Going Green in Walla Walla

I set off late Saturday morning with the in­tent of attending the Sustainable Living Fair, taking the Green Home and Garden Tour and sharing my discoveries. While I did attend both events, I also took some serendipitous sidetracks and decided to do things a bit differently.

My favorite feature in Walla Walla's Lifestyles magazine of years past was "Amy Kate's $99 Dol­lar Day". In it, Amy Kate, would spend the day visiting unique recreational venues in the area and enjoying tasty treats. She would share her experiences, complete with a receipt detailing expen­ditures. I decided relay my afternoon in my own version of that feature hereby known as, "Dena LaRay's $14 Dol­lar Day".

The first stop on my itin­erary was Walla Walla Com­munity College's Water and Environmental Center. Thank goodness for signs and balloons pointing the way, because you have to be looking to find it tucked in behind the John Deere Training Center. The mod­ern, clean-lined architecture of the building is gorgeous and worthy of a drive-by on its own merit. Built using "green building construc­tion", the facility itself is a piece of art.

If you like "real" sculp­ture, however, the piece overlooking the grounds is incredibly unique and filled with symbolism. While I encourage you to stop and visit in person, I'll whet your appetite by sharing that it is interactive, makes noise, showcases license plates stamped at the state penitentiary, and includes a solar panel reflecting Mc­Nary Dam.

After touring the center itself, I meandered through the booths outside. Kids at one booth identified ani­mal tracks while folks at the Home Depot booth planted seedlings. I glanced through How to Survive in the Woods at Earthlight's booth, absorbing helpful tid­bits like, "All birds are good for eating."

I was disappointed that the one item I'd really want­ed to see didn't have a demo on site. For years now I've been fascinated with the Tiny House. If you haven't heard them, they are incred­ibly designed, fully func­tional homes, integrated into a trailer system. Most run about 300 square feet in size, including the loft area. They serve as cabins, workplaces, guest houses and more. As an occasionally frazzled mom in a busy household, there are days when I envi­sion hooking up my little escape pod and heading for the woods. Maybe it's a good thing they didn't have one, after all.

I left the Center to begin the Green Home Tour. Less extensive than I expected, the tour consisted of a cou­ple of gardens, two solar powered homes, the Farm­ers Co-op Machine Shop and Builder's ReSupply, a used construction materials store run by the Sustainable Living Center. Still, I came away with plenty of new knowledge and inspiration.

In speaking with Tim Bennett, who recently added solar panels to his home, I learned that the Sustain­ability Center has a program that pays 20% of the cost and a Federal Tax Credit kicks back 30%. He paid half the cost of his project, currently shells out $17.50 a month to be connected to the grid, and is on board to receive a $2700 check from Columbia REA for the ex­cess power he's created in the six months he's had the panels up and running. At current rates, he anticipates the system paying for itself in five years. He piqued my curiosity enough that I'll definitely be checking into the program.

On my way to the Ma­chine Shop I got sidetracked at a yard sale. But then I figured that went right along with the green "reduce, recycle, reuse" theme and decided not to feel guilty about stopping. I bought a brand new pair of slippers which I consider "personal insulation". Farmers Co-op Machine Shop Manager Jim Ferraro, gave me a tour of the 27,000 square foot shop - it fills nearly an entire city block - that previously had zero in­sulation and incredibly high ceilings. Jim shared that power bills in the coldest months of winter could hit $10,000. In the summer the shop could be 100 degrees when the employees arrived, only to climb throughout the day. The massive insulation job completed by Smith Insulation workers should make a major difference in both cost and comfort.

Next on the tour was the Rees & Sumach Commu­nity Garden. Upon passing through the sculptural en­trance to this lovely oasis I was greeted by second-year member Judy Fenno who explained how the garden works. For a $40 annual fee and a commitment to volunteer five hours to the community portions of the garden, a member receives a 10' X 20' plot. The garden­ers support the community by donating 10% of their produce to the Walla Walla Food Bank each week, as well.

The communal borders of the garden are filled with grapes, berries and oth­er produce that members are welcome to share. The knowledge gleaned from seasoned gardeners, not increasing her home water bill and the social aspect of the garden were some of the perks that drew Fenno to the community garden. While visiting the gar- den, I'd parked in the lot of Shady Lawn Antiques & Art Gallery. I've often admired this eye-catching shop, but had never visited. I decided that antiques went right along with my "green" theme and headed in. After quickly browsing a labyrinth of aisles filled with colorful, quirky and nostalgic pieces I spied a gorgeous side table topped with a woodworking portfolio.

Glancing through the portfolio, I noticed a piece called the " Waitsburg bench" and asked owner, Dave Emigh, if he had one in the store. He didn't, but ex- plained that he had a passion for handcrafting furniture from lumber reclaimed from old buildings. It turns out the side table I'd been admiring was fashioned from the roof boards of the 1864 barn just south of Dixie. What are the odds?

After my very "green" day, I couldn't see eating typical fast food so treated myself to an amazing Roasted Pear and Chicken Salad at Graze. Heaven.

So how did my day tally up? Not bad at all. I spent practically nothing, met some interesting new peo- ple, learned a great deal and enjoyed an exception- ally pleasant afternoon. In the words of MasterCard, "priceless".

The Day's Tally:

Roasted Pear and Chicken Salad & Diet Coke $11.78