Some of the videos already entered are really interesting, too. I was charmed by the riverkeeper of "The Living Blackwater and Nottoway Rivers" and moved by "49 Megawatts" (in photo at right). We know some of you have been working hard to protect the Catawba, Eno, Pee Dee, Saluda, and other Carolina rivers. Enter the contest and let everyone know about it!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
River Stories Contest
There are only a few more days left to enter this contest. Tom's of Maine is offering a car to those who are caring for their rivers and keeping them healthy. Send a video by October 31st to enter this River Stories Contest and win a Toyota Prius! It's nice that this company is working to offer environmentally-friendly products, and is also sponsoring the Rivers Awareness Partnership, providing the winner with a cool car for a thank-you gift.
Some of the videos already entered are really interesting, too. I was charmed by the riverkeeper of "The Living Blackwater and Nottoway Rivers" and moved by "49 Megawatts" (in photo at right). We know some of you have been working hard to protect the Catawba, Eno, Pee Dee, Saluda, and other Carolina rivers. Enter the contest and let everyone know about it!
Some of the videos already entered are really interesting, too. I was charmed by the riverkeeper of "The Living Blackwater and Nottoway Rivers" and moved by "49 Megawatts" (in photo at right). We know some of you have been working hard to protect the Catawba, Eno, Pee Dee, Saluda, and other Carolina rivers. Enter the contest and let everyone know about it!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Low-Flow Landscaping
With the recent rains, my grass is luxuriant, an emerald carpet! I have neither aerated it nor fertilized it, just watched the free water coming down. But I will not be lulled into complacency. I remember the summers: when my grass was brown and so dry that it crackled when I stepped on it. So I am getting down to business, planning for next year. In my research, I'll look for plants that are native to the Carolinas and drought-resistant. I would like to go for indestructible, if that's not aiming too high.
Here's an attractive North Carolina front yard, shown by H2Ouse Water Saver Homes. Some plants in the picture are clickable, leading us to a larger picture of the plant, along with its identification. You don't have to dig very deeply to find the word "xeriscaping," sometimes spelled "zeriscaping." It combines "xeri," the Greek word for dry, and landscaping. It includes common sense ideas for conserving water, such as mulching, and grouping plants that have similar water needs together.
I am envisioning beds of perennial wild flowers that need very little water. I would like a rock garden, or maybe a path paved with field stones, through the tiny lawn that remains. Something like this - shown in H2Ouse's back yard - with blue star creeper between the stones, would be nice. I have already learned that paving should be done with permeable bricks or paving stones, so that water can soak into the ground, instead of running off.
NC's Division of Water Resources gives a brief summary of xeriscaping. The topic is also included in Clemson University's thorough coverage of Low-Maintenance Landscape Ideas. Like they say, wait till next year!
Here's an attractive North Carolina front yard, shown by H2Ouse Water Saver Homes. Some plants in the picture are clickable, leading us to a larger picture of the plant, along with its identification. You don't have to dig very deeply to find the word "xeriscaping," sometimes spelled "zeriscaping." It combines "xeri," the Greek word for dry, and landscaping. It includes common sense ideas for conserving water, such as mulching, and grouping plants that have similar water needs together.
I am envisioning beds of perennial wild flowers that need very little water. I would like a rock garden, or maybe a path paved with field stones, through the tiny lawn that remains. Something like this - shown in H2Ouse's back yard - with blue star creeper between the stones, would be nice. I have already learned that paving should be done with permeable bricks or paving stones, so that water can soak into the ground, instead of running off.NC's Division of Water Resources gives a brief summary of xeriscaping. The topic is also included in Clemson University's thorough coverage of Low-Maintenance Landscape Ideas. Like they say, wait till next year!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Solar and Green Building Tour Continuing
Nearly a thousand people attended the Green Building and Solar Tour in six communities in North Carolina last Saturday. The event continues this weekend in other cities. Check out the tours and activities to be held this Saturday, October 11th, in Asheville, Boone/High Country, Chatham County, Fayetteville, Hendersonville, and Raleigh.
The NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) sponsors the self-guided tours to show a wide variety of green building solutions installed, in homes and offices in the state. Participants may see ways to implement these practices in their own buildings, both new and renovated.
The Boone tour will begin at the Watauga County Agriculture Conference Center, shown at left, and run from 8 a.m to 4 p.m. For information about the tour in your city, and to purchase tickets, see NCSEA Events. Ticket prices are $5 for members of NCSEA; $5 for students and teachers; $10 for non-members; and $15 for a carload. Children under 16 are free. You might get some great ideas!
The NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) sponsors the self-guided tours to show a wide variety of green building solutions installed, in homes and offices in the state. Participants may see ways to implement these practices in their own buildings, both new and renovated.
The Boone tour will begin at the Watauga County Agriculture Conference Center, shown at left, and run from 8 a.m to 4 p.m. For information about the tour in your city, and to purchase tickets, see NCSEA Events. Ticket prices are $5 for members of NCSEA; $5 for students and teachers; $10 for non-members; and $15 for a carload. Children under 16 are free. You might get some great ideas!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Green Building and Solar Tour
We've been exploring the wild areas, and the Green Building and Solar Tour has slipped up on us! This Saturday, October 4th, you can tour a range of commercial and residential buildings that have installed sustainable energy systems. Chapel Hill/Orange County, Charlotte, Durham, Greenville, Wilmington, and Winston-Salem will have tours available this weekend. This photo shows the solar hot water panels on the roof of the home of Darrell and Jo Kay Edgley of Durham, from last year's tour brochure.
The NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) sets up open-house tours where we can see the systems working, and see how they fit into the building's energy plan. Last year, we saw some interesting examples of passive solar design, where a house had been designed to capture the sun's warmth in winter, and keep it cooler in the summer. Also, we saw a lovely older home which had been renovated to include rainwater harvesting and many other green energy features.
This is a way to explore options for your own home or business, whether you'd like to improve your existing home, or would like to plan a new design. It's really interesting to see the different systems in action. They have planned the tours to be as gas-efficient (and friendly) as possible. For example, in the Charlotte Tour, the site registration at the Government Center, 600 E. 4th St., offers educational literature and local green building experts for questions and answers, shuttle tours to the Discovery Place Green Roof, free parking, and refreshments.
Their self-guided tours run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. They include vegetative green roofs at the Federal Reserve and Discovery Place, solar photovoltaics (electric), solar hot water, and more. Six residential sites include features like solar electric, hot water, and pool heating; Energy Star, LEED, EarthCraft and HealthyBuilt Homes; and many other green building technologies.
Purchase tickets online at North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. Ticket prices are $5 for members of NCSEA; $5 for students and teachers; $10 for non-members; and $15 for a carload. Children under 16 are free. For more information, contact Shannon Lingo, Charlotte Tour Volunteer Coordinator, slingo@energywisesolutions.net, or call 704-302-5926.
The NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) sets up open-house tours where we can see the systems working, and see how they fit into the building's energy plan. Last year, we saw some interesting examples of passive solar design, where a house had been designed to capture the sun's warmth in winter, and keep it cooler in the summer. Also, we saw a lovely older home which had been renovated to include rainwater harvesting and many other green energy features.This is a way to explore options for your own home or business, whether you'd like to improve your existing home, or would like to plan a new design. It's really interesting to see the different systems in action. They have planned the tours to be as gas-efficient (and friendly) as possible. For example, in the Charlotte Tour, the site registration at the Government Center, 600 E. 4th St., offers educational literature and local green building experts for questions and answers, shuttle tours to the Discovery Place Green Roof, free parking, and refreshments.
Their self-guided tours run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. They include vegetative green roofs at the Federal Reserve and Discovery Place, solar photovoltaics (electric), solar hot water, and more. Six residential sites include features like solar electric, hot water, and pool heating; Energy Star, LEED, EarthCraft and HealthyBuilt Homes; and many other green building technologies.
Purchase tickets online at North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. Ticket prices are $5 for members of NCSEA; $5 for students and teachers; $10 for non-members; and $15 for a carload. Children under 16 are free. For more information, contact Shannon Lingo, Charlotte Tour Volunteer Coordinator, slingo@energywisesolutions.net, or call 704-302-5926.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
North Inlet-Winyah Bay Estuary
The recent tropical storm brought us rain, rain, rain! Rivers must have filled this past weekend. The Winyah Bay watershed is about 18,000 square miles, fed by four major rivers that drain into it. Most of the flow is from the Pee Dee-Yadkin river system, beginning in the Blue Ridge Mountains and streaming through the Piedmont to the sea.In Georgetown County, SC, between Myrtle Beach and Charleston, the water flows into the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. The satellite map view of this at left, with its blue and green colors, makes it easy to see how the rivers, salt marshes, and tidal creeks come together. The North Inlet-Winyah Bay Reserve boundary is encircled by a yellow line. This Reserve actually combines two estuaries: the North Inlet and the Winyah Bay estuary.
North Inlet, a barrier beach estuary, is washed by the tides, and about half of its water returns to the ocean twice a day. Most of its watershed is in its natural forested state. Winyah Bay is a salt wedge estuary, as heavier salt water moves up-estuary along the bottom with the flooding tide, with fresh water on top flowing toward the ocean.
The brackish waters and marshes provide habitat to many threatened and endangered species, including sea turtles, sturgeons, least terns and wood storks. Pumpkinseed Island is an important rookery for white ibis, great and snowy egrets, and herons. The USC Baruch Marine Field Laboratory conducts research at this Reserve, which also offers a link to a Discovery Kit, describing an estuarine environment using an interactive tutorial.
The North Inlet-Winyah Bay NERR offers interesting public programs and activities. How about a free boat tour? On its Appreciation Day, Saturday, November 1st, you can explore the Winyah Bay Estuary aboard the SCDNR Education Vessel Discovery. Learn about the biology of plants and animals that live there, and see animals collected in the trawls. This guided tour is free, but space is limited, so call quickly to register for it; (843) 546-6219.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
North Carolina Reserve Estuaries
We are exploring our local treasures for National Estuaries Day this Saturday. This is amazing!
The North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve helps to preserve these fragile natural areas and the variety of life they support. The North Carolina Reserve covers two biogeographic regions, located north and south of Cape Hatteras. This reserve is made from four sites: Currituck Banks, Rachel Carson, Masonboro Island, and Zeke’s Island. It's about 10,000 acres! Let's investigate one of these places.
The Rachel Carson site, accessible only by boat, is a center of marine research and education. There, they study everything from fiddler crabs to feral horses (see photos). It's named in honor of the scientist and author who conducted research there during the 1940's. It is in a tidal river and sound, where the Newport and North rivers meet the Atlantic Ocean. The chain of islands are made of salt marshes, tidal mud and sand flats, eelgrass beds and upland islands. 
The marine laboratories of Duke University, University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University are located there. A regional office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is at the site as well. The Web-based reserve tour, Estuary Live, originated from the Rachel Carson Reserve in Beaufort in September 2001. More than 20,000 people in 31 states and four foreign countries logged on for the broadcast.
In addition to the four national areas, the North Carolina Coastal Reserve Program also protects six state reserves: Kitty Hawk Woods, Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge, Buxton Woods, Permuda Island, Bald Head Woods, and Bird Island. The ten Reserves are more than 41,000 acres conserved to operate as living laboratories for long-term research, education, and stewardship.
If you are interested in supporting the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve, you can also join the non-profit group, the Carolina Estaurine Reserve Foundation (CERF). Keep on exploring!
Miles of ocean beaches in North Carolina: 320This estuarine system is the third largest in the country, with great economic importance to the coastal area. Ninety percent of commercial seafood species live at some time in an estuary. This is where freshwater, carrying silt and organic matter, mixes with mineral-rich saltwater. Much of the fish and shellfish harvested each year depend on these areas, as do many birds and other animals.
Miles of estuarine shoreline in the state: more than 8,000
The North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve helps to preserve these fragile natural areas and the variety of life they support. The North Carolina Reserve covers two biogeographic regions, located north and south of Cape Hatteras. This reserve is made from four sites: Currituck Banks, Rachel Carson, Masonboro Island, and Zeke’s Island. It's about 10,000 acres! Let's investigate one of these places.
The Rachel Carson site, accessible only by boat, is a center of marine research and education. There, they study everything from fiddler crabs to feral horses (see photos). It's named in honor of the scientist and author who conducted research there during the 1940's. It is in a tidal river and sound, where the Newport and North rivers meet the Atlantic Ocean. The chain of islands are made of salt marshes, tidal mud and sand flats, eelgrass beds and upland islands. 
The marine laboratories of Duke University, University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University are located there. A regional office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is at the site as well. The Web-based reserve tour, Estuary Live, originated from the Rachel Carson Reserve in Beaufort in September 2001. More than 20,000 people in 31 states and four foreign countries logged on for the broadcast.
In addition to the four national areas, the North Carolina Coastal Reserve Program also protects six state reserves: Kitty Hawk Woods, Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge, Buxton Woods, Permuda Island, Bald Head Woods, and Bird Island. The ten Reserves are more than 41,000 acres conserved to operate as living laboratories for long-term research, education, and stewardship.
If you are interested in supporting the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve, you can also join the non-profit group, the Carolina Estaurine Reserve Foundation (CERF). Keep on exploring!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Estuaries Day this Saturday!
"Where freshwater systems and rivers meet, and mix with a salty ocean."
Be a part of the National Estuaries Day this Saturday, September 27th. The nationwide event offers a multitude of activities for the entire family. Check out the Research Reserves: some will offer guided walks, boat tours, live animal presentations, touch tanks, and kayak tours. Look for nature crafts for kids of all ages, estuary games and activities, live music, fish printing and more!
The web site is a wonderful resource. This interesting guide includes the EstuaryLive, presenting videos, live broadcasts, virtual field-trips, dynamic presentations, and other exciting events in estuarine reserves across the country.
Many people do not realize how much we depend on estuaries, and how our actions can have an effect on those places that might seem far from home. What each of us does can affect an estuary's health and even people’s health. The flow of water through rivers, lakes, and wetlands eventually meets the sea. The air we breathe and water we drink come back to us from there, in oxygen produced by ocean plants and moisture evaporated from the sea.
The estuary reserves are protected for long-term research, water-quality monitoring, education and coastal stewardship of the 1.3 million acres of coastal land and waters, from Alaska to Puerto Rico. The reserve sites make up the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), a partnership program between National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) and the coastal states.
They are doing an impressive job. Thirty years ago, the Rookery Bay Reserve near Naples, Florida was established as a 3,700-acre national sanctuary. Its boundary has now been expanded to 110,000 acres, and it is one of the nation’s last relatively untouched mangrove-forested estuaries.
The Carolinas are home to three of the twenty-seven reserves in the United States. One is the third largest in the country. Do you know them? In the next posts, we will take a closer look at these natural treasures, exploring the places where rivers meet the sea. Join us and plan your own event, visit a Research Reserve, or plan on taking a kid outdoors!
Be a part of the National Estuaries Day this Saturday, September 27th. The nationwide event offers a multitude of activities for the entire family. Check out the Research Reserves: some will offer guided walks, boat tours, live animal presentations, touch tanks, and kayak tours. Look for nature crafts for kids of all ages, estuary games and activities, live music, fish printing and more!
The web site is a wonderful resource. This interesting guide includes the EstuaryLive, presenting videos, live broadcasts, virtual field-trips, dynamic presentations, and other exciting events in estuarine reserves across the country.Many people do not realize how much we depend on estuaries, and how our actions can have an effect on those places that might seem far from home. What each of us does can affect an estuary's health and even people’s health. The flow of water through rivers, lakes, and wetlands eventually meets the sea. The air we breathe and water we drink come back to us from there, in oxygen produced by ocean plants and moisture evaporated from the sea.
The estuary reserves are protected for long-term research, water-quality monitoring, education and coastal stewardship of the 1.3 million acres of coastal land and waters, from Alaska to Puerto Rico. The reserve sites make up the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), a partnership program between National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) and the coastal states.
They are doing an impressive job. Thirty years ago, the Rookery Bay Reserve near Naples, Florida was established as a 3,700-acre national sanctuary. Its boundary has now been expanded to 110,000 acres, and it is one of the nation’s last relatively untouched mangrove-forested estuaries.
The Carolinas are home to three of the twenty-seven reserves in the United States. One is the third largest in the country. Do you know them? In the next posts, we will take a closer look at these natural treasures, exploring the places where rivers meet the sea. Join us and plan your own event, visit a Research Reserve, or plan on taking a kid outdoors!
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