This Friday, April 22 marks the 41st anniversary of Earth Day! This important day is recognized around the world for raising awareness about the environment and the small daily actions to which people can commit creating a healthier, cleaner, more sustainable world.

This year, Earth Day’s theme is A Billion Acts of Green. A Billion Acts of Green is an organization aiming to reach one billion actions of environmental service and advocacy world-wide prior to the global Earth Summit being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2012.

Right now, people all over the planet are registering their personal, company, and community commitments to A Billion Acts of Green. The actions being pledged can be as simple as packing your children a waste-free lunch or washing laundry in cold water. Larger actions include creating a community recycling program or implementing an environmental education program.

Here at Seabrook, we are concerned about the health of the community as well as the planet, and every decision we make reflects that concern. We believe that nothing is more beautiful than the natural environment, and nothing is greener than something that lasts. In fact, green building has been an emphasis of ours since day one. With this in mind, we asked some of our employees and homeowners what their pledge will be this Earth Day. Here is what they had to share:

• Walk to work rain or shine
• Better support our local businesses
• Adopt a low-animal product diet
• Grow more fresh vegetables, herbs, and fruit
• Bring a trash bag on beach walks to keep our beach pristine

Share your commitment to the environment this Earth Day. What are some of the ways you pledge to start acting green? Let us know in the comments below!

Interested in learning more about what other aspects of Seabrook are focused on a green and sustainable lifestyle? Check out Seabrook’s Sustainability Statement and take a look at these videos that The Green Economy TV series creates about Seabrook’s Green Features.

Have you ever dreamed of owning a spectacular beach home that was also environmentally sustainable? That is exactly what the Hassler family was looking for when they created Windswept, a beautiful oceanfront home nestled into Seabrook’s Northwest Glen Neighborhood.

This stunning property was carefully planned to not only be an incredible beach retreat, but was also designed to be energy efficient, use less water than a traditional home, provide a healthy indoor environment, and protect the outdoor environment both during the construction process and for the life of the home. With all this in mind, Windswept was recently awarded LEED Certification at the Silver level – becoming the second home at Seabrook with LEED certification!

LEED is an acronym that stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance “green” buildings. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides homeowners and contractors with three different levels of concise framework used to identify and implement practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations, and maintenance solutions.

Here in Washington, there are less than 150 homes that have attained either the Silver, Gold, or Platinum level LEED Certification. Until recently, only one of these LEED Certified homes was located on the Olympic Peninsula; Seabrook’s very own, Evergreen Cabin. Now, Windswept has joined the Evergreen Cabin to become the second home at Seabrook and the first oceanfront home to attain LEED Certification!

Windswept is a relaxing and sophisticated beach home that is committed to environmental stewardship and social responsibility. It is also a vacation rental property available to rent for your next beach vacation!

Visit Windswept’s Cottage Rentals website to find out more information on the home amenities, pictures, availability, and more!