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The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation is a great organization that has been doing some great work here in Pittsburgh since 1964.  This workshop is just one of the many programs they offer throughout the year.

If you are looking to learn more about historic buildings or just want to meet some great people – check out one of their SOTS events.   SOTS is short for the Society of Tavern Seekers – every few months they meet at a historic bar in Pittsburgh for a happy hour event.

‘Building Green’ with ARTEMIS Environmental

What does “building green” really mean?

Green building is an often over-used and not entirely understood term.  For our February workshop at the Landmarks Housing Resource Center in Wilkinsburg, Ian Miller, managing partner of Artemis Environmental in Lawrenceville, will discuss elements of green building and design.

He will also talk about Artemis Environmental’s wide range of products, which include everything from boards made of sustainable materials such as bamboo and sunflower seeds to toxic free finishers and recycled tiles. Mr. Miller’s show-and-tell of sustainable building products will include a demonstration of American Clay plaster and cork flooring.

Date: Saturday, February 18
Time:10:00am to 11:30am
Location: Landmarks Housing Resource Center
744 Rebecca Ave, Wilkinsburg, PA 15221
Map and driving directions

Janice Webb Donatelli started Artemis Environmental, which is located at 3709 Butler Street in Lawrenceville, in 2005.

Mr. Miller is transforming Artemis from a high quality green building products supplier into a full-scale design, supplier and installation business.

Mr. Miller is owner of Zambano and Sons, a general contracting firm focused primarily on residential remodeling and exterior hardscape projects. He lives with his wife, Carla, a landscape architect, their daughters, Stella and Rose in a 100-year old house in Friendship that has no shortage of green remodeling projects on the horizon.

This workshop is FREE

RSVPs are appreciated. Contact Mary Lu Denny: marylu@phlf.org or 412-471-5808 ext. 527.

Tree Pittsburgh has teamed up with Groupon’s charity site, G-Team, to plant more trees in Pittsburgh.  This isn’t your usual groupon deal – just an opportunity to use the Groupon platform to help Tree Pittsburgh plant more Trees.  Each donation of $10 will plant another Tree here in Pittsburgh.

Click here to buy a tree for Pittsburgh from Groupon

Don’t have a Groupon Account yet? Click here to sign up for Groupon via our referral link.

Earlier this year – you may have remembered that we moved IheartPGH website hosting to pair Networks.  First of all pair Networks is kind enough to support IheartPGH by donating website hosting (and in the interest of transparency I am working with them on another blogging project – sneak peek here).  We are also excited to use pair Networks for website hosting because they are, and have been, located in Pittsburgh for the past 15 years and pair Networks is one of the greenest website hosting companies around.

So in an effort to continue their green work – pair Networks has just announced that they are partnering with Leilani Munter, aka Carbon Free Girl.  Munter has been named one of the top ten female drivers in the world by Sports Illustrated.  Every time  Leilani races, she adopts an acre of rain forest to offset her carbon footprint. Leilani holds a degree in biology from the University of California in San Diego.

A little more about pair Networks:

Here is what pair Networks says about being green:

A 100-percent carbon neutral company, pair Networks (http://www.pair.com) makes environmental conservancy a central commitment, with workplace policies that encourage Earth-friendly commutes and many other sustainable practices.

I can attest to the fact that pair Networks is serious about being green – Carbon neutral is just the beginning – everything about their office  is approached with a mindset of conservation – there are no disposable coffee cups or forks at the pair Networks headquarters.  pair Network is also an enthusiastic support of many Pittsburgh organizations like BikePGH, Gasp and Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

Sunday, June 12, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Curious about what it would take to raise chickens in the city? Have a hankering for fresh local eggs in the morning? Wish you could take advantage of some of the benefits of country living right here in the City?

Or maybe you just like chickens . . .

Join us for the First Ever City of Pittsburgh Chicks in the Hood Urban Chicken Coop Tour, a self-guided tour of  backyard chicken coops around the City. Take a peek at backyards all over town for creative coop ideas and a chance to talk
chicken with owners and other poultry enthusiasts. Plus you’ll get a chance to see other back- yard sustainability practices in place — like rain barrels, organic gardening techniques, composting, and more.

Tickets for the tour are $5 – kids are free! Ticket purchase gets you a map with directions to each participating coop on the tour.

All proceeds from each ticket sale will be donated to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s Urban Agriculture Programs, including The Farm Stand Project and the Plant-A-Row Project.

Tickets will be available the morning of the tour at:

• The Quiet Storm www.qspgh.com at 5430 Penn Avenue in Friendship/Garfield,
• Tazza D’Oro www.tazzadoro.com at 1125 North Highland Avenue in Highland Park,
• Crazy Mocha www.crazymocha.com, 2 East North Avenue on the North Side,7665 Lock Way West, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, located at the Highland Park Dam at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Allegheny River Boulevard.

read more about chicken coops:

Food Stuff: Fresh Eggs So Local, They’re at Your House (nytimes.com)

11 Contemporary Chicken Coops – From Urban Hen Houses to Green Chicken Coops (TrendHunter.com) (trendhunter.com)

Chicken Coop Plans: Offer Your Chickens Treats (animaltopics.com)

Austin chicken coop tour this weekend (boingboing.net)

How to Build a Chicken Coop (Video) (treehugger.com)

Image courtesy of Tree Pittsburgh

On Sunday, March 6 from 10am to 2pm at the Double Wide Grill on the South Side you get all you can eat pancakes for $10 and your donation goes directly to benefit Tree Pittsburgh – an environmental non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the City’s vitality by restoring and protecting City trees.  Why should you attend?  Well, pancakes are delicious (and there is a vegan option), you get free coffee and potatoes as well, tunes from Big Snow Big Thaw, and street trees are a critical element for a livable urban environment.  Are you one of those people that includes a link on your Facebook page every time Pittsburgh gets voted ‘most livable city’ (possibly including the comment ‘suck it, Portland’)?  Well street trees are a huge part of reducing our City’s pollution* and there is still a long way to go in improving our air quality.  Who knows?  Your $10 just might end up helping to promote Pittsburgh to most livable city in the world!

For more information on Pittsburgh’s urban forest, info on street tree plantings in your neighborhood, and to learn about becoming an official tree tender to help care for Pittsburgh’s trees visit the Tree Pittsburgh’s website!

RSVP for breakfast on Facebook!

*Leaves filter the air we breathe by removing dust and other particulates. Leaves absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the air such as ozone, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide.  In exchange, trees give off vital oxygen.

Image via Wikipedia

I know this is short notice for an event but I wanted to highlight this event and the organization that it supports.  Arbor Aid is the annual fundraiser for Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest – which is an amazing group that has been working to preserve, protect and plant new trees in Pittsburgh.

You may have noticed that Pittsburgh continues to be ranked highly on list of places to live and one of the many reasons that Pittsburgh is getting high scores for liveability is the green space in this city.  In Pittsburgh you can afford to live on a tree lined street.  Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest has been working to educate and train city residents to take care of trees in neighborhoods all over the city.  Another great thing about this organization is that they are working closely with residents and local government to keep Pittsburgh a shady city.

So, if you are looking for a great evening on Friday – check out Arbor Aid.  This event is held on the top floor of the Guardian Storage Building in the Strip District.  The event features artwork created from salvaged wood.

This year’s event, Reveal encourages artists to reveal the beauty of urban trees. This year’s event is special as we both mark a new chapter in our organization’s history with the unveiling of our new name and logo as well as honor the memory of our dear friend and supporter, John Metzler, creator of the Urban Tree Forge.

Interested in volunteering with Friends of the Urban Forest? Check out their Tree Tenders course here.

Arbor Aid details are available here – http://www.pittsburghforest.org/arboraid

I have been stuck at home all week – fighting off what I hope will be the first and only cold of the fall season.  I have been catching up on bad tv and blog reading and one of the events that has been receiving much attention in the blogosphere and beyond – it was actually a friend who I saw on the bus last week that first reminded me about Park(ing) Day.

Park(ing) Day is an annual event that is celebrate here in Pittsburgh and other cities around the globe (New York, London, Brisbane, Los Angeles) – where parking spaces are turned into mini parks for the day. Park(ing) day is a chance to see some creative ideas around parks and to think about how we use our public spaces.

Just a few years ago – Oakland had a large, what I thought at the time was – lovely and convenient parking lot right next to the library, museum and the Cathedral of Learning.  But the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy had bigger ideas and the big parking lot has been replaced with Schenley Plaza – which is much more lovely than a parking lot.  It is great to see the plaza and the tent filled with people enjoying the space on sunny afternoons.  Schenley Plaza is just one example of how we can start to re-imagine our public spaces.  PARKing Day Pittsburgh 2010 details:

Over 30 groups will be setting up 25 parks around the city – click on the map for a larger version.

Lunchtime Bike Tour of Pittsburgh Parking Day Spots – BikePGH is organizing a lunch time tour of the parks by bike.  Click here for full details.

The ride will meet at 11:45 and leave at noon from the Bike Pittsburgh PARK(ing) Day Lounge (~410-ish S. Craig St in Oakland). This ride will be slow-paced and no one will be left behind, unless they would like to be. It will be suitable for new riders or people new to group rides, but perhaps not very young kids.

If you don’t have time for a 16 mile ride in the middle of the day, why not join for a half hour? We’ll tweet upcoming locations using the hashtag #parkingdayPGH for updates and you can catch up for a segment of the ride.

After Parties – these Parking Day spots have evening activies planned:

Kelly Strayhorn Theater, After Party Extravaganza, 5 – 7 pm
www.kelly-strayhorn.org, 5941 Penn Ave, 15206 in East Liberty

Get your kicks at Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s PARK(ing) Day After Party Extravaganza! Eat, drink, and play games with Obscure Games Pittsburgh outside and in the theater. If you feel the spirit move, then move with the sweet sound of music that fills the theater. Put the breaks on life and enjoy yourself and the company of others at KST!

Over the Bar (OTB) Bicycle Café, Late Night Extravaganza, 5 pm – 12 am
www.otbbicyclecafe.com, 2518 East Carson Street, 15203 in South Side

Join the folks at OTB and check out their Reduced, Reused and Recycled Bike-Friendly Pedestrian Park. The park will feature creative installations, interactive Bikerators (bicycle-powered generators) from Kova Enterprises, and more! From 5 pm to 12 am, OTB will be offering the Bike Pittsburgh burger, The Bicycle Advocate, for $5 and East End Brewing’s Pedal Pale Ale for $3.

Lili Coffee*Shop, Late Night Caffeine Extravaganza, 5- 10 pm
Lili Coffee*Shop, 3138 Dobson Street, 15219 in Polish Hill

Join Lili Coffee*Shop at their PARK(ing) Day celebration lasting until 10 pm! Park yourself, not your car, at 3138 Dobson Street, home of Lili Coffee Shop, Copacetic Comics Company and Mind Cure Records in the heart of Polish Hill. This location will be the one day/night campsite of The Caravan Collective and Lili’s ’67 Safari and featuring musical performances, grub, drinks, art and crazytalk.

AND… Friday, September 17 is also a Car Free Friday – BikePGH has car free events on the South Side and Market Square.

Some additional reading about PARK(ing) day in other cities

• PARK(ing) Day 2010 Takes Place This Friday Around the World! (inhabitat.com)
• Rethink Pavement: Park(ing) Day is Tomorrow (sierraclub.typepad.com)
• Park(ing) Day 2010: Where Will You Celebrate? (streetsblog.org)
• Celebrate PARK(ing) Day with Chronicle! (chroniclebooks.com)
• Park[ing] Day LA: Create Your Own Park (huffingtonpost.com)
• Park(ing) Day coming to Los Angeles (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Over 15 Parking Spaces to be Converted into Temporary Mini-Parks (laist.com)
• Portis-ing Pittsburgh (onfrozenblog.com)

This Friday is also the Geek Arts/Green Innovators (GA/GI) Festival.  One of the great things about Pittsburgh, and I feel like I say this often, but it is true and worth repeating is how different communities come together to create innovation.  GA/GI celebrates the intersection of geek and green in the arts.

The organizers of the festival have assembled an impressive line up of people and organizations doing impressive things in the areas of technology and the enviroment in Pittsburgh.  See the entire line up below.  If you are not familiar with the Penn Avenue Arts coridor – start at the Pittsburgh Glass Center at 5471 Penn Ave and go from there.  The Glass Center always has interesting demos on first Fridays and a number of the GA/GI events will be there.

A few things that are definitly worth a stop:

• Voluto Coffee – we <3 Voluto and they know coffee
• Grow Pittsburgh – Twilight Farmer’s Market
• Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest -  Art Display by John Metzler
• The Power Flower by Art Energy Design,
• CMU ChargeCar
  • Check out the PopCity article about ChargeCar here.

But honestly – all of these are great organizations and it is nice that they have lined up so many great organizations and activities in one place.

GA/GI Festival Details

5472 Penn Ave,Pittsburgh, PA, 15224
April, 2, 2010, 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Festival location within 4800-5500 Penn Avenue…OR start at 5472 Penn Avenue–The Pigh Glass Center!

Website and Facebook

CLUSTER 1 (near Pittsburgh Glass Center 5472 Penn Avenue)
Pittsburgh Glass Center
A “Hot Jam” in the  Hot Shop;
Exhibit: “From the Earth to the Fire and Back”;
Live Entertainment:  Life In Balance,
The Rusty Bagpiper, DJ Stevey B of iParty Productions,
Cello Fury (Formerly Cello Fourte) and a Fashion Show “Pedal to the Metal” with DJ James Gyre @ 9:30 pm

Enjoy a light nosh and wine made in Lawwrenceville–with Duane Rieder of Engine House 25!

@Glass Lofts ”Eco Living” – NOW OPEN! Pittsburgh’s hottest, address, view a show space by Emphasis Interiors and a variety of art exhibitions: the Society of Sculptors, celebrating their 75th Birthday. Featured Artists: W. Johansen,  V. LaValle,
A. Almarza,  J. Fisher,  A. Azoury, E. Singer, M. Gregio, Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Center Global, and  Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

@ Dance Alloy Peformance @ 7 pm  5530 Penn Ave “Tap Into the Possibilites” (cost $7 admission)

Voluto Coffee hosting artist R. Snow” Open Until 10 pm

A Glass Clearnce by Shermise hosting an intallation by Evolve Architechs “Fast Forward to 2020″ (Also showing in Cluster D)

Edge Studios “Exquiste Corps” @ 5411 Penn Ave.

Creative Fitness /Go work out a sweat free for 20 minutes @ 5406 Penn Ave

CLUSTER 2 ( near Quiet Storm 5430 Penn Avc)
Grow Pittsburgh “Twilight Farmer’s Market
Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest Art Display by John Metzler
Turner Dairy Farm
Garfield Farm and Friends
Student Conservation Association
Sprout Fund GA/GI Showcase: Replay My Play and The Hill District Green Print Plan
Quiet Storm Cafe /Benefit Dinner for Grow Pittsburgh (Reservations preferred)

CLUSTER 3 (Family Dollar Sector /Intersection of N. Pacific Ave and Penn to 113 S. Pacific)–Great Family Venue!!!
The Power Flower by Art Energy Design, ZipCar, CTSI Science Mobile Lab, CMU ChargeCar, Verizon Fios, (Hula)Hoop Union, The Pittsburgh Chess Club, EcoCents, Allegheny County Library Association “One Book”, Pittsburgh Technology Council, Global Links, Creative Reuse hands-on activities;  Save the Igloo,  Yellow Black and Green Pittsburgh, Green Gear Pedicabs; The Trash Fairy–a salvage art storyteller, and others!

CLUSTER 4 (Penn Avene and Winebiddle sector)
Awesome Books–Book Release Party for C. Leach and  E.McNutt
Laura McLaughin–Community mosaic project
ARTica Gallery w  J. Vachon Salvage Quilt Project and C. Dregalla, artist
Irma Freeman Center–”Anitquated & Future or Imaginary Technology
Ian Ingram @ All God’s Creatures Grooming (see window)
Image Box–featuring exhibit “Green, Green Grass” by J. Visnesky
Most Wanted Fine Art–J. Lysak and the Edinboro University Print Shop
Mixed Media Terrariums by S. Wojdylak
Mondern Formations / Annual Spring Salon and guest Electric Owl
International Children’s Museum / Mandala art work
Space Robots and Other Creations
R. J. Walters Law Office “Tango” demo
5000 Penn Ave  and Gross Street Exhibitions by P. Villalobos Echeverria
Tweek clothing/ 10% for College Students on entire shop
B. Ziller’s Beautification Project–Paint colorful boards for abandoned RE

Arbor Aid 2009 – Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest‘s Annual Fundraiser
October 30th, 2009, 7pm-11pm

2839 Liberty Avenue in the Strip District–6th Floor of Guardian Storage Solutions

More Information & Tickets: Arbor Aid 2009

Musical Performances by Life in Balance and The Turpentiners

Food and Libations by Dozen Cupcakes, East End Brewing Company, Rob Baron of the East End Food Co-op, Kate Romane, Six Penn Kitchen, Tazza D’oro, & Whole Foods Market

Artwork Created from Salvaged Wood by 30 Artists

$20 Tree Tenders $25 Pre-Sale $30 Day of the Event