219 Greenconnect

219 GreenConnect host Kathy Sipple speaks with Professor Nicole Negowetti, a Law Professor at Valparaiso University. Negowetti teaches a food law class and is the organizer behind the April 24th local food summit in Valparaiso. Click here for full details. The 2012 NIRPC Regional Food Study mentioned in this episode is available here. 

219 GreenConnect host Kathy Sipple speaks with Kathy Luther of the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) about a new program designed to help make solar energy more affordable and accessible to region residents. Listen in to learn which communities have signed up and how you can be a part of it.

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Marshall Willoughby, a hard core environmentalist from Gary, Indiana about his permaculture lifestyle. Marshall lives in a 120-square foot geodesic dome and generates his first 1000 watts of electricity using his home built wood gasification unit. He grows much of his own food and considers it medicine since it is far superior to a lot of what is grown commercially in nutrient depleted soil. "One day, Willoughby believes, there will be no gas for your cars and your toilet will not flush. If that day comes — and Willoughby thinks it will soon — he will wake again on the floor of his dome, load wood into his generator, and his life will not have changed at all." Excerpted from a Chicago Tribune article. Read the rest here.

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Valparaiso Indiana artists, Melissa Washburn and Aimee Tomasek. They are part of a collaborative effort called Community Supported Art Valparaiso, representing eight local emerging and mid-career artists working in a variety of media. CSA Valpo connects artists and supporters of the arts in the community and is partnering with the Porter County Museum to facilitate these connections and strengthen their presence of the arts in Porter County. From February 15 – May 16, 2015, the Porter County Museum will feature work from this year’s CSA artists in the 2015 Robert Cain Gallery Exhibit. The new exhibit will open to the public February 15, 2015 from 1-4p and feature a panel discussion with the artists at 2p. Learn more here.  

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Eric Zosso from Zoseco Co-working in Valparaiso, Indiana, a new space designed to allow small businesses to get ahead without the overhead. They provide flexible memberships and include benefits like ultra-fast internet and complimentary coffee and tea to keep members energized and on point.  Learn what co-working is about and whether it may be right for you.

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Randi Light of Enlightened Living Hypnosis about her plans for a shared meditation to heal Mother Earth. Randi will attend the live event at East Wind Studios in Chesterton, Indiana on Earth Day -- April 22, 2014 -- and the event will also be available via live streaming at this link.

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Valparaiso, Indiana based Spiritual Cartoonist, Annemarie Marti, about her whimsical line of greeting cards that celebrate Earth Day, everyday.

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Chef, Brad Hindsley Executive Chef and Owner of Spire Farm-to-Fork Restaurant and Artist, Laura Marie Panozzo of LaPorte. Brad and Laura created Our Common Thread as a creative collaboration between Spire Farm to Fork Cuisine and Earth Angel Eco Art by Laura Marie Panozzo. It's a unique celebration that celebrates what connects each one of us.  

219 GreenConnect host Kathy Sipple speaks with Highland, Indiana Permcaculture Designer, Randy Jamrok, author of a new booklet entitled, "Permaculture Solutions to Climate Change". The booklet is meant to be a way to provide a framework for people new to permaculture to begin implementing solutions for their community, as well as communities already involved in implementing solutions to assess their actions. The booklet stresses the importance of collective / community solutions over individual actions. Get a copy of the book. Support this project financially.

219 GreenConnect host Kathy Sipple speaks with Tacy Fletcher of Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society’s North Chapter. INPAWS is growing despite the end of the growing season, and the fall of shorter nights and sleeping plants… Tacy will discuss the numerous hikes the INPAWS group led; some of what was seen and identified; friends made; and trails discovered.  More of the same can be expected from INPAWS North Chapter in the upcoming year including the indoor monthly talks by invited speakers who have expertise in native plant species.   Learn more: www.inpaws.org www.219greenconnect.com

219 GreenConnect Host, Kathy Sipple speaks with Dan Plath and Kat Szot from NiSource about their new renewable energy option available to NIPSCO customers.  NIPSCO’s Green Power Program is a voluntary program that allows you to designate a portion or all of your monthly electric usage to be attributable to power generated by renewable energy sources, such as wind power. When you sign up, NIPSCO buys renewable energy certificates (RECs) on your behalf. RECs are the environmental attributes associated with electricity that is generated from renewable sources. Your purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs) supports electricity production in Midwestern states and helps offset conventional electricity generation in the region where the renewable electricity generator is located. The purchase also helps build a market for renewable electricity and may have other local and global environmental benefits such as reducing global climate change and regional air pollution.   

Recycling and reusing items like plastic bottles, hand-me-down clothing and newspapers is important to make part of one’s every day routine to the reduce, reuse, recycle movement that is helping to reduce waste. One aspect of the recycling industry that may not be as popular, but just as important, is scrap metal recycling. Scrap metal exports are one of the largest in the US and by recycling metals, we reduce the amount of ore drilling throughout the world. Some of these metals include copper, steel, aluminum, brass, iron and wires, but they are often tossed in the garbage due to the lack of knowledge and sources for metal recycling. Interested in turning your scrap metal into cash? 219 GreenConnect Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Neil Samahon, CEO at Metro Recycling, about choosing a reputable recycling facility, some important regulations you need to know to comply with current laws and tips for a successful experience.

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Paul Quinlan, Stewardship Director at the Shirley Heinze Land Trust about their recent land acquisition. In 2012, SHLT was approached by the Girl Scouts to acquire their former Camp Meadowbrook in Valparaiso, Indiana. This strategic addition to SHLT’s system of nature preserves has been met with tremendous support from funders, partner organizations and volunteers.   The property promises to be a nexus for conservation efforts throughout Northwest Indiana.  

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Ginny Brown from Energizing Indiana. GInny will share information about their free energy assessment for residential power customers and how your participation can help fund green causes like Northwest Indiana Green Drinks, a monthly educational meet up organized by 219 GreenConnect. To enroll, call 1-888-893-8218 or email COE@energizingindiana.com. Please tell them you heard about the program here!

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with David Mueller from Paul Henry's Art Gallery in Hammond about their current exhibit, "Pipelines and Borderlines: People Can't Drink Oil!" It is a group exhibit of 17 artists from across the U.S. who have produced work that brings attention to the tar sands oil issue nationally, regionally and locally in Northwest Indiana. "Pipelines and Borderlines" is a a traveling exhibit that has made its way through several locations in the Midwest and also Canada, Mexico and Nicaragua. The portfolio has changed depending on the location of a given show and the issues important in the locale of a particular exhibit. The extraction and processing of tar sands oil has always been part of the exhibit. "...People Can't Drink Oil" is a revised collection, drawing from and adding to the original portfolio and focuses on the proposed end processing of tar sands oil here in Northwest Indiana, specifically at the BP refinery in Whiting, and the potential impact of that operation on Lake Michigan and

Guest host Kassie Meeks interviews 219 GreenConnect Founder, Kathy Sipple, sharing the story behind the initiative and some success stories that have resulted. Sipple is the local organizer for Green Drinks International, a worldwide network of monthly meet ups about environmental issues. She is also Regional Coordinator for Sustainable Indiana 2016 and their statewide Social Media Manager.  In her free time Sipple enjoys growing organic vegetables at her community garden, hiking at the Indiana Dunes and taking nature photos.

219 GreenConnect host Kathy Sipple speaks to Mitch Barloga, biking enthusiast and Ped, Pedal & Paddle Planner at Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission. We'll talk about a number of trail initiatives and events, including Greenways & Blueways, the National Complete Streets Coalition, The Calumet Summit 2013 and Sustainable Indiana 2016's Mass Action initiative to Take the Trail in 2013.

219 GreenConnect host Kathy Sipple speaks with Chemical Engineer turned cooking instructor, Cheryl Dornberg of Mrs. Dornberg's Culinary Experience in Highland, Indiana. Confused by all the fad diets and nutrition advice you keep hearing?  One of the best ways to achieve optimal health is to adopt a Clean Eating philosophy.  Clean Eating is a focus on consuming whole foods as close to their natural state as possible along with whole grains, lean protein and healthy fats. Cheryl will offer advice to guide you in making clean eating choices and provide tips and techniques for preparing great tasting, good for you meals for the entire family.

Host Kathy Sipple speaks with Jennifer Shelhart from Green Research Corporation about the organization's work. They divert unwanted and broken computers from the wastestream, refurbish them and install programs on them from Berkeley Open Infastructure for Network Computing (BOINC). The programs allow BOINC to use the idle time on Green Research computers to communicate with BOINC to help cure diseases, study global warming, discover pulsars, and do many other types of scientific research. Green Research uses only green energy to perform computing tasks. Their goal is to eventually create their own green energy to utilitize for their cause and to provide green energy for others.