Dear GAzette Readers: Building a better community. This month’s newsletter is chock full of examples of that positive, green-centered progress.  Learn about our new partnership with the Northeast Organic Farming Association, the first time the hallowed non-profit has aligned itself with a for profit organization.  Or read about the mill museum that is being incorporated into the new green remake of the old Biddeford mill buildings – how the progressive sustainable developers of Pepperell Mill Campus have joined history with community with sustainability.  Perhaps you have experienced first-hand the fun to be had at the Childrens’ Museum, now a proud member of the GA. But did you know just how green they are?   Still, the best example of the growth of green in our community was the impressive turnout of over 250 like-minded citizens for the Green Alliance Summer Party cruise aboard the Thomas Laighton.  That’s right, 250 of us cruising Portsmouth harbour amidst music, fine company and -- maybe best of all -- proof of the growth of green in the form of massive wind turbines waiting to be off loaded in Portsmouth Harbor as we cruised by!  If you missed July’s green fun, join us on Friday August 26th for the free Green Alliance and Seacoast Volkswagen Summer Celebration and BBQ.  Live music, and good food and drink, combined with the good company of your neighbors and the sustainable business leaders in your community, all promise to make this month's gathering one to remember.  In the meantime, become a Green Alliance member, as we work to build a better community!   Sincerely, Sarah Brown GA Project Director

  

Green Alliance & Seacoast Volkswagen summer BBQ

Since relocating to Greenland in 2004, Seacoast Volkswagen has grown to become one of New England’s most successful – and most sustainable – car dealerships.

On August 26th, the fifty-year-old family owned dealership will be putting their green meddle on display. Teaming up with Green Alliance, Seacoast Volkswagen is planning a combined green gathering and rollout of their brand new 2011 Passat model at their Ocean Road digs.

Free and open to the public, the party – in the form of a Green Alliance summer barbecue – is slated to begin at 5:00 (going until 8:00), and will include live music and drinks. Meanwhile, all natural hot dogs and hamburgers will be cooked on a food-grade wood-pellet grill, provided by GA Business Partner Seacoast Energy Alternatives (SEA), based in Dover.

Additionally, Waterline Alternative Energies will be on hand to discuss and promote the 35-foot Helix wind turbine the company installed in 2009, as well as their forthcoming solar array on the roof of the dealership.

The new Passat is just the second North American-made model ever producedby the German automaker. Last year, Volkswagen introduced the North American version of its popular Jetta model, resulting in a 77% nationwide sales increase.

According to Doug Miles, General Manager at Seacoast Volkswagen, his company expects similar success with the new Passat. “Like the Jetta, Volkswagen is redesigning the Jetta for American tastes – making it a little bigger, but also a lot cheaper,” says Miles. “It’s a class we’ve never competed in before.”.....read more in our blog here!

Save 15% on all parts and repairs with Seacoast Volkswagen, get a FREE site evaluation and $400 off any alternative energy system with Waterline Alternative Energies, and get $250 off any solar hot water or solar PV system with SEA Solar Store when you join the GA! Click here to learn more!
 

For well over 150 years, Biddeford’s textile mills have helped to define life in this coastal Maine city of 21,000. Today, citizens of all ages are coming together to keep that legacy alive in the form of the Biddeford Mills Museum, a new community-based organization dedicated to "weaving the threads of the past into the fabric of our futures.”

“Mills started this city in the 1800’s,” according to museum incorporator Scott Joslin of West Branch Construction.

Along with partner Doug Sanford of Eastland Construction & Management, Joslin spent much of the past seven years breathing new life into the historic North Dam Mill as part of a long-term redevelopment project known as the Pepperell Mill Campus. The revitalized four building campus incorporates modern green technologies, including energy efficient hot water boilers to low flow sinks and toilets. Planning for the Biddeford Mills Museum began during the renovation process.

“We went around with a few of the contractors finding artifacts and decided to preserve them all in one place,” says Joslin.

The last of Biddeford’s textile mills closed its doors in 2009, and many former mill workers still live and work in the community. One goal of the Biddeford Mills Museum is to engage these residents in an effort to preserve the oral history of the region.

“More than 80 people showed up to a Bean Supper we hosted for mill workers in May,” Joslin is pleased to report. “It was like a big reunion.” ..... read more here!

Use your GA Green Card to save 10% on residential rates at Pepperell Mill Campus! Click here!

Like many companies in the greens sector, Jenaly Technology Group’s commitments to sustainability can often fly under the radar. In this sense, you could say the Portsmouth-based IT firm would just assume let their work speak for itself.

But once you start looking at exactly what they provide for their clients and how, the true scope of Jenaly’s green efforts start coming into clearer focus.

Take The Rubber Group (TRG), a Somersworth manufacturing company specializing in rubber parts and components for the medical, transportation, and process control industries. While the quarter century-old company has long maintained a commitment to environmental responsibility – in 2005 they were awarded the Pollution Prevention Award from Governor John Lynch – they also knew they could be doing more to reduce their significant energy use.

Enter Jenaly, whom TRG had commissioned after becoming dissatisfied with their previous IT firm. “Jenaly had been on our radar screen, but we were more than happy to make the switch” recalls Joe Snook, Customer Service Manager at TRG. “They’re definitely responsive, and service-wise they’re far more proactive as far as when issues pop up or whenever it’s time to upgrade our systems.”

Like many businesses, TRG had been using tapes to back up their data. Jenaly transitioned the company over to a tapeless Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) system, thereby eliminating the mercury and other toxic chemicals contained in the tapes. Instead of being stored on mediums which are inherently unreliable – over time, the tapes often breakdown and can be rendered useless almost without warning – the data is now contained on an on-site appliance and remote data centers. The result is a system that is not only more reliable, but far more environmentally sustainable as well..... read more here!

 

Energy auditor Paul Button takes expertise on the road

When energy auditor Paul Button isn’t at home – working remotely or enjoying a little downtime – he can usually be found helping make the homes of others throughout New Hampshire more energy efficient.

It might not seem like the kind of career conducive to jet-setting. But for two weeks this past spring, Button had an opportunity to take his expertise on the road.

As part of the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program, the Manchester-based owner of Energy Audits Unlimited was commissioned to spend two weeks in upstate New York and Rochester, Minnesota respectively.

The purpose? To monitor the difference in home energy use both before and after government subsidized retrofits had been put in place.

The program was launched as part of President Obama’s 2009 Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the comprehensive economic stimulus package which also included numerous provisions providing incentives for homeowners and businesses who invest in alternative energy and efficiency measures. Hundreds of homes throughout the United States (the DOE divides the country into five, distinct climate “zones”) were chosen for the program, which targeted domiciles with poor or non-existent insulation, including many that were built during the 1950s. .....read more here!

Save $100 on the cost of an energy audit with Energy Audits Unltd. when you join the GA! Click here to learn more!


Jewett holds flooring up to (green) light

For years, Jewett Farms & Co. has fostered a reputation for being a company as committed to sustainable wood products as they are to fine craft and good old fashioned Yankee ingenuity.

But while the company’s unique cabinet and furniture-making has long been their hallmark, recently they’ve begun to train their eyes on another, lesser-known aspect of their business: flooring.

Truth be told, Jewett has offered flooring options since opening their original York, Maine showroom in 1999 (they’ve since opened a second design studio and showroom in Newburyport). For most of that time, however, flooring served more as icing than the cake itself.

Enter Tim Buckley. After years working with Carlisle Wood Plank Floors – a frequent collaborator in Jewett’s Continuing Education Series – Buckley joined the Jewett team as a flooring specialist in 2010. Right away, he knew his new company needed to market in a more targeted away their unique style of sustainable flooring.

“There’s a very integral mixing of woods with both the cabinetry or furniture and the wood below it,” explains Buckley, “For a while the flooring was sort of on the dessert menu so to speak. But when people kept coming back to talk about floors, we knew we had to start embracing it is as an integral part of our portfolio.”

Jewett has long been associated with beautiful cabinets, furniture, and finish work. Now, they’re hoping they can bring that same reputation – and the same commitment to sustainability – to the flooring fore.... check out the full story in our blog by clicking here!

Join the GA and save 5% on all design services with Jewett Farms & Co.! Click here to learn more!


For TMS & Altus, cooperation yields many benefits

Altus Engineering and TMS Architects are quite the duo lately. The two recently completed a project at Phillips-Exeter Academy, and are currently working to transform a car dealership in Portsmouth.

But this relationship is nothing new: the two Seacoast companies have been working together for over a decade now.

In 2009, TMS designed four LEED Gold houses for Phillips Academy in Exeter. Altus, in turn, assisted TMS on the project by designing and installing rain gardens to capture water runoff. The combination of super-efficient houses and a storm water retention system made this project especially green – something in which both companies take great pride.

Altus designed and installed the rain garden at the behest of Phillips Exeter Academy, who wanted the project to reflect their own mission statement for a sustainable stewardship of the land. A rain garden fulfills this mission by filtering out pollutants and replenishing ground water.

“Rain gardens are great because they slow water, filter it, and promote groundwater retention,” explains Jeff Clifford of Altus Engineering.... check out the full story in our blog by clicking here!

 GA members receive a FREE initial consultation with Altus Engineering! You can also receive a FREE initial consultation with TMS Architects! Click here to learn more our different GA memberships!
 

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Greenovations and Jewett Farms & Co. will host a dockside party this Wednesday, August 10, to benefit the NH Coastal Protection Partnership (NH Coast) on board the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company's M/V Thomas Laighton.

The event kicks off at 5:30 PM, with a suggested donation of $10. The cruise itself sets sail at 7 PM, and returns around 9:30. Attendees can either participate in the cruise, or just attend the dockside party prior to the cruise.

“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to celebrate sustainability with two local green businesses who are doing their part to protect the environment right here in the Seacoast region,” said David Anderson, Project Coordinator for NH Coast.

A Portsmouth-based nonprofit, NH Coast has been working to promote low cost household solutions to nitrogen pollution in the Great Bay Estuary and its tributary rivers since its founding in 2008.

“NH Coast has distributed over 100 water and energy saving rain barrels in local communities over the past year, helping our friends and neighbors take a small chunk out of their stormwater footprint,” according to Anderson. "Each one is handmade locally from recycled materials by our staff and volunteers."

Stormwater run-off contributes to over 80 percent of surface water quality impairments in the state, according to the NH Department of Environmental Services.... Read more by clicking here!

In an effort to support local agriculture, maximize environmental protection, and promote human health and wellness, the Green Alliance is partnering with the Northeast Organic Farming Association’s New Hampshire chapter (NOFA-NH), which supports organic and sustainable agriculture, family-scale farming and homesteading both rural and urban, agricultural justice, and related issues in New Hampshire.

The partnership consists of, discounted services for each membership base, co-membership deals for the public, and co-promotion of the two organizations’ services. The joint membership costs $50, with subscribers receiving a 12-month membership in the Green Alliance, and Basic Membership in NOFA-NH through the remainder of 2011. The co-membership will entitle the public to discounts at over 90 businesses in Eastern New England, as well as discounts on NOFA-NH’s events and bulk orders, all while supporting sustainable businesses and local, organic agriculture.

“By increasing awareness about NOFA-NH to the Green Alliance’s commercial and citizen communities, we can increase demand for local, organic food, and create additional jobs in New Hampshire’s agricultural industry,” said Sarah Brown, Executive Director of the Green Alliance. “At a time when far too much of our food is trucked in from thousand miles away, we want to highlight the enormous benefits of buying from local, organic farmers who produce top notch produce and meats while protecting our natural resources.”... Read more here!

For many, it was like getting the dreaded phone call that a long-ailing relative had passed on – a drop of the stomach at once devastating and yet not in the least bit shocking.

Memorial Bridge, it was announced by the state Department of Transportation (DOT) two weeks ago, will be closed permanently to vehicle traffic. A new bridge is expected to be constructed by 2014, although the states of Maine and New Hampshire are still far from hashing out the deal’s finer details.

Citing the need to “ensure the public’s safety,” DOT Commissioner George Campbell assured citizens that the long-awaited bridge replacement project would be accelerated as much as possible, while the existing eight decade-old structure remains opened to foot and bike traffic for the time being.

It was the thinnest of silver linings on a conspicuously dark cloud which, though wholly inevitable, no less threatens a strong storm – both politically as well as economically.

As in the wake of mourning a lost loved one, the coming days and weeks will no doubt grow tougher as the implications for Seacoasters become more apparent. Particularly for Kittery, which relies heavily on car traffic from Portsmouth for visibility and, more importantly, economic viability... Read more in our blog by clicking here!