Tilt

“You’re Welcome” is an organized activity that will be implemented on Saturday mornings from 10:30-11:15 in different locations in Baltimore. The idea came to me because I wanted to get into neighborhoods and help organize clean ups. The idea grew and expanded, it is now an organized activity that will leave a positive effect on the community or the earth. This can range from neighborhood clean ups, teaching about environmental topics in after-school programs / community centers, helping organize a community event, etc. Any activity that will produce the response “Thank You” can be a You’re Welcome Project.

On April 24th my friend Angie and I decided to clean up the street on Fayette and Washington St. in the Washington Hill area. A banner was displayed informing people of the time and place of the next endeavor and the blog website. Check out the photos from the first “You’re Welcome” Project!

Earth Day is a special day here at Tilt. As an annual “Hallmark holiday” we are lucky that this has made it to all the major holiday calendars and is now apart of everyone’s life. It is a day that you should take to reflect and care for the planet. We will be starting our first You’re Welcome Project today with a 20 minute clean up in our neighborhood. We encourage everyone to consider the Earth today and do something that would benefit it.

In everything that we do here at Tilt, we consider 5 core values. They are: Community, Sustainability, Knowledge, Innovation and Earth. Each of our clients or projects we take on have between 3-5 of these values incorporated into their business, their values or their mission and throughout the project we try to incorporate the remaining values into the project as often as possible.

This little drawing was created by Jessica M. Pegorsch for our Jes-M product line.

Today is also the day that marks the opening of Disney’s Earth movie. We hope that everyone goes out to see it! This is the first mainstream movie on the environment to be released to theaters which is helping to spread the message of our need to to reclaim responsibility for the earth. Last week we sponsored a pre-screening of the movie in Baltimore. See the promotion below and go see a show today!

Other movies that have come out recently that have effected our team are:

GARBAGE WARRIOR

What do beer cans, car tires and water bottles have in common? Not much unless you’re renegade architect Michael Reynolds, in which case they are tools of choice for producing thermal mass and energy-independent housing. For 30 years New Mexico-based Reynolds and his green disciples have devoted their time to advancing the art of “Earthship Biotecture” by building self-sufficient, off-the-grid communities where design and function converge in eco-harmony. However, these experimental structures that defy state standards create conflict between Reynolds and the authorities, who are backed by big business. Frustrated by antiquated legislation, Reynolds lobbies for the right to create a sustainable living test site. While politicians hum and ha, Mother Nature strikes, leaving communities devastated by tsunamis and hurricanes. Reynolds and his crew seize the opportunity to lend their pioneering skills to those who need it most. Our friend Jason Neal initially told us about this awesome movie!

FLOW: FOR THE LOVE OF WATER

Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century – The World Water Crisis. Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

KING CORN

King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. In King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, nitrogen fertilizers, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises trouble questions about how we eat – and how we farm.

Books that we recommend:

Biomimicry by Janine M. Benyus

Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough & Michael Braungart

Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins

World Changing by Alex Steffen (Author), Bruce Sterling (Introduction), Al Gore (Foreword)

Massive Change by Bruce Mau

Saturday was bright and shiny… marking a fantastic annual event in Druid Hill Park, the Baltimore Green Works EcoFest. In its 7th year (I believe), this event proved to be just as great as the last. All sorts of people came out to take part in the event, including the mayor!

We created the Baltimore Green Works website, which launched in March. Check out the site here.

Tilt Foundation came in support of TreeBaltimore, the Mayor’s initiative to increase the Baltimore City tree canopy from 20% to 40% by 2030. This is an important initiative for City residents because we do not have enough public land space to meet the goals of planting over 900,000 trees. On Saturday, part of our efforts were to educate land owners (private mainly) to assist us with our goal by planting trees on their property and to become ambassadors to the program, spreading the word.

As many of you know, last year we focused on these same efforts as we created Baltimore: The Urban Forest Project. TreeBaltimore is a very near and dear initiative to Tilt and we hope that you continue to support their efforts: Give money, give time, plant trees, spread the word!

Check out more photos on out Flickr account.