Leaves, Leaves, Leaves
You always know autumn is here when you start to hear the crunch of leaves underfoot. And, this means someone will probably need to do some sweeping raking, or blowing to remove leaves. Did you know it is better to just leave the leaves? Not only does that mean less work but it also means you are helping to keep up a healthy soil. The leaves are your natural fertilizer! They are also a great mulch. And, they provide winter protection for pollinators and other invertebrates. If you have to tidy up, you can always just move them to a section of your yard. Even lawns can benefit from a thin layer of leaves!
If you would like to know more about the benefits, check out the Town of Chapel Hill’s Leave Your Leaves web page!
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Welcome to Our New Climate Action Planning Intern!
Chloé Sherer is a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill majoring in Environmental Science and minoring in Geography and Music. She is passionate about food systems, environmental justice, and sustainability, which further grew as she volunteered at UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus gardens and worked with the Carrboro Farmers’ Market. Through her internship with Orange County, she is promoting the Climate Action Plan to the community and developing Orange County’s Green Catering list.
Keep reading below to find out more about the Climate Action Plan and Green Catering List.
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Another Welcome to Our Sustainability Specialist
Karina Nabors has a Ph.D. in Ecology and many years of experience in science education and communication. She enjoys managing public programs that are beneficial for all people in the community, especially those that are focused on the environment. She is excited to work on the Climate Action Plan for the County and the many great programs that will decrease our carbon footprint.
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Climate Action Plan Progress
Over the last few months, Orange County has been working on the draft of the Climate Action Plan. Throughout the drafting process, the County provided opportunities for residents to provide their input on how the plan could be improved.
On September 6th, the County held the Climate Action Plan Community Symposium with Blue Strike Environmental Consulting to explain the plan to community members and solicit feedback. After the symposium, a survey was available for the public to provide input on the plan and Chloé helped promote it through emails, flyers, and by contacting community groups, local businesses, etc. Tables were also set up at the Sustainable Social at UNC and the Carrboro Farmers’ Market. The public feedback period ended on October 6th. The final revised document was submitted to the Board of County Commissioners and approved on November 2nd.
Look for the new plan on the County’s sustainability web page soon! In addition, you will soon see a new interactive dashboard displaying the focus areas of the plan along with the greenhouse gas emissions forecast, the progress the County is making on climate action, and the solar and EV charger installations the County is adding.
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Community Climate Action Grant Project Underway!
In 2020, the Town of Chapel Hill received three grants from the Community Climate Action Grant Program. Two of the projects have been completed (Cedar Falls LED light conversion and Eubanks Road Park and Ride EV charger installation) and now the third, a tree planting project, is currently underway. The tree-planting project is in historically black neighborhoods, specifically in Northside and its surrounding neighborhoods. The Town of Chapel Hill created this project to prioritize underserved areas with communities historically excluded from green spaces and their benefits. Trees provide many advantages, such as reducing urban heat islands (areas of greater heat retention due to limited natural land cover), mitigating stormwater runoff, creating habitats, providing green spaces, and improving mental well-being.
Elizabeth Houghton, Sustainability Outreach Coordinator for the Town of Chapel Hill, discussed the details of the project with Chloé. The Town of Chapel Hill is working with the Marian Cheek Jackson Center and Hargraves Community Center to inform residents about the project. In conjunction with the Town’s Affordable Housing and Community Connections department, representatives from the organizations went door-to-door to distribute flyers about the program and they held a community meeting to let Northside residents know about the program.
When residents express interest, the Parks and Recreation Department of Chapel Hill comes out to their properties to ensure it is suitable for tree planting. Residents who participate can choose what type of native tree they want to be planted.
The Parks and Recreation Department will be planting 80 trees throughout November. They will also hold a ceremonial tree planting event for Chapel Hill’s Arbor Day on November 15th!
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Going Green with Food—New Green Catering List Underway
Orange County is in the process of creating a Green Catering Vendor list that will be a part of Orange County’s Sustainable Business Toolkit. The list will feature restaurants and catering businesses that follow sustainable practices. These were the sustainable practices used to select restaurant and catering businesses:
- food waste reduction (composting)
- sourcing locally and sustainably (using local farmers)
- eco-friendly tableware (reusable serving trays)
- meatless options (plant-based items)
Catering can be harmful to the environment in many ways because it relies on single-use items and generates food waste. Orange County wants to reduce waste and make events more sustainable by making this resource available and encouraging restaurants to go green.
There are other ways to make events and holiday gatherings sustainable! Here are a few ideas: - Buy locally or sustainably made products. Farmers’ markets are a great source of locally sourced foods. For example, if you’re looking for a Thanksgiving turkey, you can visit your local farmers' market to reserve one with a local farmer and then pick it up.
- Compost your leftovers. The Towns of Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro Farmers’ Market offer composting services during the Saturday markets. The Carolina Community Garden and the UNC Edible Campus main garden on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus also have compost donation bins available for drop-off anytime. If you are interested in composting at home, the County has more information and resources to help you get started.
- Use stainless steel utensils instead of disposable ones. Borrow stainless steel utensils from the County using the Fork It Over program. Just make sure to call (919) 968-2788 or email recycling@orangecountync.gov well in advance to make a reservation.
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Electric Vehicle Charger Added in Carrboro!
On September 29th, 2023, an electric vehicle (EV) charger was added in Carrboro Plaza to celebrate National Drive Electric Week. There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new charger and attendees had the opportunity to test-drive various electric bikes and vehicles. At the event, Chapel Hill Transit also offered a ride-along on one of their electric buses.
The electric vehicle charger was funded from the NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Volkswagen Settlement and by the Town of Carrboro, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation in the community, which is an important part of the Town’s (and County's) Climate Action Plans.
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Orange County Hits Tier 8 with Solarize the Triangle!
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For the past two years, Orange County, along with eleven other local jurisdictions, has participated in the Solarize the Triangle campaign aimed at making solar more accessible and affordable to residents, businesses, and nonprofits in our area. Over the past two years, the program has added 2,755 kW (or 2.75 MW) of solar energy to the region! At the heart of this program is the opportunity for customers to purchase solar energy systems with volume discounts which allows more people to participate due to greater affordability. As more customers sign up, greater discounts are possible. The 2023 campaign started with Tier 1 pricing for residential customers at $3.01 per watt but the pricing soon reached Tier 8, which is $2.65 per watt! For an average residential system of 6 kW, this would mean a savings of over $2100 with the Tier 8 pricing. Taylor Reade Oakley is one of the participants of the 2023 campaign. He and his wife own an older house on a farm in Orange County. Reade said, “I am doing a 12kW system, which is large for a residence, and a bunch of trenching which is fairly unique for a residential installation. Because I have no solar potential on my house, I am installing this on an auxiliary farm building and trenching back to the house.” He says they are saving several thousand dollars through this program. In addition to the savings, some other benefits included a slightly larger array of microinverters that were more efficient with a greater warranty. To sum it up, he said “This is a great way to save money and get something done a lot faster.”
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Vermicomposting in Carrboro
Interested in finding a fun new way to use your food scraps and reduce food waste? Try vermicomposting! Tom Smith, a Carrboro resident, recently received Carrboro’s Green Neighborhoods Grant during the Spring 2023 cycle to fund community vermicomposting in the Carrboro area.
Vermicomposting is a method that uses worms to help break down food waste. It has many benefits: the compost is produced faster and more efficiently, and the worms provide nutrient-rich castings, which can help plant growth if you use the compost in your garden. Tom started vermicomposting when he moved to Pacifica Co-Housing in Carrboro and helped develop the Carrboro Vermicomposting Project. He wanted to create neighborhood-level vermicomposting at Pacifica that was accessible and managed by residents. They also have vermiculture on site where they raise and develop worms to be used for future vermicompost (only four worm species can be used in compost!). The final product of the vermicompost is nutrient-rich soil for their community garden. With the grant, the Carrboro Vermicomposting Project seeks to educate the public about vermicomposting by providing free workshops and training. The long-term goal of the project is to create a group of household vermicomposters that are self-sustaining and will continue to raise awareness about vermicomposting after the grant period ends. If you want to learn more or would like to sign up for a vermicomposting workshop, contact Tom at wormsdothework@gmail.com or visit their Instagram @workingwormsnc.
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Commission for the Environment is Recruiting for Board Members!
Are you passionate about protecting the environment? If climate change, natural resources, and renewable energy are important to you, then please think about joining the Commission for the Environment, an advisory board to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. They are a great team of people and they need new board members!
The Commission does the following: - Advises on environmental policy
- Supports the implementation of the County’s Climate Action Plan
- Promotes education on environmental issues
- Makes recommendations on environmental initiatives
- Reviews applications and recommends funding for the Community Climate Action Grant Program
- Monitors indicators and reports on trends through the State of the Environment Report
Learn more here. Apply online here to be part of this Commission.
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Energy Efficiency Upgrades for Low-Income Homes Get Boost from Grant Funding
Orange County is excited to be a partner with Durham and Granville County on a $1.5 million grant to reduce energy burdens and improve energy efficiency in under-resourced neighborhoods in all three counties. Durham County was one of only 12 small-to-medium-sized local governments and state-recognized Tribes (and the only one in North Carolina) selected to receive money from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Competitive Program. The monies will fund the NC Energy Burden & Emissions Reduction Program (EBERP).
This program will focus on providing energy efficiencies for residences in underserved communities—which are most impacted by pollution and other environmental hazards. In addition, EBERP also aims to build capacity and develop clean energy technical skills in rural and urban neighborhoods. This innovative program also includes training for Neighborhood Ambassadors to help promote energy conservation education and how-to’s within our community.
The program is expected to start in late 2024.
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Sustainable Business Toolkit is in the Works!
We are working on a new sustainable business toolkit to help businesses reach sustainability goals faster and save money through sustainable practices! We hope it can be a one-stop resource that provides guidance and helpful resources. Look for more information to come soon!
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Contact UsHave a question or comment about one of our sustainability programs? Want to volunteer?
Contact Amy Eckberg, Sustainability Programs Manager, aeckberg@orangecountync.gov, 919-245-2626
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