Green Gal

Happy Giving Tuesday! If you haven't already, I invite you to please support an important cause led by four of my dear friends from the UCSC Farm Apprenticeship! They are raising funds to support a more sustainable food system in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. They have raised 75% of their $17,500 goal; help them get to 100% ! They write, "After learning that 80% of crop value has been wiped out, we think supporting our agroecological family in Puerto Rico is the best way we can contribute. We want to contribute to farmers, seed savers, and food justice organizers who believe in growing methods that do not use pesticides, that rebuild the soil, that attract beneficial insects, that grow healthy food, that believe that access to locally grown food is a RIGHT that everyone should have on the island (and around the world.)" Please watch this video to learn more and hear directly from my four inspiring friends and fellow members of the Center for Agroecology ...

This evening I attended a talk by Joel Salatin at the Santa Cruz Rio Theatre. I had heard of Joel Salatin through the Mother Earth News magazine, which I’ve been reading thanks to Green Guy’s step-mom and dad who have been passing their read copies along to us. Salatin works for PolyFace Farm in Virginia , where he not only grows food and raises animals (among many other things), but in his words, approaches his farmland, plants, and animals as one would a lover—caressing, caring for, and loving them so that they will be happy and thrive. He made a point to explain that he’s a romantic, a poet, and that even to use the word sunlight is too scientific for his liking. He prefers sunbeams, and I have to agree. Joel Salatin ( Image source ) Thus, in addition to being a stellar farmer, he’s funny and poetic, and he had the audience laughing and smiling throughout the evening. But within and between his jokes, which featured many imitations, funny faces, and metaphors, Salatin tol...

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...

It's already Wednesday, and I just haven't had the time to update the blog since Monday, which fortunately means I've been busy exploring the opportunities of the conference and the campus! I've attended many workshops, learned some great take-aways, and have spent some time exploring the UC Davis campus. For now, I'll take a step back and return to Monday evening's activities, and later this week, I'll write about the workshops I've attended. The California Higher Education Sustainability Conference kicked off Monday night with keynote speaker Dr. Mitchell Thomashow, who spoke about the Nine Elements of a Sustainable Campus. Click here for a written document about the nine elements, or watch a video from a different event on the same topic, below: One of the major take-aways that I learned from his keynote address was that "How we act is how we live," meaning that the ways in which we live day to day make up our life, not the ...

Earlier today, I arrived at the UC Davis campus for the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference . It's a week-long conference focusing on sustainability at the university/college level, and participants include students and staff from throughout California.  According to the website , "The California Higher Education Sustainability Conference highlights cutting-edge research, as well as case studies with proven successes in curriculum development, operational programs, and community partnerships. This unique event is jointly organized by independent/private colleges, California Community Colleges, California State Universities, and the University of California creating the opportunity for dialogue across institutions. The University of California, Davis envisions hosting a conference that deepens connections among sustainability practitioners, academic and adminitrative, across all sectors of high education, utilizing the Davis Campus as a living laboratory dem...

I recently received an email from a reader named Tim who shared an article from his website that he thought I might be interested in reading and sharing. The article is titled " The 10 Greenest Dorms in the World ," and it is interesting and worth reading if you've ever lived in a dorm and wished it was cooler, or if you are curious about what college dorms can be when green building is taken into account. Here at UCSC, we have a few Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings (see the list of UC-wide LEED buildings here ), including the new Porter College Dorms, which are LEED Silver Certified. We have a LEED Gold Certified building on campus, as well, but it's a student health center rather than a housing unit. The campus is working toward more LEED building projects and is even going to offer a training to students and others on LEED certification.  While it's great to have green buildings and to make sure that the operatio...

It is a radiantly sunny day here in Santa Cruz, and I couldn't be happier that I live in this wonderful forest on the top of a hill. I just enjoyed a nice, meandering walk through a redwood trail on my way to Kerr Hall from Oakes College. I was in Oakes for an Earth Day planning meeting this afternoon, enjoying the sun from the panoramic view at Oakes Lower Lawn. (If you go to UCSC and you've never been to Oakes Lower Lawn, you have not experienced the beauty of our campus in its entirety... I know many people never venture into Oakes, but it is worth it!) I'm so glad I've gotten involved with this year's Earth Day planning as a representative for Path to a Greener Stevenson and a co-representative for Friends of the Sustainability Office. It's fun and exciting to brainstorm and vision the UCSC Earth Day Festival 2012, especially since Earth Day is the same day as my birthday, April 22. So far, our plan for the day includes healthy food, live music, and workshop...

Knowing me and my crazy involvement in clubs last year, it's no surprise that I joined the sustainbility club through Stevenson College, PTAGS (Path To A Greener Stevenson). Tonight was our second meeting of the year, and I have realized that I come back from the meetings with lots of great energy to be sustainable and spread my passion for nature to all the world! I have homework I should be doing, so if this blog seems poorly-written, it's because I'm rushing! I felt a great need to write a post since I am bursting with so many awesome experiences. I want to share with you some of the things UCSC does to be sustainable--it's truly a way of life for many students at this campus, which is an inspiring change from the peer group I had in high school. Here's a list of some things that I learned from a handout from the Sustainbility Office...and I added some of my own from my observations: - All new and remodeled buildings on campus meet LEED criteria - There's a ...

I love reading the newspaper on Sunday mornings. I almost always find at least one article to cut out and save. This morning I came across a few: "Ore. town is poster child for geothermal energy, toasty sidewalks during winter and all" by Jeff Barnard - I learned what geothermal energy is and how it can be accessed. It looks like an interesting "green" energy source. "With Cheap Food Imports, Haiti Can't Feed Itself" by Jonathan M. Katz - Of the articles I read this morning, this was my favorite because it highlighted the issues involved with less developed countries importing cheaper food, reducing their independence and putting local farmers out of work. We learned about this issue in Human Geography recently. I'm going to send this article along to my teacher. "High tech multitasking slows you down" by Jessica Yadegaran - My English teacher was talking about this recently and it's made me more aware of how easy it can be to get ...

I can't wait to watch Food Revolution once it airs! This is a long video, but definitely worth watching!

This week's Change the World Wednesday Challenge (CWWC) was: This week, "plan an oven- and stove-free day, and no cheating and going out to eat! Have sandwiches, cut up fruit, veggies with dip, leftovers from a previous dinner that you can heat in the microwave**. Plan ahead and make a pasta salad you can eat cold for a few days. Have hummus, feta cheese, and spinach on a pita or wrap. There are tons of healthy, delicious meals you can have without having to turn on the stove! As an added plus, many of the meals are quick and easy to prepare!" **I'd like to bump up What A Card's challenge ... how about including microwave-free, as well. So today, I am going without a stove, oven or microwave. It's difficult to plan a day without using them, so it's a good challenge. For breakfast, I did use electricity to toast some bread in a toaster oven (which some may argue violates the challenge). I had coffee made in a coffee maker (not a stove or oven, but ...

This evening, from 4:30 to 6:00, I attended my school district's Environmental Awareness Committee meeting. It is the second time I've attended one of their meetings and was inspired to write about tonight's experience. The first item on the agenda after introductions was to have one of our local middle schools present about what their environmental club has been doing on campus. Two girls from the club attended, and one read a well-written account of her school's green experiences over the past semester. They have a garden, a compost system and food scrapping program, modeling after another middle school in the district. The representatives from the middle school were wearing the neatest t-shirts: a design of a tree and its branches that spelled out the name of the school. The twisting branches spelled "ecology club." The woman who drew the design was at the meeting, too. Our environmental club needs to get some of those! The committee is comprised of teacher...

In my AP Human Geography class the past couple of weeks, we've been learning about agriculture. It is fascinating and, interestingly, is one of those topics that directly affects everyone. We learned about cattle being raised in feedlots, genetically modified foods like corn and soybeans, and the many issues surrounding unsustainable agricultural practices in more developed countries, specifically the United States. We also learned about pastoral nomadism, rice, wheat, climate and other agricultural factors, the agricultural revolutions, the Green Revolution, and various agricultural practices from around the world. I'm really glad my teacher decided to expose us to the current issues surrounding agriculture, as when we watched Food, Inc . Many students hadn't ever had a desire or reason to learn about these issues and probably wouldn't have if it weren't for the class. I have the book so I began reading it the same day we began watching the movie. If you haven'...

I promised to blog about the discussion I had with Bill Radulovich and others about the new internship program I am going to be involved in, so here it is: After school this afternoon, I rode my bike down the street to Starbucks. I was to meet with Bill Radulovich and Mark Jones (who is the web designer) at 3:15, and when I arrived a few minutes early, they were in line for their drinks. We sat at a large square table there and discussed what schools I'm interested in for next year and began to briefly enter the topic of the internship and the Climate Prosperity Citizens organization that Mr. Rad (what a great nickname!) is heading. My close friend (and fellow actor in the theater department at our school) Taylor arrived just as Mr. Rad was beginning to discuss they big why of the organization. People have been living with their "stuff" and in having this "stuff," they drain the environment of its resources and basically trash the land, he said. The idea behind ...

Imagine living in a completely sustainable society where the waste is reused, where energy and necessities come from within without exploitation of the land or natural resources. A 21st century society with the cars and airplanes and infrastructure we are used to, only greener. Gasoline becomes an antiquity, like candlestick holders are to us now, and clean fuel from plants, not fossil fuels, dominates. Imagine that in this society which could be taking place years from now, global warming is considered a scare we came through because of innovation, open-mindedness, and compassion for future generations. Don’t you want your children and grandchildren to live in this society? Or would you rather they live with catastrophic storms, a hotter climate that kills scores each time summer rolls around, world wars over the remaining natural resources used to fuel society, and a deep-set hatred for us, the generation of man that did nothing to stop global warming while we still had the chance? I...