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As an acknowledgment of the growing trend in Urban Agriculture, JEA sponsored a Forum Thursday evening to explore the various aspects of the movement here in Jacksonville.
The following panelists and subjects were discussed;

-Richard Villadoniga, Slow Foods
-Brandon Vermeulen, Urban Farms and Aquaculture
-Laureen Husband, Healthy Jacksonville
-Eli Bajalia & Val Herrmann – Urban Farms & Permaculture
-Katie Saiz, Arlington Community Garden
-Lauren Trad – Small Scale Hen Keeping
-Catherine Tappouni, Education, Construction, Living Roofs
-Allan DeVault, Local Food and Restaurants

The event was well attended and San Marco was represented in the audience by City Council Member Lori Boyer and SMPS president Doug Skiles.
In addition to a discussion of the various topics, there was also an emphasis on getting draft legislation in front of City Council to allow for some of the activities that are not currently addressed in the zoning/code.

Jacksonville Urban Agriculture is going to be putting together subcommittees to work on this draft legislation.

The subcommittees are as follows:

-Hens

-Community Gardens

-Small Scale Dairy Goats

-Bees

-Urban Farms

-Aquaculture

-Living Roofs

More information is available at

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jacksonville-Friends-of-Urban-Agriculture/221869861190426

Julia Landon College Prep and Hendricks Avenue Elementary joined schools from around the world today to celebrate International Walk to School Day.

Approximately 175 students from Landon participated today along with parents, teachers and community leaders. 

In the U.S., International Walk to School Day was  expected to be celebrated at over 3,500 events at participating schools. Walkers from the U.S. joined children and adults in 40 countries around the world.

Walk to School events work to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and building connections between families, schools and the broader community.

Fourteen Schools in Northeast Florida and Thousands of Events across the US Will Recognize the Role Walking and Bicycling to School Can Play in Student Health and Safety

On October 5, 2011 thousands of students, parents and communities representing more than 3,200 schools across America will be celebrating the simple act of walking and bicycling to school by participating in International Walk to School Day.

Now in its 14^th year, this one-day event in the U.S. is a part of an international effort in more than 40 countries to celebrate the many benefits of safely walking and bicycling to school and to encourage more families to consider getting out of the car and onto their feet on the way to school.

International Walk to School Day has a strong presence in Northeast Florida with fourteen local schools registered to participate in the event. Several of those schools are also conducting long-term Safe Routes to School programs with infrastructure and education initiatives designed to facilitate and encourage safe walking and biking to school.

The Health Planning Council received a grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Foundation through the Healthy Jacksonville Childhood Obesity Coalition to develop a pilot Safe Routes to School program. The pilot program will help schools by facilitating the implementation of Infrastructure Improvement Grants offered by the Florida Department of Transportation. In addition to making physical changes to the built environment through sidewalks, street crossings, street signs, traffic signals and bicycle lanes, there is an education component to promote healthy and safe lifestyles. There is a deficit in pedestrian and bicycling safety education for middle school students.   The pilot program being developed at Julia Landon College Preparatory (JCLP) Middle School makes environmental changes which facilitate safe walking and bicycling, and also augments the critical education needed around healthy and safe lifestyles.

In an economy where public schools need additional resources and community support, this program offers both. Parents and community volunteers along with the District 5 City Council Representative, Lori Boyer, will be accompanying students on the morning walk to JCLP. Councilwoman Boyer had this to say regarding the Walk to School Day: “Walking or biking to school is one of the simplest and most effective ways to build more exercise into the daily lives of our children. I applaud the efforts of the Health Planning Council and participating schools in working to provide a safer environment, from both traffic and crime perspectives, and to better educate children with regard to their personal safety. Walking to and from school was a fun, social, part of my childhood and something I looked forward to even in bad weather.” 

The Health Planning Council congratulates all the schools participating throughout the Northeast Florida region and the nation, and we encourage parents, students, educators and community members to contact their local school to see how they can make their communities healthier by supporting the International Walk to School Day. We also encourage drivers to take special care on October 5^th in light of the many children that will be walking and biking to school on that day.

The Northeast Florida schools registered for International Walk to School Day are:

Andrew Robinson Elementary School, Bunnell Elementary School, Cypress Creek Elementary School, Deltona Lakes Elementary School, Heritage Middle School, Holly Hill School, Julia Landon College Prep And Leadership Development School, Mcrae Elementary School, Rymfire Elementary School, Sadie T. Tillis Elementary School,  Silver Sands Middle School, South Daytona Elementary School, Spirit Elementary School, and Westside Elementary School.

To view the names and locations of all registered U.S. schools participating in Walk to School Day 2011, visit www.walktoschool.org/who/index.cfm.

For past photos of International Walk to School Day activities, visit: www.iwalktoschool.org/photos.

About The National Center for Safe Routes to School

Established in May 2006, the National Center for Safe Routes to School assists states and communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bicycle to school. The National Center serves as the clearinghouse for the federal Safe Routes to School program. The organization also provides technical support and resources and coordinates online registration efforts and provides technical support and resources for U.S. Walk to School Day and facilitates worldwide promotion and participation. The National Center is part of the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. For more information, visit www.saferoutesinfo.org.

About Walk to School Day

Walk to School Day was founded in 1997 as a way to bring community leaders and children together to build awareness for communities to be more walkable.  By 2002, children, parents, teachers and community leaders in all 50 states and the District of Columbia joined nearly 3 million walkers around the world to celebrate the second annual International Walk to School Day. The one-day event has now grown to a month-long celebration. In 2009, students and parents from over 3,500 U.S. schools joined millions of Walk to School Day and Month participants worldwide. The reasons for walking have grown just as quickly as the event itself. Whether a community’s concern is safer and improved streets, healthier habits, or the environment, Walk to School Day events are aimed at bringing forth permanent change to encourage a more walkable, bikeable America – one community at a time. For more information, visit www.walktoschool.org.

Green Building Design Charrette on September 15th… Details at www.srcnf.org

Two Homeowners Will Win a Home
Energy Makeover Worth $10,000!

JEA is helping Northeast Florida homeowners make their homes more energy-efficient and comfortable with ShopSmart with JEA energy efficiency rebates and now the JEA Home Energy Makeover contest gives you a chance to win a home energy-efficiency upgrade. Enter today to win a makeover worth $10,000 that will increase the overall comfort of your home while reducing your home energy bills.  Follow this link to learn more…  http://www.jea.com/community/stories/homeenergymakeover.asp

The JEA Home Energy Evaluation Kit can show you how to make your home more comfortable and lower your monthly energy costs. It’s fun, easy to use, and available to anyone with a Jacksonville Public Library card.  Visit this link to the JEA to learn more.

http://www.jea.com/community/stories/heekit.asp

Keeping electronic devices powered is an ongoing concern, particularly as the number of electronic devices proliferates. Researchers at UCLA have developed a liquid crystal display (LCD) that incorporates photovoltaic polarizers that can convert sunlight, ambient light, and even its own backlight into electricity to power the device.

Polarizers are what makes the display in an LCD function, by controlling the amount of light that passes through from the backlight to make the display. The new material, called a polarizing organic photovoltaic film increases the efficiency of display and allows for charging of the device in bright light.

more at ecogeek.org

NAS Jacksonville Commanding Officer Capt. Jeffrey Maclay discussed the secretary of the navy’s energy and conservation initiatives Aug. 19 at the 2011 Environmental Symposium hosted by the City of Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board and the University of North Florida at the UNF Conference Center.
April Moore, program director of the UNF Environmental Center told the audience, “This event presents the opportunity for members of the community to interact with the regulatory agencies responsible for implementing environmental policy. The symposium provides valuable opportunities to further the goal of protecting limited natural resources, while improving the quality of life in Northeast Florida. We’re pleased to have Capt. Jeff Maclay with us today to discuss the transformation of the Navy’s energy culture.”

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/military/jax-air-news/2011-08-24/story/navy-s-environmental-achievements-spotlighted-symposium#ixzz1WXfgqvbM