LIVE

Dear Friends and Supporters of LIVE Green,Over the years, LIVE Green has been working hard to make Lancaster City a stronger, healthier community through various educational and environmental initiatives. We are dedicated to improving water quality and assisting the City in reducing the 750 million gallons of stormwater overflow that pollutes the Conestoga River and all of our neighbors downstream.  These efforts are paying off in big and small ways through the actions of individual residents, businesses and the City of Lancaster itself.  However, as much as we hope our efforts alone will improve water quality, we understand that other developed areas in Lancaster County and our rural communities have a significant impact on the work we do.To be successful at improving our environment we must be better stewards of our natural resources.  We must continue to expand and improve the ways we connect with broader communities. Over the past year, we have had discussions with the Lancaster County Conservancy about how LIVE Green and the Conservancy can collectively make greater strides in our common goal of enhancing water quality, environmental education and other healthy community initiatives.

What started as a simple conversation turned into more in depth collaboration.  The result of those talks between staffs and boards is this announcement of the merger of LIVE Green and Lancaster County Conservancy.  Together our efforts will be enhanced and magnified. Led by Fritz Schroeder, LIVE Green will continue as a program of the Conservancy, to be a visible and effective force in the City.  Board Chair, Andrea Campbell and Treasurer, Tim Donnellon have joined the board of the Lancaster County Conservancy.  The remaining board members along with additional community members and members of the Lancaster County Conservancy board have formed a LIVE Green committee which will advise the Conservancy and LIVE Green staff regarding city based projects and help with implementation of these projects.   Danene will stay on as a consultant.

Together, we are better positioned to face – and proactively respond to – the water challenges in urban, suburban and rural areas.  For residents, the merger means more education and resources in the way of conserving and stewarding rainwater through rain barrels, tree planting and development of backyard habitats.  For our businesses, it also means education as well as effective strategies to mitigate stormwater through green roofing and conservation easements to improve the quality of our waters that flow to the Conestoga River and beyond.

We invite you to read up on all of the work currently underway by the Conservancy and LIVE Green.  Please also be sure to check out www.LiveGreenLancaster.org and www.LancasterConservancy.org and plan to take a walk in one of the Conservancy’s nearly 30 nature preserves.

We look forward to your continued involvement and support.  You can now find us with the Conservancy at 117 South West End Avenue.  You can reach us by phone by calling 717-392-7891 ext. 207 or by emailing Danene Sorace at danene@livelancaster.org  or Fritz Schroeder at fritz@livelancaster.org.

Sincerely,

Danene Sorace                                    Fritz Schroeder
Executive Director                               Director of Programs

Greening our buildings

LIVE Green secured $284,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Energy Harvest Fund to upgrade facilities at the Lancaster city YWCA and Thadeus Stevens College of Technology to conserve and produce energy, improve air quality, and reduce water consumption. These upgrades now save the YWCA and the college a combined $50,000 a year in energy and water bills.

LIVE Green secured $27,000 from the Lancaster County Community Foundation to develop and launch the Green Facilities Partnership. This partnership with the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Green Seal matched experts with Lancaster nonprofits interested in reducing waste, conserving energy, and using environmentally sensitive cleaning products.

Composting our trash

As an extension of the Green Facilities Partnership, LIVE Green coordinated the first institutional composting effort in the city of Lancaster. Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster General Health, Central Market, and Edie Waste are now moving forward to compost food waste.

The benefits of this program include preventing much of the pre-consumer food waste from reaching landfills and hauling it instead to a state-approved composting site immediately outside Lancaster city. At the composting site it breaks down into a valuable organic soil amendment.

Large institutions see value in this program because it leads to significant savings in landfill tipping fees, which are charged by weight. Since food waste is nearly 80 percent water, food waste is particularly heavy. The first collection of food waste took place in spring of 2010.

Through our partnership with the Lancaster County Environmental Center and ComposTumbler, LIVE Green has educated county residents about the benefits of composting food waste in their back yards. LIVE Green has distributed more than 100 ComposTumblers to residents of Lancaster County.

Reducing our storm water pollution

Through LIVE Green’s Urban Watershed Initiative, we have:

• distributed more than 250 rain barrels to Lancaster County residents since the spring of 2008. Collectively, these rain barrels divert more than 3 million gallons of rain water from overwhelmed storm sewer systems. The distribution of these rain barrels, done in partnership with the Lancaster County Conservation District, has been combined with hands-on workshops that educate citizens on the nature and impact of urban storm water pollution, and design solutions including rain gardens and bio-swales to compliment the installation of rain barrels.
• facilitated the installation of vegetated or “green” roofs on roughly 51,000 square feet of non-residential roof space in Lancaster city, in conjunction with the Lancaster County Planning Commission. Lancaster city is a competitor for the honor of having the most green roof area per capita of any city in the United States.
• secured $142,000 to support the development of the first ever Pennsylvania Class 3 City green infrastructure plan. Lancaster city is 7.3 square miles, including 248 acres of city-owned park land and playgrounds, 93 miles of streets, and 27.4 miles of alleyways within the Conestoga Watershed, a subsidiary of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Lancaster city’s tree canopy is estimated at 8 percent. The city has a combined sewer system (CSS) which transports not only rainwater but also domestic sewage and industrial waste to the city’s single waste water treatment plant. During heavy rain events, when the waste water treatment plant exceeds capacity, the overflow—about 1 billion gallons of untreated water annually—goes into the Conestoga River. The city’s green infrastructure plan addresses this problem in the most affordable and effective way.
• secured $400,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to implement the city green infrastructure plan. LIVE Green spearheaded the grant application process in partnership with the City of Lancaster, Lancaster County Planning Commission, and the Pennsylvania Departments of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Conservation of Natural Resources (DCNR). This funding will provide for the installation of a variety of green infrastructure technologies and serve as a basin-wide model model for Pennsylvania as our state works to reduce pollution into the Chesapeake Bay.

Helping city homeowners save money and conserve energy

LIVE Green’s Energy Solutions for City Homes workshops are held in partnership with Pure Energy, a Lancaster-based home performance and energy conservation services company. These workshops assist Lancaster city residents in assessing their current energy usage, implementing strategies to conserve energy, and working to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

We are partnering with PPL Electric Utilities to increase awareness of the variety of incentives they offer homeowners to reduce their electricity consumption.

Support this Important Work

Most of our projects and programs are made possible by grants. In order to secure and implement those grants, however, LIVE Green relies on donations from individuals like you to cover our annual operational expenses. Please consider supporting LIVE Green financially.

Ron Ford at the Cool Cities signing

LIVE Green at a Glance

• The only nonprofit environmental organization in Lancaster County that is focused on improving the environment in urban settings
• Training Lancaster’s workforce for green jobs
• Greening city buildings–YWCA, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Lancaster City Library, Susquehanna Association for the Blind and Vision Impaired (SABVI)
• LIVE Green’s Urban Water Initiative = 250 rain barrels, rain gardens, bio-swales, 51,000 square feet of green roofs
• Working to implement the first ever Pennsylvania Class 3 City green infrastructure plan
• Saving tens of thousands of dollars in energy bills for critical Lancaster institutions through advanced building upgrades

The LIVE Green Approach

Mission: To build strong and healthy communities through environmental projects

• We accomplish our mission by convening key players from all three sectors (nonprofit, for-profit, and government) around pivotal opportunities.
• We facilitate and leverage government and private resources, including direct financial support, to invest in effective urban greening strategies.
• We make good ideas happen by initiating new environmental projects.
• We are particularly interested in working on projects that not only deliver positive environmental outcomes but also improve social and economic aspects of our communities (i.e., the triple bottom line).

How LIVE Green is Funded

In the past, LIVE Green was supported entirely by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). This funding is no longer available and, given the state’s budget crisis, unlikely to be restored. We are therefore working diligently to raise funds from private foundations, individuals, and direct income initiatives (such as workshops and rain barrel sales). We greatly appreciate your financial support.

Key Accomplishments of LIVE Green

Training our workforce for green jobs

LIVE Green secured $112,850 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The grant was used to develop the first ever green jobs curriculum at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, through their Office of Workforce Development and Continuing Education. LIVE Green, in conjunction with the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board (WIB), continues to support the six courses that comprise the curriculum.

The relationship and experience of this program led directly to LIVE Green and Thadeus Stevens College of Technology partnering with other local organizations to form the Center of Excellence in Renewable Energy housed at the WIB in Lancaster city. The formation of this center has brought together key stakeholders from throughout the county and is the stepping stone to further green job training programs and the implementation of renewable energy projects.