Every year, it gets easier to impart the holidays with an air of sustainability -- which is something that Green Space is certainly thankful for. So, in the spirit of the most food-oriented holiday, let us suggest some options from which to purvey your Thanksgiving feast.

In her story "The Omnivore's Detroit", Model D's managing editor Clare Ramsey explores several options for obtaining local, organic turkeys for her family's dinner last Thanksgiving. She ended up scoring at Roeske Farms in Hartland, about an hour  northwest of Detroit, near M-59 and US 23, but also found Sunshine Meadows Farm in Ortonville and Harnois Farms near Pinckney.


Concentrate ran a similar story for those who live in Washtenaw County.

Eastern Market and the Royal Oak Farmers Market boast plenty of locally-grown produce that will remind you that celebration of the harvest bounty is truly at the root of this November holiday.

In other news, the Lions game on the 26th will be a carbon-neutral event. For the third year in a row, the Lions are partnering with TechTown-based Carbon Credit Environmental Services (CCES) and the Greening of Detroit to plant 650 trees in Detroit that will negate the 466 tons of carbon dioxide emitted by travel to and from the game as well as energy used at the stadium.

To get around, consider The Night Move. Thanksgiving Eve, the green shuttle will run its regular weekend route between Royal Oak, Ferndale, and Downtown Detroit from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. as well as a free shuttle for The Night Before Thanksgiving party at the Roostertail (from the Red Wings game at Joe Louis, Fishbones in St. Clair Shores, and Excalibur in Grosse Pointe Park). There's also a Night Move shuttle running to and from the Thursday Lions game, but it's already sold out.

Thanks for reading Green Space!

Sources: Monica Tabares, Greening of Detroit and Jennifer Harlan, The Night Move
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

It's been a long, winding journey for Liberty Center One, a journey that's not only continuing but picking up speed.

The Pleasant Ridge-based firm started out a dozen years ago focusing on automotive marketing. As the firm grew, it made increasing use of Internet hosting services, and then moved in that direction by buying Ann Arbor-based Web Elite.

"That was really the impetus for us to get into the hosting business," says Tim Mullahy, general manager of Liberty Center One.

Today the firm is hitting its stride with its new data center in Royal Oak, which has allowed the firm to grow to 30-35 people and another 20 or so independent contractors. Mullahy expects the firm to hire more people in 2010.

"We're pretty hopeful IT spending will be back up," Mullahy says. "We think there is some pent up demand."

One encouraging sign is the growth it has seen so far this year. The firm has been able to double its sales in the last six months and has experienced more revenue growth this year compared to 2008.

Source: Tim Mullahy, general manager of Liberty Center One
Writer: Jon Zemke

Robert Phelps doesn't bleed Detroit's colors, but his new film, Stick It In Detroit, is dripping with the Motor City.

The Clerks-like comedy about a gas station clerk in Detroit premiered to a few hundred people in downtown Royal Oak's Main Art Theatre late last month. It's set for a general release on Friday at the MJR theaters in Waterford, Sterling Heights, and Southgate. Phelps, the film's writer, director, and actor, agreed to email a few answers to some questions about making a movie in Metro Detroit.

Describe Stick It In Detroit in two sentences or less?
A flat out balls to wall comedy that will make you wonder if it is OK for you to be watching what you are seeing and then once you answer "yes" to that question you realize that you are on the floor from laughing so hard and that you feel funny where you pee.

How have the film incentives helped other local filmmakers?
The film incentives don't help the true indie filmmaker at all. They are only for the big boys with more than $2 million to spend. It will be a very rare thing when local filmmakers can raise more than $2 million to spend on their indie projects. The films that are rolling though town now are those backed by the studios or backed by a production company that already has studio distribution locked up.

How do you see the local film landscape changing if the film incentives stay in place long-term?
We are already starting to see the ripple effect of the incentives. Outside investors are spending hundreds of millions on studios and technical training facilities, most notably Unity Studios in Allen Park. If the tax incentives remain we will begin to see the entire infrastructure for a self sustaining film community that will offer high paying jobs to thousands of Detroiters. We will begin to see large investments on behalf of our local universities to train new film workers. Most exciting, though, will be the development of new talented filmmakers, writers, directors, and actors from our own backyards. This is not the answer to all of Detroit's unemployment problems but it could be a very large Band Aid on this gaping bullet hole.

Was making your movie here possible without the incentives? Could you have done this five years ago in a different climate?
We did make it without the incentives but no, we could not have made Stick It In Detroit anywhere else. The support of our families and friends was the only reason we were able to make the film. Like I mentioned before, the incentives are only for those at $2 million and over. We put ours in the can for $115K. But this will still trickle down to us little guys who get to work with the new technologies and quite simply learn how to make better movies.

What is one thing you would like to change about the local film scene in Metro Detroit?
The apathetic nature of Detroit has to change. We have this inferiority complex that holds most people back from really reaching their full potential and settling for whatever the outside world tells us we are suppose to be or do. We need to find the passion and the pride to support one another and be the innovative squeaky wheel. I would love to see Detroit be the place the rest of the country looks at as to what is truly on the horizon of film.

Source: Robert Phelps, writer, director, and actor of "Stick It In Detroit"
Writer: Jon Zemke

Kelly McKeon knows that the film crews working in Michigan are here to get a job, but she knows they have some free time, too. Her business services both needs.

The Royal Oak resident started THEHOLLYWOODWARD this summer. The concierge service specializes in pointing them in the right direction and making sure the path is clear. That can mean anything from suggesting locations to reserving rooms.

"I can hook them up with whatever they need," McKeon says.

She had been working as an independent contractor with different film crews in recent months when she decided to make this her business. It turns out the demand is definitely there. Her clients buy just about all of her time now, so much so that she plans to hire a person or two before the end of the year.

"I am already at the point where I think I need more help," McKeon says.

Source: Kelly McKeon, owner of THEHOLLYWOODWARD
Writer: Jon Zemke

Danielle Brycz was bored at her day job when she decided she wanted something more. To her, more equals Verde Lifestyles, a new Metro Detroit-based start-up.

"It's more of a creative outlet," says Brycz, the co-owner and director of sales and marketing for Verde Lifestyles.

Verde Lifestyles (verde is Spanish for the color green) focuses on advising people on how to live a sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle. That can mean shrinking carbon footprints by purchasing green products made of recycled or renewable materials.

Brycz, a recent Michigan State University graduate, and her friend Ryan Forrest, who is about to graduate from Oakland University, started the website last year. Even though the business has a post office box in Royal Oak, Bryce lives in Dearborn and Forrest in Rochester Hills. They run the business virtually from wherever their laptops happen to be in Metro Detroit.

"We wanted something that could be somewhat automated, something that isn't attached to one location," Brycz says.

Right now the pair is concentrating on building up their brand name in Metro Detroit. The long-term plan is to create a national brand.

"I want this to be something that can replace or supplement my income," Brycz says. "I'd like to make it a part of my career."

Source: Danielle Brycz, the co-owner and director of sales and marketing for Verde Lifestyles
Writer: Jon Zemke

Oakland County is using cyberspace methods to get more real people voting in the next election cycle.

Its latest innovation is to send out an email reminder to voters two weeks before elections and then again on election days. The reminder will also include a bevy of other information voters can use to make the process easier.

"It's kind of like an electronic post-it note," says Ruth Johnson, Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds.

The emails will be sent out before all local, school, state, and federal elections and will link to the clerk's website. The site will feature a list of candidates and ballot proposals, campaign finance reports, polling locations, and instructional videos for using voting machines.

It will also feature a new election reporting system that reveals results in real time. Also included will be information on voter registration and on how to become a poll worker, and a link to the state's Voter Information Center.

"This is just one more tool in the tool box," Johnson says.

For information on these new systems, click here.

Source: Ruth Johnson, Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds
Writer: Jon Zemke

Social media mavericks no longer have to go it alone in Metro Detroit now that the Social Media Club is setting up a Detroit chapter.

Social Media Club started in San Francisco three years ago and now has chapters around the world. The club allows both social media professionals and people who have a passing interest in the virtual phenomenon to gather, meet and talk face to face.

"It's anyone who is involved in the digital landscape," says David Murray, one of the Detroit chapter's organizers. "The Internet touches just about everyone in business."

The group held its first meeting last week in downtown Royal Oak and is planning another in September. About 35 people attended the first meeting and Murray, whose day job is as a director of web communications, expects that number to grow within the next year.

"I'd love to see this get up to 200-300 people," Murray says.

Source: David Murray, organizer of the Detroit chapter of the Social Media Club
Writer: Jon Zemke

Vectorform started a hiring binge about two years ago, about doubling what became its worldwide staff.

The software-design firm had to shrink a bit late last year when the economy crashed, but it still employs 70 worldwide. About 25 people work from its Royal Oak headquarters, including about half a dozen interns and a few independent contractors.

"In the past two years, the company has expanded quite a bit," says Markus Sheldon, an account manager for Vectorform. "We're in a very good position to grow."

The firm hopes to grow another 10-15 percent within the next year, and is looking for talented developers, designers, and project managers. For more information on Vectorform's current openings, please visit careers.vectorform.com.

Vectorform specializes in Interactive design and development. Think web design and multi-touch hardware, such as the iPhone and Microsoft Surface. It recently debuted MeetMe, a new iPhone application, as part of a partnership between a number of local new economy entrepreneurs.

MeetMe specializes in finding the right place for two people to meet halfway between each other. It utilizes the likes of Yelp and Google maps to find an area halfway between two distant points to meet, and aids in the choice of a best place for that lunch/dinner/coffee meeting.

Source: Markus Sheldon, an account manager for Vectorform
Writer: Jon Zemke