Lacey - Panorama Green TeamBy Ruth Shearer In November of 2010, about 20 residents of the Panorama retirement community in Lacey got together under the leadership of Sally Vogel with a mission: to encourage both residents and the Panorama administration to be environmentally sensitive, to use energy and water resources wisely, to reduce our carbon footprint, and to create a healthier place to live and work. With many topics to work on, the group chose waste as their first priority. Some years before, when LeMay Co. got bigger trucks for their curbside recycling program, they could no longer drive through Panorama's private streets and our opportunity for recycling was cut off. Residents Jim Silver and Arra Browning, with the help and encouragement of Thurston County Waste Management, arranged for Panorama to establish a fenced recycling station where resident's recyclables could be deposited for pickup by LeMay. LeMay picks up the mixed recyclables, glass and compost. Now there are additional bins provided for batteries, egg cartons for the food bank, styrofoam blocks, and aluminum cans. Members of the Green Team see to it that these materials get to where they can be reused or recycled.
Panorama provides 120 27'x27' garden plots for residents who want them, with 3' of grass between plots and water faucets at one corner of each plot. Green Team members have actively tried to convince reticent gardeners to refrain from using toxic chemical pesticides in the gardens, but there are still a few holdouts. The garden practices committee and the energy committee have been active from the beginning of the Green Team. Current interests have recently been prioritized as follows: reduce energy use, reduce auto use, recycling, and reduce water use. Seven families are already using neighborhood electric vehicles instead of gas guzzlers. Monthly meetings of the Green Team usually have over 20 active residents in attendance. To get involved, contact Sally Vogel (360) 438-5211. Ruth Shearer is a resident of the Panorama community and member of the Green Team.
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The Green Team educates residents on waste reduction as well as recycling. It has sponsored public forums on ways to save energy and materials, a film series on the environment, a Green Minute on our TV station, and Notes from the Green Team in our monthly Panorama News, a publication of the Panorama Corporation. We raised money to replace five trees destroyed in a winter storm. We invite key operations staff to join in our meetings to discuss our goals for the Corporation. They are aware of our desire for energy-efficient lighting on campus and our belief that most pesticide use is unnecessary, expensive and undesirable. We believe that most of the younger people coming here don't mind a few colorful little flowers in the lawn! Panorama has 900 homes and a lot of lawn around them.