Madeleine On Our New Green Firehouse

As we watch the firehouse being transformed from an old, abandoned building into a beautiful new space for Zumix, many of the physical changes are easy to see. However, it’s more difficult to see the subtle "green" aspects of the building.

In this interview, Zumix founder and Executive Director, Madeleine Steczynski talks about the long road that began 4 years ago with bidding and acquiring the firehouse, through all the steps it has taken to create what will be a green, LEED certified building.

1. The Beginning: Submitting a Bid and Winning


2. Why Green is Good


3. Floor Materials and Soundproof Walls


4. Lighting Design


5. Our Smart HVAC System


6. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle


7. We Have a Backyard!


8. Green Bathrooms

Watch This Space!

As the fall semester proceeds, we will begin posting elements of our audio tour convering the Green aspects of the Firehouse construction. This is a very intensive process of research, interviewing, writing, recording and editing. We are psyched for the task!

Some Details About Piers Park Sailing

This summer we concentrated on the Piers Park Sailing program, http://piersparksailing.org/, one of the best in the country.

The folks who run this program have made sure to include programs for all ages and many interests.

For Kids 7-10 yrs old, they have the Harbor Explorers, which explores Marine ecology. Through the summer, they run 2-week sailing programs for youth 10-15 years-old. They have a Future Leaders program for 14-15 year-olds. And, they have sailing classes for adults.

Incredibly, they have made a number of creative adaptations to their equipment, and are able to teach disabled people in their regular classes.

What a resource!

Piers Park Interviews

Our radio journalism class is making a splash! The students are currently working on interviews that will provide insight into some of the key people at the Piers Park Sailing Program.

This has been an intense but enjoyable project as students came up with questions, recorded interviews, edited, produced, and have uploaded the interviews to our blog.

The journey began with students brainstorming about who they wanted to interview and what types of questions should be asked. They decided that in order to get a diverse variety of answers and opinions, they would interview administrators of the program, staff members, and youth participants. Questions were formulated dealing with how the program came to be, where funding comes from, how long it takes to learn the ropes, and how things function on a day-to-day basis--the nuts and bolts of the program.

Once the interviews were done, our journalists brought the rough "tape" back to the Zumix studio for some editing. They have polished up the interviews and posted them for you to enjoy. please don't be afraid to give us your feedback.

Sailing Instructors Talk

Intrepid reporter Dan went out in a motorboat to Boston Harbor and talked to Piers Park sailing instructors Harvey and Adam.

Some Park and Program History

In this first interview with Sailing Program Director Matt Rosa, Jeremy gets into the roots of Piers Park and some aspects of the evolution of the program.

Two Sides of The Director

This interview was produced and edited by Alex. It contains some nuts and bolts info about the Piers Park Sailing Program and some interesting-possibly surprising-insights into the mind and work of Director Matt Rosa.

A Brief Backgrounder on the Movement

Ishmael takes us on a fast ride to show us some of the most important guideposts of the environmental movement over the last 60 years.

Here's the link

Youth CAN Climate Change Summit

Mike covers the Third Annual Youth CAN Climate Change Summit. Here's the link.

Mike's Commentary About Global Warming

Here's Mikes commentary about his takes on Global Warming Overreaction and rational steps to a greener future.Here's the link.

Some Useful Links:

BLS Youth CAN

Youth CAN Network

Overreaction

Melting, Ocean Levels and Global Warming

Mary starts things off with this report about a recent re-evaluation of the effects of polar-cap warming. Here's the link.




Commentary on melting ice

It seems that global warmists aren't as heated as they used to be and ice caps aren't melting as much as people fear (or as much as global warmists wanted). To hear Mary's commentary on this issue click here .

To know more about this issue, check out the links below:

"Antarctic ice is growing" from The Australian

Media hype on 'Melting' Antarctic ignores record ice growth from FreePublic.com

Antarctic ice: growing not shrinking from Climate 411

How Meals Can Change the World

Here's Nadia's story about how the waste from a simple meal can be turned into fertilizer. Here's the link.

Overpopulation on a Global Scale

Jose reports on overpopulation around the world. Here's the link.

Goin' Bananaz!!!!!

Here's Ana's story about recycling banana peels to reduce fossil fuel emissions! Go green! Here's the link.




Here's Ana's commentary about her personal experience with recycling. Here's the link.