Miami Corporate Run/Walk 2013- Team RSMAS results

This year the corporate run felt a little bit different because of Boston's tragedy. No backpacks or large bags were allowed.There were policemen patrolling with bomb-sniffing dogs and people were wearing tributes to Boston or talking about what happened, when waiting for the race to start. My youngest daughter, who was walking with me and my oldest daughter, kept squeezing my hand nervously and looking at the trash bins along our way to the start line. It took a while and some talking to reassure her.

It seems that we waited a little bit longer than last year  or maybe it was because we were more anxious to start. This year about 25,000 had registered and they were not deterred from coming. The waiting area was packed.

When we finally moved on, about 15 minutes after the runners had started, it seemed that the crowd was moving really slow and it took us 36 minutes to finish the first mile. We crossed the Miami River on SE 4th Street and walked through Brickell as the afternoon light reflected on the glass buildings. There is something really uplifting about seeing a sea of colorful tee shirts-clad people walking through the business district, all for a common goal.

We made our way back on the river on SW 2nd Avenue and into downtown where the old buildings always fascinate me with their carvings and decorations.

It took us about one hour to cross the finish line and get back to the UM tent where we had dinner and prizes*. And we immediately talked about coming back next year. :-)

*The RSMAS Team got second place in the President's Office challenge with 82 team members.

Matt Archer,Peter Finocchio,Yemi Adebiyi,Kieran Bhatia,Sandrine Apelbaum and Matt Janiga
picture by Arun Chandra

Yemi Adebiyi, Thania Papapostolou, Astrid Wermeister and Sarah Larson
picture by Johna Rudzin

You may see some pictures here:
http://www.facebook.com/GreenTeamRsmasNews

You may see the results below of the RSMAS team members who ran or jogged:

Matt Archer	21:37:00
Peter Finocchio	21:48:00
Kieran Bhatia	23:52:00
Al Piggot	24:32:00
Matt Janiga	24:47:00
Monica Arienzo	25:00:00
Arun Chandra	25:23:00
Tyler Sclodnick	25:25:00
Aurore Tual	25:29:00
Phillip Gillette	25:37:00
Albert Boyd	25:52:00
Amanda Oehlert	25:57:00
Brent Alexander	25:57:00
Dustin Stommes	26:14:00
Nate Formel	26:19:00
Falk Amelung	26:45:00
Will Komaromi	27:18:00
Kelly Kearney	27:22:00
Jefferson Boyd	28:06:00
Jan Norbisrath	28:47:00
Marcela Ulate	29:08:00
Sarah Larson	29:26:00
David Lindo	29:30:00
Kenny Zhao	30:00:00
Anieri Morales Rivera	30:01:00
Ralf Weger	30:05:00
Fabio Baquero	30:07:00
Qion Zhang	31:38:00
Ernesto Vazquez	32:04:00
Fernando Greene	33:09:00
Brandon Kerns	34:06:00
Amy Gillette	34:23:00
Irena Maura	34:51:00
Meghan Gonzalez	35:43:00
David Weinstein	35:58:00
Astrid Werkmeister	36:19:00
Thania Papapostolou	36:20:00
Ana Bardales	36:23:00
Mike Anderson	36:45:00
Isabel Castro	37:04:00
Tamay Ozgokmen	39:32:00

 

Arbor Day on April 26th- Volunteers needed

Green Jewelry making- Michelle Gamby-Scott

Michelle Gamby-Scott is a Fisheries Biologist/Port Agent with NOAA. http://Seashellscreations.etsy.com

 

In an age where everything is fast food, Wi-Fi, smart phones, disposable this and that, at what point do we say  “STOP!”  We have become a fast paced, no time to do anything,  hurry up and get on to the next thing on the list--society.  Texts and emails have replaced hand written thank you notes and letters. Where it is easier to just “buy another one, or a new one” then to fix up or “make over”  something that you already have.  With the economy the way it is today, well paying jobs are few and far between. In my opinion, I think there will be an increasing  trend of recycling and upcycling things that a family or individual already has.  Paychecks are shrinking, and prices on everything from food to gas are increasing as well.  It’s time to go back to our roots and provide for ourselves, to find new uses for old things.

Since I was a kid, I have always tried to reinvent something that I already had.  Raised in the country with limited numbers of kids to play with, I learned at an early age to be creative and come up with new things to occupy my time.  This mindset has carried over into my jewelry designs and how I look at every day items.   I have been able to mix my love of the ocean, recycling/upcycling everyday materials, and creating one of a kind unique jewelry in my Etsy Shop SeaShell’s  Creations.  

I have “junk jewelry” given to me all the time, or broken jewelry that friends or family don’t want to bother fixing.  These are the things that I love to use the most. Taking something old and turning it into something new.  People are amazed at some of the things I come up with, and usually want their jewelry back after they see what I have made.  I enjoy walking my local beaches looking for materials and have made things out of beach trash, shells, driftwood and stones.  I try to incorporate as many natural elements as possible.

I don’t just limit my recycling practices to jewelry, I also make paper goods from recycled materials such as; books, calendars, catalogs, dictionaries, posters, maps, etc. I repurpose furniture as well.  If I see something I think is cool, I hang on to it until I think of something to make out of it.

To me, recycling, reusing, and repurposing things is becoming part our lives more and more.  As resources are depleted, we will have no choice but to do so, with growing  financial restraints on families they will be forced  into this practice whether they like it or not, to extend the life of the things they already  have.

There are thousands of artists that utilize disregarded materials in their work every day. I like to make beautiful things for a reasonable price that also benefits our environment.  There is beauty in everything, and I think my designs support that.  Someone else’s trash truly is my treasure!!  Below are some photos of things that I have made with a brief description and the materials used.

 

Increasing sustainability at the UM food court- David Shiffman

From SouthernFriedScience.com

"In the fall of 2012, I took a class entitled “Using Communications to Influence Health and Environmental Policy: Theory and Practice”. The readings and discussions were fascinating, but what really got me excited was the semester project. Working with a group of other students, we were asked to identify an environmental problem on campus, and come up with a detailed plan to fix it. Our group was concerned by the lack of sustainable and recyclable options at the University of Miami’s food court, and focused our project on that issue. Below are modified excerpts from our group’s final project (the full document is approximately 50 pages). Though the class is over, I and others from my group will still be working with the University’s Office of Sustainability to help implement our project in the coming months. We welcome your feedback, suggestions for improvement, and assistance in achieving these goals!"

You may read more about David Shiffman's endeavor here

Miami Corporate Run/walk 2013- Save the date and updates

Good morning,

Please save the date for the Miami Corporate Run/Walk 2013 which will be on April 25th, 2013 at 6:45 p.m. Please note that it will be the same date than "Take our daughters and sons to work" day.
For those of you who have never heard of it, it is a 5K race (3.1 miles) downtown Miami involving all the Miami businesses. Last year there were 22,599 participants from 830 companies. The event is organized by TeamFootWorks, a non profit organization which promotes fitness education and donates to local and national charities. It is a great event to participate to.
Last year RSMAS won the President's challenge cup for the team with the most participants, with 68 people including students, faculty, employees, family members and friends.The cup is in MSC 353 if you would like to see it. How about winning it again this year?

Please see below some details.I will send more emails as soon as registration opens.

-The UM theme this year will be "Canes reign"
-The fee this year will be $35 plus the online registration fee of $1. There will not be an early registration fee.
-Employees will be given a discount of $15, offered by Benefits. Please note that this only apply to UM employees, not guests (i.e. students, family and friends) signed on Team UM (using the UM registration link)
-Tee shirt: it will be a dry fit shirt like last year but this year it will be orange.Please see the attached flyer for info on the design contest.

I was the RSMAS Team Leader last year. I will gladly be the RSMAS Team leader again unless someone else would like to do it. Please let me know.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Sandrine

Happy New Year 2013- Make it a greener year!

The Green Blog would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year 2013. I hope this year will bring you what you are looking for. Maybe it will be the start of new green endeavors. You may want to plant some tomatoes, use cloth napkins instead of paper ones, refashion some clothes, repurpose some objects in your garage, take the train to work one day a week or ride your bike. Whatever you decide to do, please remember that each step counts, even little ones and that it only takes one person to inspire another.
So have fun trying new things!
You may also check the green blog on facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/GreenTeamRsmasNews

Keeping Worms in the Tropics- Sophie, 12 years old

Why should I keep worms? We started our worm keeping after a visit to Echo Farms in Ft Myers, FL. We took workshops about worm keeping and learned enough to know to get started. Earth worms recycle food waste into good vermicompost and save energy and money. They produce good garden manure which provides house plants and garden with nutrients and good bacteria. Soils in the tropics tend to be sandy and low in nutrients, so worms will help you with this. Worms are good bait for freshwater fishing, so you can also save some money. This blog is a step by step guide for the worm keeper.

Worm Housing

Step 1. What things do you need to make a worm bin? You need at least two containers such as 5 gallon buckets or plastic totes which are at least 12 inches deep. You also need one lid. They must be opaque to keep out the sun. You will also need a drill with 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch drill bits. All these can be purchased at a hardware store. 

Step 2. Drill holes in the sides of one bucket with the 1/8 inch drill bit and drill holes on the bottom with the 1/4 inch drill bit. Drill all holes about an inch apart. These holes help let fresh air in and the old air out. This is important so that the worm compost does not turn anaerobic. The holes on the bottom allow moisture or leachate to drain out. The leachate can be used as liquid fertilizer. Now stack the buckets and put the bucket with the holes onto of the bucket with no holes. Make sure not to drill holes in the lid to keep the worms from drying out.

Moving In

Step 3. Now that the house is built it is worm time. Make sure you buy red wiggles since other worms like night crawlers will burrow deep. When you are buying the worms, make sure to buy your worms from a local supplier because worms from Maine might not acclimate well to the tropics. You might have friends with an established worm bin who will share with you. We got some from our friends Greg and Evelyn from The Open Studio.

Step 4. Now your worms need bedding! Bedding can be made from coconut husk, shredded newspaper or other paper with soy based ink, and corrugated cardboard. Do not use shiny magazine paper! Make sure paper is shredded in strips. Bedding should be as wet as a wrung sponge but not soggy. Fill container with at least a few inches of this bedding. Also add a couple of sand or dirt for the worms.

Step 5. What to feed the worms? Here are some worm feeding basics with some do’s and don’ts. Worms love most kitchen and plant waste from cantaloupes to pumpkins to organic yard waste. They also love coffee grounds and tea bags but leave out the staples. Now here are some of the no no’s. Worms don’t like too much citrus because they are too acidic. If you give the worms too much citrus give them crushed egg shells to balance the pH back. Avoid meat, dairy, hot peppers, spicy food, onions and garlic. A pound of worms can eat a half a pound of kitchen waste per 24 hours.

General care

Keep your bin in your porch, garage or lanai so you have an overhang. This keeps out direct sunlight and rain. Make sure to keep worm food and compost moist but not soaking. When food is put in the worm bin, make sure to cover it with bedding. Add new bedding when worms have eaten in all. This is an important food for them since worms need lots of carbon. Also keep an eye on your leachate because worms do not like to be soaked. Keep out all fire ants, centipedes and maggots! Please give me feedback on how your worm bins are doing. Vermiculture is a very good thing to help the environment.