Greenrock says:

At this time of year, most people’s thoughts turn to presents, food and family. At Greenrock our thoughts turn to community today, tomorrow and 50 years from now. Here is our Christmas wish list for a happy future (go ahead and sing it!)

10 Eco-schools

Eco-schools are healthier for students, connect them to their environment and cost less to run! Greenrock is thrilled to be able to offer the internationally recognised Eco-schools programme, and will be offering it to all schools in 2014.

90 Audits for seniors

Our Savings for Seniors programme, funded by End-to-End and in partnership with Age Concern, is working with senior citizens to cut their energy bills. Replacing energy-hogging incandescent light bulbs with low-energy bulbs, putting timers on hot-water heaters and heated towel rails, and providing advice on other ways to save energy all help our senior citizens save money (which they can now spend on Christmas goodies) and we reduce the Island’s energy bill: everyone wins! Go ahead, try it at home!

8 Green office

presentations

Greenrock works with Bermuda’s companies and businesses to develop ideas to reduce resource use in the office. Something as simple as replacing single-use plastic water bottles in conference rooms can save thousands of dollars a year. Waste audits can highlight ways the company is wasting money and resources, and fun competitions can encourage people to car-pool, or bring their own mugs to work. We help companies improve their bottom line, and our gift to the Island is to reduce the amount of trash that we generate.

7 School gardens

Greenrock’s school gardens at Elliot Primary and Harrington Sound Primary connect kids to their food. This has many benefits: kids will often eat a tomato or carrot that they have grown when they wouldn’t touch it on the dinner plate! Teaching them to care for a little bit of their local environment teaches them to look at the whole environment; and students who don’t do well in the classroom often find that they are very effective in the garden — so we give them the gift of self-esteem.

6 Stores that ban

single-use bags

Single-use paper and plastic bags are a waste of money and resources, and too frequently end up on the railway trails, beaches and in the sea. We have a choice. Most grocery stores provide alternative bags that are sturdy, inexpensive and can be used multiple times. Bermuda’s gift to Greenrock would be to choose to say “No Thanks!” to single-use bags.

5 Green buildings forums

Founded by Greenrock in 2009, the Green Building Forum encourages cooperation, innovation and knowledge exchange among local businesses interested in sustainability. This is a cross-industry group which together explores ideas such as composting, a green sector for the economy, energy ratings for buildings, or how to source sustainable corporate gifts. Meetings are unpredictable and creative and open to all Greenrock Corporate Members.

4 Energy efficient

Government buildings

We don’t need to use this amount of electricity! We can live the lives we want and use less power: new technology and conservation ideas make it easy to have the life we want with less power. We feel that the Government should lead the way: energy audits and conservation installations offer job creation opportunities and usually pay for themselves in a couple of years and, best of all in this economic environment, will go on saving money for ever — and that would be a Christmas gift to the whole Island.

3 Community gardens

Greenrock’s community gardens at WindReach (with the ACE Group), Sunshine League (with Catlin) and Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation (KAF: with Argus) are gifts that keep on giving all year round. Not only do they supply their host communities with vegetables but they also enrich the curriculum. It could be work experience for WindReach clients, plants for fibre-making and dyes for KAF classes, or carrots for Sunshine League to sell. The gardens are also an opportunity for corporate volunteers to join a different community, work side-by-side with the host organisation and see immediately the difference that they make. The best gift is giving a bit of yourself.

200 Greenrock members

This of course is a gift opportunity for friends, neighbours and family! And with Greenrock membership you get the added benefit of helping to sustain our economy and environment and saving the planet! That’s a lot of benefits for $25: we’d love to have you join us for Christmas.

1 Community that cares about the future

To subvert another well-known Christmas theme: If the ghost of Christmas Future visited us, would it be pleased with us? Are we nurturing and sustaining what we have today so that our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have what they want? Our greatest gift is the one which we give to the future.

For more information on the programmes and projects mentioned here visit our website: www.greenrock.org, or e-mail Greenrock at info@greenrock.org.

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Best wishes for a happy and prosperous holiday season and many more to come from all of us at Greenrock.