Category: 90045 Living Green

The sixth annual Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase, a local Earth Day tradition that offers Westsiders a glimpse of just how many homeowners have made water conservation and energy efficiency staples of everyday life, takes place on Saturday, April 26th.

This year’s self-guided tour also features six public school learning gardens, is a streamlined version compared to last year’s schedule of 98 homes.

In keeping with the sustainability theme, destination homes are divided into walkable clusters. This year’s showcase also features a bike valet at the Venice High School Learning Garden.

Organizers said they chose to emphasize some of the best and newest examples of popular conservationist themes, including techniques to collect rainwater and prevent storm water runoff as well as solar panels and eco-conscious landscaping.

“Particularly with the drought, the tour focuses on things that can really conserve water, like eliminating grass from your yard,” said event co-chair Christy Wilhelmi. “We tried to include some new gardens as well as some well-established gardens. We really wanted to cover all the bases … [and] keep the same diversity that there’s been in the past.”

For a detailed article on the event, head over to argonautnews.com.

For an event preview and event details, visit the event’s website at www.marvistagreengardenshowcase.com.

See you there??

On July 26, 2013 the Metro Gold Line celebrated its tenth birthday, an occasion that did not go unreported by much of the local media, who in some cases described the line as the Metro’s “most lovable light rail line” as well as its “most picturesque.” August 12 is the 18th birthday of the Metro Green Line, an event that I suspect will likely receive comparatively muted fanfare. The Green Line, when mentioned at all, is most often disparaged as “the train from nowhere to nowhere.”

The Green Line was, until recently, the only Metro rail line of which I had not ridden the entire length. When I mentioned my intention to write about it most friends told me that they’d never been on it, and several even asked where it was. For those who are familiar with the Green Line, they likely know it as the rail that doesn’t quite reach either the ocean or LAX. If they think about it further, they might realize that it’s also the only Metro rail line that doesn’t connect to Downtown Los Angeles.

It might come as a surprise then that according to Metro’s most recent figures, more people ride the Green Line than the Gold. It’s also the fastest of the light rail lines, due to its not intersecting with any streets. Finally, although it doesn’t connect to anything that most would consider to be major tourist traps, it does carry commuters not just between home and work, but also to shopping and dining destinations, as well as lesser-known attractions.

To “ride” along with KCET reporter Eric Brightwell as he hits the Green Line, head over to www.kcet.org.