Kids and Education

GREEN SPACE: Earth Day special edition

By Newsroom

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April 22, 2010

Michigan's largest Earth Day celebration is expected to draw 100,000 people this year, according to organizer Steve Rogge of TriGreen Development L3C. The magnitude becomes very apparent when you do the math: three days of festival with 220 exhibitors and hourly speakers, one parade, one fun run, dozens of kids activities, and three nights of parties.The main portion of the Michigan Earth Day Fest will take place at the intersection of Third and Water Streets in downtown Rochester April 22 to 25. This is the meat and potatoes of the event, where visitors can get up close and personal with information and products that touch upon food, energy, transportation, wellness, home and garden, and more. There will be speakers every hour on the hour, covering topics that range from the creation of a state bank in Michigan, climate change, nuclear energy, composting, the origins of the green movement, and much more. Kids activities include rock-climbing, worm bins, energy demonstrations, and a labyrinth. All exhibits, films, and presentations are free of charge.Michigan Earth Fest runs Friday, April 23 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, April 23 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 25 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is rain or shine, people -- there is 50,000 square feet of tent space.Additional activities include a preview party Thursday, April 22 at 7 p.m.; a green career fair on Friday, April 23 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; a parade at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 24; a fun run on Sunday, April 25 at 10 a.m.; and two Parties for the Planet on Friday and Saturday nights.Rogge founded TriGreen with partner John Batdorf under a new tax classification, L3C, a non-profit/for-profit hybrid. Their mission is to build partnerships with local businesses, governments and non-profits to promote economic and community development that meets the triple bottom line of people, planet and prosperity. "A healthy economy and a healthy environment are not mutually exclusive," he says. "Really, they are dependent on each other." Michigan Earth Fest is the company's flagship event.Source: Steve Rogge, TriGreen Development L3CWriter: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Latest in Kids and Education

Ann Arbor green lights LED streetlight pilot project

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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April 22, 2010

Energy-efficient LED streetlights are multiplying throughout Ann Arbor, thanks to a new partnership between the city and DTE Energy.Excerpt:LED street lights are starting to spread from downtown Ann Arbor into the city's neighborhoods.The city has recently partnered with DTE Energy to perform a pilot project for neighborhood LED streetlights. The two institutions will split the $44,800 bill to install 58 cobrahead LED streetlights in the student-housing-dominated neighborhood just south of the University of Michigan."Some students had previously raised concerns about the quality of streetlighting," says Andrew Brix, energy programs manager for the city of Ann Arbor. "We had been looking for an opportunity to try out LEDs in an area where DTE owned the lights. This worked out perfect."Read the rest of the story here.

Rock and Roll – and Folk and Pop – in Rochester Hills

By Patrick J. McKay, Supervisor of Interpretive Services, Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm

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Arts and Culture

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April 19, 2010

Rochester Hills is certainly not the center of the music industry, and yet, some very influential musicians hail from our community. From the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farms newsletter comes a reminder of just how Rock and Roll -- and folk and pop -- Rochester Hills really is.

Featured Video: Birmingham Community House

By Metromode

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Arts and Culture

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April 19, 2010

The Birmingham Community House has been offering programs, services and classes to residents young and old. From belly dancing to cooking classes to issue-oriented events, this community center is a model for learning, outreach and participation.

Birmingham installs LED lights in parking garage

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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April 15, 2010

Birmingham plans to launch its first LED light project this year when it installs the ultra-efficient bulbs in the Pierce Street Parking Garage.The city plans to spend $350,000 switching out the old high-pressure sodium bulbs with LEDs, starting late this summer and finishing before the winter arrives. The parking garage has 227 light fixtures that were installed in 1986."They're pretty close to the end of their useful life," says Brendan Cousino, assistant city engineer for Birmingham.LED lights use a fraction of the electricity of normal light bulbs because 95 percent of the energy they use creates light the human eye can see. In comparison, only 50 to 60 percent of energy used by regular bulbs makes visible light. LEDs also last several years longer than normal street lights.The city of Birmingham expects to save $18,000 in electricity annually, plus thousands more dollars in maintenance costs. Other Metro Detroit cities are already enjoying similar benefits from their LED projects, including Pontiac and Auburn Hills. Ann Arbor is close to being finished with replacing all of its street lights with LEDs.Bids for the project are expected to go out midway through the summer. About $125,000 in federal stimulus funds are helping to pay for the project.Source: Brendan Cousino, assistant city engineer for BirminghamWriter: Jon Zemke

Social Media: Teaching Metro Detroit’s Old Guard New Tricks

By Jeff Meyers

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Arts and Culture

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April 15, 2010

From technology to business models, change is coming fast and furious, and Metro Detroit is looking for both a digital and generational leg up. Metromode's editor Jeff Meyers sits down with one of the organizers of this weekend's FutureMidwest social media conference to discuss how our region can leverage online tools and better activate its young professionals.

Oakland U goes green with $2.7M geothermal project

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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April 15, 2010

Oakland University is getting ready to break ground on its greenest building yet, thanks to a multi-million dollar grant.The $2.7 million federal grant will pay for a geothermal heating system for the new $63 million Human Health Building. The project also includes a huge solar water heating system."That is one of the largest, if not the largest, solar water heating systems in the Midwest," says Jim Liedel, energy manager for the facilities management department at Oakland University.Both of those systems are big-ticket items in green building and go a long ways toward achieving gold-level LEED certification. Geothermal uses a well to draw upon the earth's constant temperature before the frost line. Solar heating systems pipe water through tubes in solar panels to heat them to near room temperature, thereby requiring less energy to provide hot water, for instance.The geothermal heat pump and roof-mounted, solar thermal hot water array will provide the 160,000-square-foot facility with summer dehumidification of ventilation air, as well as cooling, heating, and domestic hot water.Construction should start this summer and wrap up in 2012. The building will go on a vacant parcel of land on the northwest corner of the university's campus. It will house the School of Nursing and the School of Health Sciences.Source: Jim Liedel, energy manager for the facilities management department at Oakland UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke

Get your veg on at Ferndale’s VegFest this weekend

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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April 15, 2010

Hey Veg-heads, VegFest is back! For all you vegans, vegetarians, and people who just like eating healthy, Ferndale has something to offer you, again. However, if you're a basketball fan, too, John Salley will be on hand as a speaker. He won't be talking basketball though. The VegFest will be held April 18. Excerpt: Back this year by popular demand, after drawing a record-breaking crowd of nearly 2,000 to last year's VegFest, is former Piston and TV personality John Salley ("Best Damn Sports Show Period"). Like Freedman, he is vegan -- meaning he neither eats nor uses any animal products -- and he passionately believes that his diet choice improved his game and his life. Attendees can enjoy tasty vegan cuisine from two dozen local restaurants, national brand samples, cooking and raw-food demonstrations, door prizes, children's activities and several lectures and presentations. In addition to Freedman at 1 p.m. and Salley at 2 p.m., speakers throughout the day include Dr. Joel Kahn, medical director of cardiac rehabilitation at Beaumont Hospital; diabetes specialist Caroline Trapp; environmentalist Troy Farwell, executive director of Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center; raw foods educator Andrea McNinch, founder of Regeneration Raw; Dorothy Davies, co-founder of SASHA Farm; VegMichigan president Harry Pianko; and a panel of vegan and vegetarian adults and children who will discuss "Going Veg for Dummies." Read the entire article here.

Karmanos and Crittenton open new cancer center

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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April 15, 2010

Karmanos Cancer Center and Crittenton Hospital Medical Center have opened a new shared facility in Rochester Hills that boasts a bevy of green features.The new $16 million building features 30,000 square feet of state-of-the-art cancer treatment space. Patients will be able to receive advanced radiation treatment, chemotherapy, diagnostic imaging, and on-site laboratory testing. Seventeen employees staff the facility and that number is expected to grow later this year.The center also has a number of sustainable features such as a white roof, occupancy sensors, and energy-efficient lights. All of these features were designed by Albert Kahn Associates and installed by Barton Malow, including the daylight harvesting system."The lobby has a lot of glass so you get a lot of natural light," says Larry Dziedzic, senior project manager for Barton Malow. "As the day gets brighter the daylight harvesting system shuts down the lights you don't need."Source: Larry Dziedzic, senior project manager for Barton MalowWriter: Jon Zemke

Intellitouch Digital hires 11 in Rochester

By Newsroom

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Innovation News

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April 15, 2010

The company now known as Intellitouch Digital Solutions is bigger than it was when it rebranded itself last summer.The downtown Rochester-based firm went from two to 13 employees and a couple of independent contractors. It's also looking to bring in some summer interns from Oakland University. "We have seen tremendous growth in the last nine months," says Jeffrey Olszewski, vice president of sales and marketing for Intellitouch Digital Solutions.Intellitouch Digital Solutions makes touch screen displays so customers can browse and order merchandise. It started with fast food kiosks in places like California Pizza Kitchen. Today its touchscreens have expanded to 42-inch Hi-Def TVs in places like ArtVan Furniture. The technology is much more sales friendly so customers to browse merchandise and get a better feel for it in smaller retail outlets."We're bringing life to the ordering boards," Olszewski says.Intellitouch Digital Solutions hopes to bring its technology into more industries such as health-care by creating strategic partnerships with hospitals. Source: Jeffrey Olszewski, vice president of sales and marketing for Intellitouch Digital SolutionsWriter: Jon Zemke