Teri Kent runs Charlottesville’s Better World Betty, a non-profit organization and online resource for locals looking to shrink their impact on the environment. Every month, Betty—Kent’s ’50s-housewife-meets-earth-goddess alter ego—answers the most burning eco-questions from our readers about energy use, water, waste and recycling, transportation, and green buying. The majority of my junk mail is credit […]
Teri Kent runs Charlottesville’s Better World Betty, a non-profit organization and online resource for locals looking to shrink their impact on the environment. Every month, Betty—Kent’s ’50s-housewife-meets-earth-goddess alter ego—answers the most burning eco-questions from our readers about energy use, water, waste and recycling, transportation, and green buying. The majority of my junk mail is credit […]
When Paul Beyer launched the first Tom Tom Founders Festival in 2012, he billed it as Charlottesville’s answer to Austin’s SXSW, a smorgasbord of music, art, and innovation in a city that always wants more of all three. The festival returns for a third time April 9-14, and true to its young roots, it’s got a schedule […]
It’s Wednesday morning, February 12, and all over Charlottesville—in fact, up and down much of the East Coast—residents are making storm preparations, snapping up groceries and rock salt by the ton. While the storm—dubbed “Pax” by the Weather Channel and “Snochi” by the Olympic-minded Twitterverse—is a Nor’easter created by converging air masses in a low […]
There were no bugles, hounds, or riders in red coats, but the fox hunt that took place at the Southwood Mobile Home Park on Friday, January 31, was high stakes nonetheless for three people who now require rabies prevention treatment, and it didn’t end well for a fox, who was killed in cinematic fashion later […]
Winters in Virginia sure can be fickle. Last winter it was so warm that the ground barely froze, and I had clients harvesting tomatoes well into December. And then March hit, with sleety, slushy snow and cold temps, and my spring gardens couldn’t be planted until April—compare that with planting spinach on February 22 several […]
Albemarle County threw out a plan to privatize trash and recycling disposal last week in the wake of fierce opposition from residents, revving up the argument over who should handle solid waste in the region—the county or private contractors. A proposal agreed upon by the previous Board of Supervisors to quit funneling money to the […]
A week after a chemical spill in West Virginia left 300,000 people without running water, a group of Charlottesvillians are holding a water drive and plan to truck it over the state line starting on Thursday, January 16. “It’s a crisis,” said Ian Babcock, founder of the new nonprofit Catalyst Productions, which is teaming up with […]
Charlottesville’s second Better Business Challenge, a year-long sustainability competition for local companies, wraps up in May, but founder Teri Kent wants business owners to know there’s still plenty of time to get onboard—and save a lot. Kent, creator of local environmental blog Better World Betty, kicked off the first challenge in 2012 as a way […]
Starting in February, two dozen locals will give their Tuesday nights over to the study of rocks, plants, and birds—and together will pledge to devote nearly 1,000 hours annually to environmental study and education. They’ll be 2014’s class of Rivanna Master Naturalists, the newest members of a statewide corps of highly trained volunteers. Charlottesville is […]
Gardeners can be a fussy and opinionated lot, which makes them hard to shop for. As Christmas approaches, here are some gift ideas for the gardener in your life. Fruit trees. Winter is the best time to plant fruit trees. Because the trees are dormant, their chances of survival and getting well established increase dramatically. […]