We have some exciting things happening and we want you to be the first to know.  Soon we will be calling ourselves BAY AREA GREEN TOURS because we have expanded to include the entire Bay Area and surrounding communities and who knows, some day we may go GLOBAL !

As you may know, the Oakland Museum is re-opening on May 1.  We'll give you more details on that as soon as we know them.  We are pleased to resume our monthly tours and are calling it  FIRST THURSDAYS.  On MAY 6 in partnership with the Museum's Natural Sciences Guild we would like to open to the public our Green Corridor Tour.

Sustainability in Action: "Green Corridor" tour with East Bay Green Tours

                                         Natural Sciences Guild Day Trip

Visit the "Green Corridor" of our nation's environmental epicenter and get a first-hand look at how pioneering businesses and organizations think green and succeed. Shake hands with the people who make it happen!  Discover what it takes to be LEED certified and how you can make your home more energy efficient..

This tour takes you to green-certified businesses and cutting-edge energy and resource efficient buildings. We will also tour the new Brower Center in Berkeley.   Have lunch at Gather Restaurant or bring your own and enjoy the adjacent UC Berkeley campus.  You'll meet great people and be inspired in a green way !

         Space is limited, so register HERE now and climb on board !

Monday night the staff of East Bay Express invited all of their supporters, partners, advertisers and fans to join them for a THANK YOU Party at the Brower Center.  Thank you to East Bay Express for being our favorite source for everything you could possibly need to keep you informed.  There was great food, beer, music and decor.

There were also some awesome door prizes, including a seat on our next Green Corridor Tour, May 6 !  EBGT has partnered with the Oakland Museum and this May 6th tour is for the Science Guild.  The public is welcome too, so check out our website for monthly tours, the FIRST THURSDAY of every month, starting in May.

The food was provided by Spice Monkey and spicy and delicious it was.  We love East Bay Express, Editor Jodie Collie and her staff  have been extremely supportive of East Bay Green Tours, with our ad and the service we provide the community.  Reporter Nate Seltenrich joined us on our Re-Thinking Waste Tour and has contributed an article that you will see next week.  A warm thanks to East Bay Express, we certainly do appreciate everything you do!

East Bay Green Tours is partnering with BetterWorld Telecom and the Sustainable Business Alliance to sponsor a space in the Sustainable Enterprise Cluster at the brand new David Brower Center in downtown Berkeley, CA. The grand opening event this past Sunday had hundreds of locals and nonprofit professionals exploring this inspiring new facility, named in honor of the legendary environmentalist David Brower.

A LEED certified and architecturally stunning building, the Brower Center was ten years in the making and is designed to create a vibrant community of like-minded individuals and organizations committed to a just and ecologically sustainable society. The building itself has several state-of-the-art conference rooms, a terrace, and an intimate 180 seat theater. On the first floor there is also a beautiful gallery devoted to art and photography that inspires activism and ecological awareness. A wide assortment of non-profits and mission driven businesses now call the Brower Center their home including: Earth Island Institute, Center for EcoLiteracy, Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), Equity Community Builders, International Rivers and many others.

We're excited to join this landmark community of world changing non-profits and for the opportunity we have to support the vision of the Brower Center, to foster collaborations between like-minded organizations and individuals, engage new people in advocacy and facilitate cross-sector communication and partnerships.

You can find us in just a few weeks on the second floor of the Brower Center in the Sustainable Enterprise Cluster along with others like Green Jobs Network, Survival International, Green Wave Strategies, and our partners BetterWorld Telecom and the Sustainable Business Alliance.

Check out the Brower Center at www.browercenter.org

Last week the Green Tours took another major step in supporting the future of our community's young adults.  A very special group of students from Contra Costa Community College's Automotive and Building classes joined us for the pioneering tour, which took us into Oakland for the first time!

CCCC is fortunate to have a visionary leader working as Dean of Economic Development, Priscilla Leadon.  She has encouraged different departmental leaders at CCCC to attend the Tours, so they can understand the full scope of the sustainable practices taking place in the region.  The intention is that they can then encourage the "green" approach to their workforce development efforts.

Instructor Chuck Carpenter invited over a dozen students to experience the Green Tour, which featured stops equal parts automotive and building/construction.  The pics show some of the highlights.  We look forward to more Green Tours with CCCC!

Marty Kaliski of Marty's Motors in El Cerrito explains his views on why "going green" is good business for an automotive entrepreneur.

Paul Guzuk from 3 Prong Power shows the automotive students a hybrid engine from a Toyota Prius.

Showing off Adina's biodiesel engine, Nate Villarante from Adina World Beat beverages gives the auto students a unique insight into the practical application of alternative fuel transportation.

All aboard!

Art Ratner shows off his state-of-the-art exhaust system that helps his employees enjoy a truly healthy, sustainable workplace.

With a unique propellant recharging system, Art is able to re-use spray cans, reduce waste and save money. According to the students, this machine was one of the most surprising innovations on th Tour.

Eddy Jones from Urban Ore explains how their reclamation circulation benefits local builders and contractors.

Posing for the camera in front of the bus!

Wes Sullens, lead engineer at StopWaste.org, explains the multiple energy saving features of their 2 year old Platinum LEED building.

Concrete that absorbs water, reducing toxic run-off.

The front of StopWaste.org uses reclaimed metal stamps for the artful decoration on the building.