Green West Michigan

A resource for green information, people, organizations, products, services and events in West Michigan.  
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 Welcome to Green West Michigan.  This is a site for regional "Green" initiatives in the greater Holland/Zeeland area with some additional links to Grand Rapids, Grand Haven and Saugatuck/Douglas. We hope you enjoy this site.  We welcome your input, feedback and suggestions.  greenwestmichigan@yahoo.com

Composting Workshop
November 10, 2011
Thursday 6:30 - 8:00pm
    Compost Basics from workshop 
Simple varieties of composting and compost bins
Composting Resources
Designs for Compost Bins
BUGS - Food Web of a Compost Pile - BUGS
 
Park Township Art Center, 1464 Ottawa Beach Road, side entrance
INSTRUCTOR: Ken Freestone
Master Composter Designation & Delightful Instructor

Local Retailers and suppliers for compost materials
 Angela Topp -Tree Huggers - West Shore Mall, Holland - www.thetreehuggerstore.com
Dave Smith- www.gogreenstep. 
Click for Photos from the Fall Energy Harvest Open House

__________________Click for 2010 Green Town Presentations_________________
These are from the four conferences held in 2009& 2010.
Grayslake, IL; Chicago, IL; Grand Rapids, MI


Links to resources about energy conservation and
alternative/renewable energy.

Mercury in Compact Florescent Bulbs - Articles from Popular Mechanics (from 2007) 
Light Bulb comparison chart - Incandescent, CFL, LED -Fill in your information for savings
Michigan Land Use Institute - Feed-in-Tariffs opportunities
Holland Board of Public Works - Energy conservation links/resources
City of Holland - Sustainability Committee Action Steps
City of Holland Sustainability Committee overview
Rocky Mountain Institute - Alternative and Renewable energy and Economic Opportunities
Also a very interesting video from two perspectives about Nuclear Power-"Nuclear: Fix or Folly"
"The Myth of Clean Coal" - There are methods of burning coal in cleaner ways but there really isn't such a thing as "clean coal".

FREE Electronic Recycling Events - 4 dates/locations
Click on this link... www.wmcreationcare.org... for details.

COMPOSTING
One of my favorite environmental stewardship practices is Composting.  I consider the miracle of composting to be the original recycling.  Nature does amazing things with organic materials.

To help you with your composting, whether you are a beginner or expert, I have posted some great resources.  Also a quick search on the internet will give you lots of resources.  Enjoy!
Composting Basics - Click Here 
Click here for a link to the kind of bin that I use.  These images show a bin that I built for friends that is made from new materials.  My own bin is made from scrap lumber making it a bit more of a sustainable-recycled material design. 
Here is a link to my compost bin shown in our back yard.  I get about 30 gallons (average garbage can) of compost per month by turning the pile and sifting out the finished compost. Link to my compost bin design.