Animations Test — May 2012
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Green Giants
The Washingtonian Green Awards honor people who help our environment by preserving historic green spaces, increasing our access to ecofriendly food and drink, and educating us about the natural world
BERNADINE PRINCE AND ANN YONKERS
“Where are the bananas?” Someone always asks that, according to Bernadine Prince and Ann Harvey Yonkers, founders of FreshFarm Markets. In case you’re wondering, there are no bananas because the markets sell only what’s grown or produced locally. ¶ But there are plenty of other choices . When Prince and Yonkers opened the first market on July 4, 1997, at DC’s Dupont Circle, they had 15 farmers selling fruit, vegetables, plants, and flowers. Today FreshFarm has 120-plus farmers and producers in ten markets selling all that plus meat (from chicken and beef to bison and goat), milk, cheese, mushrooms, crabcakes, breads and pastries, eggs, yogurt, preserves, grains, soap, charcuterie, and prepared foods. ¶ “It’s a local-foods revolution,” Yonkers says. Adds Prince: “It’s cheaper than a grocery store,” because the food is so fresh that it lasts longer after you get it home. ¶ The markets honor food stamps and other government-supported coupons so disadvantaged consumers—who often live where fresh food is scarce—can improve their diets, and they match up to $15 so the food aid goes farther. ¶ FreshFarm also has a “gleaning” program: More than 30,000 pounds of unsold food was donated last year to nonprofits that feed the hungry and homeless. Its Chef at Market program invites chefs to demonstrate how to select and prepare fresh food. FreshFarm offers scholarships for farmers to attend conferences and meetings to increase their efficiency and profitability, and it has created an edible garden at DC’s Watkins Elementary. ¶ As Prince and Yonkers celebrate FreshFarms’ 15th anniversary, they downplay their role . Says Yonkers: “The farmers are the rock stars.”
CHESAPEAKE BAY ROASTING COMPANY
At the Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company in Crofton, the coffee beans arrive green and CBRC makes sure they stay “green” till they reach your cup. ¶ First, they’re bought from fair-trade growers who pay their workers living wages. Second, CBRC’s new roaster is 78 percent more energy-efficient than the traditional model, and the company buys wind-power energy off sets to reduce its carbon footprint further. ¶ The coffee is packed in recyclable steel cans. Each blend highlights an issue critical to protecting the Chesapeake watershed: “Cattail” promotes living shorelines and estuaries; the “Eco-Reef” package explains the balance between the watershed’s ecosystem and the health of the economy. ¶ CBRC donates 2 percent of gross sales to groups involved in cleaning the Chesapeake watershed, including EarthEcho International and the South River Federation. ¶ Chesapeake Bay coffee is now available in more than 125 grocery stores and specialty markets and 300-plus food-service outlets. ¶ The company was started in 2002 by Tom and Rick Erber, who grew up in Montgomery County, along with Bruce Heinlein. Chris Paladino, who spent 12 years working for the Red Cross and was looking for a socially responsible business opportunity, came in as an investor and CEO in 2010. The company now has 20 employees and roasts 10,000 pounds of coffee a week. Paladino plans to double its output in the next few years and is looking at adding sustainable teas. ¶ “You can taste the difference, and we’re making a difference,” he says. “We’re preserving the environment one sip at a time.”
BROOKE RUNNETTE
“Sharks put us in our place,” says Brooke Runnette, executive producer of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. “There’s something right with the world if something else is bigger than us in the food chain. The world is awesome—you fall back and get humbled .” ¶ “Awesome” is what more than 30 million viewers say about the channel’s weeklong series of shark shows in August. Runnette, who has produced the 25-year-old series since 2009, has upped the ante, adding humor with hosts Craig Ferguson and Andy Samberg while increasing Discovery’s investment in environmental education. ¶ The idea is to convert viewers from being scared to being amazed about sharks. “The conventional wisdom is that ‘blood in the water’ means high ratings,” Runnette says. “We’re taking a risk that conservation-minded stuff that’s fun will still rate with viewers.” It’s working: Ratings for the shows are higher than ever. ¶ Runnette works closely with Oceana and the Pew Charitable Trust’s Global Shark Conservation , among others, to make sure shows are accurate and give viewers a good sense of what’s happening in our oceans. She also pushed for Discovery’s financial support for Stanford marine biologist Barbara Block’s work tracking great white sharks that migrate to the area near the Farallon Islands by San Francisco. This summer, Shark Week’s audiences will meet Scargirl, Mr. Burns, and Tom Johnson, three of the great whites that Mac Arthur “genius grant” winner Block is tracking. Runnette hopes viewers will identify with the creatures as individuals and appreciate the perils sharks face from human predators. ¶ It can be a tough job—but Runnette recognizes the opportunities Shark Week offers: “Thirteen-year-old boys all over the country probably have crushes on me for all the things I do here,” she laughs.
NONPROFIT ENERGY ALLIANCE
Suzan Jenkins, CEO of the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, admits she’d never used “kilowatt” in a sentence before council member Roger Berliner challenged her to come up with an idea to help grantees handle ballooning energy costs. ¶ Jenkins contacted a colleague at Nonprofit Montgomery, and the two met with Eric Coffman of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection. Their discussion led to a light-bulb moment: What if nonprofits banded together to buy energy at a volume discount? ¶ The Nonprofit Energy Alliance, launched in May 2010, has helped 50 local organizations save a combined $366,000 on electric bills. The coalition chose to buy its energy from Clean Currents, a local provider that gets energy from wind power. ¶ The alliance is a joint effort of the Montgomery Arts & Humanities Council, Nonprofit Montgomery, and the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington. Not only are the participating groups using green energy, but they have more resources to provide services at a time when funding sources are harder to find. ¶ It’s been a valuable educational process for nonprofit managers and the Alliance, says Jenkins: “We understood economies of scope and scale, but we also learned that there were right times to buy energy to save more.” ¶ The Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless expects to save $30,000 in energy costs; the National Capital Trolley Museum can make both its streetcars and its donors’ dollars go farther. ¶ The Alliance has just launched an effort to double the number of participants. Says Jenkins: “For nonprofits, it’s a huge windfall.”
JAMES C. REES IV
Most visitors to Mount Vernon have an “aha!” moment, says James Rees, CEO of the historic estate. They enter George Washington’s mansion through the carriage-circle door, pass the verdigris-colored dining room, step onto the piazza that runs the length of the house, and take in the panoramic view of the Potomac . ¶ “It’s awe-inspiring,” Rees says. “People sit on the lawn where Washington sat, and they can see for miles.” ¶ Maintaining that view as well as Washington’s estate while enhancing the educational experience is a challenge—one Rees has relished for nearly 30 years. ¶ To keep the vista on the other side of the river unspoiled requires ongoing “strategic” interventions, he says. Mount Vernon is currently buying a parcel across the Potomac, four miles from the estate, so a builder can’t cut down trees there. Otherwise, the view from Mount Vernon would be of houses rather than greenery of the type Washington might have seen. ¶ Rees also directed the construction of an underground orientation and educational center that wouldn’t compete with the scale of the mansion or other original buildings. Sheep graze on a hillside atop the education center. ¶ Mount Vernon showcases Washington the farmer, who adopted environmentally friendly innovations ahead of his time. He had the first composting building, mixed his own fertilizer, and practiced crop rotation. ¶ Under Rees’s direction, Mount Vernon created a four-acre exhibition farm and continued the preservation of Washington’s distillery and grist mill. Visitors now have a greater appreciation of the first President’s agrarian enterprises. ¶ Rees will retire in June . “No one has done more for George Washington’s legacy than Jim Rees,” says Mount Vernon regent Ann Bookout. “His dedication and drive echo the qualities of George Washington’s leadership.”
BERNADINE PRINCE AND ANN YONKERS
“Where are the bananas?” Someone always asks that, according to Bernadine Prince and Ann Harvey Yonkers, founders of FreshFarm Markets. In case you’re wondering, there are no bananas because the markets sell only what’s grown or produced locally. ¶ But there are plenty of other choices . When Prince and Yonkers opened the first market on July 4, 1997, at DC’s Dupont Circle, they had 15 farmers selling fruit, vegetables, plants, and flowers. Today FreshFarm has 120-plus farmers and producers in ten markets selling all that plus meat (from chicken and beef to bison and goat), milk, cheese, mushrooms, crabcakes, breads and pastries, eggs, yogurt, preserves, grains, soap, charcuterie, and prepared foods. ¶ “It’s a local-foods revolution,” Yonkers says. Adds Prince: “It’s cheaper than a grocery store,” because the food is so fresh that it lasts longer after you get it home. ¶ The markets honor food stamps and other government-supported coupons so disadvantaged consumers—who often live where fresh food is scarce—can improve their diets, and they match up to $15 so the food aid goes farther. ¶ FreshFarm also has a “gleaning” program: More than 30,000 pounds of unsold food was donated last year to nonprofits that feed the hungry and homeless. Its Chef at Market program invites chefs to demonstrate how to select and prepare fresh food. FreshFarm offers scholarships for farmers to attend conferences and meetings to increase their efficiency and profitability, and it has created an edible garden at DC’s Watkins Elementary. ¶ As Prince and Yonkers celebrate FreshFarms’ 15th anniversary, they downplay their role . Says Yonkers: “The farmers are the rock stars.”
CHESAPEAKE BAY ROASTING COMPANY
At the Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company in Crofton, the coffee beans arrive green and CBRC makes sure they stay “green” till they reach your cup. ¶ First, they’re bought from fair-trade growers who pay their workers living wages. Second, CBRC’s new roaster is 78 percent more energy-efficient than the traditional model, and the company buys wind-power energy off sets to reduce its carbon footprint further. ¶ The coffee is packed in recyclable steel cans. Each blend highlights an issue critical to protecting the Chesapeake watershed: “Cattail” promotes living shorelines and estuaries; the “Eco-Reef” package explains the balance between the watershed’s ecosystem and the health of the economy. ¶ CBRC donates 2 percent of gross sales to groups involved in cleaning the Chesapeake watershed, including EarthEcho International and the South River Federation. ¶ Chesapeake Bay coffee is now available in more than 125 grocery stores and specialty markets and 300-plus food-service outlets. ¶ The company was started in 2002 by Tom and Rick Erber, who grew up in Montgomery County, along with Bruce Heinlein. Chris Paladino, who spent 12 years working for the Red Cross and was looking for a socially responsible business opportunity, came in as an investor and CEO in 2010. The company now has 20 employees and roasts 10,000 pounds of coffee a week. Paladino plans to double its output in the next few years and is looking at adding sustainable teas. ¶ “You can taste the difference, and we’re making a difference,” he says. “We’re preserving the environment one sip at a time.”
BROOKE RUNNETTE
“Sharks put us in our place,” says Brooke Runnette, executive producer of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. “There’s something right with the world if something else is bigger than us in the food chain. The world is awesome—you fall back and get humbled .” ¶ “Awesome” is what more than 30 million viewers say about the channel’s weeklong series of shark shows in August. Runnette, who has produced the 25-year-old series since 2009, has upped the ante, adding humor with hosts Craig Ferguson and Andy Samberg while increasing Discovery’s investment in environmental education. ¶ The idea is to convert viewers from being scared to being amazed about sharks. “The conventional wisdom is that ‘blood in the water’ means high ratings,” Runnette says. “We’re taking a risk that conservation-minded stuff that’s fun will still rate with viewers.” It’s working: Ratings for the shows are higher than ever. ¶ Runnette works closely with Oceana and the Pew Charitable Trust’s Global Shark Conservation , among others, to make sure shows are accurate and give viewers a good sense of what’s happening in our oceans. She also pushed for Discovery’s financial support for Stanford marine biologist Barbara Block’s work tracking great white sharks that migrate to the area near the Farallon Islands by San Francisco. This summer, Shark Week’s audiences will meet Scargirl, Mr. Burns, and Tom Johnson, three of the great whites that Mac Arthur “genius grant” winner Block is tracking. Runnette hopes viewers will identify with the creatures as individuals and appreciate the perils sharks face from human predators. ¶ It can be a tough job—but Runnette recognizes the opportunities Shark Week offers: “Thirteen-year-old boys all over the country probably have crushes on me for all the things I do here,” she laughs.
NONPROFIT ENERGY ALLIANCE
Suzan Jenkins, CEO of the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, admits she’d never used “kilowatt” in a sentence before council member Roger Berliner challenged her to come up with an idea to help grantees handle ballooning energy costs. ¶ Jenkins contacted a colleague at Nonprofit Montgomery, and the two met with Eric Coffman of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection. Their discussion led to a light-bulb moment: What if nonprofits banded together to buy energy at a volume discount? ¶ The Nonprofit Energy Alliance, launched in May 2010, has helped 50 local organizations save a combined $366,000 on electric bills. The coalition chose to buy its energy from Clean Currents, a local provider that gets energy from wind power. ¶ The alliance is a joint effort of the Montgomery Arts & Humanities Council, Nonprofit Montgomery, and the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington. Not only are the participating groups using green energy, but they have more resources to provide services at a time when funding sources are harder to find. ¶ It’s been a valuable educational process for nonprofit managers and the Alliance, says Jenkins: “We understood economies of scope and scale, but we also learned that there were right times to buy energy to save more.” ¶ The Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless expects to save $30,000 in energy costs; the National Capital Trolley Museum can make both its streetcars and its donors’ dollars go farther. ¶ The Alliance has just launched an effort to double the number of participants. Says Jenkins: “For nonprofits, it’s a huge windfall.”
JAMES C. REES IV
Most visitors to Mount Vernon have an “aha!” moment, says James Rees, CEO of the historic estate. They enter George Washington’s mansion through the carriage-circle door, pass the verdigris-colored dining room, step onto the piazza that runs the length of the house, and take in the panoramic view of the Potomac . ¶ “It’s awe-inspiring,” Rees says. “People sit on the lawn where Washington sat, and they can see for miles.” ¶ Maintaining that view as well as Washington’s estate while enhancing the educational experience is a challenge—one Rees has relished for nearly 30 years. ¶ To keep the vista on the other side of the river unspoiled requires ongoing “strategic” interventions, he says. Mount Vernon is currently buying a parcel across the Potomac, four miles from the estate, so a builder can’t cut down trees there. Otherwise, the view from Mount Vernon would be of houses rather than greenery of the type Washington might have seen. ¶ Rees also directed the construction of an underground orientation and educational center that wouldn’t compete with the scale of the mansion or other original buildings. Sheep graze on a hillside atop the education center. ¶ Mount Vernon showcases Washington the farmer, who adopted environmentally friendly innovations ahead of his time. He had the first composting building, mixed his own fertilizer, and practiced crop rotation. ¶ Under Rees’s direction, Mount Vernon created a four-acre exhibition farm and continued the preservation of Washington’s distillery and grist mill. Visitors now have a greater appreciation of the first President’s agrarian enterprises. ¶ Rees will retire in June . “No one has done more for George Washington’s legacy than Jim Rees,” says Mount Vernon regent Ann Bookout. “His dedication and drive echo the qualities of George Washington’s leadership.”
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