You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'Going Green' category.
Holiday traditions to celebrate the winter solstice are common
to every culture around the world. The transition from the shortest,
darkest day in mid-winter to the longest day of light at the beginning
of summer are a common theme to our world.
Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids
celebrates the light by showing the traditions of many countries
and cultures around the world. Besides the forty one gorgeous
Christmas Trees that are decorated as they would be in their native
regions, they also display Kwanza, Jewish, and Buddhist traditional
decorations. New this year is Tet Nguyen Dan, the Vietnamese
celebration of the lunar New Year; pronounced day wen don,
it literally means, “the first morning of the first day.”
Meijer Gardens is celebrating the completion of a $7.6 million
renovation and expansion that was awarded a silver level LEED
certificate in energy and environmental design. The renovation
and expansion was centered around the cafe, visitor areas, office
and storage spaces. The new cafe has a stunning Dale Chihuly
blown glass sculpture of colored glass flowers hanging from
the ceiling.
We have put together a few photos we took at the gardens
recently, so you can see some of the holiday decorations from
near and far. The gorgeous Christmas trees are all 12-15 feet tall
and loaded with beautiful ornaments. This is just a sampling of the
Christmas Traditions displayed here:
Our Holiday Wishes for Peace & Goodwill to all of you!
For all of you that are not attending the NAR Convention in San Diego a little
peak at one of the Hot Topics. NAR has announced a new web site to
assist home Owners. It is still in Beta but you might like to check it out:
You care about your home. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
cares about home ownership. To help you become the best, most responsible
homeowner you aspire to be, we want to provide you with free information
and tools you can use to make smart and timely decisions about your home.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Terry Westbrook is the broker-owner of Westbrook Realty in Grand Rapids Michigan. We offer time tested benefits and marketing results for buyers and sellers. Call 1-616-292-7263 to talk with Terry or email him at: terry@terrywestbrook.com.
For MLS access to the homes for sale in the West Michigan Area,visit: Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Real Estate for a free search. Your search can be saved and modified as you view homes, with no obligation.
Subscribe to our Grand Rapids Michigan Real Estate Blog
Six different schools in the Forest Hills Public School District are under
some kind of construction this summer.
- Central High School
- Ada Elementary School
- Central Middle School
- Ada Vista School
- Collins Elementary School
- Community & Aquatic Center
- Central Woodlands 5/6
- Northern Trails 5/6
Every school site will receive different combinations of security cameras,
roof repair/ replacement, parking lot resurfacing, and energy
conservation/sustainability improvements (window replacement,
lighting and mechanical system upgrades).
See details at Forest Hills District News Site
Some photos of the Construction Sites:
Warning - if you like hard hats, you will be in 7th heaven!
Ada Elementary School
Ada Elementary School
Central Middle School
Central Middle School
Forest Hills Central High School
Forest Hills Central High School
School districts reflect the interest people have in their
community public education systems. Forest Hills Schools are
one of the best in our state in almost every category. New
school updates are one of the ways we try to keep you informed
on what is happening in the Forest Hills District.
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Photos by Bonnie Westbrook
Tuesday was the first day of the Ada Farm Market at a new place,
Thornapple Community Church on Thornapple River Drive in downtown Ada.
The Farm Market will run Tuesdays, 2-7 pm from now until the end of
September. We took a video so you could see the market for yourself.
We found all kinds of goodies, freshly roasted coffee, chickens and other
meat available from local farmers. Fresh strawberries, sweet cherries,
lettuce, Walla-Walla onions, radishes, and other great looking items.
Some of the farmers will sell you a share in their crops. You contribute
a set amount and they will deliver fresh produce to you every week all
summer!! We might look into that if our gardening days are getting too
difficult.
We came home with some freshly picked black raspberries and a
King Kong Coleus.
I will definitely be back next week for some of those Walla-Walla
onions and fresh eggs from free range chickens.
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Forest Hills Michigan – Home to a Growing Public School District
We just received the Superintendant’s News Letter with all the Forest
Hills Public School news. Of course, there was talk of budget challenges
and difficult times. Even school districts that are well-funded, like Forest
Hills Public, are having budget issues because of state funding reductions.
Forest Hills is focused on student education, and is still reducing
administrative overhead. 76.7% of the school budget is spent on
classroom and instructional support.
2009 Forest Hills School News:
- 3 Teachers recognized on state & national levels for excellence
- Conserved 1.9 million in reduced energy costs
- ALL Forest Hills Schools receive Green Certificates
- Received David D Smith Award for Environmental Stewardship
- Growing enrollment while 80% of Michigan districts are declining
- 2007 Bond Issue allows investment in infrastructure
- 10,100+ students, 2nd in size in Kent County, 23rd largest in
Michigan, out of 552
- 2009 Student MEAP Scores Highest in Michigan
Grand Rapids Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
What’s the Impact of Paying Bills Online? : TreeHugger has a great article
that shows exactly how much energy you can save and how it will affect
your local environment. Gone are the days when we can say, “ Oh,
my little contribution doesn’t matter in the overview of environmental
change. Each of us has an impact and we can each change our world
one bill-day at a time.
I went to the Payitgreen.org site and used their green calculator to
see how much I am saving by going online to pay my bills.
In one year, I will save 7# of paper, 65 gallons of water, 3.3 gallons
of gasoline, and 146# of greenhouse gases. WOW!! This amount of
greenhouse gases is equivalent to 144 miles not driven in my car, 2 trees
planted( and grown for 10 years), & 20 square feet of forest preserved
from deforestation.
I had no idea my little effort would make such a dent in our environment.
I’ve paid most of my bills online for quite a while. Won’t you join the
online gang and make your effort at greening our environment a little
bit better?
Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Arbor Day Festival Ada Park & Arboretum Free
Saturday, April 25 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Donations accepted
Bring your family out to the Locke Arboretum at Ada Park for this festival
of events to celebrate Arbor Day. Ada Park will be set up with activity
stations for all ages including workshops on tree pruning and care,
backyard wildlife habitats, nature displays, conservation exhibits,
youth crafts and games, wildflower & tree walks and fishing for kids.
Special "tree theme" snacks and beverages will be available for purchase.
One free tree sapling to each family as supplies last.
Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Photo of Ada Maple Tree by Bonnie Westbrook
I assume we are all trying to do our best at saving the environment and
doing our small part in protecting our planet, but sometimes the obvious
is overlooked.
I am a bibliophile (a.k.a. book-aholic) I love books. I collect books,
I read books. Books area large part of my life. Do I buy books? Yes,
but I usually do the “green “ thing and borrow the latest best seller
from my local library.
Once I have read a novel, I usually don’t reread it. So why waste the
paper, trees, and space to own books for a short period of time.
This has never made sense to me when I could go to the public
library and request anything I could desire to read. I go online in
my jammies and when my requested book comes into my local branch,
they notify me!
Your local public library also has movies on DVDs and books on CD’s
and books on tape. All for free. And by using your local library, you
are making a small effort to improve the environment.
So do the “green thing” with your reading. Visit your local library.
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Cascade Township Public Library Photo by Bonnie Westbrook
