The Earth Day Compost Heap

April 21, 2009

I have other plans for tomorrow's Earth Day post (with a giveaway) if I can finish it up in time. So I'm doing an earth day round up today. A little bit of this, a little bit of that - kind of like my compost pile.

Garbage Day

We cleaned out our garage this weekend. The city will pick up extra trash this week as part of spring clean up. I am always dismayed with how much trash we put at the curb, almost all related to house renovations, during this yearly pick up. So although our average weekly garbage is quite modest, during this once a year clean up we are knocked right off our environmental high horse.

But now that the garage is cleaned of it's collection of winter renovation debris we can see our (t)rusty little lawnmower again. Perhaps since we use people power to to cut our lawn we're partially redeemed for the unsightly trash heap on the curb.

An Earth Day list

I like lists. Lists are fun, as long as they serve you and not the other way around! Here's Simple Mom's 40 ways to go greener at home. I'm doing pretty good (I like those kind of lists - notice I didn't choose some hardcore environmentalist list that I could never measure up to!) but I still want to figure out logistically how the kids and I can get around town more on our bikes.

Get Outdoors

My personal opinion about environmentalism and earth appreciation is that you start to really care about these issues the more you are in nature. And the same goes for your children. Our children were horrified, to the point of tears, by the trash filled Wall-e earth because they LOVE the natural world.

Raising our children in nature is hugely important to us and even though we live in the city we spend one whole day a week in nature, not to mention the time we spend in our backyard, at the farm and in green spaces around town. In the future we plan to spend longer chunks of time outdoors together. I have a lot more to say about that subject but I'm going to leave you with the following to ponder:

Remembering last year's Earth Day Hike with my parents - what a gorgeous spring day!
This week's hike, another great spring day.
It's scientifically proven, there are cognitive benefits for interacting with natural environments (like I needed a scientific study to show that!). By the way, I didn't read this whole report, it's kind of academic.
The Magnifying Glass: An online nature journal A blog I recently discovered about nature study with children.

A Green Craft

These handmade green buttons by Handmade Homeschool make green very cool indeed. What about for the kids? It's a rainy day here so my kiddos are painting the windows... with you guessed it - nature themes.

nicola on April 22, 2009, 2:09 p.m.

i agree! the more you are in nature, the more you realize its importance. i also feel that, although it has always been important to me, the earth's health became even more critical to me once i had children. and ditto on the home renovation debris, although i suspect you are much like we are in that you try to reuse as much as possible and waste as little as possible. ditto, also on the push lawn mower. we live in a very eco-friendly area. many, many homes have abandoned grass and replaced it with water tolerant natives or edible gardens. we have done this mostly, too, but there is nothing like a little grass for backyard playing. nicola http://whichname.blogspot.com

nicola's last blog post... happy earth day!

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Andie on April 22, 2009, 3:13 p.m.

Boy I wish we lived closer so we could hike together! My kiddies are just like yours and would get along so well together. Loooove the painted windows! What a fantastic idea.

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Jenn on May 22, 2009, 5:54 a.m.

I have only recently stumbled across your blog...how, from where, I don't know!!But I am so glad I did! I LOVE IT! :0) Well, this post really hit home with me (as I am sitting here way too late at night reading all of your blog, working my way backwards...)

We love nature. We basically live in nature+. Every day, we are outside. My blog shows how much time we spend outdoors. We have five acres...but if we aren't romping around here, we'll be found somewhere else enjoying it.

I also loved your post about trees...how you can worship God through his beautiful creation. I love that...it's so refreshing and rare, when usually you hear about people who are "tree-huggers" worshipping the trees, nature itself...it feels good to hear someone speak what I feel in my heart also.

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- renee on May 26, 2009, 6:25 p.m.
  
  Thanks Jenn. I tried to reach your blog but it's down now. Too bad.. you sound like a neat person. If you visit back here please send me a link to your new addy.
  
  Thanks!
  
  reply