Give Green to Save Green: A Maryland Guide to Eco-Gifts This Holiday Season

Just in time for the holidays, the O’Malley-Brown Administration once again brings you a bounty of locally grown, sustainable, eco-friendly and budget-friendly gift ideas. Maryland is rich in Smart, Green and Growing resources for you and your loved ones this season.

For the Foodie: Support Maryland agriculture through the purchase of farm-fresh products for unique gifts, and locally-produced food and drinks for every holiday feast. Visitwww.marylandsbest.net to find out about the seasonal bounty offered by Maryland’s farms, including lists of farmers’ markets, Maryland wineries, local seafood retailers, turkey growers, and choose-and-cut or retail operations selling locally-grown Christmas trees. The Maryland Christmas Tree Association choose-and-cut directory lists dozens of locations where families can harvest their own trees at www.marylandchristmastrees.org/. Buying local gift and food products can reduce or eliminate manufactured packaging and energy used for shipping – helping to lessen greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, support local farm profitability, help keep productive farmland out of development and keep money circulating in your community.

For the DIY-er: Simple home improvements are a welcomed green gift as temperatures drop and daylight hours are shortened. ENERGY STAR-certified Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) can save 75 percent of the electricity used by incandescents and last up to 10 times longer.  A winter weatherization kit found at local home improvement stores can also help prevent energy loss around leaky windows and doors. Also look for low-flow showerheads, as they save water and energy, while also offering spa settings for a little bit of luxury. For more energy saving DIY ideas, visit www.energy.maryland.gov.

For the Nature Enthusiast: The Maryland Department of Natural Resources online store features a bounty of gifts for the holidays and all year long. Give unlimited access to State Parks with a 2013 passport, share our natural wonders 365 days a year with a full-color wall calendar, or purchase a live native tree through TREE-MENDOUS MARYLAND. This Gift of Trees, which includes a certificate suitable for framing sent to the recipient, will be planted on public land in the county of your choice. The store also features beautiful wildlife prints, recipe books, magazine subscriptions, Black Bear Conservation items and more. Visithttp://shopdnr.com/ and take a look around.

For the Techie:  Programmable thermostats and energy-saving power strips are two great gadgets that make saving energy a simple process. Remember to look for ENERGY STAR appliances and office equipment; and to maximize holiday lighting savings, use timers to limit light displays to no more than six evening hours a day. Leaving lights on 24 hours a day will quadruple your energy costs and create four times the pollution.

For the Kids (in All of Us): Give “no batteries required” gifts of roller blades, a bicycle, or a skate board, all of which encourage healthy exercise and time outdoors. Check out Maryland’s Guide to Outdoor Activities found at www.dnr.maryland.gov/outdooradventuresand give the gift of quality time and an adventure that’s sure to create memories well into the New Year.

Maryland’s Smart, Green & Growing initiative is designed to help all of us create a more sustainable future for our State by involving citizens, businesses and local governments in the effort to reduce our carbon footprint, preserve our most valuable landscapes and restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay. For more information, visit us at www.green.maryland.gov.

By:
Buddy Hance, Secretary, Maryland Department of Agriculture
Bob Summers, Secretary, Maryland Department of the Environment
John R. Griffin, Secretary, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Abigail Ross Hopper, Acting Director, Maryland Energy Administration