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Mermaids in Our Midst: Lisa with Plan It Green Designs

Leave a Comment / Mermaid's Friends and Family, Mermaids Make a Difference /

It is very important to us here at Mermaid Cottages that our cottages are as green as possible. Mermaid Cottages aren’t just about cozy, inviting interiors you know! Being green includes our landscaping as well. Planting for our region’s conditions is super important, and our go-to garden expert helps us do it all!

Lisa Watson is the founder of Plan It Green Design, and she is the wonderful person we go to for all things green! Lisa is our garden design consultant. She helps us with our planting and horticulture care and her goal is simple…use renewable, local, and eco-conscious resources while designing outdoor living spaces and gardens.

 

Our Headquarters, Mermaid Manor! Photo thanks to Lisa Watson

Lisa is a gardening guru! She has helped Mermaid Cottages create beautiful outdoor living spaces at our headquarters, Mermaid Manor, as well as our Tucked Inn at Tybee Cottage. We love her philosophy of re-using, recycling, re-seeding, and rethinking design to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Lisa definitely helps us make more sustainable choices for a better future, and we are so proud to count her as a member of the Mermaid Cottages family! Even better, Plan It Green Designs will be at the 2012 Tybee Island Energy and Water Fair this weekend! Make sure you stop by (it’s FREE) and visit the Plan It Green exhibit as well as the other more than 30 exhibits!

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If you need help making you home and garden greener, or just want to learn more about our lovely Lisa, check out her Plan It Green Designs website, give her a call at 843.290.9017, or check her out on the offical Plan It Green Facebook Page!

Thank you for all you do Lisa, for Mermaid Cottages and for our planet!

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The 2012 Tybee Energy and Water Fair is Coming!

Leave a Comment / Fun on Tybee, Live Like a Local /
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Looking for something to do this weekend that is fun as well as good for the planet? Look no further than Tybee Island! This Saturday, February 11, is the Tybee Island Energy and Water Fair!

The Energy and Water Fair is an event designed to educate everyone in ways to conserve and reuse community resources.  Conservation is so important. We only have what the Earth has given, so we should know how to better take care of our resources! The Community Resource Committee is holding this fabulous event, and it’s not to be missed! There will be local vendors, scientists, and organizations participating.  Fair-goers will enjoy more than 30 exhibits and 8 workshops, plus free events for kids. There will even be free and confidential document shredding along with electronic recycling available at the fair! Learning ways to Use less to save more is easy and fun! Just look at this schedule of events!

WORKSHOPS

  • 9:30 – 10:00: Lester Wiggins, Savannah Tech Construction & Maintenance Technology, The Future of Solar Energy in Our Region
  • 10:10 – 10:40: Dr. Clark Alexander, Skidaway Institute, Sea-level Rise & Coastal Erosion in Georgia
  • 10:50 – 11:20: Anna Smit, Southern Alliance for Clean Air, Benefits/Challenges of Offshore Wind
  • 11:30 – 12:00 Pat Prokop, WTOC Weatherman, History of Climate & Use of Fossil Fuels
  • 12:10- 12:40:  Julian (Solar) Smith, How to Use Solar Energy
  • 12:50 – 1:20: Keith Freeman, One World Sustainable, Solar PV Potential in SE-Residential and Commercial
  • 1:30 – 2:00 Tonya Bonitatibus, Savannah River-keeper, Interconnection of Our Waterways & Their Uses
  • 2:10 – 2:40 Dr. Joe Richardson, Tybee Island Beach Ecology- Diverse, Seasonal, and Interesting.

ALL DAY EVENTS

– David Loxsom, Atlantic Recycling Solutions — Electronic Takeback

– Sam Kirkland, Wind Turbines of South Carolina — Exhibit

– Wes Jackson, Solar Cooker Demo — free sliders

– Scott Kilpatrick, Savannah Shredder, Document Destruction – confidential and free

– Lester Wiggins, Savannah Tech, Solar Power Generator — Exhibit

– Tybee Charter School — serving goodies

– Silent Auction

This fair is FREE to the public, so don’t miss a minute of the fun! Come on down to the Tybee Gym (next to Memorial Park) from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and learn loads of ways to lower your water and energy bills, as well as other things you can do to take better care of our planet. It’s the only one we’ve got! We hope to see you at the 2012 Tybee Island Energy and Water Fair!!

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Mermaids Make a Difference: We Love to be Green!

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Around here, “being green” is about more than a pretty color! It’s so very important to Mermaid Cottages that we do our very best to take care of our environment, and we do everything we can to bring on the green. Being green isn’t as difficult as it seems. It is really just a lot of little actions that add up to big benefits when they become habits. We do a lot of those little things to reap the green benefits around here!

There are literally loads of ways to be a better steward of our Earth. What does Mermaid Cottages do to stay green? Well install Compact Fluorescent light bulbs in all of our homes to save on electricity and use Lo-flow water-saving devices in all bathrooms and outdoor showers. We keep all our cleaning products eco-friendly, which is better for you and your for legged family, too. We even conduct energy audits for all our homes to see where we might be able to save more energy. Mermaid Cottages even takes pride in making our outdoor living spaces as green as possible by planting drought resistant and local plants to help conserve water!

We invite our guests to join our green efforts during their stay, and maybe even take the good habits home with them! Here are just a few ways you can make your stay with Mermaid Cottages a little greener:

It's easier than you think!

Save Electricity
– Slay “Vampire Power” by turning off all lights, TVs, DVDs & computers when not in use
– Use the outdoor clothesline to dry your clothes (they smell good too!)
– Open the windows turn on the ceiling fans and enjoy the ocean breezes!
– Use Cold water, not Hot, in the washing machine
– Draw your curtains/blinds during the heat of the day

Save Fuel and Drive Less
– Walk, ride bikes, rent scooters or electric cars!
– Save gas and have more fun – Tybee is better enjoyed moving SLOW!

Recycle
– Glass, plastic, cans, newspapers: use the home’s green recycling container

Reduce, Reuse
– Take reusable bags during your trip to the grocery store
– Use Dish Cloths and cloth napkins and less paper products

Conserve Water
– While brushing teeth, turn water off, and use a cup of water to cleanse mouth of
toothpaste
– Use dishwasher only when completely full with dirty dishes
– Take shorter showers with tepid water

Make being green part of your every day routine, Y'all!

And that’s just getting started! It’s not just Earth friendly to be green…it’s even fun! Once you start thinking of ways to conserve, reduce, reuse, and recycle, the ideas just start flowing. So we invite you to join Mermaid Cottages in our efforts to be a little greener. Maybe even take the habits home as a way of keeping your Tybee State-of-Mind!

 

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Making a Difference, Mermaid Style!

Leave a Comment / Fun on Tybee, Mermaids Make a Difference, Sea Turtles, Service Dogs (Beach Bum Biscuits) /
Welcome to Tybee Island!

Mermaid Cottages has the coziest homes away from home in Tybee Island and Savannah, it’s true. But we’re more than vacation rentals; we’re part of a community. That’s why we are active with the local island community, including helping people and local organizations we believe in and love. That’s what our project, Mermaids Make a Difference, is all about! We invite you to jump right in and volunteer during your visit. Of course, we’d like for you to get involved if even just for the day as well!

Beach Sweep September 2011

We love giving back to our community and want to share every opportunity we know about with you! If you are looking for ways to be more involved, whether it’s during your vacation or just for the day, make sure to check out the Community tab on our website.  It’s a little thing we like to call Voluntourism on Tybee, and we’d love for you to join us in giving a little back! We have a list full of fabulous ways to get in there and give back. There are loads of upcoming events listed for you to choose from, like The Journey to Peace Walk to benefit the SAFE Shelter of Savannah on October 22nd, and The PurpleStride Savannah 5K to raise awareness and funds to fight Pancreatic Cancer November 12th, just to name a few. We also have Beach Sweeps planned on a regular basis, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy! You can even show off your Mermaid pride with a tee shirt from Seaside Sisters, where there are loads of other Mermaid Cottages goodies as well. Goodies that help you give back with each purchase!

Just by staying with Mermaid Cottages you are giving back! Your stay helps us support Tybee’s Sea Turtles and the guide dogs we sponsor each year!

Mermaid Cottages loves Tybee Island, and we know you do, too! We encourage you to take a little time during your visit to Tybee and join us in giving back to the community we hold so dear. We hope to see y’all real soon!

 

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It Is Easy To Be Green After All

Leave a Comment / Live Like a Local /
Being Green
What You Can Do for a “Greener” Visit to Mermaid Cottages on Tybee Island, GA

Save Electricity
– Slay “Vampire Power” by turning off all lights, TVs, DVDs & computers when not in
use
– Use the outdoor clothesline to dry your clothes (they smell good too!)
– Open the windows turn on the ceiling fans and enjoy the ocean breezes!
– Use Cold, not Hot in the washing machine
– Draw your curtains/blinds during the heat of the day

Save Fuel and Drive Less
– Walk, ride bikes, rent scooters or electric cars!
– Save gas and have more fun – Tybee is better enjoyed moving SLOW!

Recycle
– Glass, plastic, cans, newspapers: use the home’s green recycling container

Reduce, Reuse
– Take your own bags to the grocery store
– Use Dish Cloths and cloth napkins and less paper products

Conserve Water
– While brushing teeth, turn water off, and use a cup of water to cleanse mouth of
toothpaste
– Use dishwasher only when completely full with dirty dishes
– Take shorter showers with tepid water

What Mermaid Cottages is Doing to Keep Things Green

– Installing Compact Fluorescent light bulbs in all of our homes
– Lo-flow water-saving devices are installed in all bathrooms and outdoor showers
– All our cleaning products are eco-friendly
– Energy audits for all our homes to see how we can save more energy
– Planting drought resistant and local plants to help conserve water

 

 

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