Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love the cool crisp mornings, although we haven’t had many so far this fall, more will be here soon.  This is a great time to get out the bike and take a ride. It’s also a great time to take walks. Our neighborhood has several walking trails, these provide a great place to walk and ride.  This is also a great time to take the kids or grand-kids out for a walk

image by Micky

What a great opportunity to explore the change of season and impress upon them the need to be good stewards of the earth.  Walk will provide an opportunity to teach them lessons that will be with them for the rest of their life, its good for all involved and its fun. Here are a few fall eco friendly activities to do with your children, or grandchildren:

1/ Adopt a Tree…

While taking a walk, have your child pick out a favourite tree and ‘adopt’ it. Do bark rubbings with crayons and paper; leaf collection and pressing in the fall; and look for flowers and fruit in the summer. Each year, take pictures of you child standing beside the tree. You can even bring along a measuring tape to track the tree’s growth. Kids can also research the tree on the Internet: where the tree is commonly found, usual life span, height, etc.

2/ Keep a Wildlife Journal…

Have your child make daily notes of all the wildlife living in your neighborhood. They can even take photos, or draw pictures, and write down the times of sighting, habitats and behavioral patterns. It is amazing how many different species are living in your own backyard!

3/ Being Good Stewards….

A good way to teach our children about taking care of our planet, and get some exercise at the same time, is to take bags with you when you go for a walk. While doing so, “clean up” along the way. You can pick up stray bottles, newspapers and discarded food containers. Make it a contest to see who can get the most items. Choose different paths on different days to clean up a wide area. Use the time to talk to your children about recycling and reducing waste.  (Kids can wear rubber gloves or bring a pointed stick if they don’t want to touch any garbage.)

4/ Acorn Necklaces…

Help your child string together acorns or other seeds to create a wonderful necklace.

5/ Buffet Surprise…
Kids can help out their friends the squirrels, tell them they are making a “squirrel buffet surprise” and pile up as many acorns as they can find by a certain tree. Visit each time you walk; add more if they are gone.

6/ Fall Colors…
Encourage kids to find as many different-colored leaves as possible. See if they can make a “rainbow” of leaves by showing the graduation of color from green to yellow to orange to red to brown.
7/Spelling Leafy Names…

Another fun and secretly educational activity to do with the leaves, is to get kids to spell their names using the leaves. Bring a camera along for the leaf adventure, it’s nice to make a circle or heart of leaves and then get the kids to stand inside the shape to take their photo.

Do you have any eco friendly fall activities to share?

Do you enjoy recipes with beans but wish their was a “no gas bean” alternative? We wanted to share our no gas bean cooking secrets and a new “super bean” which is now being grown for all bean lovers!

Let me start this post by explaining that our household is 50% vegetarian, my wife loves to eat lots of veggies and that means when I’m at home my diet is mainly fruit and vegetables. One of our favorite dishes is slow cooked Lima Beans and it’s definitely our favorite on a cool Sunday afternoon. Many people get discouraged from eating beans due to their unfortunate gassy side effects. Yes, lets come right out and say it, beans give you gas! The main reason that beans cause flatulence comes from the gases that they produce once inside the stomach.

Before we share the news of the new “super bean’ here are some useful hints and tips for reducing the gassy effects of beans in your recipes;

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October is just around the corner and we wanted to run a top five list of things you can do to make it a Green October!So whether you’ve been neglecting your eco ideas or nurturing your green side get ready to make a note of the Our Everyday Earth top ten ways to have yourself a very green October…

Switch Off the Air Conditioning in your Car or Truck

• This tip only applies to the milder states in the USA but as you can see, last year almost half the states in the US enjoyed below normal temps for the month of October.
• In October we are all going to switch the AC off whilst driving to and from work saving gas and money!


Last Years Temps Were Below Average

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We were looking for local events which specifically focus on raw foods and found a great festival. The Raw Spirit Festival is the world’s largest and leading raw vegan, healthy-living, eco-peace festival. The Raw Spirit Festival is set to take place September 26th and 27th in Prescott, Arizona at the Watson Lake Park. The very first Raw Spirit festival began with 250 participants in Sedona, Arizona back in 2006, they rapidly grew in size and in 2008 the Raw Spirit Festival attracted over 3300 participants! The Watson Lake Park location is set to host the biggest Raw Spirit festival yet!

Features include:
The Planet’s Largest Gathering of Dynamic Speakers
Fascinating Health Seminars
World Class Music
Educational Vendor Booths
Creative Children’s Programs
The Largest Raw Restaurant Food Court on Earth
Raw Vegan Demos & Tasting Parties
Outdoor Main Stages
Discovery Dome
Natural Art Displays
Dancing
Poetry
Theatre
Sacred Exercise
Yoga
Meditation
Nature Trails leading to Lakes and Streams
Fantastic Foods, and Fabulous Friends!
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The Heard Natural Science Museum in McKinney, Dallas, TX is holding some wonderfully eco friendly “eco adventures canoe trails” sessions. You simply register online and show up on the day to enjoy a wonderful guided canoe trail through the local wetlands.

Families, scouts and groups interested in professional development will have the opportunity to learn to canoe or kayak while experiencing nature’s beauty. Our paddle programs allow guests to participate in an on the water guided trail learning about the wetland habitat and the animals that live there.
The first hour of each three hour session will be dedicated to learning strokes and safety. The remaining two hours will be spent in the canoes or kayaks traversing the wetlands. The Heard fleet consists of twelve three-person canoes and twelve one person kayaks. In accordance with American Canoe Association safety recommendations, there will one ACA certified Heard instructor for every five guests. These certified ACA instructors with smaller canoe-kayak hybrids will be on the water as well to assure safety and show specifics points of interest. Beginning in 2010, the Heard will offer eight hour Canoe and Kayak classes and perhaps mixed boat tours.

The goal of the paddle program, like all Heard programs, is to bring nature and people together. This program will be a great vehicle to introduce paddling and teach ecology. “There is something about when you get people in a canoe or kayak on the water; they become much more aware of the environment,” says Schelly Corry, Heard Education Coordinator and Paddle Program Director. The first open to the public day for this program is Saturday, September 26th. Eco-Adventures will continue for the rest of the year and each outing will depend on inclement weather and water levels.

3 Hour Canoe Trail Cost*:

* $30 for members
* $40 for non-members

You can find out more on their website;
http://www.heardmuseum.org/attractions/Eco-Adventures.asp

Map & Directions:

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I am amazed at all the products that can be made from bamboo. From household items to the entire house! This tall, hearty grass is a renewable resource. One of the great things about bamboo is that it grows so fast. To produce a full grown tree can take up to sixty years, and then another sixty years time for a replacement. Species of bamboo equal to the height and width of a tree take as little as sixty days to mature completely. Bamboo grows everywhere in the world except those places with extremely cold climates, in fact, it grows really well in Texas! It is thought that it originated in China where the first know items made from bamboo have been recorded.

Use of bamboo for building has been around for a very long time but faded out over the centuries. Currently it is making a comeback in many parts of the world and is becoming a very popular resource in the US.

As beautiful as bamboo is when used in flooring, cutting boards and wall covering, it is also used  to make fabric. Anti-bacterial, wicking and biodegradable, bamboo fibers are becoming more and more popular. From bedding to clothing, industries are making more products with bamboo fabric, extolling the virtues of using the alternative source to cotton.

The most noticeable qualities of bamboo fabric are the aesthetic qualities that are gathered from the first touch or sight of bamboo. These qualities include:

• Texture – Bamboo fabric feels softer than the most refined cotton.
• Color – Bamboo fabric tests as well as every other material for color fastness when washing and wear over time.
• Appearance – The fabrics made of bamboo appear to look like other materials which are more expensive, such as silk.

Another reason that bamboo fabric is becoming more popular is because of the anti-bacterial properties that it has. Bamboo requires very little to no pesticides when growing. This makes products made from bamboo fabric, such as bed sheets and bath towels, good for people with allergies. With the fabric unable to host the bacteria and allergens that cause people with allergies to react, these people are able to find a healthy alternative to other fabrics.

Bamboo fabric is also quite ecologically friendly. 100% biodegradable, the fibers used to make bamboo fabric don’t need to be sprayed with chemical additives of any sort. There is also less water wasted for irrigation for bamboo, and there is very little surface runoff from chemicals that could be sprayed on the plants to keep them healthy, as these chemicals aren’t needed.

By now, nearly everyone knows that we are depleting the natural resources of the only planet we have at a rate that is well past sustainable. Can bamboo save the planet? The answer to that question remains to be seen. But this amazing plant and its surging popularity in a huge variety of products offers each of us, a chance to enjoy many of the comforts of modern life without causing irreparable damage to our environment. This Texas family will be using more and more of the products made from Bamboo!!

We live in a suburban community, but I still really enjoy nature and the beauty that surrounds us. Most of my nature loving is in our flower garden, I love working in it, watching things grow, watching all of our many flowers bloom and observing the comings and goings of the butterflies and bees flitting about, doing their thing.  I am constantly taking pictures to paint. Which is one of my other most favorite things to do.  Painting and gardening are both calming, and invigorating to me.  My paintings reflect my love of nature, I try to capture the beauty created by a undeniably talented God.  Each piece has to have that smile factor. When I look at it, it has to make me smile, glad to be alive to enjoy all the beauty around us.  My garden is also a reflection of my love of nature and our environment. We try very hard to be chemical free and as organic as possible in our garden, its just better for it and produces a more vibrant garden. Our garden also has to have that smile factor, it never fails to make me happy, whether I am working in it or just enjoying the fruits of our labor.  Gardening and painting, two very simple things, all they require is my time and effort.  However for myself, the return on my investment, is to create a greater appreciation for this planet and a persistent desire to preserve its beauty for generations to come.