Green Gal

Here are some photos from a recent trip to Big Basin Redwoods State Park ... Yeah recycling! They should have a big sign on the trash that says "LANDFILL" with a picture of a landfill. Sometimes guilt and reminders can really help people remember to put their recyclables in the proper bins... Spotted this in the general store, and was glad to see that Environmental sustainability was one of their core values. I felt right at home in the redwood forest at Big Basin. Yeah, banana slugs are pretty much the coolest. My banana slug brethern! The view from inside that giant tree pictured above. A little creepy, I must admit! Hope your Tuesday is sustainably swell!

This week's Change the World Wednesday Challenge on the Reduce Footprints blog was the following open-ended challenge: This week, suggest a challenge. This can be a repeat of a past challenge, a version of something we've already done or something completely new ... anything which you feel we should address. And/Or ... Tell us about something you're struggling with ... a green-living activity which is difficult to adopt in your life. On my blog post on Wednesday where I posed my challenge idea , I wrote: I am going to combine the two options this week and choose a challenge that will benefit my wallet as well as the planet. I struggle sometimes with remembering how must waste is generated by eating out. It often feels easier to just buy food for lunch instead of preparing it at home, and stopping by Starbucks often sounds delicious... But most fast food or to-go establishments generate waste--not to mention it costs more money than just eating the food alr...

This morning, my family and I went to our town's downtown farmers' market to enjoy the company of our community, enjoy the fresh air and fresh produce, and to get a knife sharpened at one of the booths. I also was able to snap some photos for the green tips guide I'm editing for the City. After we dropped off the knife to be sharpened at one end of the market, we wandered back down to Main Street and explored an art gallery, which sells locally crafted art, paintings, and jewelry. I observed that the jewelry prices were all at least $40, which seemed high to me. Then I realized that in order for a local artist to make a living selling jewelry and in order to use fine quality materials, that is the true cost. I'm so used to prices you might see at big chain stores where the jewelry is made in China out of cheap materials. Though I stopped buying lots of jewelry awhile back, realizing this made me want to be selective and thoughtful the next time I do want to get som...

My sister and mom have been growing and nurturing our backyard garden this summer, and I am always amazed when I go out there to see the growth that can occur over just a few days. We have tomatoes, watermelons, pumpkins, corn, squash, sunflowers, strawberries, and myriad different flowers thriving and brightening up our backyard. Here are some recent photos of the beautiful sanctuary of life existing right here at home.  To see more garden photos and to receive updates and ideas directly on your Facebook newsfeed, please visit and Like Green Gal on Facebook . If you have a blog related to the environment, please feel free to post a link on the Green Gal Facebook page or in the comments here, and I will check it out. Thanks for browsing!

Starting this blog 3 years ago was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. I didn't quite realize how important the blog would be to my life or that it would become a valuable place for me to explore my writing style, learn innumerable new sustainable lifestyle tips, and truly hone in on what I’m passionate about. Green Gal on her way to high school a few years ago. Around the same time that I started the Green Gal blog, I also started a literature blog called perennial Thoughts . My whole life I figured I’d study literature, and I was right. But I also figured I’d go on to become an English teacher or a writer of fiction. In eighth grade health class we had to create a timeline for our lives, and on mine I put that by age 25 I would have published my first book. I figured it would be creative writing, or something fictional. I participated in NanoWriMo a few years in high school and joined the school’s writing club. I wrote for our local Patch back whe...