Volunteer Opportunities

Mardi Gras on the Island - Volunteers needed

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Two Great Events

Please note that there are two great conferences coming to our area in March that you don't want to miss:

1. The Southeast Recycling Conference and Trade Show, http://www.southeastrecycling.com/
2. Power Up Expo, http://www.powerup2010.com/

Both events provide a wealth of information pertaining to recycling, green building, sustainability, and renewable energy. You’ll meet some great vendors, learn about emerging technologies, and hear some tremendous technical presentations.

Hope to see you there

Save the Date! Choctawhatchee Scientific Symposium and Family Festival April 30 & May 1

Dear Friends,

Since you have been a supporter of the Mattie Kelly Environmental Institute, I wanted you to be among the first to know: the 3rd Annual Mattie Kelly Environmental Symposium on Choctawhatchee Bay is scheduled for Friday, April 30, 2010 on the Northwest Florida State College campus in Niceville, FL. And the Choctawhatchee Estuary Family Festival is scheduled for Saturday, May 1, 2010 at Rocky Bayou State Park in Niceville. We are also holding another amateur photo contest this spring. You will receive more details and information as the planning progresses. But please check for updates about these events on the Institute's website (http://mattiekellyinstitute.org/ ).

Papers for both oral and poster presentations are solicited for the Symposium (please see attached "Call for Papers"). Researchers from academia, industry, and government agencies are encouraged to submit their recent work on topics related to the Choctawhatchee Estuary, watershed, and bay. For those of you who have attended this event in years past: the format will be similar to the 1^st annual event in 2008, rather than last year's workshop format.

Please visit the Symposium's website to register and submit your abstract. And please visit the Festival's website to register your group to host an exhibit or to sign up to volunteer at the event.

Please mark your calendars; I look forward to seeing you all this spring! Thank you for your continued support of the Mattie M. Kelly Cultural & Environmental Institute.

Best,

Allison Beauregard

Public Forum on Proposal to Allow Drilling off Florida Coast

The E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center
MEDIA RELEASE


___________________________________________________________________________________
For immediate release Contact Christy Scally:
January 20, 2010 850-835-1824


Public Forum on Proposal to Allow Drilling off Florida Coast

Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, January 20, 2010- The E. O. Wilson Biophilia Center will be sponsoring a public forum on the proposal to allow oil and gas drilling in Florida state waters. The forum will be held on Thursday, February 4, 2010, from 5:00 to 6:30 PM at the South Walton High School Auditorium, located at 645 Greenway Trail off Highway 331 South, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

Presenters at the forum will be David Mica, Executive Director of the Florida Petroleum Council; Eric Draper, Executive Director of Audubon of Florida; David Rancourt, a partner with the Southern Energy Group and Lead Advocate for Florida Energy Associates; and David McClain, former oil spill planner and trainer with the Marine Spill Response Corporation and current consultant to Apalachicola Riverkeeper.

After the presentations, there will be an opportunity for questions from the audience. Everyone is invited to attend.

Green Awareness Committee Celebrates Successful First Year

The Green Awareness Taskforce in 2009 has been very successful and I would like to share some of the highlights with you.

There were over 27 businesses & individuals who took the Green Awareness pledge on the web-site. The Green Awareness Taskforce was the first chamber committee to promote Social Networking using the Web-site Blog, FACEBOOK & Twitter. We had over 13,000 hits on our web-site in 2009. There were 22 business listings created on the Green Products & Services Page on the web-site. We participated in over twelve environmental & community events throughout the year and initiated recycling at most of them. Gulf Coast Energy Network with the help of Environmental Scientist Dave Robau brought to the Taskforce experts to discuss renewable energy and bring national experts to speak at various events in Okaloosa County. At the Billy Bowlegs Festival we collected over 900 pounds of single stream recycling and 643 pounds of Aluminum cans. In November we helped support America/Florida Recycles Day. The City of Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa County, McDonalds & Sam's Club collected over 5500 pounds of Hazardous Waste & Single Stream Recycling. There were over 30,000 aluminum cans collected. All Aluminum cans collected at the 2009 Billy Bowlegs Festival, 2009 Recycling on the Water Campaign (ROW) & 2009 National/Florida Recycles day went to support the Ronald McDonald House. Gulf Power & Oklaloosa Gas created initiatives throughout the year to increase awareness about their FREE energy audits for the Green Awareness Utilities Committee. In 2009 there were over 619 home energy audits done; up over 50% from 2008. There were over 200 Commercial audits conducted; compared to 31 in 2008. Over 10 Hotel Energy audits were done in 2009; compared to 4 in 2008. A big thank you to the recycling volunteers who helped throughout the year and to all the companies & the Environmental Counsel who made in-kind donations. All 5 major chain hotels are now Green Lodging Certified on Okaloosa Island; compared to only 1 hotel certified in 2008. The Hospitality Committee brought Brad Stombock from the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection Agency in for a Green Lodging Workshop in November to review the updated changes in the Florida Green Lodging Program. He also spoke informally to Condominium Managers about how Condominiums can earn Green Lodging Certifications. For the second year, the Taskforce partnered with Okaloosa County to initiate an innovative recycling grant. Lisa Holmes from Creative Web Solutions created www.gogreenokaloosa.com in February 2009. The complete PowerPoint Presentation is on the web-site to review. Cox Communications aired 2 shows to help promote Green Awareness. Cox Conserves & National Recycling Day. Both of these shows can be seen on our web-site. I want to thank all the Green Awareness Taskforce members & volunteers who helped initiate green awareness throughout 2009 and will look forward to their continued support in 2010. Please attend our monthly meetings the 1^st Tuesday each month at 815am at the Fort Walton Beach Chamber Conference Room.

At our January meeting we began setting our 2010 goals & initiatives. The Green Awareness Taskforce passed out information at the Snowbird Expo. Since then, we have had phone calls and emails from Snowbirds wanting to recycle. We will be recycling at the Mardi Gras on the Island parade and Festival.

Be sure to visit our web-site www.gogreenokaloosa.com. We invite you to take the Green Pledge on the web-site for your business and or home. Little steps DO make a difference.

Tammy McDaniel - 2010 Green Awareness Taskforce Chair

www.gogreenokaloosa.com

850-586-0501

whatfootprintwillyouleave@gmail.com