Last year, the N.C. State Fair offered a new educational exhibit call Green NC. The exhibit was a fun and interactive environment with displays on energy conservation, alternative fuels and renewable energy sources like solar power and biofuels, locally grown foods, recycling, water conservation and eco-friendly living.
Green NC is returning this year, and with only 89 days until the Fair opens, we’re busy finalizing exhibitors, designing the layout and adding new hands-on components.
Some of the highlights of the 2008 exhibit included a variety of alternative fuel vehicles, rainwater harvesting systems, and a backyard greenhouse made from materials found at any home improvement store. Fairgoers could fish for sustainability messages in a State Park display, research public transportation options for their area and find out how much energy it takes to power a light bulb by manual labor.
The Green NC stage presented topics such as building your own rain barrel, vermicomposting, new uses for soybeans and fuel cell technology. Visitors could also complete a scavenger hunt and make a series of “green” pledges to earn useful prizes.
- Energy efficiency DVD and reusable grocery bag given out at 2008 Green NC exhibit
What are you doing to “be green” and improve the world around you? Are you trying to recycle more, drive less, eat local or something new and innovative?
Let us know by leaving a comment about your personal green efforts on this blog post from now through Monday, July 20 at 5 p.m. (EST). You will be entered into a contest to win a reuasble grocery bag and an energy efficiency DVD prize pack that was offered as a Green Pledge prize at the 2008 Green NC exhibit.
Each comment will be assigned a number in the order that they are recieved. The winner will be selected by using the True Random Number Generator on Random.org and announced on Tuesday, July 21.
Good luck! And be sure to stop by the Green NC exhibit while you’re at the Fair this year.
We’ve been composting kitchen/yard waste, switched to CFLs, carpooling to work when possible, recycling and/or reusing, and participating in a CSA for local, organic produce. A lot of people making even small changes can make a big difference!
Hi Meg!
Thanks for posting your green efforts. Community Supported Agriculture programs seem to be growing in popularity. Have you been participating in your CSA for long? Do you enjoy it? This might be an interesting component to add to Green NC.
Thanks!
I recycle glass, aluminum and plastic. I also have my own reusable bags for shopping, etc.
recycling! unplugging electronics when not in use! growing my own produce and herbs! reusing paper bags and bring my own reusable bags! walking to work! green is fun 🙂
I never thought of myself as SUPER green, because I always feel like there’s so much else I can be doing, but this summer I’ve come to realize we’re actually doing pretty well! Not only are we recycling like some crazy folks here at home, but we’re also using The Produce Box (http://theproducebox.com/) which is basically a weekly-paid CSA to “shop local” for our produce on the regular 🙂 Not to mention, I do as many online payments as I can to cut down on check, envelopes, printed postage, and delivery footprints – and we shop local every chance we get!
Oh! Good point, Meg. We’re using CFLs, too!
We’re trying to do more and more where we can. We’re happy to be recycling chipboard boxes now in Cary! Also, I’m the recycling coordinator for my floor at work.
Thanks for bringing attention to this issue!
I am finally completely switching to the reuseable shopping bags, & reusing the ones we still had before the switch. Also helped re-instate paper recycling at work. (They had been banned by the recycling center!) Also have found a legitamite place for us to recycle cell phone batteries (instead of in the landfills) by using cellphonesforsoldiers.com. (No this is not a free plug, I am in no way associated with the site. Just think it’s mission is two-fold).
Thanks!
Congratulations to Lisa Jeffries! You were randomly selected to win the Green NC prize pack. Please send me your address at:
natalie(dot)alford(at)ncagr(dot)gov.
Thanks to everyone who participated. You are all doing great “green” things.
my newest business venture is using NC apples for two different products to help with shopping local, maybe you saw us at the Got to Be NC AG festival, everyone loved the Apple Pie MmmMarmalade and after information on the Chutney it too was well received, now we are trying to get into stores that promote Goodness grows in NC, but it is a slow process, we believe in shopping local, using thrift store bargains, taking advantage of the next towns recycling bins, vermipost bins, and growing vegetables powered by the chicken scratchin leftovers.
Yay! SO excited 🙂 Can’t wait to put my prize pack to good use 🙂