DIY Eco-Friendly Gardening

Coffee grounds for fertilizer
Coffee grounds are a thrifty source of nitrogen as well as smaller percentages of potassium and phosphorus (in that order). And the best part . . . slugs hate coffee. Sprinkle some around their favorite plants to keep those slimeballs away. The trouble with coffee is that it is slightly acidic. Adding a sprinkle straight onto the soil around most edible crops is generally okay now and again, but heavy coffee drinkers should save direct application for acid-loving plants like blueberries. Better yet, compost large quantities first and it will be ready to use all over the garden without burning sensitive plants and seedlings.

What eco-friendly tasks will you be doing in the garden this season?
Installing a rain barrel
Creating my own compost
Creating my own compost
Replacing my grass with a garden.

Bumblebee (Bombus)        Size: From 1.7 to 3.5 cm            Where: Widespread
Why: Bumblebees are among the first to emerge in spring. After landing on certain flowers, they will adjust the speed of their wingbeats until the vibration shakes the pollen grains loose, so they can carry it to the next flower. Bumblebees are one of the few members of the Apidae (bee/wasp) family that are social.

The Cost of Eating Organically
“Many organic practices simply make sense, regardless of what overall agricultural system is used. Far from being a quaint throwback to an earlier time, organic agriculture is proven to be a serious contender in modern farming and a more environmentally sustainable system over the long term” David Suzuki

“The Message from Wal-Mart today to the rest of the business community is there need not be any conflict between the environment and the economy. We will find the way not only to reconcile (these, but to find new profits and new opportunities as we do the right thing.” Al Gore

There is some controversy about the benefits of eating organic food. Some sources say it is not necessarily better for you, other sources say that without the pesticides and herbicides, eating organically is definitely better for you. All many people know is that eating organic food simply seems to taste better. If you have wanted to eat tastier food, but find the cost of organic food to be too high, there are some simple ways that you can add organic food to your grocery cart.

We see a lot of products marked organic. You don’t need to buy them all. Just start by buying foods that we don’t peel - such as lettuces, spinach, peppers, apples, cabbages, etc. Organic foods are now found in mainstream grocery stores as well as at the Covent Garden Market and in smaller stores like the QuarterMaster Store in Wortley Village. Find your own local organic suppliers; some even deliver right to the door and let us know about them so we can spread the word and help them grow their businesses.

If you enjoy honey, buy organic. A lot of honey produced by the big commercial companies purchase honey from all over the world and sometimes from places where a lot of herbicides are used. The bees carry these chemicals to their hives, produce the honey laced with chemicals and the chemicals end up on your toast. Even Food Basics sells organic honey - how convenient is that!

Not only do a lot of organically grown foods taste better but they are often produced by more local farmers and smaller producers. When we buy organic we are often helping to support local families, vendors and small businesses survive. Not only are we helping ourselves eat better and be healthy, but we are contributing to our local community. As Al Gore said, we can find new profits and new opportunities as we also do the right thing. Even Wal-Mart is starting to get the message. How much better can it get!

May you and your family have a healthy, environmentally aware Christmas this year with many, many blessings in 2010 - in light and peace from The Green Team.

GREEN TEAM Thought of the Day…To idle or not to idle - That is the question

This article recently came over the wires and the Green Team thought we would share it, just to raise awareness on the idling issue in London. A member of the Council of Canadians, London, compiled the figures. Quote:

“ We used the calculations provided to us in this study (idling times are completely in line with Tim Horton’s own study (3 to 4.5 minutes) and with the national average of 3.84 seconds) to produce a very conservative number for the total number of emissions, etc., produced in London drive-thrus.

London has 156 drive-thrus – so we have based our amounts on (29 x 5) 145 as opposed to 156 to keep our results conservative.

Here are the results: (City of London only)
 
•          Idling time: 108,797,760 minutes.
 
•          Fuel Wasted: 2,175,925 liters of fuel wasted.
 
•          Emissions: 590 tons of carbon dioxide and other pollutants.
 
•          To offset this amount of pollutants in one year we would need to plant 29,220 trees.
 
•          Fuel wasted – enough for an average car to circle the globe 425 times.

And this is ONLY London based on only 150 drive-thrus. Imagine the result from all cities in Ontario, in Canada in North America in the world.  For more info on this study (data) please contact councilofcanadians.london@sympatico.ca.”

So, from the Green Team, if you would like to save money and spare the environment, please watch those idling times.

The Green Team is also currently looking at opportunities to reduce utility expenses around the church. For the next Budget process, we will be preparing a list of simple energy saving suggestions - such as putting shrink wrap plastic over the single pane windows in the parish hall, and some new door sweeps where we can currently actually see daylight under the doors (not good for heat or mice). We will keep you posted.

From the Green Team about Water
Daily Scripture:
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22: 1-2)

By faith we understand God to be deeply, mysteriously, and unceasingly involved in what
happens in all creation. God showers care upon sparrows and lilies (Mat 6:26-30), and brings “rain on a land where no one lives, on the desert, which is empty of human life” (Job 38:26).

From the ELCA Statement “Caring for Creation.”
Fact: It takes 2.5 billion gallons of water to support 4.7 million people, calculated at the minimum water use requirement recognized by the United Nations. However, this same amount—2.5 billion gallons per day—is the amount of water used to irrigate the world’s golf courses!

Commitment:
Immediate- When brushing your teeth and washing your face today, turn off the faucet! Gallons of water can be saved if we take the time to conserve the water we aren’t using while brushing our teeth! Commit yourself to turning off the faucet as much as possible.
Long Term- Lawns can waste incredible amounts of water. Consider watering your lawn as little as possible, if at all. If you must water your lawn, water only at dawn or at dusk to prevent extra evaporation. Consider using a rainwater collection system to water plants and trees in the future.

Daily Prayer:
God, your voice echoes over the waters. Allow us to appreciate and treasure the resources you have created. Our thirst is on for you, teach us to see your world as you see it. Amen

It’s easy being green
Greetings from the Green Team.  Being Green is easy and healthy.  It makes sense to try to reduce the number of chemicals we use in our homes.  Here are some helpful suggestions for making your world a little more gentle:

If you are trying to reduce the number of chemicals you are using around the home, there are several environmentally safe cleaning systems on the market now.  One of  them is the E-cloth Cleaning System which is a terrific way to clean all hard surfaces by only using water.  When dampened with just water (no chemical cleaners or polishes), E-cloths clean surfaces such as glass, plastics, ceramics, tiles, stainless steel, chrome, wood and laminate.  When used dry, E-cloths have a natural positive charge that attracts dust.  The cloths are available from Jill’s Table on King Street and the Quarter Master Store on Wortley and are a great alternative to other cloths such as Swiffer that have chemicals on them and are thrown away after being used.

Many people claim that if we would not want to EAT a cosmetic product then we probably shouldn’t be using them on our bodies either. Avoid using cosmetic/grooming products that contain parabens. According to Julie Gabriel in ‘The Green Beauty Guide’, paraben preservatives are in many products including baby care products.  Parabens penetrate the skin and accumulate in living tissue, such as in the breasts. In the body they mimic our own hormones and can have an endocrine disrupting action.” Parabens have been found in breast tumors and breast milk. There are many paraben free cosmetic products, shampoos, etc. on the market; Avalon Organics, Weleda and Burt’s Bees are readily available to name a few.

Try using natural oil products like pure organic almond oil or organic fair trade coconut oil for winter dry skin.   If your scalp is really dry and itchy and you would like to get away from some of those medicated shampoos, try massaging coconut oil into your hair and scalp overnight. Using coconut oil this way is a natural way to put oils back into the scalp.  When in the jar, coconut oil is hard, so spoon some out, rub it between your hands to make it more liquid and rub it into your scalp.  Leave it on for at least an hour or overnight and wash your hair in the morning.  It will nourish your scalp and your hair.  Use it as often as you like, or as needed. Unless you are allergic to coconut, coconut oil is safe to use (if you have a nut allergy, you may not be able to use almond oil).  These oils are easy to find at most grocery stores or health food stores.  Remember, coconut oil is high in cholesterol, so if you cook with it, use it sparingly.

Leaping For A Green Friendly Future
Susan of the Green Team says that if you take “1 part vinegar and 3 parts water” and spray it on the crabgrass that grows in driveway cracks you will take care of those noxious weeds. Vinegar which is acetic acid is used in many commercial weed control products. 

It's likely that many parishioners have already adopted the habit of taking their own coffee mug with them to their various activities during the week.  The Green Team is encouraging you to do likewise for our Tea/Coffee time in the parish hall after service and inviting others to take up this environmentally-friendly habit.  Let's keep the styrofoam out of our landfills!

Our Environment
St. Anne's seeks to be sensitive to the reality that collectively we have many allergies and to be as inclusive as possible, we are seeking to make St. Anne's a:

1. 1. a latex free zone   we don't use latex balloons in Sunday School or for children's celebrations hosted by St. Anne's
2. a scent free zone  The chancel guild avoid heavily scented flowers for main services and encourage parishioners to leave heavy perfume scents and strong aftershaves at home.
3. a gluten free option zone  - we always have a tray of gluten free treats to choose from at coffee hour kept at the kitchen counter and identified as gluten free.  We have introduced gluten free Holy Communion hosts and wine in a separate chalice to ensure no contact with wheat products.  Those wishing gluten free host and wine chalice are encouraged to pick up a "Gluten Free" card on the back table when they enter the church. Place it in the palm of your hand and the rector or administrators will be certain to see you receive gluten free.
4. a peanut free option zone   - no peanut products will be served to children but it is vital that we also know when you register for Sunday School, what allergies your child may have
5. handicap friendly zone  We have space both at the front of the church and back for wheelchairs and a parishioner has kindly donated a wheelchair for our use
6. an environmentally friendly zone  Here we continue to rely on our green team and each other to be diligent in making changes that are friendly to our trees, lakes, land and air in the products we use and way we carry out our activities
7. a safe church zone   Our safe church committee, diocese, wardens and rector take very seriously our commitment to provide you with leaders that have been properly screened i.e.. police checks are mandatory for staff, children and youth workers, etc.  team teaching is another way, glass windows on doors so you can see at all times, what your children are doing etc.  as well as safe church from a practical point of view of even steps, ice free, repaired, etc.

Please help us to help you enjoy your parish family in a safe and healthy environment.  Contact the green team, office, council members or email/write a letter with your helpful suggestions.

"Bless you."
Often times, it's a phrase spoken almost unconsciously after a person sneezes - as a reaction or a relflex. In our secular society, it is becoming merely a verbal remnant of the vast, ancient and multi-cultural/faith tradition of offering blessing upon one another, upon ourselves and upon the earth. Blessings were, and are to be, mindful acts.

They are a conscious and deliberate acknowledgment to declare and honour the sacred nature of a person, creature, plant or landscape. When a blessing is said (or thought) with mindful intent, there is a connection made and energy is sent to the recipient, the blessed. Blessings can help us to form relationships among those with whom we share our world and have the power to shift our perspective and actions by providing intimate (even if momentary) connection. At present, nature is bearing a large brunt of our unconscious acts; from excessively high emissions to water pollution to habitat destruction. Our inability to see them as sacred water and land-bodies allows for their continued contamination and devastation. At the same time, people living in poverty, especially in the developing world, are paying the price of the lack of relationship western society feels among our fellow human beings.

If we truly felt empathetic connections with those in less privileged countries, could we still possibly feel satisfied or happy about our new purchases of sweat-shop clothing? Would we not protest seed patents and the co-opting of the food supply? Would we not eradicate human trafficking? If we make the deliberate choice and conscious act to bless the earth and its inhabitants, we are more likely to see their beauty, to cherish the diversity and have gratitude for all existence. We become of the earth, instead of on it: a conscious relationship is formed."
Something to think about
- Blessings