The Business of Being Born, Cameo Theater, Mar 3 and 17

Sustainable Saturdays Film Series

Please join Sustainable Sandhills SATURDAY, March 3 & 17 at the Cameo Art House Theatre Inc. in downtown Fayetteville for showings of "The Business of Being Born". Brought to you by Sustainable Sandhills and Cameo Theatre, both showings will start at 11 a.m.

Following the film, Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique, a partial sponsor, will discuss its green baby store, and certified doulas will answer audience questions about the film.

We will also have a drawing for an individual membership to the Cameo, donated by a generous benefactor.

Cameo Art House Theatre is at

225 Hay Street

Fayetteville, NC 28301

910-486-6633.

Cost is $6 per person or $5 for Cameo and Sustainable Sandhills members. Children six years and younger will be admitted free.

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A look at the film...

"The Business of Being Born" is about the choices that are available to families as they welcome their new members into the world. Compared to the details women often focus on when planning a wedding or party, often times the birthing process is accepted "as is" without any idea of alternatives. This film is a good starting point for families who want to learn more. The film delves into alternative births with midwives and home births as well as hospital births in America, and includes footage of on-screen births.

To learn more, go to www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com

Sustainable Sandhills is also working with multiple partner businesses to bring a special Sustainable Moms event to Fayetteville. The event will showcase the new film "More Business of Being Born" and will also include a panel discussion by local, leading businesses focusing on midwifery, doula services, and green baby products and services. We will update you with information soon.

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Sustainable Sandhills is a nonprofit dedicated to conserving the natural resources of the eight-county region surrounding Fort Bragg, NC. Through education, demonstration, and collaboration, we are changing the ways we live, work, and play.

We have many upcoming events this spring that will be fun, will educate the public and will provide sustainability dialogue. We need corporate sponsors, volunteers and members to help make these events successful. For a list of events, click here.

Become a fan of Sustainable Sandhills on Facebook. Dialogue with us about sustainability, stay updated on events, and learn what sustainable information makes the news in the Cape Fear and Sandhills regions. We are getting very close to our 1,150th "like", and that person will win a special sustainability prize. Please like our page and share the information about the film with your friends and colleagues.

For more information, contact Marketing & Office Manager

Jen Cooke at jenc@sustainablesandhills.org or 484-9098. To donate, and for more information about our organization, please go to our website at sustainablesandhills.org.

Green Growth Explained, Jan. 26, Sou. Pines

SAVE OUR SANDHILLS SPEAKER EXPLAINS “GREEN GROWTH TOOLBOX”

On January 26, Save Our Sandhills will host Brenda Johnson, a specialist in ecology and wildlife, to describe why The Green Growth Toolbox, a cooperative, non-regulatory effort developed by the Wildlife Diversity Program of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, is so important to North Carolina in general, and Moore County in particular.
By its own definition, “Green Growth is a nature-friendly way of developing communities. It means conserving habitat and biological diversity while building homes, businesses and shopping centers.” Its tools consist of a handbook, GIS data package, and a website.
This project was conceived because of the unprecedented population growth fueled in North Carolina in recent years, along with projections that over the next 20 years, 3 million additional people would move to North Carolina, threatening our environment, public health, and quality of life.
Therefore, in 2005, the NC Wildlife Resources Commission developed the North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan, which identified sprawling patterns of land development as a top threat to wildlife resources. Since land use in North Carolina is regulated at the local government level, where officials often do not have sufficient knowledge concerning risks to wildlife while they develop policies concerning growth, The Green Growth Toolbox concept gained traction.
Green Growth helps to bridge the gap between scientists and local decision makers by offering wildlife data and important wildlife conservation principles so that well-informed decisions can be made. While planning for growth, communities learn how to protect important species and habitats by locating their important natural resources and determining how best to conserve them through land use planning. Habitats support much more than wildlife.
They also sustain healthy ecosystems, healthy economies, healthy communities, and a high quality of life. This is why The Green Growth Toolbox emphasizes 10 benefits to communities: “1. Better health all around, 2.Economic return, 3.Environmental safeguards, 4.Avoid environmental conflicts, 5.Attract new economy businesses, 6.Increase prosperity, 7.Generate tourist income, 8.Reduce costs to taxpayers and local government, 9.Respond to public demand, 10.Improve quality of life.”
In North Carolina, 45 local governments (including counties and municipalities) have received Green Growth Toolbox training at 11 workshops which targeted jurisdictions that are experiencing significant habitat conversion to development. Twenty-one local governments have received technical guidance on 31 land use planning projects. Locally, both Moore and Harnett County planning staffs attended Green Growth Toolbox Workshops and received follow-up technical guidance, including one that took place at our local Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve Auditorium in mid-2010. The NC Wildlife Resources Commission has been working in partnership with regional organizations, including Sustainable Sandhills, the Coastal Land Trust, and Land of Sky Regional Council.
In Moore County, The Green Growth Toolbox has been used to provide recommendations to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) that is currently under revision by the Planning Board. UDO’s are the rulebooks for how building and development occur in a community, and thus can have heavy impacts on wildlife habitat. Most Green Growth recommendations to the Moore County UDO were made to the Planned Unit Development (PUD) and Subdivision Ordinances, since these usually impact large tracts of land at a time. The UDO process is currently ongoing, and work continues to see Green Growth recommendations adopted.
Brenda Johnson has worked with Sustainable Sandhills for two years as their Green Growth Planner. Sustainable Sandhills, a nonprofit dedicated to conserving the natural resources of the eight-county region surrounding Fort Bragg, concentrates on four main program areas: Green Business Certification, Green Schools, Green Growth, and Local Food.
Johnson holds a B.A. in Zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University, an M.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences from NC State University, and has several years’ experience in ecology and wildlife biology research. Her work at Sustainable Sandhills is funded by a fellowship through Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE).
She is currently working with both Moore County and Harnett County to incorporate Green Growth strategies into their land use policies.
Join us for an informative and interesting evening; refreshments will be served. Thursday, January 26 at 7 PM in the Southern Pines Civic Club, corner of Ashe Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. All are welcome.

Sustainable Sandhills Pickin' on the Porch

Division Street at Cameo Theatre, June 18

SATURDAY, June 18, 11:00 am
Sustainable Saturdays Film Series

Division Street

CAMEO Art House Theatre, 225 Hay Street, Downtown Fayetteville

$6 per person, $5 for Cameo & Sustainable Sandhills members. Tickets sold the day of the event only.
Join Sustainable Sandhills this Saturday for our final showing of Divison Street as part of our Sustainable Saturdays Film Series.
Stay after the film to hear Maurizia Chapman, Transportation Planner with the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO) speak about the region’s bike and pedestrian efforts & existing and proposed greenways. Also, Brenda Johnson, Green Growth Planner with Sustainable Sandhills, will give a brief presentation on local wildlife and habitat fragmentation.

Reminder: GASLAND, June 15, Sunrise

GASLAND – The controversial documentary that has polarized America
Award-winning documentary "GASLAND" at the Sunrise, Southern Pines, Wednesday, June 15, at 7:00 PM. $7.
There is a natural gas drilling boom sweeping across the United States, and it is about to reach Lee County and northern Moore County. Geologists believe that there is a major sub basin of natural gas that extends from Granville County above Durham southward through the Sanford area and into Moore County to the vicinity of Carthage.
Energy companies want to use a highly controversial method of drilling to extract this gas, which is known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." Fracking involves vertical as well as horizontal drilling and the pumping of huge amounts of water and chemicals into the shale rock to break up the rock and release the natural gas.

Horizontal drilling is currently illegal in North Carolina, but two bills currently being considered in the General Assembly would overturn this restriction.

This film dramaticcally shows the potential dangers of fracking to the environment and expecially to groundwater.
In order to provide a balanced view of the issues raised, a distinguished panel will discuss pros and cons, and questions will be addressed.

"Gasland", Sunrise Theatre, June 15, more on Fracking in Moore Co.

Save Our Sandhills will be the primary sponsor for the showing of the dramatic documentary film "Gasland" at the Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines on Wednesday, June 15, at 7:00PM. This film deals with the potential dangers of hydraulic fracturing, a controversial method of drilling for natural gas. Other sponsors will be Sustainable Sandhills and the Sandhills Area Land Trust.


As most of you know by now, there is a natural gas drilling boom sweeping across the United States, and it is about to reach Lee County and northern Moore County. Geologists believe that there is a major subbasin of natural gas that extends from Granville County above Durham southward through the Sanford area and into Moore County to the vicinity of Carthage.

Energy companies want to use a highly controversial method of drilling to extract this gas, which is known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." Fracking involves vertical as well as horizontal drilling and the pumping of huge amounts of water and chemicals into the shale rock to break up the rock and release the natural gas. Horizontal drilling is currently illegal in North Carolina, but two bills currently being considered in the General Assembly would make it legitimate.
As noted above, Save Our Sandhills will be the primary sponsor for the showing of the nationally acclaimed film "Gasland" at the Sunrise Theater on Wednesday, June 15, at 7:00PM. Admission is $7.00. This was an Oscar nominated documentary and a prize winner at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. This film exposes in a dramatic fashion the potential dangers of fracking to the environment and expecially to groundwater. The film itself, with dramatic footage of tap water being ignited with a match, is highly controversial and we will try to have panelists who will provide a balanced view of the issues raised by the film.

SS movie, Division Street, June 4, Fayetteville

Sustainable Sandhills Sustainable Saturdays Film Series

Division Street

SATURDAY, June 4th and 18th, 2011, 11:00 am
CAMEO Art House Theatre, 225 Hay Street, Downtown Fayetteville
$6 per person, $5 for Cameo & Sustainable Sandhills members.
Tickets sold the day of the event only.
Join Sustainable Sandhills for the first showing of Divison Street as part of our Sustainable Saturdays Film Series.
Stay after the film to hear Maurizia Chapman, Transportation Planner with the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO) speak about the region’s bike and pedestrian efforts, existing and proposed greenways, the East Coast Greenway, and transportation and wildlife crossings. Also, Brenda Johnson, Green Growth Planner with Sustainable Sandhills, will give a brief presentation on local wildlife and habitat fragmentation.

Movie, May 22, from Sustainable Sandhills--About Honey Bees' Plight

Vanishing of the Bees

Sunrise Theatre, 250 NW Broad Street, Southern Pines

SUNDAY, May 22, 2:30pm

$7.00 general admission

Carbon Nation Showing April 2 and 16, Fayetteville

Sustainable Sandhills Sustainable Saturdays Film Series

Carbon Nation

April 2 and 16, 2011,  11:00 am

CAMEO Art House Theatre, 225 Hay Street, Downtown Fayetteville

$6 per person, $5 for Cameo & Sustainable Sandhills members. Tickets sold the day of the event.
“A high energy film about real life American renewable energy success stories. No pie-in-the-sky projects here - everybody's sleeves are rolled up and work is underway!” – Jon Parsons, Executive Director of Sustainable Sandhills
Join Sustainable Sandhills this Saturday for the next installment of our Sustainable Saturdays Film Series. Carbon Nation is a feature length documentary about climate change solutions. Even if you doubt the severity of the impact of climate change or just don't buy it at all, this is a compelling and relevant film that illustrates how solutions to climate change also address other social, economic and national security issues.

Regional Sustainability Symposium NOV. 10, Pinehurst Resort

Regional Sustainability Symposium   November 10  Pinehurst Resort  9 am - 3 pm

Morning Keynote Speaker: Mr. Henry McKoy, Assistant Secretary for Community Development for the NC Department of Commerce

Mr. McKoy will explain what it means to bring sustainability “to life” and how the economy, the community and the built/developed environment can work together to promote sustainability in the broadest sense.

Lunch Keynote Speaker: Mr. Addison (Tad) D. Davis, Command Executive Officer & Director of Services and Infrastructure Core Enterprise for US Army Reserve

Mr. Davis will discuss Army sustainability. As the Garrison Commander at Fort Bragg who founded their award-wining sustainability initiative, and through his years as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health, Mr. Davis has a unique perspective to share about the importance of regional partnerships to advance the cause of both Army and Community sustainability.

Symposium agenda includes sessions on:

 How to attract the new “green consumer” and how to incorporate sustainable practices into your business.

 Why the Green Schools program, green space, and park systems are so important for children and communities.

 Tax incentives, credits and rebates for the use of solar power, wind power and natural gas, and how to make a business case for installing such technologies.

 Successes shared and lessons learned from a local food cooperative at the close of their first year in operation, and how citizens and farmers came together to bring fresh local food to hundreds.

 How to add layers of sustainability to your home with the use of native plants, xeriscaping, shade trees and more.

 An afternoon “Growth Quality” track that includes an interactive visual preference and assessment exercise that will inform Sandhills communities about the types of development and conservation their residents prefer in the future.

Learn more at www.sustainablesandhills.org

Even more ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle, Oct. 26

North Carolinians recycle 85.4 pounds of materials a second. That's impressive! But we throw away more than 752 pounds of trash a second - almost nine times what we recycle.


Join Sustainable Sandhills to learn even more ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle!!

Sustainable Sandhills, Cumberland County

Community Action Team Meeting  Tuesday, October 26th, 2010  6:30-8:00PM
Pate Room, Headquarters Library

Join Sustainable Sandhills for our October Cumberland County Community Action Team Meeting and participate and a mini-workshop about waste reduction. Through interactive activities and discussion, we'll share tips for reducing our waste stream and making better consumer choices. We'll also learn just how much material has been recycled and how much landfill space has been saved through the City of Fayetteville's Curbside Recycling Program!!! Sustainable Sandhills is a nonprofit dedicated to conserving the natural resources of the eight county region surrounding Fort Bragg, NC. Through education, demonstration, and collaboration, we are changing the ways we live, work, and play. Even the smallest effort makes a difference; visit www.sustainablesandhills.org to learn more.

Pickin' on the Porch, Oct. 7, Fundraiser for Sustainble Sandhills!

Pickin' on the Porch is just one week away!

We hope you can join us at our historic home in Grays Creek next Thursday, October 7 for a casual evening of good food and fun to benefit Sustainable Sandhills!   The old farmhouse and fields date back to the 1840s, and we'll tune up our instruments, light a bonfire, and coax a few of the old family ghosts out to join us on the porch!

The Board and Staff of Sustainable Sandhills will serve you a delicious meal of barbeque, chicken, sides and desserts while The Parsons—and a handful of special guests—entertain you from the porch. Guitars, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, accordion, storytelling and singing are a part of the bargain, and all proceeds go to this great organization, Sustainable Sandhills!
Food and drinks will be ready at 5:30pm, and Fayetteville's "Best Local Musician 2010" Chris Hurst will kick off the music at 6:00pm.
Those who attended Pickin’ on the Porch last year know what a great time is in store—so don’t miss it!

Purchase your tickets today:
Online at www.sustainablesandhills.org with a credit card or PayPal account.

Over the phone – call our office 910.484.9098 and we’ll take your credit card info or tell you where to mail your check.

Stop by our office at 215-B Williams Street (Moore Exposure Building), Fayetteville, NC 28301 and we can take care of your order in person!

Please contact us at 910.484.9098 or email info@sustainablesandhills.org if you have any questions or need further information.
We can’t wait to see you there! Jon & Caroline Parsons

THIRST in Fayetteville, Sept. 14, 6:30

Is water part of a shared "commons" - a human right for all people? Or is it a commodity to be bought, sold, and traded in a global marketplace?
Sustainable Sandhills' Cumberland County Sustainable Film Series
Join us TODAY, Sept. 14   for    Thirst
September 14th, 2010, 6:30-8:30 PM
Pate Room, Headquarters Library
300 Maiden Lane, Downtown Fayetteville
Sustainable Sandhills is partnering with the Cumberland County Headquarters Library for a FREE screening of Thirst.

In Sustainable Montgomery County

http://www.sustainablesandhills.org/docs/EblastMontgomeryCountyarticlefinal.pdf

Angry Moms at SCC July 22, 6:30

“We are facing an obesity epidemic. This generation will be the first in the nations’ history to live shorter lives than those of their parents.” - Centers for Disease Control


Sustainable Sandhills Presents “Two Angry Moms”
Thursday, July 22nd 6:30-8:00 PM

Dempsey Student Center Sandhills Community College
Two Angry Moms shows not only what is wrong with school food; it offers strategies for overcoming roadblocks and getting healthy, good tasting, real food into school cafeterias. The movie explores the roles the federal government, corporate interests, school administration and parents play in feeding our country’s school kids. See what happens when fed-up moms start a grass-roots revolution!

Please stay after the film for a panel discussion with local school food experts.

Sustainable Sandhills Film, SCC, July 22

Thursday, July 22, 2010   6:30pm - 8:00pm Location: Sandhills Community College, Dempsey Student Center, Clement Dining Room

Two Angry Moms
Amy Kalafa was stewing for years, packing her kids lunches from home and trying to get her community to pay attention to what kids are eating in school. When news of a national child health crisis began making headlines, Amy, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, decided to take the fight to film. Two Angry Moms is Amy's quest to learn what she and other parents need to know and do to get better food in their kids' schools.
Susan Rubin had been trying for a decade to work with her district on improving school food, earning herself a reputation as a rabble-rouser with a "macrobiotic agenda" (NOT!). She's even been banned from her children's' school cafeteria! In the meantime, legions of kids continue to make a daily lunch out of neon green slushies, greasy fries and supersize cookies, imperiling not only their long-term health but also their ability to learn. Exasperated, Susan decided to reach beyond her school district, and founded Better School Food, her own grassroots organization.
Part exposé, part "how-to", Amy chronicles the efforts of Susan and other leaders in the fledgling better school food movement as they take on the system nationwide. From Chefs Alice Waters and Ann Cooper reinventing school food in Berkley California to Chef Tony Geraci's student designed meals in New Hampshire, Amy discovers programs that connect the cafeteria with the classroom and connect our kids with the earth. Over the course of a school year, we see Susan's coalition drive dramatic changes in one Westchester, NY school district.
Two Angry Moms shows not only on what is wrong with school food; it offers strategies for overcoming roadblocks and getting healthy, good tasting, real food into school cafeterias. The movie explores the roles the federal government, corporate interests, school administration and parents play in feeding our country's school kids.
See what happens when fed-up moms start a grass-roots revolution!

Movie, Mar. 11

Moore County Sustainable Film Series

"Addicted to Plastic"
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
6:30-8:00 PM
Sandhills Community College
Dempsey Student Center, Clement Dining Room

Urban Farm Tour Coming April 10

Save the Date for the 2010 Urban Farm Tour!!!

On Saturday, April 10th urban farmers across Cumberland and Moore Counties will open their homes and gardens in order to show us how they weave elements of rural life into their town and suburban lifestyles.

Visitors will see urban homeowners, much like themselves, demonstrating a passion for a wide variety of farm-life practices adapted to their back, side, and front yards! You’ll see demonstrations of bee‐keeping, native plantings and edible landscapes, rainwater harvesting, raising chickens as laying hens, vermi‐composting (worms), shade gardens, certified wildlife habitat, growing fresh‐cut flowers, and more. And you’ll also learn firsthand how practices such as tilling‐in cover crops, composting and building raised beds can improve soil quality and increase garden yields.

The Urban Farm Tour is self‐guided and participants will be able to pick up a Tour program at one of two Headquarters locations; the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens in Cumberland County and Aberdeen Elementary School in Moore County. Sites on the Tour will be open from 10am to 3pm and you can purchase a Tour button for only $5 per person. Buttons will be on sale soon at a number of convenient locations. Young Urban Farmers (children 12 and under) are admitted free!

So mark your calendars now for the 2010 Urban Farm Tour on Saturday, April 10!

For more information about sponsorship and volunteer opportunities, or to include your urban (or suburban) farm as a site on the 2010 Urban Farm Tour, contact Heather Brown at brownh@ctc.com or 910-639-7024.

More on Urban Farm Tour, April 10

http://www.sustainablesandhills.org/docs/2010UrbanFarmTourApril10.pdf

SCC, Feb 16, SS Community Action Team to Discuss Urban Farm Tour

MOORE COUNTY COMMUNITY ACTION TEAM MEETING REMINDER!
Sandhills Community College, Clement Dining Room, Dempsey Student Center
Tuesday, February 16th, 6:30-8:00
Please join us for our first 2010 CAT meeting! This month we'll learn about urban farming and prepare for the upcoming Urban Farm Tour, April 10. Attendees will form break-out groups to discuss potential tour sites, fundraising ideas, and volunteer opportunities.
Urban agriculture is the method of cultivating food in or around a town or city. Eating locally-grown food is less energy intensive--supermarket produce can travel over 1,000 miles!--and often safer, not to mention tastier!  Get inspired by the story of an urban farm in California:  The Dervaes Family Garden
We will include updates on community events and projects, including a Cultural Resources Inventory of the area.  Invite your friends and help spread the word!  Together we are making a difference!

Save these dates!
March 11th – Sustainable Film Series screening of “Addicted to Plastic”
March 25-28th – Palustris Festival – Celebrating visual, literary, and performing arts in Moore County
April 10th – Urban Farm Tour in Moore and Cumberland Counties

Contact Brenda Johnson for more info
brendaj@sustainablesandhills.org
910-484-9098