Green Eco Blogs and Resources – Michigan

Michigan has a lot of great local resources! I’m impressed- These are not all the local, regional blogs, websites and resources for Michigan. If you have a resource, blog or website please let me know and I will add!

Michigan

Black Bear Speaks -Environmental Action and Green Business in the Great Lakes- This site has every link you can imagine- Great Resource.

Clean Car Campaign:

Don’t Trash Michigan Momentum has been building to clean up Michigan, and now there’s a way for everyone to get involved. Whether you are concerned about improving recycling, reducing the amount of trash that comes from Canada and Michigan’s neighboring states, or want to put an end to illegal dumping in your community — or all of the above — it’s more effective and fun when we work together

Environmental Organizations

• Environment Michigan Environment Michigan is launching an ambitious legislative agenda that, if implemented, would turn Michigan once again into an environmental leader among states and help reinvigorate our ailing economy.
• Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council – www.nmeac.org
• Michigan Land Use Institute – www.mlui.org
• The Land Institute – www.landinstitute.org
• Clean Water Action – www.cleanwateraction.org
• Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council – www.watershedcouncil.org

Social Justice Organizations

• The Neahtawanta Research and Education Center – www.nrec.org
• Traverse Peace Alerts – traversepeacealerts.org
• Sweetwater Alliance – www.waterissweet.org

• Northwest Michigan Sustainable Business Forum Since 2005, the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments and the Small Business Development Center have put together a schedule of planned events that will explore and pursue the notion of sustainability. By coming together and enhancing the bottom line, protecting the quality of life and improving the community, this forum commits to achieve sustainability. For more information, please contact Patty O’Donnell, Northwest Michigan Council of Governments at (231) 929-5039 or via email at podonnel@nwm.cog.mi.us.
• Southeast Michigan Sustainable Business Forum (SMSBF) The Southeast Michigan Sustainable Business Forum’s purpose is to provide a learning network to member companies aimed at raising awareness, developing programs, and promoting successes of the Triple Bottom Line (economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social equity) of business sustainability. The forum typically meets on the third Thursday of each month at a different member company within Southeast Michigan. For more information on meeting times and places, please contact Bill Stough (srg@iserv.net).
• Southwest Michigan Sustainable Business ForumThe mission of the Southwest Michigan Sustainable Business Forum is to promote business practices which demonstrate environmental stewardship, economic vitality, and social responsibility. Southwest Michigan Sustainable Business Forum is open to any business or individual in Southwest Michigan willing to abide by the Mission Statement and Guiding Principles. For more information, please contact Heather Smith at hsmith@naturecenter.org.
• West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum (WMSBF) The West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum was founded in 1994 under the auspices of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC). Their membership represents a broad cross-section of large area industries and small businesses dedicated to developing the expertise and the means necessary to achieve a triple bottom line objective. Through monthly meetings featuring guest speakers, periodic seminars and conferences, and special projects the WMSBF strives to expand and share their unique knowledge base. This site offers an extensive member list with contact information of organizations working toward sustainability in the West Michigan region.

• Absolute Michigan Absolute Michigan is “All Michigan, All the Time” – a collection of links, features, news and information about the state of Michigan made better every day by real folks.
• Adventures in Eco-Living ” hello rural Michigan! For the past year and a half we have been (somewhat clumsily) trying to figure things out. Like how to get organic vegetables to grow, how to heat our house using only a wood stove, how to build a chicken coop, the wonders of composting, and what on earth all these little critters running around are….
• Institute for Sustainable Living, Art, Natural Design ISLAND’s mission is to create spaces that explore the integration of art, natural design and sustainable living. We do this to begin answering the question: Can we live in such a way that cares for small places?

Ann Arbor

• Ann Arbor Green: full service real estate company specializing in the Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Dexter, Chelsea and Saline areas.
• BGreen (Retail Store) 1952 S. Industrial Hwy Suite C, Ann Arbor, Mi-carry a variety of products including but not limited to:  Non-toxic, non-voc paint, recycled glass countertops, bamboo and reclaimed wood flooring, and more
• Ecology Center The Ecology Center (EC) is a membership-based, nonprofit environmental organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded by community activists after the country’s first Earth Day in 1970, the Ecology Center is now a regional leader that works for a safe and healthy environment where people live, work, and play.
• Get Downtown The getDowntown Program promotes and encourages downtown Ann Arbor commuters to use sustainable transportation to get to work.  We also provide services like bike lockers and go!passes, and events like the Commuter Challenge.  Our website is www.getdowntown.org
• The Farmer’s Marketer Kim is a free-lance writer, currently writing for EdibleWOW. She is a on the leadership team ofSlow Food Huron Valley where she manages the website and organizes community events including potlucks, farm tours, panel discussions and Pie Lovers Unite! She is also on the steering committee and manages the website for HomeGrown, a festival celebrating Michigan’s food and farms.  Kim is active in local politics, working to elect representatives who support our community’s food security.
• Katie Hyzk Blog recently graduated from Denison University with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and have moved back to my hometown to gain experience in life and work. I’m hoping this internship will help give me the skills I need to apply to my academic background in a relevant way in today’s digital world. This blog will help serve as a learning experience- both in terms of blogging as well as with the discussion of the digital marketing skills I will acquire. I am very excited to be here and can’t wait to learn more! Until next time.
• Recycle Ann Arbor

Battle Creek

• Battle Creek Watershed
• Center for Sustainability

Detroit

• Detroit Meetups
• Greening of Detroit The Greening of Detroit was founded in 1989 to improve the quality of life in Detroit by guiding and inspiring the reforestation of Detroit’s neighborhoods, boulevards and parks through tree planting projects and educational programs. Over the years The Greening has expanded its outreach to include a broad sector of greening activities. Its mission reflects this growth: “Guide and inspire the growth of a ‘greener’ Detroit through planting and educational programs, environmental leadership, advocacy, and by building community capacity.” Annually, The Greening hosts planting projects, ranging from full park restorations to streetscape renovations and massive street tree plantings to the creation of community and family vegetable gardens.
• Detroit Agriculture Network
• Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice (DWEJ) is organized to empower individuals, communities, and community organizations inSoutheast Michigan to educate, advocate and organize for cleaner, healthier communities and environments.

Grand Rapids

• Grand Rapids
• The Grand Walk  Grand Walk is the section of land between the cities of Grand Rapids and Walker, Michigan, and it has the potential to become a national model of sustainability for living, working, and running a business.

Honar (Benzie County)

• Food for Thought My intention is to present helpful information around a variety of topics from Green Living, Cooking, Organic Food, Sustainable Agriculture, along with the policy and politics that these categories tend to swim.
• Healing Garden Journal

Lake City

• Earthwork Farm

Lansing

• Mott Group_ The C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at MSU began in January 2003 as a vehicle to promote community engagement and scholarly activity focused on community-based food systems. Whether you are working to bring fresh food to limited resource families or maintain your family farm; considering a move to pasture-based farming or investigating a way to enter farming; starting a farmers’ market or looking to add local food to your school lunch program; interested in sustainable agriculture or puzzling about ways food is part of community,
• Sustainable Lansing sustainable Lansing is a coalition of citizens, businesses, local government, and community and environmental groups concerned to shape a sustainable future for the greater Lansing area. A sustainable community lives off the community’s income not its capital and maintains and balances its natural, social, and economic capital. Thus it aims at long term cultural, economic and environmental health and vitality by striving to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need
• Urban Options on-profit community agency which provides energy and environmental information and services. Urban Options seeks to improve the environmental quality of our Urban Spaces. They fulfill this mission through educational programs and demonstrations of practical and healthful home and yard improvements.

Livonia

We Paint Houses; Used zero to low VOC paint

Mt. Pleasant

• Green Tree Cooperative Grocery (retail)

Torch Lake

• Torch Lake Views Some 1200 year-round residents live in our township, a long, narrow stretch of Michigan between Grand Traverse Bay and Torch Lake just north of the 45th Parallel.  Half of us sleep a good eight hours per night, except during cherry harvest when we hardly sleep at all.  We’ll be at the forefront of style when Carhartts and seed caps come into vogue.  The other half wear intricate handknit sweaters and tailored wool slacks in winter and candy-colored cottons in July and are nearly indistinguishable from Summer People.  In fact, some of us were Summer People until we gave in and moved up here, thus becoming Perma-Fudge.

Traverse City

• Botanic Garden of NW Michigan
• Eco Learning Center The Eco-Learning Center strives to provide leadership, scientific research, study, education, guidance and promotion of living sustainably on the land, in diverse communities, and in natural balance with the Great Lakes Bio-region. As a model The Center becomes part of a global movement of ordinary people undertaking an extraordinary task – problem solving the environmental, economic, cultural and spiritual issues that forebode irreversible systemic damage to the planet – by the simple act of changing how people live
• Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council he Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council (NMEAC) is the Grand Traverse region’s oldest and best-known grassroots environmental advocacy organization.
• SEEDS non-profit research, design and educational institution whose mission is to seek the development of socially and ecologically sustainable environments. We foster projects that are participatory in nature and holistic in perspective. To this end, we act as an educational and networking resource. SEEDS focuses on incubating projects that lessen our ecological footprint, and designing spaces conducive to this.

• Oryana Natural Foods Market –

Green Island – www.gogreenisland.com

Higher Grounds Fair Trade Coffee – www.javaforjustice.com

Shetler Family Dairy – www.shetlermilk.com

Odom Re-Use – odomreuse.com

Anahatna Balance – www.anahatabalance.com

Organic Kombucha Culture – www.organic-kombucha.com

Leelanau Cultured Veggies – www.culturedveggies.com

Porcupine Hollow Farm – www.porkyfarm.com