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Next Meeting will be on Wednesday, May 08, 2013.

See Our Upcoming Events Page

Fearrington Habitat Restoration

A Project of The Fearrington Green Scene.  Blog Developed by Gus Reed. Check out this excellent site.

Fearrington Green Scene Recommended Reading List

Compiled by Maarten Simon Thomas and Matthew Leavett (includes hot-links to the titles)

GREEN SCENE members participated in the Haw River Clean-Up-A-Thon (see this poster for details) on Saturday, March 16th.

GS tip of the month: change the filters of your heating/cooling system before and after pollen season to save energy and increase efficiency.

The Green Scene’s 4th Annual Arbor Day Was on Friday, March 22, at 2:30 p.m. 

Our planting site was in the Turtle Run/Windstone Park in the Historic District. Resident arborist, Frank McKeever, will join us again this year.  See the web page report of this event.

Fearrington's Place in the Watershed: A Report on the March 1st Program Described Below

On March 1, 50 concerned Fearringtonians were given a detailed briefing of conservation efforts in Chatham County by Allison Schwarz Weakly, who literally wrote the plan. Her presentation “Wine, Cheese and Water – Fearrington’s Place in the Watershed” ranged widely and in detail, covering the many environmental treasures of our surroundings and their complicated interrelationships. Of particular interest was the introduction to “A Comprehensive Conservation Plan For Chatham County, North Carolina” of March 2011.

On the question of Fearrington’s place in the watershed, and preserving its health, several points bear repeating:

• Fearrington water (groundwater, storm water, treated sewage) flows into Bush Creek, which flows into Jordan Lake. Bush Creek ends near Jack Bennett Road just after crossing Big Woods Road.

• Fearrington’s drinking water comes from the Jordan Lake Water Treatment Plant in Wilsonville. The water intake for the plant is at White Oak Creek near the plant. Hence Fearrington’s wastewater practices directly influence our watershed and drinking water treatment requirements.

• Jordan Lake waters are considered to be impaired, negatively impacted by pollution resulting in decreased water quality. Parts of Jordan Lake are subject to algal blooms, nitrates are high, turbidity is high. It is not a particularly healthy water body, especially north of the 64 causeway.

• Among the main factors that affect Bush Creek water are:
  
  
  • Housing developments that have also broken up the Big Woods Wilderness, including the Governor’s Club, the Preserve at Jordan Lake and to some extent Fearrington Village.
    
    
  • Construction runoff impacting aquatic life.
    
    
  • Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers contaminating the waters.
    
    
  • Deer and cattle reducing plant communities and damaging tributary buffers. This causes erosion and reduces filtering of water before draining into Bush Creek.

• Bush Creek is sampled regularly by a group of Fearrington volunteers. The results are submitted to the Haw River Watch. Results indicate that they are among the worst in terms of invertebrate counts, which are a reliable indicator of water quality. Note: The Green Scene intends to look into this in order to make recommendations for improvement.

• What can Fearrington residents do to improve our watershed?
  
  
• Minimize water use. No matter how diligent you are, household wastewater contains contaminants such as metals, bacteria, nitrate, phosphorus, pharmaceuticals, etc.
  
  
• Avoid irrigation systems to reduce runoff. Indigenous and drought tolerant plants are preferred.
  
  
• Reduce the use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Reducing or eliminating lawns that require various chemicals really helps.
  
  
• Improve the quality of the Waste Water Treatment output.
  
  
• Consider ways to reduce the deer population and do not feed deer.

 On Friday, March 1st, the Green Scene Presented "Wine, Cheese, & Water: Fearrington's Place in the Watershed"

The Chatham Comprehensive Conservation Plan

The Chatham Conservation Partnership (CCP) has created an innovative new tool, the Comprehensive Conservation Plan, to help with natural resource protection, planning, management, and development decisions in Chatham County. Download an introductory brochure on the plan at their web site.

North Carolina Renewable Energy Initiatives Under Attack by ALEC

MyFDL

By: Steve Horn

Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog

Renewable energy is under attack in the Tar Heel State. That’s the word from Greenpeace USA‘s Connor Gibson today in a report that implicates King Coal powerhouse, Duke Energy and the fossil fuel industry at-large.

The vehicle Duke Energy is utilizing for this attack is one whose profile has grown in infamy in recent years: the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

ALEC is described as a “corporate bill mill” by its critics. It’s earned such a description because it passes “model bills” written by corporate lobbyists and to boot, the lobbyists typically do so behind closed doors at ALEC’s annual meetings.

READ More....

Why Climate Deniers Have No Scientific Credibility - In One Pie Chart 

By Jim Powell, published in Nation of Change on Wednesday, December 12, 2012/ PROGRESSIVE JOURNALISM FOR POSITIVE ACTION

Polls show that many members of the public believe that scientists substantially disagree about human-caused global warming. The gold standard of science is the peer-reviewed literature. If there is disagreement among scientists, based not on opinion but on hard evidence, it will be found in the peer-reviewed literature.

I searched the Web of Science for peer-reviewed scientific articles published between 1 January 1991 and 9 November 2012 that have the keyword phrases "global warming" or "global climate change." The search produced 13,950 articles. See methodology.

RECENT ACTIVITIES

A Recent Green Scene Co-sponsored Event

Author Event at McIntyre's Books / Fearrington Village Center: Jim Kautz

In Footprints Across the South: Bartram’s Trail Revisited author James Kautz travels the path of William Bartram, a botanist from Philadelphia who explored the American Southeast in the 1770s. Beginning in Charleston, SC, and ending in Baton Rouge, LA, Kautz compares the conditions at the time of the nation’s founding with the current social and natural environment of today. Born in Washington, D.C., Jim Kautz, Ph.D., taught at three colleges in the South and conducted archaeological explorations in the Middle East and America before working in human services in Louisiana and Georgia. In 2001, he began his quest along Bartram’s trail. In the course of five years, he traveled 15,000 miles across seven states, tramped trails, paddled and motored rivers and streams, and interviewed dozens of residents, scientists, and community leaders in revisiting Bartram’s Trail.

Program on Duke and Progress Energy Rate Hikes

On Friday, April 13 the Green Scene sponsored a workshop with representatives of the North Carolina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network (NC WARN) to discuss the push by Duke and Progress Energy to implement annual utility rate hikes.

GREEN SCENE FAIR on March 24

We hosted the 2012 Green Fair in The Gathering Place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The theme was saving energy and producing renewable energy. Local Green vendors exhibited their wares and local environmental activist groups were present as well. There was plenty of snacks, drinks, and fastastic live music. Despite the rainy weather (we were inside), many people came, shared, learned, and contributed much to living a Green life in our (extended) neighborhood. See photos taken during the 2012 fair.

Refreshments & Entertainment

Free Refreshments were provided by:

• Harris Teeter
• Lowes Foods
• Bella Donna Restaurant

Entertainment was provided by the String Peddlers, a wonderful, well-received three person Bluegrass group. (Contrary to rumors, they DID NOT play their music riding unicycles.)

Exhibitors Included (blue text = hotlinked):

1. NC WARN
2. LIVE GREEN, INC.
3. YES !  SOLAR SOLUTIONS
4. HAW RIVER ASSEMBLY
5. BIOFUELS CENTER OF NC
6. PROGRESS ENERGY
7. CHATHAM COUNTY WASTE REDUCTION    
8. YARDSPROUT
9. THE ABUNDANCE FOUNDATION   
10. FEARRINGTON VILLAGE GARDEN CLUB  
11. ORANGE – CHATHAM SIERRA CLUB
12. FEARRINGTON VILLAGE BIRDERS
13. N.C. GREEN POWER
14. PSNC ENERGY
15. CHATHAM CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP    
16. ENERGY TRIBE
17. PIEDMONT BIOFUELS

Arbor Day 2012 News

Carol-Ann Greenslade

The Green Scene held its 3rd annual observance of Arbor Day 2012 on Saturday, March 31st. We took some license with the day and date in the hopes of attracting residents who might still be in the work force or attending school on Fridays. Our planting site this year was along the North Langdon Trail, and included a trail walk with our favorite arborist, Frank McKeever. 

Our tree of choice is, again, bald cypress, subject to availability. The Fearrington Garden Club is once again supporting this effort with the purchase of one of the three trees. The simple act of planting trees is one of the most important and effective ways in which we can help keep our planet green. 

How Green Is Our Village?

Ways Our Neighbors Manage a Green Lifestyle

Data is based on 78 (current) responses to the Green Scene Survey. To add your own green profile, click the graph to open the form. If survey participants grant permission on the form, they receive the coveted Green Dot on their mailbox and on the map.

SEE the GREEN FEARRINGTON Interactive Map

READ About This Project

Recent Speakers at the Green Scene

Interested in Saving on Your Home Energy Costs?

On Friday, November 11, 2011, Green Scene Co-Chairs Maarten Simon Thomas and Matthew Leavitt together with Vickie  Shea, Green Scene meeting convenor and Past Chair presented a well-attended and informative session on how to research and document your own enegry costs and how you can then lower them.

To view a pdf version of the slides used in that presentation, click here.

The slides include screen captures of relevant details of gas and electric energy consumption and costs appearing on the energy company accounts of several members of the Green Scene. Your own gas and electric company accounts contain your own enegry use data; therefore, those slides will serve as examples to show you what you will see when you bring up your own records that will contain your own data. Note that where you see user names on those demonstration slides (sometimes as an email address), you will need to substitute your own user name/email address when you visit your own gas and/or electric account/s).

If you have any questions about any aspect of the slides, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and/or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . They will be happy to provide you with help and support so you can easily research your own user data and then to find ways to lower your usage and costs.

 Show Your Green "Stuff" Proudly.

Let Others Know Green is Part of Your Identity and Lifestyle.

Thanks to the good work of Green Scene members Maarten Simon Thomas, project coordinator, with assistance from Matthew Leavitt, and logo design by Gus Reed, our original logo is now available on quality merchandise through Cafe Press, a leader in on-demand customized printing. It's a great way to show that you support a green lifestyle and a Green Fearrington.

This is not a fund raiser for the Green Scene. All sales are on-line directly through Cafe Press, which offers us the opportunity to create our own specifically designed merchandise. We do not pay for this service and we do not receive any revenue from sales. This is simply a great way for us to be able to provide logo-themed materials to anyone who might like to have them for themselves and/or as gifts for friends and relatives.

The ordering site is very easy to use. Anyone can select from a range of sizes (where appropriate) and colors (for some items) as well as choose from four logo design options, which include the large green beltie logo or "Reuse, Reduce, Recycle" logo, or the small green beltie logo or "Reuse, Reduce, Recycle" logo. 

 NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be on Wednesday, May 08, 2013 at 11:00 am at the Gathering Place. Everyone is welcome – no dues, no formal membership. We have begun a survey about energy use in the village. All you need to participate is your last 12 months of Progress Energy/PSNC bills (we can help if you don’t have them) and we’ll let you know how your usage compares to a typical Fearrington resident. If you’re interested, contact Maarten Simon Thomas ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) or Matthew Leavitt ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  ). While you are here on this page, click on the How Green Is Our Village? graph just below and complete our five minute profile.

 Ten Simplest Ways to Start Saving Water including links to water conservation articles.