Sustainability

Kalamazoo salon ships hair clippings to nonprofit to help environment

By Newsroom

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May 6, 2010

Hair clippings converted into mats and tubes to soak up oil spills? You heard that right. A Kalamazoo salon is sending more than a few hanks of hair to a group that helps turn the clippings into effective tools for relief efforts in disasters like the recent oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Blue 302 Salon and Spa fills a 3-foot by 1-foot by 1-foot receptacle full of hair at the end of each week. Rather than toss it out, that hair now is shipped at Blue 302's expense to Matter of Trust, a 12-year-old San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that connects other nonprofits in need with in-kind donations. Victoria Elkins, a Blue 302 employee suggested the move after reading about the initiative.Excerpt:"We just think it's going to be great for the environment," Elkins said. "Everybody here, we're all animal lovers and some of us are a little bit more rabid about the environment than others."She was excited about the idea of helping with spills that result from such incidents as the early April Chinese boat crash at Australia's Great Barrier Reef and last week's oil rig explosion off the shores of New Orleans.For more on the Reuse Of Society's Abundance program, read the entire story.Source: Kalamazoo Gazette

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Lawmakers ask Amtrak to add another train between Chicago, Kalamazoo

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In The News

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May 6, 2010

State legislators representing Southwest Michigan have asked the Michigan Department of Transportation to make a formal request to Amtrak for additional train service between Chicago and Kalamazoo, the Herald-Palladium reports.If approved, the train service would depart Kalamazoo earlier in the morning and depart later in the evening from Chicago than trains now in service. Lawmakers pointed out the train would allow southwestern Michigan residents the opportunity to spend a full day in Chicago -- conducting business, working, attending to medical needs -- and return home in one day on the train.Excerpt:The legislators last week sent a letter to MDOT asking for an additional train leaving Chicago Union Station every evening at 10 p.m., and a return trip leaving Kalamazoo at 6 a.m. each morning. The proposed train would make stops in Hammond, Ind., New Buffalo, Niles, Dowagiac and then Kalamazoo.Currently there are two trains between Chicago and Kalamazoo. Amtrak's Blue Water train leaves Chicago Union Station at 4:10 p.m., arriving in Niles at 6:51 p.m., and the Wolverine leaves Chicago at 6 p.m. and arrives in Niles at 8:43 p.m.Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesman based in Chicago, said Amtrak should be able to reach a decision on the request within a year, "perhaps even by this fall."For a list of the legislators who signed the letter to MDOT, read the entire story.Source: Herald-Palladium

A harvest of sunshine

By Stacie Carlson

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Sustainability

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April 29, 2010

A solar array surrounded by corn and soy bean fields is an experiment on a grand scale for Connor Field and his father, Sam. Writer Stacie Carlson talks to them about what their learning about creating solar power from their massive do-it-yourself project.

Three Kalamazoo-area companies team up to compost cups

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Innovation News

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April 29, 2010

Three Kalamazoo-area companies have cups in common.Kalamazoo-based Fabri-Kal makes the cups, Bell's Eccentric Cafe serves up its brew in them, and Mulder's Landscape Supplies, Inc., mulches them after they have been used.Greenware, made by Fabri-Kal, are the cups. The cold drink cups and lids are made entirely from plants -- not petroleum. The resources used in the polymer that goes into the cups can be replenished naturally within one year. Made from a biopolymer, the Greenware product line is 100 percent compostable in municipal or industrial facilities.Greenware products require a specific temperature and level of humidity to compost correctly, which is why they are certified by the Biodegradable Plastics Institute, and meet international standards for composting.Since Southwest Michigan does not have a composting facility operated by a municipality the three companies teamed up to make sure the cups would be properly returned to the earth. Fabri-Kal's Vice President of Marketing John Kittredge calls this the cradle-to-cradle approach and says such local efforts are "smart, simple and truly beneficial economically, socially and environmentally." Mulder's handles the composting of leaves and yard waste for the city of Kalamazoo and has the capability to compost the Greenware cups alongside other natural waste."The Greenware cups are amazing to work with because they are 100 percent compostable," says Art Mulder, president and owner of the landscape supplies company. "We mix them in our leaf compost, and the compost in turn is sold and used in gardens throughout the Kalamazoo area."Bell's Eccentric Cafe has reduced its trash output 80 percent by volume, just by diverting their Greenware cups from landfill, says Evan Meffert, Sustainability Coordinator at Bell's Brewery.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Kate Kirkpatrick, Fabri-Kal

Miller College graduates will go out wearing green

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Innovation News

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April 29, 2010

When the 2010 graduating class of Miller College marches across the stage at McCamly Plaza they'll be wearing the expected black cap and gowns. But these "black" gowns are really "green." The new gowns are biodegradable and will break down in a landfill within a year. The school is using the Sustainable Element gowns sold by the Minneapolis-based Jostens for the first time this year. The product contains acetate fabric fiber made from natural wood harvested exclusively from renewable managed forests. It even comes in environmentally friendly packaging, says Jenny Andrews, marketing and communications director for Miller College.Students can go a step further and return the gowns to Josten. The company promises to put them in a landfill and spend $1 on an environmental sustainability project.Although the zippers do not biodegrade with the rest of the gown, they are made of 100-percent recycled materials. The school also will be using invitations and diplomas made from recycled paper.The school is working to take small steps toward sustainability that make sense for the small, but growing student body in Battle Creek, Andrews says.In the fall of 2009 the school counted 100 new students -- a 56-percent increase over the previous year's numbers. The school draws students from Calhoun, Barry, Branch, Eaton and Kalamazoo counties.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Jenny Andrews, Miller College

Federal funds will pay for Kal-Haven Trail $1.2 million face-lift

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In The News

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April 29, 2010

The resurfacing of the eastern half of the Kal-Haven Trail will begin this month, the Kalamazoo Gazette reports.The portion to be resurfaced reaches from the 10th Street trailhead in Kalamazoo County to the west village limits of Bloomingdale in Van Buren County. Excerpt:Most of the funds for the $1.2 million project were obtained by the road commission through the federal stimulus package.Battle Creek-based contractor Hoffman Brothers will resurface the limestone and asphalt as well as mark the pavement.The work is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 31.The surface of the 34-mile-long trail is about 20 years old.Hoffman plans to resurface the trail in one-mile sections and will set up detours to keep the trail open during the construction project. Riders are encouraged to check in with trail staff at the various trail heads for up-to-date project information.For information on the number of riders who use the trail, read the entire story.Source: Kalamazoo Gazette

New business will set up and install wind turbines

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In The News

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April 29, 2010

Michiana Wind Systems launched in April as a complement to the owners existing business, Ferguson Michiana Inc., reports the Herald-Palladium.The company does directional drilling, cable and duct construction and aerial and underground cable installation, primarily for AT&T. So getting into the business of selling and instaling wind turbines was a good fit for Dave Ferguson, who owns Ferguson Michiana with his brother, Jim. Office manager Tracy Galbreath co-owns the wind business with Dave Ferguson.Excerpt:"We researched for about a year and found this would be a good complement to Ferguson Michiana," Dave Ferguson said."We already have the equipment to do it. We learned by doing. The first one is a demonstration unit that serves this property. Our own employees installed it."Ferguson and Galbreath said they hope to add to the current Ferguson Michiana workforce of 35 as they get wind turbine customers."It seems to be sort of a hot market. There are a few wind turbines around, but we believe this is the first wind turbine business in Berrien County," Ferguson said.The owners divide the market into three categories: Small wind -- enough energy for an individual residence, farm or small business; community -- bigger towers serving 25 to 50 houses or a larger business; and big wind -- a power company that decides part of its power will come from wind. Ferguson expects their biggest market to be country homes and small businesses.For information on what the company expects from its first wind turbine now that the blades are spinning, read the entire story.Source: Herald-Palladium

Hydroponics retailer invites community to grand opening

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Development News

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April 29, 2010

Music, food and a host of opportunities to learn about green businesses will be part of the May 1 grand opening of Horizen Hydroponics. The Kalamazoo store is at 4646 W. Main St., on the northeast corner of West Main and Drake in the Westwood Plaza. The store opened in February and now plans to celebrate it. "We've received a warm welcome from Kalamazoo," says Bridgette Ujlaky, co-owner with her husband John, of Horizen Hydroponics. "We've found it to be a very good fit. The community is very forward thinking and people are very interested in gardening." The decision to open a store in the Kalamazoo market came as the couple, which has an established store in Grand Rapids, realized an increasing number of their customers were coming north to check out their business. The Ujlakys specialize in hydroponic, organic, indoor and year-round gardening supplies. Hydroponics, which means "water works," is the process of growing plants in water, gravel or sand, but without soil. Their stores carry lighting, nutrients and other items to help gardeners succeed. Horizen Hydroponics has been in business for eight years in Grand Rapids and online. Bridget Ujlaky estimates that about 70 percent of its business comes from the brick-and-mortar stores, while 30 percent is done online. The company employs eight, including two at the Kalamazoo store. And the zen in the name Horizen Hydroponics is fully intentional. The company's motto is "tranquility through gardening." The grand opening ceremony will feature live music by local bands, local food, and eco-friendly vendors such as Flowerfield Enterprises, Natural Health Center, Emerald Car Cleaners and others. The May 1 event starts at noon and goes until 5 p.m. Ujlaky says the business will donate proceeds from organic vegetable and herb seedlings sold that day to Fair Food Matters, advocates for local food production and consumption. Store hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. More information is available at Horizen Hydroponics' website or by calling 269-567-3333. Writer: Kathy Jennings Source: Bridgette Ujlaky

Vicksburg couple makes largest ever donation of Michigan agricultural property for conservation

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Development News

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April 29, 2010

The large-tract housing developers encroaching on agricultural property outside Vicksburg won't be allowed to build on 906 acres owned by Robert and Regina Richardson. Property that has been in the family for seven generations will be preserved as farmland through a donation to the State of Michigan. To date, it is the largest donation of prime farmland development rights to the state.The donation, made through the state's permanent conservation easement program, keeps property from being used for residential development.The program allows the development rights for the property to go to the State of Michigan. In return, farmers get local and federal tax breaks. The land can be written off as a charitable donation to lower federal taxes. And local taxes go down because they are based on the property being used as farmland. Taxes are higher on land that can be developed as subdivisions or for other residential uses.To develop the property for residential use would require going to court to overturn the easement, says Elizabeth Juris, of the Michigan Department of Agriculture.The Richardson's farm is about 2.5 miles outside the Village of Vicksburg, where people are buying up 40 acre pieces of property and putting a house in the middle of it, Juris says. The state program is designed to head off such practices.The Richardson's 906 acres is 80 percent farmland used for wheat, soybeans and corn planted in rotation. The remaining 20 percent is wooded property along the Portage River and Portage Creek. The State of Michigan will publicly thank the Richardsons for their donation in a special ceremony April 30 at the farm, 16611 S. 24th St. Vicksburg.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Elizabeth Juris, Michigan Department of Agriculture

Golf course starts $80 million project that could transform SW Michigan

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Development News

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April 22, 2010

The start of the second season at the Golf Club at Harbor Shores on April 23 is just one of several signs of progress and accomplishments at the long-awaited Harbor Shores Resort Community along Lake Michigan.In July, depending on weather, the final eight holes will open, completing the Jack Nicklaus-designed course. Currently, 10 holes, which opened to the public last year, are playable. Tee times became available as of April 23.On Aug. 10, Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and some of his other still-to-be-announced, famed pro golfer buddies come to town for the official opening and celebration of the course, says Ron Eng, director of marketing for Evergreen Development, the master developer of the project.The golf course is the centerpiece of a Harbor Shores, a 538-acre planned community that straddles Benton Harbor, St. Joseph and Benton Township. Harbor Shores is a mix of residential, retail and resort developments on waterways, golf courses and in town, Eng says.The target market are tourists and second-home buyers from Detroit, Chicago and Indiana, Eng says."We are looking to outside residents to come in and invest in our community," he says.About $80 million has been spent over the last five years on the project, Eng says. Construction has begun or is starting next week on model homes, spec homes and custom homes. The community is divided into four districts: the River District, the Harbor District, the Fairway District and the Shores District.Cottages along the river, houses along the golf course, and townhomes and condos, all within walking distance of Lake Michigan, will make up the residential component. There also will be retail developments and a resort hotel, spa and restaurant, Eng says.All of it will mean new jobs and more investment.Already the golf club has 50 seasonal employees and many of the builders and their employees are local residents. "We're really trying to influence the economy and create a tourism and hospitality economy," Eng says. "This will result in all kinds of direct and indirect jobs," from hotel housekeepers, restaurant managers and workers to golf pros, massage therapists, builders and electricians.Evergreen Development was retained by Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment Inc., a nonprofit charged with economically remaking the region by capitalizing on the waters and outdoors and the people who seek them out to live, work and play. Once the nonprofit begins to turn a profit, funds will go back into the community, maintaining roads, supporting schools, improving public spaces and more.For more information, check out the Golf Club at Harbor Shores website.Writer: Kim North ShineSource: Ron Eng, Director of Marketing, Evergreen Development