Monthly Archives: April 2009

Sharing a Nest

My husband and daughter made a fun discovery on the walk to school last week – a huge crow’s nest that had blown down in the heavy winds the day before.

They took it to her class, to her classmates’ and teacher’s delight. It took my husband several minutes to get away. Something about bringing a nest that is about a foot and a half in diameter into a room full of first graders makes a man really popular. Maybe even more so than bringing a baby into the room.

That nest is still making the rounds at her school. We thought we’d be picking it up today, but it’s gone out to yet another teacher. We don’t mind, as all we want to do with it is drop it in the field to decompose as it would have if it hadn’t been discovered. It gets a bit smaller as it goes, just due to the wear and tear from being passed around. It’s been in at least 3 classrooms so far.

My daughter’s class had a lot of fun exploring the bits of eggshell that were still in the nest.

My one regret will be if we don’t get a picture of my daughter with the nest. That’s the one disadvantage to it being found on the way TO school. With a bit of luck we’ll see it again someday and it might still be in good enough condition to take a picture of my daughter holding it. She’s so proud of that find.

Green Gardening

I love my garden. It’s off to a nice start, although I’m a little concerned about the gopher hole that appeared this morning in the middle of the herb garden. Hopefully the neighbor’s cats are on top of that situation. I’d far rather the cats hunt gophers than birds.

We generally keep an organic garden. I’m still working with my husband on some points; he keeps trying to forget that adding compost to the soil should replace any need to fertilize the soil. It’s hard to break the habits you were taught about gardening growing up, I suppose. But this year I’ve managed to keep him from hauling out the fertilizer. He did try.

And that’s something important to remember. While gardening is mostly an environmentally friendly activity, there are things you can do to your garden that will make it less so.

Fertilizers and pesticides pretty much top that list.

I’m fortunate in that my husband better understands the need to avoid pesticides. We get ladybugs for our garden and plant marigolds. We know that some plants and produce will get nibbled by various pests before we can do anything about it.

And when the neighborhood raccoons come and nibble, there’s just not much to be done for it.

The tools you use matter too. I was looking at some of the garden tools suggested on Amazon’s Green section, and wincing to see leaf blowers recommended. Get a rake and broom, people! You don’t need to use power to clean up leaves. Like many businesses, they’re trying, but really just aren’t there yet on their recommendations.

If you can manage it, a drip irrigation system is better than using sprinklers. It’s some extra work, but much less wasteful of water. The expense can be a bit of a pain if your budget is tight, but if you live in an area facing water restrictions what better way to comply and save your garden? Drip irrigation can use half the water of sprinklers.

I’ve always found it interesting that going green often means a combination of spending a little extra and saving a bunch of money, plus a little extra effort. It’s that first bit and that last bit that I think really throws people off wanting to go green. But try it in your garden. It’s worth it.

What to Do for Earth Day?

Today is Earth Day. These days I find it to be an interesting combination between environmental concern and consumerism. So many companies take the opportunity to greenwash.

That’s not to say there aren’t good things to buy for Earth Day. If there’s a truly green change you’re wanting to make it’s a good time to do it.

For example, you might choose to use more energy efficient lightbulbs, such as CFLs. You might change laundry detergents. You might switch from a gas powered lawn mower to a push mower. You might buy a composter and start composting. You might switch to a low flow showerhead.

You get the idea. Just be sure that you’re really making an environmentally sound choice, not falling for greenwashing. There’s a lot of that out there.

If you’re living a generally green life already, you may feel like there’s not much to be done to improve your home, at least not within your current budget. That’s fine. There’s plenty more you can do.

There are Earth Day events in most communities. Some will be today, others on the weekend. Last year, for example, my family and I attended an event where people were able to help plant trees in an area that had burned in a wildfire. Our kids were too tired that day to help, but they enjoyed the educational parts of the event and a short hike through the nature reserve.

You can also encourage people you know to get more involved. One day doesn’t do much for the planet, but if you can use it to get people who aren’t thinking about the environment to consider it more, you could help with the problem. These things take time, after all.

Healthy Child Healthy World Review

I was recently contacted by a publicist for Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home to see if I would like to review the book. What could I say except “yes”? Talk about a pet topic of mine!

They very kindly sent me out a copy to read, and I recently finished it. I very much so enjoyed the read.

The book is separated into sections of related things you can do, such as preparing for baby, natural body care, pet care and so forth. Each section has a range of tips on how you can do these things in a way that is better for your family and the environment.

Of course, some of the things suggested I do already, but there were some good ideas I hadn’t thought of either.

One of the things I really appreciated was the suggestion in the book that you do not need to try to do everything right away. You can work your way through the things you are ready for and make progress at your own pace. I think that’s a very important thing to remember. Going green doesn’t have to be an instant or frustrating solution.

It also got me thinking about things I hadn’t before, such as how lead gets into soil around older homes. We’re renting a home that I believe is of an age to have such a problem, so I know it is potentially relevant. As a renter I don’t know that I can do much about it aside from being aware of the potential for a problem. It’s a topic my husband and I have discussed before, because he didn’t see why kids would chew on paint chips, and now I can explain to him how it really works. See page 164 if you need to know.

The section on food (chapter 3) is one I think I need to bring up with a friend of mine who I had been discussing organic produce with the other day. She wasn’t sure what she needed to buy organic versus conventional to avoid pesticides (page 36). I’ve seen the same list online, but it’s nice to have a physical copy of the list.

There’s a great section at the back of the book on Healthy Resources. You can find out where to learn more on your favorite topics or learn about some of the products they recommend.

Of course, every parent reading this will have their own favorite sections, depending on what they need to learn. I do strongly recommend you get this book. Check your library if it’s not in the budget, but with all the resources it provides, you’re probably going to want to buy your own copy to keep referring back to.

Are You Being Water Wise?

Here in southern California we’re facing some pretty serious water issues. The water supply is pretty low, and they’re talking about restrictions this summer. But since many people in the area have been working hard to conserve already there’s a bit of a challenge in making sure that they aren’t punishing people who have already cut back and just can’t cut back more.

But even if that isn’t a problem in your area just now, cutting back is a good idea. The website Be Water Wise was created by the Southern California Metropolitan Water District, and the stats are for this area, but some of the water saving advice is good anywhere.

These are some of my favorite tips and how we implement them:

1. Water the lawns less.

Our front lawn gets very little water. It’s kind of unattractive, but I’ve come to see really green lawns as a luxury we really can’t afford. I’d love to see native plants replace the front lawn.

Our back lawn gets somewhat more water for the simple reason that it’s a pleasant place for the children to play. That’s important too. But it is not the lush green of a heavily watered lawn. It gets just enough to keep going, and that’s it.

2. Shorter/combined showers, low flow showerheads.

Shorter and combined showers can save a lot of money. Combined showers can also cause water waste, so you do have to think about what it is you’re doing in there, if you get my drift. Two people in a shower can use less than two showering separately if they make that choice.

The fact that my 4 year old likes to come and play in the shower ensures that things move pretty quickly for my husband and I.

I also keep my showers shorter by thinking about how often my hair really needs washing. That’s a personal preference, but you may be surprised at how you can train your hair to need a different level of care. Make changes slowly and you may be able to decrease how often you wash your own.

Similarly, my kids still choose to bathe together. I keep expecting my daughter to get modest any time now, but so far that hasn’t happened. For now we just enjoy the fact that we have to run only one bath for the two older kids. We don’t run it deep most times, so it won’t be the worst thing when they choose to separate.

Low flow showerheads are also a great idea. I actually don’t know if the normal settings on our current shower head are low flow or not (I suspect not), but I do know that the mist setting is good enough for showering with for the most part.

3. Capture water that would otherwise be wasted.

We have a bit of an unusual situation in our home. The water comes into the house in such a way that the kitchen sink gets steaming hot water coming out at first during warm weather. I mean that literally. It’s painful to the touch.

Rather than waste that water when we need cold water, we catch it in an old gallon jug. It is then used for watering plants.

It’s not much water, but I figure the gallons add up.

I’m still working on convincing my husband to capture water from heating the shower. That’s a bit tougher, as it’s more inconvenient. Harder to get the water to plants, plus a bucket would be underfoot. But the amount of water would be more significant.

4. Generally avoid bad water habits.

Some of the water saving tips we read about I’ve never had to worry about because they describe habits I haven’t had.

I’ve never tended to run water while brushing my teeth, for example. Never done that, never seen the point.

Same for washing down walkways and driveways with water instead of a broom. Honestly I don’t clean them off often anyhow, but I just can’t see using water to do that. Sweeping isn’t that hard.

What are your favorite water saving habits?