Sustainable Sunday: Youth Garden Project

Starting off, if you are reading this (and of course, if you are reading this you are reading this) please know that if you have a favorite business dedicated to sustainability please write in so we can highlight them!!! Our hope here is that we can cover businesses all over as opposed to those in Oregon and Utah. We know there are places out there in Chicago, and New York, and Europe, and anywhere else you might be checking in from!!!

This week we wanted to touch on a Utah nonprofit that is near and dear to the heart. The Youth Garden Project is dedicated to the cultivation of personal growth, self responsibility, and and community awareness in young people through the understanding and practice of organic gardening. Deep in the heart of Moab, UT, YGP is tucked up against the high school grounds (go red devils!), and offers a series of programs and events meant to teach children about health and sustainability.

Most of the staff are Americorps volunteers - young adults learning about themselves while putting on events such as a multi-week summer camp with weekly themes such as superheroes, recycled fashion show, and putting on a play. During the school year they offer after school programs and host field trips. They also host after school clubs.

YGP also does community events not aimed at children. They host workshops such as chicken coop tours, canning, baking bread, and bee keeping. Over the summer a bi-weekly weed and feed program provides a free meal to community members who come and help out for a couple of hours. Every Saturday you can find them pedaling their amazing veggies, pastries, jams and other items at the local farmers' market that they host. They also bring in local chefs to put on fund-raising dinners with locally-sourced food.

When I lived in Moab I was very privileged to be able to work with the incredible people over at YGP. If you are ever in Moab stop in to see the geodesic dome, earthbag walls, veggies, and incredible people!

Snow Day Play

We woke up to a snowy day here in Corvallis - not something that is within the normal wintry weather. The flakes are fat and wet and accumulating on the ground as I type this.

Now I dislike snow. I grew up in the snow belt of New York state, and waking up to feet of fluffy whiteness on the ground is old hat. When I was home for the holidays it snowed EVERY DAY I was there. I found it ridiculous! Really snow is one of the things I truly complain about. Why do you think I moved to the Pacific Northwest?

That said, when we got a light dusting the other day I got a call in my office from a colleague who seemed pretty pleased with what I can only interpret as an attack of sky dandruff. She said, "when you have a four-year-old the snow becomes a wonderful gift." She described her son, nose pressed to the window of their house, asking how long it would stay and if he could go out and play with it.

Yeah, that made me appreciate the snow.

So today I figured I would celebrate another snow blessing (at least from the kid's perspective) - the snow day - by suggesting a couple of art projects that could be done with kids using old items you can find in your house.


CD Fish
Old CDs of any kind
glue (hot glue works best)
permanent markers
any kind of stiff paper
string, yarn, fishing line (You get the idea)
google-eyes, glitter (optional)

1. cut the paper to resemble different fish parts - fins, tail, etc.
2. take a long piece of paper that is about 3" wide and fold it like an accordion
3. lay out one CD on the table with the silver side down
4. glue the fin and tail pieces to the CD so that it starts to look like a fish
5. glue the string flat to the CD so that it comes out of the top of the fish
6. take another CD and glue it together with the other so that both sides facing out are silver
7. decorate the CDs with marker and other bits to make eyes, scales, spots - whatever you like
8. take the piece of paper that is accordion-folded and thread it through the holes in the CDs
9. now you have a lovely fish creation that can hang in a window!
   

Jar Snow Globes
any kind of old jar that you have kicking around as long as it has a lid that fits tightly
glue (hot glue works best)
any kind of small plastic toy
glitter or confetti (you can make this by cutting up a potato chip bag or old mylar balloon)
paint (optional)

1. glue the toy down onto the inside of the jar so that when you screw the lid on it will be inside(be sure that the toy will fit through the jar lid before you do this)
2. put 1-2 T. of glitter into the jar (use more for larger jars, less for little ones)
3. fill the jar most of the way full of water (the toy will displace a bit when you put it in)
4. put glue into the threads of the jar lid
5. slide the toy into the jar and screw the lid on tightly
6. once you have the jar sealed you can turn it over and paint a scene on the outside as well