Our blog is your go-to resource.
The Environmental Center is your friendly neighborhood sustainability hub.
Our blog tells the stories of the people and organizations, the programs, tools and technologies, that make sustainability real every day. You’ll find the inspiration and resources you need to put sustainability into action in your life, at home or at work.
Be sure to check out our community calendar for upcoming events, and get to know our Partner Groups. Need a space for an event? Our door is open for learning, collaborating, and a whole lot more.
Recent Posts
The Hub
Green Spotlight: Tatiana Guerra
November 26, 2018
“You look busy, how can I help?” Let’s just say Tatiana Guerra is a super volunteer. And we mean really super. We met Tatiana in the spring of 2017 when her AmeriCorps NCCC team was based at The Environmental Center. Her team, Blue 3, primarily worked on our Energy Challenge program. “We went around to houses and […]
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2018 Sustainability Award Winners Recognized
November 16, 2018
The 2018 Sustainability Awards were announced by The Environmental Center on November 15th at a celebration at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon. The Environmental Center received 13 nominations and the winners were selected by a community review committee. “Sustainability is a big, complex topic,” said Mike Riley, Executive Director. “Achieving it requires patience […]
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Increased Incentives for Energy Upgrades in Manufactured Homes
November 15, 2018
Time-limited promotion for heat pumps and ductless heat pumps could cut heating bills in half As Central Oregonians start bundling up and turning up the dials on the thermostat, Energy Trust of Oregon, in partnership with local Trade Ally, Bend Heating, is turning up the savings and comfort with increased incentives for heating projects for […]
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Energy Challenge Installs Free LED Light Bulbs in 700 Redmond Homes
November 14, 2018
The Energy Challenge team is excited to announce they have installed free LED light bulbs in 700 homes in Redmond! Over the past three years, The Energy Challenge has installed over 75,000 super-efficient LED (light emitting diode) light bulbs in over 5,000 homes in Central Oregon. Each bulb may seem like a small drop in the […]
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Residential Composting Pilot in Bend
October 29, 2018
Last week, Bend Garbage & Recycling and Cascade Disposal announced that they’ll be introducing a residential food waste pilot program to some areas in Bend. About 300 households from each company will participate in the pilot, which allows customers to put more food in their standard yard debris bins for curbside collection and composting. (Raw […]
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Tickets available for the 2018 Sustainability Awards
October 18, 2018
A limited number of tickets are now available for the 2018 Sustainability Awards on November 15, 2018. Early registration is encouraged as space is limited and this event will sell out. Tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased online here. What: The 2018 Sustainability Awards, an Environmental Center event that honors Central Oregon’s sustainability […]
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Rethink Waste Project Celebrates Five Years Organizing Repair Cafés in Central Oregon
October 15, 2018
On Thursday, October 18, 2018, it will be exactly nine years since Martine Postma organized the very first Repair Café in Amsterdam. Today there are over 1,600 Repair Cafés in 33 countries on six continents. Here in our own backyard, The Environmental Center’s Rethink Waste Project organized the first local event five years ago at […]
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The Energy Challenge Installs LED Light Bulbs in 5,000th home in Central Oregon
October 8, 2018
The Energy Challenge, a program of The Environmental Center, is proud to announce they installed free LED light bulbs in the 5,000th home in Central Oregon. Over the past three years, the program has installed over 75,000 super-efficient LED (light emitting diode) light bulbs. Each bulb may seem like a small drop in the bucket, […]
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Garden For Every School Fall 2018 Update
October 2, 2018
We are excited to be kicking off another school year rolling out our Garden for Every School initiative – our community effort to support school garden development in a way that is unique to each school’s needs, and done so with long-term sustainability in mind. To begin the school year, 14 local garden educators (potentially […]
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Help to Write Bend’s Climate Legacy
October 1, 2018
There was recently a really interesting and visually compelling story featured in The Washington Post. Imagine an arctic lake in the Western Brooks Range that hisses and bubbles as it releases hard-hitting methane gas into our atmosphere. Now consider this same lake bed ALSO contains craters that show signs of unleashing ancient fossil fuels from a […]
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