The Summit Smithville Green Expo 2015

You might be wondering why it took so long to get this out, but a lot of work gotbacked up, while we prepared for our booth at The Summit Smithville 2015Green Expo. Well, anyway here it is.

It is the farmer’s dilemma, that everythinghappens at once in the spring. You have toclean out old gardens, start seedlings, mow,etc. At the same time events such as thisyear’s Summit Smithville Green Expo comesup along with other events. To top it all off the rain forecast scared off allbut the hardiest souls. It was going to be cold and wet, but the eventplanners, Jill Strube and John Casey Dees said that the show would go on.We decided to go. We did not expect many vendors would come on such aday (and many did not), but we decided that we could not miss it.

We were looking on the bright side, it meant we could have a lot of time to spend withthose of the public that were not scared off by a little rain (1½ inches at home in theAlum Creek area), and the other cold and wet vendors. Also, I would have had tohighlight only some of the vendors if everyone came, instead I got to talk toeverybody. I have a notoriously bad memory, so please forgive me if I missedsomeone.

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to listen to any of the speakers at the PlayhouseSmithville. If any of you out there managed to catch them, please write it up, then saywhat you thought of them, and post it on the Bastrop Sustainable Meetup site. If any ofyou speakers would like to give us a synopsis, we would be grateful. Or better yet, setup a meetup with us. I know we would love to hear it.

So here it is, the vendors that braved the forecasted rain:

Bastrop Sustainable MeetupWill Holcomb, organizerMary Mills, assistant organizerhttp://www.meetup.com/Bastrop-Sustainable/ Our web-page encourages meetups to get outand about to see what our members and othersare doing to live sustainable lives. We are a

group of people exploring ways to move Bastrop and the surroundingareas towards a Sustainable Future.

Longhorn Aquaponics - Farm · Zoo & AquariumMike Chionis (832) 515-9985362 South Shore Rd, Bastrop, TX 78602www.Facebook.com/LonghornAquaponicsInstalls Aquaponics Systems. Most everyone gave his work excellentreviews. Happily, he has said he might do a meetup on Aquaponics for aBastrop Sustainable Meetup. We will get with him and work out the details.

Lost Pines Toyota - Glen Peterson806 Hwy 71 WestBastrop, TX 78602512-303-1200“Driving Towards a Greener Planet” The Only LEED Certified Green Auto Dealership in Central Texas.They give tours of their green facility, I think. If you think that would make a good meetup, let us know.

ScentsyKaryn Duty, Independent Consultant512-636-1242karyndduty@gmail.comhttps://karyndduty.scentsy.us/Fragrance Products filled the air!

Roughcut SawmillJesse DutyRustic Cedar Furniture and Custom Milling381 FM2571 Unit ASmithville, TX 78957 512-636-0512 / 512-237-4485jesseleeduty@gmail.comThe cedar glowed bright on that rainy day!

Smithville Community Gardens“The Smithville Community Gardens fights food insecurity andencourages nutrition in the Smithville, Texas community bydeveloping a network of sustainable and communal agriculturalgardens that provide healthy, organically-grown produce andfruit available to anyone in the community. This all-volunteerorganization also promotes educational programs that provide

healthy nutritional information throughout the community and in Smithville schools.”

The Children’s Garden, 306/308 Walker St, Smithville, TX 78957 (near Brown Primary)The Food Pantry Garden, 200/202 Washington St, Smithville, TX 78957 Smithville Community Clinic Garden, Fruit Trees, Herb Garden, Smithville, TX 78957 Fruit Trees (sponsored by 1 United Methodist Church), 407 Olive St, Smithville, TX 78957 st

Sponsored by Smithville Church of Christ, 1416 E. Whitehead, Smithville, TX 78957

Food is Free Project.org “Grow Free Food in Your Front Yard. The Food is Free Project(501c3Nonprofit) grows community and food, while helping gainindependence from a broken agricultural system. The Food is FreeProject is a community building and gardening movement that launchedin January of 2012. We teach you how to connect with your neighborsand line your street with front yard community gardens which providefree harvests to anyone.” Make a salad by picking from gardens allalong your street, and meet your neighbor harvesting along the way!

The Rainharvest SchoolScott O. Shaffer, Staff, 979-247-34071823 Loehr Road, La Grange, TXs.o.shaffer@gmail.comwww.texaswatersavers.com

The Rainharvest School provides “Hands-on, practical learning”.They install water treatment equipment, and provide waterjournalism and events on their site.

The next class dates are: April 25-26, June 27-28, Sept. 26-27, Nov. 7-8. Maximum Class Size 6.Tuition is $225, and includes a 2 day class, a step-by-step, illustrated RWH Design-Build GUIDE, +lunch on Saturday and Sunday.

“We work with you in teams and individually to design, assemble and install: gutter downspouts,first flush diverters, cistern bulkheads, leaf eaters, metal and poly cisterns, water level monitors,Grundfos MQ3 pump... and much, much more.”

“The Texas Water Savers / Rainharvest School of La Grange has generously offered to providethe expertise needed to install a water collection system at the Smithville Community Clinic,which will provide water needed for a new Smithville Community Garden, to be maintained bylocal volunteers.”Around mid April they will needs volunteers to put together the water collection system, andsaid they will call us. We could learn while working for a worthwhile cause. How cool is that!

A Sustainable "Farm-to-Table Feast" sponsored by local growers.Proceeds from the feast to benefit The Food Pantry and theSmithville Community Gardens. The food looked wonderful, butI got pre-empted by a delicious lunch at the Olde World Bakery,since they were next door to our booth.

Chef Mike Morphew, Bastrop 1832 Farmers Market

(www.bastrop1832farmersmarket.org), Fruitful Hill Farm LLC,

(www.fruitfulhillfarm.com, 512-524-FARM or -3276)Spotted Goat Farm (www.spottedgoatfarm.com), Bastrop Gardens (www.bastropgardens.com), Granny’s Garden (www.grannys-garden.com - 512-250-1551),Olde World Bakery & Café, (FB: Olde-World-Bakery)Smithville Food Lockers (512-237-2438), Howard New- Smithville Community Gardens

(FB: TheSmithvilleCommunityGardens), Strykly Texas Cheese (www.texascheese.com),the Wendland Family.

Victor Vaqueras made an exceedingly delicious barbeque pork for the Feast. He got rave reviews fromvendors and visitors alike.

Norwex - Rachel BaumanIndependent Sales Consultant512-985-7318www.rachelbauman.norwex.bizrachel.bauman2@gmail.comOne of the world’s most innovative cleaning solutions. “We focused oncleaning without chemicals, we remain dedicated to our mission ofimproving quality of life by radically reducing chemicals in our homes.”

Keltic KraeftsGerard Hynes, Chieftaingwhynes@hotmail.com, 512-237-1140800 Burleson St, Smithville, TX 78957Keltic Designed/Made in America. Gerard Hynes (O’Hayne) is atalented kraefter and musician. He creates beautiful hand-kraefted creations using re-purposed timber and other materials.He is also available to teach electric and/or acoustic guitar. Heshowed me a picnic table and said it was a roof. It took me amoment to get it. It was made from reclaimed wood from a roof.

Full Circle Innovations And last but not least, there was a booth that sold art made of recycledmaterials by people in Towers Nursing Home. There were some verypretty ornaments, path lights, and more. They were all made frommaterials that normally get thrown away. Last October, Full CircleInnovation got recycled materials from Smithville Recycling to startmaking art. They started with the Smithville Library, then went to theNursing Home to help light up their days, and now they are going to theSmithville High School After School Program.

As cold and wet as it was, we were glad we went. We got to talk to a lot of fine people about stuff they arepassionate about. Closing up our vendors stall, and putting up our displays, we went home soggy, but richer forthe experience.

PS: There is an After Expo Feedback session on Friday, March 37 at 10 am, at the Smithville Library. Comeand talk about how to make next year better. (Ask God not to rain on our parade, for instance).