In Charleston, and especially in our sustainability scene, there are hundreds if not thousands of volunteers who are making a difference every day. They teach your kids at the South Carolina Aquarium, clean-up our beaches with the Coastal Conservation League, and help protect our rivers and marshes with Charleston Waterkeeper. Why – because they have heart.

Does this sound like someone you know? If so, now’s your chance to help. The CTK Foundation “Heroes with a Heart” Grant Award asks YOU to nominate a “Hero with a Heart,” and give them a chance to win $5,000 – a simple thanks for the hard work that they do.

Here’s an overview of awards the CTK Foundation will offer and details on how you can nominate your Hero:

• $15,000 for Three Heroes One Hero with a Heart from each of the three categories of Health and Human Social Service, Animal Rights and Environmental Protection and Arts and Literacy will be awarded $5,000 USD and a professionally produced video about their affiliated nonprofit for use in public awareness or education.
• $1,500 for One Hero The CTK Foundation will also be offering a $1,500 (USD) President’s Choice Award (the Susan Lee Winter Grant Award) for an individual working to provide creative and innovative approaches to HIV/AIDS education or prevention.
• Blogger’s Choice Award Lastly, there will be a Blogger’s Choice Award of $1,000 (USD). The CTK Foundation will choose a blogger (hopefully me) who will hand-pick one winner from any category.

Applications for all Heroes with a Heart grant awards open on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 and close Wednesday, February 29th, 2012 at midnight. Finalists will appear on the CTK Facebook page for public voting during April and winners will be announced on May 1, 2012. This award is open to registered nonprofits or charities of all types and sizes, worldwide.

What should you do?

It’s pretty easy. Go to www.communitytech.net/foundation to nominate your Hero with a Heart today! This simple action could make a real impact not only at a local nonprofit, but in our community as a whole. Remember, “You can’t go through life with two catchers mitts on – every now and then, you’ve got to throw something back.”

Here are fourteen new additions to the Local Guide – Give ‘em some love!

• Avani Concepts – sustainable building and concrete
• Eco-Deco – eco-friendly paints & flooring
• WOK – World Oriental Kitchen – sustainable dining
• The Dust Bunnies – local green cleaning
• Earth Friendly Landscapes – sustainable landscaping
• MUSC Farmers Market – downtown local food
• Green Street Logistics – eco-friendly delivery services
• Healthy Home Foods – green food delivered to your door
• Stubbs, Muldrow, Herin Architects – LEED certified
• Charleston Waterkeeper Blog – protecting your water
• Little Fish Blog – local green thoughts
• bluesphere: Earth Art Expo – sustainable local art
• The Lap Log – eco-friendly iPad accessories
• Biohabitats – ecological restoration

If your organization or business should be on our guide, just let us know.

This means you can start throwing plastics labeled #3, #4, #5, #6, and #7 into your blue bin along with the #1 and #2 plastics. They will accept all plastics except plastic wrap, plastic bags, and Styrofoam (all things you can easily avoid using with minimal effort). And don’t forget, they also started accepting cardboard for curbside pickup in April – epic awesomeness!

The Charleston Post & Courier had this quote from Charleston County Council member Colleen Condon:

Expanding Charleston County’s Recycling Program to recycle all plastics #1 through #7 allows us to provide better service to our citizens and move closer to our 40 percent recycling goal with this important step.

Cheers to the Jenny and the CCR team, the Council, and everyone else who made this happen. I know it’s been a long time coming, and something that all of us local greenies have been hoping for. In fact, it’s the most common question we get from Go Green readers, and now I have the answer they want to hear!

Tri-County Carolina Yard Experience is based on the Carolina Yards & Neighborhoods program, which helps people work WITH the environment around their property – not against it. Sounds cool!

This is a free, environmental event focused on the home landscape-including environmentally friendly gardening practices, recycling, rainwater harvesting, pond management and much more!  Hands-on demonstrations and educational displays by county extension agents and Master Gardeners.

A ton of local sponsors, including Clemson Extension Tri-county Master Gardeners, DHEC, and Charleston, Berkeley & Dorchester County Recycling, have made this free event possible. On Saturday, March 13th, head down to the The Charleston Exchange Park, Ladson SC from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and get your green yard on!

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jezpage/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The Green Business Challenge will help local businesses, property owners, and residents focus on sustainability and become more energy efficient. This pilot program will kick off later this year, and they are asking interested parties to sign up soon (technically by January 21, but I’m sure they’d budge on that deadline a little). The competition format will benchmark local businesses and conclude with awards handed out by Mayor Joe Riley. This is a great chance to green up your business AND get a little recognition. Details after the jump >>

The Green Business Challenge is a voluntary friendly competition that takes participants through a process of benchmarking the energy use of a building using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. It also helps them pursue a variety of conservation and efficiency opportunities over the course of a one-year program.  The program concludes with an evaluation of participant progress towards goals, and successful achievers will be publicly recognized by Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr.

The Green Business Challenge is a partnership with the City of Charleston. It is a free assistance program that will not result in any penalty should you begin but later decide you no longer wish to participate. The City is seeking interest from local commercial property managers, business owners, and office tenants to participate in a pilot demonstration program. Your participation in the Green Business Challenge will result in reduced operation costs as well as the amount of pollution and waste generated from your property and/or business.

We ask that if you are interested in the program, or simply wish to support the idea of creating this program, that you return a letter of interest and/or support to Brian Sheehan, Director of Sustainability, 75 Calhoun, Charleston SC 29401 or e-mail a copy to sheehanbp@ci.charleston.sc.us, no later than close of business on Thursday, January 21, 2010.  We appreciate your support and look forward to working with you in the Green Business Challenge.

Good luck everyone!

Thank goodness Cameron over at Cottage Industrialist has the same problem AND enough gumption to do something about it. Check out this amazing local seasonal food calender that you can print out and enjoy for free! It features produce that is seasonally available locally for each month, but also gives you recipe ideas and encouragement (Only two more months of Winter!) Be sure to check it out and get cooking!

Here are six new additions to the Local Guide – Give ‘em some love!

• Artisan Clay Interiors & Painting – all-natural sustainable walls
  
• EcoBilt Energy Systems – residential and commercial alt energy
• GreenBy3 – sustainability consulting for businesses
• Green Roof Outfitters – sustainable roofing
  
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Mount Pleasant – LEED!
  
• Sustainable Energy Solutions – clean energy technology
  

If your organization or business should be on our guide, just let us know.

This baby toy from Vulli would be a great gift for that green rug rat in your life, especially if they are teething. Sophie the Giraffe, as she has been known since 1961, is produced manually in France with 100% natural rubber derived from the hevea tree. Our 10-month-old girl definitely found it soothing, and was excited when it would squeak from time to time. You can definitely tell the rubber is natural, as it has a soft, almost moist feel to it. As an added bonus, it came in sustainable packaging. Green-wise, the only problem I see here is that it is imported all the way from France.

If you’re interested, head over to DwellSmart (map) or purchase online.

Note: For the next couple weeks, we will be reviewing products that would make good gifts for the greenie in your life. Our friend Mary Gatch, owner of DwellSmart and local green goddess, provided this product free of charge to our family for review on this website.

On Tuesday, December 15th, the Plan goes in front of the Charleston City Council in hopes that its recommendations are adopted. The Council is already hearing from those that oppose the plan, so it’s crucial for all local greenies to come out in support of the Plan. This is a great opportunity to really make a difference, and let the City Council hear from those of us that believe a sustainable future is one to reach for.

Please consider doing one or all of the following:

• Sign the online petition
• Go old school and start a paper petition
• Write a letter to City Council members (samples)
• Write a letter from your organization (samples)
• Email the City Council members (contact info)
• Come to the 12/15 meeting!

Again, please share this information with each and every greenie in your sphere of influence. Thanks to everyone who has been participating in the Charleston Green Committee’s development of the Plan – you’re all rock stars! Now it’s up the rest of us to do our part to help make the Plan a reality!

• Charleston Moves
• Charleston Parks Conservancy
• Charleston Waterkeeper
• Coastal Conservation League
• Fields to Families
• Lowcountry Earth Force
• Lowcountry Local First
• Sea Island Habitat for Humanity
• South Carolina Aquarium
• SC Green
• SC LEEP
• The Sustainability Institute
• The Sustainable Warehouse

Happy dogooding everyone!