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SHS Plant Sales (‘Salvia & Friends’ Sale/ Second Chance Plant Sale)
Saturday, May 7, 2016
8:30 am – noon
Centennial Park, Park & Dartmouth Aves., Swarthmore
Rain or Shine
Free and open to the public. Free public parking available.
Website: www.swarthmorehorticulturalsociety.org
The Swarthmore Horticultural Society will be holding 2 terrific sales on Saturday, May 7.
First, their annual spring plant sale-- “Salvia and Friends”-- will feature 16 varieties of
unusual salvias and 14 other beautiful summer blooming plants. A 12-page catalogue of
plants, color photos, prices, and plant information is now available on the SHS website:
www.swarthmorehorticulturalsociety.org . You will be bedazzled at the selection offered!
At this sale, a limited quantity of beautiful filled mixed containers, designed and planted
by several local professional horticulturists will also be sold! (A great gift idea for
Mothers Day!)
The SHS is also having its Second Chance Plant Sale at the same time and location. At
this sale, the beautiful evergreen shrubs planted for “winter interest” in the giant flower
pots of Swarthmore Town Center last fall will be sold at truly bargain prices ($15 and
below!). Photos & specific details about these high quality plants are also on the SHS
website.
SHS is an all-volunteer organization. All sale proceeds are used to create and maintain
local public gardens.
SHS Plant Sales (‘Salvia & Friends’ Sale/ Second Chance Plant Sale)
Saturday, May 7, 2016
8:30 am – noon
Centennial Park, Park & Dartmouth Aves., Swarthmore
Rain or Shine
Free and open to the public. Free public parking available.
Website: www.swarthmorehorticulturalsociety.org
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A Citizen's Guide to Land Use and Water Quality
​Sunday, April 10, 2016
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm    
​Old Mill, Rose Valley

Ann Hutchinson, Senior Director of Municipal Planning at Natural Lands Trust
Ann will explore: 
· How communities are keeping their streams healthy for people and wildlife
 · The importance of streamside forests to water quality and how towns can conserve them and ensure clean water for future generations
 · How local zoning regulations can “lighten the footprint” of new development and control pollution​

Ann Hutchinson is a certified planner and landscape architect whose portfolio includes local, state and national speaking engagements, training and site tours of conservation subdivisions and land conservation projects. She has assisted over 100 Pennsylvania municipalities with conservation-minded land use ordinances, plans and site plan reviews. She is a contributing author, with nationally recognized planner Randall Arendt, to the interactive CD-ROM Growing Greener Ordinance Language (Island Press, 2001). Ann holds a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the State University of New York, Syracuse.
Solarize Greater Media Campaign
 
Ten years ago, when I’d tell people what I did for a living (I design energy conservation programs for the federal government), they’d frequently ask me about putting solar on their roofs. I’d stifle a frown and suggest that their money would be better spent on a dozen other energy-saving measures. 
 
Today, I’ve had to change that response a bit.  The installed cost of photovoltaic (PV) solar arrays in the U.S. has dropped by over 60%in the past decade.  A typical $15,000 system, properly oriented, should save an average PECO residential customer about $800 per year.  And 30% of the system cost ($4,500) can be taken as a federal tax credit (a “credit,” as opposed to a “deduction,” means it comes directly off the bottom line of your return – i.e., you get all of it, not the third or quarter you would with a tax deduction). 
 
In our area, however, the deal is about to get even sweeter.  Transition Town Media (TTM), a local non-profit that has partnered many times with aFewSteps, is sponsoring a “solarize” initiative, in which prospective PV customers can take advantage of a collective large-volume procurement that TTM has negotiated with a Philadelphia-based supplier, Solar States.  Solarize is a national bulk purchasing movement supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and replicated dozens of times across the country.  The idea is that, with a large volume of systems being installed in a small geography (in this case, within a five mile radius of Media) in a relatively short time, economies of scale from both suppliers and installers serve to drive down prices.  Depending on the complexity of the installation and the total number of systems installed, prices for Solarize systems will often be 20% cheaper than stand-alone installations of the same type and capacity.  And Solarize Greater Media has partnered with Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union to offer financing such that loan payments will be significantly offset by the electric bill savings, with most customers’ pockets feeling limited impact during the loan term (not to mention pure savings afterwards!).
 
TTM is throwing a workshop to educate the public on the program at Swarthmore Borough Hall on Saturday, February 13th from 2-4 P.M.  Hope to see you there!
 
 
Phil Coleman on behalf of aFewSteps.org
 

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