Looking to purchase or sell an environmentally conscious home?
Our Green Team can help!
What is the GREEN designation? GREEN designated agents understand the benefits of going green and advocate for sustainable real estate. We know how to market a green home and have specialized training to help you with the right strategy for a cleaner, greener, healthier home.
So what’s the big deal with “green homes”? Studies have found that green-certified homes spend less time on the market, demand a price premium and maintain their value in down markets.
Looking to sell a home that has resource-efficient or sustainable features? Our Team has found it beneficial when listing a home with green upgrades to highlight those features for buyers. This helps provide a clear explanation of what was done to the home to help reduce utility costs, manage stormwater runoff, or explain what low embodied-energy building materials were used to retrofit or build the home.
🌍 It's Earth Month! 🌱
Looking for meaningful ways to celebrate? Here are some upcoming events to consider.
While we've curated a list of a few exciting ones, this is just the beginning! Have an event you're thrilled about? Tell us about it! You can send events to our Team Manager, Tess Loys, to add to the list.
🌱 Happy Earth Month! 🌱
20 Minute Cleanup
Our Team participates in this one every year. Help keep trash out of the environment and do it at a time that works for your schedule! Just pick a location and then safely pick up the litter you find. Use your regular trash and recycling pickup service to dispose of what you collect.
Earth Day Service Projects
Join the Howard County Conservancy for a day of service to celebrate Earth Day!
Earth Day Cleanup
Join Upcycled to help them clean up the Savage Mill Trail!
Plant Trees!
Want to help plant trees? Check out the upcoming events Bluewater Baltimore has on their site, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has two tree upcoming tree plantings and the Antietam-Conococheague Watershed Alliance has a tree planting on Earth Day.
A Night at the Trashseum
Are you a Mr. Trash Wheel fan or a member of his not-so-secret cult (like one of our team members!)? He’s celebrating his 10-year anniversary on Earth Day weekend and inviting everyone to join the fun!
Earth Day 2024 at Lauren’s Garden Center
Visit the Native Plant Nursery on April 20th from 10 AM-5 PM! The first 100 purchases receive a free Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Narrowleaf Mountain Mint OR Tradescantia virginiana, Spiderwort plug!
Community Earth Day Celebration
Community Day is a seasonal opportunity to co-create a day of shared experiences with other plant and nature lovers. Learn about the world-renowned Green Farmacy Garden, its founders, and its treasures; join our organized activities or offer your own; or just bring a picnic and enjoy the setting!
Past Events:
GreenFest April 13th from 10 am - 3 pm
Howard County's largest celebration of Earth Day at Howard Community College. The event aims to connect residents with the resources that local businesses, non-profits, and government provide to help anyone be a good steward to the environment.
Nourishing Gardens Training
Looking for gardening training? The Community Ecology Institute is hosting both beginner and intermediate training.
Interested in a home that does more?
Whether you’re looking for a home with smart technology or higher efficiency ratings or a complete new construction build of a LEED-certified home, we can help you with that!
Not sure where to start? No problem! We have plenty of resources to share to get you started on your GREEN journey to homeownership. Our Eco-Friendly Home Tips Blog is a great starting point or check out The Ultimate GREEN Resource Guide below.
The Ultimate GREEN Resource Guide
Click the category you’re interested in to see additional information and a list of resources to help you on your GREEN journey.
Find a dead link or know of an organization that should be included in our guide? Email us and let us know! Please email tessloys@thewendyslaughterteam.com with the information.
Retrofitting an existing home
New construction & the LEED certification
Recycling/Upcycling Items
Supporting wildlife
Other resources
Looking to retrofit an existing home?
Retrofitting an existing home can quickly become an expensive project without putting a plan in place first! A good place to start is to use a DIY Energy efficiency checklist to address some of the more common problems that existing homes tend to have.
Once those issues have been addressed, you should consider getting an energy audit done on your home to pinpoint which areas need the most attention.
You can stay up to date on incentives and policies that support renewable energy and energy efficiency by visiting DSIRE. For a local Maryland resource visit this page from the Maryland Energy Administration.
Additional resources for retrofitting an existing home:
Implementing Smart Technology in your home
Replacing windows, doors & skylights - Energy Star
Replacing windows, doors & skylights - National Fenestration Rating Council
Improving indoor air quality
Energy-Efficient Home Design
Projects & products to make your home more energy efficient
New Construction & the LEED Certification
Three of the major players when it comes to certifying a new construction home are listed below. Click on each link to find out more.
Energy Star - Administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, they provide credible and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions on products that deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions that protect the climate, improve air quality, and protect public health.
LEED - The US Green Building Council has put together one of the most widely used standards for green buildings.
National Green Building Standard (NGBS) - Third-party certification for residential buildings put in place by the National Association of Home Builders.
Recycling/Upcycling Resources
Want to find ways to recycle or upcycle items instead of adding them to the landfill? Here are some of our favorite resources for that!
2nd Chance - They bring new life to reclaimed materials and keep tons of valuable products and demolition waste out of area landfills. They can even do whole-home donations! This is a great resource for our clients that are handling an estate or investment home.
Buy Nothing Project - These groups are AMAZING! Find the Buy Nothing group closest to you and join it to support the reuse economy. Give away items that are no longer of use to you directly to your neighbors who need them.
Mom’s Market - We LOVE the recycling centers at Mom’s Markets. They accept eyeglasses, batteries, cell phones, tablets, shoes & natural corks! They also do annual drives to take items like jeans and holiday lights. They are also a great resource for purchasing items in bulk.
Upcycled - Drop off your #2 (i.e. laundry detergents, water jugs, etc.) and #5 (i.e. to go cups, prescription containers, etc.) plastics to them (please clean & remove the labels)! They upcycle them into long-term products like raised garden beds & benches.
Supporting Wildlife
Gardening Resources
The exterior of your home can have a big impact on our environment! Here are some of our favorite green resources for the exterior of your home.
Consider installing Water-Smart Landscapes that use less water, which is our most precious natural resource.
Help pollinators and get your garden certified with Bee City (Howard County residents). They also provide garden templates on their site.
The University of Maryland Extension Bay-Wise Program is a great resource for learning how to implement garden practices that best support the health of the Chesapeake Bay and our environment. Reach out to the extension program in your county to see if the Master Gardeners will provide a consultation to help you make your garden more environmentally friendly and get your home “Bay-Wise Certified”!
Native Plants for Birds - Audubon Society of Central MD is a great place to start when it comes to gardening with natives. Read more about why gardening with native plants is important from our local Extension.
Read more about gardening with native species and find out how you can get all the certifications for your garden in this article from the Department of Natural Resources.
Need help with garden design? Check out these resources:
Nuts for Natives Garden Templates
Cues for Care - Helpful tips for natural gardens.
Bird Friendly Habitats
Want to make your home more bird-friendly? One of the most dangerous threats that birds face is window collisions. Over one billion birds die every year because of window collisions. Help our winged friends out by reducing the number of reflective surfaces on your property. Installing screens, using cling decals, and closing blinds are all great options. You can read more about helping the birds from Patterson Park Audubon, Safe Skies Maryland, and Lights Out Baltimore.