Friends,

As I write to you for the first time, I feel a deep reverence for all that Sari built in partnership with all of you. I see her passion, humor, and determination to make conservation seriously fun everywhere I turn. She truly left the world a better place, and I am honored to join you in ensuring her legacy lives on.

These first few weeks with Sustainability Matters have shown me the power of our mission, partners, and volunteers. Every day makes me more excited to see our meadows blooming and Virginians learning about and enjoying the environment. My first public event will be our Winter Seed Sowing workshop in early February at the future site of our Winchester native meadow (details below). It’s going to be a lot of fun! I hope you can join us. I’d love to meet you.

Sincerely,
Andrea McGimsey (& kitties Silvio and Buster)
Executive Director, Sustainability Matters

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Winter Sowing & Meadow Preview in Winchester 2/10 1PM

Join us and our host the City of Winchester for a seed-sowing workshop in Jim Barnett Park, the future home of the Sustainability Matters Native Meadow! Our education team will teach you a no-fuss way to sow vegetables and pollinator-friendly native perennials in milk jugs this winter. Plus, get a tour of our future native meadow site from the staff of Winchester Parks & Recreation. You'll go home with free seeds, milk jugs, and soil (while supplies last!) and new like-minded friends! Please register in advance so we know how many supplies to bring.

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Gallon Jug Winter Seed Sowing
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Webinar: Reducing Our Food Waste

Almost 40% of the entire US food supply ends up in landfills, costing the average American family more than $1,600 per year in wasted groceries. When combined with our reliance on single use packaging, kitchens are undoubtedly the most environmentally harmful room in our homes. But what if we could change that?

On Monday, February 26th at 7pm EST, join Mike Neese (self-taught zero waste guru), Nan McCary (crop wild relatives expert), and Kenny Barnes from Sustainability Matters to learn how you can create a more eco-friendly kitchen, saving yourself money and reducing your waste. We’ll cover topics including innovative ways to reuse produce containers, easy hacks to use up every part of your ingredients, and why eating locally may not be quite as impactful as we’ve been led to believe. We’ll even show you how to make cat litter from leftover peanut shells! By the end, we promise you’ll never want to throw away food “scraps” again! Please join us by registering below.