Coyote captured on film near Umstead Park

A Raleigh Eco News reader who lives near Umstead State Park shot this backyard photo a couple of months ago using a motion-triggered trail camera. The person, who shall remain unidentified in order to deter coyote- or camera-hunting trespassers, reports:

The coyote appears a bit larger than it really is because the camera is only two feet off the ground, however this one is obviously well-fed and stout. I've read that coyotes in this part of the state have interbred with wolves, and are thus thicker than the average skin-and-bones type that you usually see.

The other objects in the pic include a mineral block (dark block on ground), a timed feeder hanging from a tree, and a sewer pipe clean-out access (sticking out of ground to the left of the base of the tree).

We have been hearing them every so often at night, and it's really picked up in the last few weeks. Coyotes sound like a cross between a pack of hyenas and a basket full of puppies. We haven't heard any Hollywood-style howling, yet.

Environmental endorsements for Tuesday's primary

Tomorrow is North Carolina's primary election. To help voters make wise choices, environmental groups have issued endorsements relevant to voters living in the Raleigh area.

One is the Conservation Council of North Carolina's political action committee, whose endorsements for several contested primaries include:

* Winston-Salem City Councilman and longtime environmental champion Dan Besse for lieutenant governor (click here to read full endorsement as a PDF);

* State Sen. Janet Cowell for state treasurer (click here to read a PDF of the endorsement); and

* Josh Stein for state Senate District 16 in Wake County.

C-PAC has also endorsed a number of legislators who do not face a challenge in the primary but who have an excellent voting record on environmental issues. They include:

* Rep. Jennifer Weiss in Wake County's House District 35; and

* Rep. Deborah Ross in Wake's House District 38.

To read C-PAC's complete slate of endorsements, click here.

The North Carolina Sierra Club has also issued primary endorsements. Like C-PAC, it's also endorsed Besse [PDF] for lieutenant governor and Cowell [PDF] for state treasurer. It notes that that whoever holds the position sought by Cowell, a former Sierra Club leader, will have the opportunity to capture the emerging market in clean energy technology.

The Sierra Club has also endorsed Weiss and Ross, along with state Sen. Vernon Malone in Wake's District 14, Rep. Grier Martin in Wake's House District 34 and Rep. Linda Coleman in Wake's House District 39.

To read the Sierra Club's full list of primary endorsements, click here.

Big weekend for Raleigh garden lovers

This Saturday afternoon, the Triangle Land Conservancy and the Reid Chapter of the N.C. Native Plants Society are holding a Raleigh Conservation Gardens Tour.

The gardens featured on the tour are the Margaret Reid Wild Flower Garden, a 1.5-acre woodland garden surrounding a home at the corner of Dixie Trail and Lewis Farm Road; the Joslin Garden, a 4-acre spread in the White Oak Road neighborhood; the Hooker/Myers Garden, a permaculture wonderland on a sixth of an acre in the Kirby Street neighborhood near N.C. State; the Kinney Garden, a 2-acre residential woodland garden overlooking Richland Creek on the edge of William B. Umstead State Park; and the Spearman Garden, which features a large sculpture collection and is located between Ridge Road and the Beltline. For details about the garden and the tour, click here.

And should you get inspired by the garden tour and find yourself lusting after a certain specimen, you might want to visit the Pi Alpha Xi plant sale set for this Saturday and Sunday at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum. For more information about the sale, including lists of available plants, click here.

NCCU hosts green jobs forum this week

The Grassroots Energy Alliance is holding a public forum in Durham this week spotlighting employment opportunities in the sustainable building industry. Titled "Green Jobs Now!," the event will take place on Thursday, April 10 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at N.C. Central's Mary M. Townes Science Building.

The event will feature presentations on the outlook for green jobs in the state and a keynote by NCCU professor and landscape architect Yasmin Fozard, who specializes in the inner-city living environment. There will also be smaller discussion groups about meeting the growing demand for sustainability and the need for a new energy economy.

A coalition that includes the N.C. Waste Awareness & Reduction Network, Students United for a Responsible Global Environment, N.C. Fair Share and N.C. Interfaith Power & Light, the Alliance describes its mission as working with residents of Durham, Wake, Orange and Chatham counties

on positive programs and policy to counter the threat of climate change, to promote responsible energy efficiency and renewable energy programs for our region and the state, and to to improve the capacity of our region to harness the new green economy. To accomplish these goals, we put special emphasis on involving the voices and organizations of students, people of color, and people of faith.

For more details on the forum and directions, click here.

N.C. voter registration deadline this week

If you're planning to vote in next month's primary election here in North Carolina, now is the time to get your paperwork in order.

This Friday, April 11 is the registration deadline for the May 6 election -- though folks who miss that cutoff will still be able to register and vote on the same day at the state's early voting sites between April 17 and May 3. If you've moved since last registering, you'll need to register again.

To download an N.C. voter registration form and for instructions on where to send it, click here. For more details on same-day registration, click here.

Neuse River cleanup set for Saturday

Here's your chance to participate in the largest single river clean-up in North Carolina: The Neuse River Foundation's 6th Annual Neuse River Clean-Up will be held this Saturday, April 5 -- come rain or shine. Over the last five years, more than 1,000 volunteers have hauled some 75,000 pounds of trash out of the waterway. Everyone is welcome, no pre-registration is required, and free canoe loans will be available at several sites. For details, click here.

(UPDATE: The NRF had a successful clean-up Saturday despite the rain. Among the items hauled from the river were a recliner, five quarts of used motor oil, 100 baseballs, a skull -- and a beer bottle containing $600!)

Raleigh's Joslin Garden opens to the public this Saturday

William and Mary Coker Joslin invite the public to visit the extraordinary garden at their home in Raleigh's White Oak Road neighborhood this Saturday, March 29 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Their 4.5 acres include both formal and informal areas and a wide collection of native and exotic plants, many of which they acquired from local garden luminaries J.C. Raulston, William Lanier Hunt and D.R. Coker. The Joslins have established a conservation easement with the Triangle Land Conservancy, perpetually limiting the property's use for garden and horticultural purposes, and they have deeded the land to N.C. State University. For a map to 2431 West Lake Dr., click here. Free parking is available on West Lake Drive, but please park only on the west side of the street.

(Photo of the Joslin Garden from the J.C. Raulston Arboretum Web site)

North Carolina OKs gray water use

In a victory for common sense, North Carolina officials have decided it's OK for residents to water non-edible plants with gray water, the stuff left over after taking baths and washing dishes and clothes. Yay -- now we needn't feel like criminals for hauling buckets of bath water out to our thirsty trees!

One of the neatest gray water purification systems I've seen is at the Piedmont Biofuels co-op in Chatham County, where the oil-crop research farm is irrigated with process wastewater cleaned via an artificial wetlands system built from old bathtubs. In fact, the co-op's entire production process is ingeniously designed for maximum sustainability. You can read more about it here, or see for yourself by taking the free tour offered every Sunday at 1 p.m.