Green Gal

Self care is essential. It makes life more enjoyable; equips us to face life's challenges; provides an opportunity to connect more deeply with ourselves; and it allows us to bring our best selves to our many roles--as parents, partners, friends, children, colleagues, etc. The concept of "self care" can seem like something you have to find extra time for or prepare for in some special way. While it can look like that sometimes, it can also be so much more simple and woven into your everyday life through things you already do. And it's powerful. Prioritizing yourself and your needs (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) allows you to be more present and grateful and joyful, both for your own personal experience of your life and in how you show up for the work you do in the world.  As parents, the work of raising children is to not only keep our little ones safe and happy but to also teach them ways to be and relate in the world--which includes modeling for them how to...

A few weeks ago on March 11, I completed* a six-month Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course through Santa Cruz Permaculture , which is directed and taught by my good friend, co-mentor, and UCSC colleague David Shaw . He had strongly encouraged me to participate in the program after learning that I was applying to the UCSC Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture , which I have since been accepted to and will begin on April 10! David shared with me that prior to his time as a CASFS apprentice in the early 2000s, he had completed his PDC and found that it provided him with a valuable whole systems design framework through which he could experience the CASFS apprenticeship. I am so grateful that David shared this advice and that I signed up for the course. I got to know some amazing people, learned some new methods for observing the world around me, found out about some really practical methods for designing systems that make...

 "Where does it start? Muscles tense. One leg a pillar, holding the body upright between the earth and sky. The other a pendulum, swinging from behind. Heel touches down. The whole weight of the body rolls forward onto the ball of the foot. The big toe pushes off, and the delicately balanced weight of the body shifts again. The legs reverse position. It starts with a step and then another step and then another that add up like taps on a drum to a rhythm, the rhythm of walking. The most obvious and the most obscure thing in the world, this walking that wanders so readily into religion, philosophy, landscape, urban policy, anatomy, allegory, and heartbreak." - Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking For most of January, I didn't ride my bicycle. First it had a flat tire, then it was raining cats and dogs for a few weeks, and this week, I accidentally left my bike helmet with a friend. Fortunately, Green Guy's commute aligns fairly well with mine, so I...

You can click on each image for a larger view. And now, for a quote to ponder: From The Magic of Findhorn by Paul Hawken: "The Devic world emphasized that [wo]man has to do one thing in order to reverse the trend of events on the planet: [s]he has to recognize within [herself] the Divinity and wholeness of which [s]he is a part. [She] must touch that core which perceives itself as part of all things, all beings, and all aspects of creation. In that recognition and touching the distinction between the outer and inner is erased and vanishes." Learn more about Findhorn Garden here .

It's been a bike writing day for me. Last week, I was interviewed for a Good Times article about the bike commuting workshops I'm co-designing and facilitating through my IDEASS bike internship. This afternoon when I walked by a stack of Good Times newspapers, I flipped through one. The article about our workshops began on page seven, and the photograph of my bicycle and me was on page ten. How awesome--my bike's never been in the paper! The article quotes Amelia, the Director of People Power, and me, but it doesn't mention my team partner Aly by name. If I had it my way, she'd have gotten a quote in the article, too! She does so much great work for our team, and she always has a cheerful attitude. I'm so grateful to have a motivated team partner who cares about our project and does a fantastic job! Our hope is that people will read this article and attend one of the workshops--and then they can hear from Aly, too!   Read the article ...

"I stood for a while at the lookout, taking in the state of California. For a moment, it all made sense. No wonder Muir stayed here. No wonder he came up with a powerful and personal philosophy about conservation. He walked the state. More than once. He knew the details, from rock to plant to person and up to mountain top. He attached a significance to the story of the land itself that few others could. He inserted himself into that story bodily, intellectually, and spiritually, beginning in his second day in the state." -- Alex McInturff, California Transect , 2009 Do you walk often? How does walking influence your understanding of the landscape, cityscape, or neighborhood around you? How is walking different from driving, biking, or taking a bus? What can it teach us about patience, progression, life?

To celebrate 30 years of oceanic wonder and opportunity to learn about the secret world of the sea, the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California had a week of free admission for residents of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties. My co-residential adviser and I decided to bring two van-loads of our residents to the aquarium because as UCSC students, we also had access to free admission. See all photos from my visit here . We headed to Monterey today in the rain with 12 residents and 3 RAs including myself. I took tons of photos and enjoyed learning about and observing jellyfish, puffins, penguins, sun fish, sea stars, and ton of other interesting creatures. It was really crowded because of the free admission, but I was inspired by how many people took the opportunity to visit the Aquarium, which normally costs about $40 per person. Free admission allowed community members and families of all means to visit and experience the wonder of the Aquarium. Se...