Join a CSA today!

Throughout the long winter, those of us living in Michigan don't have many choices when it comes to eating locally grown fruits and vegetables. But once spring comes around, opportunities abound! The year begins in March with maple syrup and proceeds to asparagus in April. As soils warm through summer, more and more crops ripen until we're up to our eyeballs in tomatoes and pole beans are climbing the fences. Before we know it, autumn comes around and we'll be picking pumpkins and apples at the orchard down the road.

Many of us simply don't have the time, space and energy to grow large gardens at home. If that sounds familiar, a great way to get local produce is to join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project! A CSA works by individuals purchasing "shares" of produce directly from a local farmer. Sometimes CSAs include people helping out in the garden, weeding, watering and the like. Most local operations, however, simply supply you with fresh produce once a week in exchance for a monthly payment. CSAs in the Saginaw Valley supply fruits and vegetables, herbs, eggs, meat, wool products, and more!

Check out the Local Harvest Website for a good list of CSAs throughout Michigan and the U.S. You can also visit the Midland's Farmer's Market to connect with local farmers or call Stephan and Sandra Bowman (989-837-0953), who will be running their "Bowman Center Farm" CSA for the third season this year.

Earth Hour is Saturday!

Earth Hour began in 2006 in Sydney, Australia as a symbolic act of awareness about climate change. The city went dark for an hour as huge numbers of people participated by turning off their lights. In the past three years, the event has grown with the participation of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and now people across the world are encouraged to participate!

Everyone is simply asked to turn off their lights for one hour beginning at 8:30pm (local time) as a "Vote for the Earth." Visit their website  http://www.earthhour.org/home/ to learn more ways you can participate, such as uploading photos & videos, blogging and more. 

So what have you got to lose? Enjoy the night sky...sit around an oil lamp and play cards...tell stories or go on a night hike. The Earth will thank you for it!

Paper or Plastic?

Neither! In the United States alone, consumers use about 100 BILLION shopping bags, adding up to a cost of about 4 billion dollars for retailers. Most of these bags simply get thrown away or end up as litter along the highway. I admit it's taken me a while to get in the habit of bringing my reusable shopping bags to the grocery store. My family decided to make the switch last year and for a while there it was touch and go. I'd forget the bags in the house or leave them in our other car in the driveway. Sometimes I'd take them with me, but forget them in my car in the parking lot! There I was in the checkout line, with a cart full of groceries and a guilty conscience to boot. Over these past months, I've found a few ways that help me remember to use my reusable bags (nearly) all of the time. 1) Always keep bags in your car. If you have two cars, have two sets of bags! 2) Put bags right back in your car after you unload your groceries at home. 3) Place bags on your passenger seat (or in the back seat) before you drive to the store. Once you park your car, your mind is on your shopping list and not on the bags hidden in your trunk! 4) If you do forget your bags in your car, ask the store greeter to watch your stuff as you run out and get them. Or just refill your cart as you buy your items and load up your bags back at the car! Not all reusable bags are equal, but using even one is better than none at all. Most you can buy at grocery stores have a firm "stand up" base, but are usually made of synthetic (petroleum-based) fabric. Some, however, are made from recycled materials. Just like any change of habit, using reusable shopping bags takes a little getting used to. If you do use plastic or paper bags, be sure to take advantage of recycling opportunities that are available!

Turn it Down!

Not the rock-n-roll...your hot water heater! Did you know that hot water heaters typically rank as the third biggest energy user in the home? Especially if your heater is electric, it will make up 15-35% of your total energy bill (right behind the heating/cooling system and refrigerator). Very few of us would gladly give up hot water altogether, but there are ways to make our hot water use a lot more energy efficient. First of all, most of us have our heaters turned up too far. Save energy by turning down the thermostat to 120 degrees. (My daughter emerged from the shower one day looking like a lobster after a close encounter with too-hot water.) Second, install a low-flow shower head and faucet aerators around your home. By using less water, the heater simply has less work to do! Also wash and rinse your clothes in cold water, which does the job just as good, but uses a LOT less energy! Also pay attention to your hot water heater tank. An insulating blanket can help keep ambient heat from escaping and be sure to fix any leaks promptly. When it's time to replace your heater, consider a tankless or "on-demand" type, which provides hot water as you need it and doesn't constantly heat and store so many gallons all the time.

Turn your Blue into Green!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! On this, the "greenest" of days, I thought I'd share a link to a great project being run by National Geographic Kids (TM). Right now, you can donate your old blue jeans and help set a Guinness World Record (TM)! I bet you've got old jeans stuffed somewhere in your closet, basement or dresser drawer that you haven't worn in ages. Now, you can box them up and get them turned into recycled denim insulation! It takes about 500 pairs of jeans to make enough insulation for a typical family home. This project is specifically geared to insulate homes that are built in places that have been hit by tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disasters. Get your kids involved and instead of tossing your old jeans in the trash, donate them today and turn your Blue into Green!

CNC on TV-5

The Maple Sugarhouse at Chippewa Nature Center was on local WNEM TV-5 this morning. Check out the video at: http://www.wnem.com/video/18913590/index.html Also be sure to visit the Sugarhouse weekends in March from 1:30-4:30pm to see sap being boiled into pure maple syrup. Join us for "Mini Maple Syrup Day" (without a pancake meal this year) on March 21, from Noon-4:00pm. For details, check out the CNC homepage.

Purely Local

In Michigan, many of us take for granted the sweet smell of boiling maple sap and the tasty syrup that results. As I type, I'm looking at a table brimming with maple products in the Nature Center's small store. Pure maple syrup, two kinds of maple candy and even maple glazed popcorn is all there to tempt the palate! Buying Michigan maple products is a great way to start the year off right by buying local food. Buying local has a great effect on your environmental "footprint" and people are beginning to realize the many benefits of becoming a "locovore" (someone who buys local food). Food from far away consumes large amounts of fossil fuels which are used up as goods are shipped thousands of miles over land and sea. Local foods are also fresher and come in a many tasty varieties you simply can't find in most grocery stores. Buying food from local farmers helps preserve plant diversity and also supports the local economy. This year, check the label before you buy and seek out locally-grown foods. Visit the Farmer's Market, a roadside stand, or better yet join a Community Supported Agriculture group (CSA). Watch for more information about CSAs in another post soon!

All About Energy

Experts agree, saving energy at home is one of the best ways we can live more lightly on the planet - and save LOTS of money! Type some keywords into a search engine (such as GoodSearch!) and literally millions of sites pop up where you can get more information on the topic. Where do you start with such an overwhelming amount amount of information? Try this excellent website run by the Federal Trade Commission: http://ftc.gov/energysavings. Here you'll find a cartoon image of a home with different rooms highlighted. Just click on the garage, trash room, utility room, living room, kitchen or attic and you're immediately whisked to pages which provide a wealth of easy-to-use information on a wide variety of topics. Want something a little deeper? Then conduct your own home energy audit at the Home Energy Saver: http://hes.lbl.gov. After inputting some information, this site computes your home's energy use based on methods developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory using models by the U.S. Department of Energy. These sites are only two examples of the many sources of good information on how to save energy at home. Once you begin, you might find the hardest part was simply making the decision to get started!

Welcome!

Greetings one and all and thank you for checking out the first post of Chippewa Nature Center's green living blog! We've been discussing ways to share helpful, everyday tips we can all use to live a more Earth-friendly lifestyle and ended up here. Our plan is to update this blog at least once a week throughout the year, providing at least 52 tips in the process.

As you read these posts, we welcome your comments and suggestions. What have your experiences been relating to our topics and what kind of information would you like to hear? We don't claim to be the ultimate experts and we will all certainly benefit if we learn from each other.

Once again, welcome! Please share the word about our blog and visit often, and watch for our first post about energy conservation coming tomorow! For more information about Chippewa Nature Center (CNC), visit us at www.chippewanaturecenter.org