We’re featured in two Nantucket publications!

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Please join me in enjoying articles about Dujardin Design in both Nantucket Today and Nantucket Home and Garden, on newsstands now!

Click on the Home and Garden cover image below to download our article in pdf (1.9mb)

 

Then join me to help create a “Blueprint for our Coast”: September 29th and 30th

 

Scientists, city planners, stewards of the environment and government officials will gather on Nantucket on Thursday, September 29th and Friday, September 30th to discuss the impact of how we use our waterways.  The goal?  To explore new tools available to analyze current and anticipated uses of ocean and coastal areas, to achieve maximum social and economic benefits, and to ensure that the sea remains healthy.

Some of the things that impact our waterways are transportation (seaplanes, boats and ferries), fishing, pleasure boating, wind farms, aquaculture, and more.  Bringing all of these concerns together to create a coastal waters management strategy that includes ecosystem protection is one of the most important things we can do to protect the beauty of Nantucket, and allof the New England coast.

This conference is co-hosted by ReMain Nantucket (www.remainnantucket.org) and Egan Maritime Institute (www.eganmaritime.org) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership (www.massoceanpartnership.org), The Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org), Maria Mitchell Association (www.mmo.org),  the Urban Harbors Institute (www.uhi.umb.edu), UMass Boston and the UMass Boston Field Station.

Join me as we discuss how to knit together the shared edges between the blue water, the near shore, and the watershed!

A Party to Support The Nature Conservancy

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There’s nothing like Nantucket in August:  blue skies, soft breezes and the smell of salt in the air.  I was thrilled to be asked to sponsor a festive outdoor cocktail party to support the good work of one of my favorite charities, The Nature Conservancy.With renovations at our fisherman’s cottage on Madaket complete, Frank and I welcomed 60 environmentally-minded guests to our home on Thursday, August 25th .

 

My interior design firm, Dujardin Design Associates, Inc.,  pulled out all the stops to make it an evening to remember, bringing island caterer Simply with Style on board to serve delicious hors d’ouevres and fanciful desserts, and island favorite Spanky’s Raw Bar to add the proper sea-faring touch with a selection of chilled oysters and clams.

Mike from Spanky’s Bar with Chris McGuire, Massachusetts Marine Director for The Nature Conservancy.

William and Laura Buck with Trudy Dujardin

Gerry Schneider and Grace Hinkley

Trudy Dujardin with husband Frank Fasanella

Tracey Marshall, Bill Marshall, Nina Duchaine, Trudy Dujardin

Chris McGuire, Lynne Hale, Wayne Klockner, Trudy Dujardin

The Nature Conservancy works to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities of the earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive, in order to leave a sustainable world for future generations.  More information is available at www.nature.org.

Healthier Classrooms for Healthier Kids

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Were you aware that there is a Green School Initiative?  Founded in 2004 by parents who were shocked to find out how un-environmental their children’s classrooms were, the Green School Initiative (www.greenschools.net) seeks to improve the ecological sustainability of schools in the U.S.

We’re a long way from the days of one room schoolhouses where children inhaled coal smoke or vapors from oil lanterns, but today’s schoolhouses have big concerns of their own.  Other groups have also formed to advocate for green schools, including the Green Schools Caucus (www.centerforgreenschools.org), today one of the largest bipartisan efforts in the House of Representatives, and the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS), a non-profit organization dedicated to making schools better places to learn.  CHPS (www.CHPS.net) has created a deep library of resources to help schools better understand the connection between sustainable design and healthy educational environments and improved teacher and student performance.

The Sierra Club has published its fifth annual ranking of the greenest schools in America:  read more at http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201109/coolschools/top10/default.aspx

 

What Should You Be Concerned About?

It’s easy to be an informed parent, teacher or student by asking questions and targeting areas for improvement.  I tell my interior design clients that a healthy home is the ultimate luxury; our kids deserve a healthy learning environment as well!

To begin, parents, teachers, school administrators and concerned citizens can examine their schools for the following:

  • Toxic cleaning products that compromise indoor air quality
  • Off-gassing materials (building materials that release chemicals into the air through evaporation)
  • Pesticide use inside and outside
  • PCBs that may exacerbate chronic conditions such as asthma.  PCBs may be found in materials such as old caulking and fluorescent light fixtures. (Read more at http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/qa-just-how-dangerous-are-pcbs/)
  • Wooden Playground Equipment treated with arsenic

Other areas to examine:

  • Does the school have a recycling program?
  • Are there carpool incentives?
  • Is there an environmental curriculum in place for students?
  • Does the school use recycled paper, organic cotton for sports uniforms or low-energy computers?
  • Are there healthy school lunches, serving organic and/or locally grown food?

The US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards can be used as criteria by which to examine our schools:

  • Sustainable Siting: site selection, alternative transportation, storm water management, urban redevelopment
  • Water Efficiency:  water efficient landscaping, water use reduction, innovative waste water use
  • Energy & Atmosphere:  CFC reductions (linked to ozone depletion), renewable energy, reduced energy consumption, green power, reducing ozone
  • Materials and Resources:  building and resource reuse, local materials, recycled content, certified wood
  • Indoor Environmental Quality:  indoor air quality, CO2, ventilation, low-Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) materials, thermal comfort, daylighting
  • Innovation in Design

Treat Yourself and Your Kids to Healthier Lunches!

You can ensure that you and your children are eating as healthfully as you can be when you take care not only preparing their food, but selecting what to pack it in.  Due to traces of BPA and other chemicals, plastic containers are not recommended for holding food, as chemicals can leach out of the plastic.

Visit www.needs.com for better options, such as stainless steel lunch containers, bamboo water bottles, and bamboo lunch bags!