It IS Easy Being Green! 
Schrader Center Presents Simple Ways to be Kind to the Environment

WHEELING, W.Va (March 11, 2008)- -In today’s world, green has become the new black, and consumers are bombarded with green product choices, green advertising and eco-friendly lifestyle choices- all of which can be overwhelming to the average consumer. Some may get frustrated, thinking that living green is just too confusing and too much work.

Oglebay Institute’s Living Green Lecture Series helps consumers find simple ways to improve the health of the environment and their families.

“We want people to understand how even the easiest of tasks can make a huge impact,”  Eriks Janelsins, director of Oglebay Institute’s Schrader Center Environmental Education Center, said. “Environmental preservation encompasses numerous complicated topics. Our Living Green series puts these concepts into layman’s terms and helps people incorporate eco-friendly practices into their everyday lives.”

Continuing through October, Living Green programs feature environmental science experts from throughout Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Each program includes a lecture, question and answer session and a coffee reception, following the presentation, for further discussion of the topic. Topics include green consumerism, the benefits of organic foods, green building materials, renewable energy, creating backyard habitats, recycling and composting.

Free and open to the public, programs take place at 2 p.m. on select Sundays at the Schrader Environmental Education Center, located in Wheeling’s Oglebay Resort.

The series is proudly sponsored by SMG Architects, a company committed to the creative reuse of existing buildings and new construction that respects our resources.

Constructed from 97% recycled materials including Wheeling newspaper, plastic bottles, bus and tractor tires, and recycled aluminum cans, the Schrader Environmental Education Center is a regional showcase for “Green Architecture” and environmental awareness. The state-of-the-art center also includes many energy saving features that reduce fossil fuel usage.

The dynamic programming that takes place inside and outside the Center is as equally impressive as the building and creates opportunities to celebrate and study the natural world. Each year thousands of students from pre-K through graduate school participate in hands-on classes, school programs, camping experiences and public events.

Janelsins said the goal of the Schrader Center is to connect people to the natural world, which is good not only for humans, but also for the environment.

“It’s simple- people conserve what they appreciate, they appreciate what they understand and they understand what they experience. Through education, research and service learning, we help people live green- everyday,” he said.