Birmingham, AL Green Drinks
Where Birmingham's Green Savvy Meet... brought to you by Life The Green Way.
It's a happy hour. It's a networking event. It's unwinding with friends. Come and find out what other green-savvy individuals, businesses and non-profits in Birmingham are doing to be green, work green, play green, or live green.
Thanks to all who joined us on Thursday, April 21st at 5:30pm at Parkside Cafe. Nelson Brooke, Black Warrior Riverkeeper, gave an excellent presentation on the Shepherd Bend Mine threat to our local water supply and their efforts to keep our drinking water clean.
A big "THANKS" to our food sponsor, Razzleberries for the delicious sandwiches! If you haven't eaten there yet, you're missing out. You can visit their Facebook page for daily specials.
GREEN DRINKS BIRMINGHAM UPCOMING EVENTS
There are no upcoming events for the remainder of 2011.
2012 GUEST SPEAKERS
If you're interested in discussing your company or organization with our growing community of sustainability-minded green drinkers, please email us for details.
2012 HOST/SPONSOR OPPORTUNITIES
If you are interested in promoting your local business or organization through event sponsorship or co-hosting, please send all inquiries to: Elena White, organizer.
Green Drinks Birmingham invites anyone interested in “green” issues: eco-friendly products, sustainable building, environmental protection, eating locally, alternative energy…you get the idea. There will be no agenda and there are no dues. From time-to-time we will allow about 10-15 miinutes for short presentations and/or guest speakers.
We hope to see you soon!
Best,
The Green Drinks Birmingham Team
Copyright © 2010 Green Drinks Birmingham. All Rights Reserved.
The Green Drinks Birmingham logo is the intellectual property of Green Drinks Birmingham.
Use without expressed permission is prohibited. Please don't steal it.
Copyright © 2009 Life The Green Way. All Rights Reserved.
The Life The Green Way logo is the intellectual property of Life The Green Way.
Use without expressed permission is prohibited. Please don't steal it.
Never Heard of Green Drinks? Here’s An Overview:
Green Drinks started in London in 1989 as an informal networking event where environmentally- minded people meet over drinks and is now active in over 750 cities worldwide!
Green Drinks are Open
> Green Drinks welcomes anyone -- people from environmental groups, business, government, academia and as individuals. There is no 'us and them'.
> Organizers and all attendees actively welcome newcomers and introduce them to others in the group.
> All attendees commit to meeting new people at every session and not just sticking with people they already know.
Green Drinks are Freeform
> There is generally no agenda or theme, Green Drinkers mingle and share insights and provoke and exasperate and inspire and delight each other. There are moments of serendipity and a lot of 'oh, you if are interested in X then I must introduce you to that person over there who knows all about it' ...
> All kinds of people come to Green Drinks and this is what makes for the interesting interactions.
Green Drinks are Regular
> Usually monthly. We hold ours quarterly.
Green Drinks are Local
> Cities or towns or suburbs.
> 45 minutes' travel time apart from each other.
> Avoid date clashes and being in the same week as neighboring Green Drinks.
> Check the website for your nearest Green Drinks and talk to the organizers; they will be happy to hear from you.
> Counties or areas or bioregions are allowed only if rural (less than 200 people per square mile) and rotating between several towns.
> County Green Drinks also have to be prepared to change their name later if necessary and also niche with and support independent town or city drinks as they emerge within the county. If you are sticking to one town as the venue then the Green Drinks would be named after that town. There are successful Green Drinks in towns as small as 18,000 population.
Green Drinks are Agenda Free
> Green Drinks is not a channel to circulate announcements or news about environmental issues. Green Drinkers are already deluged with information from thousands of other sources. Green Drinks is a place to go to get away from all that.
> It's OK to have speakers for 20-30 mins. or so or to have a theme for the evening to help stimulate discussion, but the bulk of the evening should be freeform and random.
> The host venue itself creates some slant inevitably but must be gracious and open; independent venues such as bars or restaurants are preferred.
> Green Drinks as an entity will never endorse or have a position or stance on an environmental topic.
> There will be no non-Green Drinks-related content or messages or appeals or ads circulated to the city organizers or appearing on the greendrinks.org website.
Green Drinks are Decentralized
> Each city does its own thing.
> There is no central mailing list of attendees.
> There is no central logo or branding as each city has its own logo and style to adapt to each location
Green Drinks are Non Profit
> Organizers mostly use free resources and volunteers and donate their own time.
> Voluntary charge at door, if necessary, to cover costs; per event only, no membership fee.
> Mostly free to attend, each participant pays for their own drinks and food.
> Incorporation as LLC or Ltd. company is OK for larger groups.
> Event sponsors and venue hosts OK as long as freedom of discussion is not compromised.
Green Drinks are Run Responsibly
> Organizers and participants work to create a safe, non-threatening environment for all and drink responsibly.
> Organizers niche and collaborate with other Green Drinks in their area.
> Organizers keep their pages on www.greendrinks.org updated so first-timers have confidence to travel across town and devote an evening to Green Drinks.
> Organizers don't sell their email lists to advertisers.
> Some Organizers act as mentors to help and advise other groups.
Green Drinks are Fun
> There is a very informal vibe and overall light feel.
> There are lots of benefits to green drinks; they are hard to quantify, but when you have seen people come and make new links and learn and argue and set up new schemes and get new jobs etc, it is a good feeling.
> Green Drinks welcomes anyone -- people from environmental groups, business, government, academia and as individuals. There is no 'us and them'.
> Organizers and all attendees actively welcome newcomers and introduce them to others in the group.
> All attendees commit to meeting new people at every session and not just sticking with people they already know.
Green Drinks are Freeform
> There is generally no agenda or theme, Green Drinkers mingle and share insights and provoke and exasperate and inspire and delight each other. There are moments of serendipity and a lot of 'oh, you if are interested in X then I must introduce you to that person over there who knows all about it' ...
> All kinds of people come to Green Drinks and this is what makes for the interesting interactions.
Green Drinks are Regular
> Usually monthly. We hold ours quarterly.
Green Drinks are Local
> Cities or towns or suburbs.
> 45 minutes' travel time apart from each other.
> Avoid date clashes and being in the same week as neighboring Green Drinks.
> Check the website for your nearest Green Drinks and talk to the organizers; they will be happy to hear from you.
> Counties or areas or bioregions are allowed only if rural (less than 200 people per square mile) and rotating between several towns.
> County Green Drinks also have to be prepared to change their name later if necessary and also niche with and support independent town or city drinks as they emerge within the county. If you are sticking to one town as the venue then the Green Drinks would be named after that town. There are successful Green Drinks in towns as small as 18,000 population.
Green Drinks are Agenda Free
> Green Drinks is not a channel to circulate announcements or news about environmental issues. Green Drinkers are already deluged with information from thousands of other sources. Green Drinks is a place to go to get away from all that.
> It's OK to have speakers for 20-30 mins. or so or to have a theme for the evening to help stimulate discussion, but the bulk of the evening should be freeform and random.
> The host venue itself creates some slant inevitably but must be gracious and open; independent venues such as bars or restaurants are preferred.
> Green Drinks as an entity will never endorse or have a position or stance on an environmental topic.
> There will be no non-Green Drinks-related content or messages or appeals or ads circulated to the city organizers or appearing on the greendrinks.org website.
Green Drinks are Decentralized
> Each city does its own thing.
> There is no central mailing list of attendees.
> There is no central logo or branding as each city has its own logo and style to adapt to each location
Green Drinks are Non Profit
> Organizers mostly use free resources and volunteers and donate their own time.
> Voluntary charge at door, if necessary, to cover costs; per event only, no membership fee.
> Mostly free to attend, each participant pays for their own drinks and food.
> Incorporation as LLC or Ltd. company is OK for larger groups.
> Event sponsors and venue hosts OK as long as freedom of discussion is not compromised.
Green Drinks are Run Responsibly
> Organizers and participants work to create a safe, non-threatening environment for all and drink responsibly.
> Organizers niche and collaborate with other Green Drinks in their area.
> Organizers keep their pages on www.greendrinks.org updated so first-timers have confidence to travel across town and devote an evening to Green Drinks.
> Organizers don't sell their email lists to advertisers.
> Some Organizers act as mentors to help and advise other groups.
Green Drinks are Fun
> There is a very informal vibe and overall light feel.
> There are lots of benefits to green drinks; they are hard to quantify, but when you have seen people come and make new links and learn and argue and set up new schemes and get new jobs etc, it is a good feeling.