Endangered Species Day!

Hey kids, On May 16th, 2008, America celebrates Endangered Species Day! The U.S. Senate has created Endangered Species Day as a national celebration of America’s commitment to protecting our country’s wildlife fish and plants on the brink of extinction. This is a great day for evefyone to lean more about the importance of protecting wildlife!Click here for a list of endangered species: ENDANGERED SPECIES and the ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT .

Earth Day at Earthbound farms

This year we spent Earth Day at Earthbound Farms in Carmel Valley, CA. There we got to see organic farmland and took a farm tour with farmer, Mark Marino. Then we planted lettuce in homemade pots from newspapers. I played Earthbound Bingo 3 times and finally the last game I won and got a chocolate bar!

Composting

My dad and I went to a composting class at Country Gardens in Hyannis and we learned a lot! Here is some of the information we got from the class:

Put all fruit and vegetable garbage in your compost. You can also add coffee (plus filters) tea bags, paper towels and even shredded newspaper. Don't add meat, dairy or animal waste.

Leaves can be composted separately--pile them in after they fall and empty the bin the next fall. Partly composted leaves are what British call "leaf mold" and they make perfect soil amendments and mulch.

You can compost right in your garden! Dig a hole and place your kitchen garbage right into the soil. Cover with dirt and dig another hole for tomorrow's garbage. This is especially successful in vegetable gardens, but you should also use the same method in the space around shrubs or perennials.

Once we have our compost bin up and running I'll share pictures with you!

Napkins and Paper Plates and Paper Towels..Oh My!

Back in the 19th century people would never have guessed that there would be a napkin that would only be used once. Instead they used a cloth to pick up spills and messes. Today people use paper towels to pick up spills and throw them away without even thinking about it. Using paper towels without thinking about it isn’t smart. Using a reusable rag saves paper (trees) and keeps stuff out of the dump. We found a web site, Ecoproducts, which sells napkins made from recycled paper. They also sell forks, spoons and knives made from potato starch, which makes them compostable. And plates made from sugarcane fibers which are also biodegradable. For your next barbeque make it more eco-friendly and use these utensils and plates instead of what you always use. This is one way you can make a difference. Eco-products web site is: http://www.ecoproducts.com/.

Did you know…..Only 13% of water bottles are recycled by being made into other materials? (info from NRDC-Natural Resources Defense Council) We suggest using your local tap water and fill a reusable bottle. We found a web site, http://www.reusablebags.com/, where you can buy fun and funky bottles for kids.

Garden of the Gods

Garden of The Gods

By the Ecosavvykid

http://www.gardenofgods.com/home/index.cfm?flash=1

The Kissing Camels glow
Within the springs morning light
Where snow was once a king
And gave the skiers quite a fright.

Wet imprints, I touch carefully
Where there was once mounds of snow
I quickly turn to see a snake
That no one's ever known.

I see flowers, their roots
Deep in a tiny hole
And digging in the dirt
Is an old and tired mole.

I touch the Siamese Twins
Their sandstone hard as rock
I found a leaf on the ground
Torn to look like a sock.

I hear the robins, chirping loud
I taste the misty morning air
I realize that there is a fern
No one knew was there.

I look at the view, so large and
Ever more
I cry all the way home
And as I walk through my bedroom door.

I check again, but still, oh my
Nothing has changed at all
But now I found a passage
The trees have made a hall.

The Rocky Mountain Columbine
So beautiful and blue
I think I see some water
But it's only some Spring dew.

This park is such a pleasure
Even for pesky dogs
I love this park so much
That Garden of the Gods.