Eco-Friendly School Fundraisers

We are not even halfway through the school year and already I have been inundated with forms and catalogs from my daughter’s school for fundraisers that almost always include low-quality foods, junk, or paper products that I neither need nor want. Stuff that is designed to clog up my closets while depleting resources and inevitably filling up landfills. Isn’t there are greener way for kids to help raise money for their school without trashing the planet? Here are some great ideas for greening your child’s next school fundraiser:

Sell Green Stuff: A number of upcoming organizations, such as Greenraising (www.greenraising.com) and Lets Go Green (www.letsgogreen.biz) now offer eco-friendly fundraising opportunities. Both offer a range of products to choose from such as SIGG water bottles, eco-friendly cleaning products, and recycled office supplies that can support and protect the eco-friendly cause while also raising some much needed green for your child’s school. Another great green option is to sell reusable grocery bags through companies such as Chico Bag (www.chicobag.com) or ReuseThisBag.com (www.reusethisbag.com). Imprint your school or club’s logo on these eco-friendly bags to show-off your school spirit.

Host A Green Event: You can raise a pot of cash for your school with a green, waste-free event such as a spaghetti dinner or pancake breakfast. Hold the event in your school’s cafeteria or your local fire hall and hit up local businesses to donate food, reusable napkins, and compostable dishes.

Pledge To Be Green: Kids can raise money and get a little exercise with a green fundraiser such as a walk-a-thon or obstacle course. Pledgers can donate cash for every lap walked or obstacle achieved. The only resource your kids will use is their own boundless energy!

Photo credit: André Menegatti

The Green Parent Is Coming To You!

Check out the calendar to see when The Green Parent Awards are coming to a town near you. This calendar is updated frequently, so if your town isn't on here yet, but you think it should be, drop me a line. And be sure to register now for a chance to win some great green gear!

The 2008 Green Parent Awards

April 12-13 Seattle, WA Seattle Green Festival
Green Parenting Presentation: Sat. April 12th, 11:00am, Room 4

April 21 Charlottesville, VA Whole Foods Market
Green Parenting Presentation and Eco-Craft For Kids: 4pm

April 26 Washington D.C Whole Foods Market
Georgetown Store: Green Parenting Presentation and Eco-Craft: 9-11am
P-Street Store: Green Parenting Presentation and EcoCraft: 12pm-2pm

May 10 Luray, VA Festival of Spring

May 17-18 Chicago, IL Chicago Green Festival

May 30-Jun 1 Ithaca, NY Ithaca College Alumni Weekend
Green Parenting Presentation: Sat, May 31st, 10:30am School of Business
Eco-Crafts For Kids, Sat May 31st, 11:00-2:00pm, Picnic on the Quad

Nov 8-9 Washington, D.C. D.C. Green Festival

Nov 14-16 San Francisco, CA SF Green Festival

Election Day...Get Out and Vote Green!

O.K. Green Parents...It's election day, and although it's not the BIG one, it's still a good time to stretch out your green finger and put your ballot where your mouth is. The choice you make in today's local and state elections could bring improvements in your town's recycling initiatives, support for the environment at your local schools, access to green parenting resources, and more support for environmental agendas that hit Washington D.C. So grab your kids and go make a difference by voting green at the polls today!

• For more information about casting an eco-savvy vote, surf over to The League of Conservation Voters.

• Click here if you need any info about contacting your elected officials, registering to vote, voting rights, or how to volunteer at the polls.

• Want to teach your kids more about the voting process? Check out Kids Voting USA, for voting info, sample ballots, and classroom voting activities.

Step It Up...Did You Miss It? You Can Still Be A Part Of History...

This past Saturday marked another historic Step It Up 2007 event with hundreds of demonstrations going on across the country to raise awareness about climate change and the steps needed to reverse it. Across the nation, tens of thousands of Green Parents and Eco Kids of all ages gathered to learn more about climate change, how we can halt it, and what we can and should expect our elected officials to do about it. Click here to see a list of elected officials who attended a Step It Up event.

I was fortunate enough to attend the D.C. event held in front of the Lincoln Memorial where I was entertained by rapping polar bears, informed about climate change by advisers such as David Donegan and Dr. Beverly White, and motivated to make a difference by inspirational speakers like Van Jones, founder of Green For All.

All of the afternoon's speakers were phenomenal.. Van Jones, in particular, gave an incredible speech, as he spoke about the "green pathway out of poverty," through which we should focus on the development of green collar jobs for those who are in most need of work. Here's an excerpt:

"In this society, we believe that we have throwaway stuff, throwaway resources, and throwaway materials. We also believe that we have throwaway children and throwaway neighborhoods. If we are going to truly make a difference, we can't just stop throwing away resources, we have to stop throwing away people."


Today, (Monday, Nov 5th) leaders from each of the weekend's events will be taking their case to Congress, meeting with their elected officials to discuss Step It Up's plan to increase the number of green jobs in the U.S. and decrease the level of carbon emission by 80 % by 2050. So, if you missed an event but still want to be part of history, pick up your phone and call your Congressperson (Click here to find phone numbers) and let them know you are concerned about climate change.


Special thanks to my polar bear models...Alexis Bayden-Mayer and Arundhati Baden-Mayer Eidinger

Step It Up This Saturday

Are you going to be a part of this weekend's historic Step It Up 2007 events? The Step It Up 2007 campaign was launched on April 14th of this year in an effort to draw national and international attention to climate change; calling on Congress to enact legislation that will cut carbon emissions by 80 % by the year 2050. Click here to learn more about the Step It Up initiatives.

In April, tens of thousands of Americans "Stepped Up" to attend the 1,400 events held in each of the 50 U.S. states. The collective event was dubbed "the largest environmental movment since Earth Day 1970." The people spoke...and now the elected officials are listening. So now, while we have their attention, comes the next phase of the event. This Saturday (November 3rd) Americans will once again "Step It Up" to demand leadership and action from our elected officials with respect to climate change. Family-friendly Step It Up 2007 events will once again be held all over the nation, bringing speakers, activists, and elected officials together to call attention to climate change. Click here to find an event near you. Will you be part of this historic event? I'll be attending the D.C. event and I hope to see you there!

Cleaning Up Your Green Halloween

Ahhh...the Halloween festivities are over. And as your kids crash down from their sugar high, it's time for you to wipe off the smudged face paint, take apart the costumes, put away the candy corn, and get rid of those wilted pumpkins. Here's how to clean up after your Green Halloween:

Pumpkins: Pumpkins are 100% compostable, so chop 'em up and toss them in the pile or bury them in the backyard. Don't have a compost pile? Click here to learn how to start one. In some areas, you may be able to throw your pumpkins in with other compostable yard waste for the city or county to pick up.

Costumes: Just because Halloween is over doesn't mean that your child has to give up his favorite costume. Put it in the dress-up box for playtime around the house. If you do want to get rid of it, pass it on to your local thrift shop or sell it on eBay.

Candy: If you've hit your limit on Halloween candy, pare down your supply and donate the rest to a local nursing home, Boys and Girls club, or women's shelter.


Photo courtesy of Thad Zajdowicz

Green Your Halloween: Trick or Treat! (Part 2)

You've carved pumpkins, put together a costume, decorated the house, had a Halloween party, and picked up your Halloween goodies to hand out on the big night. Now it's time to grab your little ones and head out for a fun night of trick-or-treating. Here's how to keep it green:

Carry A Reusable Sac: Grab an old pillowcase, a tote bag, or a canvas shopping bag for your kids to fill with treats. But whatever you do, don't use a flimsy, disposable, plastic bag that is likely to break before the night is through.

Eat Some Candy!: It's Halloween, and if you're going to do the whole trick-or-treat thing, relax a little bit and let your kids gobble up some of their hard-earned treats! Set a limit for the amount of candy they can eat that night and then put the rest away (preferably out of sight) for another time. If they decide to eat as they go, just make sure they put the wrappers in their pockets to throw away later.

Pass It On: It takes just one small-town neighborhood block for my kids to accumulate enough candy to rot out all of their teeth (even the ones they don't have yet) and rev up their systems for a good month. So at our house, the kids get to indulge for a few days before I pull the plug and get rid of the sugar. Fortunately, there's no need to throw it all away. Nursing homes, women's shelters, and Boys and Girls Clubs all happily accept candy donations.

Green Your Halloween: Trick or Treat!

If you're shopping for treats to hand out this Halloween, you are likely to find a frightening assortment of artificial ingredients, plastic packaging, and sweatshop trinkets. How scary! Steer clear of these ghoulish wares and Green Your Halloween by giving out treats that don't trick! Here are a few ideas:

• Fair Trade Chocolates: Chocolate is always a popular choice at Halloween. But according to the non-profit group Global Exchange, 40% of the world's cocoa is produced in "abysmal working conditions" where children are exploited and used as laborers. Give out fair-trade chocolates instead. (Try Exquisite Swiss or Endangered Species Chocolates)
• Gummies: Fruitabu's Organic Smooshed Fruit is made without any scary artificial ingredients. Individually-sized packs come in great seasonal flavors like Autumn Apple, Abundant Apricot, and Bountiful Blackberry.
  
• Lollipops: College Farm Organic offers an assortment of lollipops and hard candies made with all-natural ingredients. Even better, the candy bags and wrappers are fully-compostable leaving you with a no-waste treat!
• Popcorn: Hand out individually-wrapped bags of organic microwave popcorn. (Try Newman's Own Organics)
  
• Raisins: Earthbound Farms organic raisins are available in individually sized boxes
  
• Snack Bars: Earth's Best snack bars make the perfect bite-sized Halloween treat
• Soy Crayons
  
• Stickers
• Temporary Tattoos
  

Green Your Halloween: Parties

Ready to scare up some Halloween fun this weekend? Decorate in black and orange for your next Halloween party but keep it green with these easy tips. And be sure to have a great, green time!

Invites

• Poo Poo Paper: Skip the usual paper invites that cost a fortune to mail and take forever to fill out. Instead, email an invite to your friends for free (try www.evite.com). If you really want to mail out a card, put the poo poo on paper with an invitation made from elephant dung (www.poopoopaper.com)!

Food

• Keep It Local: Serve locally grown and produced foods to your party guests. If it's a potluck, challenge your guests to bring a dish that contains locally grown ingredients.
• Pass On Paper: Use dishes, utensils, and napkins that can be washed and reused rather than disposables. If it's a huge party and dishwashing is not an option, consider purchasing biodegradable plates, cups, and utensils that can be tossed in the compost bin.
• Show Your True Colors: Enlist your kids help in coming up with dishes that show off your Halloween green (and black and orange). Ingredient ideas include black olives, raisins, orange bell peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, kiwi, and green apples.
  

Decorations

• Click here for a ton of Green Halloween decoration ideas

Games

• Bobbing for Apples (another alternative is to tie strings to apples and hang from a tree. Blindfold guests and have them try to chomp one.)
• Pumpkin Carving: Gather up some locally grown pumpkins (click here for more info about pumpkins) from a nearby pumpkin farm and let guests carve or paint their own to take home.
  
• Recycled Costume Exchange: Have guests bring old costumes from years past or old clothes and props from around their house that can be recycled as costumes. Click here for some great DIY costume ideas.
  
• Make Your Own Haunted House: Turn old bed sheets into ghoulish ghosts, rocks into creepy spiders, and old dolls into "headless" horsemen! (Be sure to factor in the ages of your guests so as not to frighten little ones)

Green Your Halloween: Pumpkins

Nothing says "Happy Halloween" like a pumpkin. Whether it's carved or painted, spooky or silly, a pumpkin is a tried and true symbol of the Halloween festivities. They are ridiculously versatile...you can use them as decorations, as side dishes, and even as inspiration for your costume. And growing pumpkins is even good for the environment. According to a report from the Royal Military College of Canada, pumpkins have the ability to remove toxic DDT from the soil. So do something good for the planet and go get some pumpkins!

Here's how to Green Your Halloween and have a Jack-O-Lantern full of eco-friendly fun with pumpkins.

1. Go Local: Buy your pumpkins (as well as apples and other seasonal produce) from your local pumpkin farm or farmer's market to save energy and resources that would otherwise be used for shipping, packaging, and transportation.
   
2. Use It All: If you carve your pumpkin, be sure to save the seeds. Pumpkin seeds can be baked and served as a special treat at home or at your next Halloween gathering. You can also feed them (dry or wet) to the birds and squirrels in your yard. Some zoos even accept pumpkin seed donations for their animals.
   
3. Compost: When the holiday has past and your pumpkin begins to look a little wilted, be sure to give him a proper "burial" in your compost pile.
   

Green Your Halloween: Decorations

Not that long ago, Halloween decorations consisted of a couple of pumpkins on the front porch and old clothes fashioned into a stuffed scarecrow in the yard. But today, Halloween has begun to rival Christmas with the amount of planning, preparation, and purchasing that goes into the holiday decorations. Don't be frightened....there are plenty of ways to decorate for a Green Halloween that won't spook the planet. Check out these ideas for Green Halloween decorations...

1. Seek Out The Spooky...Reuse and recycle stuff around your house to use as Halloween decorations. Don't worry if it's not perfect. Halloween as all about the eerie, the gross, and the creepy, so it will look even better if it's dirty or falling apart.
   
2. Get Thrifty: Hit your local thrift store for awesome decorations that won't cost a fortune.
   
3. Reuse decorations from year to year...don't just throw them away...that's SCARY!!
4. Go Au Naturale: Skip the inflatable and light-up decor that wastes both money and resources. Instead, opt for natural decorations like pumpkins, corn stalks, mums, and straw bales.
   

Add a little spookiness to your front yard with stuff that's already laying around your house. Check out these ideas for transforming everyday items into frightfully fun decorations:

Cardboard Box

• Coffin: Paint it black, stuff a shirt with newspaper and hang it from the side
  
• Tombstone: Paint it gray and add a funny epithet
  
• Skeleton: Paint it white and cut out a skeleton design
  

Recycled Newspaper/Paper

• Witch's Hat: Paint it black and fold into a pointy witch's hat.
  
• "Chain": Cut out strips of paper into chains that you can use to decorate inside or out
  

Rocks

Spiders: Paint black and attach pipe cleaners as legs

More Ideas

• Stuff old clothes with newspaper to form a scarecrow for your front porch. Add a hat and some funky shoes.
• Use old stockings or the netting from a bag of oranges to make spiderwebs.
• Turn an old sheet or pillowcase into a ghastly ghost. Use a small amount of crumpled newspaper to stuff the "head." Tie off the head with a string and add a spooky face with markers. Hang your ghost in a nearby tree and let him blow in the wind.
  

Green Your Halloween: Costumes

With Halloween fast approaching, I am dedicating this week's blog entries and newsletters to helping you prepare for a Green Halloween. I'll give you the scoop on the costumes, decorations, pumpkins, and treats that provide scary amounts of fun without frightening the planet. Ready to get started? Check out these ideas for greening your kids' Halloween costumes...

• Raid The Thrift Store: Hit your local thrift store first when looking for Halloween supplies. Most stores have an abundance of pre-made costumes set aside that you can pick up for pennies a piece. If you don't find exactly what you're looking for, wander the aisles to find cool clothes that will transform you child into a clown, princess, wizard, nurse, "mad scientist, or treehugger!
  

• DIY The Props: If your child needs a special prop to go with his outfit, help him make it out of the materials you have at home. Swords or “magic” wands are easily made by cutting the shape out of a piece of cardboard and covering it with aluminum foil. Make a cape for a wizard or princess using an old fancy pillowcase. Cut it lengthwise and attach a thin piece of felt at either end.
  

• Add Effect: Add "glow in the dark" stars to your little one’s princess or ninja costume for an extra special effect. Or jazz up your child's costume with green (or red or blue) facepaint. Just blend ½ teaspoon diaper cream with 1 heaping teaspoon of cornstarch. Add a little water to get the paint to the desired consistency. Scoop the mixture into a few separate containers (such as egg cups or bottle caps) and add 1 or 2 drops of the food coloring of your choice to each. (These face paints will wash off with warm water, but be sure to take the usual precautions for allergies and clothes stains.)

Costume Ideas

Here are some great ideas for simple, eco-friendly Halloween costumes for you and/or your kids. Got a few great ideas of your own? Post them here for a chance to win great Halloween prizes (can you say fair-trade chocolate and reusable treat bags?)

Black Cat: Black sweat suit, black headband (attach 2 black felt ears), old black scarf or boa to use as tail (attach with a safety pin). Use black eyeliner to draw on cat eyes and whiskers.

Cowboy/Cowgirl: Jeans, flannel shirt, bandanna, boots, cowboy (cowgirl) hat

Ghost: It doesn’t get any easier than this one. Cut two eye holes in an old sheet (if you don’t have an old one, you can pick one up at your local thrift store.) Jazz it up by using a permanent marker to add spider webs, chains, and a face.

Mummy: Dress child in an all white or all black outfit. Cut an old sheet into long strips. Attach strips with masking tape to child’s clothes and wrap loosely around legs, torso, and arms. Use white face paint all over face.

Ninja: Black turtleneck, billowy black pants, black belt, and a sword

Pirate: Red pants, white billowy shirt (open at the collar) balck belt, black boots, black hat, 1 dangly clip-on earring, 1 black eye patch

Princess: If you can’t find an old princess dress at your local thrift store, seek out any material that is frilly and/or sparkly that can be pinned around your child’s waist as a skirt. (Try a fancy pillowcase or tablecloth). Make a crown out of aluminum foil. For special effect, add glow in the dark stars all over the costume.

Scarecrow: Old jeans, flannel shirt, straw hat, boots. Cut an old newspaper into thin strips. Using duct tape, attach the newspaper strips to the inside cuff of each pant leg and the inside cuff of each shirt at the wrist. Use red face paint and black eyeliner to make red cheeks, and black “stitching” around mouth and eyes.

Spider: Black sweat suit, 2 pairs of black tights. (Cut the legs off of the tights and stuff them with old newspaper (4 legs total). Attach 2 legs to either side of sweatshirt with safety pins. Using black sewing thread or safety pins, attach the lower leg on the left with the lower leg on the right in front of child. Next, attach the middle leg on left to the left sweatshirt arm and the middle right leg to the right sweatshirt arm.)

Zorro: Black pants, black shirt, cut mask into strip of black felt, black belt, black shoes or boots, sword

Photo courtesy of scol22, stock.xchng.

Green Festival 2007

Last weekend I had the good fortune to attend the Green Festival in Washington, D.C. where I saw a convention center full of great eco-savvy products and learned the latest in environmental news from incredible speakers like Bill McKibben and Timberly Whitfield. Here are some of the highlights from the event:

Step It Up 2007: Bill McKibben, a true environmental leader and author of the bestseller, The End of Nature, has organized the Step It Up 2007 campaign to demand leadership and action on global warming from our elected officials. In April, 2007, the group organized 1,400 rallies in all 50 states across the U.S., amounting to the largest environmental movement since Earth Day 1970. Step It Up is planning another set of rallies for Nov 3rd of this year (one year before the election). Click here to find an event in your area.

The Hungry Vegan: The Hungry Vegan is a food delivery service offering organic, vegan meals that are already prepared and ready for your freezer or dinner plate. They deliver a week's worth of meals directly to your door (or to your hotel if you are traveling) for an extremely reasonably price ($75/week for 1 person or $140/week for 2). What a perfect gift for new parents, college students, or anyone else who needs a break in the kitchen!

Gaia Girls: From author Lee Welles comes a series of books for eco-savvy Green Kids along the lines of Nancy Drew or Harry Potter. The first book, Enter The Earth, introduces Elizabeth Angier, an average American 10 year-old who grows up on an organic farm and happens to possess the ability to command the "Earth" (soil, trees, etc.) at will. Elizabeth's adventures as an eco-hero leave the reader ready and willing to protect the planet. Subsequent books in the series introduce girls with the power to command air, water, and fire. Kids of all ages will devour these enthralling eco-adventures!

Think Globally; Act Locally

Here's a high-tech way to clean up your neighboorhood. Next weekend (Oct 13th-14th), Google is hosting an International Cleanup Weekend in an effort to spread the word about taking care of the planet. They are hoping to inspire folks to make an impact by thinking globally and acting locally.

Log on to Google's clean-up site and join up with a clean-up event in your area. Or, if you're feeling ambitious, organize your co-workers, friends, family, or neighboors to clean up your local area. Using their step-by-step tutorial, you can learn how to organize your own local clean-up event and "map" your event to make it part of the international effort. If you don't have time for a big event, keep it simple and grab your kids, a few bags, and a picnic lunch to spruce up your favorite local spot. After your clean-up, you can post photos and videos of your event for the whole world to see.

Mark Your Calendar...07/07/07

Whether you are a music lover, an environmentalist, or both, you will definitely want to mark your calendar for July 7th (07/07/07). This is the day that Live Earth will host a 24-hour, 7-continent concert series that will bring together more than 100 musicians and 2 billion people around the world to raise awareness about climate change.

Live Earth was founded by Kevin Wall, the Worldwide Executive Producer of Live 8, an mega-event that sought to use global awareness to combat poverty. Wall formed a partnership with Al Gore, Chair of the Alliance for Climate Protection and other international organizations to launch Live Earth, an event that is sure to inspire behavioral changes long after 7/7/07.

Live Earth Concerts will be held at Giants Stadium in New York; Wembley Stadium in London; Aussie Stadium in Sydney; Copacabana Beach in Rio deJaneiro; Maropeng at the Cradle of Humankind in Johannesburg; Makuhari Messe in Tokyo; the Steps of the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai; and HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg. Concerts will be broadcast to a live worldwide audience by MSN at www.LiveEarth.MSN.com.

Want more info? Check out http://www.liveearth.org/friends_of_le.php.