New Community Garden is Eagle Scout Project That Attracts A Village of Volunteers

Local Boy Scout Kam and his dad Jeff lay out the location of new raised wood garden beds Kam will make and install as part of his Eagle Scout project. At a recent work session volunteers from Wesleyan High School coordinated by Atlanta Community Food Bank and Sustainable Norcross assisted in clearing the area. After a good morning of old fashioned work, the bed locations are taking shape and the area has been cleared of a truck load of weeds and undergrowth.
Thanks to these volunteers for getting the community garden project off to a great start! If you would like to assist in the next work days, rent a raised garden bed to "farm" or be on the Community Garden committee contact sustainablenorcross@gmail.com.

What IS…

a group that:

has a Georgia Tech electrical engineer, a designer and charitable foundation board member, an environmental consultant, a retired EPA manager, and a Georgia Master Naturalist?

is only 2 1/4 years old?

is made up of volunteers appointed by their city’s elected leaders?

partners with others in the community to achieve common goals?

was nominated as Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful’s Best Green Government for 2010?

has been instrumental in achieving Green Communities certification at the Silver Level by the Atlanta Regional Commission and is currently Going for the Gold?

and is being honored by The Civic League for Regional Atlanta with their Regional Excellence Award at their What’s Right With the Region celebration?

It is the Sustainable Norcross Commission, of course. This five member citizen panel advises the City of Norcross on environmental and sustainability topics. Their primary objective is the development of a measured sustainable city plan and regular communication with the city leadership. Goals are in areas ranging from water and energy conservation, transportation and air quality to green building and land use. Heavy emphasis is on education and volunteerism.

Although a customized sustainability plan created for the city is a long term objective, the group embraced the turnkey program of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) when it was first introduced in December 2008. This was only a month after the group was officially created by the city and only six months after the first public meeting to gauge interest in creating a group.

The program offered by the ARC includes a manual and other support to assist governments in the 10 county metro area in reducing their overall environmental impact. The governments in the program are leading the way to sustainable living.

And the folks advising the local government leaders are the hard working volunteers of the Sustainable Norcross Commission:
Chuck Cimarik
Kathy Nau
Heather Royston
Jim Scarbrough
Connie Weathers

Its Stream Clean Up Time

The annual Rivers Alive Stream Clean Up in cooperation with the City of Norcross is this Saturday October 16 from 9 AM to noon at the city-owned property on Mitchell St. Look for the signs at the gated entrance just east of the Shell gas station.



This event is part of the state wide annual water way clean up which helps keep our water supply clean and free flowing.



All participants must sign a release. Youth under age 18 must have the release signed by a parent or guardian.



Dress to get dirty. Wear sturdy close-toed shoes that you can get wet if you do not have wading boots.



Volunteers will collect litter and trash and remove invasive plants such as kudzu, English ivy, and Chinese privet.



Special t-shirts are available for volunteers. A credit on City of Norcross storm water utility fee may also be available for qualifying participants.



For more information contact sustainablenorcross@gmail.com.

Heart Healthy Eating

It's time for the Whistle Stop Farmers Market and plenty of fresh, local produce and other goodies. The market runs every Tuesday from 4 - 8 PM from June through October in Norcross between Thrasher Park and the railroad. In addition the CSA I participate in, Buffalo Lick Farm & Nursery is there with my prepaid bag of the fresh crop of the week ready for me to pick up.


Here is one of my faves - a mix of veggies oven roasted at 425 F until tender with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. After serving with some lean baked, grilled or broiled meat I use the leftovers in spaghetti with (or without) meat sauce. A new version involves quinoa.

See you at the market!

Signed, Sealed and Delivered

The application for Green Communities certification of City of Norcross is in the hands of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). Sustainable Norcross Commission has been working closely with City leaders (staff, elected and volunteer) over the past 18 months to meet the deadline. A team of subject matter experts will review the submission for the next three months and also conduct a site visit. They will evaluate whether the City will be awarded Green Communities certification for its efforts to lead the city by example towards a more sustainable, environmentally responsible way of living and doing business.

The City chose from over 60 recommended initiatives in the following areas:
• Green Building
• Energy Efficiency
• Green Power
• Water Use Reduction and Efficiency
• Trees and Greenspace • Transportation
• Recycling and Waste Reduction
• Land Use
• Education
• Innovation

Each initiative is worth 5 or 10 points with NO partial credit available. Awards are at 3 levels:
• Level 1 - Bronze: 175 – 229 points
• Level 2 - Silver: 230 – 279 points
• Level 3 - Gold: 280 – 400 points

The ARC will notify the city in the Fall. Already the community is benefiting from the implementation of the initiatives. Additional ones are in the works, such as the upcoming process which will include public input to create the first citywide, comprehensive master plan for parks, green spaces and trails. This project championed by the Parks and Green Space Commission in conjunction with the City.

Read more about the ARC Green Communities Program, view the manual. And watch for more info about the Norcross specific aspects of the program or contact us.

For now, way to go Norcross, truly a place to imagine.

Green Your Thumb: Promote Biodiversity

Green Your Thumb: Promote Biodiversity

Georgia Adopt-A-Stream

Georgia Adopt-A-Stream (AAS) is the statewide volunteer water quality monitoring program. The goals of Georgia Adopt-A-Stream are to (1) increase public awareness of the state’s nonpoint source pollution and water quality issues, (2) provide citizens with the tools and training to evaluate and protect their local waterways, (3) encourage partnerships between citizens and their local government, and (4) collect usable baseline water quality data.

So the goals are to increase awareness of folks like you and me about the quality of our water and to empower us to work together to identify and correct water pollution and other problems. Volunteers can get the training and tools to collect and regularly report data on “their” adopted water. By tracking this info over time, everyday citizens can spot changes and trends that might indicate a problem that can be addressed.

Norcross has a new AAS program that tests water samples in the creek that runs along Longview Drive on the city-owned Ruby Fickling property. The thunderstorm on Saturday delayed the start and then required a quick relocation to finish the chemical tests, but the volunteers got it done. Thanks go to Keisha who started Norcross Adopt-A-Stream, Lynn from Gwinnett Sierra Club who lent an experienced hand, Brian and Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center who lent the test kit and City of Norcross for providing the location and support.

The test site is the same location as the November 2009 Rivers Alive Stream Clean Up. It is an unnamed tributary of Crooked Creek that flows under Holcomb Bridge and continues on to the Chattahoochee. See photos on the side bar.

Join us to assist or stop by to observe. The monthly testing is done the fourth or last Saturday of every month at 10 AM. Contact us to confirm.