Celebrate Earth Day on Lake Nacimiento!

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As you know, Lake Nacimiento is a beautiful place to call home or vacation each year.  It’s the peaceful setting of the lake, the towering trees, and being surrounded by nature that lures many to its’ shores.

If you’ve appreciated living in Oak Shores or Heritage Ranch, or have enjoyed spending your vacation here each year; you won’t want to miss out on highlighting our surroundings by celebrating Earth Day on April 22nd!  This celebration that began as a grassroots movement in the ’70’s has evolved into a time to collectively reflect on how we can continue to care for the world in which we live.

In my work as a Lake Nacimiento Real Estate agent, I like to showcase ways residents and vacationers can get involved in helping to care for Lake Nacimiento!  I’ve listed a few ways below, as well as a fun upcoming event you won’t want to miss!

Earth Day Food & Wine Festival Weekend
Main Event: Pomar Vineyard & Winery
5036 South El Pomar, Templeton

Friday, April 19th- Sunday, April 21st

The 7th annual Earth Day Food & Wine Festival is a weekend celebration of all that’s best here on the Central Coast.

The main event is Saturday’s Earth Day Food & Wine Tasting at Pomar Junction Vineyard & Winery. Over 200 purveyors of sustainably produced foods and wine will be on hand for a truly unique event: growers, vintners, and chefs coming together to serve out-of-this-world pairings of award-winning wines with one-of-a-kind dishes made with locally-sourced fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, olive oils, chocolates, and more. You won’t go hungry!

The weekend will be filled with live music, dancing, and more!  To learn more, please visit the Earth Day Food & Wine Festival website

If you aren’t able to get out to the festival, there are other ways you can enjoy Earth Day and even promote a healthy, eco-friendly environment in your own Lake Nacimiento home.  Take a look at these simple ways to go green!

1. Close your windows– It may seem counterintuitive, but opening the windows will often make your Lake Nacimiento home warmer, not cooler. Open your windows at night if the air outside is cooler than inside, and close them (along with blinds and shades) before the sun hits your house in the morning. When night falls, open windows wide, particularly those oriented toward prevailing winds so you can take advantage of cross ventilation. You may also put houseplants in front of sunny windows to absorb some of the sun’s energy.

2. Use fans strategically- Using ceiling fans or stand alone fans can create a nice breeze in a room and help keep you cool.  If you’re using ceiling fans, make sure it’s running in the right direction, so that in the summer the breeze is blowing down, not up.  Remember to turn fans off when you leave a room since they are made to keep people cool, and are not made to cool an entire room. If you’re buying a new fan, buy an Energy Star fan which will use 50% less energy than other models!

3. Cook (or don’t cook) a cool meal– Just as drinking an ice cold lemonade cools your body, eating cold food helps keep your internal temperature lower on a hot day.  If you do cook, use the grill or the microwave, or else you’ll heat up your kitchen from using the oven and stove. And remember, kitchen appliances aren’t the only devices that give off heat; limiting your use of electronics will help keep your spaces cooler.

4. Shut off the lights– While modern lightning, like compact fluorescents and LEDs, are more efficient, incandescent light bulbs can produce as much heat as they do light. Energy Star-rated light bulbs produce 75% less heat, so consider that when replacing bulbs. It’s always a good idea to shut off lights to save energy, it makes a big difference on hot sunny summer days.

5. Plant a tree (or two or three) strategically– Your Lake Nacimiento home may get hot because the sun beats down on it relentlessly on hot summer days. Let nature help reduce your energy bills by planting deciduous trees on the east and west sides of your home; in the summer, their broad leaves will shade your house.  Also consider planting trees or shrubs to shade high-heat areas – air conditioning units that emit heat, for instance, and driveways and walkways that absorb it.

I hope these ideas provide inspiration for how you can create a healthy environment in your own Lake Nacimiento home!

If you don’t currently own a vacation home or permanent residence on Lake Nacimiento, but are interested in learning more about the Lake Nacimiento Real Estate market; please feel free to contact me today!

Grace Borzini
Your Local Lake Nacimiento Real Estate Expert
Oak Shores Realty

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Oak Shores Realty specializes in Oak Shores at Lake Nacimiento properties. Please contact us today to get more information on Lake Nacimiento lake homes. Oak Shores Realty can also provide you an insiders “Lake Nacimiento Buying Guide” with great information including maps and market information.

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