of Life in Salinas through Social and Environmental Responsibility! The Salinas Welcome Center 222 Main Street, Oldtown Salinas, 93901 6:00pm-9:00pm December 3rd, 2011 Bring your Wine Corks for donation to Terracycle for Charity! http://www.terracycle.net Visit us on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/sustainablesalinas See Our Flyer Below! Polystyrene Take-Out Ban:
We have recently gained significant ground in the City of Salinas with a Polystyrene Take-Out container ban! An ordinance has been established to reduce the use of these products for the same reasons that single use plastic bags are unhealthy for the environment with the addition of the significant risk to human health that they pose. More about the polystyrene ban from KION NEWS, The Monterey County WEEKLY, and Save Our Shores. Ban the Bag: Help us on the next step towards a sustainable community and use your own bags for shopping. If you have never used your own reuseable bags for shopping, dont feel ashamed. We all enjoy the conveniences and security of plastic bags when we shop to protect our food, but did you know you can fit 5 times more food into a reuseable shopping bag? That is 5 plastic bags that you do not have to take home. We petitioned on the streets of Salinas and received over 100 signatures by people who want to eliminate these bags form our waste stream. Plastic bags are terrible for the environment, they are consumed by wildlife and kill as they move through the ecosystem! They never go away! Every piece of plastic that you have ever used in your life is still in the waste stream somewhere, even if you are 100 years old. The biggest question was "What am I going to pick up my DOG DOO with?" There ARE alternatives for picking up dog doo in city parks and beaches without creating an additional problem. Scooperbox and Poopbags are two alternatives but there are MANY others...you just need to make the effort to protect your environment. We are working to provide reusable bags to those in need and reminder stickers for the car so that when you go shopping you don't forget that you will need the bag. For more information on plastic bag awareness visit www.reuseit.com. Beach cleanups: Our activities are not limited to just Salinas. Everyone in our community enjoys visiting local getaway destinations, like the Moss Landing Beaches, Pinnacles National Monument, Arroyo Seco and many others. We feel strongly that we are partially responsible for helping maintain these beautiful landmarks so that our children will have clean healthy environments to play in and will enjoy these sites for generations to follow. Join us on one of the Surf Rider Foundations Beach Cleanups, Return of the Natives Habitat Restoration or contribute your ideas to get activities going as an organization. Visit www.surfridermonterey.org for events that are family friendly and beatify our central coast! Sustainable Education: Hartnell Community College offers a certificate program in Sustainable Construction and design with a strong focus on the USGBC's (United States Green Building Council) LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system. Green Gardener offers greywater installation courses throughout the Monterey bay including courses in the Spring at the Salinas Adult School. Visit www.green-gardener.org LED Street Lights: Have you noticed that the lighting on N. Main St. in front of Sherwood Gardens Shopping Center is illuminated better than most streets in Salinas? Those are LED's that Salinas is experimenting with. They provide greater lumen output per candlefoot and improve visibility because they create contrast. They use 50% to 60% less energy that High Pressure Sodium lights. The key to solving the budget problems is in renewable energy and high efficiency technology like LED's. Our city could save hundreds of thousands of dollars if they took the time and invested in these types of technologies. There is greater sustainability in technology. Let us know how YOU think Salinas could solve its budget woes. We will post your ideas on our webpage and Facebook Site. Community Gardens: On August 19, 2009 the Community Garden of Salinas Project was formally announced to the community-at-large at an open forum held in the St. Georges Episcopal Church's parish hall. Previous to the meeting flyers had been distributed throughout the neighborhood and a press release was issued to local media outlets. Three dozen church and community members turned out for this open forum and a dedicated group of volunteers have since continued on with the project at its monthly steering committee meetings. Current challenges facing the steering committee are securing funding for fencing for the garden and drafting by-laws and rules for garden members. The committee is investigating possible funding sources such as grants from area philanthropic organizations such as the Harden Foundation and the like. Various fund-raisers are also in the works. More information HERE. Salinas Green Businesses: Hayward Lumber Martella Printing Alba Organics Salinas Farmers Market Absolute Hydroponics |
Join Us!
Fill out the form to be part of Sustainable Salinas. Share your ideas and become part of the solution that our community needs. We hold meetings on the last Wednesday of every month at the Sherwood Village Community Center - 808 N. Main St. (venue subject to change).
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Stuart Koster - Director skoster5@msn.com
Levi Jimenez - Advocacy and Outreach levi.jimenez123@gmail.com
Levi Jimenez - Advocacy and Outreach levi.jimenez123@gmail.com
