Thanks to Amy for the reminder that the Spring Flower Show is happening at Elizabeth Park.
Until March 20th you can go to the greenhouse between 10-2 to see and smell Spring.
I went up there today and must have chosen a good time because there were only a few other people there. Last year when I went, it was packed!
I got a bit photo-happy, since it was just so nice to be around living plants for the first time in months.
Speaking of living things, Heather has an awesome post on her blog today about how cities are in competition for the title of “green.”
Basically, no two polls agree on which cities are the greenest.
One of the improvements that Hartford is expected to make is regarding recycling. I know that in my neighborhood, not every house or apartment unit recycles.
Unless I were to follow the truck down to the recycling center and then get permission to witness every step of the process, I have no way of knowing how much of what I place on the curb actually gets processed correctly.
Besides recycling, the city needs to get a grip on illegal dumping. This has gotten some press, but it’s pretty routine for someone to leave mattresses and other junk in a random spot and have it sit there for months. I could take a picture of an example of what is out in the parking lot, but I’d rather look at flowers. edited to add: later today the pile of junk that had sat there for over a month was finally moved. maybe i just need to blog about stuff to make it finally happen.
One of the things that categorizes Portland OR as an environmentally friendly city is that 25% of its workforce use public transportation, bike, or carpool.
Can you imagine how much less congested the roads around here would be if this were the case in Hartford?
The excuses for not making such lifestyle changes are usually along the lines of inconvenience or weather. But if people in Portland are willing to brave the elements, shouldn’t New Englanders, who I thought had a reputation for being hardy, be able to do the same?
As for inconvenience, I’ve been really inspired by Imani‘s blog lately. She is a working mom of six kids. I figure that if she is able to make these kinds of changes, then someone like me, who has a much less complicated life, can also.
One of the things that Heather mentioned in her post was how smart it is to reclaim space. It never made much sense to me why people insist on tearing up the landscape when there are plenty of vacant buildings to fulfill any needs (real or perceived) that we may have.
