We did it!!

CPN Achieves “Participating Neighborhood” Certification!
Many thanks to all of the Congress Park neighbors involved with projects aimed at helping us reduce our environmental footprint while also improving the sustainability of our neighborhood. Since Congress Park’s acceptance into Denver’s Sustainable Neighborhood Network in August 2016, neighbors have brainstormed, designed and initiated a variety of projects, from a Recycling Workshop to Alley-Cleanups, each moving us just a few steps closer towards certification.
Did you know, for example, that our recent Leaf Drop project diverted over 200 bags of leaves from the landfill AND earned our neighborhood 16 credits?!? All because a neighbor like you had a great idea.

Thank you to all who have contributed!

Next step? Earning enough credits to achieve the “Outstanding Sustainable Neighborhood” designation. 

If YOU have an idea for a project, please come to a CPN Green Team meeting and meet others who can help bring your idea to life. Can’t make the meetings, contact the CPN Green Team at  sustainability@congressparkneighbors.org.

With  Earth Day only a few months away, we are in high-gear planning for our 2nd Annual Congress Park Earth Day Festival. The neighborhood-wide event will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2017 from 1 pm to 5 pm outdoors at 1100 Fillmore Street. Planning meetings are scheduled for every other Saturday (see Meeting Dates below). Event details are posted on the Earth Day Festival webpage (http://www.congressparkneighbors.org/earth-day/)

Meeting Dates: Saturdays, Feb 11, Feb 25, Mar 11, Mar 25, Apr 8
Meeting Location: Capitol Heights Presbyterian Church, 11th & Fillmore
Meeting Time: 8:30 bagels & social, 9-11 am

Calling all volunteers!  Volunteers are needed now and on the day of the event to help make this event a success!

Opportunities include:

• Outreach to businesses, neighbors and potential exhibitors
• Graphic design
• Marketing
• Set up and take down
• Organize food
• Design, staff and measure zero waste efforts
• Recruit and coordinate artists and musicians
• Coordinate and staff prize table
• Design social media plan
• Post on social media before, during and after event
• Photograph and video planning, prep and actual event
• Help with Logo Design Contest outreach
• Distribute flyers to area businesses
• Design and hang signage for event

To get involved, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator Julie Lang-Yawger at yawger@comcast.net OR Joan Gregerson at sustainability@congressparkneighbors.org  Or come to one of our Saturday meetings and get involved then!

We are also seeking Exhibitors that fit our theme: “Think Globally, Act Locally!”  Exhibits should include a fun learning activity and a Call To Action to help neighbors take steps to improve the sustainability in our neighborhood and beyond. Exhibitor registration is free but space is limited. Registration deadline is March 3.

See you Saturday, February 11 and Saturday February 25!
** Remember to come early (8:30 am) for bagels and catching up.

Upcoming SEED Circle – The Problem with Plastic

February 22, 6:30-8:00pm
Cerebral Brewing, 1477 Monroe St
– Mary Sullivan

• Have you taken a good look at how much plastic you have in your home and how much gets thrown away?
• Do you know the harmful health and environmental impacts of plastics and which types of plastics are the worst offenders?
• Do you know what YOU can do to reduce your use of plastics? 

Boulder-based ecologist Michael SanClements will join our SEED Circle to discuss his Denver Post #1 bestselling book Plastic Purge: How to use Less Plastic, Eat Better, Keep Toxins Out of Your Body, and Help Save the Sea Turtles!, available at local bookstores.
 
Please pick up a copy of the book (it is a quick read) and come ready to discuss ways we as individuals, as neighbors, and as a sustainable neighborhood in the making, can reduce our use of harmful plastics. Can’t get to the book in time? Come anyway! It promises to be a fascinating exploration of what WE can do about the problems with plastic. 

Please RSVP here Mary Sullivan for planning purposes (not required) and invite your friends and neighbors! Come early to buy a brew from Cerebral’s tasty menu.

PS. Want to delve deeper? Check out this additional resource on the subject:

•        Into the Gyre (link is http://intothegyre.com) award-winning documentary on plastic pollution of our oceans (44- minute video)

Historic Home Energy Workshop – Top Three Takeaways

Congress Park Historic Home Energy Efficiency Workshop
– Nicole Ilderton

During the energy-intensive heating season, many residents see a significant increase in energy bills and find that their homes are not as comfortable as they would like. To help neighbors to alleviate this issue, Congress Park’s Green Team hosted a Home Energy Efficiency Workshop with the Denver Energy Challenge at the Congress Park Taproom on January 26th. Thirty neighbors attended!

Did you miss the event? Don’t despair. You can review the presentation on CPN’s webpage (http://www.congressparkneighbors.org/2017/01/27/green-team-historic-home-energy-efficiency/).  

The top three tips YOU CAN DO to get started:

• Insulate and air seal your building envelope. Insulation and air sealing are often the most effective ways to maintain a comfortable home. Keep warm air inside and cold air out by sealing attic spaces, rim joists and crawl spaces. If your walls, ceiling or floor are cold to the touch, you can maintain proper levels of insulation to block the thermal transfer of cold. Look for at least R-49 in the attic and R-15 around foundation walls. If you have an older home, do not use spray foam on the brick. It can cause a host of problems and cannot be removed. Look for blown cellulose insulation options instead.
• You likely do not need to replace your windows. Many people assume that they need to tackle big ticket items like replacing windows to be energy efficient. In most homes, other less expensive measures can give you a much greater bang for the buck. Even single-pane windows in historic homes can be efficient with some specific maintenance.
• Enroll in the Denver Energy Challenge. All Denver residents are eligible to take advantage of the city’s free energy advising service, the Denver Energy Challenge. Contact the program to get a neutral and expert advisor who will answer your questions and act as a personal concierge throughout the home energy improvement process. Call 720-865-5520 or learn more at www.denverenergy.org.

When you contact the FREE expert energy advisors at Denver Energy Challenge, tell ’em “The Congress Park Green Team sent me!”
Ongoing Projects

Residential Solar Options – Free Webinar Series

– Larry Grimm

Informed decision-making is always best for any choices we make in our life. My cause is to inform the wonderful residents of Congress Park of their options to participate in Solar – reducing harm to the environment with their electrical use. Electricity powered by coal burning plants feeds the demand for coal and poisons our atmosphere, contributing to global warming. By switching to solar as a source, we reduce our “carbon footprint” and the use of coal.

• “Can I afford solar?“
• “What about the look on my roof? My home is a classic vintage and I don’t want to diminish the value with solar panels?”
• “What effect do solar panels have on my resell value?”
• “My roof is too angular to take panels.”

Everyone, literally, can connect to solar energy for their electricity without major changes in their homes, their lifestyles, and their budgets. I offer recorded online interviews of three different solar providers (Golden Solar, Sunrun, and the Clean Energy Collective). They are not endorsements but sources of “information” for you to move to solar. Watch at the Congress Park Green Team : http://www.congressparkneighbors.org/2016/12/17/solar-interviews-by-dr-larry-grimm/ 

For questions or assistance in connecting with solar sources contact Larry Grimm at 720-441-3289. 

Let’s make Congress Park a Solar Neighborhood!
 
“In the Works” Projects

The CPNGT has several projects “in the works” and is always looking for additional team members to get involved.
For more information on these projects or (better yet) to get involved, please feel free to contact the person listed.

• Neighborhood/Alley Cleanup Program – Organize Your Own!
  • Learn how to organize a successful Alley Cleanup on your own block or lend a hand with another neighbor’s effort.
  • Contact Becky Coughlin
• Rain Barrel Workshop
  • Help organize a hands-on neighborhood workshop on making your own rain barrel.
  • Contact Sustainability@congressparkneighbors.org
• Certifiably Green Businesses in Congress Park
  • Learn how to help your favorite Congress Park business “Go Green!” by enrolling in the City’s “Certifiably Green Denver” program for business.
  • Contact Liz Goehring  to get involved.