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Archive for December, 2008

Spring Gardening Classes At Orange County Extension Office

Posted in Organic Gardening, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 29, 2008 | 2 Comments »

I recently got the list of Spring classes at the Orange County Extension Office. I’ve taken several of them before and always enjoy the information. With January closing in, I’m planning on refreshing myself with the organic gardening class and getting my raised beds up to par!

CLASS INFORMATION

You can download the PDF or take a quick peek below:

  • Jan 15 Organic Gardening (Auditorium @ 6:30 PM) Successful vegetable gardens are not accidental. They are the results of planning, constant care, and the will to make things grow. Join us and learn more.
  • Feb 14 Vegetable Gardening, Warm Season Vegetables (Auditorium @ 9:00 – 10:30 AM) Learn the basics of warm season vegetable gardening including soil preparation, adjusting soil pH, fertilizing, irrigation, pests and diseases.

  • Feb 12/19/26 Landscape Design – Spring (7:00-9:00pm, 3 Day workshop in Apopka) Spring is a great time to establish a landscape that fits your lifestyle. A course guide and drawing materials will be provided. Class limited to first 25 families. Cost: $20 per residence made out to – O.C. Extension Fund. Send non-refundable fee with pre-registration, no later than February 5, 2009 to the Orange County Extension address.

    PLEASE NOTE LOCATION:

    Mid-Florida Research & Education Center
    Education Building,
    2725 Binion Road
    Apopka, FL 32703

  • Mar 7 Spring Lawn Care Tune-Up (Magnolia Room 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM) As the temperatures begin to rise, it is the perfect time to start repairing the damage to your lawn caused by winter pests (insects and weeds).
  • Apr 11 Composting & Rain Barrel Workshop (Magnolia Room 9:00-11:00am ) Learn how to turn your plant waste material into compost by conventional methods for homeowners and vermicomposting for apartment, condo, or trailer residents. Conserve water usage in your yard with the use of rain barrels. FREE rain barrel per residence – 50 allocated.
  • Coming Up! Conserve Water ~ Save Money! Know your Irrigation Clock. Classes will be held throughout the County. More information coming. Check our website: http://ocextension.ufl.edu or call 407.254.9200 in mid February.

REGISTRATION

To register for any of them you can contact:

Horticulture Classes & Workshops
Orange County Extension Education Center
6021 S. Conway Road
Orlando, FL 32812
407.254.9200

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“Jolly Green Planet” is great for the lawn!

Posted in Nontoxic Lawn Care, Organic Gardening, tagged , , , , on December 29, 2008 | 3 Comments »

Reader Tracy sends in this review of Jolly Green Planet lawn service:

My husband, son and I moved from New Jersey to Orlando last May and were so excited to move into our brand new home, but that excitement slowly turned
to disappointment when we realized that our builder used St. Augustine grass, in our planned community.

I knew that we had to go with an organic lawn company because not only are we concerned with toxic chemicals being sprayed on our lawn and endangering
our family’s life, but also those nasty chemicals could leach into the ground water and affect our wildlife in lakes and streams.

Since using Jolly Green Planet, our family can rest assure that we are not only protecting our lawn, but we are setting an example in our neighborhood of
what protecting our planet is all about.

Not only is Jolly Green Planet servicing our lawn to ensure that only organic materials be used to nourish the grass, but in the future we hope to work with Jolly Green Planet to plant a thriving vegetable and herb garden.

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Action Alert: Florida State Parks at Risk!

Posted in Action Alerts & Activism, Conservation / Environment, Fun Stuff for Kids, Wildlife on December 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

 

 

Please take a moment to visit Florida Hikes for information about the problem and what we can do to help!

Hontoon Island State Park

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Natural Alternative to Popular Ice Cream Cake

Posted in Food and Nutrition, Fun Stuff for Kids on December 24, 2008 | 1 Comment »

I have been using this recipe for a few years now. I follow the directions exactly, except for the fact that I substitute natural ingredients. For example, I use organic ice cream, Newman’s Own chocolate sandwich cookies, organic fudge topping, and homemade whipped cream. This is definitely not for those who are avoiding dairy or calories. I’d love to hear how it works with non-dairy ingredients, by the way.

icecreamcake

I come from a family that enjoys ice cream cakes, so it’s nice to be able to provide an alternative that lacks the transfats and artificial colors and flavors.  This dessert is a hit every time, so I figured I’d take a moment to share the recipe with you!

Do you have a natural holiday dessert recipe you’d like to share?  Please take a moment and leave a comment with a link so others can benefit from your experience.

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“Every Day is Earth Day” on Starfall.com

Posted in Fun Stuff for Kids, tagged , , on December 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

Starfall is a fantastic reading site for young children.  This award-winning site is used in homes and schools all over the country.  My 3 year old, Loralei, enjoys this site and often plays the “Every Day is Earth Day” recycling game.  If you have a little one who likes computers, it’s worth checking out!  The rest of the site is worth exploring as well since it uses high-interest visuals and movies to teach and/or reinforce decoding skills and sight word recognition.

 

starfall-large2

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Homegrown for the Holidays, Artisan Market and Solstice Celebration

Posted in Local "Green" Events, Reduce-Reuse-Recycle, tagged , , on December 15, 2008 | 3 Comments »

On Saturday, December 20th, a unique festival will take place in downtown Orlando’s “Green District” to celebrate the holidays in a very earthy, eco-savvy way.   The event is sponsored by Evolve, Misty Forest Enrichment Center, Dandelion, and Shine On Yoga and will feature exclusively local artisan vendors with homegrown and handmade gift items.  Additionally there will be speakers, workshops, music, singing, dancing, entertainment and lots of engaging activities for children.

Misty Forest will have some wonderful activities set up in their “Enchanted Winter Wonderland” for kids.  They will be inspired as they engage in:

  • self-esteem booster activities
  • learning to recognize and change their “thought clouds”
  • meeting the “Green Santa”
  • creating their own gifts for friends and relatives out of recycled objects
  • composing and recording their own songs, poems, videos and messages
  • making personalized aromatherapy perfumes, bath salts and soaps
  • designing crystal jewelry, paintings, mosaic art, pottery, sculpture and many other unique gifts
Individuals and business owners who are interested in providing donations for the Silent Auction (100% of proceeds go directly to Misty Forest’s program and operational costs), or speaking on a related topic can contact Misty Forest at 407-428-1111 or email info@mistyforest.org.
For more information about this event and vendor participation please visit the Florida Holistic Living School website.

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Eco-Spirituality and Co-Creating a Sustainable Future with Paula Gonzalez!

Posted in Spirituality, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 4, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Apart from Thanksgiving cookery, I’ve been getting ready to help bring a fascinating “green” speaker to Orlando. Here’s the scoop:

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Sister Paula Gonzalez, well known for her extensive environmental work is making making three stops in Orlando this month to speak about eco-spirituality and co-creating a sustainable future!

DATES AND TIMES

  • Saturday, December 6
    A day-long interactive workshop, both inspiring and practical. 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Carl Weyand Center at Lakewood Center, 8400 La Amistad Cove, Fern Park 32730. Cost is $25.00. Lunch is available for purchase or bring your own.
    Directions: *From I-4 take exit 90A (Maitland Blvd. East), stay in right lane, follow sign to 17-92 North-East. Curve to the right on 17-92 past stoplight at Spartan Drive. Stay in right lane. Immediately after next stop light (O’Brien Road”) at Napa Car Care there is a sign on the right for Lakewood Center. Turn right onto La Amistad Cove. Turn right into parking lot and enter double French doors of the building to your right.
  • Sunday, December 7
    Speaking engagement. 1:00 p.m. Love offering accepted. Christ Church Unity, 771 Holden Avenue, Orlando.
  • Tuesday, December 9
    Speaking engagement. 7:00 p.m. Donation welcome but not required. First Unitarian Church of Orlando, 1901 E. Robinson Street, Orlando.

ABOUT SISTER PAULA

After earning a PhD in biology and teaching college level biology for 25 years, Sister Paula decided in 1972 to “freelance” as a futurist and environmentalist, working since then to promote sustainable living, and presenting over 1600 workshops and talks all over the country. She describes her presentations as “multi-media, interactive and celebratory.”

Sister Paula founded EarthConnection, an environmental learning center where internships and educational programs are conducted. In 2007 she co-founded the Ohio Interfaith Power and Light, a coalition of religious people responding to the climate change crisis.

JOIN US!

Come enjoy a powerful, entertaining and dynamic speaker this month and join with like-minded citizens to learn more about how to protect our planet and ensure a meaningful future.

For more information, call 407-352-8782 or email greenteam @orlandouu.org

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