This is a very cool blog about organic gardening and small scale homesteading. I stumbled upon it while trying to troubleshoot my carrot germination problem. It's mostly about growing food but touches on other related environmental issues - food politics, cycling etc.

The Mass Green Communities initiative is a program with simple and clear criteria which a town can meet in order to gain Green Community designation. It is a program that residents can be part of and aside from the environmental benefits of meeting the criteria it makes the town eligible for various state and federal grants. One of my coworkers is involved in the initiative for the town of Northfield and it is something he feels proud as a resident to be a part of.

Transition towns are movements that connect people through events and initiatives focused on growing local economies into sustainable and fulfilling communities. This is the Massachusetts ring. I think these kind of movements are inspiring because it is so morale building to connect locally and discuss what we are going to do in our humble little lives to make things better, rather than depend on big changes coming from places of power.

Here's another reason why I love where I live. We have a progressive community college that is leading the way in practical education in sustainability fields. My friend and neighbor credits this program with giving him the skills to design and build his house using highly energy efficient methods. He had no prior experience either, and now he is a solar hot water installer. Here's my friend's blog that details their entire process. (I may venture into this one year program at GCC after I finish at UMass) http://spartanandhannah.wordpress.com/

This is another local business and a member of the Franklin County CDC. They install cellulose insulation made from recycled newspapers. It is non-toxic, fire resistant, mold resistant, sound deadening and rodent deterring. If we find we need supplemental insulation in our house we are going to call upon this little family run business.

This is an incubator facility in Greenfield that helps entrepreneurs get their ideas up and running. They offer expert advice in business planning, operations, and lending as well as workspace. Their food processing division has been tremendously successful, helping many creative people turn locally grown foods into unique products that highlight the agricultural importance of Franklin County.

"Black Locust is a highly durable hardwood which requires no treatment and which can be used for a variety of indoor and outdoor purposes. As an alternative to treated lumber it is especially suitable for fence posts, outdoor furniture and decking." I just replaced the lead paint coated decking on my porch with wood from this mill. It is absolutely beautiful, will last a long time, and will leach nothing toxic into my soil. It didn't come from a tropical place across the globe, or even out of state, it's from the next town over.

This is an organization in Massachusetts that helps homeowners and businesses lower their energy costs and consumption. We bought a hundred year old house a little over a year ago and had them do an energy audit. For a small fee, they performed various tests on our home's energy efficiency and made several retrofit solutions for no additional charge - new CFL bulbs throughout the house, low-flow aerators and shower head, and various draft sealing measures. As a result of the audit we were able to secure a 0% loan for a new high efficiency furnace and tankless hot water heater.

This organization is a resource for builders, architects, designers, and educators. They provide information, networking and solutions for geared toward sustainable energy solutions in the built environment. AND they are right here in Greenfield! I just used their Green Pages Directory to find a local manufacturer and installer of standing seam metal roofing.

This is a brief article about a change in home buying trends toward less square footage and in favor of higher quality of life in terms of neighborhood. It's the second in a two part series. It resonated with me because I grew up in a suburban (not McMansions by any stretch) neighborhood detached from any civic or cultural hub activity. People mostly kept to themselves and within their yards, and I always longed as a kid to be able to walk places and just observe human activity or go to a store. Had it been purely rural I might have been satisfied in other ways but it didn't really have the advantages of rural or urban life. That is the reality I think of many suburbs - yes, there is a city somewhere in the vicinity but you are surrounded by private property, so it's kind of the crud of both worlds rather than the best.

This is a page with instructions on how to build your own bamboo bike trailer. At the bottom there are additional links to other designs for utility trailers for bikes. I have borrowed the trailers that the Pedal People use in Northampton and they are great. You can haul up to 300 lbs and they don't compromise your stability much. The catch is that their trailers cost upwards of $450. There is a a significant community of enthusiasts that simply want to promote human power as an alternative to fossil fuel, and consequently you can find all of these trailer plans offered for free - some with Creative Commons licenses and others just there for the taking/sharing. It's great!