Check out Chesapeake Season‘s new website and read how an ancient meteor created the Chesapeake Bay!

CSAAC is a private, non-profit agency which provides direct services to children and adults with autism across the lifespan. Marketing research was provided by Janet Chiu, photography by John Spaulding and copywriting by Janna Moss.

Learn more about CSAAC and their programs at their website.

The new logo is a stylized representation of a traffic light. The Coalition’s mission is to ensure that transportation and development decisions accommodate growth while revitalizing communities, providing more housing and travel choices, and conserving our natural and historic areas.

Learn more about The Coalition for Smarter Growth at their website.

www.maryscenter.org

Mary’s Center is a nonprofit, non-religious organization based in Washington, DC, that provides health care, education, and social services to individuals and families whose needs go unmet by the public and private systems. Mary’s Center saves lives and creates stronger communities, one family at a time.

The Mary’s Center website was made possible by a Service Grant from the Taproot Foundation. Visit the Taproot Foundation’s website to learn more about the organization or apply for a Service Grant.

It was an honor to have been the front-end Graphic Designer for the Mary’s Center website. Volunteering my time to such a great nonprofit has been truly been a rewarding experience!

The Mary’s Center website was made possible by Mark Irwin, Account Director; Kyna Rubin, Writer and Content Manager; Mike Isack, Web Developer; and Eli Turner, Photographer.

Jennie Jane Handmade Bags and Crafts

Jennie Jane is a new business that features the handmade purses and bags sold in my Etsy shop. The design is based on a simple color palette and clean layout. This website was built in WordPress using a custom theme coded by yours truly. Included in the design package for this site are graphics for a Facebook Page, Twitter Page, and Etsy Shop. The live site can be seen at the following link:

www.jenniejane.com

I knew that previously the client’s email had been locked due to exceeding the hourly email limit. When contacted, the hosting company stated there was an issue with open directories on the server, on which they changed the permissions, then removed script forms that had been placed on the site. Figuring that the open directories were now properly protected, I re-installed WordPress to replace any compromised files and hopefully fix the issue for good.

This little dilemma led me to a fantastic article from Smashing Magazine: 10 Useful WordPress Security Tweaks. Most tips include very simple additions to your .htaccess and functions.php files. The summary is as follows:

1. Prevent Unnecessary Info From Being Displayed
2. Force SSL Usage
3. Use .htaccess To Protect The wp-config File
4. Blacklist Undesired Users And Bots
5. Protect Your WordPress Blog From Script Injections
6. Fight Back Against Content Scrapers
7. Create A Plug-In To Protect Your Blog From Malicious URL Requests
8. Remove Your WordPress Version Number
9. Change The Default “Admin” Username
10. Prevent Directory Browsing

I intend on implementing these features in all WordPress sites moving forward. If anyone has more suggestions for protecting a WordPress site, please feel free to share!

Are you interested in ways that you can give back to your local community? What if the added benefits of contributing to a great cause were the ability to network, grow professionally, and boost your resume and portfolio? Consider becoming a Taproot Foundation volunteer! Today our nation is dependent on our nonprofit sector to provide critically needed services to meet our growing social, environmental, health, cultural, and economic challenges. Your skills can help a nonprofit increase its impact.

What is the Taproot Foundation?

The Taproot Foundation is a volunteer organization that builds teams of marketing and creative services, strategy management, human resources, and information technology professionals to work on projects for local nonprofits. Taproot volunteers have the opportunity to work with a nonprofit specializing in one of the following issue areas:

• Education
• Health
• Environment
• Social Services
• Arts

I’m excited to announce that recently I became a pro bono graphic design consultant for the Taproot Foundation of Washington, DC. Less than a week after being sworn in, I was staffed to my first project—a basic web design for a nonprofit that provides maternal and child care for immigrants in Washington, DC. Over the next few months I will work closely with a team of marketing, writing, and web development professionals to complete this project.

To learn more about the Taproot Foundation, please visit their website. Taproot is seeking additional pro bono graphic design consultants in the Washington, DC area. This is a great opportunity for designers to support their community as well as improve their portfolios.

Frederick County’s Premium Compost is sold at $8.50 per cubic yard, $15 per ton. The compost can be purchased at the Frederick County Department of Solid Waste Management on Reichs Ford Road, Monday thru Saturday, 7am to 4:30pm. For more information, visit www.frederickcountymd.gov/compost.

If your HOA does not offer yard waste collection and you want to contribute to Frederick’s composting process, you can bring your yard clippings to be recycled at the Frederick County Department of Solid Waste Management. There is no fee for dropping off grass clippings, leaves, shrubs or tree limbs.

Here are some upcoming events on the Frederick County Department of Solid Waste Management’s calendar:

Earth Machines Compost Bin Sale
April 17, 9am to 3pm, Frederick Towne Mall
Compost bins, kitchen collectors and compost turners will all be available as well as useful info on home composting.

Go Green Earth Day Celebration
April 23, Harry Grove Stadium
Information on recycling and waste reduction will be available along with prizes and fireworks.

Household Hazardous Waste Drop Off Day
May 22, 8am to 12pm, 8349 Reichs Ford Road
Help keep hazardous wastes out of the landfill and environment.

The new recycling program is great! The more people participate, the better. Frederick County pays to transport 80% of its garbage to out of state landfills because ours is nearly full, so recycling is important for sustainability. However, this flyer states that more than 7% of what is being “recycled” is actually trash. According to the government, it costs them $40,000 a month to sort and dispose trash that is mixed in with recycables. The County has some common recycling mistakes listed on their website, some of which even I’m guilty of committing. Read on if you want to avoid some of these pitfalls!

Mistake #1 – Placing Recyclable Materials in Garbage Bags
Even though you no longer have to do it yourself, recycables still need to be sorted, so they should be placed loose inside your collection bin. Furthermore, certain plastic bags are not recyclable, including sandwich bags and trash bags. Shredded paper should be put in a paper bag and plastic shopping bags marked with a recycling symbol should be gathered into a single bag.

Mistake #2 – Leaving Styrofoam Packing Materials in Cardboard Boxes
Styrofoam is not accepted for recycling in Frederick County.

Mistake #3 – Recycling Microwaveable Plastics (GUILTY!)
Microwavable plastics are made to be highly heat resistant. Therefore, they are difficult to recombine with other plastics. The ones I’ve been “recycling” do have a symbol on them, but I guess Frederick County’s program simply can’t accept them.

Mistake #4 – Recycling Thin, Brittle, Clamshell Plastics (GUILTY!)
According to the government, these plastics don’t survive the mechanical collection and sorting processes. But they often have symbols, which is why I’ve been tossing them in!

Mistake #5 – Recycling Used Paper Plates, Pizza Boxes, Tissues, Waxed Paper, or Any Soiled Paper
Soiled? Ew… Paper is absorbent, so oils can bind to its fibers and cannot be separated.

The Department of Solid Waste Management says, “When in Doubt, Throw it Out!” For more information on Frederick County’s recycling program, visit www.frederickcountymd.gov/recycle. This website also has important information on recycling fluorescent bulbs, electronics, textiles, and composting!

The concept: Local communities of people give and receive stuff for free, thus keeping usable items out of landfills. Members post listings online when they have items to offer or are in need of something specific. The Frederick, MD Freecycle Group currently has 14,070 members.

Inspiration: I started using Freecycle as an opportunity to get rid of some unneeded items around my house. The inspiration to find this kind of recycling program came right around bulk trash day. The amount of stuff that’s thrown away is amazing, especially when there are people out there who have next to nothing. It was obvious that at least some of this “garbage” was wanted or usable, what with so many people driving around the neighborhood to collect other people’s “junk.” Why not see if someone wants that end table before you chuck it to the curb?

The gift of giving: With Freecycle, I’ve passed on many items to members who were genuinely in need. Members have told me stories about having hardly any clothes due to recent family tragedies and siblings who live in a house with one light because they can’t afford to purchase lamps. By participating in Freecycle, not only am I ridding my closets and drawers of items I don’t use, but I’m helping those in the community that are less fortunate.

Receiving items is fun too! A couple of months ago my hair straightener broke and was generously replaced within 24 hours by another Freecycle member. Last Saturday my Magic Bullet blender stopped working. I posted a wanted and received a response for a replacement by Sunday! Many people don’t want to trash something that’s still usable and they end up collecting unneeded items. But when the opportunity comes along to pass these items to people who can use them, they are more than happy to help!

Even if you think something you’re about to trash is junk, don’t discount that there may be someone out there who could use it. To find your local Freecycle group, go to www.freecycle.org. Happy Freecycling!