Wells Branch ECO Fair 2022

April 3, 2022 | 1:00-4:00pm
Wells Branch Recreation Center | 3000 Shoreline

Please join the WB MUD, WBNA and a host of special eco-friendly vendors as we celebrate our amazing planet and discover new ways to better manage our precious resources.

The WBNA is showcasing the 4 R’s | Recycle, Reduce, Reuse and Repurpose! Be sure to stop by the recycling section:

• Play “Recycle and Win”, complete with door prizes
• Build your own Recycled Bottle Rain Gauge (bring a 2-liter bottle, or take a kit home)
• Check out the new “Go Trashless” program
• The local Buy-Nothing-Group will be on hand
• Learn to repurpose and eliminate plastic
• Kids will have a blast building a cardboard city
• City of Austin has information available for backyard composting
• Balcones Resources has a great display on “Where your recycling goes!”
• There’s an interactive textile craft table
• Artists who utilize recycled materials will have beautiful artwork on display

WOW!—and that’s just the recycling section. There’s more!

Water Conservation — The Wells Branch MUD will speak to water delivery, conservation and wastewater.  There will be science-based presentations and educational demonstrations from dumposaurus.com/illegal-dumping-the-causes-reasons-effects-consequences-and-solutions who are the best in this field.

The Great Outdoors area is focused on the message “You are nature’s best hope.”  There will  be a lot to learn. Everything from native plants to urban forests and master naturalists. There are seed balls and ladybugs for the kids to take home, a free tree give away, and so more!

Energy — Solar Vendors will be on hand to share information on rooftop solar and battery solutions, costs and rebates. Oncor and Austin Energy will be onsite to speak to residential rebates and Energy Saving programs.

Going Trashless

by Monica Koenig

Have you ever had this experience?  One harmless little trip to the grocery store or one stop for take-out practically fills my entire trashcan with waste to toss or recycle.  All this waste contributes to climate change, but, as I tell myself guiltily, it can be hard to feed a family from the grocery store without leaving an impressive pile of stuff to throw out.  Many times I’ve thought, “I’d like to do something about all this trash, but it’s just the way it is.  What can one little person do?”  I’m delighted to say I’ve found a different way.  A local company named Trashless calls itself the “milkman for everything.”  The milk I order every week comes in glass jars that I set out again empty next week for return… like it’s 1950 and I’m Mrs. Cleaver.  But with Trashless it doesn’t stop with milk… pantry items, produce, even meal kits and take-out are delivered in containers that get picked the up the next week and reused.

I’m particularly bothered by plastic waste, so I kept track of my trash and recycling for a few weeks and made notes about the products I buy that come packed in plastic.  Now my family regularly buys tortillas from Trashless and there’s no plastic bag to put in the recycling.  I buy a pound of spinach every week that comes in a box I return for reuse.  Apples and potatoes come in cloth bags that get returned and reused.  My Wells Branch neighbor, Natalie, also a Trashless customer, says, “I love reducing my waste and carbon footprint, the care Trashless takes in picking out high quality and ethically sourced foods, and how easy they make things by delivering right here in the neighborhood.”

I know Natalie because she comes by my house on Surrender Avenue to pick up her Trashless orders.  My house is a Pick-Up Point…all the deliveries for our neighborhood arrive at my house and neighbors stop by to pick up their orders, no delivery fee required!  Not only does it save money, one neighborhood Pick-Up Point allows deliveries to be made in fewer stops, using less fuel and lowering the carbon footprint of delivery.

Other zero-waste initiatives are always in the works at Trashless.  The Trashless Reuse Army is a network of volunteers – including my neighbor Natalie – who collect ice packs, lightbulbs and dead batteries that will be picked up by Trashless and recycled or reused.  From a program promoting reusable coffee cups to a new system to make take-out zero waste, Trashless really stands behind their mission.  I’m glad to answer any questions you may have at monica.koenig@yahoo.com.

Just FYI, your donations of lightbulbs, batteries, or ice packs can be dropped off at Natalie’s, 2312 Klattenhoff Drive, or at my house, 2115 Surrender Avenue, which also serves at a Pick-Up Point for deliveries.  Please visit www.trashless.com for more information.

Wells Branch ECO FairSunday, April 3 | 1:00-4:00pm
WB Rec. Center | 3000 Shoreline Drive

The Wells Branch ECO Fair, an Earth Day Celebration, will be a little early this year – April 3, 2022, 1:00-4:00pm in the gym at the Wells Branch Recreation Center.  Come celebrate our wondrous planet and discover ways we can better use our precious resources for the benefit of all.

Energy — Solar Vendors will be on hand to share information on rooftop solar and battery solutions, costs and rebates.

Oncor and Austin Energy will be onsite to speak to residential rebates and Energy Saving programs.

The 4 Rs — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Repurpose
The WBNA will showcase the 4Rs — There will be a display on how to greatly reduce the use of plastics, including ways to create your own household products plus  examples of recycled art and on-site art projects to make from repurposed materials. If you would like to show your recycled artwork or volunteer for one of the 4 Rs, please contact Margaret Sufke, (mmsufke@gmail.com or 512-341-0428).  Local scouting groups will be on hand with bulk trash hauling service information and younger scouts will help the kids with the popular “cardboard construction” activity.  Recycling information will be available including an interactive activity to highlight what everyday items can and should be recycled.

Water Conservation — The Wells Branch MUD will speak to water delivery, conservation and wastewater.  There will be science-based presentations and educational demonstrations that will help you understand how the water utility hardware works in your home.  The Wells Branch Water Drop will be there handing out water conservation gear and prizes.

The Great Outdoors area is focused on the message “you are nature’s best hope”.  There’ll  be a lot to learn from growing mushrooms to great info about our native plants.  We’ll have examples of low maintenance projects you can do in small spaces to benefit our pollinators, the kids can make seed balls, there will be a great tree give away and we will even send you home with pet lady bugs!  We will explore Wells Branch’s Urban Forest efforts and where we go next.  Great Texas groups like the A&M Urban Foresters, Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, Audubon and our own local Ask an Arborist will be there.  The Natural Grocer and others will be on hand to speak to healthy food and a plant-based diet. Come early for our Tree Maintenance 101 class at 12-noon in the front conference room at the recreation center.

Come celebrate spring with us, there will be many hands-on events for children and adults, we are sure you will have fun and learn new ways to make a positive impact on the environment and a better future for us all.

If you’re interested in working with us on the ECO Fair, contact spalmer@wellsbranchmud.com