by ecomotown on June 17, 2010
Good news, my friends! This weekend marks the first of many wonderful Sundays where you can venture down to the Morristown Farmer’s Market!
Aside from being a good place to pick up fresh produce and local meats, it’s a great way to meet and support local farmers. Those that have talked with local farmers know that it is hard work, and most of the ones I’ve spoken to have full-time jobs outside the farm. They’re working hard to bring us fresh, local, and sometimes organic produce, I’m all for supporting them so they can continue to do that for years to come.
I’m sure we’ll be able to buy veggies, cheeses, pickles, an assortment of meats, seafood, bread and honey. Yum! I hope to see you there!
by ecomotown on June 15, 2010
This past weekend I went to a bridal shower. It’s wedding season during the “wedding years” for me, so I’ve been going to quite a few these days. It’s hard not to notice the tremendous amount of waste that these various occasions produce, from the disposable plates and cups to the rolls of wrapping paper crumpled up and thrown away. It’s not my event, so I don’t fixate on the things that are out of my control, but rather focus on the one thing I can change: my gift.
In my personal opinion, I don’t believe in giving a donation to a charity in someone else’s name, or giving them a green gift they won’t use, because it’s not what they want. I usually get what’s on the registry because I know it’s what the person wants and it’s certainly less likely to wind up in the dumpster, right?
The way I’ve been trying to have less of an environmental impact is in the way I package my gift. I usually try to reuse any bridal-like gift bags I get because I know they’ll get reused again and again. Well, the bridal shower was approaching and I had used them all up, so now what?
Since this was the shower of a good friend who is well aware of my eco-ways, I decided to try something new. It’s kind of fun to challenge yourself with only using recycled items to wrap a gift. I wrapped the present in brown paper packing material, and THEN, I made some paper roses! I had to do something to make it more of a bridal-type present so I used this brown bag paper rose tutorial from The Hostess with the Mostess blog and came up with this:
As a modification to the tutorial, I did my rose spiral outline with a pink highlighter to give the roses a pink edge. I also outlined the leaves and bent them a little bit. I secured everything with a little scotch tape (but am searching for a better method).
I was really pleased with how it came out, but wanted to get others’ opinions. They were all actually really positive and said it looked great. I think my friend appreciated the time that went into the flowers (an hour or so). An eco-victory overall! What do you think? I’d love to hear other great ideas for gift wrapping. Also, check out my past holiday post on reusable cloth bags.
by ecomotown on June 11, 2010
Tomorrow at 10 a.m., rise and shine and head west for a walk through wildflowers at Allamuchy Mountain State Park. Located west on 80 (about 35 minutes), the park is over 8,000 acres. The Musconetcong Watershed Association (MWA) will be hosting the wildflower walk with naturalist Dr. Royal Nadeau and also Dr. Gerry Moore, who is the Director of Science at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
The walk, on fairly even, wide trails will give you a glimpse at the diversity of flowers that grow in the areas – both in the forest and near the Allamuchy Pond.
Pink Lady Slipper (credit: flickr magarell)
According to the MWA, the starting point for this hike is located about three miles North of Hackettstown off CR 517 adjacent to the entrance and exit off I80 at Exit 19. MWA members are free, nonmembers are asked to donate $3. Bring a snack, water and binoculars if you’d like. All are welcome, novice and expert alike. Call (908) 455-1404 or e-mail beth@musconetcong.org for details or to register. For directions to the Allamuchy Hike, please go to GoogleMaps and type “Villa Madonna, NJ” in the destination box.
by ecomotown on June 3, 2010
Rose Mallow (credit: flickr hkkbs)
What are the benefits of buying native plants? Native plants have adapted to this area (Northern NJ), and as a result, they’re lower maintenance. You don’t have to water them (except at first), there’s no need for fertilizers or pesticides, and you don’t have to plant new ones each year. Now, that is my kind of plant! These features all save you money, which is also nifty. They also help provide a habitat for local fauna.
Maybe I’ve piqued your interest, but you want to know more. Well, it just so happens that the New Jersey Audubon Society is hosting a Native Habitat Plant Sale at its Scherman-Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary this Saturday from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Should you decide to buy plants, your purchases will go to benefit NJAS to help support wildlife conservation. Staff and volunteers there can help you pick the right plants for your landscape.
I know one thought I had was, “Well, I still want my landscape to be pretty with flowers, not just filled with shrubs.” How naive! Check out this long list of plants available at the sale, many of which are flowering and beautiful.
by ecomotown on June 1, 2010
If you’re tired of going to the bar on Friday nights, or staying in for pizza night with the fam, try something different this weekend. Schiff Nature Preserve is hosting a Wild & Scenic Film Festival this Friday, June 4.
Watch a series of short, independent, environmental films, win raffle prizes & free gifts, and enjoy tasty treats from sponsors. Starting at 5:30 p.m., the films will be screened in the Schiff Woodbadge Lodge – just a short night hike, or wagon ride away from the Schiff Nature Center. FUN! It should wrap up around 9:30 p.m. (so if you were up for a night out on the town, you could have the best of both worlds).
What can you expect to see if you attend? Here’s the lineup:
GrowTown MoTown
Grow It Green Morristown
See how a group of local gardeners (Morristown, NJ) converted a vacant lot into a community garden!
Ascending the Giants
You may hug a tree, but would you climb one? Join tree lovers & climbers Brian and Will as they attempt to find Oregon’s largest Sitka Spruce trees. Through their eyes we discover the breathtaking beauty of these beautiful giants.
Flathead Wild
Flathead Wild follows the International League of Conservation photographers as they descend on the Flathead River Valley in Montana with local conservation groups and work to get the perfect, iconic image.
The Fun Theory: Piano Staircase
”Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator and feel better” is something we often hear or read in the Sunday papers. Few people actually follow that advice. Can we get more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do?
Lady Bug Swarm
Enjoy one of the wonders of nature … and rediscover the beauty of nature through the eyes of a child.
National Parks: This is America
Filmed at some of nature’s most spectacular locales — from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska . The film is a summary of the 12-hour PBS series.
Nature Propelled
Following the historic petroleum-free journey captured in his previous film Oil + Water, Seth Warren embarks on a new adventure with his nature powered fire truck named Baby, this time tracking the life cycle of water through the seasons.
Legacy of the Land
Schiff Natural Lands Trust
A condensed version of the short documentary to celebrate 25 years of community-based conservation at Schiff Nature Preserve. Narration by Bill Moyers, camerawork by Emmy award winner Greg Barna and music by Moby.
Tickets are $15.50 each, and you should buy them in advance here. Keep the squirmy kids younger than age 8 at home, please (paraphrasing here). Schiff Nature Preserve is located at 339 Pleasant Valley Road in Mendham.
And, since local sponsors deserve a shout out, the festival’s sponsors include: Base Camp Adventure Outfitters, Bella’s Burger Shack, The Station Pub n’ Grub, SmartWorld Coffee, Chester Meat Market, Slo Baked Granola (a good Twitter pal @SloBakedGranola), My Local Garden, Pipsqueak Soap Company, Rice and Associates, Far Hills Country Day School and The Willow School.
by ecomotown on May 26, 2010
While trying to “green” my life, I always try to think of the small things I can do that can really add up. For example, I made cloth napkins, so we use those instead of paper towels each night (and I have lots of them so we’re never without for lack of doing laundry). Or we’ve switched from sponges to dish clothes so we can reuse them again and again. There’s a ban on paper plates or plastic cups in this house, too.
credit: flickr A Machilla
But, if there’s one thing that I really enjoy eliminating, it’s junk mail. We get a ridiculous amount of catalogs here, and each time we buy something from a new company, we start getting their catalogs, too. One great website you can use to get rid of all of your catalogs is Catalog Choice. You can log in and tell them which companies you want to stop sending you mail (and opt-in for new mailings if you’re so inclined).
For me, though, I hate to have catalogs lying around, so they go immediately into the recycling. I can’t wait around for a stack of them build up and then log in to Catalog Choice to do them all at once. Neurotic? Maybe. My solution? I find the number on the catalog and give them a call right when I get their mail. It’s quick and easy to just ask to be removed from the mailing list. I’m polite and brief, and no one has ever given me a hard time or tried to badger me into staying on their list.
If you live in the area, you probably get those RedPlum.com weekly flyers filled with coupons and grocery store weekly deals. What a stack! Well, today I did something about it. I called up the advertising number on the side and asked to be removed. They don’t even have our names, but they do have our address. The number to call, in case you’re interested, is 1-800-437-0479. I would encourage everyone to do it. Apparently you can also log onto their website Valassis.com to unsubscribe, too, but I tried to find it on there and couldn’t. How convenient!
While we’re talking about being an active, responsible consumer… (We were talking about that, right? Play along with me here…) I thought I’d share my thoughts on voicing your opinions to companies. The other day I read a story about how a loyal Heinz customer wrote in and complained about the high fructose corn syrup in the ketchup. She said she loved the product but would have to stop buying it if they continued to use HCFS. Guess what? Heinz is now making a ketchup without high fructose corn syrup. Although I reject the notion that removing the HFCS suddenly makes the ketchup a wholesome product, I think this clearly demonstrates that companies will listen to their customers – if we start talking.
The other day I complained to Target that they were no longer carrying toilet paper or paper towels made from recycled pulp. I haven’t been back since to check on their status (although they did write back and say that they sent it on to their local purchasing team), but at least I know I’ve voiced my opinion. I also wrote to NJ Transit that same day (I was really fired up) about how they should implement recycling on trains and on station platforms. I see SO many newspapers needlessly thrown in the trash each morning and plastic bottles at night, too. They wrote back and told me about their plans to put recycling at each station – over the next TWO YEARS! I complained about their timeline and they suggested I give them a call – something I still have to do…when I find the time.
Anyhow, my whole point is that I spend a lot of time harping to poor T about how irresponsible some companies are. Why not harp to the companies themselves? Things won’t change if no one voices their displeasure, and the companies won’t have a clue that people like us care unless we start telling them that we do.
Ok, time to step down from this soapbox and relax a bit…enjoy this hot and sticky evening!
by ecomotown on May 21, 2010
I am on my way out the door for a wedding this weekend, but I have to share this event with everyone. If you don’t know already, Festival Earth promises to be a big, fun, Earth celebration with live music, vendors and more – put on by Sustainable Morristown. It happens tomorrow!
In the interest of saving time, I’m pasting the flyer here! Enjoy it on my behalf, please!
by ecomotown on May 17, 2010
Maybe I’m alone on this, but I get great satisfaction from weeding the garden, mulch beds and stone walkways. There’s something about the pulling up of weeds that’s very validating. I even declare a “Ah ha! Got you, sucker!” when I pull up those extra pesky weeds that don’t seem to want to budge.
Whether you share my enthusiasm (or illness) for avenging the average household weed, I think we should all be enthusiastic about getting rid of invasive plant species in the area. Some, like the Japanese barberry, are taking over preserved lands and making it difficult for native plant species to survive.
At Schiff Nature Preserve, on Wednesday, May 19, join Schiff Trustee, Dr. Mike Van Clef of the Central Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team. You’ll learn how to recognize and remove these plants from your own yards, while helping Schiff get rid of some, too. It starts at 9:30 a.m.
The NJ Conservation Foundation will be having a walk to weed out invasive plants in Chester on Saturday, May 22. Those interested can meet at the Bamboo Brook Outdoor Education Center (170 Longview Rd.) at 9 a.m. (and it goes until noon). Registration is required, but they provide you with all of the tools you’ll need, plus snacks. Contact Carol@njconservation.org or 908-234-1225.
Two worthy organizations with one admirable goal. Adios invaders.
by ecomotown on May 12, 2010
Disco and nature? I’m a little slow to see the polyester connection, but I do know the folks at NJ Conservation Foundation are going to have a good time with it. The organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary by boogying down in a Hunterdon County barn, Barn 54-style.
On May 15, from 6-11 p.m. in Delaware Township, conservation supporters can enjoy dancing, drinks, a buffet dinner and live and silent auctions. You’re encouraged to dress a la Saturday Night Fever (go vintage!) and make Tony proud. Leisure suit anyone?
Tickets are $100 (going to a great cause) and can be purchased by emailing lauren@njconservation.org or calling 908-234-1225. More details here.
