There's an organization in Charlottesville that's doing some good work on helping people make their homes more ecologically friendly and energy efficient. It's called Green Matters. And over the course of two years they're sponsoring a series of workshops to educate and inform people about green building and design principles.

All the sessions are free and open to the public so you might want to go to their website now and make a note of the dates and the programs. The entire series has already been scheduled so you've got plenty of time to plan!

All events are in Charlottesville at the Habitat Store at 1221 Harris Street. In case you're not familiar with the store it's a great place to pick up new and recycled building supplies while supporting Habitat for Humanity. All the events start with a social hour from 5-6 p.m. The program follows from 6 to 7:30. And then there's another half hour reserved for socializing/discussing from 7:30-8:00.

Right now I'd like to bring to your attention the July 11th program on residential energy audits. If you're unfamiliar with home energy audits, they typically analyze your current energy usage in your home. If you know how much energy you currently use, where you're unintentionally wasting energy, you can start to make decisions that correct the problems. It may mean increasing insulation or replacing windows. It could be as simple as replacing incandescent light bulbs with the new, much more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. This program promises to help you figure out how to do your own energy audit.

Charlottesville unfortunately is a bit of a trip for most of us. I'd love to see a similar series closer to home. But until that happens, it's a good excuse to spend some time in a great city!