Groxie

Carnival of the Green #80

Heidi — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 13:00:02 +0000

Welcome to the 80th Carnival of the Green, roughly organized by the good folks at Treehugger. If you like what you see, take a moment to check out the last Carnival at Sustainablog, too! The next one will be hosted by Victoria E. (more…)

Applying Permaculture Principles

Heidi — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 13:00:12 +0000

Lately my brain has been consumed with permaculture principles. After learning just the basics from Larry Santoyo last weekend, I’ve been using the main principles to orient my actions and organize my thoughts.

Like many folks, I knew little about permaculture, and I assumed that it was about growing/raising your own food in a sustainable matter. I wasn’t wrong, but I didn’t have the whole picture. Permaculture is bigger than gardening or raising chickens; it is a whole set of guidelines or principles for creating a system of closed loops. It doesn’t offer concrete solutions, rather, you can use permaculture principles in every aspect of your life to build toward a system that generates less waste, creates an abundance of good things, and makes use of the relationships between resources in a way that is very economical. (more…)

The Americorps Experience

Heidi — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 15:41:40 +0000

I know it’s been too long, but I have a good excuse. This last week was my first week at my new job! For the next 6 months, I’ll be working with eight awesome folks doing all sorts of environmental field work and some community programs, too. Sounds like a dream job, right? Almost. It’s with Americorps.

If you don’t know anything about Americorps, you should check out their programs. It’s like a domestic Peace Corps. For my part, I first learned about Americorps when I started job hunting in Portland. All of the jobs that jumped out at me were Americorps positions, but the monthly stipend of $961 wasn’t so seductive. Still, nothing else looked any better for my bizarro background and skill set, so I decided to give it a shot. (more…)

Groxie Roundup

Heidi — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 01:22:34 +0000

This week on the round-up, three articles related to food and one about taxing traffic. I just finished a nice long bike ride, and I’m starving. Go figure…

Food Systems Factoid Blog
An article at Grist pointed out this great blog. Lots of very useful tidbits that put our food habits in perspective.
Wolfgang Puck Teams up with the Humane Society
It’s tough to be an environmentally friendly foodie. Plenty of chefs don’t believe that such a thing is possible, so it’s nice to see Wolfgang edge a bit in our direction.
WWF Stop the Net Campaign
WWF Canada launched a campaign to end net fishing; they do a great job of balancing the needs of fisheries, consumers, and the environment in their outreach. Check out the media tab for some great print, tv, and radio ads.
$57 Daily Commute
I already love my bike, but I bet I’d love it even more if it saved me $57 a day. As John Whitehead points out, that’s over $14k a year!

Biodiversity and Invasive Species

Heidi — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:32:35 +0000

I’ve been thinking a great deal about biodiversity lately. It’s not a topic that comes to mind often, even in my daily struggle to be a better environmental steward. With all of the discussion about global warming, it’s easy to understand the impact of giving up driving, use recycled products, or eating a local diet. But when I turned my attention to biodiversity, it was harder to plot out a course for action. I can write plenty of letters, and maybe one day I can afford to donate money to the groups working to preserve biodiversity, but there isn’t a nice list of “100 Ways to Create Biodivserity in Your Neighborhood.” (more…)

Part One of the New Year’s Resolution: Handknit Socks!

Heidi — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 20:19:27 +0000

My big resolution this year is to make an entire outfit for myself. I made the resolution in the hopes of becoming a better seamstress, a better knitter, and a more aware consumer. I’ve always been a huge fan of thrift stores and hand me downs, but I wanted the satisfaction that comes from knowing exactly how an article of clothing was made. I have been making very slow progress, since I was side-tracked by other fun (and utilitarian projects), but I am happy to report that I finally completed my first piece. A pair of hand-knit wool socks. (more…)

Ninjas!! (Or, How to Make your Own Toys)

Heidi — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 02:12:57 +0000

I mentioned before that I played around with my sewing machine a bit to get more comfortable working with it. The product of my play time was this little ninja pillow. I have no idea how my brain settled on this particular design, but from the moment I started cutting out a square of black fabric, I started thinking about ninjas. I love my little ninja pillow because he’s imperfect; I love his pink mask and his unevenness. But I love him even more for being homemade, completely safe, and made entirely of crap we had around the house. (more…)

Give New Life to Those Ripped or Too-Big Clothes

Heidi — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 18:27:42 +0000

In my ongoing battle to become better at sewing, I have been tackling small projects left and right. I spent one whole day just playing around, making a little toy for myself (more on that next week, maybe). Once I felt comfortable that I could sew a mostly straight line, I decided to hem up the curtains. They didn’t turn out half bad, so I started tackling the scarier projects—our clothes. (more…)

We Built a Garden Walkway for Free!

Heidi — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 00:31:04 +0000

Our backyard is ugly. There is a huge pine that casts a shadow over the most of the yard, and the soil is pretty acidic. There’s a dogrun off to one side, and the ugly chainlink fence around it drives me crazy. We’re renting, so there are some limitations to what we can (and want) to do back there. But the place has promise—we’ve never had so much outdoor space to work with, and John and I want to make it into something beautiful and functional that we can enjoy. (more…)

The Invaluable Tilth Garden Guide

Heidi — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:34:50 +0000

It’s rainy and cold here, so we’ve been bunkering down with lots of indoor projects. One that really lifts my mood is working on our plan for our first real vegetable garden. We’ve had a little square foot raised garden before, but it was home mainly to herbs. Now we finally have a large enough space to expand, and we’re probably being a little too ambitious, having already started over 70 seeds! But during these overcast, drizzy days, it is warming to see our little sprouts poking out. We’re all just waiting for spring. (more…)

PB&J Campaign

Heidi — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 16:35:12 +0000

The PB&J campaign was put together by a group of citizens to encourage everyone to replace one lunch at a time with a PB&J sandwich. By eating PB&J instead of a meat sandwich, you’ll save 2.5 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions, 962 gallons of water, and 12–50 square feet of land. The site is full of facts about the excesses of meat production, but it takes on the subject in a friendly, non-threatening way. Who doesn’t like PB&J sandwiches?

They also provide a small list of alternative foods if you don’t like PB&J, but they don’t offer up any recipes. I love me some delicious, easy, vegetarian lunch foods, so I’ll give it a shot. (more…)

Free Bike Tours!

Heidi — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 15:41:57 +0000

I love riding my bike. It’s one of the reasons we’re in Portland, but we haven’t been doing enough of it lately. The crappy weather made it to easy to catch the bus or skip out on events rather than gear up and get on the bike. This lack of bikey fun made me cranky, lazy, and kind of sad.

So yesterday John and I went on the “small museums by bike” tour organized by Carye Bye of Red Bat Press and the Bathtub Museum. The weather cleared up for us, and it was gorgeous and sunny all day long. After meeting downtown in the morning, we headed to the Contemporary Craft Museum. There is no admission fee, and one of the staff members chatted with us about the museum’s history and the installations. It’s a neat space, but the museum is about to move to a larger place in the pearl district. (more…)

Buy One, Give One (Solar Flashlight, That Is)

Heidi — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 23:33:15 +0000

I recently got my hands on a new flashlight that charges its batteries using solar power. The light, called a BoGo light (Buy One Give One), could change the lives of thousands of people across Africa. The BoGo light is sold by SunNight Solar, a company founded by Mark Bent. When you purchase a $25 light, SunNight will send an additional, identical light to one of many aid organizations working in Africa. The lights are distributed to families and villages, where the lights can be used nightly for about 2 years before the batteries need to be replaced. (more…)

The Other Portland

Heidi — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 05:54:51 +0000

Today we attended The Other Portland conference. The conference was a supplement to The Other Portland exhibit, which is currently at the Portland Art Center. I haven’t had a chance to get down to see the exhibit, but it’s on the agenda for next week. The conference was billed “A dialogue with artists and environmentalists,” and that was enough to get me interested.

I was especially excited about hearing from Metro Council President David Bragdon and Columbia Slough Program Coordinator Susan Barthel. While I enjoy art of just about any form, I myself am more of a crafter than an artist, and I was a little concerned about sticking out like a sore thumb. Luckily I was was wrong, and everyone was very warm and welcoming. (more…)

Better World Club

Heidi — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 22:12:10 +0000

John and I decided that we should probably look into some roadside assistance before our cross–country drive. There was a time when AAA would have been the only option, but now there’s Better World Club, which is based out of Portland, OR. AAA has a lobbying history that makes me want to cry, so they were definitely out of the question. I’d heard good things about BWC, so decided to check them out. (more…)