March 2010

Please consider making a donation to Groundwork Denver!

Welcome Donna Johnson to Groundwork's Board!

Donna Johnson is the CEO/CFO and co-founder of Atomic Air Inc., a Denver-based HVAC installation company with a focus on energy efficiency. Donna serves as the Chair of the Denver American Indian Commission, the Vice Chair of the Human Rights and Community Relations Advisory Board, and as a Representative to the Community Relations Council for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

...and Reggie Loggins to Groundwork's Staff!

We're excited to have Reggie join us as our Energy Action Outreach Coordinator. As a believer in environmental, social and economic justice, Reggie has worked on numerous environmental and consumer rights campaigns. He has also worked on fund development with local and national nonprofit organizations and he spent 10 years teaching English and conducting cross-cultural seminars in Germany.

Live in the Berkeley Neighborhood? Take the Travel Survey and Win!
Groundwork Denver is working on transportation issues in northwest Denver. We need opinions from people living in the Berkeley neighborhood. Take this quick 6- question survey and you can win a $50 gift certificate.
Take the mini-survey at:
http://www.nwdenvertravelsurvey.org/

Did you know that Groundwork Denver is part of the Groundwork USA national network?
Check out what the network is doing on our new national website:
http://groundworkusa.org/

Join Our Group on Facebook for up-to-date photos, comments, and information.


 

MLK-Day Volunteers Knock out 110 Tons of Emissions
In honor of the Martin Luther King Jr National Day of Service, 105 volunteers from the Whittier Neighborhood Association, AmeriCorps, Xcel Energy, Metro Volunteers and all across Denver helped denver residents reduce their energy bills and cut their greenhouse gas emissions. Going door-to-door in the Whittier neighborhood, volunteers accomplished the following:

- 302 porch bulbs were swapped to CFLs
- 103 households signed up for recycling
- 125 households signed up for free street trees
- 130 households cancelled junk mail
- 139 households signed up for energy audits

These simple actions add up to big greenhouse gas emissions reductions by reducing energy needed in the home, energy needed for transporting and manufacturing unwanted mail, and energy used to making products out of raw materials. The emissions reduced by this action are equivalent to not driving 220,000 miles per year. Over the next two months Groundwork Denver and Mile High Youth Corps will visit the homes to do the energy audits. For lower income families, MHYC will help the family save more energy by swapping out more bulbs and installing low-flow shower heads, programmable thermostats, clothes lines, and other low cost measures. All families will receive detailed information on how they can save energy by making simple changes, like washing laundry in cold water, drying clothes on a line, or setting back their thermostat at night. Please plan on joining us for a HUGE neighborhood energy action during the week of Earth Day! Details will be coming soon, but save the dates April 22nd and April 24th.

Thanks AmeriCorps NCCC!
A team of energetic and dedicated AmeriCorps National Civilian Conservation Corps members joined Groundwork Denver in early February. They have been a great help to us, conducting energy audits, processing canvassing data, cleaning up natural areas, and signing people up for our transportation project. Thanks AmeriCorps NCCC!

Commerce City Takes the Climate Challenge
Commerce City residents have stepped up efforts to reduce greenhouse gases by improving home energy efficiency. Fifty families have accomplished the following:

- 375 incandescent bulbs have been switched to compact fluorescent bulbs
- 18 low-flow shower heads have been installed
- 41 water heater pipes have been insulated
- 42 power strips have been installed to cut off phantom electricity loads
- 32 water heaters have been turned down and families have committed to washing in cold water, line drying their clothes, setting back their thermostats and other simple things

Over the next three weeks, 18 attics and crawlspaces will be insulated. Collectively, these families will save: $12,500 per year in energy costs and 94 tons per year in CO2 emissions.

Green Team Goes Year-Round
The Green Team is a team of youth who work with Groundwork Denver on various our environmental projects. They restore habitat areas, build trails, repair bicycles, and run recycling projects, while connecting with the community and building leadership skills. Until recently, the Green Team has been a summer program only. In response to requests from the youth, we are expanding the program year-round. Eight to ten youth, age 14 to 17, will start working with us in mid-March. They'll work 10 hours a week during the school year and 20 hours a week in the summer. They have lots of work lining up including maintaining community gardens, working in Bear Creek and other natural areas, and helping with our porch bulb projects.

Community Action. Environmental Results.

The mission of Groundwork Denver (GWD) is to bring about the sustained improvement of the physical environment
and promote health and well-being through community-based partnerships and action.

©2009 Groundwork Denver. http://www.groundworkdenver.org/
Mailing address: 2740 W. 28th Ave.   |   Denver, CO 80211   |   Phone: 303.455.5600   |   Fax: 720.306.8026