The Monday Roundup: Green Weekend Edition

Is Russett the greenest community in the state?

Laurel residents kept busy over the weekend with the plethora of events taking place at every corner of the area.

The Russett community celebrated its third annual Green Day at its community center on Saturday.

The event featured displays and info centers from environmentally-friendly companies around the area. The day was meant to promote "green" living throughout Russett, a community where several residents have solar panels built into their roof, as well as rain gardens, which catch water run-off from structures before it goes into the drainage system, installed into their yards.

Tim Reyburn, president of the Russett Community Association, said the event's main goal is to teach residents how to reduce water run-off from homes and buildings.  Water run-off from the region ends up in the Chesapeake Bay, often adding pollutants and worsening the bay's water quality.

"Green living is smart living, and we're trying to educate people on that," Reyburn said. "We want to showcase what the community has done."

The day featured giveaways of recycling bins and compost binds. Residents filed in and out while listening to presentations from vendors.

Shavonne Knight, who lives in the community, said she kept receiving emails from the association about Green Day and decided to bring her husband and two children to check it out.

"I was like, 'What's Green Day?'" she said. "I want to see we can do to help the environment."

But eco-friendly living isn't just an annual event for the community, it's year-round, Reyburn said. Russett is currently revamping its community center to meet a LEED certifications, which would mean it meets certain environmental standards. The community has also ramped up efforts to increase solar-powered street lights and encourages residents to use the community compost pile.

Eve Knapp, a recycling program specialist with Anne Arundel County who was at the event, said Russett is one of the greenest communities she's worked with.

"It's wonderful," she said. "The whole green thing is where we're at."

Crowd swarms around Laurel Lakefest

Back in Laurel on Saturday residents gathered for the annual Lakefest event at Granville Gude Park.

Face painting, balloons and paddle boating were just some of the things offered during the event.  Lakefest, sponsored by the City of Laurel, was a chance for the community to come out and enjoy the day of fun and to jump start the summer.

Bike-friendly streets coming to Laurel

A more bike-friendly community is on its way to streets in The City of Laurel, reports The Gazette.

The city has been undertaking its Bikeway Master Plan since 2009 to provide alternatives to residents to travel to neighborhoods, parks, and commercial centers in the city.  An engineer for the city announced in April that bikeways on Fourth and Fifth street connecting Riverfront Park to Gude Lake Park near the south end of Route 198 has been completed.

Read more here.