LAWRENCE: Expo examines sustainable living

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   How easy — or difficult — is it to make the house more energy efficient?
   Everyone needs to eat, but where can one find locally produced cheese, jams and jellies or meat? What about recipes using locally grown food?
   Which new cars are the most fuel-efficient? How practical are electric cars?
   The answers to those questions and more may be found at Sustainable Lawrence’s sixth annual Living Local Expo fair, set for Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Lawrence High School Commons. The event is free and open to the public.
   Since its beginnings in a room at The Lawrenceville School, the expo has grown every year, said Tahirih Smith, who is Sustainable Lawrence’s executive director. For the last few years, the event has been held at Lawrence High School.
   The goal of the expo is to bring together a variety of “green” resources for visitors to sample and explore, Ms. Smith said. It’s a chance to bring those resources to the community in one convenient place, she said.
   Although the event is being held at Lawrence High School, “it is local in a regional sense,” she said. The expo is being co-sponsored by the green teams of Lawrence, Ewing and Hopewell townships, and the Mercer County Office of Economic Development and Sustainability.
   ”It is kind of tough for each town to have its own expo, so we are sharing with them. Other towns are walking the same path, (and) maybe we can help them to walk a little faster by sharing resources,” Ms. Smith said, adding that the focus is on Lawrence residents.
   More than 50 businesses and non-profit groups are going to set up booths at the expo, she said. There will also be some hands-on workshops. Fuel-efficient cars will be on display in the Lawrence High School parking lot — including those that belong to residents and others that are for sale by local automobile dealerships.
   The Ask Your Neighbor booth allows visitors to ask about the results of energy-efficient projects, Ms. Smith said. They can ask about the “neighbors’” real-life experiences with those projects.
   ”It’s about what you want to know, what you are interested in and how to do it. You can ask ‘real life’ questions that you can’t ask the salesman,” she said.
   Lawrence resident Philip Duran is among the guest speakers, who will discuss the steps he took to make his farmhouse more energy efficient when he renovated it, Ms. Smith said. He lives “off the grid” and generates most of the energy that he needs to power his home.
   Alan Rhodes, of the state Board of Public Utilities’ Clean Energy Program, will talk about energy efficiency programs for small businesses. There are grants available for some of the projects.
   And Albe Zakes, the global vice president of media relations for TerraCycle, is expected to discuss how the company collects non-recyclable garbage from consumer packaging and “upcycles” it into new products. The company works with several companies to do it, including Proctor & Gamble, Capri-Sun, Target and Frito-Lay.
   The expo also includes a farmer’s market, so visitors “can get a grasp on what we can grow economically,” Ms. Smith said. It is not intended to be a commercial venture, but rather to let visitors know about the farms, what each one has to offer and where the farms are located, she said.
   ”If you want fresh eggs, you don’t have to import them from Ohio. They are available here. There is a misconception (that you have to go far away to get fresh food). You can get local food around here,” Ms. Smith said.
   The farm and food vendors include Beechtree Farms, Cherry Grove Farm, Griggstown Quail Farm and Market, Terhune Orchards, the Fulper Family Farmstead, Stony Brook Orchids, the Terra Momo Bread Co., Frank’s Pickled Peppers, Jeff Burd Aviaries, Jams by Kim, the Great American Cheesecake Co., and the Savory Spice Shop.
    Judith Robinson of the Princeton Farmers Market will discuss healthy eating, and chefs from three township businesses — Mario Mangone, the owner of Chambers Walk Café, as well as Mary Beth Madill, the executive chef at Mrs. G’s TV and Appliances and Chris Albrecht, the executive chef of Eno Terra — will offer cooking demonstrations using locally sourced ingredients.