Green Ideas for your Valentine

Valentine’s Day is one of those commercialized, overly advertised holidays where you feel obligated to lavish gifts on a significant other. But if you just want to tell someone you love how much you appreciate them in your life, and don’t want to be wasteful, check out these green heart ideas!

Choose local flowers

Imported flowers need to be flown or trucked in from states away, AND refrigerated during their journey, so we definitely recommend picking up your loved one flowers or a flowering plant from a local shop or one of the NC Farm Fresh retail nurseries and garden centers. Store-bought, imported flowers usually come wrapped up in cellophane — which is not recyclable.

Reasons to apply for an NCGP Solar Schools Grant

NC GreenPower is excited to announce we are accepting applications for the fourth year of our Solar Schools Program starting January 2, 2018 through February 28! The NC GreenPower Solar Schools Pilot provides grants for a 3-5 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) educational project, complete with a weather station, real-time monitoring, curriculum and training for teachers. Any K-12 school in North Carolina may apply for a 50% matching grant, up to $10,000. Schools are reviewed on a number of criteria – more information about the application process and eligibility requirements can be found in the Application Information document.

Are you interested in applying but need some help getting your principal on board with the Solar Schools Program? Here are some good reasons why your school should apply:

Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Guide

Did you know that 60 percent of the world’s Christmas decorations are made in a single Chinese village? According to Inhabitat, most are produced inside the Chinese village of Yiwu, where 600 factories produce 60 percent of all of the world’s festive decorations. The factory workers in Yiwu put in long hours in less-than-ethical working conditions, often dealing with toxic chemicals that have the potential to cause lasting damage to their health.

So think twice before you overload on holiday knickknacks. Why not buy green gifts this year instead? Ones that use fewer resources and produce less waste than ordinary, mass-produced items. There are so many types of eco-friendly gifts you can give.

Ready for some green ideas? Let’s dive in!