Give your unflocked tree a new life by recycling it after the holiday season. Trees are chipped into mulch or compost, which can be returned to the earth as a soil amendment. Santa says, “Treecycle your Christmas tree! It’s cheaper and better for the environment!” Santa’s Nice List of Tree Disposal Take your tree to […]
eco-friendly
Posted inAt Home
5 Easy Ways to Live More Sustainably
It might not feel like you alone can have an impact on the environment, but over time, small lifestyle changes can make a substantial difference. Need some ideas to get started? Draw inspiration from the collective efforts of one California olive company working to run operations in an eco-friendly way. “Our employees are vital to […]
Posted inPeople & Places
Good for Body and for Planet — Clean and Green
There isn’t much that Laura Kneib can’t make by hand. Clothes. Butter. Wood boxes. Pottery. Growing up in a family that made anything from their own clothes to herbal remedies has taught her two things: You make everything you use, and then you reuse. She recalls her parents going “senging” — harvesting ginseng — on […]
Posted inGarden
Rain Garden Mentors
Rain gardens are not only a practical way to address rainwater runoff on a property but also a beautiful addition to the garden. Luckily for local gardeners, they don’t have to figure out the intricacies of a rain garden on their own — thanks to the Rain Garden Mentors program offered by Washington State University’s […]
Posted inAt Home
Facing the Plastic — Why the Federal Government is Banning Microbeads
If you have ever used an exfoliating body wash or facial scrub from a major manufacturer, chances are you’ve used a product containing microbeads. While these tiny particles may be good for removing dead skin, they are bad news for the environment. Beginning in 2017, microbeads found in many personal care products will be banned […]
Posted inHome
Greening Your Kitchen
Kitchens have evolved from being the backwater to the epicenter of the home. Therefore, it is more important than ever to ensure the environmental health of this multitasking room for the comfort and safety of all occupants. From the simple to the complex, here are a few tips on how to up your kitchen’s sustainable […]
Posted inAt Home
Making Your Own (Simple) Household Cleaners from Scratch
Many of today’s cleaning products, from what we use to clean our homes to our bodies, contain dangerous chemicals. We shouldn’t have to worry about what we’re using to clean things as much as the items we’re cleaning. The pioneers didn’t have aisles of cleaning and personal care products to choose from. They used simple […]
Posted inAround West Sound
How to Help Keep Our Streets Litter-Free
About half the litter along Kitsap County roadsides is “intentional” litter, meaning that it was the intent of the litterer to litter. The other half of the remaining litter is the result of passive or “unintentional” littering. Unsecured/undersecured vehicle loads, windblown debris from car windows or pickup truck beds, and other unnoticeable actions contribute to […]
Posted inBlog, Featured, The Outdoors
How Biodiversity Impacts All of Us Close to Home
The United Nations has designated May 22nd as International Day for Biological Diversity and this year, the specific theme is “Biodiversity for Sustainable Development.” I visited the United Nations website to learn more about what this day meant to the United Nations and what it could mean for me. And there is a lot of […]