True Sustainability, it is catching...Gringos Project, Day 3

Today we spent the better part of the day on a roof looking out over the city of Greenville.  We are still in that phase of thinking about what can be done and what should be done and how.  The problem is not too few options, but too many and we like it that way.  I only had a little time because I had another meeting, but more on that later.

Today was basically a look at what we are up against.  It is a lot of bare white space...Just what we wanted. Elizabeth and I spent a good hour brainstorming and flying through all of the options.  The main thing is to cover every bare surface that can support something with something green.  That is pretty much end of plan.
So what are our next steps?  Well, funding and manpower.  There is a part of me that believes in the power of people to get things done when faced with an idea and a facilitating factor.  I hesitate to say that something is simple, but when faced with zero obstacles, why would it be hard to do the right thing? Like I said, there is a hesitation to say that something is easy, but this seems to me to be a no brainer.

I say a lot of this because I spoke with two leaders in our community who feel the same way.  The first meeting was with a man who wanted us to put a window box in his parking lot.  It was bare gravel and it looked hideous and out of place. It was about 11:45 a.m. and I told him that I had to meet Elizabeth in 15 minutes.  He held up his finger to indicate that he wanted me to wait, wrapped up the phone call with his mom about Mah Jhong and we looked outside.  It took five minutes to reach a consensus about what was going to go in there and how.  I told him that we wanted to build a reclaimed pallet planter and he said go for it.  That was that.

I hurried to Gringos to meet Elizabeth and she was already there, hanging out.  She bounced up and we headed outside.  Jacob found a ladder but the only place it could be used was next to a table of guests seated on the patio.  No biggie.  Elizabeth and I talked about what we could and could not do.  Like I said, there was little we could not do and so many options.  Jacob allowed for us to go crazy with thoughts and ideas and then I had to go to a meeting with John Cocciolione.

John is the new director of the Greenville County Special Needs Board and we were set to sit down and chat at two, but he was running late.  He was putting out figurative fires as I would later find out and again, it was no biggie.  Elizabeth and I just went and hung out at Snack Works up the street and she learned a little about what Patrick is doing there and had her first wheat grass shot.  They hit it off and we all parted ways.

I took another swing past where I was to meet John and he was coming out with a water in hand and we sat down to talk.  It was a good day for collaboration, because the one word I was not hearing AT ALL was "no".  We talked about how to engage his staff, the properties the GCSNB, and the clients more in the green movement to make his organization more streamlined, efficient, educational, and possibly profitable.  We talked about how to engage his clients in useful activities like gardening and possibly business and how to give them a place to be rather than just go.  Yes, it was a good meeting.  John, like me, is from elsewhere and the beauty of the things that we want to do is that we are not reinventing the wheel.  It has been done...a lot...in a lot of other places that we have been.

We are excited to bring it to Greenville and with people like this, leaders in the community, behind this, it will not be hard.  With all that we have to work with, the hardest place to find purchase is the one square foot of space in the human head.  My hardest job is changing minds and to date, there are not many that I have had to convince, just connect.

We have set a goal of $7000 to get this and other projects going through the winter and dawning into spring.  If we keep it up, I think we can hit it.  Please contribute!  You'll breathe easier...literally.

Mid-Grid: Greening the City

Note:  This is an article about thoughtful and considerate government.  We are NOT working FOR the Greenville Zoo, nor is any part of this project set in stone.  This is merely about how the thoughtful staff at the Greenville Zoo are taking into account the community that surrounds them and the planet on which we live and working to make it better and how I am proud to be working with them to do whatever to make it happen.

I just got a house within sight of downtown Greenville, SC and I have no intention of moving from it any time soon.  Nor do any of my neighbors.  In fact, they are building a condo complex right across the street.  Over half of all people in the world live in cities and that number will increase to 75% in the next 15 years or so.  We have to admit that the average person is not going to pack everything up and move to the country.  This idea, on its face, is impractical.  So, what are we going to do?  Ask questions, that's what.

The city is not going and is, in fact, growing.  The means to solve ecological problems are not out of our reach, especially if we start now.  I found this out personally, yesterday.

I led a meeting with the staff at the Greenville Zoo and we talked about how to institute a composting program at the zoo.  Let me back up.  A couple of months ago, I wanted to start work on a garden system. It was July, the middle of the growing season, and my idea was to focus on fall and the following spring.  Thinking ahead, I thought it would be a good idea to locate fertilizer and begin to work on the soil so I contacted the zoo to get some manure.  I was told that was not something that they do.  I have to admit that I was rather bold at that point and asked if it was something that they would consider.  They connected me with the director of the zoo and the ball was set in motion.

We had a number of conversations, he and I, and there was a lot of discussions about the problems that come with manure.  At some point, it was just easier to toss it, though no one wanted to.  No one at all wanted to but there were many issues at stake and the zoo did not have the resources to get it going.  That was when we began to ask questions.  The first was "how?"

The Greenville Zoo has two elephants.  They are, by far, the largest producers of manure on the 14 acre property.  Yes...14 acres, that's it.  The staff of the zoo focuses very well on the health and well being of the animals and the experience of the guests of the zoo, with few exterior organizations to engage in such an endeavor.  That was another question:  What if someone outside of the zoo were willing to get in on it?


So we tackled each of the things that could hinder this project one by one.  Odor?  We use coffee grounds, popcorn, and other absorbent, fragrant refuse from businesses in the city to absorb the leachate (liquid run-off).  This imparts heat on the pile, getting it up to about 160-170 degrees (we hope 200 degrees!).  This kills off weed seeds if there are any and any harmful bacteria that may reside in the pile.  We keep the core of the pile at high temp, for three days, and when all is said and done, the pile smells like hot coffee.

Space?  With only 14 acres to deal with, space is at a premium, so the hunt for level ground began.  Also we took into account that there are only two elephants putting out about 700 pounds of waste each day (manure mixed with hay and the accompanying moisture of the leachate).  This is not as much as it seems and can be easily managed on a daily basis by one person or a few volunteers.

Cost?  The zoo is not a wealthy entity, no city entity is.  So how is this made viable?  If nothing else, it is profitable from the start because it makes use of waste and unused space.  The idea is to bring together a number of local entities to support this effort.  The manure is free, the coffee grounds are free, the labor is based on interested parties and volunteers and this means someone willing to go to the zoo, and toss compost.  Where there is a will, there is a way.

So we solved all of the problems. I led this meeting and answered questions, but at no point did anyone say this could not be done.  Everyone there did nothing but think about HOW it could be done. There are random permitting issues and paperwork, but there is nothing stopping this because it is so sublime in its simplicity.  A little thought, a little work and we save tons of carbon, generate revenue, and help everyone involved.

We do this because we believe in it, but we are not receiving any funding from the zoo for this work.  If you believe in this please make a contribution!