Green Unity Photostream

Green Unity and Green Affairs Wants Your Enthusiasm and Ideas!

Green Unity focuses on making MPC and MCV campuses at VCU and the Richmond community greener through service and education. This student-led organization welcomes students, faculty, and staff, from all schools and disciplines, both medical and academic, as well as Richmond community members to help us pursue our goals of educational outreach, increased recycling access, improved sustainable practices and policies at VCU, and community outreach. Email MPC or MCV Green Unity to share your ideas or to get involved. MPC weekly meetings are over for the semester, but we will have ongoing events throughout the Summer, and everyone is welcome to join Green Unity folks in attending VCUHS Eco-Sustainability meetings every first Thursday of the month, 4-5pm in the Main Hospital Cafeteria Dining Room Annex.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Get Your Garden on In Union Hill

Come and garden in Union Hill with us! In the morning we'll start at 10:30am in Rachel's large garden where she'll teach you basic organic gardening skills. We'll plant sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and learn organic pest & weed control techniques, water conserving techniques and more!

After a quick break for lunch (bring $5 to chip in for pizza) we'll work on the Union Hill Community Gardens to re-mulch and care for the apple trees and blueberry bushes we planted last October. We'll also plant flowers and Spring bulbs to help attract pollinator insects.

Coming from Monroe Park Campus? Meet at 10am at the Cabell Library bus stop to bus or bike over together.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Sell Your Textbooks at Barnes & Noble & Support Green Unity

Green Unity will be collecting electronics and other hard to recycle items at the Barnes & Noble textbook buyback event next week:

10am-4pm
Tuesday, May 8th - Thursday, May 10th
Shafer Dining Hall Location

We'll also be selling our fantastic Green Unity Water Bottles, Rain Barrels, Green Unity T-shirts (now in grey, black, and new chocolate brown color), as well as unveiling our new worm composting bins and larger rolling compost bins to help raise funds for our community outreach efforts. We will also be giving away free trees, compliments of the Arbor Day Foundation and VCU Goes Green.

Barnes and Noble is make this a green event by doing away with almost all of their paper advertising, and supporting the use of reusable bags by giving away this fantastic tote. Not only that, but for every textbook you sell back to them, they will donate one vegetable plant to support our Union Hill Community Garden Project, where we help plant vegetable and flower gardens for low-income families, so that they can have access to cheap, organic, nutritious food.

We hope you'll also join us this Thursday, 10:30am-1:30pm for another Union Hill Community Garden Project. We'll be meeting at 871 N 22ND ST to maintain our wonderful apple trees we planted last year, and hopefully plant some new trees and flowers to beautify the neighborhood and provide much-needed shade in this high pedestrian traffic neighborhood.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Trees & Veggies for Union Hill this Week!

Take a break from studying and get some fresh air and volunteer hours in beautiful Union Hill. Help us plant vegetable and flower gardens for low-income families, help us maintain the existing apple tree and blueberry gardens, and help us plant more trees in Union Hill (generously donated by Arbor Day Foundation).

No gardening experience necessary. We provide the tools, and gloves. Wear sturdy shoes and bring your own hat, sunscreen, and water bottle if you have one. All volunteers will receive flower bulbs or a small tree to take home for free.

Meet at Rachel's place - 871 N 22ND ST
1pm-3:30pm, Wednesday, May 2nd
10:30am-1pm, Thursday, May 3rd


Meet 1/2 hour early at the Cabell Library bookstore campus connector bus stop to bus or bike over together.

Thanks to MCV & VCU Alumni Associations, MCV-C SGA, Stranges Nursery, Yardworks, VCU Facilities Management,, and VCU Barnes and Noble Bookstores - without your help this project would not be possible!

Monday, April 23, 2012

VCU Community Garden Strawberry Festival

Join us for the grand opening of VCU's Community Garden at the VCU Strawberry Festival Earth Day Celebration tomorrow!

VCU Strawberry Festival
1-4pm
Tuesday, April 24th
VCU Community Garden, 900 Turpin St.
Next to Larrick Student Center (1 block North of 10th & Leigh)
MPC folks: Get off the #84 Campus Connector at the MCV Campus Bookstore, first stop on Leigh St.

This is a zero waste event, which means than all dinnerware will be biodegradable and collected along with food waste for composting.

We have many exciting things planned!

  • Recycling of electronics and other hard to recycle waste
    • 1-6pm (extended hours) at VCU Community Garden
    • For a full list of items you can drop off, see our recycling page
    • Yes, we accept VCU Surplus!
  • Free food from House of Homemade
    • Strawberry pound cake slices
    • Mini Strawberry cupcakes
    • Strawberry Iced Tea
    • Strawberry shortcake cookies
    • Fresh strawberry & pineapple kabobs
  • Free Ice Cream from Bev's Homemade Ice Cream in Carytown
    • Strawberry
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
  • Take the VCU Sustainability Pledge and join the Green Unity newsletter for a chance to win prizes!
  • Composting display and information from Natural Organic Process Enterprises
    • NOPE has partnered with VCU to compost food waste from Shafer Dining Hall and will be expanding to collect from 7 locations on both campuses next year!
  • Learn how we constructed the water-saving wicking and hugelkultur beds, and how you can make your own at home
  • Free bike repair from VCU Outdoor adventure program
  • RamBikes - VCU's new bike share - will have info on how you can rent bikes for free!
  • Free bike safety info, free bike & laptop registration with VCU Police
  • Zipcar information and on-site registration with VCU Parking and Transportation
  • Slow Food RVA will be there to show you healthy & delicious eating options
  • Fresh produce, farm products, and plants for sale
    • Faith Farms
      • Pasture-raised eggs
      • Local honey
      • Homemade egg noodles (plain, tomato-basil, other flavors!)
      • Their famous Blackberry Jam!
      • Possibly Amish Roll Butter as well
    • Agriberry
      • Fresh local strawberry
      • Possibly fresh asparagus and strawberry jam!
    • Green Unity Plant & Sustainable Merchandise Sale
      • Help us raise funds for our Community Outreach Efforts!
      • Recycled cotton Green Unity T-shirts (XS-XL $10, 2XL-3XL $15)
      • Green Unity Water Bottles - on sale for $8 each
      • Chico bag 100% recycled PET Earth bags - on sale for $8 each (below retail price!)
      • Rain Barrels, 60 gallon capacity, brass fittings - $55
      • Upcycled T-shirt bags - $1 each
      • Tomatoes
        • Heirloom (many types)
        • Container-type (determinate)
      • Peppers
        • Various Mild
        • Various Spicy
      • Cucumbers
        • Compact bush (container-type)
        • Vining
      • Herbs - tasty & great for pest protection!
        • Chives
        • Thyme
        • Oregano
      • Flowers - beautiful & great for pest protection!
        • Marigolds
        • Petunias
        • Nasturtiums
    • Rachel's Farmstand
      • Grown hyper-local, less than 2 min. drive from VCU's garden (22nd & Carrington, Sundays 12-3pm)
      • Carrots
      • Romaine Lettuce
      • Mustard Greens
      • Rainbow Chard
      • Spinach
      • Joi Choi (Bok Choi)
      • Radishes
      • Spring Onions
      • Fresh Herbs
        • Cilantro
        • Thyme
        • Rosemary
        • Oregano
        • Limited quantities of basil

Saturday, April 21, 2012

VCU Garden Workshop & Union Hill Project Rescheduled

100% chance of rain tomorrow - VCU Garden workshop & UnionHillRVA garden project rescheduled to Sat Apr 28

Monday, April 9, 2012

More VCU Community Garden Volunteer Days - Get Involved!

***Update: This Thursday and Friday the volunteer work day has changed to 11am-5pm, sorry for the short notice and any inconvenience!  Sign up to volunteer to get the latest news and updates.

Got community spirit? Need to get some extra service learning hours, or staff volunteer hours? Come out this Thursday and Friday,  to help us turn the VCU Community Garden into a safe haven for our friends, the bees and other pollinator insects, to help ensure bountiful crops for the first open season of the garden this summer. Sign up to volunteer whole or half days at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XMSKCLG

All volunteers get a free meal and a plant to take home! No gardening experience necessary, all tools and gloves provided. Please wear sturdy, close-toed shoes and bring your own water bottle if you have one.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Electronics Recycling on Monroe Park Campus Friday April 6th

Have old cell phones? Computers? A pile up of drained batteries?

We will be collecting all unwanted electronics that you may have.
(Exceptions include incandescent light bulbs and very large e-waste such as refrigerators.)

Let your friends know we are recycling hazardous electronic waste! We'll see you this Friday, April 6th at the sidewalk between Student Commons and Cabell Library.

NOW ALSO COLLECTING UNWANTED T-SHIRTS! These will be up-cycled into reusable shopping bags for this years Earth Day celebration - a Student and Community Market!

We will be taking other hard-to-recycle items:
-#5 plastic containers (clean/rinsed)
-Corks
-Personal care products packaging (lipstick cases, mascara tubes, eye shadow cases, shampoo bottles, etc. Not accepted: hair spray cans, nail polish bottles and nail polish remover bottles. For a full list click here:
http://www.terracycle.net/en-US/brigades/personal-care-and-beauty-brigade.html
-Scotch tape packaging (plastic tape dispensers, plastic tape cores)
-Various promotional items/items you don't use anymore
     -Reusable bags (in good condition)
     -Working USB keys (non-working can be recycled instead)
     -Unused water bottles
     -Unused coffee mugs/travel mugs

Hope to see you out there!

http://www.commonwealthtimes.org/2012/02/06/vcus-green-unity-promotes-electronic-recycling/