IslandWood Connections feature

Through my current work with Friends of the Cedar River Watershed, I had the opportunity to re-engage with IslandWood and met at length with their Executive Director, Ben Klasky. IslandWood was thrilled to see how my professional life has come full circle and my work has come back to a focus on local sustainability issues.

Read my feature story here and also take a look at Ben's article titled "Take a hike, and call me in the morning"

Exploring Nature with Little Hands

Few things in life are as fulfilling and insightful as spending time in nature with children.  The 4th of July weekend was spent exploring the shoreline of hood canal with my two and four year old daughters.  They became absolutely transfixed with teeny red spiders on a piece of driftwood.  Sometimes it takes a child to slow you down and help to take notice of the simple joys in life.

Spring Harvest has Begun! (Rule #1 & #5)

One of the things I have always made time for since leaving the nest is  gardening.  Although it took me a few years of college to realize that life was not just about the parties and football games, I finally found a house with space for a garden and as overly granola as it may sound "re-connected" with the environment.  Interestingly enough, this was when I decided to focus my school efforts on an Environmental Studies degree.  Growing up, my grandfather was always an inspiration to me being a financial business owner and a gentleman farmer at his home on Mercer Island and family retreat at Hood Canal.  From May to October, we were always guaranteed a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables from my grandfathers hard work, and in the winter months enjoyed the best preserves and canned goods I will ever know.  With his passing, my uncles and I have taken his lead and still continue to garden as a way to stay "connected" and provide food for our families.  I also find that spending time in the garden is a great stress reducer and opportunity for me to educate my girls about growing plants in our marine climate. 

Being a consultant has freed up my schedule to sporadically spend more time working in the garden and establish a "system" to produce more food in less space.  As I worked to build a playhouse for my girls out of reclaimed materials last fall, I realized that I also was coming across all of the key elements to build raised beds and a passive greenhouse for the spring time.  My very simple structure, positioned perfectly for optimal southern exposure from February to April has produced my first harvest of Chard this early in a very cold year!  We celebrated Mother's Day with a harvest and wonderful casserole with fresh Chard. We have also started herbs, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumber in the house on a south facing window sill and peas, carrots and beans are now sowed in the ground outdoors.

 

It is not too late to start summer veggies from seed inside and this is the perfect week to sow directly in the ground as the chance of frost has likely FINALLY passed.  So get outside and plant some seeds today or swing by the nursery and pick up some local starts ready for our growing region!

If you are new to gardening in this climate, I highly recommend thumbing through Steve Solomon's Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades.

Sustainable Wellness featured on Patch.com

See my recent feature on Patch.com!

Living in a "Thriving Community" (Rule #3 & #6)

Seattle's Salmon Bay "micro-hood" is thriving with a true neighborhood feel right out of the 50's or 60's.  This small community within Ballard is part of the City of Seattle, but a world away from the grit, tension, and fast pace of downtown.  Communities like this sometimes happen by accident and sometimes are nurtured, but those that seek this experience (which is becoming less and less common) wouldn't trade it for the world.  Years ago I organized two similar communities that are still a highlight of my personal community endeavors.  On alternating weeks, a group that started with 4 hiking and mt. biking enthusiasts turned into a weekly ritual for a group of 25+.  On week would entail a Friday morning sunrise hike to the top of Spencer's Butte in Eugene Oregon, equipped with headlamps, down jackets during the winter, and cook stoves.  As we sat at the top of the Butte watching the sunrise, we prepared a simple breakfast of oatmeal and fruit.  This eventually turned into a build your own omelet bar and pancakes as more joined in and brought backcountry cooking innovation.  Friday hikes then morphed into an alternating Saturday morning pancake potluck followed by a solid morning of mt. biking on local trails.  What made this so satisfying was never having a shortage of people to hike or ride with by connecting people who otherwise would never have met and allowing people to find new adventure buddies of similar ability levels.  In a completely unplanned and unstructured capacity, we created a thriving community by nurturing a group with common interests...adding in good food didn't hurt either!

The benefits of social exercise (Rule #2 & #6)

Today marks the busiest week for health clubs around the country, as new years resolutions become realized and people set out to "get fit".  After spending more than 6 years managing programs at the largest health club in the nation and catering to the likes of corporate types and families who have to schedule time to breath, I have seen what works and keeps people on track. 

The answer?  Make your exercise routine a social experience. 

Now, that doesn't mean you can expect results by going to the gym, leaning against a piece of equipment, and having a conversation with your best friend or office mate.  What you should look for is an opportunity to use your exercise time to catch up with friends, establish new relationships, and find a group that will hold you accountable for showing up and living active. 

I'll give you an example.  My best friend since 3rd grade travels more than any one person could possibly imagine and our time together is limited, but we always make the most out of it by getting in our exercise as well.  We meet for a run, hike, bike or gym session and use that time to catch up on lost time.  The interesting thing about exercising with someone is that you are far more likely to actually set aside time for exercise, tend to push yourself harder,  and often get in more quality conversation than you would on the phone or over coffee.

If you don't have a good friend that is in to exercising, this is a great week to motivate them to start!  Better yet, join a group exercise program that requires some accountability and sign up with a friend.  Many community centers and colleges offer quarterly fitness programs, yoga and pilates centers offer multi week programs, and many gyms are now jumping on the bandwagon with biggest loser team training programs.  If you don't have access to these facilities due to your location or financial constraints, then find a friend or local group for walking, running, hiking, biking, or take part in a recreational sports league.

So, if your new years resolutions include "get fit" and you want to make that process a little greener, here are my top 5:

1.  Bike to work - there is no better way to get fit, stay fit, and reduce your carbon footprint.  See my upcoming post on commuting by bike during the winter, if done right it is feasible to do 12 months of the year and enjoy the experience. 
2. Head out on foot for errands - we have become so accustomed to driving that it seems foreign to walk further than across the parking lot for groceries.  Our bodies were built to walk long distances, up to 12 miles per day!  How long would it take you to walk to your nearest grocery store and pick up what you need for a few days?  An extra 20 to 40 minutes?  Sounds like a great way to get in some exercise while staying green.  Get a good backpack, like the sturdy and waterproof Ortlieb, and start walking.
3. Join an organized group - seek out work partues at local parks, participate in weekend trail maintenance projects, or tear up your lawn and plant a vegetable garden for you and your neighborhood.  Not only do these projects get you moving and burn calories, but they build community and help you feel good about being involved and making a difference.

4. Seek out a gym or fitness program that offers a greener experience -the simplicity of yoga, mat pilates, tai chi, or even dance studios often times use small spaces with limited resources to produce exceptional workouts and a group atmosphere.  The Green Microgym in Portland offers a new concept, which you can expect to see popping up around the country, where they have partnered with Seattle based Re: Sources Fitness to utilize electricity producing cardio equipment to help power the building.




Hiking near Mt. Rainier


5. Take on a new outdoor pursuit - consider kayaking, rock climbing, mt. biking or hiking.  These activities can get you out to the remote places that help us check back into the world that exists outside the city - a breathing, thriving, and self sustaining environment.  I guarantee if you connect back with the natural world more often, you will second guess your choices back in the urban oasis of convenience.