[sdgreenjobs] VIP

From: Dawn Parker-Waites <Dawn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: sdgreenjobs <sdgreenjobs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 6 May 2009 10:31:42 -0700

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to let you know of an event that is happening tonight, the VIP
(Very Important Planet) Awards and Auction. It is a great networking
event for job seekers and will be held at the same location we had the Green
Jobs and Careers workshop. Below is an article with full details plus one
inspiring and brilliant example of the innovation coming out of the
Sustainability/Green sector!

From fighters to farmers: Organic farm trains veterans
Servicemen home from war learn sustainable agriculture, earning a Valley
Center couple an environmental award.
By Rebecca Tolin, SDNN
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-05-05/lifestyle/fighters-to-farmers-organic-farm-trains-veterans

Veterans who served in the dry, dangerous fields of war now labor over dewy
rows of organic herbs on a North County farm. The former soldiers have found
a new kind of esprit de corps at Archi's Acres in Valley Center, by trading
combat for cultivation in the Veteran Sustainable Agriculture Training
program.

It started with husband and wife team, Colin and Karen Archipley, who began
tending avocado trees on their 2.5-acre plot in 2006, after Colin returned
from a third tour of duty in Iraq. As a Camp Pendleton-based marine
sergeant, he knew well the challenge of transitioning from military to
civilian life.

"When you separate from the military, you leave your unit," he said. So not
only are you by yourself a lot of time, but you live in an urban environment
where alert levels are high, which makes you very anxious or uncomfortable."

Archipley says some veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan get uneasy just
driving down the street. A piece of trash could signal an ambush or an
explosive device. Tending the land helps diffuse anxiety and get veterans -
some who hole up in isolation as a defense mechanism - back into a
productive routine. Further, the Veteran Sustainable Agriculture Program
trains former military personnel on hydroponic farming techniques they can
use in the emerging green economy.

"We believe it's the future of farming," said Karen Archipley. "When these
veterans come to take this course, they're actually learning cutting edge
farming that grows amazing vegetables with 90 percent less pests while using
a fraction of the water."
The Archipleys, along with veteran trainees, cultivate live cilantro, basil,
dill and arugula in hydroponic containers - basically polypropylene plastic
channels which re-circulate nutrient-rich water through the root systems.
Since the plants grow in water rather than soil, their 1,800-square-foot
greenhouse filled with vegetables uses less H2O than two avocado trees or an
average single-family house.
"If you plant basil outside in the ground, you would be continuously
watering it," said Karen Archipley. "That water goes down into the ground
and it also evaporates. Our system continuously recycles the water."

Archi's Acres grows tomatoes, lettuce and herbs in a hydroponic greenhouse
which uses less water that traditional farming. (Photo by Archi's Acres)

The environmental benefits of sustainable agriculture married with the
social rewards of re-training veterans earned the Archipleys a 2009 EARTH
Award, short for Environmental and Restoration that Helps. Each year San
Diego Earthworks, the non-profit that organizes San Diego's Earth Day
celebration, recognizes a handful of environmental stewards working for the
common green good.
"A lot of people do good, positive, strong things for the environment but
they don't get any recognition beyond just a small circle of individuals,"
says EarthWorks CFO Chris Klein. "We try to acknowledge people who have
taken extraordinary actions for the environment."
Klein says the public nominates eco-heroes and EarthWorks board members vote
on the winners. This year, they're also honoring a straw bale home builder,
an eco-savvy apartment complex manager, the chief of the award-winning
recycling team at California State University San Marcos, and a community
planner who has worked tirelessly for public transit. (See sidebar for
winner's names)
Klein says if you think global warning or polluted oceans are bigger fish
than you can fry, remember the slogan, "think globally, act locally."
"It's just one person recycling one piece of paper," said Klein. "It's at
that level. You get many, many, many people doing little things and it adds
up to something big."

Klein says no matter what our position, business or lifestyle, we can all do
something to minimize our carbon footprint. Just look at the former infantry
sergeant-turned-farmer who now earns his living off the land.
"He went from being a squad leader in Iraq to being a squad leader on the
farm," muses his wife, Karen Archipley.
The couple sank their savings into their growing operation, but say the
water-miserly hydroponic system saves money and land in the long-term.
Meanwhile, the San Diego Veterans Affairs Compensated Work Therapy clinic
pays participant's wages for the 12-week course. And Archi's Acres sells its
organic vegetables and herbs at Jimbo's and Whole Foods markets.
The couple believes hydroponic farming will be increasingly valuable in an
era of water shortages. The VSAT program helps find trainees employment in
areas like irrigation, organic food, and farming. For some suffering from
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other ailments, farming with fellow
veterans facilliates a remarkable recovery.
"It is therapeutic to work with soil and plants," said Colin Archipley. "The
environment as a whole, especially out here in North County on the farmland
with all the avocados, it's naturally decompressing."

2009 EARTH Award Winners
Archi's Acres Veteran Sustainable Agriculture Training
Los Vecinos green affordable apartments in Chula Vista
Carl Hanson and his Blue Crew at Cal State University, San Marcos
Mark Tighe, master builder
Craig Jones, community planner
County Award
Pam Slater-Price 2009 Sustainability Award:
Stone Brewing Co.

EARTH Awards Celebration
What: 19th Annual EARTH Awards & VIP (Very Important Planet) Reception,
Buffet and Silent Auction
When: Wed., May 6, 6 p.m.
Who: San Diego Earthworks, San Diego City Council member Donna Frye, County
Supervisor Pam Slater-Price, Air Pollution Control District, US Green
Building Council
Where: San Diego Department of Environmental Services "Green Building," 9601
Ridgehaven Court, San Diego.
RSVP: tickets available at the door http://www.earthdayweb.org

--
Dawn Parker-Waites
Founder
www.SanDiegoLovesGreen.com

Co-Executive Producer
www.SanDiegoEarthWeek.com

619-634-2720
Dawn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"San Diego's Green Portal...Be a Part of the Green Revolution!"

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