Congrats

Back in June we wrote about Pringle Creek’s landscaping folks, DeSantis Landscapes, and their sustainable landscape management services. Now we congratulate DeSantis for becoming the first commercial landscape contractor to be awarded certification as an EcoLogical (EcoBiz) Landscaper by the Pollution Prevention Outreach team in Oregon.

The Pollution Prevention Outreach Team is a cooperative group of local area jurisdictional staff from: City of Gresham, City of Portland, Clackamas and Washington Counties, Metro, and the Oregon DEQ. This includes planners and experts in air pollution, hazardous materials, solid waste, etc. The Landscaper Services Program recognizes “landscape design, installation and maintenance service contractors that reach the highest standards in minimizing environmental impact.”

DeSantis’s day-to-day operations include: the use of three hybrid cars for its sales and management team; use of biodiesel in their trucks, lawnmowers and other equipment; four-cycle backpack blowers that reduce emissions by as much as 80 percent and decreased decibel levels by 45 percent; and the conversion to green power for its office utilities.

“We could not be happier to be inducted as the first member to be certified into the EcoBiz Landscaper program,” said president of DeSantis Landscapes, Dean DeSantis. “Cultivating an organization that cares about the footprint it leaves behind has been, and will continue to be, a huge part of who we are.”

Land Development article

Here we go again--Pringle Creek is spotlighted in another prestigious trade magazine for developers. The article is Pringle Creek Leading the Wave in Land Development magazine, which is put out by the National Association of Home Builders. That is the same enormous and influential organization that gave Pringle Creek the Green Development of the Year award back in March. The article is a must-read; a page-turner; and suitable for framing. Here's an excerpt:

The planning team saved 85 percent of existing trees and used the remaining 15 percent by milling the logs on-site for gazebos, play structures and the bar in the neighborhood restaurant. Planners provided for deconstructing of old metal buildings to move them to new locations for a second life. They sited each lot with prevailing breezes and natural light as key criteria. An existing high-volume well allowed the planning team to include geo-thermal heating and cooling capacity for half the homes and the commercial Village Center.

Sustainability bike tour visits Pringle Creek

About 40 bicyclists rode down from Portland, en route to Eugene, stopping at Pringle Creek Community to learn about the project and camp for the night. They were from the Sustainable Energy in Motion Bike Tour, which guides bicyclists to various sustainability sites on a week long or multi-week tour. Some of this tour's other sites are Lost Valley Educational Center, Maitreya Eco-Village, Organic Valley Farmer’s Cooperative, Try/On Life Community Farm and Aprovecho Research Center.

The bicyclists were from all over the US, from Philadelphia to San Diego, and were very engaged, interested and informed. Below is picture of all their bikes (each bike has an orange flag) and one of their tents in the fir grove alongside the creek.

-- santiago

Bill Lindburg, 1931 - 2007

Salem architect Bill Lindburg passed away recently at the age of 75. The Salem Chapter of the American Institute of Architects honored him by planting three trees at the west end of the Fir Grove Park at Pringle Creek Community. To get a glimpse of Bill’s importance to Pringle Creek, Fairview, Salem and his community, click here to read the comments that his friend Tony Nielsen shared with more than 25 members of the Lindburg family at the dedication of these trees.