Mission
Our mission is to help make sustainability mainstream in our community.
Cape Fear’s Going Green magazine is a vehicle for area residents to learn about “green” projects being implemented successfully by people in their own community. The publication and its website offer timely information on events, promote dialogue among friends and neighbors, and serve as a resource to anyone who has an interest in “going green.”
Vision
History
Valerie Robertson started Cape Fear’s Going Green to fill a two-pronged information void. First, in 2006 she noticed the Wilmington area had many individuals and small groups that were passionate about some aspect of promoting a green lifestyle, but whose efforts were known by only a very few people. Second, she heard more and more people asking for—and not finding—information on local eco-friendly products and services. Eager to behave in a more environmentally-sensitive way, they were often stymied by a lack of information with a local focus. Valerie started the magazine to serve as a central information hub for local environmental information.
Valerie is publicity chair for:
>> Native Plant Festival
She is on the advisory committee for:
Going Green & Publisher Awards
>> Wilmington Webbie Runner-up, 2009
Valerie Robertson
Publisher & Editor
A native mid-westerner, Valerie’s interest in things environmental started in 1970 with the first Earth Day, when she was asked to take notes at an Earth Day Symposium hosted by her high school. Early in her career she worked for an engineer who specialized in solar heating and cooling systems and loved tramping around construction sites to help him note the progress of cutting-edge solar designs. These designs were performed by architects whose projects later graced the pages of Architectural Digest and Dwell magazine. For fun, she attended national American Solar Energy Society meetings and the annual Solar Decathlon.
Her 45-year career as a writer and editor includes helping her father start a publishing company to publish his actuarial books and five years as a technical writer for Lockheed Martin. She has freelanced for the Passive Solar Industry Council, the Oracle Development Tools User Group, Coastal Carolina Press, Brunswick Nuclear Plant, Choice Caregivers, Inc., North Carolina quilt guilds, TNT and the NBC News Channel. In 2001 she started a popular local publication, Cape Fear Arts Alive, as a guide to the local arts community. An artist herself, she has shown her fiber art in national shows, including the prestigious American Crafts Council winter Baltimore show.
Valerie attended Swarthmore College, where she studied languages and earned a B.A. in Sociology & Anthropology. She enjoys travel, singing, live music, furry dogs and scuba diving. She lives inWilmington where she shares a 1920s bungalow with her favorite public radio personality.
Valerie Robertson
Publisher & Editor
A native mid-westerner, Valerie’s interest in things environmental started in 1970 with the first Earth Day, when she was asked to take notes at an Earth Day Symposium hosted by her high school. Early in her career she worked for an engineer who specialized in solar heating and cooling systems and loved tramping around construction sites to help him note the progress of cutting-edge solar designs. These designs were performed by architects whose projects later graced the pages of Architectural Digest and Dwell magazine. For fun, she attended national American Solar Energy Society meetings and the annual Solar Decathlon.
Her 45-year career as a writer and editor includes helping her father start a publishing company to publish his actuarial books and five years as a technical writer for Lockheed Martin. She has freelanced for the Passive Solar Industry Council, the Oracle Development Tools User Group, Coastal Carolina Press, Brunswick Nuclear Plant, Choice Caregivers, Inc., North Carolina quilt guilds, TNT and the NBC News Channel. In 2001 she started a popular local publication, Cape Fear Arts Alive, as a guide to the local arts community. An artist herself, she has shown her fiber art in national shows, including the prestigious American Crafts Council winter Baltimore show.
Valerie attended Swarthmore College, where she studied languages and earned a B.A. in Sociology & Anthropology. She enjoys travel, singing, live music, furry dogs and scuba diving. She lives inWilmington where she shares a 1920s bungalow with her favorite public radio personality.
Valerie is publicity chair for:
>> Native Plant Festival
She is on the advisory committee for:
Going Green & Publisher Awards
>> Wilmington Webbie Runner-up, 2009
Valerie Robertson
Publisher & Editor
A native mid-westerner, Valerie’s interest in things environmental started in 1970 with the first Earth Day, when she was asked to take notes at an Earth Day Symposium hosted by her high school. Early in her career she worked for an engineer who specialized in solar heating and cooling systems and loved tramping around construction sites to help him note the progress of cutting-edge solar designs. These designs were performed by architects whose projects later graced the pages of Architectural Digest and Dwell magazine. For fun, she attended national American Solar Energy Society meetings and the annual Solar Decathlon.
Her 45-year career as a writer and editor includes helping her father start a publishing company to publish his actuarial books and five years as a technical writer for Lockheed Martin. She has freelanced for the Passive Solar Industry Council, the Oracle Development Tools User Group, Coastal Carolina Press, Brunswick Nuclear Plant, Choice Caregivers, Inc., North Carolina quilt guilds, TNT and the NBC News Channel. In 2001 she started a popular local publication, Cape Fear Arts Alive, as a guide to the local arts community. An artist herself, she has shown her fiber art in national shows, including the prestigious American Crafts Council winter Baltimore show.
Valerie attended Swarthmore College, where she studied languages and earned a B.A. in Sociology & Anthropology. She enjoys travel, singing, live music, furry dogs and scuba diving. She lives inWilmington where she shares a 1920s bungalow with her favorite public radio personality.
Valerie is publicity chair for:
>> Native Plant Festival
She is on the advisory committee for:
>> OLLI’s SEA and Coffee Series (Science and
Environmental Academy)
Going Green & Publisher Awards
>> Wilmington Webbie Runner-up, 2009
Mary Robertson
Eugene Contributing Editor
Mary Robertson studied journalism at George Washington University, then traveled the world and enjoyed a career in outdoor retail management before settling in Eugene, Oregon, one of the nation’s “greenest” cities. Here she continues her lifelong pursuit of becoming a Renaissance woman: she sings in a community choir, meets regularly with her fiction-writing group, and rings in her church handbell choir.
She tries to eat something out of her garden every month of the year—that’s zero food miles! Like many Eugene residents, Mary gardens in raised beds, buys from local farmers, carries her own shopping bags and is a fan of composting. “Worms are good!” She enjoys camping, late-night domino games and working on her 1948 cottage, where she lives with her Norwegian Elkhound, Jasper.
Our contributors
Shelby Diehl
Contributing Editor
Shelby Diehl is a senior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington pursuing a Bachelor of Science in environmental science with a concentration in conservation and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing with a certificate in publishing. Originally from Michigan, her interests lie in climate change, forests, water, and wildlife. As a contributor, Shelby proofreads the magazine, contributes articles, and creates social media content. Outside of Going Green, she works as a Campus Fellow for the North Carolina Conservation Network and as a Forest Community Outreach Intern at National Wildlife Federation.
Ally Zimmerman
Contributing Editor
Beth Ackerly
Contributor
Beth Ackerly is a current graduate student at UNCW, pursuing both her M.S. in Environmental Science and Education, and her graduate certificate in GIS. She enjoys hiking, writing, music and spending time with her seven-year-old daughter, Luna. She believes in making science and environmental education accessible to everyone, especially children. She’s passionate about teaching kids what they can do to help the planet.
Caitlyn Andrews
Contributor
Caitlyn Andrews was the 2022 summer intern for Cape Fear’s Going Green, and contributes to many parts of the Going Green organization. She is a senior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington majoring in environmental science with a concentration in conservation. With a minor in nonprofit management and leadership, Caitlyn plans to pursue a career in the environmental nonprofit sector after graduation. She is an excited learner and has many interests in the environmental field. She spends her free time with her dog, at home with her family, or at the beach with friends!
Carol Bales
Contributing Editor
Carol Bales is an avid gardener and seed saver and grows many native plants in her yard. She is a regular contributor of articles on native plants. While living in Austin, Texas more than 25 years ago, she created the Austin Butterfly Forum where butterfly enthusiasts met monthly to learn about the butterflies of Travis County. Carol attended Georgetown University School of Nursing and U.T. School of Nursing, and has been a resident of Wilmington since 1985. She is interested in native plants of North Carolina, forest bathing, the New Hanover County Arboretum and Airlie Gardens. Carol and her husband Nathan organize the annual seed swap portion of Wilmington’s Native Plant Festival.
cnbales@ec.rr.com
Morgan Greene
Contributor
Morgan Greene is a senior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington majoring in biology with a concentration in terrestrial and freshwater conservation and minoring in creative writing as well as coastal and environmental writing. As a Going Green contributor, her articles typically highlight beneficial insects in the Wilmington area. She also writes about various arthropods from fireflies to ghost crabs on her blog, The ArthroBlogger. When she’s not writing or studying, you may find Morgan visiting local beaches, museums and used bookstores.
Casey Nelson
Contributor
Casey Nelson is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She enjoys creating healthy recipes for Going Green using produce from local farmers. She grew up in Rockville, Maryland. Casey has degrees in psychology from the University of Maryland and in journalism from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She has also lived in Vermont where she started her 16-year career in Health and Wellness. She is a certified health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is studying herbal medicine with Dr. Aviva Romm. Casey is an animal advocate and has a deep love for the ocean.
caseynelsonwellness@gmail.com.
Rachel O'Connor
Intern Fall 2022
Rachel O’Connor is obtaining her M.S. in Coastal and Ocean Policy at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Before that, she studied Marine Biology and International Studies at UNCW and participated in research in Benthic Ecology. Rachel loves everything oysters but is also interested in climate and national security. When not studying and working, Rachel learns languages, gardens, and explores.
Sarah Rhue
Intern Spring 2024
Sarah Rhue is a Creative Writing major at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She is working towards a certificate in publishing. She is a Studio Art minor. Sarah loves nature, animals (especially her cat, Amy), and spending time listening to music when she is not writing or drawing. Sarah plans on writing at least two historical fiction series, which she also illustrates.
Kiley Woods
Contributing Editor
Kiley Woods is a student at Eckerd College in Florida studying marine
biology and creative writing. She attended UNCW for two years and is a contributing writer for Going Green. She enjoys writing about all things marine life and ocean conservation on her Blue Waves blog as well as poetry with a lot of natural imagery. She hopes to work for a marine life research center and write film scripts.
Sally Smits Masten
Copyeditor
Sally Smits Masten, a copyeditor for Going Green, holds a PhD in American literature from UNCG and an MFA in poetry from UNCW. Originally from Denver, Colorado, she has lived in Wilmington for over ten years. She is interested in literature, ecocriticism, and sustainability, and she enjoys spending time outdoors and in the gardens with her husband, child, and two dogs.
Skip Wenz
Columnist
Philip S. (Skip) Wenz is a freelance writer specializing in ecological design issues. In the early 1990s he founded, and for ten years directed, the Ecological Design Program at the San Francisco Institute of Architecture. He also taught “Creating Your Ecological House” at Berkeley’s Building Education Center and wrote the book Adding to a House (Taunton Press, 1995). In 2007, he began to write the syndicated column Your Ecological House for the San Francisco Chronicle and other publications nationwide, including Going Green. The column focused originally on projects homeowners could undertake to make their houses more environmentally friendly. His new blog, Firebird Journal—Survival and Renewal in the Anthropocene, addresses ongoing developments in environmentalism, technology, and politics. Skip lives in Monmouth, Oregon with his wife, Pam.
