The business mixer goes environmental

VIRGINIA BEACH

It started as an impromptu gathering of environmental designers at a London pub, but has since spread to cafes and restaurants around the world, including one in Virginia Beach.

Green Drinks International is the fancy name for a simple idea: a regular meeting of eco-minded people in a geographic area - from architects to lawyers, activists to yoga instructors - for an evening of conversation, networking and, of course, cocktails.

The sessions are largely unstructured and free-flowing, organized through e-mail postings and word of mouth. Many attendees "have found employment, made friends, developed new ideas, done deals and had moments of serendipity," reads a summary on the Green Drinks Web site (www.greendrinks.org/).

There are groups now in countries as varied as China, Afghanistan, Poland, Botswana, Israel and India, and in all 50 U.S. states, according to the Web site.

In Virginia, people from 10 cities and regions - from Smith Mountain Lake to Charlottesville to Richmond - come together on a monthly basis, usually at the same watering hole, and often where organic or vegetarian food is served.

In Hampton Roads, the sole Green Drinks chapter meets in Virginia Beach - at Croc's 19th Street Bistro, the city's first certified green restaurant.

Its owner, Laura Wood Habr, started the chapter in November after being nudged to do so by colleagues and fellow environmentalists.

"Initially, I think there were six or seven of us just sitting at the corner of the bar talking," Habr recalled with a chuckle last week, as the latest Green Drinks gathering was getting under way.

The bar on this night was hopping with environmentalists - most of them young, single, white professionals. Dress was business casual, though some - mostly the guys - showed up in shorts, loose shirts and flip-flops.

Beer seemed to be the drink of choice. Most attendees huddled in groups of three or four, smiling and talking and shaking hands. Business cards were everywhere.

Habr said most participants hail from Virginia Beach or Norfolk, though she recalled a couple from Seattle who stopped by recently for an event during their vacation.

"They had checked the Web site, saw us and found us," she said. "It was great; they sought us out!"

Since the first meeting last winter, Habr said, co-chairpersons have been selected to help get the word out, and attendance has steadily climbed - to about 40 last Thursday night.

Adam Baylor, who works for the Coast Guard, was attending his first Green Drinks happy hour. He heard about it from Amanda Mason, who co-owns Green Alternatives, a store in Norfolk catering to eco-friendly products and customers.

"I asked Amanda if she knew any good environmental groups around here, and she suggested I come to this," Baylor said. "I like beer and the Earth. So I decided sure, why not?"

There is almost always a guest speaker on hand who gets the ball rolling with a certain topic. Last Thursday, it was Kim Wadsworth, a local fashion consultant and magazine editor, who talked about green weddings.

The subject matter drew a mostly female crowd - a fact that several youthful males seemed to relish.

"I live nearby and, hey, I like to meet girls, too," said Patrick Ramirez, a 20-something architect who specializes in green-building design.

Ramirez and two colleagues from the firm Moseley Architects in Virginia Beach were sipping Corona beers and scanning the outdoor patio as Wadsworth began her presentation.

In discussing wedding send-offs, Wadsworth said that the traditional throwing of rice was definitely passe and wasteful, and that being hit with alternative bird seed "really hurts."

Bubbles are another popular choice, Wadsworth said, "but they stain dresses" when they pop. Instead, she suggested corn starch-based confetti.

Chelsea Jenkins, who, at 25, runs the Hampton Roads Clean Cities Coalition, a partnership encouraging alternative fuels, said this was her third Green Drinks event.

"I love it!" she said. "It's one of the only places you can talk about these things that you're passionate about without feeling weird. People here get it. They understand the importance of the environment, and they want to discuss it."

About that time, Lea Ponessa stepped into the circle and asked in a guarded whisper, "Am I allowed to smoke anywhere here?"

While Croc's is a smoke-free restaurant, Habr explained, Ponessa could sit at one of the outdoor tables and light up.

She did so. Then, outside at the table, she revealed another secret.

"I was a little bit nervous about coming here tonight," she said, "because, well, I'm a Republican."

She cringed at mentioning the R-word.

To her surprise, though, no one asked or seemed to care about her political persuasion, she said. The Virginia Beach resident, who heard about Green Drinks from her yoga instructor, was attending her first event and said she wants to go to the next one, in September.

"It's about making us better," Ponessa said, "about thinking differently about energy and the Chesapeake Bay and how we live. I like that. We need that."

Scott Harper, (757) 446-2340, scott.harper@pilotonline.com