Weekend Along the Farm Trails sponsored by Sonoma County Farm Trails
Over 40 Farms Open the Barn Doors
2009, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sonoma County, CA –

On Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, dozens of local farmers and artisan producers throughout Sonoma County from Healdsburg to Petaluma will open their doors to tell the behind-the-scenes story of local food during Weekend Along the Farm Trails sponsored by Sonoma County Farm Trails.

Join local farmers for a weekend of tours, artisan foods, hands-on activities, cooking, pick-your-own, agricultural demonstrations, music and harvest. From hay rides to cheese-making, Weekend Along the Farm Trails offers a chance to experience Sonoma County's agricultural heritage. Participants of all ages will learn how and where their food is grown, and meet the farmers and artisans who produce it.

Admission is free to most farms: all you need is transportation, a map and a sense of adventure. The gates and barns of your local farms are wide open on Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. along the Sonoma County Farm Trails.

Free tour information and map available on www.farmtrails.org or visit Farm Trails FACEBOOK page for tales from the farms. Call Sonoma County Farm Trails for more information at (707) 837-8896.

Sonoma County Farm Trails is a non-profit organization formed in 1973 to promote buying fresh food directly from farms. Over 100 local farms and agricultural businesses comprise its membership

As I was looking for eco-friendly ideas for birthday party games and favors, I found this great blog post on the website ecochildsplay.com.

I love this mom's ideas on low impact birthday parties and thought I would share here :

In our family, summer time is a full of birthday party celebrations. If your experiences are like mine, your children have attended some extravagant birthday parties that leave a heavy footprint on the Earth. Large blowup, bouncing jump rooms, corporate character disposable dinnerware, paper hats that don’t even last until the end of the party, dollar store junk for party favors, balloons and excessive decorations, etc. seem to be the norm in children’s birthday parties. For my children’s birthdays, I am always looking for ways to lighten our impact during these grand occasions, while giving them the special celebration they desire. Below are a few suggestions for lightening the impact of your child’s birthday celebration.

1. Use digital invites: By creating your own digital invitations, you can email them to your friends and family and reduce the amount of paper involved in the celebration. You may need to print a few invitations to mail for those families not connected to the web, but this will still lighten the impact. A homemade invite also becomes a keepsake to document the day, and you won’t be supporting the corporate characters targeted at children. You will also save time and money by creating your own digital birthday invitations.

2. Pick a natural location for the party: By hosting your party in a natural location, such as a beach or park, you will be combating nature deficit disorder and eliminating the need for jumping rooms, extravagant decorations, etc. Every year, we have our party on a neighbor’s beach. The river provides the entertainment and increases our attendance of distant friends who look forward to a day of river fun in the mountain sun! Also, if the party is located away from your home, you are less likely to go overboard with party favors, decorations, etc., as you will have to pack it in and pack it out of the location.

3. Use reusable plates, napkins, utensils, cups, etc.: I am always amazed at how much garbage is created from even a small birthday party. By using reusable plates, utensils, etc., you are lightening your party’s impact greatly, as well as teaching your children an important lesson about disposables. The clean up after the party will be greater if you use reusables; however, the benefits to the planet certainly outweigh a little of your time. If you must use disposable products, look for paper products that are made with recycled, post-consumer materials and corn plastic utensils that are compostable.

4. Provide natural, eco-friendly party favors: One of the things I dread about my daughter attending her friends’ birthday parties is dollar store, plastic junk and candy she receives as party favors. If you feel compelled to give out party favors, look for items that will not be easily tossed into the landfill and won’t break within a day. Crystals, polished rocks, geodes, etc. make wonderful party favors children’s cherish, and these natural items will contribute to children dramatic play at home. Several natural toy stores also carry party favors. These toys may be more expensive, but when placed in the larger picture of sustainability and climate change, the cost is irrelevant. Better yet, forego the party favors all together.

5. Serve a vegan, chocolate cake: Whether you make your own cake or buy one, think about the ingredients used in the cake and how you could improve this aspect of the birthday tradition. We are lucky to live near a bakery that makes the best vegan, chocolate cake filled with raspberry sauce. They will even make the cake with our own garden grown, organic raspberries. There are many great recipes available online for vegan cakes.

6. Make gifts optional: If your kids are like mine, they already have too many toys! The birthday party can be another contributor to this problem, and if you are like me and detest plastic toys, your child will inevitably receive annoying toys that you do not like. By making gifts optional, you will prevent families frohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifm feeling compelled to buy anything just to attend the party, and your child will not receive a gross amount of junk. Children already receive many gifts from their families, so eliminating a few toys from their friends will not impact the joy of their birthday. You could also request used toys and books or no gifts at all.

There are many ways you can lighten the impact of your child’s birthday, as well as teach them a valuable lesson in sustainability, conservation, etc. You can still have themed birthday parties without all of the commercial products associated with them, by asking families to wear homemade costumes, make your own decorations, etc. Keep it simple, and everyone will enjoy the celebration more, while doing a little bit to save the Earth from climate change.

 The Environmental Discovery Center of Sonoma County offers multi-sensory, hands-on activities for people of all ages. Rotating exhibits focus on a different aspect of the natural resources of Sonoma County.

 Center's Features

• Nature Trails
• Outdoor Amphitheater
• Storytelling Cavern
• Science Activities
• Technology Tent - interactive computer games
• Theater - Educational videos

For more information,check out their website

On Friday, March 20th, 2009, 23 third graders will join First Lady Michelle Obama on the South Lawn of the White House to break ground on an 1100 square foot kitchen garden that will provide food for family dinners and formal dinners. 

According to the New York Times:

The Obamas’ garden will have 55 varieties of vegetables grown from organic seedlings started at the executive mansion’s greenhouses.

And better still:

 Almost the entire Obama family, including the president, will pull weeds, “whether they like it or not,” Mrs. Obama said laughing.

For more information go to

http://kitchengardeners.org/

On December 7, we are hosting a Amnesty International Write A Thon at our house from 10 - 1 where we will try to write as many letters as possible in the name of human rights around the world. I hope you can join us.

This will be an adult event so either Cam or I will take the kids out while one of us stays here to write letters. 

December 10--International Human Rights Day--marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. You can honor this important day by participating in Amnesty International's Global Write-a-thon--the world's largest letter writing event. Write letters on behalf of prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders at risk of severe human rights violations. Join thousands of people across the United States and around the world for this monumental event.

CAn you imagine?? Could it get ANY better?!

 http://www.thewhofarm.org/

I came across this brand while doing some online "window shopping". Unfortunately, this brand doesn't carry my width but I think they are really cute and all profits go to a great cause.

An ancient Chinese proverb wisely states, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Thanks to an initiative established by Lance Clark, sixth generation of the family behind the footwear company of the same name, this proverb is being put into action by Soul of Africa to help South African villagers affected by AIDS to help themselves.

Working with communities in the informal settlements around Durban in KwaZulu Natal, where the AIDS infection is highest, Clark and a handful of leading South African business people in the footwear industry have since been sharing their shoemaking expertise to teach local villagers how to make this simple yet comfortable hand sewn product for the Soul of Africa line.

Soul of Africa shoes are made by hand using supple leather and quality materials to create footwear that is flexible, durable, and soft. Incredibly comfortable, Soul of Africa shoes are simple, sleek, and stylish as well!

For every pair of Soul of Africa shoes sold, Clarks will donate all profits to the care and support of South African children orphaned due to AIDS. Additionally, each pair sold helps to provide an ongoing livelihood for the individuals who stitch the shoes. Since 2004, Soul of Africa has raised well over $1,000,000 since its beginnings.

I just found out about  Solar Living Institute through a friend who visited there last week and said it was a great place to visit for those who are interested in alternative energy sources.

They have a sun powered carousel, electricity generating bikes, and solar panels that save 1600 tons of carbon emissions every year. 

Its in Hopland which I think is about 50 miles north of Santa Rosa.

I encourage you to check out their  website and maybe sometime we can take a "field trip" up there. 

The California Academy of Sciences is a new aquarium, planetarium, natural history museum and research institute all under one LIVING roof which just opened last Saturday. I haven't been there yet but imagine that it is a wonderful place for children to explore and learn about the amazing beauty and wonder of the world and reinforce the idea of taking care of it.

Every third Wednesday of the month is free. 

My family will be going on Wednesday, October 15. Feel free to join us. 

Fast Facts

Awards

• EPA's regional 2006 Environmental Award
• North American winner of the silver Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction.

Power Savings

• The new Academy will consume 30% less energy than required by San Francisco's codes
• Sixty-thousand photovoltaic cells will provide 5% to 10% of electricity from solar energy

Water Savings

• The Living Roof will absorb nearly 3.6 million gallons of rainwater per year

 “The total message of the building is a green message. It’s about life, how we got here, the marvelous diversity of life, it’s preciousness, and the choices we face in learning how to stay.”

Tonight Barack Obama will give his acceptance speech as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States at the  Democratic National Convention .  The  convention has been  going on since  Monday night, some very  run of the mill speeches and some excellent. If you haven't had a chance to watch, Michelle Obama, Hillary and  Bill Clinton's speeches were particularly impressive.  I am sure you can check them all out here on Obama's website.  The  DNC is being  televised on most major news networks from 5 - 8 pm PT.  I am sure Obamas speech will be  inspiring as usual so if you can, check it out.

If you and your kids haven't gone to see the movie WALL-E yet, you should. You will love it!! Oh and your kids may enjoy the cartoon too : ) Here are excepts from an NPR review I found online.

Pixar has always focused on loss, decay, and the dark side of materialism. Here that theme extends to the ruination of the planet — and Wall-E ranks among the most sublime feature-length works of animation ever made in this country.

Apparently, humans never changed course on pollution and consumerism, and sometime in the 22nd century they were forced to leave a planet they had turned into a giant garbage dump. But they left without turning off a robot they'd left behind. He's basically a trash compactor on treads — a Waste Allocation Load-Lifter: Earth Class, or WALL-E — who has, over the course of 700 years, developed a personality.

This movie highlights how many people are still focused on material gain often at the expense of the environment as well as some people's apathy about their connection to the earth as well as to others. I won't spoil it but it does have a great ending, so you won't leave feeling depressed but rather, maybe.....hopeful.

This is how the "universe" always works....When I heard this story airing on NPR yesterday, I thought, ”Of course. That’s how the universe works when you are tuned in”…. and sometimes (only sometimes) I am tuned in. The timing seemed to be "cosmic" because I had recently dusted off my old VHS tapes from childhood and selected the movie Charlotte’s Web to share with my kids. After watching it with them, I felt really touched and moved by the character of Charlotte and told my friend Jen A. about it when she was in town about a month ago. Since then I have been thinking about Charlotte a lot.

I love Charlotte because she is caring but straightforward, she is hardworking and extremely loyal to her friend Wilbur. She is also wise and a little sassy.

I have been restless with ideas lately about feeling like I am not doing meaningful work, and maybe I need to go back "to work", and do something "important" instead of staying home with my kids. I like to think about Charlotte when I think about my role as mother (particularly as stay at home mother) because since having children 4 years ago, I often have had internal struggles about whether what I am currently doing is important or has meaning. Before I had children and decided to stay at home with them, my identity was largely wrapped up in my profession as social worker and I was reminded every day of my purpose and importance in making a difference to people and in the community. As a mother, that sense of purpose and importance is much more…subtle and gradual (at least for me).

I do have so much gratitude for the opportunity to be able to stay home with my kids and I know that it is often seen as a luxury. I also, however, cannot help struggling with questions like “is this work important?” and “is this work meaningful?” and “is this my ‘calling’ right now?”. I think those questions will likely always weave in and out of my life as I make certain choices. Watching Charlotte’s Web with my kids, though, has helped me to remind myself during those questioning times that Charlotte did many magnificent things like write on her web, rally a barnyard of animals around a cause, and ultimately save a life, but what she called her life’s magnum opus (her masterpiece) was her children and that gives me comfort.

So I appreciate (as Jen A. can attest to because I think I was pretty emotional when I told her this) and have learned to remind myself of the things I learned through Charlotte’s character. That being a parent is some of the most, if not THE most important work one can do. Raising the next generation. And as a GreenMommy, I am particularly proud to be a part of a group of woman who are not only raising children, but raising future stewards of the earth by the influence we have on them now and by raising consciousness.

So if you are interested in learning a little more about the character of Charlotte or haven’t read the book or seen the movie in a while, I would encourage you to check them out. I really enjoyed this piece that aired yesterday on the character of Charlotte. And when I listened to the many different people who spoke about Charlotte, it made me feel better that I am not the only one who is brought to tears by a spider.

This afternoon, I have been listening to an interview on NPR's "Speaking of Faith" with Barbara Kingsolver regarding her family's year of eating only locally and seasonally. A year she writes about in her book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" which I think I have mentioned a few times on this blog. Such a fantastic book!!! I would encourage anyone looking for a good summer read to pick it up.

Anyway, this is an interview that will give you a taste of what her book is about.

Some of the questions explored are:

-How did we (the U.S.) get to the place we are now where eating locally and seasonally is considered "elite"? 

-What are the hidden costs of  eating cheap food from the grocery store and  fast food? Why don't those costs turn up in our grocery bills?

-What has the effect of the U.S. Farm Bill been on our health and the environment? 

-How can eating locally reinforce the idea of gratitude?

 I came across this quote today and really liked it. Luther Burbank as most of you Santa Rosans know came to Santa Rosa in his 20's and is famous here and around the country / world for developing more than 800 varieties of plants and flowers. Most famously among his creations are the Shasta Daisy and the Russett Burbank potato (which is the most widely cultivated potato in the U.S.) McDonald's uses the Russett Burbank potato for their french fries......that has got to be A LOT of potatoes. 

Anyway, I wanted to share this poignant quote that I found today as well as let any of you local Santa Rosans know that if you haven't been to Luther Burbank gardens in a while (or ever), its a beautiful, peaceful place to go and see beautiful gardens and learn more about Burbank who was a pretty fascinating person and true environmentalist.

 
"Every child should have mudpies, grasshoppers, waterbugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, animals to pet, hay fields, pinecones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets - and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of his education." 

- Luther Burbank

I feel a movement coming on...I was inspired by this, and wanted to share.

ROSA LOVES

Today is the first real day of blue skies in Santa Rosa since all the fires began a week or more ago here in northern California. The grey, smoky sky was sad (and even depressing in some ways) but the silver lining of that experience was the gratitude I have now for our beautiful blue sky and relatively clean air. And at least for today, I will really try not to take it for granted. 

About 6-8 months ago, I wrote a post about how I noticed some pretty tremendous water wasting happening ay the YMCA showers (where I shower every morning). Some women would turn on and leave showers to "heat up" that need no heating up, some women would shower in one and let their bathing suit "shower" under another head.....just stuff where I thought "I can't keep watching this happen and not do something about it". So I asked a woman (very nicely, I thought) if she would turn off the shower she was using for her bathing suit because we were in a drought and it was wasting water. She looked at me funny, then laughed and kept the 2 showers going. I thought sarcastically "that went well" and then thought "I really don't want to get into any more of a confrontation while naked with another naked woman in the community shower area".

So I wrote a letter to the Director of Operations at the Y and asked if they could post signs requesting that people conserve water. Within a few days, nice big lamenated signs were up in every  corner of the shower area. I was so impressed with the YMCA for taking my request and acting so quickly. As the months have gone by, the signs began to fall off the shower walls (or maybe the 2-shower-head-lady took them down one by one : ) Either way, I asked the Operations Director a few weeks ago if she could put up those signs again and she did one better...she ordered permanent acryllic signs for the shower areas and they are up today. They look great!!!

All of this is just to say that if you ever feel like you should speak up about something but think you won't be listened to or you may get laughed at, I am saying that ...well , you may get laughed at (lady in the shower) but you may also be surprised to find that (especially on a local level) people are very responsive in general to ideas and positive changes.

I get lazy though and see things that need changing and think about them and think about them and never end up saying something.

So here is my challenge to myself  for local things I have thought about for a long time that need changing and haven't acted on them but will now.  

#1 Ask Trader Joes to look at alternatives to their double bagging system. I know they say that they do it because the handles fall off but then they should purchase bags  with handles that don't fall off or bags with no handles (like they had in the "old" days...TJ's is so good about rewarding people who bring their own bags and reminding shoppers before they enter the store "Did you remember your bags?"....The double bagging system seems to me to be counter to their otherwise eco-minded, anti-bag-ness (is that a word?)

 #2 Ask Safeway to display their reusable bags that are for sale by the check out lanes (seems logical right?). The last  ten times I have been to Safeway, the reusable bag display has been hidden in obscure back corners of the store where people either won't see it at all or will see it AFTER they have realized they forgot their bags and so selected plastic/ paper.

#3 Ask the YMCA to start using something other than Styrofoam for their complmentary coffee they give out in the a.m. It's really nice they give out coffee (God bless them for that) but the Styrofoam has got to go. I will also ask them to make a little sign that requests that members please bring their own mug.

I will keep you updated on the feedback / changes if any, I find after sending these letters. 

This CROW clothing company is an inspiration. They are eco-all the way around- and offer a sliding scale pricing for their clothing line. It reminds me of the business model that One World Everybody Eats uses. It is so great that companies are beginning to have such a positive and inspirational business model. Definitely something to support!

There are so many fascinating things about nature, it's hard to know where to begin to talk about all of the miracles happening around us all the time. One has been on my mind the last few days as we have been spending time in our backyard. I noticed that there was a cracking/popping sound about every 2 minutes and I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. After finding some uncoiled seed pods on the ground next to our wisteria we have growing above our fence line, I realized it was the wisteria seed pods popping (in fact I just heard one, it's pretty loud...ooh, there's another). Anyway, after figuring out what the noise was, I have been thinking about how fascinating nature is. That popping sound, I learned from Googling "popping wisteria", is nature's way and the wisteria's way of reproduction called explosive dispersal, where a seed pod pops open and flings its seeds away from the plant. The evolutionary explanation for this is to prevent overcrowding of seedlings around the parent plant, giving them the light and space they need to mature. Isn't that amazing???

And nature doesn't just have one way of dispersing seeds but many different and amazing ways like wind (dandelion seeds), animals (acorns) and water (Pond Lilly). I take nature for granted so often and rarely recognize or ponder the fact that my shirt (cotton) came from a seed, my desk (tree) came from a seed, and the bread for my sandwich I am eating now (wheat) came from a seed too. 

I know this is beginning to sound like a 2nd grade science lecture but those seeds popping right now in my backyard are bringing back some of the 8 year old fascination I had with nature that can get so easily lost when we are adults and have "more important" things to think about.

What simple things in nature have you been amazed by lately? 

Bill McKibben, one of the first  to write a book on climate change called End of Nature in the 1980's, has written a more recent  book titled Deep Economy. I found an interview between him and NPR Forum's Michael Krasny that was so compelling and I thought I would share some of his points he makes on this post.

McKibben stated that every year since the end of WWII, pollsters have asked Americans, "Are you happy?". What they found was that since 1956 when happiness peaked, Americans' reported happiness has slowly but steadily gone down. He and other researchers believe that this is a result of people moving farther and farther from the city to afford bigger and bigger houses(sprawl), so they have to drive more (commuting) to get to shops and work and activities. This results in having less interactions with people and so many Americans end up feeling less connected  and more lonely than they did before. McKibben said that research has shown that Americans report having half as many close friends as they did 50 years ago. This is just one result of our "prosperity" leaving us lonely and unhappy.

As of 2007, only 25% of Americans reported being happy yet material prosperity for Americans in the last 50 years has almost tripled. You would think, he says, that those two curves should track in more or less the same direction...they shouldn't split fundamentally apart the way that they are. What he theorizes is that our prospoerity has brought about a social disconnection with our community. As we become a more prosperous country we reduce the odds that we will run into each other in the course of the day by moving farther away from the center of town,  we are forced into our cars more, which means less time at home with family and friends, less meals eaten and cooked at home (and the list goes on and on).

McKibbens' answer  to this dilemma which could also help solve our climate problem is to rebuild local economies which will force us to depend on each other more. This will likely increase our happiness on average  because we will have more interactions with community members and at the same time use far less fossil fuel than we do now.

Community building happens he says when there is a reason for us to rely on one another. He uses as an example the farmer's market re-emergence in the U.S. (now the fastest growing part of Americas food system). They save us energy (eating dinner from a farmer's market uses 1/10 the eneregy used to produce a take out meal) and they increase our socialization and sense of community with others by 10 times. A pair of sociologists, McKibben said, followed shoppers in grocery stores and then at farmer's markets and found that shoppers at farmer's markets have 10 times more interactions with others than they do at the grocery store. This is absolutely true from my own experience. At the grocery store, I know what I need, I go right to it, get it and get out, MAYBE say hello to the cashier and that's it. At the farmers market I am much more relaxed, enjoy myself more, sample food, ask the farmers about their product, educate my kids (and myself) sometimes about this plant or that food. It is a totally different experience in every way.

We have all been taught to believe in this country that more is better, and bigger is better yet all the studies are showing just the opposite. He says that we have confused the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of stuff. and its not working for us. Isn't it sad that one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S., he says,  is storage lockers....

McKibben's point in his book Deep Economy I think (although I haven't read it yet) is that, more than any new innovation or technological advance to combat climate change,  we need to revive our local economies and rely more heavily on those in our own community for our food, clothing  services and other basic necessities, to not only reduce our use of fossil fuel but to increase our happiness and sense of wellness.

If you have a spare 30 - 45 minutes sometime, I HIGHLY recommend listening to this interview with Bill McKibben and Michael Krasny. You will be inspired.

Yesterday and today for May standards around here (Santa Rosa) have been incredibly HOT as most of my fellow bloggers know.

What are some ways you and your kids are staying cool while keeping your "carbon foot print" light? 

Upcycling is the use of waste materials to provide useful products. Ideally, it is a reinvestment in the environment and embodiment of the notion that while using resources one is also contributing to them and their value. This is antithesis of the consume and waste concept in society.

This is the definition I found for "upcycling" in Wikipedia. I saw a featured artist on the Etsy.com site who creates all of her products she sells by upcycling from waste materials. 

Are there creative or practical things you do with disposable materials to upcycle? It doesnt have to be as fancy or artistic as this woman's work but I thought it would be interesting to hear what everyone's ideas were.....I know Jennifer K. has used toilet paper cardboard rolls as napkin holders. What are some other things anyone has done?????

I came across this book Gorgeously Green today while meandering around the web. You can browse through the book by clicking here.

Here is what one book reviewer  wrote about the book......

Simply put, Gorgeously Green is fabulously fun. The book and the accompanying website are packed full of fun and valuable information that prove that the saying is true, it really IS easy being green. I can honestly say I don't think there's a better reference for fulfilling SSF's mantra "look fabulous, live well, do good". In the forward, Julia Roberts calls the book a "bible of hope and help (not to menteion a good cleansing mask andn source for eco-cashmere). Author Sophie Uliano makes making greener personal lifestyle choices fun and accessible to everyone. She makes it irresistable.

Uliano hits all of the big lifestyle categories too: apparel, food, beauty, gardening, travel, weddings, etc. And yoga poses! Yes, sprinkled throughout the book are yoga poses and other activities to invigorate the mind, the body, and the soul. Best of all, her motto, "one change makes a difference", confirms that you don't have to be perfect...one small step here and there can add to a big difference over time, especially if a lot of us make the same small steps. The way she presents her ideas and solutions is what really sets this book apart...its fun, its positive, its interactive, its educational, and I have to admit - its completely girly. But that's OK! Her concept of becoming a 'green goddess' is exactly what the green movement needs. As I said before, she makes going green irresistible. The fact that she provides a definition and discussion of 'gorgeousness' says it all.

On the website you can find some videos as well. After watching them you sense her passion, commitment, and excitement in every page of the book. Don't miss GGTV on the website, and the 'Girls Club' must be a lot of fun too. Probably most important though, is that she takes providing background information and resources on key issues very seriously, toxins in cosmetics for example. I don't think I've come a cross a better treatment of the subject or a better collection of green options to address the issues. There are literally easy to understand definitions and website links everywhere.

Joaquin and I went to the performance part of this great traveling educational program called Common Vision. I'm very inspired by the work of this volunteer group. I would highly recommend viewing their calendar and participating someday with your kids if you have the chance. It is fun, green, participatory and educational! Great drumming and dance too! View the video on the website for an overview of the program.

I give a green-thumbs-up to this program! 

National Public Radio recently did a story on the effects that toys have had on children's imaginations and self regulation / control over the last 50 years. I have included a few excerpts from the story that really caught my attention. Not only is it important information for parents but I think it also gives more credence to the idea that many times less is more.

Howard Chudacoff, a cultural historian at Brown University..... recently published history of child's play argues that for most of human history what children did when they played was roam in packs large or small, more or less unsupervised, and engage in freewheeling imaginative play. They were pirates and princesses, aristocrats and action heroes. Basically, says Chudacoff, they spent most of their time doing what looked like nothing much at all.........."They improvised their own play; they regulated their play; they made up their own rules."

But during the second half of the 20th century, Chudacoff argues, play changed radically. Instead of spending their time in autonomous shifting make-believe, children were supplied with ever more specific toys for play and predetermined scripts. Essentially, instead of playing pirate with a tree branch they played Star Wars with a toy light saber. Chudacoff calls this the commercialization and co-optation of child's play — a trend which begins to shrink the size of children's imaginative space.

 A growing number of psychologists believe that these changes in what children do has also changed kids' cognitive and emotional development. It turns out that all that time spent playing make-believe actually helped children develop a critical cognitive skill called executive function. Executive function has a number of different elements, but a central one is the ability to self-regulate. Kids with good self-regulation are able to control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline.

I remember most of my childhood was spent outdoors unsupervised with all the neighborhood children running around, playing games, making up rules and imaginary worlds. It is hard for me to imagine my children doing that now with all the safety issues that exist (or maybe we just think they exist???) 

On Chudacoff's point about giving children less toys and allowing more imagination, I totally agree and I like the environmental benefits of that too. I think we have all had the experience of buying our children new toys (doll, tractor,....whatever) only to have them play with it for 5 minutes and then put it down so they can use the cardboard box it came in for the next hour for imaginative play......(or some scenario like that.) I think this is one way our kids are telling us that we are drowning them in "stuff".

What do you think about this study?

January was the month that I told myself  (and you all) I would try a vegetarian diet out and see how it went. There have been previous blog posts about the environmental benefits of eating a more plant based diet (not to mention health benefits and economic benefits too).

Well, within about 3 days I had failed. I realized that I really hadn't prepared myself with delicious recipes and vegetarian ingredients ready to go so  that I wouldn't be tempted to just cook chicken (again.....and again.....)

So last week I bought How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food and since then we have been eating almost solely vegetarian meals. What made the difference was seeing these delicious and (sometimes )easy recipes and reminding myself that eating vegetarian doesnt mean tofu every night and depriving oneself of tasty food.

The cookbook is about 1000 pages and with this cookbook, you could probably go a year or two eating a new and delicious vegetarian meal without repeats.

Anyway, this is not an ad for a cookbook but rather a LONG way of explaining that vegetarianism doesn't have to be boring and can actually be very delicious.  This book was a delightful kick in the pants that I needed to get going on my January resolution of eco- eating.

Some other wonderful vegetarian cookbooks I use often are:

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

The Greens Cookbook  

New Recipes from the Moosewood Restaurant 

Do you have any favorites????? 

With the hopes of having families try a TV-free week, feel free to post at least 2 ideas of alternates to TV, so we can all benefit from them. Some may take a little planning ahead, but might get you through the week or any other time when you feel the desire to not turn on TV.

So...here goes:

1) Make a special "snack pack" to be opened at a special time. Ideas for the snack pack might be a decorated box or bag, special tin for the snack pack, not the usual snack inside- one that is healthy but desirable to the child. Stickers with paper, handwritten note or happy picture, crayons with a special snack time only coloring book or picture book that is only in the "snack pack". Kids can initially make their own snack pack box and decorate it too, if appropriate. Then parents can explain when the snack pack will come out each day. Basically, keep the snack pack 'special' in some way, a surprise gift to be opened.

2) A new and interesting toy/game/art project (independent)  that only comes out during special times. Sharing and exchanging toys with other families, can make the toy "new" without having to purchase something new. Or have a "my time" box with special toys that they can choose one from during these times, that parents keep out of reach until pulling out the special toy chest. Of course you know what your child will love and keep them busy...at least for a few minutes. :)

 Okay....now lets get some more ideas flowing....your turn!

My last post inspired this post.

When I read where the artist of the basket made of old Kodak film  got her material, she mentioned this store, Reverse Garbage.

It sounds like such a great idea for a store. I think it could really work, especially in a place like Santa Rosa where so many creative people live.  It's a store filled with items that would otherwise be thrown in the landfill but instead are being sold to people who can reuse anything from typewriter keys, to metal drums, nylon webbing,  furniture fabrics, and old CD's . It probably caters mostly to artists and sculptors and those creative types. I love the idea!!!!

The concept is very similar, in fact , to Santa Rosa's ReStore which sells recycled building materials and gives the money it generates to Habitat for Humanity.

I found this product on etsy and thought I would post it on the blog since I love products that are made from recycled material. It's just a reminder of all the beautiful things we can make (ok, some of us can make...not me because I am creatively challenged) by taking some old stuff  that would have probably ended  up in a landfill and turning it into something new and beautiful and maybe even functional.

"Consumed" is an interesting radio program series that has been focusing on consumption, looking at its affects on spirituality, culture, happiness, the environment, personal health, etc.

I have heard it aired in National Public Radio but I don't remember what time or day it comes on. However, you can listen to the programs online. 

I found this online quiz while browsing the internet. I am very embarrassed by my score (3.7).  3.7 is the number of planets it would take to support my lifestyle on a planetary scale. Wow! I thought I was doing better than that. Well, that's a great motivator!

If anyone wants to check out their score and share (or just keep it to yourself), its pretty interesting..... 

November 3, 2007

Noon-4 pm at Julliard Park in Santa Rosa

227 Santa Rosa Ave
Santa Rosa, CA 95404

• Get free compact fluorescent bulbs
• Learn how to take local action and local leadership
• Learn more about reducing your carbon footprint
• Check out some of Santa Rosa's green building and sustainable agricultural efforts
• Live music
• Children's Art contest with Prizes

I love this story which is adapted from "The Star Thrower"  by Loren Eiseley. I think it is an important story  for people to remember, especially during times when you are discouraged and feel like all the small changes you make can't really make a difference.

An adapted version of the story goes like this.....

I awoke early, as I often did, just before sunrise to walk by the ocean's edge and greet the new day. As I moved through the misty dawn, I focused on a faint, far away motion. I saw a child, bending and reaching and flailing arms, dancing on the beach, no doubt in celebration of the perfect day soon to begin.

As I approached, I sadly realized that the child was not dancing to the bay, but rather bending to sift through the debris left by the night's tide, stopping now and then to pick up a starfish and then standing, to heave it back into the sea. I asked the child the purpose of the effort. "The tide has washed the starfish onto the beach and they cannot return to the sea by themselves," the child replied. "When the sun rises, they will die, unless I throw them back to the sea."

As the child explained, I surveyed the vast expanse of beach, stretching in both directions beyond my sight. Starfish littered the shore in numbers beyond calculation. The hopelessness of the child's plan became clear to me and I countered, "But there are more starfish on this beach than you can ever save before the sun is up. Surely you cannot expect to make a difference."

The child paused briefly to consider my words, bent to pick up a starfish and threw it as far as possible. Turning to me he simply said, "I made a difference to that one."

I left the boy and went home, deep in thought of what the boy had said. I returned to the beach and spent the rest of the day helping the boy throw starfish in to the sea.