Details to come…



So far this year we have:
-          planted over 100 bulbs in the Husky Woods
-          sponsored an all school Highlands Grounds Clean-up to clear buckthorn and weeds and trim bushes
-          Spent an afternoon picking up trash, filling bird feeders, playing outdoor games
-          made and delivered a non-toxic cleaner for each of the class room teachers with home-made cards
-          wrote 5 songs for our upcoming “green” public service announcements for the News Show.

Our next Green Team meeting on Monday, February 2nd from 4:00-5:00 in Room #14.
We will start acting out and recording our “green” public service announcements that we created this month.

Future meetings are planned for:
Monday, March 2
Monday, April 13th (2nd Monday because of Spring Break)
Monday, May 4th
Monday, June 1

Classes at Highlands are discussing the environmental toxins that are present in many of the all-purpose cleaners used at home and school.  The students are mass producing bottles of a safe, non-toxic all-purpose cleaner.

Alice’s Wonderspray is the recipe.  The active agent is good ole’ borax, which is found in nature and does disinfect, without harming the earth or children’s developing brains and bodies like bleach-based cleaners do.

Last January the PTA, Green Team and volunteer students and parents implemented organics recycling to the lunch room. That act alone reduced the waste in Highlands cafeteria from 5 bags to 1 per day. We as a community would like to support that effort by taking it a step further by packing no waste lunches in the first place. These waste reduction practices reduce cost to operations dramatically.

zero_waste_lunch-1

Here is how to pack a no waste lunch. This is a small change we all can make for large benefits to our earth. By eliminating the green waste that goes to landfills we bring down green house emissions. By packing a no waste lunch we teach our children to be better stewards of the food we pack them and more personal responsibility for their belongings. Encourage your child to pack their own no waste lunch the night before school.

“Friends don’t let friends, drink from plastic.”

www.laptoplunches.com

www.fabkins.com

www.mysigg.com

www.reduce.org

No plastic containers in microwave.

No water bottles in freezer.

No plastic wrap in microwave.

A dioxin chemical causes cancer, especially breast cancer.

Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don’t freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic.

Recently, Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital, was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.

He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers…

This especially applies to foods that contain fat.

He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body…

Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food… You get the same results, only without the dioxin So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else.

Paper isn’t bad but you don’t know what is in the paper. It’s just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc.

He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons…

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food.

Cover food with a paper towel instead.

Sustain Yourself, Sustain Your Home, Sustain the Planet

Date: Saturday, 8/23
Location: CorePower Yoga Edina Yoga & Spa
Time: 6:30pm – 10:00pm
Cost: $10 minimum donation to the Chrysalis Foundation
A night of self-rejuvenation and inspiration to make change for a more sustainable planet! Enjoy free yoga, complimentary mini spa treatments, & EcoMom Edutainment. Mingle & shop fair trade with other like-minded Moms who care about the earth; OR, book yourself a spa treatment! Enjoy special discounts on yoga, spa packages, and retail this evening only.

Call Edina Yoga & Spa to register: 952.835.9642 – space is limited!
]]> http://greenhighlands.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/ecomoms-ecodads-ecoteachers-ecoall/feed/ 0 jmcjones CorePower Yoga & EcoMom Alliance Evening http://greenhighlands.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/green-pilot-project-planning-meeting-and-green-highlands-conversation-part-ii/ http://greenhighlands.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/green-pilot-project-planning-meeting-and-green-highlands-conversation-part-ii/#comments Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:47:01 +0000 Julie http://greenhighlands.wordpress.com/?p=57 ]]> Pilot Project Planning Meeting & Highlands Green Enthusiast Conversation Part II
Thursday, August 21, 2008
RSVP juliemcjones@gmail.com
8:00 AM
Continental Breakfast
5813 West 61st Street
FREE sitter and activities for all ages provided
All our welcome to this working session with the pilot project team. We hope you will support and replicate the ideas in your sphere of influence, and volunteer your time and talents to the greening of Highlands.

Please pass this on to interested parties.

Contact me, if you would like to be on Core Pilot Project Team or on the Earth Day Event Planning Team. Julie juliemcjones@gmail.com
Don’t Do What I Say…Do What I Do.
Never has that phrase been more appropriate then when describing my journey to lower our family carbon footprint, with my own children participating (and monitoring) in the process.

Michael Anderson shared with me his desire to focus on SUSTAINABILITY next year and I believe as a collective community we can do our part to model this concept and get the ripple effect going.

In Minnesota, Healthy Legacy is one organization committed to ridding our schools and homes from harmful environmental toxins. They have great information and will come out and speak to PTA’s and any other groups for FREE.

Grist is an organization with the latest enviro news and this Back to School article is helpful for avoiding buying Back to School products that contain enviromental toxins, excess packaging and alternatives are suggested.

Also, Next Step, The Minnesota Sustainable Communities Network lists criteria for Minnesota healthy school program.

One of the criteria for a green school is that is offers local, organic foods to the lunch program menu. The Farm to School program is one way to incorporate that element into a school lunch.

THE ACT’S FACTS

The Illinois Green Cleaning Schools Act:

— Requires qualified “green” products in six categories: bathroom cleaners; carpet cleaners; general purpose and hard floor surface cleaners; glass, window and mirror cleaners; hand cleaners and hand soaps; and paper products.

— Criteria for preferred products: minimal presence of harmful chemicals, biodegradable, low toxicity, low flammability, bio-based, designed for use in cold water.

— For more information, see www.GreenSolutions.il.gov or www.epa.gov/epp/pubs/clean ing.htm.

— Those wanting to buy green household products can look for certifications such as Green Seal or EcoLogo, indicating the products meet certain guidelines. Some products bearing those certifications are available at retail, but many are available for industries or businesses only.

Source: Guidelines for the Illinois Green Cleaning Schools Act, Illinois lieutenant governor’s office.