With the block party less than two weeks away, the PLC crew has been busier than ever. In just a few short weeks, the block party has evolved from a vision to a plan, and things are beginning to materialize. Between advertising, permits, and budgeting, Muhammed and I have had our work cut out for us. As always, our Civic Works partners have been a great help, as well as our enthusiastic Lyndale Ave participants. Last night we had a block meeting on Lyndale to discuss our plans for the block party. We made sure that residents are aware that the block will be closed to vehicles from 3-7 pm on Saturday, July 2nd and invited them to bring a potluck dish, lawn chairs, and any games they may have. We plan to re-flyer today with a second invitation--hopefully people will RSVP within the next seven days so we can compile a guest list.
Today we've invited our Block Party Planning Committee to have lunch with us and talk logistics. Our volunteer sign-up sheet is getting full and I am so grateful for all of the support and enthusiasm from our coworkers! As Muhammed's and my terms of service come to a close, the Block Party is such a wonderful way to culminate the first (hopefully of many) Project Lightbulb Challenge! The party should be a fun time for everyone to get together and celebrate energy savings and community building. In addition to celebrating the Challenge and the success of the 3600 block of Lyndale Ave, we are also celebrating an important milestone for our sister program, Project Lightbulb. Project Lightbulb will be performing the 3,000th home energy upgrade in Baltimore City at 3:00 pm on Saturday July 2nd on Lyndale Ave, to kick off the block party. There will be a ribbon cutting, some brief words, and a few members from the local marching band New Edition. Afterwards, we hope all of our Lyndale residents and Challenge participants stick around to enjoy music by DJ Barry, relays, a raffle, games, arts and crafts, good food, and of course--energy networking. With so many of our Civic Works programs represented at the block party as well as the coming together of proactive, energy-conscious city residents, the air should be humming with conservation talk.
Block party aside, recruitment efforts are still underway and we are finishing up our last handful of IHD installations. As the block party quickly approaches, I hope to be posting updates much more frequently! Time flies when you're having fun...
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Party Planning and Other Developments...
It's hard to believe that it's already June 3rd, although with the 100+ degree weather we've been having in Baltimore, it certainly feels more like August! Muhammed and I have been busier than ever with IHD installations, block meetings, continued recruiting, and (the really fun part)--BLOCK PARTY PLANNING!
As promised in my previous post, the winning Project Lightbulb Challenge block is...*drum roll*...the 3600 Block of Lyndale Avenue! Our Lyndale block was chosen to host the block party, which will occur on July 2nd from 3-7 p.m., due to high participation and energy conservation efforts.This morning we plan to flyer the 3600 Block of Lyndale Ave, informing them that they have won the Challenge and will be hosting the block party. Although Lyndale Ave has the honor of hosting the event, all Challenge participants will be encouraged to attend. This upcoming Tuesday, Muhammed and I plan to speak at the monthly Belair-Edison Community Association meeting at 7 p.m. at the Herring Run Library. We will announce that Lyndale has won the competition, and inform residents of future opportunities with the Project Lightbulb Challenge.
Last week we had our first Block Party Planning Committee meeting, to which we invited Civic Works employees who have expressed interest in helping us plan the block party. There were representatives from Project Lightbulb, BNEC, Neighborhoods for All Ages, among others. With the variety of skills, interests, and connections brought to the table during our meeting, I have no doubt that the party will be a great success. I am so grateful for all of the helping hands at Civic Works, as well as on Lyndale Avenue. We are fortunate to have a very active Block Captain as well as the President of the Belair-Edison Community Association living on Lyndale Avenue. They have been invaluable resources during our recruitment process on Lyndale, and continue to go above and beyond in terms of block party planning and preparation.
In addition to our residents' and Civic Works' connections, Muhammed and I plan on cold-calling various local businesses for donations in order to bolster our block party budget. We have a long way to go as far as planning, but the block party vision is beginning to manifest, and we're just taking it one step at a time, making sure we've considered every possible detail. One last note on the block party--the date of the event coincides with the upgrade of the 3,000th Project Lightbulb home, so we will be celebrating this amazing achievement as well!!
Check in early next week for more updates on the IHD's, block party developments, and other news from the Project Lightbulb Challenge!
As promised in my previous post, the winning Project Lightbulb Challenge block is...*drum roll*...the 3600 Block of Lyndale Avenue! Our Lyndale block was chosen to host the block party, which will occur on July 2nd from 3-7 p.m., due to high participation and energy conservation efforts.This morning we plan to flyer the 3600 Block of Lyndale Ave, informing them that they have won the Challenge and will be hosting the block party. Although Lyndale Ave has the honor of hosting the event, all Challenge participants will be encouraged to attend. This upcoming Tuesday, Muhammed and I plan to speak at the monthly Belair-Edison Community Association meeting at 7 p.m. at the Herring Run Library. We will announce that Lyndale has won the competition, and inform residents of future opportunities with the Project Lightbulb Challenge.
Last week we had our first Block Party Planning Committee meeting, to which we invited Civic Works employees who have expressed interest in helping us plan the block party. There were representatives from Project Lightbulb, BNEC, Neighborhoods for All Ages, among others. With the variety of skills, interests, and connections brought to the table during our meeting, I have no doubt that the party will be a great success. I am so grateful for all of the helping hands at Civic Works, as well as on Lyndale Avenue. We are fortunate to have a very active Block Captain as well as the President of the Belair-Edison Community Association living on Lyndale Avenue. They have been invaluable resources during our recruitment process on Lyndale, and continue to go above and beyond in terms of block party planning and preparation.
In addition to our residents' and Civic Works' connections, Muhammed and I plan on cold-calling various local businesses for donations in order to bolster our block party budget. We have a long way to go as far as planning, but the block party vision is beginning to manifest, and we're just taking it one step at a time, making sure we've considered every possible detail. One last note on the block party--the date of the event coincides with the upgrade of the 3,000th Project Lightbulb home, so we will be celebrating this amazing achievement as well!!
Check in early next week for more updates on the IHD's, block party developments, and other news from the Project Lightbulb Challenge!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The Project Lightbulb Challenge has a slightly different approach compared to other Civic Works programs geared toward energy conservation. Rather than focusing on the neighborhood level, we are focused at the block level, and this has been so effective for the scope of our project. Now that we have been out on our blocks, in action, for about four and a half months, we have really fostered some strong relationships with our participants. Some days, we may visit a block four or five times over the course of the afternoon, doing home visits, fliering, or re-stickering our signs. I love when we see the same faces on the porch fronts several times a day, and have a few moments to joke around or listen to a few anecdotes. Better yet, residents really turn to us for resources and advice about their energy usage and bills, and it feels good to be able to refer them to other Civic Works programs, or simply schedule a time to sit down with them ourselves. It feels good to have such an active presence on our blocks, and as we get to know our residents, we get to know their families and friends, some of whom live on different blocks. I guess my point in all of this is, to some folks, ten blocks may seem like a pretty small portion of the city...but when you are concentrating at the block level, you form such strong relationships with the residents of those blocks that networking becomes so much easier. If the Project Lightbulb Challenge continues in the future, I have great faith that our current participants will be an invaluable resource in the recruitment of the next challenge blocks.
This week in updates, we are still chugging along with the IHD installations, following up with residents who have received their new BGE meters and teaching them how to use their devices. The journals that Muhammed and I made are very simple and straightforward, which I hope encourages religious usage. The journals are in calendar format, each day having a space to fill out readings from the device. Residents can fill out readings for "Today" (usage so far today) "This Month" (usage so far this month), and "Right Now" (the rate of kWh usage at any given moment). Each month has its own page in the journal, and on the backs of the calendars are monthly surveys to rate usage and satisfaction. It was so great the other day when we visited one of our residents on Cecil Avenue to drop off his journal and check in to see how he was liking the device. The man was so excited to show us one of his discoveries; when he turned on the microwave, the kWh usage rate jumped from $0.07 to $0.31 per hour! It was so rewarding to see a resident actively using the device, and learning how much energy various appliances in his home use. These are the kinds of findings we would love our participants to record in their journals.
This evening we are hosting a block meeting for the 2500 and 2600 blocks of Cecil Avenue. The weather looks a bit ominous, but hopefully it clears up by 6:30. It is really crunch time for recruitment, and these block meetings have been very successful. Our recruitment efforts are at an all-time high, but because of the time sensitivity of the block party application process, we are deciding this week which block will receive the block party, based on both energy savings data and participation. Muhammed and I are very excited to start planning the block party. Stay tuned--we will reveal the winning block in our upcoming post!
This week in updates, we are still chugging along with the IHD installations, following up with residents who have received their new BGE meters and teaching them how to use their devices. The journals that Muhammed and I made are very simple and straightforward, which I hope encourages religious usage. The journals are in calendar format, each day having a space to fill out readings from the device. Residents can fill out readings for "Today" (usage so far today) "This Month" (usage so far this month), and "Right Now" (the rate of kWh usage at any given moment). Each month has its own page in the journal, and on the backs of the calendars are monthly surveys to rate usage and satisfaction. It was so great the other day when we visited one of our residents on Cecil Avenue to drop off his journal and check in to see how he was liking the device. The man was so excited to show us one of his discoveries; when he turned on the microwave, the kWh usage rate jumped from $0.07 to $0.31 per hour! It was so rewarding to see a resident actively using the device, and learning how much energy various appliances in his home use. These are the kinds of findings we would love our participants to record in their journals.
This evening we are hosting a block meeting for the 2500 and 2600 blocks of Cecil Avenue. The weather looks a bit ominous, but hopefully it clears up by 6:30. It is really crunch time for recruitment, and these block meetings have been very successful. Our recruitment efforts are at an all-time high, but because of the time sensitivity of the block party application process, we are deciding this week which block will receive the block party, based on both energy savings data and participation. Muhammed and I are very excited to start planning the block party. Stay tuned--we will reveal the winning block in our upcoming post!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Adventures With BGE
This week has been a whirlwind of activity, between hosting our block meetings and trailing the BGE crew all over town as they install our participants' IHDs, my feet (and my car) are ready for a breather this weekend! But as the weather warms up (and cools down..and warms up...) everything seems to be coming together.
The IHD (if you remember, that stands for in-home display) installations have been very interesting, and our Challenge participants are excited to play around with the devices. From the moment we turn them on, the devices show how much energy the house is using and how much money that equates to...you can see how much you've spent daily, weekly, and monthly. One awesome feature is the messaging system; the device can remind residents of energy-saving tricks. As one resident told me, looking at the device made her want to go through the house unplugging everything, just to see how low she could get her numbers. This is EXACTLY the effect we want these devices to have. Muhammed and I are preparing some journals for our recipients so they can record how they're liking the device and which features are especially effective in helping them save. As one of the first studies of this kind in Baltimore City, it's important that the program is well documented--this way we can get a good idea of just how effective devices like the IHD are, especially in low-income neighborhoods.
In addition to running around with the installation crew, we hosted our second official block meeting last night between the 2500 and 2600 blocks of Robb Street in CHM (Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello). It was a great success; we got the community together for refreshments and a good discussion of Civic Works' programs, and recruited about six more families into the Project Lightbulb Challenge. We were also able to sign quite a few residents up for the Project Lightbulb home energy upgrade, and BNEC. One of the little girls on Robb Street told me that when she grows up, she wants to "do what I do", and that's what I love about Civic Works--the organization not only gets resources out to people in need, but also provides employment and job skills to Baltimore City youth. It's nice to know that when she's old enough, she can probably achieve that goal. Go Civic Works!
The IHD (if you remember, that stands for in-home display) installations have been very interesting, and our Challenge participants are excited to play around with the devices. From the moment we turn them on, the devices show how much energy the house is using and how much money that equates to...you can see how much you've spent daily, weekly, and monthly. One awesome feature is the messaging system; the device can remind residents of energy-saving tricks. As one resident told me, looking at the device made her want to go through the house unplugging everything, just to see how low she could get her numbers. This is EXACTLY the effect we want these devices to have. Muhammed and I are preparing some journals for our recipients so they can record how they're liking the device and which features are especially effective in helping them save. As one of the first studies of this kind in Baltimore City, it's important that the program is well documented--this way we can get a good idea of just how effective devices like the IHD are, especially in low-income neighborhoods.
In addition to running around with the installation crew, we hosted our second official block meeting last night between the 2500 and 2600 blocks of Robb Street in CHM (Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello). It was a great success; we got the community together for refreshments and a good discussion of Civic Works' programs, and recruited about six more families into the Project Lightbulb Challenge. We were also able to sign quite a few residents up for the Project Lightbulb home energy upgrade, and BNEC. One of the little girls on Robb Street told me that when she grows up, she wants to "do what I do", and that's what I love about Civic Works--the organization not only gets resources out to people in need, but also provides employment and job skills to Baltimore City youth. It's nice to know that when she's old enough, she can probably achieve that goal. Go Civic Works!
Monday, May 2, 2011
It's All Happening!!
Last Thursday, Muhammed and I hosted our first official block meeting on the 3600 block of Lyndale Avenue in Belair-Edison. We had called our participants the week before to invite them to the meeting, but had only gotten two definite responses. We also advertised for the block meeting with fliers, which we put in each resident's mailbox. By the day of the meeting, however, it still looked like not too many people were interested. Nevertheless, it was time to hold a block-wide meeting, so rain or shine, good turnout or poor turnout, we decided to go ahead with it. The objectives of the block meeting were (a) to talk about the installation of the IHD devices with participants who are receiving them (b) to refer our participants to the Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge (BNEC) and (c) to try to recruit the rest of the block. We loaded up our cars with sandwiches, lemonade, BNEC kits (full of energy-saving devices and resources), and a table and chairs and set out to Lyndale Ave with a bit of apprehension...
By the time we reached Lyndale the storm clouds had passed and a lot of residents were outside working in their yards and enjoying the weather. With the aid of our block captain, Mrs. Morgan, and a couple of other participants, we swept the block one more time, knocking on doors and inviting residents to the meeting. The table full of sandwiches and cookies, and the large pile of BNEC kits certainly helped in the recruiting process. The meeting was a huge success!!! We recruited 11 new residents during the one-hour meeting...that's more than we've ever recruited in a given day, maybe even in a given week. These block meetings are definitely the ticket to full-block recruitment. By the end of the meeting, everyone was very excited--some residents were having a lot of fun posing for photos with CFL lightbulbs and Project Lightbulb Challenge signs. We hope to have similar meetings (with similar recruitment success!) on each of our other participating blocks within the coming weeks. Next on the agenda is the 2600 block of Robb Street in Coldtream-Homestead-Montebello (CHM), which will be this upcoming Thursday, May 5th at 6:30 pm. We're keeping our fingers crossed for an even bigger turnout...and this time we'll bring a LOT more sandwiches!!
By the time we reached Lyndale the storm clouds had passed and a lot of residents were outside working in their yards and enjoying the weather. With the aid of our block captain, Mrs. Morgan, and a couple of other participants, we swept the block one more time, knocking on doors and inviting residents to the meeting. The table full of sandwiches and cookies, and the large pile of BNEC kits certainly helped in the recruiting process. The meeting was a huge success!!! We recruited 11 new residents during the one-hour meeting...that's more than we've ever recruited in a given day, maybe even in a given week. These block meetings are definitely the ticket to full-block recruitment. By the end of the meeting, everyone was very excited--some residents were having a lot of fun posing for photos with CFL lightbulbs and Project Lightbulb Challenge signs. We hope to have similar meetings (with similar recruitment success!) on each of our other participating blocks within the coming weeks. Next on the agenda is the 2600 block of Robb Street in Coldtream-Homestead-Montebello (CHM), which will be this upcoming Thursday, May 5th at 6:30 pm. We're keeping our fingers crossed for an even bigger turnout...and this time we'll bring a LOT more sandwiches!!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
In the news...
It's always nice to hear about folks working on projects similar to the PLC. It seems like neighbor-to-neighbor energy savings collaboration is really catching on, both across the city and across "the pond". When we first began the PLC, the Project Lightbulb team attended a community meeting where representatives from the Reservoir Hill community in West Baltimore were talking about their very own version of the PLC. A portion of the funding that fuels the Project Lightbulb Challenge--the Community Energy Savers Grant--is also helping to fund a project in Reservoir Hill. Residents were excitedly talking in January about putting up door decals, signs, or in some other way having residents display their energy usage. So it's nice to know that even if the PLC can't reach every neighborhood or block in Baltimore, at least other groups are working toward similar goals. And the whole public display of energy usage seems to be a very hot idea right now.
Check out the link below to learn more about the incredible effect neighborly cooperation and public energy usage display has had on one neighborhood in the U.K.
U.K. Neighborhood Records Its Electricity Use on the Street
http://www.good.is/post/u-k-neighborhood-records-its-electricity-use-on-the-street/
According to the article, after only three weeks, residents reported a 15% drop in energy usage! WOW!! This is very inspiring to all of us at the PLC. I love that they write the block averages right on the street--it is very eye-catching and definitely a constant presence. I'm not sure that the paint they use on the pavement would fly here in Baltimore, but I love that the display is so artistic...it keeps things fun, and helps to beautify the street. At the end of the article, the author actually asks CAN YOU IMAGINE if a movement like this were to take hold in America? CAN YOU IMAGINE if people were using in-home energy display devices to help monitor their energy use? In a few more months, hopefully we'll be able to stop using our imaginations and look at actual charts, graphs, and resident testimonies to learn exactly how using devices and displaying energy usage publicly effects citizen's consumption right here at home.
Check out the link below to learn more about the incredible effect neighborly cooperation and public energy usage display has had on one neighborhood in the U.K.
U.K. Neighborhood Records Its Electricity Use on the Street
http://www.good.is/post/u-k-neighborhood-records-its-electricity-use-on-the-street/
According to the article, after only three weeks, residents reported a 15% drop in energy usage! WOW!! This is very inspiring to all of us at the PLC. I love that they write the block averages right on the street--it is very eye-catching and definitely a constant presence. I'm not sure that the paint they use on the pavement would fly here in Baltimore, but I love that the display is so artistic...it keeps things fun, and helps to beautify the street. At the end of the article, the author actually asks CAN YOU IMAGINE if a movement like this were to take hold in America? CAN YOU IMAGINE if people were using in-home energy display devices to help monitor their energy use? In a few more months, hopefully we'll be able to stop using our imaginations and look at actual charts, graphs, and resident testimonies to learn exactly how using devices and displaying energy usage publicly effects citizen's consumption right here at home.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
April showers...
...May be keeping some folks indoors, but the PLC crew has been out and about, and flowers aren't the only things springing up on Baltimore lawns...within the next week, 20 new yard signs will be up throughout our Challenge blocks, and we can't wait to see how this affects our numbers. Hopefully with more signs popping up outside residents' homes, recruitment will become a bit easier. Muhammed and I have also decided to re-canvass our target blocks with a new flier informing residents that the Challenge is already well underway and that we need full block participation. Once residents know that others on their block are involved (and that we aren't trying to get them to switch their energy company!!) I believe they will be much more receptive to the Challenge. It's definitely "crunch time" as far as recruitment, but things are coming together quickly and by the end of the month we expect to have at least 10 participating households on each of our 10 target blocks.
Our block captains have been a HUGE help in recruiting more residents. One of our captains called me this evening and told me she had personally gone around--on foot--to each of her neighbors' homes and told them about the PLC. I feel so grateful for the passionate, involved citizens I have had the honor to meet and collaborate with thus far during my term of service with Civic Works. It is truly inspiring to see residents taking the initiative and getting folks involved in the program. What a morale booster for the PLC crew! I can't thank our block captains enough for all of their help :o)
Today we also began brainstorming the logistics of the *drum roll* ......BLOCK PARTY! The block party will go to the block that collectively saves the highest average number of kWh's over the course of the competition, and will probably happen sometime in July. A big party like this takes a lot of planning and we want to make sure that we give the winning block a really awesome thank-you gift for months of hard work. One great idea that was brought up today would be inviting the crew from the Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge as well as the folks from Real Food Farm to the party. This would be a great way to get a lot of energy-conscious individuals together for a good time and introduce our block residents to other awesome services available to them through Civic Works. It should be a fun time for everyone to relax, eat, play games, and also network...because although the Challenge will culminate in the block party, ideally our residents will continue to collaborate and work as a team to save energy and save money for a long time to come. Lots of new events are on the forecast...check in with the PLC crew for more updates soon!
Our block captains have been a HUGE help in recruiting more residents. One of our captains called me this evening and told me she had personally gone around--on foot--to each of her neighbors' homes and told them about the PLC. I feel so grateful for the passionate, involved citizens I have had the honor to meet and collaborate with thus far during my term of service with Civic Works. It is truly inspiring to see residents taking the initiative and getting folks involved in the program. What a morale booster for the PLC crew! I can't thank our block captains enough for all of their help :o)
Today we also began brainstorming the logistics of the *drum roll* ......BLOCK PARTY! The block party will go to the block that collectively saves the highest average number of kWh's over the course of the competition, and will probably happen sometime in July. A big party like this takes a lot of planning and we want to make sure that we give the winning block a really awesome thank-you gift for months of hard work. One great idea that was brought up today would be inviting the crew from the Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge as well as the folks from Real Food Farm to the party. This would be a great way to get a lot of energy-conscious individuals together for a good time and introduce our block residents to other awesome services available to them through Civic Works. It should be a fun time for everyone to relax, eat, play games, and also network...because although the Challenge will culminate in the block party, ideally our residents will continue to collaborate and work as a team to save energy and save money for a long time to come. Lots of new events are on the forecast...check in with the PLC crew for more updates soon!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
A Note on Networking
April is fast approaching, and this week we've already hit several landmarks. The first was solidifying our list of fifty participants to receive the IHD (the fancy acronym for an in-home energy display device) from BGE. This device, as I probably mentioned in previous posts, is mounted right next to a resident's thermostat, and keeps track not only of the amount of energy the resident is using, but displays real-time the amount of money that the expenditure is costing. This is a cool tool that can help residents gauge how much they will be spending on their utilities before they even receive their bills in the mail. It can also be useful for determining which appliances are big energy "sinks". The idea is that when residents see exactly how much money it's costing to keep that plasma TV running all day, they will become more energy-conscious. Because let's face it--money talks.
Another goal for this week has been identifying potential leaders or "captains" from each of our blocks who can help spread the word about the Challenge to their neighbors. Having an inside, trusted connection makes it so much easier for us to approach residents. Yesterday on Cliftwood Ave, a resident was kind enough to help me network for about an hour, and I ended up getting three more solid pledgers plus more potential candidates. Neighbor-to-neighbor networking is definitely the way to go!
Another goal for this week has been identifying potential leaders or "captains" from each of our blocks who can help spread the word about the Challenge to their neighbors. Having an inside, trusted connection makes it so much easier for us to approach residents. Yesterday on Cliftwood Ave, a resident was kind enough to help me network for about an hour, and I ended up getting three more solid pledgers plus more potential candidates. Neighbor-to-neighbor networking is definitely the way to go!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Signs of Spring
Spring is in the air, and signs are in the ground! In Belair-Edison at least. Muhammed and I installed signs on four different blocks this afternoon. The weather was nice and between the porch-front gatherings and the kids playing outside, a lot of eyes were turned our way. The signs look great and are attention-grabbing without looking tacky...I think that people are going to start asking more questions about the Challenge very soon. On Lyndale Drive we had a little helper install our signs with us--a boy we had met a few times at the Herring Run Library. His mother was one of the sign recipients today, and we told him to spread the word to the other kids to get their parents involved in the Challenge. Since the kiddos aren't the ones paying the utility bills, the block party is a great incentive for them to learn about (and act toward) conserving energy.
Since my last posting, we have seen a HUGE increase in the effectiveness of door-to-door canvassing as well. We expect this to only improve with the installation of our signs, as people will now see that their neighbors are already involved. Muhammed and I have developed a new-and-improved canvassing strategy that makes much more efficient use of our time, and in general people seem more receptive to the project. I have a theory that it has a lot to do with Spring and the warm weather. People are more apt to open their doors or be on their porches, and the nice weather seems to have everyone thinking about spring cleaning and home improvement. A program like the Challenge (with the added benefit of the Project Lightbulb home energy upgrade) is a perfect home makeover for the new season, and comes at the perfect time to gear people up for the summer, when they inevitably spend more on AC and fans.
The canvassing has also been going much faster thanks to the help of the Project Lightbulb crew members. Although these guys are typically busy doing the installations for Project Lightbulb, they have been aiding us in our canvassing efforts and making a huge impact on how many houses we are able to hit each day--Thanks Project Lightbulb Crew!!!
By the end of the week we hope to have completed canvassing on our first ten tentative blocks, and have 20 signs installed. We also want to plan our first block meeting. We havent decided if we will meet with individual blocks or combine blocks into a larger meeting. We are leaning toward meeting with individual blocks, maybe holding porch-front meetings. We've heard that many community organizations hold porch-front meetings during the warmer months, and this way people wouldn't have to worry about finding transportation to our meeting place--we would come to them. During these meetings we hope to create a forum for discussion about energy-savings progress and maybe talk about potential pros and cons of various energy suppliers. Stay tuned :)
Since my last posting, we have seen a HUGE increase in the effectiveness of door-to-door canvassing as well. We expect this to only improve with the installation of our signs, as people will now see that their neighbors are already involved. Muhammed and I have developed a new-and-improved canvassing strategy that makes much more efficient use of our time, and in general people seem more receptive to the project. I have a theory that it has a lot to do with Spring and the warm weather. People are more apt to open their doors or be on their porches, and the nice weather seems to have everyone thinking about spring cleaning and home improvement. A program like the Challenge (with the added benefit of the Project Lightbulb home energy upgrade) is a perfect home makeover for the new season, and comes at the perfect time to gear people up for the summer, when they inevitably spend more on AC and fans.
The canvassing has also been going much faster thanks to the help of the Project Lightbulb crew members. Although these guys are typically busy doing the installations for Project Lightbulb, they have been aiding us in our canvassing efforts and making a huge impact on how many houses we are able to hit each day--Thanks Project Lightbulb Crew!!!
By the end of the week we hope to have completed canvassing on our first ten tentative blocks, and have 20 signs installed. We also want to plan our first block meeting. We havent decided if we will meet with individual blocks or combine blocks into a larger meeting. We are leaning toward meeting with individual blocks, maybe holding porch-front meetings. We've heard that many community organizations hold porch-front meetings during the warmer months, and this way people wouldn't have to worry about finding transportation to our meeting place--we would come to them. During these meetings we hope to create a forum for discussion about energy-savings progress and maybe talk about potential pros and cons of various energy suppliers. Stay tuned :)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The week is off to a great start here at Project Lightbulb! As I mentioned in my last post, Muhammed and I are trying to expand the program west and south into neighborhoods like Park Heights, Druid Heights, Emerson Park, HEBCAC, and South Clifton. Now that we have a few pledges in these neighborhoods, it's time to get down to business...and by business, I mean canvassing. On a typical canvassing day we will leave fliers and door hangers on each door in a prospective block. We also knock on each door in the hope of catching a resident at home for a face-to-face explanation of the program. Insofar, we have found this to be relatively ineffective. Don't get me wrong--a few WONDERFUL residents have taken our pledge on the spot--but with the lingering chill and the fact that most folks work during the day, we rarely get hits this way. **Enter new strategy** We ordered our first twenty yard signs this morning and hope to have them by next week at the latest. Our new plan is to canvass once the signs are installed, so that we can reference the neighbors with the signs--our solid participants--to our prospective pledgers. This way they can see the actual sign, and will hopefully be more likely to take the pledge themselves, knowing their neighbors are already involved.
Then there's the catch. Or rather, the fact that there is no catch! Most residents are so wary of scams and fees that they hesitate to take the pledge or open their doors at all. Understandably...there are a lot of squirrely salespeople out there! Before taking this job, I was one of those don't-answer-the-door-pretend-to-be-on-the-phone people myself. Working with PLC has made me see that some canvassers truly are promoting low- or no-cost programs, for good causes. Next time a canvasser approaches me on the street, I'll be much more likely to stop and listen than to deliver my standard automatic dismissal. So overcoming this skepticism is one of our biggest challenges.
A great way to recruit potential blocks in new neighborhoods is attending community organization meetings and networking from there. We had a very successful day on Saturday, largely due to the enthusiastic reception of the PLC at the South Clifton community meeting. I was fortunate enough to meet the president of the organization at the Clifton Branch library about a month ago, and she invited us to speak at the meeting. We gained a few more prospective blocks in South Clifton, which is especially exciting because we are just branching into that neighborhood. Many of the residents who attended the meeting seemed like enthusiastic and proactive neighborhood leaders, and we are excited to partner with them to get the PLC started in South Clifton. Doughnuts, fried chicken, and good company made the experience all the more wonderful.
Tonight we are attending a meeting of community organization presidents operating on Baltimore's west side. Hopefully this will be our chance to connect to more blocks in that region...
Then there's the catch. Or rather, the fact that there is no catch! Most residents are so wary of scams and fees that they hesitate to take the pledge or open their doors at all. Understandably...there are a lot of squirrely salespeople out there! Before taking this job, I was one of those don't-answer-the-door-pretend-to-be-on-the-phone people myself. Working with PLC has made me see that some canvassers truly are promoting low- or no-cost programs, for good causes. Next time a canvasser approaches me on the street, I'll be much more likely to stop and listen than to deliver my standard automatic dismissal. So overcoming this skepticism is one of our biggest challenges.
A great way to recruit potential blocks in new neighborhoods is attending community organization meetings and networking from there. We had a very successful day on Saturday, largely due to the enthusiastic reception of the PLC at the South Clifton community meeting. I was fortunate enough to meet the president of the organization at the Clifton Branch library about a month ago, and she invited us to speak at the meeting. We gained a few more prospective blocks in South Clifton, which is especially exciting because we are just branching into that neighborhood. Many of the residents who attended the meeting seemed like enthusiastic and proactive neighborhood leaders, and we are excited to partner with them to get the PLC started in South Clifton. Doughnuts, fried chicken, and good company made the experience all the more wonderful.
Tonight we are attending a meeting of community organization presidents operating on Baltimore's west side. Hopefully this will be our chance to connect to more blocks in that region...
Friday, March 4, 2011
Getting into a Groove...
Here at Civic Works, Baltimore's Service Corps, the Project Lightbulb Challenge (PLC) is well underway and the crew is gettin' into a groove! What exactly is the PLC? Well...it's a lot of things...but the short of it is, it's a friendly competition among neighbors to see if comparing the number of kilowatt hours (kWh's) each household uses and displaying that number publicly on yard signs can help residents reduce the amount of energy they use.
Have you ever wondered if you're paying too much for your monthly utilities? Ever wondered if you could do something to lower your bill? If you have, you're not alone. But the real question is, have you ever actually sat down with your BGE bill and looked at it? I mean REALLY looked at it...because if you have, you've probably also wondered...what the heck are kilowatt hours? Therms? What's the difference between gas supply and gas commodity? What exactly am I paying for here!?
Here at Project Lightbulb, we're not only trying to reduce energy consumption and help folks lower their bills, but understand exactly what affects the cost of their utilities. The number of kilowatt hours that a house uses each month reflects the amount of used electricity, which affects the amount you pay. The kWh numbers are what we're trying to get Baltimore City residents to start thinking and talking about. We thought...what if we gave Challenge participants a yard or window sign reflecting the number of kWh's they used the previous month. What would happen? What we HOPE will happen is this: neighbors driving and walking by the house (or just lookin' out the window) will notice the sign and think "what's that number?" "what are kWh's?" "how many do I use"? Hopefully this will spark enough curiosity that they actually walk over and talk to their neighbors...and voila! The dialogue has begun.
The really cool thing about this project--there are lots of cool parts--but I really love that this program fosters conversation and collaboration among neighborhood blocks. The fact that this conversation regards energy conservation is the icing on the cake. Once Muhammed and I recruit Challenge participants (through canvassing, community meetings, tabling, etc), we schedule a home visit with them to look at their BGE bills and see how many kWh's their household uses. We also tell them about habit changes they can make to save energy, and hook them up with the Project Lightbulb free home energy upgrade. The upgrade, simply put, is awesome. Each household that takes the Challenge qualifies to receive:
*15 free CFL lightbulbs
*a low-flow shower head and faucet aerators
*hot water heater insulating wrap
*insulation on up to 6 feet of piping
*a free carbon monoxide/smoke detector
WOW!!!
I have a lot of these devices in my own apartment, and they are fantastic.
But, back to the Challenge.
We now have about 20 households spanning eight different blocks involved in the Challenge, but we are aiming for 10 solid blocks, or roughly 200 homes. Most of our concentration is currently on the East Side, in Belair-Edison, Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello, South Clifton, and HEBCAC. We are looking to expand into the West side, and have a few home visits in that region next week. We are trying to locate ten solid blocks where most of the residents will want to participate in the Challenge. So far, reception has been great! But the real "challenge" is finding whole blocks of interested people. We hope that as we start installing the yard signs displaying kWh's next week, curiosity and participation will increase in our chosen blocks. At the end of the summer, whichever block has used the fewest kWh's will receive a free block party funded by Civic Works!! Yay!! I think this is going to be a great way to get the kids involved in energy savings.
So that's the Project Lightbulb Challenge, in brief. More to come later...stay tuned for updates!
Have you ever wondered if you're paying too much for your monthly utilities? Ever wondered if you could do something to lower your bill? If you have, you're not alone. But the real question is, have you ever actually sat down with your BGE bill and looked at it? I mean REALLY looked at it...because if you have, you've probably also wondered...what the heck are kilowatt hours? Therms? What's the difference between gas supply and gas commodity? What exactly am I paying for here!?
Here at Project Lightbulb, we're not only trying to reduce energy consumption and help folks lower their bills, but understand exactly what affects the cost of their utilities. The number of kilowatt hours that a house uses each month reflects the amount of used electricity, which affects the amount you pay. The kWh numbers are what we're trying to get Baltimore City residents to start thinking and talking about. We thought...what if we gave Challenge participants a yard or window sign reflecting the number of kWh's they used the previous month. What would happen? What we HOPE will happen is this: neighbors driving and walking by the house (or just lookin' out the window) will notice the sign and think "what's that number?" "what are kWh's?" "how many do I use"? Hopefully this will spark enough curiosity that they actually walk over and talk to their neighbors...and voila! The dialogue has begun.
The really cool thing about this project--there are lots of cool parts--but I really love that this program fosters conversation and collaboration among neighborhood blocks. The fact that this conversation regards energy conservation is the icing on the cake. Once Muhammed and I recruit Challenge participants (through canvassing, community meetings, tabling, etc), we schedule a home visit with them to look at their BGE bills and see how many kWh's their household uses. We also tell them about habit changes they can make to save energy, and hook them up with the Project Lightbulb free home energy upgrade. The upgrade, simply put, is awesome. Each household that takes the Challenge qualifies to receive:
*15 free CFL lightbulbs
*a low-flow shower head and faucet aerators
*hot water heater insulating wrap
*insulation on up to 6 feet of piping
*a free carbon monoxide/smoke detector
WOW!!!
I have a lot of these devices in my own apartment, and they are fantastic.
But, back to the Challenge.
We now have about 20 households spanning eight different blocks involved in the Challenge, but we are aiming for 10 solid blocks, or roughly 200 homes. Most of our concentration is currently on the East Side, in Belair-Edison, Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello, South Clifton, and HEBCAC. We are looking to expand into the West side, and have a few home visits in that region next week. We are trying to locate ten solid blocks where most of the residents will want to participate in the Challenge. So far, reception has been great! But the real "challenge" is finding whole blocks of interested people. We hope that as we start installing the yard signs displaying kWh's next week, curiosity and participation will increase in our chosen blocks. At the end of the summer, whichever block has used the fewest kWh's will receive a free block party funded by Civic Works!! Yay!! I think this is going to be a great way to get the kids involved in energy savings.
So that's the Project Lightbulb Challenge, in brief. More to come later...stay tuned for updates!
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