Comcast Sponsors Animal Planet Expo at Shelby Farms!

I can't believe summer is almost over! I wanted to give everyone a heads up though about an event coming up...the Animal Planet Expo at Shelby Farms!

The Expo will feature all sorts of animals and fun events- it's definitely worth checking out! I'll be finding out more to tell you about once the date gets closer, but the event will be August 23rd and the 24th from 10 am to 4 pm, so mark your calendars!

See you Wednesday :)

an interesting email i got!

Maurice Cox, Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts,
stressed excellence, public involvement, and education in all areas of the
arts in his talk yesterday at the Center City Commission Annual Luncheon.


He ended with these words,
"And then, lastly, the most memorable moment for me, visiting Memphis, was
looking out at your extraordinary natural resource, and that's the river.
And I would encourage you to preserve your riverfront as a public living
room of Memphis - at all costs, because the collective dignity of Memphis
begins at the river, and you should give it back to the public to whom it
rightfully belongs."

His talk and specific highlights of suggestions for Memphis are posted on
the web http://www.friendsforourriverfront.org/index.html

Virginia McLean
President, Friends for Our Riverfront
www.friendsforourriverfront.org

lettuce growing..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAEpU--Kin0

lettuce

I hope everyone is having a fabulous summer!! 

I found this article about a billboard in chicago for our favorite..McDonald's. It is made of none other than lettuce!! 

Dare we say that we actually like something from McDonalds? It's a billboard that was set up in Chicago last fall to promote their "health conscious" menu, and just won a Gold Award for Leo Burnett at the Innovative Advertising Awards. 

Fast Food News says "the creative team worked closely with a horticulturalist to create a billboard that could start with 11/2 inch spouts and grow into lush leaves. The garden appears to be safe from being plucked apart by birds because there is no place for them to perch and peck."

you can watch the billboard actually grow..cool

A Look at What the Memphis City Council is Doing to Preserve Our Community

Courtesy of an email from Friends for Our Riverfront:

Yesterday the City Council voted to

 

1.) to keep the Cossitt Library open;

2.) to approve all the RDC Capital Improvement budget requests:

Beale Street Landing-- $22M in reprogram and new money. In addition to that amount $6M has already been spent and $500,000 will be requested next year.

Cobblestone Landing - $6M

Confederate Park- Law School - $2M

Mud Island Maintenance- $300,000 with additional requests of $2.6M in the next five years.

In the course of the budget meeting, lots of interesting things were discussed. 

Highlights, broken into short segments on issues like the future of the Cobblestone Landing, parking in Tom Lee Park, and the current state of the masterplan, are posted for you at 

http://www.memphiscobblestone.com

The full audio is posted at http://river.freshbits.com/library

Help our Nation's K-12 Schools Go Green!!

Photo: Kim Muench
It isn't often that we have the opportunity to pass a truly great piece of legislation, but this week the House of Representatives will vote on a measure that will provide almost $7 billion in grants to help our nations' K-12 schools go green. Called the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act (H.R. 3021), this bill, sponsored by Ben Chandler, will help schools to become more energy efficient and healthier. There is a special emphasis on low-income schools where children are most at risk from unhealthy facilities and on schools that still suffer from the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

Why Green Schools? Close to 60 million students spend up to 40 hours a week in facilities that are often unhealthy and a hindrance to their ability to learn. Green schools reduce sick days, significantly improve the health of students with asthma and other respiratory illnesses, and improve student morale and confidence. If this bill passes, we will be taking a huge leap forward toward our goal to make every school in America a green and healthy place to learn, while we save energy and create new green jobs!

Our Representatives need to hear that their vote will improve the lives of millions of our school children. Take action now and send a letter to your Member of Congress.

For more information on green schools, visit Earthday.net.

Earth Day Network - 1616 P St. NW Suite 340 - Washington DC 20036 - www.earthday.net - ph 202.518.0044 - fax 202.518.8794

Help Repair the Blue Trail on Saturday!

hey kids! this is from the shelby farms park conservancy:

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation--Natural Areas Division is hosting a trail repair and maintenance day at Shelby Farms Park in the Lucius Burch Jr. State Natural Area on Saturday, June 7 from 8am-12pm. Volunteers will meet at the Visitor Center at 8:00am and go together to the Natural Area to repair the Blue Trail by re-routing sections around wet areas, removing privet, building steps and short boardwalks, and installing signs at the trail heads. If you use these trails and want to be part of a special trail project, contact Allan Trently at (731) 512-1369 or allan.trently@state.tn.us. Volunteers must register with Allan!