EXHIBIT: "EarthWays: Living the Green Life"

The MBG exhibit "EarthWays: Living the Green Life" has been extended through March 14, 2010! Explore easy, everyday ways to protect the planet through this interactive exhibit 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The exhibit is at the Missouri Botanical Garden, in the Brookings Interpretive Center, which is in the lower level of the Climatron. We will visit on Saturday, January 9 at 10am. We will meet in the lobby at the entrance to MBG, before we buy our tickets. After viewing the exhibit, our group could have lunch in the Garden's restaurant, Sassafras, which became the first Certified Green RestaurantTM in the state of Missouri in 2008. The official designation was made by the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), a national non-profit organization whose mission is ÂÂ"to create an ecologically sustainable restaurant industry.ÂÂ" I believe MBG is still free to St Louis City and St Louis County residents on Saturdays until noon. Admission is $8 for non-MBG members and those who reside outside St Louis City or County. Since I think there is room to add this, I think this "Sassafras Greening Guide" is an interesting primer on what being a Certified Green Restaurant entails: "Reduce ÂÂ- Reuse ÂÂ- Recycle": • Food is served on durable, colorful plates with real silverware. • Sassafras staff recycle all plastic, steel, aluminum, glass, and plastic containers; all office paper and all cardboard; and all cooking grease. • Guests and staff can use recycling bins conveniently placed around the outdoor dining terrace and at the restaurant exit. Recycling bins are also prominently located throughout the Garden grounds. • All posters, table-tent inserts and office communications are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled content paper stock. • Menus are printed on paper containing 50% post-consumer recycled content paper and 50% sugar cane fiber, an agricultural by-product fiber. • Napkins are chlorine-free 100% post-consumer recycled content paper. • Hot cups are chlorine-free 10% post-consumer recycled content paper. • Take-out boxes are made from 100% recycled paper with 35% post-consumer content. When emptied, these boxes can be deposited in the GardenÂÂ's recycling bins. • No Styrofoam products are used in the restaurant, a commitment to reduce consumption of petroleum-based goods. • Sassafras patrons are encouraged to ÂÂ"think before you takeÂÂ" at self-service condiment and beverage lid stations. • Restroom janitorial paper products have 100% recycled content, with post-consumer content of products ranging from 40 to 75%. "Conserving Energy ÂÂ- Water ÂÂ- Other Materials": • Sassafras indoor dining areas are flooded with daylight through a large skylight in the center of the restaurant and energy efficient tinted-glass windows along the entire south wall. Daylight also lights the ordering queue area through a window to the Garden Gate Shop, which has its own large skylight. • Accent lamps use energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. • Energy efficiency measures implemented in Garden buildings, including recent upgrades to the Ridgway Center where Sassafras is located, have decreased energy consumption by 22%, while overall building area has increased by 11%. • Sustainable materials were used in a recent renovation of the Sassafras dining room, including tabletops and wall dividers surfaced with a material made from post-consumer recycled paper and alfalfa, low-VOC paints, and wall panels accented with rapidly renewable cork. • Hand washing sinks in the restaurant kitchen are fitted with aerators that mix air pressure with water, reducing water flow to 0.5 gallons per minute (gpm) while maintaining a standard feel of pressure. • The spray valve on the kitchen dishwashing machine is fitted with an aerator that reduces water consumption from a standard 5 gpm to 1.2 gpm, without sacrificing pressure needed to efficiently pre-rinse dishes. "Safeguarding Health for People and Planet": • Sassafras serves only Fair Trade™ certified coffees and teas, ensuring that growers of these products are paid fair wages in healthy working conditions. • Hand soap used in the restroom is Green Seal™ certified, dispensed from auto-portion dispensers which minimize product waste and clean-up. • Restroom cleaning products are all Green Seal™ certified, to safeguard health of our employees and guests. Read more: Going Green in Your Own Life, http://www.mobot.org/shop/sassafras_green_2.asp.