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Copper Roof Birdhouses for Earth Day- No Trees Please
To celebrate Earth Day, here’s a few cool birdhouses & feeders that don’t require cutting down trees… we’d much rather save the trees for birds!
The real beauty lies in the textured vinyl because it looks like wood. Many folks do prefer a natural look in the garden, and our copper roof birdhouses and feeders really do pass for wood. In fact, some past customers have insisted they received a wooden bird house!
Vinyl, poly-lumber and recycled plastics have numerous advantages over traditional wood when it comes to birdhouses and feeders.
Wood is good but it will always weather. These man-made materials are inert, in other words, they’re impervious to the elements and to insect damage. They will never crack, split or rot, and there’s no maintenance (except for regular cleaning of bird feeders). A soapy rag and forceful spray from the garden hose will cleanup environmental grime in a snap, leaving the house or feeder looking new again.
The inside non-porous texture is much healthier for local birds in the yard because mold and bacteria can’t settle into cracks and crevices as it typically does with wood. It also makes cleaning much easier and more effective.
Color is integrated with materials so scratches, dings or dents are barely noticeable. Recycled plastic or poly-lumber helps keep plastics out of landfills. One manufacturer uses labels saying how many milk jugs it took to make the item.
Of course there will always be wood birdhouses too, but the trend has shifted to salvaged, found, vintage and reclaimed wood from barns and other structures. These unique birdhouses are usually handmade by artisans with a passion for birds, with each piece possessing an individual character and charm.Many styles are even one-of-a-kinds. Birds love them too and will be quite happy calling these places home to raise a brood or two!
Happy Earth Day… time to go get out and garden!
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EARTHSHARE OF GEORGIA CARRIES ON THE EARTH DAY TRADITION
ONE EARTH…ONE DAY…FOR GEORGIA
ATLANTA— (February 15, 2011) EarthShare of Georgia is organizing three key events in 2011 to promote environmental stewardship to leaders from the business world and the community at large. The EarthShare of Georgia Earth Day 2011 events are presented by Kaiser Permanente.
This year’s Corporate Green Day Challenge, on Saturday, April 16, 2011, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., presented by Kaiser Permanente, allows employers in both the public and private sector to show their true color (green) by matching employee teams to community environmental projects. More than 1000 volunteers participated in the 2010 Corporate Green Day Challenge at 25 locations throughout Atlanta and beyond! These corporate volunteers exchanged their suits for work boots and garden gloves, to clean up parks, pull privet and clean streams. All participants must be employees of Earth Day 2011 Sponsor Companies. To sign up please download the Earth Day Sponsorship Packet at www.earthsharega.org.
On Wednesday, April 20, 2011, from 8:00-10:00 am, at the Georgia Aquarium, presented by Kaiser Permanente, business and non-profit leaders from metro-Atlanta will gather to celebrate innovations in sustainable business practices at the Earth Day 2011 Leadership Breakfast. Now in its ninth year, the event will be held at the Georgia Aquarium, the world’s largest aquarium, with eight million gallons of fresh and marine water and more aquatic life than found in any other aquarium. Fresh organic fare will be provided by Wolfgang Puck Catering and Whole Foods Market. The Earth Day 2011 keynote speaker is Rhett Turner, a highly gifted filmmaker and photographer and president of Red Sky Productions, a state of the art international film production company focusing on documentary films for global television audiences and private corporations.Turner’s most recent project (premiered on Georgia Public Broadcasting – October 2010) is a documentary – Chattahoochee: From Water War to Water Vision – highlighting the longstanding conflict about the 20-year-old struggle between Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Co-produced with Jonathan Wickham (ZoёTV) – it interweaves individual stories and educates viewers on the complex issues and choices that increasingly face all of us when it comes to one of our most precious natural resource – water www.gpb.org/waterwar. Turner’s outlook on conservation was highly influenced by his father, media mogul and philanthropist Ted Turner; he grew up with strict tenets of environmental stewardship, and has pursued these themes through his career.
The program will also include the annual Earth Day awards program to honor and recognize our 2011 EarthShare of Georgia outstanding community partner, campaign leader, member organization, and the winning Corporate Green Day Challenge company green team.
Table-top displays from EarthShare of Georgia and its environmental member organizations will offer business partners a chance to see their dollars at work and offer an additional networking opportunity for all guests. A limited number of individual tickets are available for $100 each. Register online at www.earthsharega.org.
The 15th Annual Earth Day Party will be held on Thursday, April 21, 2011, from 7:00-10:00 pm at Summerour Studio, 409 Bishop Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30318. EarthShare of Georgia’s Earth Day Party, presented by Kaiser Permanente, is Atlanta’s premiere Earth Day event, bringing together a diverse group of grassroots environmentalists, devoted philanthropists, and business professionals whose collective goal is to integrate sustainable practices and policies wherever we work, live or play. The 2011 Party Chairs are Katie Kirkpatrick and Lewis Perkins. Enjoy live music, food by Bold American Catering, and an Eco-silent auction stocked with deals on eco-friendly products, unique getaways, outdoor gear, and jewelry. Proceeds for the evening benefit EarthShare of Georgia, Georgia’s only dedicated environmental fund. Tickets are $60 per person. Register online at www.earthsharega.org.For more information on all three 2011 Earth Day events and sponsorship visit EarthShare of Georgia at www.earthsharega.org or by calling 404-873-3173.
EarthShare of Georgia is working for the day when our air, land and water are clean abundant and healthy. EarthShare of Georgia is a non-profit that raises funds for more than 60 environmental organizations dedicated to conserving and protecting our air, land and water. For more information on how you and your company can help carry on the Earth Day message throughout the year, call EarthShare of Georgia today at 404-873-3173, or visit www.earthsharega.org.
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Earth Day Everyday for Wild Birds
My friend shot this photo in Costa Rica last summer as I had asked for some wild bird photos. The same friend had introduced me to The Surf Rider Organization. At first I thought surfers…what? The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches for all people, through conservation, activism, research and education.
From their website: “The Surfrider Foundation recognizes that protection of the coastal environment requires protection of an interconnected coastal zone that includes the open ocean, near shore water, beaches, estuaries and coastal watersheds.
The Surfrider Foundation further recognizes while some coastal lands and beaches have been set for permanent protection as wilderness areas, parks, reserves, preserves, conservation areas, and sanctuaries less than one percent of our marine environment has any protected status. Many of our most valued marine areas have already suffered significant damage from pollution, mismanaged fishing practices and coastal development impacts. The Special Places campaign is designed to identify and protect special ocean and coastal places through the establishment of marine protected areas.”
There is a video on their website that will astound you. It show the massive trash pits on our oceans called jires. There are 5 in the world, having to do with ocean currents, it’s where all of the waste in our oceans accumulate. Most of this waste come from land to begin with. Single-use plastic is a major problem, as it breaks down, but never dissolves. With their many water quality analyses, these plastic particles actually outnumber plankton…pretty scary stuff! The fish ingest it, and guess who eats the fish?
I purchased a recycled wild bird feeder a few months back–it came with a lifetime guarantee and looks great. The sticker on the bird feeder was even better saying it reused 33 plastic containers! Just think if everyone would recycle and use recycled products! By the way…the bird feeder was manufactured by BackYard Nature Products.
Birding Tips, Information & News
