This project grew out of our Green Design Lab project that was recently highlighted in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. Now, the Greenhouse project will be taken to a new level thanks to a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $16,500.

Check out this awesome video from the Wall St Journal about Solar One’s Green Design Lab program in the NYC Public schools! You can also read the article HERE at WSJ Online.

Big thanks to the NYC DOE and to all the partners and funders who have helped us this program a success. And congratulations to the Education Team on their incredible work!

UPDATE! MORE THUNDERSTORMS SUNDAY NIGHT, DIRT! THE MOVIE CANCELED AGAIN

Please check back here to find out when we might be able to screen DIRT!

Due to thunderstorms on Friday, the screening of DIRT! the Movie has been postponed until TONIGHT Sunday August 21 at 7pm (film will screen around 8:30).

The summer is more than half over, and you know what that means- time for Solar One’s annual Solar-Powered Film Series! As usual, we’ll have 6 programs of (mostly environmental) features and shorts, with a few surprises and special guests thrown in. Also as usual, we’ll be partnering with the always-amazing Green Edge NYC, a social network that helps New Yorkers live more sustainably. This year’s Film Series is also sponsored by Chapin Hill Advisors, a financial planning and wealth management firm with a strong commitment to the environment. We’re excited to welcome them to the Solar One family!

Also new this year: the first week of films deal with the themes of food and urban agriculture, and we’re incredibly excited that the urban farmers of Eagle Street Rooftop Farm will be coming to Solar One and setting up a farm stand where attendees will be able to buy popcorn, snacks and produce grown right across the river in Greenpoint, Brooklyn! Eagle Street is close to Solar One’s heart not only because of their farming venture, but also for Growing Chefs, a great program that teaches schoolkids to not only grow food, but to prepare it as well.

  
Come and meet them on Thursday, Friday and Saturday August 18-20!

And now, more about the first film we’ll be screening- DIRT! the Movie:

From the website:

DIRT! The Movie–directed and produced by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow–takes you inside the wonders of the soil. It tells the story of Earth’s most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility–from its miraculous beginning to its crippling degradation.

The opening scenes of the film dive into the wonderment of the soil. Made from the same elements as the stars, plants and animals, and us, “dirt is very much alive.” Though, in modern industrial pursuits and clamor for both profit and natural resources, our human connection to and respect for soil has been disrupted. “Drought, climate change, even war are all directly related to the way we are treating dirt.”

DIRT! the Movie–narrated by Jaime Lee Curtis–brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has. It shares the stories of experts from all over the world who study and are able to harness the beauty and power of a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with soil.

DIRT! the Movie is simply a movie about dirt. The real change lies in our notion of what dirt is. The movie teaches us: “When humans arrived 2 million years ago, everything changed for dirt. And from that moment on, the fate of dirt and humans has been intimately linked.” But more than the film and the lessons that it teaches, DIRT the Movie is a call to action.

“The only remedy for disconnecting people from the natural world is connecting them to it again.”

What we’ve destroyed, we can heal.

Speaker: Leanne Spaulding, Program Coordinator for the Western Queens Compost Initiative will talk abut the latest in compost initiatives and how YOU can get involved! Find out more about WQCI on their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/wqnscompost.

You can see trailers and get information about the entire Series HERE, and check back here in the coming days for more details about each program!

As a result, we are extending the deadline for completed applications to be submitted to June 10th at 5:00pm.  All applications will need to be e-mailed or faxed to us by that time.  You can learn more and download the application and instructions at our Green Design Lab site here. Any questions should be directed to gdl@solar1.org and we will do our best to respond within 24 hours. We look forward to working with another great batch of schools starting this fall.

Last week, the program got some nice coverage from the Manhattan Times – a bilingual newspaper serving Inwood and Washington Heights in upper Manhattan. The article focuses on our work with PS 187 in Washington Heights where Solar One educators have been helping students save energy as part of the Green Cup Challenge and create the beginnings of a rooftop garden to reduce cooling costs for the building.

PS 187 students load soil into jean planters to be used in the rooftop garden for their school.

The program has been a rousing success and we are thankful to see such a warm write-up of the program and its accomplishments. We are already gearing up to implement the program in more schools during 2011-12.  If you are interested in bringing the program to your or your children’s school next year, you can download the application from the Green Design Lab site, or click here to download it in PDF or MSWord format.

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Multifamily Building Analyst Training & BPI Exam

Nine Wednesday Evening Classes, April – June 2011
Dates: April 27, May 4,11,18,25, June 1,8,15, 22
Time: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Get the BPI Certification you need, and still get to work!
If you are an energy professional working in multifamily buildings or just want to learn more about energy audits in multifamily buildings, this is the certification for you. GreenHomeNYC is bringing in one of the people that helped develop this certification, at a schedule that meets your work schedule, so that you can be certified by BPI as a
Multifamily Building Analyst.

$1600 Fee includes BPI Certification exam fee.
A non-refundable deposit of 25% is required to hold your seat in the class – please pay via credit card or check.  Additional details available at greenhomenyc.org/bpi.

Award-winning director and producer Alan Blake traveled cross-country, from Massachusetts to California, visiting the people that use solar power or work in the industry. The Solar Generation USA Road Trip campaign chronicles his three-week trip as a three-part online webisode series to educate the public on the benefits of solar energy.

Webisode No. 1 focuses on the Northeast capturing smaller residential and commercial applications, from a boat marina, fire station and horse farm, to a New York City rooftop and the Crayola Crayon manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania. Webisode No. 2 captures installations in the Midwest including a zoo (with ‘solar bears’), a gas station converted to a solar charging station for electric vehicles, the Ohio Governor’s mansion and a solar manufacturing facility. The last webisode (Webisode No. 3) covers larger scale solar in the West including Denver International Airport, a Garbett Homes community with both solar water heating and solar electric as standard features, Colorado State University, the ballpark of the 2010 World Series champions, the San Francisco Giants, and a Napa Valley vineyard.

Check it out and pass it on:  www.solargenerationusa.org

Solar One has partnered with Superintendents Technical Association (STA) to reach building operators in New York City and provide them with an “Intro to Green”. Although targeted towards superintendents, property managers and coop board members could also benefit from this technical seminar.

On Monday, October 18th from 6-9pm, a new three-hour course will introduce the concept of green and how it relates to buildings in New York City.

This introductory course will help building operators, property managers, and coop boards manage their buildings in a more energy efficient and cost-effective way. The course will orient building stakeholders in green terminology and concepts; review NYC’s new green laws for existing buildings; discuss NYSERDA incentives available for New York buildings; and determine if future education and/or certifications may be right for the attendees.

For more information or to register, please visit nycsta.org

Monday, October 18th, 6-9pm
230 E 90th St.
Pre-register: $55.00
STA Member & non-members: $65.00 at the door

For more information, contact Mary Tchamkina at Solar One:
646-576-5663
mary@solar1.org



The NEW New York: GreenHomeNYC’s DIY Green Block Party, Saturday October 2nd 10am – 6pm, will give New Yorkers tangible experience with ways to live green(er). Catering to citizens anywhere on the green spectrum from curious to committed, this event will bring concepts to life through hands-on activities. For example, a local compost vendor, Vokashi, will sell compost k its as well as have compost on hand to smell and examine up close. Recycle-A-Bicycle will demonstrate how to repair a bike and take donations of old bikes. Bring your old clothes to be recycled through Wearable Collections, and your e-waste through the Lower East Side Ecology Center. In addition to over 45 vendors, there will be special neighborhood tours such as a “ride-along” on a brownstone’s energy audit, a trip to a green roof, and a tour of Third + Bond, which is anticipating LEED-Gold.

In keeping with the theme, the NEW New York itself will be green: using biodiesel and compostable food containers, recycling trash and composting food-waste, minimizing trash by asking vendors to present paperless, and purchasing carbon off-sets.

Visit our website for more information, and to sign up for events,demonstrations, and building tours. Solar One will be running activities for kids!

10:00am- Make insect/butterfly/native creature puppets!

12:00pm- Make seed bombs that will turn into wildflowers in the spring!

2:00pm- Make a solar racecar and see how fast it will go!

www.greenhomenyc.org/thenewnewyork

Third St between Bond & Hoyt Sts in Brooklyn

F/G to Carroll Street

Join us for the last Family Day of 2010! Come fishing at Solar One!

Volunteer extraordinaire Tom Eccardt serves up handmade mulberry ice cream, made with mulberries grown in Stuy Cove Park, to an enthusiastic crowd at Family Day on June 26. All photos are by Solar One photo intern Maya Cramer.

Tomorrow we’ll be having our second annual creature-themed Family Day,  but in June we had a Family Day that revolved around pollinators and food. We learned about pollinating creatures like bees, moths, flies and butterflies, colored pictures of pollinators and made puppets out of them (this activity is always a hit, and is affectionately known as Bugs-On-A-Stick), sampled sprouts grown from native plants seeds, and best of all, made ice cream without an ice cream maker! Check out the pictures after the jump to find out how we did it! And also a big, heartfelt “Thank You” to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer for supporting Family Day!

Tom shows examples of pollinators to a rapt audience.

Preparing butterflies to become Bugs-On-A-Stick.

So how did we make the ice cream? The  basic idea came from the fabulous ReadyMade magazine; here’s the link to the original recipe. Instead of Lemongrass-Vanilla, we made 2 flavors using park-grown plants: mulberry and mountain mint chip. We used coffee cans to hold the ingredients, but we couldn’t find any 5-lb coffee cans for the ice, so we used clean plaster buckets instead:

Kicking the cream around under the FDR drive.

Everyone gets in on the action.

The wider top of the plaster bucket made it really easy to kick in a circle, from one person to another. Even in the 90-degree-plus weather that day, it only took about 30 minutes of kicking to form the ice cream. Because the plaster buckets were so big, we could put 2 coffee cans inside, and make our 2 flavors at once!

The results were absolutely delicious! There were many satisfied customers, and you can be sure this is a Family Day activity we’ll be repeating…

Where does our food come from? How do flowers turn into fruits? Which tiny creatures are responsible for the existence of some of our tastiest treats, like almonds, strawberries and oranges? In fact most nuts, fruits and vegetables require animal pollination, or they wouldn’t exist at all!

On Saturday June 26 from 10am-2pm, we’ll be exploring the pollinators in our environment: honeybees, bumble bees, moths and even flies. Come make handmade ice cream using fruits and plants that grow in Stuyvesant Cove Park, sprout a native plant salad to take home, make a watercolor painting or pollinator costume and learn all about the fascinating, tiny helpers that make our food taste so good!

In Stuyvesant Cove Park, 20th Street Entrance
20th Street & the East River
Map & Directions: http://solar1.org/about/map
RSVP to Daisy@Solar1.org

Join Solar One for our first Family Day, this Saturday May 8 from 10am to 2pm. Pot your own native plant, make a seed bomb, or a flower costume, or a watercolor painting, have your face painted and learn about worm composting! All free, all at Solar One- we hope to see you there!

RSVP to daisy@solar1.org or dina@solar1.org

Green Your Home From the Inside Out!

Thursday, May 20th, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
City College of New York
North Academic Center (Ballroom)
Convent Avenue and 138th Street New York, NY

Solar One, in partnership with GrowNYC presents Green from the Inside Out on Thursday, May 20th, from 6-8:30pm at the City College of New York in the North Academic Center (Ballroom), located on Convent Avenue and 138h Street. This event gives coop and condo owners, building managers, landlords, and tenants the tools, resources, and information they need to green their multifamily building through presentations on recycling, energy efficiency, and rooftop possibilities for multifamily buildings in New York City. Exhibitors of green products and services will also be present to answer technical questions.

Please RSVP to Celia Salgado at 212-505-6050 or celia@solar1.org.

PRESENTATION DETAILS:

A Survey of Solar Energy Roof Applications for NYC: Solar Thermal, Photovoltaics, Green Roofs and White Roofs

In this workshop Solar One will introduce, define and discuss the economic and quality of life implications of three solar rooftop applications that have considerable promise in the five borough area: solar thermal technology, photovoltaics and white roofs.

Combating Rising Energy Costs with Energy Efficiency for Multifamily Buildings

Find out how to reduce fuel and utility costs while improving resident comfort and building performance. Solar One’s NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities Coordinator will present cost-effective ways for residential building owners and managers to make lighting, appliances, heating and cooling more energy efficient. Learn about the government and utility incentives that are available for your building, as well as the Community Preservation Corporation’s new Neighborhood Energy Loan Program that provides financing for retrofitting multi-family apartment buildings for energy efficiency.

Navigating NYC’s Recycling Landscape

Hear about new recycling laws and old misconceptions. Find out how to avoid fines, improve your recycling program and get your tenants to recycle. Learn about other ways to reduce waste, recycle more and help make NYC a little greener. GrowNYC is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City.

Vendors will be available to answer any technical questions about energy audits, different roof applications, and recycling.

Free event! Refreshments will be provided!

GREEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT is a product of Solar One, in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education, a program of GrowNYC (formerly Council on the Environment of New York City). This series was made possible by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Solar One in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education will be touring Green from the Inside Out, a three-part workshop on recycling, energy efficiency, and rooftop possibilities for multifamily buildings, throughout New York City.

These workshops are designed to give building owners, shareholders, and managers the tools, resources, and information they need to green their multifamily building.  Look below for the workshop descriptions, to see the date and location of the next workshop, and to reserve your spot.

If you would like us to bring these workshops to your neighborhood, contact Celia Salgado at celia@solar1.org, or 212-505-6050.

6:30pm: A Survey of Solar Energy Roof Applications for NYC: Solar Thermal, Photovoltaics, Green Roofs and White Roofs

In this workshop Solar One will introduce, define and discuss the economic and quality of life implications of three solar rooftop applications that have considerable promise in the five borough area: solar thermal technology, photovoltaics and white roofs.

7:15 pm: Combating Rising Energy Costs with Energy Efficiency for Multifamily Buildings

Find out how to reduce fuel and utility costs while improving resident comfort and building performance. Solar One’s NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities Coordinator will present cost-effective ways for residential building owners and managers to make lighting, appliances, heating and cooling more energy efficient. Learn about the government and utility incentives that are available for your building, as well as the Community Preservation Corporation’s new Neighborhood Energy Loan Program that provides financing for retrofitting multi-family apartment buildings for energy efficiency.

8pm: Navigating NYC’s Recycling Landscape

Hear about new recycling laws and old misconceptions. Find out how to avoid fines, improve your recycling program and get your tenants to recycle.  Learn about other ways to reduce waste, recycle more and help make NYC a little greener. OROE is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City.

WHEN:  Monday, January 25th

6:30pm to 8:30pm

WHERE: Sol Goldman YM-YWHA

344 East 14th Street New York, NY

RSVP’s required.  Send email to celia@solar1.org to RSVP

RSVP’d guests can arrive at 6:15 to speak with Vendors about products. Presentations will start at 6:30pm and run until 8:30pm. There will be breaks in between presentations to talk to Vendors.

Free!  Refreshments will be served.  Vendors will be available to answer any technical questions about energy audits, different roof applications, and recycling.

GREEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT is a product of Solar One, in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education. This series was made possible by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Many of the tenants, owners, and facilities managers who attended said they would put what they had learned into action, in some cases by working with vendors they met at the event. One coop board member left convinced of the “‘Doability’ of solar energy,” promising to discuss it with the rest of her board, and a local facilities manager said that he planned to get a quote on energy efficiency improvements for his building as soon as possible.

In 2010, Green From the Ground Up will be coming to more neighborhoods around the city. Check back at solar1.org soon for details about upcoming events!

In the herb garden just outside of Solar One, we spotted 4 Black Swallowtail caterpillars. The were munching on the seedlings of last years dill plant.

At first glance we thought the caterpillars were Monarch caterpillars only because they are the only caterpillars we ever see in that garden, and from a distance they have similar stripes. But on closer inspection we noticed that they were definitely not Monarch caterpillars, nor were they on the correct host plant. These caterpillars were on our dill plants which are one of the host plants for the Black Swallowtail along with carrots, parsley, Queen Anne’s Lace, and a few other species.

The Black Swallowtail starts its life as a cream colored egg, it then goes through 5 larval instars and then forms its chrysalis (cocoon). After the chrysalis it emerges as an adult Black Swallowtail Butterfly.

The instars are different stages of growth the larva goes through to reach its mature size. The first two instars the larva or caterpillar is brown with a white band in the middle of its body. The following 3 instars the caterpillar is light green with black bands that have yellow dots on them (as shown above). It is the larval stage that these insects do most of their eating, in fact is seems like they never stop!

When the caterpillar enters the pupal stage, the time it forms it’s chrysalis, it begins the process of metamorphosis. This is when it changes shape from a caterpillar to a butterfly. Depending on the time of year the pupal stage can last from 8-12 days (if formed in early summer)  or it can over winter (if formed in late summer) and emerge 8-9 months later. The time of year also determines the color of  the chrysalis;  green in summer brown in winter.

It seems as though we may have to wait till next year to see the beautiful Black Swallowtail butterflies emerge from their chrysalides. In a few days these caterpillars are going to form their chrysalides, they seem to be in the 5th instar now.

Check back with us on our flickr account @ solaronenyc for updated photos of the caterpillars, chrysalides and hopefully the butterflies.

On Sunday, August 2, 2009, Asian Americans for Equality will hold its annual Chinatown Summer Street Festival, which attracts approximately 20,000 visitors.  Under the theme of “Building Green and Healthy Communities,” the 18th annual 2009 Chinatown Summer Street Festival will highlight the many initiatives and programs currently available to keep our environment clean, safe, healthy and sustainable.  At this festival, AAFE hosts Solar One’s “Green from the Ground Up” workshop, a three-part presentation for multifamily buildings that focuses on implementing energy efficiency, recycling, and green rooftop applications.

Bayard Street (between Elizabeth and Baxter Streets) and Columbus Park (location of cultural program).

SEPTEMBER 16th: Stuyvesant Cove Park Volunteer Days offer people the chance to get their hands dirty while assisting in the maintenance of the park and learning about its history and care.

Tasks include weeding, mulching, plant care, tree pruning, cleanup, graffiti removal and general beautification.

TIME: 9 AM – 1 PM

More info: http://solar1.orf/park