GardeningNude

Global Warming VS. Climate Change VS. Idiocy – Start Taking Care of the Earth and Stop Your Whining and Gossiping!

Recently, there’s been a lot of debate related to the supposed hacker confiscation and internet broadcast of private atmospheric scientist’s documentation and correspondence. Apparently, in these documents, the scientists are discussing the possibility that global warming might not exist. There are lots of problems about the public basing a firm decision on the earth’s health on what a few scientists are tossing back and forth via email instead of reviewing scientific evidence. We won’t address that here.

However, there is something we should all take a look at – does it really matter if we are living under the threat of “global warming” or any number of other titles we give “climate change”? Why are we arguing semantics? We earthlings are already experiencing something which we have experienced since the birth of our species: climate change is happening.

Documented from Biblical times, the earth has been changing. Areas in the Middle East which were once verdant and green are now deserts. Areas which were once deserts are now lakes. This is true. This is documented. It continues to happen now. Above you see a photo of the Aral Sea. It was once the world’s fourth largest inland salinated water body. Within 20 years it has been almost totally destroyed due to inefficient rerouting of the rivers leading to it by the Soviet Union.

The region's once prosperous fishing industry has been almost completely destroyed, bringing unemployment and economic hardship to the humans living near this endorheic basin in Central Asia. Local climate change has been significant due to the sea’s retreat, with summers becoming hotter and drier, and winters colder and longer. The Aral Sea region is also now extremely polluted with consequent serious public health problems.

Whether it is specifically “global warming” or not is no longer the point for me personally. CLIMATE CHANGE IS HAPPENING. PERIOD. Whether it’s related to the “global warming” theory or not makes no difference in the way we should be taking care of our planet. Every single human on this planet should be thinking of ways to help keep the planet going so humanity can continue.

The earth is an evolutionary entity and changes temperatures constantly – deserts become oceans; lakes become deserts. Sometimes within a single lifetime when aided by idiocy and poor management by local governments, and other times within a million years.

The fact still remains that we should be cleaning up and regulating pollution and climate change so we are better able to save lives and maintain cultures; preventing the human race from disappearing in the process.

I don’t think the “world will end” in a firey explosion on a certain specific date in the future as so many people are duped into believing, but I do believe because of our own stupidity we might just end up making the earth an inhospitable place to support life within only a few short generations; destroying both humans and many other of the animals we share the earth with.

It is time for all of us to stop arguing semantics. It’s global warming, it’s climate change, it’s global warming, it’s climate change – no people; it’s idiocy to sit on your hands and do nothing but complain. Every human on earth needs to stop whining and gossiping and start doing something about it!

As always, I still adamantly believe that one person at a time is the place to begin. One determined person can make a difference. It starts here. It starts now.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

PHOTO CREDIT: I had difficulty finding the original source of these photos. I found the photos at this link. However, the author did not credit it properly. After further search, I believe the credit should go to Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC for the sky’s-eye view. I found further information and more photos credited to him at this link through NASA. Photo credit for the Aral Sea shipwrecked fishing boats goes to William C. Tumley, 1990.

How To Winterize Rain Barrels For The Big Freeze

 

As the thermometer plummets in the northern states, it is time to close up gardens and winterize/weatherize garden tools and rain barrels. It is easy to do and a must for extending the life of your rain barrels as freezing water left inside a rain barrel forms a giant “ice cube” and will crack most rain barrels.

HOW TO WINTERIZE A RAIN BARREL

1. Disconnect rain barrel from down spout and drain all the water from both the rain barrel and hoses.
2. If you are able – relocate your rain barrel into storage. If this is not a possibility, flip the barrel upside down to prevent water from freezing on the interior of the barrel.
3. Reconnect gutter downspouts to redirect winter roof water away from your home’s foundation. Do this by screwing on the downspout you removed in the spring, or by adding temporary flexible down spouting (see photo to the right).

Make a difference for yourself and your community - consider a rain barrel for next season. The above rain barrel came from www.cleanairgardening.com.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Stop Throwing Your Disgusting Cigarette Butts On The Ground – Our Earth Is Not Your Ashtray and Taxpayers Are Paying For It!

Did you know that cigarette butt litter makes an impact economically and environmentally in your community? Daily, as I go about my business, I am constantly shocked by drivers who pitch their disgusting cigarette butts out of car windows and on the sidewalks as they are going from their car to stores and businesses. Doing this is littering.

Cigarette butt litter is a negative issue for more than just aesthetic reasons. Cellulose acetate is what makes up the filter on a cigarette. Sadly, it also contains trace amounts of cadmium, arsenic, lead and other toxins. It is very slow to degrade, so is damaging to our environment. Each cigarette butt can take up to ten years to decompose, dependent upon environmental conditions. Wildlife also mistakes the butts for food and eat this poison.

When smokers discard cigarette butts in inappropriate ways – like throwing them into lakes, out car windows, on to beaches, and on the ground - they are basically throwing these substances directly into the environment. In fact, 5.5 trillion cigarettes are used worldwide annually. Keep America Beautiful, a national litter prevention not-for-profit, says there is an economic impact of cigarette litter, “Residents and businesses “pick up” the tab. Cigarette butt litter has to be cleaned up. This requires additional sidewalk and street sweeping, greenway and park maintenance, storm drain cleaning, and increased maintenance of storm water filters. And business owners bear the expense of cigarette butt litter cleanup around entrances, exits, sidewalks, and parking lots.” 

Join Keep America Beautiful’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP). It is designed to support local community improvement initiatives for reducing cigarette butt litter. Get step-by-step instructions for implementing a program today and get started making a difference in your community.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Beauty and Health With Nature – Mike Caplan Captures It All

 

Mike Caplan is a television weatherman for ABC-7 News in Chicago. He is also one amazingly talented photographer as you can see by the two gorgeous photos I have included on this post (both copyright protected). His passion for photography has lead him to build his curiosity for nature into the fabulous art found at Caplan Studios.

Late this summer, I was able to speak with Mike at the Morton Arboretum and discuss his love for photography. As soon as we met, I was captivated with his positive mindset about the importance of nature and his strong commitment to bringing more people to nature by way of his artistic photography. According to Richard Louv, the author of Last Child In The Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder (Algonquin Books, 2008) children in America – and adults for that matter – are suffering from “Nature Deficit Disorder.” Being in nature can help prevent nature deficit disorder, a condition whereby people suffer both physical and mental illness because they do not have regular exposure to the benefits nature provides.

Mike’s philosophy about nature photography goes beyond art. It mirrors this concern about Nature Deficit Disorder; that society will benefit in a positive way by seeing nature up close and personal. His desire to encourage more people to get outside and build health and a positive mindset is part of what drives him forward in capturing more incredible art from natural surroundings.

Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Mike’s  childhood was filled with learning the fun of studying environmental science. His fascination with the sky and weather defined his full-time career as a weatherman. It became a natural step to explore photography and inspire others on the importance of humanity connecting with nature as well.

Mike’s photography is featured at the Morton Arboretum and Chicago Botanic Garden. His signed work is available at the Chicago Botanic Garden in The Garden Shop, which will be offering double discounts to members on Nov. 7. For more information and to view other photographs in the Caplan Studios portfolio, visit the online gallery at www.caplanstudios.com.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Pumpkin Seeds - How Halloween Can Teach Your Children About Nature

 

All summer long our family grew pumpkins; first we planted tiny plants in the soil – they flowered bright orange flowers as large as my hand. Green balls soon formed in the early summer and grew into larger pumpkins mid-summer. Finally, in September, we watched the pumpkins ripen orange.

Picking the pumpkins involved my daughter steadying the pumpkin while I used heavy garden scissors to snip them off the thick vine; their lifeline to water and nutrients. Leaning down, she picked up a pumpkin and shouted, “WOW! This is heavy!”

Our “babies” sat smiling on the front porch for weeks, then one day Grandma came over and helped my daughter decorate for Halloween. They decided to carve the most famous pumpkin we grew this year; Peter Pumpkin. As they cut open the lid of the pumpkin, my daughter gasped and peeked inside. “Ewww… what is all that stuff in there?”

Grandma said, “Seeds. Now we have to clean them out so we can bake the seeds and have a treat.”

“So that’s where the seeds come from?” said my daughter. “Yep. Right in the middle of all those pumpkin guts.” They smiled at each other and continued on. In the photo above you see my kiddo carving Peter Pumpkin while Grandma sorts the seeds.

Watching them helped me realize that every little thing we do influences our children. Carving a pumpkin can become a scientific lesson about nature – learning where seeds come from. Planting the pumpkin plant and watching it grow was also a lesson – learning where our food comes from with the process of photosynthesis and seed production.

Every day we should be teaching our children a little more about life. It is not the sole responsibility of the school system to educate our children. Take a moment today to make a difference in the life of children and spend time educating them.

Below is a recipe for you to try with your family. Enjoy!

Garlic Pumpkin Seeds

1 1/2 tablespoons real butter, melted

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

3 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (135 degrees C).
2. Combine the margarine, salt, garlic salt, and pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly and place in shallow baking dish.
3. Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

What Would Harry Do? Living Life Simply Can Make You As Happy As A Pug!

Today I challenge you to think more about spending time with your family community and living a simpler life. It is what Harry would do.

Every morning my dog, Harry the Pug, wakes up with a positive wag in his tail. He is old now and has arthritis, so getting up is not as easy as it used to be, yet Harry the Pug still wags his tail when he sees me. His schedule is quite rigid – his day starts out with morning ablutions, followed by a delightfully simple breakfast, a delicious bone, and a good pat from his family.

Several naps follow, and in the evening his master comes home from work. This experience is greeted with lots of tail wagging and barking. For the next two hours he sits with the family and if he is especially lucky, he gets an extra bone for his loving efforts – wagging furiously. He lies down for the night next to the television and is quite happy to call it an evening. That’s his full day. Every day. It is a simple life built around a thriving community who loves him.

Note the important highlights of Harry’s day – food, family, and home. For him it all equals happy.

When you are stressed out and think it is the end of the world – when you have lost your way and feel as if life is no longer important, it is time to ask yourself, “What Would Harry Do?”

Harry would wag it off with a doggy smile, go give a family member a hug, and realize that the most important things in life are the simplest; having a family to love.

My wish for you is the same – happiness because of a community that loves you. There is no better happiness than that.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com or The Blogs - www.gardeningnude.com or http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

A Trip To Indiana in Fall – Get Out In Nature For Better Health and More Energy

Can spending time in nature – you know – out in the dirt and weather - improve your health? According to growing scientific evidence on nature’s healing power – YES!

Last weekend, my family’s journey to Indiana is testimony of that. Of course, Indiana is beautiful, I am biased since it is my home state. Spending a fall day in the woods of Indiana with my family last weekend did more for me than I can say on both an emotional and a physical level because reconnecting with nature and touching the environment goes a long way towards anti-depression and better health.

It began with the crisp fall air, and extended all the way to the sunshine. Best yet; spending time outdoors with your children learning about nature is a fantastic way to stay connected with them as well. Building your familial community means closer and more emotionally stable families.

According to Richard Louv, the author of Last Child In The Woods (Algonquin Books, 2006), by encouraging our children to get outside more, we are helping to prevent "Nature Deficit Disorder." This condition, according to Louv, encourages diabetes, poor test performance, overweight children, as well as allowing other disorders such as ADD and ADHD to manifest itself. I believe Louv has it right and that we should be getting our children and ourselves out in nature far more.

Our family owns a good sized ranch in Indiana and uses “mules” – little mini off-road vehicles – to drive around their extensive wooded property to maintain and manage a nursery of trees. While the mules are not a particularly “green” choice, the experience of touring the ranch and property on a fall day in an open air vehicle was marvelous. Above (from right to left), you can see my cousin, Sunday, my oldest daughter, Kelsey (now in college), and me bundled up and riding off-road through the woods on a beautiful fall day.

Connect your family with nature – take them outside to enjoy activities which involve sun and air exposure. Get dirty! Have fun! Do things which stretch outside your ordinary box of life boundaries – it will make a difference both for yourself and for the people you touch. Do it today because tomorrow comes much too quickly.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com or The Blogs - www.gardeningnude.com or http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Feeding the Hungry – A Homemade Video On How You and Your Children Can Make A Difference For A Food Bank!

According to AmpleHarvest.org,”an estimated 100 billion pounds of food, enough to totally eliminate hunger, is thrown away annually in the United States.” Be shocked – and then make a difference for your community by stopping the waste.

Regularly clean out your food pantry - – if you are not eating the food in your home, donate it to a local food pantry before it gets outdated. If you grow a garden and have leftover vegetables, do not leave it standing on the plants; take it to a local food pantry and donate it to someone who could really use it like we  did in the above video. Organizations like AmpleHarvest.org enable neighbors in need to obtain garden fresh produce that might be left standing unharvested due to over production in home and community gardens. Please send food pantry’s that are unregistered to this website to help make a difference for people in your community.

Above is a homemade video my daughter and I made about collecting vegetables from the garden and taking it to be donated. Having my eight year old help plant and grow the plants, then film our trip, gave her a strong sense of ownership with the experience. Notice how excited and proud she is that she is bringing “her baby” the pumpkin to give to some other child.

All of our children should understand and identify with the feeling of caring for others, most especially those in need right in our very own neighborhoods. Building our community means building our economy and contributing to the emotional health of other human beings. Of all lessons in life, I believe this one should take priority for our children. Grow a garden if you can because it can make a real difference for the world. Teach your family and neighbors how to grow a garden as well. Get started planning right NOW – at the end of this gardening season – to plan for next year’s vegetable garden. Purposely plant vegetables which are easy to grow and which might be mass producers so you can contribute more to help those who really need it. If you cannot grow a garden on your property, invite your neighbors to participate or build a community garden on a local community property.

What will you do to have your children understand the importance of helping the hungry?

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

College of Dupage Students Make A Difference With A Rain Garden

Educating the community on the benefits of having water conservation oriented gardens is critical to help the storm water system in the United States experience less stress. Students from one College of DuPage classroom in Illinois are working to help make a difference for the water conservation in their community by building a rain garden.

Planted depression gardens called rain gardens, allow rain water runoff the opportunity to be absorbed. This water comes from urban areas which are impervious such as roofs, driveways, walkways, and compacted lawn areas. By collecting rain water in this way, it reduces rain runoff by allowing stormwater to soak into the ground that would normally flow into storm drains and surface   waters and then cause erosion, water pollution, flooding, and diminished groundwater. Rain gardens can cut down on the amount of pollution reaching creeks and streams by up to 30%. By saving water from automatically funneling into your region’s storm water system your community could be saving millions of taxpayer dollars as well as recharging your local ground water supply.

One man trying to educate college students on the importance of this concept is Jim Kleinwachter. He teaches a Rain Garden class at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn which is part of the Horticultural program there. This class focuses on how rain gardens, bio-swales and other native plantings can help reduce flooding, conserve water, and provide food and shelter for a variety of wild creatures.

Last week, Jim and a group of students from the college, went on a field trip to McDonald Farm, which is The Conservation Foundation’s corporate property, and built a rain garden to demonstrate the benefits of water collection. In the photos above you can see the class’s progress from their initial dig of the rain garden area (which is situated right below a downspout), through the plant arrangement phase, to it’s completion. In the top photo you can see the final product – a successful rain garden!

Congratulations on the beautiful rain garden team; it will serve to educate the community on how easy it is to build and install a rain garden for years to come. To learn more about rain gardens from the Conservation @ Home Program, feel free to click this link.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

The Field Museum Teaching How Soil Connects The World In A Sustainable Way

Healthy soil is more than just dirt we clean off our shoes after gardening; it is a living ecosystem in itself, full of an amazing variety of creatures necessary for healthy plant development. One teaspoon of healthy soil contains as many as 5 billion living organisms. These organisms are responsible for helping fuel enough plant life to oxygenate the air and feed the more than 6,700,000,000 people on earth.

On a recent trip to the The Field Museum of Chicago, I learned a lot about soil by visiting the museum’s Underground Adventure. This adventure shrinks visitors down to a tiny size, so viewing the soil up close and personal on the correct  scale is possible. This is a particularly wonderful exhibit for families to see together.

Proof of this is when I met Jeff O’Connor, Organic Farmer and Certified Crop Advisor, and his family (photos above and to the left). He was at the The Field Museum of Chicago as a soil expert on the day I came in to tour the Underground Adventure. As working organic farmers, Jeff and his wife, Gina, hope to live an experience that puts their children Kelsey, Evan, and Morgan in direct contact with the soil and the natural world around them. They answered dozens of questions for touring children and adults alike.

Jeff and I spoke about the amazing process of how microbes flock to root tips to eat dead cells and drink sugar and amino acids, thereby creating a uniquely powerful symbiotic relationship which enables plants to support the human race. Promoting positive soil habits like utilizing less insecticides and weed killers will allow homeowners to build microbes and have healthier soil, and therefore healthier plants on their property.

The Field Museum’s Top Ten list of things you can do to improve soil quality at home is below. More detail and further descriptions of each of the items on the list can be found at this link - http://www.fieldmuseum.org/undergroundadventure/index.shtml

1. Recycle.
2. Start a worm compost bin.
3. Start a regular compost pile.
4. Support farmers who grow crops organically.
5. Read and incorporate the principles of the International Earth Charter into your life - www.earthcharter.org/, environet.policy.net/.
6. Learn about your local area's special dumping, run-off, and hazardous waste disposal rules, as well as what toxic materials you may have in your home..
7. Grow things.
8. Have a No Trash Lunch Week.
9. Plant native species in your backyard or on your school campus.
10. Plan a volunteer workday to help clean up a vacant lot, river habitat, or other place in need of restoration.

The Soil Adventure Mobile offers community groups, schools, libraries, and  neighborhood groups all over the Midwestern region a perfect way to extend the Underground Adventure exhibition experience. Have your community explore soil with a hands-on educational program (see the cool Soil Adventure Mobile to the right) – invite the Soil Adventure Mobile out to a community event to promote healthier living.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Make A Difference In Your Community – Get Involved To Help Beautify It

There are many ways to enhance local community. Of course, you can be a one man show and help a neighbor on your own, but it is far more effective when you get together with a group of like minded individuals – working as a team you can accomplish something wonderful.

In my local area I work with the greater community accomplishing lots of fantastic conservation education and enhancement activities by teaming up through a program called “America In Bloom” (www.americainbloom.org). In the photo to the left you see a group of children working to enhance the local elementary school gardens.

Since 2001, the America in Bloom (AIB) organization has helped over 130 communities from across the United States improve the quality of life for residents and visitors. AIB is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting nationwide beautification programs. Some of these programs are quite extensive, including conservation, sustainability, recycling and more. Most general programs require both personal and community involvement through the use of flowers, plants, trees and other environmental and lifestyle enhancements.

Rather than winning the National Contest, the real on-going goal for the local community is to bring the community together and create a beautiful city for the residents. My local AIB team has recently created native plantings at all eight entry-to-the-city-signs with a feature on our city flower; the Rudbeckia or “Black-Eyed Susan”.

As a team, we have built many native gardens and are working with the city’s environmental advisory commission to educate more homeowners about the benefits of using drought tolerant plantings, rain barrels and rain gardens to educate on water conservation and other greening and environmental concerns. As you can see in the above photo, we are also working to beautify the city with gorgeous flower pots and flower gardens.

Dorothy Deer is the head of our local group and has dedicated her time with the community to making a difference – a truly beautiful accomplishment and so beneficial for the thousands of people who live here in my city. Dorothy has worked with the group of AIB members diligently over the years to host multiple garden walks, an art show, a native plant sale, local garden contests, built a hanging pot floral display for the city, built native plant gardens, and so much more. We all work together yearly to enhance and expand the eight categories of AIB evaluation criteria:

• Floral Displays
• Environmental Awareness
• Landscaped Areas
• Tidiness
• Urban Forestry
• Heritage Preservation
• Turf and Groundcovers
• Community Involvement

This photo shows a few of the local members for the Warrenville America In Bloom at one of the national America In Bloom Symposiums - including "yours truly." Meeting other like-minded communities is a great benefit of the AIB National Symposium!

Belonging to the America In Bloom organization can make a big difference for your community and offers you an opportunity to get involved and help many in your neighborhood with gardening – the America In Bloom effort truly brings communities together.

Make a difference today!

This blog is an adaptation of an original post from my gardening blog – http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com – I hope you’ll take a look at ways you can green your world and share it with the community! Happy Greening (and gardening)!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Chicago Botanic Garden Plant Conservation Science Center – Saving the Planet With Research and Conservation!

On the cover of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s (CBG) map and garden guide it says, “Plant Science Will Save The Planet.” After visiting The Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center, I agree that educating the public on this amazing process will be critical to the earth’s future.

Julie McCaffrey, Senior Media Relations Specialist, gave me a wonderful tour of the newly renovated Plant Science Center. She and I hopped on an electric cart and jetted over to the state-of-the-art building. First thing she pointed out was that the floors in the halls behind the scenes were made from recycled tires. All the floors are radiant heated to promote energy conservation

The Plant Science Center was designed as a gold rated certified building for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). CBG’s 38,0000-square-foot Plant Science Center provides teaching facilities and laboratories for more than 200 Ph.D. scientists, land managers, students, and interns whose conservation and plant research is very important to accomplishing the Garden’s efforts to save our planet by saving our plants. It also serves as home to a doctoral program in plant biology and conservation with Northwestern University. A viewing gallery of the scientists at work (see photo above) and the 16,000-square-foot Green Roof Garden are open to the public. Annually, nearly 800,000 visitors will get to view plant science firsthand.

Emily Shelton (see right) is a gardener for the green roof and helps maintain the plantings. Nearly 320 varieties of plants were planted at the Plant Science Center Green Roof Garden. Just recently installed, the green roof was quite impressive, and I am excited to come back and see progress over the years.

Most impressive was a very special rain garden which surrounds the Plant Science Center Building. It is a shallow, trough-like depression and is called the Rainwater Glen; it functions like a river’s floodplain. It is designed to hold back stormwater runoff, allowing deep-rooted native plants to facilitate absorption and help filter impurities to improve community water quality. Above you see a photo of a portion of the Rainwater Glen as bikers pass by riding through the incredible scenery at CBG.

Below is a video on the Plant Science Center Rainwater Glen which really speaks to it’s wonderful water conservation science.

Next chance you get, go to The Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center at the Chicago Botanic Garden – you will see conservation in action and an entire community built to make a difference for our earth.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Support Healthy Living – Have A Green Fair!

How do you live healthier? How do you learn more about living a green lifestyle and what that means? There’s so much information out there it can be quite confusing.

My suggestion is to educate your community by getting awesome experts from your community who can better define “green living” and the have a fun experience together. 

Two great organizations in my county in Illinois are doing just that - Cantigny and SCARCE are hosting their first-ever Green Fair on Saturday, September 26. The event, from 10 am to 4 pm, will be a great way to see new environmental technologies and ideas.

Focused on green lifestyle living, there will be cooking demonstrations, presentations, eco-activities and all sorts of educational opportunities for the community.

Most importantly, there will be a “Recycling Extravaganza” at the event. This is a special drop-off recycling event where people can drop off everything from books, to metals, to tennis shoes, to bikes, to electronic waste without ever getting out of the car. All donated products are reduced, reused, and/or recycled. It is a beautiful thing for the community as it keeps products out of the landfill.

Come to the Cantigny Green Fair on Saturday, September 26th from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. If you do not live in Illinois, go to the Cantigny and SCARCE websites and learn more about how you can really make a difference for your community by having a Green Fair. A great first step towards having more of your neighbors understand what living “green” really means.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Project Peace and Grace – Eric Vinsel’s Cross-Country Quest To Discover Spirituality and Kindness In Humanity – Part 1

 

Where do you go to find spirituality and kindness in humanity? Church? Synagogue? Mosque? Family? Nature? Many seek this answer and SHOULD – because for individuals around the world, connecting to nature and to community is the difference between truly living or just counting out hundreds of days in a life.

One of my neighbors here in Warrenville, Illinois, is a young man named Eric Vinsel. As a college student who dreams of eventually attending seminary school, Eric decided to take up what seemed like an impossible quest – to travel nationally and internationally for one year and find spiritual grace and peace in humanity. Eric’s quest, “Project Peace and Grace,” is a learning experience for he and everyone he touches. More importantly, he perceives it as a way to join spiritual people’s from every denomination and socioeconomic status and unite us all in a common idea. It also has become his personal search for his own spirituality.

He spent most of 2008 searching out various Christian and spiritual communities who might allow him to spend one night of his quest with a host family to discuss their lives and spirituality. Eric’s hope was to have these families answer just three questions:

1) How do you want to be remembered?
2) What does the world need to remember about God?
3) What is your community's greatest need?

What happened surprised him. Growing up in a closed and protected church community, he had always known generosity there and felt it would be easy to search out pastors and families to help him and encourage him on this experience. It was not easy. In fact, no one from the hundreds of churches he phoned would help him from any organization and he felt all hope was lost. In the spring of 2009, Eric became more driven than ever and felt deep in his heart that humanity’s compassion and innate need to connect would allow him to bring people together in a spiritually helpful way.

His constant companion on the first leg of his journey was a beaten up old Honda Motorcycle from the 1970’s named “Grace.” He started a “Project Grace and Peace” fan page on Facebook to let his friends and family know how it was going, then left on his journey in June of 2009. His faith was strong - with only a few telephone numbers of possible connections in his pocket – he hoped he would be able to finish his journey to as many states as possible and touch as many lives as he could.

What he learned on this leg of his journey was not at all what he expected. Eric wanted to spread peace, hope, and kindness to others, and found out that the most touching connection to spirituality was the kindness that was returned to him from complete strangers.

In Colorado, a new friend allowed Eric to stay and experience nature in the mountains where he met and practiced spirituality with The Adventure Rabbi. He continued on to stay and work for his dinner and meet new people at several places including a beer brewery run by monks, a working Mormon cattle ranch in Utah, and a free-thinking hippie commune. Sleeping along the road side, Eric’s struggles in the journey often centered on the desperate needs of an old and dilapidated motorcycle getting him to his next destination. These contacts were usually given to him by a friend of a friend and could be found on a crumbled piece of old paper in his pocket.

“Grace” broke down in nearly every city he ventured through which left him fearful for his safety and financially unable to feed himself. Yet, the kindness of strangers always prevailed. While traveling through corn fields, mountains, across rivers, and all over this amazing country, someone would help him when he thought he would not be able to go on. Eric helped others too – giving rides to anyone who needed it and sharing his food with whoever he came across who needed it.

Unexpectedly, it was not the religious sect who helped him as he forged onward. Instead, other motor bikers, kind old ladies, and farmers with tractors – all strangers – would help him when his bike broke down in middle of no where. In San Francisco he lived and worked with a motorcycle tow truck driver for nearly two weeks who was kind enough to take him in while “Grace” suffered some difficult repairs. Most shocking of all was when Arthur, a 26 year old, homeless, US veteran suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) helped he and a traveling companion Eric picked up along the road see what Eric believes grace really means to him. It was a moment of self-discovery.

Eric says about Arthur, “He was asking for 75 cents to buy a subway sandwich when we saw him. We told him that we wouldn't give any money, but we would be honored to have dinner with him if he wanted to join us. He quickly agreed. When we got to the restaurant, we went through the line and ordered our sandwiches. Suddenly, Arthur had one of his [PTSD] fits. He scrunched into a ball and started to shake. When he snapped out of it, he stood up and only remembered that we were his friends. He thanked us profusely for coming with him to eat and then insisted on paying for our sandwiches. We refused and said no, we are going to pay. He then pulled out money from his pocket which confused us and said, ‘no, I want to pay. I am so grateful for our friendship that I want to buy this meal for you.’”

“Something clicked that was bigger than this impossibly bazaar moment. I realized that in that very spot, in a Subway sandwich shop, I was standing in the foundation of a church. It was right there were the Church should exist and faith begin [with every day people suffering a very human every day existence].”

“The truth is that I have a similar story in one way or another for every home that I have stayed in thus far. I guess the ‘churches’ may not have given me a place to stay, but I have been staying in churches every night without even knowing it. And though the ‘churches’ may not have fed me when I was hungry, I have been given a meal by the church every day without even knowing it. It has been God that has been feeding me and fixing my tires. It is our acts of love that form the church where God dwells and does His work.”

Eric’s adventures continued north through the state of Washington, where he faced the worst disaster yet - “Grace” was crashed into by another car in a grocery store parking lot and was barely driveable. He made it to Fairbanks and left “Grace” in a trucking depot. Once again, he got help from a surprise source – he hitched a ride with Ryan who is one of the drivers on "Ice Road Truckers" from the Discovery Channel.

Over two months from the day he started out, “Grace” and Eric finally made it back home for a very temporary respite. His journey to find peace and grace was not what he expected at all. But then again, making a difference for our community rarely is what we expect – it is what humanity dictates which fires our hearts in need.

Eric began the second part of his “Project Peace and Grace” journey on August 28, 2009 – floating down 2,100 miles of Mississippi River in a canoe… part 2 will detail his next adventures…

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Children Can Make A Difference and Help Their Community – Case In Point – The Llama Mama Saga

Jennifer Lund is one determined woman. For twelve years she has dreamed of having llamas on her property in Warrenville, Illinois. Jennifer is a skilled knit and fiber artist with no pets at home. Having llamas seemed an imaginative and creative way to combine her passions of obtaining their special wool for use in her hobby, and of course, loving and caring for a unique pet.

When she was finally able to prepare her property and go for the impossible dream of owning these pets, she came up against a lot of restrictions from the City of Warrenville. Livestock was limited in the city to horses. Llamas are not horses. Both the planning commission and city council had to get involved in determining how to rezone property within the city. It took over an entire year and countless meetings to finally bring the llamas to Warrenville.

My eight year old daughter, who had never been exposed to government procedure before, wanted to help. She believed in Jennifer’s dream of having llamas because my daughter knows the joy of having pets and wanted Jennifer to have that happiness too. She also wanted to see the llamas and care for the llamas with Jennifer and was curious if the city would really pass the rules to let her have them.

Although she was unable to attend EVERY city council meeting – there were many over this issue – my eight year old went to several of them. Not because I told her to go, but because she wanted to and felt it was the right thing to do.

She did research on llamas to understand more about them, she made signs (see above photo), she showed up to city council meetings after her bedtime when there were all adults and no children to support the llamas. In the process, my little girl was able to understand how the government works better. That running to the forefront of a cause and demanding change without due process is not fair to the rest of the community. When you want something improved in your neighborhood, you need to go the proper route to do it. This applies to so many things in life that I felt it was an important life lesson for her to understand.

Most importantly, she learned to give emotional support to a wonderful member of our community who truly wanted and deserved something special. She barely knew Jennifer Lund when this all started, but now she knows someone else in our suburban community who is caring and supportive – she made a new friend.

Happily my girl was there on September 8, 2009 at 8:30 PM (past her bedtime), to congratulate Jennifer as the City Council passed the motion to allow llamas in the City of Warrenville. She was the only child in the room, but she sat quietly while all the other motions were agreed upon first so she could be there at Jennifer’s special moment. Above you see the photo from that evening of former Mayor Vivian Lund, my daughter, Jennifer Lund (future llama mama), and current Mayor David Brummel smiling over Jennifer’s victory. Congratulations Jennifer!

We should all be teaching our children that supporting our friends in the community and helping each other is important. We are in difficult times when having our community around us means more than ever.

It is true that society is more isolated in many ways than it ever was. Therefore, now is the time to encourage your children get out and make a difference in the community because they need to be less isolated and more connected with the world to be emotionally healthy.

Make a difference!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

A Salute To Fermilab Garden Club – Businesses CAN Make A Difference For Food Pantry’s and the Feeding of America’s Hungry

 

Family. Love. Friendship. These things define us, connecting us to the surrounding world and making our lives both enriched and worth living. When I met the Fermilab Garden Club this season, I imagined I would simply see gardens. Instead, I saw lifelong friends living, breathing, and building community.

Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory, a Department of Energy facility in Batavia, Illinois, is a 6,800- acre site of incredible natural beauty as well as a business which houses over 1,000 employees. Almost 90 gardeners lease 200 plots, each 20’ X 40’ on a quiet stretch of Fermilab property. All the plots are individually plowed, fenced, planted, watered, and maintained by the gardeners; employees of Fermilab.

This delightful garden is an energetic conglomeration of people from across the world and has become a unique and special expression of community giving. Encouraged by management at Fermilab, these physicists and employees of all ages come from countries around the globe such as Taiwan, New Zealand, Russia, and India to spend time together in the healthy presence of nature. They all give advice, share friendship, and most importantly -  keep themselves emotionally and physically healthy by being a part of this unique experience.

View Full Album

Some of the gardeners have been tending these plots for 35 years. Many have special and heartwarming stories about the love they have for nature and the passion they all have for touching the earth and growing food. Flowers are abundant as well, and are grown simply for their beauty. There’s even an orchard which was started over a dozen years ago which produces apples, pears, and plums.

Each gardener harvests nearly enough fresh produce to feed their entire extended families – from children to great-grandchildren. They preserve, freeze, and dry what foods they are able, however, most also give-away hundreds of pounds of food every year to neighbors and local food pantry’s who desperately need the support.

 

Simply put, the Fermilab Garden Club is truly an inspiration filled with love and caring. It is an example of what a small number of people can do when they come together to make a difference for their community.

Across the United States, more and more businesses and neighbors are doing their part to build community during our difficult economic time. Organizations like AmpleHarvest.org, for instance, discovered that American gardeners were struggling to find food pantry’s that would take fresh vegetables and formed a not-for-profit organization to help connect the hungry with local gardens.

According to AmpleHarvest.org,”an estimated 100 billion pounds of food, enough to totally eliminate hunger, is thrown away annually in the United States.” AmpleHarvest.org enables neighbors in need to obtain garden fresh produce that might be left standing unharvested due to over production in home and community gardens. Please send food pantry’s that are unregistered to this website to help make a difference.

If you have extra garden bounty like the Fermilab Garden Club has – or if you have food products in your pantry that are going to be thrown out - please stop and think about your neighbor in need.

Have a food drive at your place of business – fresh veggies included – and make a difference for your community. Better yet, build a garden filled with love like these wonderful gardeners have. You might be building a lifetime of health and wellness.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

The Morton Arboretum On The Cutting Edge; Beer Bottle Glass Sustainable Paving

Once again The Morton Arboretum is on the cutting edge with sustainability; utilizing recycled glass as a path product.

“Building paths from recycled beer bottles is another wonderful example of our progress towards a more sustainable experience for the public,” said Kris Bachtell, Director of Collections and Facilities. The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized 1,700 acre outdoor museum with 4,117 kinds of trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world located in Lisle, Illinois.

FilterPave^TM paving is crushed glass and beer bottles held together by a special mixture of polyurethane and comes in several different colors. It’s benefits include a highly permeable surface which allows water to sink through and return to the water aquifer instead of traveling into our sewer systems. This is excellent for the environment because the glass mixture is rescued from landfills.

According to Bill Handlos, Director of Presto Products Geosystems Division (seen left), the company that manufactures and the product for the 1,000 square foot walkway, “another benefit of the FilterPave^TM porous pavement is it helps reduce the “heat island” effect by trapping and mitigating heat, rather than reflecting it, as a blacktop surface does.”

Emerald Site Services, LLC, a leading environmental service company in Illinois, donated the installation. John Donahue, from Emerald Site Services (seen right), says “All ingredients for the product are mixed and then laid like cement on the path. It forms a “rice krispy” like consistency which allows more maximum porosity.”

Surprisingly, the finished product only costs about $10 to $12 per square foot installed, which is similar to the price for brick paving. However, utilizing recycled eco-friendly material in a permeable paver form makes it a much better choice than traditional paving for both residential, government, and businesses across the United States.

FilterPave^TM beer bottle paving is long lasting – currently lasting over 16 years in trial tests – and has an attractive crystalline glitter when finished. The Morton Arboretum chose “Amber” as it’s color for the path – a great choice on a grass path surrounded by planting beds lined with brown mulch. It looked beautiful when finished.

Winter plow blades can damage the surface of the paving, however, by plowing the surface a tad high to prevent damage, the permeability of the product allows snow to melt exceptionally quickly, thereby maintaining an ice free surface quite easily. Long term maintenance includes making sure large leaves and debris are swept off in the fall and winter. Outside of that it is maintenance free!

Way to go Morton Arboretum, Presto Products, and Emerald Site Services! Showing the world how cutting edge “green” can really make a difference for your local community.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Get Yo Green On Tuesday - Do Not Burn Your Leaves - Kick It New School - Dispose of Leaves the Green Way!

Fall is upon us and it is almost time to clean up some serious leafage. This is the time millions of Americans burn their leaves – the old school way as they have been doing it for generations. According to the EPA, instead of kicking it old school – you should be kicking it new school and disposing of your leaves in a way which does not cause harm to the environment.

Tragically, leaf burning leads to more than just fire hazards and air pollution – it leads to severe allergy and health problems. When you open burn leaves, it produces particulate matter and hydrocarbons. Leaf smoke contains carbon monoxide as well as  toxic, irritant, and carcinogenic (cancer-causing) compounds. These chemicals are particularly damaging to small children and the elderly in your community.

For me personally, simply driving by someone who is burning leaves is enough to throw me into a severe asthma attack and I can be ill for days afterwards. Why would you burn leaves and cause your community this kind of misery? 

Because of the hazard of open burning, many communities have made it illegal to burn leaves. According to the EPA’s website, “the total health, financial, and environmental costs of leaf burning can be quite high. These costs include: (1) higher incidences of health problems and increased health care costs; (2) higher incidences of home and forest fires and associated property loss and need for increased fire protection; and (3) the clean-up costs associated with soiling of personal property.”

Leaf mold is one of the best compost materials ever. Composting is a fantastic way to create some “garden gold” for your property as well as preventing smoke from burning leaves from entering the atmosphere. Build your own compost bin, or put the leaves in a community composting program – it’s time to change those old habits and try something new which will make a difference for your community.

For more information on Composting 101, please click through and view this link.

Today’s post is a “Two For Tuesday” – this blog is on both my greening blog – www.gardeningnude.com AND my gardening blog – http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com – ENJOY!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com.

How 14 Days In The Yucatan Made Me Realize The Value of Planet Earth – Part 4 – Building Community

Sixty feet up the spectacular Mayan pyramid known as Nohoch Muul, wind buffets me and I cling to the rock desperately - trembling in the 100 degree heat – my heart pounding wildly. As I carefully climb up the steep face of one of the tallest known Mexican pyramids sweat drips down my forehead onto the ancient rocks.

Looking back the steep sixty feet of crumbling steps I have climbed, I am reminded that no safety fencing or climbing gear is there to protect me. A single rope hangs down the middle of the stairs and that’s it. Each step brings me closer to the top of the pyramid and as it does, the wind increases. Already the view is spectacular – miles of jungle stretch out before the pyramid.

Hundreds of years ago Nohoch Muul (seen in the photo above) was the center of the local Mayan Indian community. Mayan Indians from across Mexico traveled to Nohoch Muul seeking guidance and friendship. Every day a priest would climb nearly 140’ to the top of the ancient pyramid to spend time in the ancient temple at the very top to offer prayers to help his people. Nohoch Muul is a part of a much larger Mayan Indian community known as Coba which was discovered in the late 1980’s. Amazingly, only 10% of this ancient Mayan community has been uncovered.

Located in the Yucatan peninsula rain forest near the Mayan Riviera, the ruins of Coba puts me in touch with the idea that all people crave, like the Mayan Indians, existence within a community as an important part of our humanity. This craving explains our passion for social media and our desire to live a life in a neighborhood which is welcoming.

While modern day life in a community may not require a daily 140’ climb, being a part of a supportive environment helps ease life’s woes. Like the pyramid climb, it is not always easy, yet it is rewarding. Building and maintaining friendships, helping one another, particularly during trying economic times, and living life in general can present difficult challenges. Yet when you share time with other human beings, volunteering and helping improve the neighborhoods and community’s where we live, humanity is lifted up in a powerful experience of sharing.

When we take care of our neighborhoods we feel less depressed, more satisfied, and generally happier with who we are and those around us. These thoughts drift with me as I struggle to reach the top of the 140’ monolith. Several times I lose hold and think I might be blown off the pyramid. Always another climber helps me so that I am able to safely reach the top. After the last shaky step, I turn and see an ocean of green rain forest stretching for miles below me (see above photo). White clouds float through the blue sky. There are no skyscrapers, or buildings, or airplanes; just nature and the ruins. Smiling, I reach my arms up in triumph. I made it!  Grinning even wider, I realize that I did not reach the top on my own. I had help. Sometimes life is about more than our own selfishness. Achieving a personal triumph is always made easier when you have a community of caring people to help you.

Living a green lifestyle and building emotionally healthy relationships will help you when you are climbing your own personal pyramid. Family and friends will lift you up when you need help so you can live a better, less isolated, life. Perhaps building community will help you realize the true value of humanity – or perhaps it will just make you smile more. Either way – working to build a greener and healthier community will improve the quality of your living – so do it today and make a difference.

And now in the last photo you can see I had to get back down…. eeek!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Greening in Business - Ball Horticulture Teaching Employees How To Tend To Nature and Tend To Their Health With A Community Garden

Think about this – across the globe many businesses, churches, synagogues, mosques, and community centers are surround by a sea of an utterly useless plant – grass! What positive effect does acres of grass have for an organization? You cannot feed people on grass. American businesses and organizations use tons of chemicals to maintain the grass, which then cause damage to our water tables nationwide. If we are not mowing grass with carbon producing equipment, we are wasting water on it. This is such a tremendous and inane waste of our resources. It simply makes no sense.

My proposal to you dear reader – follow Ball Horticulture’s example of ditching some of the grass and building a healthy community. Ball Horticulture’s exciting move has been to do something about all that useless grass. They have created one of the first employee-run community gardens in the nation.

There is an unfathomable connection between nature and health. Healthy veggies grown with no chemicals; sunshine which produces good mood endorphins in our brains when we are exposed to it; fresh air which is a welcome escape from the confines of the typical closed environment office. This is just the beginning of what Ball Horticulture hopes to encourage with the creation of the Ball Horticulture Employee Community Garden.

Susan Schmitz, Trials and Education Manager, gave me a tour of the community gardens. Overflowing with every vegetable imaginable, 120 employees have come together to grow their own fresh food in 5’ X 8’ plots. According to Susan, half of those participating had never grown a vegetable before in their lives.

While Ball Horticulture is obviously experienced with plants, they realized that their various employees might not be. Therefore, to assure a higher success rate, Susan and her team came together to host seasonal training workshops. Knowing that veggies can quickly get out of hand in size, Susan felt the first step was having the employees understand what a 5’ X 8’ plot would look like. She taped the plot out on the floor and set out a couple plants on the imaginary plot to demonstrate spacing.

Education soon expanded to planting, weeding, and maintenance concerns, eventually growing into what veggies might be planted late in the season after the spring veggies peaked.

Susan also had a bi-weekly email resource and a company bulletin board established for further assistance with seasonal suggestions and questions which might help the employees have a better chance of succeeding.

Soon employees were growing masses of veggies and feeling very proud of themselves. They weigh each garden’s harvest on a produce scale so they can keep track of just how much locally grown and healthy food was produced. Many individuals choose to give all their veggies to the Giving Gardens Program, which donates the food to local food pantry’s.

While visiting the gardens, I was astounded at how truly beautiful they are. Each plot is labeled with the “owners” name, giving the employees a strong sense of ownership, responsibility, and accomplishment. Therefore, they are all wonderfully maintained.

Please make a difference in your community by helping people in this difficult economic time. All you businesses, churches, synagogues, mosques, and community centers do your community a favor - DITCH THE GRASS and BUILD A GARDEN. Make a difference today! 

Today’s post is a “Two Fer” – this blog is on both my greening blog – www.gardeningnude.com AND my gardening blog – http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com – ENJOY!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com.

What a Three-Legged Dog Taught Me About Being A Part Of A Community

This weekend I went camping with my cousins in Indiana and met the most incredible dog ever. His name is Frankie and he’s a three-legged dog. My cousin, Sunday, owns him - he lost his leg in a horrid farm accident and almost died, but they decided his life was worth the effort to save. I think he’s pretty glad he’s alive too.

In one weekend I learned an awful lot about life from Frankie. First of all, I learned that life is pretty precious. When I was a young girl and would whine and complain about chores and life in general, my grandmother used to say, “Well… you got all your arms and legs now dontcha?” And that usually put me in my place. Yes. I was pretty lucky. I had all my arms and legs.

Frankie does not. Yet he still thinks he’s a pretty lucky dog. He does not whine or complain. Ever. Even when he can’t run as fast as others. Even when he is covered in sweat and completely exhausted. Frankie still makes the attempt. He does not give up. An example of this is in the above photo. We rode my cousins horses all over the beautiful Indiana countryside for hours. Frankie ran along behind the horses no matter where we went. Often, he straggled. With only three legs it takes a significant effort to keep up with two full grown horses. Yet Frankie would make the effort – putting his whole heart into the run. Panting furiously. Never giving up. If he somehow managed to get ahead of me, like the photo above, he would turn and wait to make sure I was keeping up with HIM.

When we got to the creek crossing, Frankie would not pause no matter how deep the water was. He would charge through and make it to the other side. Jumping out with a shake; tongue lulling out his mouth in happiness. What a dog!

Frankie pushes himself so hard to throw himself into living, that when he finally collapses, he lays in a heap panting deeply and barely able to move from exhaustion. Yet when he sees a member of his family who needs him, he jumps up immediately – no matter how tired – and helps them. He’s always there for my cousins offering emotional support, helping them with the horses on their farm, and hugging them whenever they need it. Frankie is incredible. Frankie is family. Frankie is love-embodied.

Definitively, Frankie is all about community. He’s building, connecting, and loving the people around him every day. Frankie is making a difference in a world that’s filled with negative mindsets.

If Frankie can live each day to the fullest with only three legs, we can live each day to the fullest with all our arms and legs. If a three legged dog can throw his heart into his community with such vigor and gusto, it seems that surely you can get off the couch and make a simple attempt yourself.

Make a difference for your community – love your community – and help others like Frankie does and I know your life will be full and beautiful for you. You will be living a dog’s life. That’s about as wonderful as you can get as far as Frankie is concerned.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Building a Green Community and Making A Difference With Depression and Isolation – Is It Help For The The Medical Crisis?

With over 307,042,234 habitants in the United States currently, it seems absolutely shocking that we are the largest consumer of anti-depressants in the world. As a nation, the power of isolationism, stress, and poor economy is working to pull individuals apart at the seams. With so many on prescriptions of this nature, it bears the question – does every person need anti-depressants who are prescribed them and how can we make a difference to improve the situation?

Building community, particularly a green community, is a fantastic way to relieve isolated souls, not to mention relieve the insurance and medical crisis we have here in the United States. More importantly, it is a pro-active thing we can do to help people stay emotionally and physically healthy. Green living means more than simply “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” In my opinion, it means caring for your neighbors and working to make a difference to help them.

Some in our society who live without being active in their communities feel powerless, isolated, and disconnected from other people and the world around them. These are key symptoms of depression. Yet, it is important to distinguish loneliness from depression. Does everyone who feels lonely also need anti-depressants to get through the day?

There are many who truly need to be medicated, yet the question remains who really does and who really does not?

Perhaps if more people are connected to others in a supportive way, being an integral part of community, we could reduce isolation. Not only that – imagine the possibilities of how we might increase our economy.

Communities that come together to beautify and maintain their neighborhoods encourage more businesses and residents to move there. Thereby significantly improving their economic standing as compared to other communities in the area who are not doing the same community effort. Pulling people from the community who feel lonely and isolated helps improve mental health on a larger scale. Doing physical activities together enhances this concept even more because physical exercise can help reduce depression. Here you see photos of America In Bloom volunteers from a recent container planting effort made within my own community.

There are many non-profit community building organizations such as churches, clubs, and other more specific community beautification groups such as the America In Bloom group I work through. They are all places you can go to help or be helped. With so many of these groups trying to promote community improvement and activity, it seems a wonderful time to come together and help others. Do it now and help individuals in your community feel less isolated, more empowered, and wonderfully needed. You can make a difference.

Please leave a comment and let me know how you are making a difference for your community members.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

You Can Reduce Crime In Your Community By Going Green With Landscaping and Sharing Plants

Want to reduce crime and encourage greener living in your community? Share your plants and help others to landscape in your neighborhood.

Research conducted by the University of Illinois Landscape and Human Health Laboratory team has been doing on the subject of human interaction with the natural environment. Most significant is the 2001 study on how Chicago public housing residents who lived in apartment buildings which were surrounded by trees and greenery had forty-eight percent fewer property crimes and fifty-six percent fewer violent crimes than identical apartment buildings barren of greenery. It is quite remarkable to note that even modest amounts of greenery were linked with lower crime rates.

The researchers suggested one of the reasons crime was reduced might be that exposure to greenery reduces aggression by helping people to relax and de-stress. They based this claim on prior research showing an association between viewing nature and less mental fatigue.

Another reason suggested for their findings was that crime was reduced partly because the green space around those buildings have encouraged more people in the community to come outdoors in nature, thereby discouraging criminals by increasing community supervision. They also suggested that buildings and communities that have a landscaped appearance might be more likely to show potential criminals that residents care about and watch over their property. Based on this research, taking a calming exercise break by gardening or walking outdoors in a green environment seems a more positive way to relieve stress and help a community become infinitely more social.

National organizations built to promote community improvement such as America In Bloom can help encourage crime reduction in your neighborhood and city, while also enhancing landscaping and neighborhood improvements.

Above you can see I am doing my part – this is a recent photo of the community garden I built on a public sidewalk behind my back fence. Helping your community look beautiful and have less crime is not the job for others – it is a job for you. Get out there and make a difference today!

(To learn more about the studies which I have based this article, please go here - University of Illinois Landscape and Human Health Laboratory.)

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Buy Local Handmade Soaps and Make a Green and Clean Difference

 

Why buy local?

Simple – it’s green. Studies on buying local show that locally-owned businesses generate a premium in economic impact to the community and our tax base. Locally owned business contributes less to urban sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution. generally speaking, local businesses tend to set up shop in town, farmers markets, or city centers as opposed to developing on the outer “mall” areas.

Most importantly, local businesses are owned by people who live in or near the community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the future of the community. In other words – they are promoting positive economic impact both because they want to practice honesty in business and because they are directly connected to the community economic growth.

One of my favorite local businesses is a soap maker who comes to my weekly community farmer’s market. Her name is Kassandra Hesek and she runs Black N’Tan Soaps. While she does not have significant online ordering capability yet, she does have a website – www.blackntansoaps.com. Her main way of selling her product is hands-on - by directly touching the community through farmers markets.

Kassandra’s handmade soaps are delightful. Above you’ll see several “flavors” of soaps she sells including Lavender, The Gritty Gardener, and Bugger Off. After trying her Bugger Off soaps and oils, I can say in the last week I have not had a single mosquito bother me. The Gritty Gardener sit on my kitchen sink and I use it every time I come in from gardening. All the soaps are heaven, plus I am reassured that her ingredients are natural, green, and good for my family.

Look into your local businesses like Black N’Tan Soaps and help make a green difference for the world and a financial difference for your community. Buy local today!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

“Plant A Row For the Hungry” and Feed America Healthy Food – You Can Make A Difference!

This year I wanted to truly make a difference for my community with the garden and encourage people to grow their own vegetables. Locally grown food is the freshest, plus growing your veggies organically ensures your family has a    healthier meal on the table. Happily, I have taken it a step farther and joined the “Plant A Row For the Hungry” movement. 

The Garden Writers Association has built the wonderful food program called “Plant A Row For the Hungry.” Launched in 1995, Plant A Row is a fantastic organization which encourages gardeners to give surplus garden produce to local food banks, soup kitchens, and service organizations to help feed America's hungry.

Since its inception, Plant A Row and the Garden Writers Foundation has helped to organize concerned citizens across the United States. Amazingly, according to the Plant A Row website, “over 14 million pounds of produce providing over 50 million meals have been donated by American gardeners” through the Plant A Row organization. It has truly made a difference for thousands of families.

My extra row is intermingled in a 200’ perennial bed I have built as a community garden out behind my back fence. Above you can see I posted signs to reduce veggie robbery and let the community know I am donating the produce to help feed the hungry. Every day this garden inspires me to smile in my heart. It makes me feel fantastic to know that I am trying to make a difference.

You can make a difference for your community too – if you have produce you are not going to use, please donate it to a local food bank and help your community.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Taste of Chicago - Why Are People Pigs? Stop Being Inconsiderate and Make a Difference For Your Community!

Above you see a photo of my oldest daughter at the Taste of Chicago ‘09. An event which draws millions of attendees and presents Chicago with an opportunity for a lot of positive financial revenue – a desperately needed commodity right now in our difficult economy.

Note the look on my girls’ face. It is not happy. Behind her is row after row of trash and recyclables lined up in some twisted scene – an art display gone desperately wrong.

After researching the Taste of Chicago’s newest and most exciting announcements, I have learned that more than 450 tons of garbage is expected to be produced at this year's Taste of Chicago alone. Staggering.

That’s a LOT of garbage. To encourage recycling, Taste of Chicago organizers will have 65 dual recycle and trash bins available across the Grant Park grounds. Yet from what I see in the photo above, that is simply NOT enough. My daughter said she saw very few recycling areas for the 3.5 million attending the Taste this year.

According to Allied Waste, the new bins have one 30-gallon opening for trash and another 30-gallon opening for recyclables. Yet if they are not conveniently located, what is the use of providing them?

This mess is the fault of the consumers who should be holding their cups, plastic, and cans until they can find a recycling bin to dispose of their trash and recycling properly. However, if 3.5 million people are expected to attend this event, is it truly realistic to expect only 65 recycling bins to do the trick?

People, please stop being pigs and dispose of your trash properly. Not only does it make the city – your community – look like an embarrassing mess, it also presents a health hazard. STOP IT! Take responsibility and do the right thing – take care of your trash and recycling the right way.

Make a difference NOW! Make a difference TODAY! It is YOU who are responsible!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Buy Local: Be Green and Strengthen Your Community

  

Yesterday I went to the Warrenville, Illinois Farmer’s Market. It was a joy to see so many people I know and love buying wonderfully fresh foods and homemade products. Instead of the normal anonymous mall shopping that usually happens out in the world, I was gifted with hugs and laughter at every corner from friends and fans in the community. It was a smiling experience.

When you buy from an independent, locally owned business, instead of the large “box” stores or nationally owned businesses, more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers, and farms – improving and strengthening the economic base of your community.

If everyone could help build a strong local economy, then our national economy would begin to improve in positive ways as well. By purchasing from local businesses you will be doing your small part to help America get back on its feet.

One of the best places to do that is at Farmer’s Markets. Most locally owned businesses that work through farmer’s markets require less transportation and utilize less resources and energy to maintain – that makes it a “green” experience as well. They often hire local-living employees with a better understanding of the customer base, so can offer better service. Local businesses, in general, are owned by people who live in the community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.

Buy local today, through farmers markets and locally owned businesses of all kinds, and make a difference for your community!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Get Yo’ Green On Tuesday – Save Landscape Waste From the Landfill

Today I am taking you with me on a field trip to help save some landscaping and gardening materials. Why, you ask? Because this is an easy way to make a difference and I wanted to show you how you can do it too.

Due to overfilled landfills, most states have banned or are beginning to ban “green wastes” such as landscaping waste, yet many states still allow this type of wasteful dumping. In the past, when a landscaping company pulled out tulip bulbs or plant materials and bushes, it went straight to the garbage dump. Currently, many communities are using ordinances requiring construction firms to submit recycling plans for their construction and landscaping projects and to report the amount of materials disposed of and recycled.

America In Bloom (AIB) is a national organization built to help make a difference for communities. Each community has to budget their own funds and is able to do more with donations of old landscaping products. Last year I connected with a large local landscaping firm and asked them to call me the next time they were tossing out landscaping material so I could come collect it for my local AIB organization. This morning I got a phone call from the group letting me know where they had just deposited several thousand tulip bulbs for collection. You can see my little field trip in the video above.

Imagine that these bulbs were once thrown in the garbage, and I was able to save the tulips from the landfill, make a difference for my community gardens, and beautify my city with them with a fairly small effort.

You can do this too - it is one small thing you can do to make a difference for your community.

Today’s post is a “Two For Tuesday” – this blog is on both my greening blog – www.gardeningnude.com AND my gardening blog – http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com – ENJOY!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com.

Get Yo’ Green On Tuesday – How To Feel Less Depressed and Have More Energy By Being Outside In Nature

We all get depressed sometimes. Life is not easy and as human beings we are driven by emotions which move up and down frequently. However, do you feel sad, isolated and depressed regularly? In the short video above you can see a few tips I practice as part of my green lifestyle which help reduce the symptoms of depression by getting you out in the garden or in nature.

Our society is emotionally unhealthy. Listed in the 2006 version of the U.S. Health and Human Services publication, Health, United States, is a shocking truth—the largest number of physical office and hospital outpatient visits occurs for working men and women age eighteen to forty-five. Over 200 million visits per year. Out of these visits in the years 2003 and 2004, the most frequently prescribed drug type for all outpatient visits was the antidepressant. Yet according to this very same study, only a small percentage of Americans report severe psychological distress.

For some people with truly severe psychological disorders and stress-related illnesses like diabetes, depression and heart disease, medication can be a partial, yet critical, solution. It seems clear that too many seek medication as the only solution. Why are so many people unhappy with the life they are living and seeking pills to solve their problems? It is my belief that by improving our lifestyle practices, we can also improve our emotional mindset and happiness level. Pills are not the only solution.

When I am out in my garden digging, touching the Earth, planting, and all the things that go along with it I feel wonderful. This great energy rush is surely a result of being exposed to daylight and exercise. It encourages a surge of serotonin and other feel-good chemicals to leap through the brain. I also receive positive energy knowing that the things I do which are “green” and conservation oriented are better for the people in my community.

In fact, feeling better is easy when I am gardening, recycling, and conserving. The lower garbage and utility bills are a nice side-effect of my “green” actions as well. When you are being environmentally conscious, you are caring and giving to our world. Caring for the earth, caring for your health, and caring for and building community—THIS is the beginning of what “gardening nude” means and is why I feel so fantastic in the garden and in nature. You can do this too.

Make a difference for yourself and for those around you – get outside in nature.

Today’s post is a “Two For Tuesday” – this blog is on both my greening blog – www.gardeningnude.com AND my gardening blog – http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com – ENJOY!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com.

The Health Benefits of Being in Nature – How a Garden Saved My Life

Joe Lamp’l posted the below “guest post” which I wrote on his Compost Confidential blog site a while back. It received such a positive response, that I wanted to post it here also to let the world know that being in nature regularly DID save my life and it can save your life too. 

= = = = = = = = = =

Today's post is by my friend and guest blogger, Shawna Coronado. Little did I know, when I met Shawna only a few months ago on Twitter, her story would be so perfect for a new campaign I was working. With all the cutbacks and reduced media exposure these days to gardening, I embarked on a mission to be a champion for the cause. With apologies to Michael Pollan, I wanted to entitle my campaign; "In Defense of Gardening", but for now, I'm calling it "Why Gardening is Important".

Part of what makes this popular pastime so vital to millions, is the health benefits derived from it. We all know what we get out of it personally as it relates to stress reduction and a bit of exercise, but countless studies worldwide, support just how important the act of gardening really is in so many ways, well beyond simply what we do as a hobby.

So today, I introduce  you to Shawna, and her story of how gardening literally may have saved her young life:

Over 10 years ago, I was very ill of health. A single Mom, I had endometriosis, combined with stress, lack of outdoor exposure, poor eating habits, severe allergies, high blood pressure, asthma, sugar and chemical sensitivities. This escalated to severe upper respiratory problems. I was always sick with bronchitis triggered by allergies as well as non-stop woman issues such as yeast and bacterial infections. I frequently suffered migraines and head and back pain.

All these things and many other pressures began to build in my life. Before I knew it I looked like a skeletal stick figure and weighed only 96 pounds. My back would go out often [due to muscle weakness] and I would be left unable to walk for days or even a week at a time. I worked and came home and rarely went out doors. At one point I took over a dozen prescriptions a day just to survive. It was a grim existence.

One day a surprising thing happened that changed my life; I got the genius idea to build a garden on the city easement area around my front mail box. That experience was the beginning of an incredible journey for me both emotionally and physically. It was a revelation and within a few years, “down-sized” my career, became a professional garden designer and full-time writer. I feel better and look better than I ever have – I am thirty pounds heavier than I was ten years ago, but I look healthy and feel well. It is still necessary for me to take prescriptions, but now I only take three per day instead of over a dozen.

Many gardens later, I am still gardening heartily. Nature has become my source of health. As I became exposed to the outdoors and increased my physical activity, I started feeling relief with all my health ailments. Better diet, exercise, and outdoor exposure truly helped me to recover and feel as if I am alive again. Although far from perfect, it was such a tremendous change that I still feel it could be called “a miracle.” Building my health back through gardening had become such an amazing experience for me that in 2008 I wrote and published "Gardening Nude", a book about better health through environmental exposure and greening.

Gardening and green lifestyle living helps me cope with stress better and in-turn it also helps my body tolerate my allergies and other conditions as well. I make time for the outdoors, and even more important to my plan, I make time for community. Building a healthier community, particularly in the gardening world, is a fantastic prelude to expanding your soul. Meeting people who live in the surrounding area and building wacky relationships with wonderful friends in my community helped me realize how important being a part of a community contributes to my better health and can do so for you too.

Gardening is a natural step towards community. Who has a plant to share or a vegetable to share during the gardening season? Every gardener I know. The simple act of giving to another human being is enough to begin a healthy mental relationship with that person. While making the physical effort to get out into nature and build a garden is important, it is the act of following through with community which will truly make a difference for your emotional health.

It has become my passion to bring community together and to teach people that it is possible to be energetic, healthy, and to live a lifestyle which is good for the environment and the world. It is possible to be less stressed, less isolated and more satisfied with who you are and the life you are living. I know because my family and I are happily living it; the green life.

All thanks to a garden and one determined woman.

Shawna Lee Coronado is an author, columnist, energetic speaker, and environmental and health correspondent. Her book “Gardening Nude” is focused on health improvement by exposure to nature, greening, and community building and can be purchased on www.amazon.com. Find more about Shawna through her website – www.thecasualgardener.com.

Work Together To Make A Difference – How Teams Can Build Community

My blog theme this week has been all about “building community.”

Along these lines, I spent my entire yesterday working with Jim Kleinwachter (a.k.a. my conservation mentor and the King of Green) installing rain barrels and building compost bins. Jim runs the Conservation @ Home education program through The Conservation Foundation in Illinois.

Tom Reid came out and filmed the whole experience. He is from Crazy Green (www.gocrazygreen.net)  It was a fantastic team effort. Working as a team to make a video is a great way to educate people on being green – I can’t wait until the video is edited so I can show my readers.

Although I did some green educating, I also learned a lot about how difficult it is to be in front of and behind a camera. There is no filming until the proper time has been spent on set-up. Below is a photo of the boys on location helping assemble one of the composters we talked about from Clean Air Gardening.

We did not have a formal script, so the entire team worked together to help come up with Shawna-On-The-Spot commentary. It was fantastic.There is no filming until all the team has worked together to create a message for the viewer. When you think about it – doing anything worth while as a group often requires cooperation, friendship, and hard work.

This type of cooperation leads to something very important – community. Working together to accomplish goals, building relationships, and best yet – help each other through life – is a great way to get something done.

If you build closer relationships both in business and in your neighborhood it will help you feel better about who you are and how you are living life. This is an intricate part of living a green lifestyle as well. Do the right thing and build community whenever you can. Why? Because sharing life is a whole lot better than living in isolation.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Build a Green Community – Teach Non-Natives To Speak English

Shopping in Mexico when you speak very little Spanish is a wild adventure to say the least – I just experienced it two weeks ago on my 14 day eco-blogging adventure. You can see by the photo that it is difficult to understand when you go to the grocery store and are faced with a wall of “foreign” language.

Imagine if you felt this frustration every day of your life? Imagine if you could not read signs, pharmaceuticals, and ingredient lists? How would you be able to take the correct medicine dosages or find the best value for the least amount of money? You would not be able to. Simple truth.

Now I want you to consider something controversial in the United States - nearly one in five Americans speaks a language other than English at home according to the Census Bureau. This has been an increase of nearly 50 percent during the past decade with most speaking Spanish, followed by Chinese then Russian. Americans who discriminate against non-English speakers would shout, “THEN GET AN EDUCATION! SPEAK ENGLISH!”

Although I agree that people should learn the primary language of the country they live in, I propose that the solution is far from realistic. Our culture has truly become the melting pot that our founding fathers imagined. My family has a mixed ethnic heritage, and so does most everyone’s in the U.S., and now even President Obama shows us that a “non-traditional” family is the norm for American society.

With that in mind, instead of fighting against the non-English speaking community, why not welcome them and try to help them to learn English? Many non-English speaking individuals who live in the U.S. cannot afford English lessons and some are not even literate. This is happening in my own suburban community.

Instead of complaining and whining about this problem in our communities, why not do something about it? If we teach other people how to speak English and build community together, than we are HELPING OURSELVES too.

Here’s why – if you could learn how to read labels, than you would understand that CFL light bulbs utilize less electricity. If you could speak English, you could ask people how you can save money on your utilities. If you could be a part of a greener community that works together to conserve water and electricity, you would pay less for utilities and be able to save more money so you could put food on your family’s table instead. Even more importantly, understanding medical labels (like the ones above) would mean you or your family might have less emergency room visits. Also, you would be able to go to a doctor and understand what he says for your family’s health.

Do you see a pattern here?

If you claim to be “green” in your lifestyle, an important part of that green lifestyle is helping your community to understand each other and the world. Make a difference for your community today – be generous with your time and help someone learn English.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Monday Whazzup – How Being Part of a Green Community Can Help Eliminate Depression

Recently, while in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, I learned that throwing yourself off a 30 foot tree does a lot for your self-confidence and energy level. Really.

If you happen to be afraid about making that jump – fearful of the height – or afraid you really cannot accomplish your goal, the people on this same journey will encourage you. Not just the tour employees – but every person who is a part of the adventure. They say things like, “you can do it!” or “I believe in you!” In essence, you have a little mini-community right there on your tour supporting you through the experience. This energizes you and fills your soul with the belief that anything is possible.

How incredible is that? The more frightened you are, the more likely your group will cheer you on. By the end of my tour in the Yucatan jungle, I was shouting my encouragement to my new community as well. Always ready to jump off, dive after, or climb higher, my words of encouragement to others who were afraid to do these things made a true difference. 

Above you see a photo of my husband, Luis, upside down on a zipline over the Yucatan jungle during our Selvatica ziplining tour. It was incredible – and with a little encouragement and assistance from our little community, he jumped off the trees as if he had been doing it his whole life. He touched the jungle in a way some people only dream of. Below is a photo of our Selvatica ziplining experts who had a great time with Luis and helped him accomplish something wonderful.

When you become active in your community it produces the same results – you are encouraged and cheered on by your community friends. You become less isolated and therefore, more connected, to your neighbors. As time goes on you start to feel better – both about yourself and about the world around you. If you are in nature with your community doing more green things like gardening and experiencing outdoor activities, you have the added bonus of having feel-good brain chemicals like Serotonin kick in making you feel even more “up” and energized.

In other words, by being a part of a green community, you can help reduce depression – your depression – and feel better about yourself and your accomplishments. Some, like me, feel that becoming involved in your community and less isolated in your living practices, combined with more physical activity, is a miracle cure for stress.

Be less depressed and feel better about who you are; build community and get out in nature more often. You will feel fantastic when you do.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Make A Difference In The Life Of Another

Yesterday I was surprised when I walked out into the back garden and saw these fragrant blooms and smiled as I realized these flowers represent more than the heralding of Spring, they represent community. My friend, Helen Dale, gave me these bulbs and last fall, on a cold and blustery day, I dug a small hole and planted them with loving thoughts of her smile. Helen may live in San Francisco and I may live in Chicago, but our friendship is no less meaningful because of the distance. This bulb reminds me that she is a part of my community and I am grateful.

Community and good mental health is connected by a thin and marvelous strand of powerful glue. It is about helping the people you touch realize less isolation. We in the United States take more anti-depressants than any other country. Why do you think that is? My belief is it is partly due to isolation from each other and isolation from nature.

Connecting people and getting to know more people in my community whenever I can has become my joy. In particular, gardeners have a marvelous skill at uniting community. Most gardeners I have met are generous to a fault and are fantastic at getting people out in nature to help each other. Most gardeners realize that gardening – and therefore being in nature - is therapy and work to bring people together by giving plants away and educating whoever is within earshot on the benefits of helping the earth. And guess what? Almost every homeowner can try to be a gardener and a good neighbor in their community.

Why not spend some time today bringing community together and making a mental health difference for someone you know?

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Monday Whazzup – Learn About The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Today I bring to your attention someone absolutely incredible – Captain Charles Moore - who has discovered and is tracking a horrific, devastating environmental issue of such grand proportion it dwarfs most states in size, and indeed, is as large as two Texas’s put together. Watching the amazing TED coverage of Moore and his discovery is something both you and your children should do. Why? Because Charles Moore really discusses something important - the world needs help and it is up to us to provide it.

Charles Moore’s story is that he discovered, while participating in a yachting competition in the Pacific, a huge section of floating plastic garbage in the ocean the size of two Texases. This plastic garbage is trapped in the Pacific Gyre, which is a swirling vortex that rides on the North Pacific ocean currents. Gyres are caused by the Coriolis Effect which is based on planetary vorticity combined with friction which causes giant circular water currents.

Critical to the North Pacific Gyre is Moore’s discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. According to the information on the TED website, “this Great Pacific Garbage Patch in some places outweighs even the surface waters' biomass six-to-one”.

Devastated with the way the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has touched the environment, Moore has been analyzing the giant garbage whirlpool and its negative effects on the ocean he has spent his life living and working on. With the help of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, which he founded, he hopes to make a difference.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! http://www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - http://www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Gardening Nude Naked Winner of the Week: Rachel Edson of La Familia International – An International Mission To Make a Difference

On most Friday's, Gardening Nude The Blog features a special person or organization for the day. This person or org is the "Naked Winner of the Week." All people featured in this category are winners for doing great things for the community and trying to make a difference for the world. You can make a difference too.

- - - - - - - - -

The naked winner of the week for 03-13-09 is ::drum roll please::

Rachel Edson, a member of La Familia International “The Family International” is doing her best to educate and bring community together to help each other. Here you see her in Guatemala at a party the group organized for one of the orphanages they visit and care for weekly.

Rachel Edson is an interesting woman. I met her on the street – literally – while she was visiting the United States. Dressed in a ball cap and a ponytail, she was standing on a street corner in Warrenville, Illinois and I drove up to the intersection. She was passing out flyers from a church on how people can make a difference in the world and for their community. As soon as she said hello, I immediately recognized in Rachel a quality which very few people in the world truly possess – a genuine passion for caring and giving.

In that one minute meeting we exchanged cards, bonded as friends, and as I drove off I shouted out the window, “I want to share your story – call me!” Amazingly, she did and over lunch one day she revealed her story.

From the time she was a small child, Rachel has lived around the world with her missionary parents. They taught her that giving to others and helping those in need can make a difference for humanity. She has grown up with that wonderful inspiration and is now returning this education to the world by giving to as many as she can. Her efforts have led her to a missionary group based in Guatemala called La Familia International.  Rachel and her friends at La Familia International dedicate their time and efforts to helping orphaned children and families within the community who need food, clean water, and an education. 

In the above photo you see the mission group putting on a meal for "Dia del Carino" (Valentine's Day). They distributed approximately 1,000 plates of food and gave out clothes, shoes, and toys. This event was held at "Parque San Francisco de Assis" in Guatemala.

If you would like to help Rachel and her wonderful La Familia International team, please contact them via email at lafamilia.guate@gmail.com.

Thank you, Rachel Edson and the entire La Familia International team for making a difference for humans all over the world who need help and love. You win a pat on the back and big cheer from the Gardening Nude blog – thank you for showing the community how important it is to help others.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! http://www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - http://www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Gardening Nude Naked Winner of the Week: Austin Green Art – An Organization That Is Truly Making A Difference For the Environment and Their Community

On most Friday's, Gardening Nude The Blog features a special person or organization for the day. This person or org is the "Naked Winner of the Week." All people featured in this category are winners for doing great things for the community and trying to make a difference for the world. You can make a difference too.

- - - - - - - - -

The naked winner of the week for 03-06-09 is ::drum roll please::

Austin Green Art (AGA) and it’s founder, Randy Jewart. AGA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about important environmental issues via hands-on, creative, community-based programming and events – with creative art as its focus. Incredible idea – “Gardening Nude” loves it!

AGA is bringing a new and unique environmental awareness to the American community. Most importantly, in the process of creating environmental awareness, AGA is also breaking down a lot of the negative cultural form that has led to environmental problems to begin with.

According to the AGA website, www.austingreenart.org, “AGA was launched in November 2004 by Randy Jewart initially to produce a temporary, outdoor sculpture show during the June 2005 Public Art Network. Prior to AGA,  Randy developed a program in Washington, D.C. called It’s Sculpture!, for which he raised over $100,000 in two years to fund public art.”

Thankfully Randy and his cool team of creative artists have been moving forward with exciting projects ever since. From the awesome blue “Plastic Bag Awareness Sculpture” at the Step It Up Rally. To the very cool installation at the REI store in Pittsburgh, PA; a 35-foot waterfall made from 3500 plastic bottles from Mars Area High School students. AGA sees it’s mission in life as creating and partnering with organizations to build focus on education, advocacy and community building.

AGA says it “believes in each individual’s creativity and presents a structure for community members to express themselves throughout the art making process while learning about important issues relating to the environment and their role in its future health.” What an incredible way to help teach the world that there is a healthier way to live.

When AGA takes important community and environmental issues and brings them to the public in a creative and collaborative way, it truly makes a difference for the world. Here are some of their awesome accomplishments since their inception:

• Raised over $250,000 via grants, sponsorships and individual donations
• Conducted 44 programs in 3 years
• Engaged 1,300+ residents and artists as volunteers
• Engaged more than 3,300 individuals as project participants
• Programs have been viewed or attended by more than 200,000 people
• Partnered with more than 160 organizations
• Broad and consistent media coverage including a cover story in the Austin Chronicle

Thank you, Randey Jewart and Austin Green Art for bringing a level of knowledge to the public which is not often considered. Your environmental efforts and positive community actions are truly making a difference. You win a back flip and an old-fashioned Texas, “Yee Ha” from the Gardening Nude blog – thank you for showing the community how important working together to help solve environmental concerns is.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! http://www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - http://www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Gardening Nude Naked Winner of the Week: Organic Farmers – Janet Brown and Marty Jacobson – Co-founders of All Star Organic Farm

On most Friday's, Gardening Nude The Blog features a special person or organization for the day. This person or org is the "Naked Winner of the Week." All people featured in this category are winners for doing great things for the community and trying to make a difference for the world. You can make a difference too.

- - - - - - - - -

The naked winner of the week for 02-27-09 is ::drum roll please::

Janet Brown and Marty Jacobson and their entire family for living the life they believe in. Allstar Organic Farm is making a difference in their community of Marin County, California and doing it’s part to change the environmental world in a positive way. Inspiration for us all!

Janet Brown and Marty Jacobson live the organic life they advocate. They have built Allstar Organics, it includes a two acre farm filled with aromatic plants and antique roses in Lagunitas, California and ten acres of over one hundred and fifty varieties of certified organic, specialty and heirloom crops grown in Nicasio, in Marin County, California.

Their efforts to create and live a greener lifestyle benefits both the environmental and neighborhood community in wonderful ways. Allstar Organics brings locally grown product to Californians – fresh vegetables, herbs, spices, herbal salts, body sugars, and artisnal botanical essences. Janet and Marty bring their “green” products and family-oriented mindset to their local efforts, and in doing so have made a true difference for their neighbors and their world.

They understand that the freshest chemical free products will help families grow healthier. Setting an ecologically sound example is important to their family, Janet says, "In the 16 years Allstar Organics has been in operation, we are proud to have been a part of a growing network of organic and sustainable farms that practice ecologically sound, socially integrated, and economically viable renewable agriculture. We manage our farming system to improve soil fertility, encourage biological diversity, and create year-round food production for local consumption. The result is that we are able to produce an annual, diverse harvest of wholesome, nutritious, and delicious fresh foods."

Below is a short but interesting video featuring Janet discussing the importance of locally grown foods and organic farming to the large scale problem of climate change. Small scale solutions can really make a difference.

Thank you, Allstar Organics, for educating the public and bringing and organic lifestyle to your community. Your efforts are making a difference so more people understand the importance of buying local and buying organic. You win a big pat on the back and lots of applause from the Gardening Nude blog – thank you for your continued efforts to make a difference in the world!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! http://www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - http://www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

President Barack Obama’s Energy Hopes For the Future

Yesterday I was on my way to a meeting and spotted this license plate in front of me. Quickly, I snapped the photo thinking it coincidental that yesterday he addressed the nation. It made me think - what hope and fervor does our country have for the President that Americans choose to emblazon their chests, windows, and license plates with his name?

We need hope – and a belief that the future of our nation, and indeed our planet, will soon be healed. In salute to this fervent car owner and Obama follower, I am posting a quote from the Obama website – www.barackobama.com.

It says, “The Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America plan will:

• Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump
• Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
• Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
• Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.
• Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
• Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.”

An enormous undertaking, but I believe in my heart we can do even more. Make a difference and do your part – live greener! It will take everyone working together  and contributing their small part so we all can live in a better world. We can do it!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! http://www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - http://www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Get Yo’ Green On Tuesday - “Everything’s Amazing, Nobody’s Happy” – Why?

The Story of Stuff at www.storyofstuff.com talks about a linier usage system in the United States whereby companies process natural resources into product, then advertise and sell the product which is built to be broken from the very beginning. It forever leaves American’s wanting more – and our landfills jammed full. I believe this is a true crisis in America. For example, your clothes and shoes are out of style before the next season, so retail company’s advertise you should buy new ones instead of being satisfied with what you have. Same with your antiquated computer, cell phone, car, and virtually everything else you own.

You purchase all of these new things, you experience all kinds of wondrous experiences in your life, but you are still not happy because you are TOLD you are not happy by media and advertisers. Louis CK, the comedian, was recently on the Conan O’Brien show and agrees with me:

Watch more SpikedHumor videos on AOL Video

It seems that the American dream is about consumerism instead of living a satisfied life. Not only consumerism, but greedy consumerism. People become so spoiled and selfish about all the things in their life, that they feel the world OWES them something. This produces mean, jaded individuals who selfishly choose to ignore the existence of overfilled landfills and global warming. These mean people spread the selfish virus everywhere they go and treat the world around them in a negative fashion. They are unhappy.

I challenge you to look at your lifestyle in a different way: try to be satisfied with the things in your life. Accept people for who they are. Smile more. Try to contribute to your community in a positive way. Make a difference with the way you treat the earth.

Purchase more things, use them for a short while, throw them in landfills, and start it all over again; this is the cycle. I challenge you to break that cycle by finding creative ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Find ways to help others by donating your old things to the needy. Build a better community and a better world. Stop listening to advertisers and media tell you to do things that are wrong – use your brain and common sense and start doing the RIGHT things for yourself and your world. Get yo’ green on and make a difference.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! http://www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - http://www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com