Dear Green Alliance GAzette Readers: Take a look through this month’s newsletter and you'll see a wide range of local, sustainable businesses in action -- businesses that are doing things a little differently and having a big impact!  A downtown Portsmouth retailer, Paul Keegan, redefines shopping at 1 World Trading with a wide array of everyday products produced responsibly.  Local stoneworker Adam Bennett of Colonial Stoneworks utilizes NH’s own home-grown resources by building creative and unique stonewalls out of recycled granite and the stones right from your own backyard.  Hampton’s own Sagamore Golf Club redefines the game by making sustainability a growing priority at their course.  And innovator Christopher Ring brings the first and only 100% green building supply store to the Seacoast with Greenovations!  Read on to learn why all these things matter, and how your choosing to do business with these sustainable entrepreneurs is an essential part of the equation. Join us today! As always – we're looking to give back to our members with more than just information and discounts.  Join us on October 3th for the Sequel to the Green Alliance Greener Shoals Cruise!  The GA’s Funky Fall Foliage Cruise aboard the Isle of Shoals’s Thomas Laighton will feature all the splendor of fall on the Piscataqua River set to a party atmosphere and funky lounge tunes spun by WXGR.  This cruise is free to GA members – just RSVP to Scott@greenalliance.biz with your GA card number.  If you are not yet a member, this is your chance to join the GA AND come on the cruise – all for $25!  Get your ticket/membership by clicking here!     Sincerely, Sarah Brown GA Project Director

 

1 World's products tell their own green stories

Granite Staters have always been known for their self-sufficiency. In fact, the state’s nickname was intended to be as much a reflection of its people as of the seemingly endless bounty of rock beneath them. But while the granite mining industry has since largely fallen by the wayside, one New Hampshire business owner is determined to make sure that both narratives – that of a people’s resourcefulness, as well as that of their state’s namesake – continue to thrive.

Adam Bennett is the owner of Windham-based Colonial Stoneworks. An area native who worked in the automotive and landscaping sectors for over a decade before turning full time to stonework, in 2008 Bennett launched the home-based Colonial, which provides services ranging from simple walkways and stairways to elegant fireplaces and property-spanning walls.

On the surface, the services and skills Bennett offers might not seem that different from others in his field. But it’s how the 26-year old does it that sets him apart from the pack.

Colonial places an uncommonly heavy emphasis on reclaimed and recycled materials, and particularly those that are local. Indeed, the Granite State may have long since moved away from its nicknamesake’s industry. But for Bennett, there’s still plenty of unused and discarded stone lying around – all waiting for a new lease on a useful life on any number of makeover-ready properties.... Read more here!

Ever since the environmental movement started to gain recognizable steam in the 1970s, a few select industries have enjoyed their fair share of the greater green brunt.Some of them you can probably name without much thought: oil companies, logging outfits, factory farms, auto manufacturers. And golf courses.

Though certainly not the subject to the degree of scorn seen by the previously listed, environmentalists have long seen golf courses as antithetical to their core values. They’re big, expansive, chemical-dependent, require copious amounts of water to properly maintain, and change the nature and course of the ecosystems in and around them.

While much of that criticism remains palpable and relevant, one course in particular is changing the way you think about the links.

“Before the war, in the 20s and 30s, using natural methods to maintain courses was pretty much the norm,” explains Richard Luff. “But in his teenage and college years, [my grandfather] would regularly be handling raw mercury and other really nasty stuff they were using at the time. Eventually he just started asking himself, ‘why am I feeling nauseous at the end of every day?’ He knew there was a better way.”... Read the full story on Sagamore's green initiatives by clicking here!

Save 15% on weekday greenfees at both Sagamore courses! Also receive a free small range bucket when you buy a large bucket, OR buy 3 mini golf rounds and get the 4th free at Sagamore Golf Center! Click here!

As in many other respects, the Seacoast is unique in its offering of green-minded businesses. Whether we’re talking about restaurants, construction firms, alternative energy companies or even gas stations, the last few years has seen an explosion of green businesses from across industries and sectors pepper the Seacoast. But rarely has there been a business that offers as many sustainable products as Greenovations, Portsmouth’s new green kid on the block.

Located in Bowl-O-Rama Plaza, Greenovations – which opened its doors in mid May – and its owner, Christopher Ring, are as green as it gets. A catch-all building and remodeling depot, Greenovations offers everything from super efficient wall radiators to insulation, floors to countertops, cabinets to wood stoves, paints and coatings to solar tubes, attic fans, plywood and tiles.The best part? According to Ring, “every single one of Greenovations’ products are manufactured at the highest standards of sustainability.”... Click

In a media landscape where the internet has become as indispensible as it is convenient, trying to find the most effective means of keeping someone’s attention has become as crucial as grabbing it in the first place.

And while that’s easy if you’re going for the cheap thrills – toddler music prodigies, drunken injuries and anything involving household pets seems to work as YouTube eyeball glue – the more serious the topic, the more important it is the interest be immediately piqued.

One Seacoast media company seems to have figured it out. Based in a second story office on Court Street in Portsmouth, Now Or Never Media is changing the way one important issue – global climate change – is not only transmitted, but also how it can ultimately bring us together.

The team: two local activists. The message: climate change is real, it’s happening here, and it’s happening now. The outlet: anything new and exciting. The goal: nothing short of changing the world... read more here!

 

Waterline puts up largest solar array in NH

When it comes to investing in solar energy, the Granite State just keeps raising the bar. Yesterday North Conway became the latest in an ever-growing list of New Hampshire cities to invest in renewable energy. With the help of funding made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the NH Revolving Loan Fund, the North Conway Water Precinct was able install a solar photovoltaic system that will supply energy to cover a significant portion of the plant’s annual electricity usage.

Accompanied by Senator Jeane Shaheen (D-NH) and Thomas Burack from the state’s Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), yesterday the team at Seabrook-based Waterline Alternative Energies officially commissioned the system, now the largest solar array in the state.

According to Jeffrey Haydock, Director of Sales and Business Development at Waterline, both Shaheen and Burack were more than enthusiasitc about what the project meant for New Hampshire’s energy future. “I think the consensus was this is a great project, in large part because it was done by mostly New Hampshire-based contractors,” says Haydock. “Shaheen in particular was very enthusiastic about the role our state is going to play going forward."... Read the full story in our blog by clicking here!

Get a free property wind evaluation from Waterline Alternative Energies when you join the GA! Click here!



Can going green, saving green go hand in hand?

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WXGR is proud to present, in company with the Green Alliance and 1 World Trading Co. of Portsmouth, the Sustainability Report with Green Guru, Paul Keegan.  In an ever changing world, the Sustainability Report provides news, tips, and information about how you are involved in the world we live in, and how you can become a greener member of it.

Paul Keegan is a local living example of what a responsible, green world citizen looks like.  From the Boy Scouts as a boy, to Bike For Peace, to Hunters For Conservation, Paul lives a green life that is the future of our world.  Join us every day of the week as Paul shares with us simple and attainable changes we can make to change our imprint on the Earth.

TUNE IN: Mondays at 8:00am; Tuesdays at 12:00 noon; Wednesday at 3:00pm; Thursdays at 5:00pm; Fridays at 10:00am; Saturdays at 11:00am; and Sundays at 4:00pm... Read more here!

We're just about 2 weeks away from Business NH Magazine's 2010 "Lean and Green Awards" ceremony on Tuesday. September 14 from 8:00 - 10:00 AM at the Portsmouth Harbor Events & Conference Center. The awards categories include "Green Product", "Green Building", "Small Process" and "Large Process", "Nonprofit Large Process", and "Early Adopter" awards.

All awards recognize the best environmental practices NH companies have undertaken to be more environmentally sound and cost-efficient. This year’s judges possess significant expertise on integrating sustainability into business practices, including Alison Degan, co-owner of Acorn Organic Salon in Dover, which earned the 2009 Lean & Green Micro Company Practices Award! Acorn Organic Salon is also a proud member of the Green Alliance (a proud platinum sponsor of the Lean and Green Awards).... lear more

Registrations are now being accepted for the Kittery PTA Seaside 4-Mile Road Race on Sunday, September 19, which promises to be a fun event for everyone involved at this family-friendly event: there's a free kids' fun run at 9:30! Awards will be presented to the fastest male and female pirate (in multiple age categories), as well as best-dressed pirate.

In fact, register before September 12, and pay just $15 - a $5 discount off the normal $20 registration fee! And that special price is available for either runners or walkers. The 4-mile walk begins at 8:00 AM, while the runners start at 8:30.

The Green Alliance is a proud sponsor of this event, and we've got a deal for race registrants: you'll be provided with a coupon to join the Green Alliance for just $25! That's a $10 discount off the usual $35 annual membership fee, and you'll immediately have access to thousands of dollars in discounts at area restaurants, salons, apparel stores, and professional services companies! So put on your running shoes and get ready for Fall at this terrific event. For more information, and to register, click

When it comes to beautiful, quaint New England villages, you'd be hard pressed to find a downtown more picturesque than Newmarket. And you'd be equally exhausted finding a more bountiful, dynamic, and popular farmer's market anywhere on the Seacoast.

The Newmarket Farmers' Market is now in its second year and growing every week. With only a few weeks left in the summer / autumn season, now's your chance to experience first hand the Seacoast's growing orientation towards locally made, harvested, and grown products.

Every Saturday between now and October 9th -- and once a month during the winter, starting in November -- come on down to Newmarket and get your hands on delicious local food, see your friends and Seacoast neighbors, and enjoy the music beside the beautiful, historic Stone Church Meeting House! Featuring the freshest locally grown fruit & vegetables, gourmet mushrooms, goat's milk cheese & yogurt, eggs, breads & pastry, wines made from 100% NH grown fruits, jams & jellies, 2010 maple syrup, fresh roasted coffee, pastured fed antibiotic-free chicken, beef, lamb, pork, rabbit, locally harvested oysters, soaps, art, agricultural crafts and specialty products -- the Newmarket Farmers's Market has everything you'd ever want and more! Click here for more info!