Who: Vida Green Kids
When: Thursdays in June from 1:00-5:00 p.m. (June 7, 14, 21, 28)
Where: Private Home in Wells Branch
Vision: To provide affordable highly individualized eco-friendly camp adventures for children ages 5 – 8.
Mission: To provide high-quality bilingual enrichment programs with a low teacher to student ratio that nurture awareness and grow concern for our planet through art, reading, math and science focused activities.
Gardening/Eco instruction will include following topics:
- Composting (understanding biodegradable materials)
- Propagation (divide and multiply)
- Exploring Natural Resources (rocks, plants, water, sun)
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (up cycling, reusing items found in nature)
- Life cycle (plant, butterfly, ladybugs)
For more information download the pdf.
Mother’s Day is coming very soon — May 13th!! Spoil your Mother or any special woman in your life with Vida Green products. They are sure to love them!! All-natural, organic, fair trade and Vegan!! www.vidagreenconsulting.com/gifts
Come celebrate Earth Day at Austin’s largest vegan potluck picnic! In addition to tons of delicious food and great company, there will be music, giveaways, and a raffle to benefit Sunny Day Farms animal sanctuary in LaCoste.
Bring a vegan dish to share and your own plate, utensils, and beverage (no glass). Also bring a list of your dishes’ ingredients to help those with food sensitivities (and don’t forget your serving utensil!)
April 21st, starting at 4:00 and going into the evening
Pease Park (the picnic tables section)
Other info:
“Texas” Vegan t-shirts will be for sale
Giveaways and raffle prizes (so far):
$50 gift card from Casa de Luz
Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (autographed) from Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero
7 t-shirts from Tom’s Tabooley
2 copies of engine 2 kitchen rescue DVD from Engine 2 Diet
Gift basket from Rabbit Food Grocery
A few coupons for a half-dozen cupcakes from Capital City Bakery
“Texas” Vegan t-shirt from Vegetarian Network of Austin
Sampler box or gift certificate from Ara’s Petite Treats
Gift basket with awesome Vida Green Consulting body care products!!
Hope to see you there!
Hi all! It’s been awhile since my last post. I have decided to make this website more of a blog rather than just information so hopefully I will be able to keep up with it and provide eco insight on a more consistent basis.
On April 10, 2012, we will be having an Eco PTA Night at Wells Branch Elementary. Details will follow as we get closer to the day. So far, we have wonderful things planned and it should be a very fun and informative night. We will be covering the following topics:
Healthy snacks
Healthy cooking/food prep demo
Packing a healthy, no -waste lunch
3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) + info. on upcycling via Terracycle (juice boxes/pouches + more)
Water & energy conservation
Getting toxins out of your life
Organic gardening/Junior Master Gardener program
Composting (Bokashi & Vermicomposting)
Starting an after school green club
Go Local (local shopping and supporting local farmers)
In addition to the above, we will have a kids’ eco craft tables plus many giveaways!! It’s sure to be a fun night!
Hi all. I’ve been incredibly busy making my daughter’s school as eco-friendly as possible. We just started a Junior Master Gardening program which is so exciting, but lots of work at the same time! I gave a talk last Saturday at Wells Branch Community Library about how to make your diet more eco-friendly and healthier! It was a great turn out and a great discussion. It’s so nice to see so many people interested in making healthy, clean and environmentally friendly eating choices!
The next event that I will be at is February 4, 2012 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at Chon Som Restaurant at Wells Branch Pkwy/Surrender. I will have my organic, all natural bath and body care items for sale! Just in time for Valentine’s Day. Spoil your loved ones with Vida Green Natural products!! Hope to see you there!
By now everyone has heard about the value and importance of being “green.” Yet Christmas, one of the biggest holidays for retail, still generates unnecessary trash, uses precious resources, and creates quite a large footprint. It is not difficult to find ways to celebrate a green Christmas, but just requires a bit of creativity.
The most important thing to consider when planning an environmentally friendly Christmas is priorities. Visiting out-of-town friends and family is important but it creates a large carbon footprint due to out-of-town travel. You could try to find other ways to cut back on your impact, by exchanging eco friendly Christmas gifts or using green Christmas trees. Consider a living Christmas tree, which remains alive through the season (don’t forget to water it!), and it can be picked up after New Year’s Day to be composted.
Green Christmas cards, recycled wrapping paper and reusable bags are great options for a Green Christmas. Consider re-using paper already in your house, rather than buying new wrapping paper, a waste of both paper and the plastic it is wrapped in. Make your own cards with supplies at home, or buy cards made of recycled paper. Use your creativity to make presents for loved ones, rather than buying them. There are a plethora of DIY ideas — try searching the Internet for simple crafts, bake a batch of homemade cookies or bread, or start seedlings for an indoor house plant. Browse thrift stores, used book shops, local small businesses or consignment stores for treasures. People usually appreciate homemade Christmas gifts much more than mass market ones, and the planet will appreciate your consideration as well.
Green Christmas decorations can be homemade, or reused. Use LED Christmas lights to save energy. Celebrating a Green Christmas is well worth the extra effort and thought, and will save you some cash as well. Happy Holidays!
Each Halloween, approximately $40 per capita is spent on candy, decorations and greeting cards, all of which produce large amounts of waste. Here are some eco-friendly tips to make this Halloween a little less crushing for the planet, your wallet and your health.
1. Hand out organic goodies. From lollipops to gummy bears, many companies specialize in making healthier alternatives to traditional candy. YummyEarth offers organic treats with no chemical colors, artificial flavors or corn syrup. You can find them at major retailers like Sprouts and Whole Foods. Or you could forego the sweet treats and hand out little playing cards.
2. LED the way. Consider using LED lights or solar-powered lamps to light the path to your front door for those trick-or-treaters. An investment in solar garden lights can save you long term, with an amazing return on investment of 47 percent over 10 years.
3. Host a costume swap. Skip the Halloween mega store with cheap materials and host a small costume swap party with your neighbors and friends. You may even come up with new ideas for a show-stopping outfit.
4. Use what you already have. Although it’s easy just to buy that $2 plastic pumpkin basket at the grocery store, see if you can find something in your home that can double as a trick-or-treat bag. You could use your reusable grocery bag, the wicker magazine basket in the bathroom, your over-sized purse you never use or even a plastic shopping bag stuffed under the sink.
5. Be a “craftster” for Halloween. DIY costumes and decorations are easier than you think and can save a ton of money. Plus, the kids will have a great time creating Halloween crafts, like a recycled light bulb witch or egg carton pumpkins.
6. Sweep the sidewalk. If you’re expecting trick-or-treaters, it’s probably a smart idea to clear away the fall leaves. Instead of using a hose, save countless gallons of water by sweeping them with a broom. And remember, those leaves can be added to your compost pile.
7. Don’t toss the pumpkin seeds. What Halloween would be complete without a jack-o-lantern on the front porch? This year, instead of throwing away the “guts” of the pumpkin you scooped out, toast the seeds for a snack or even make oil out of them. They also make a great addition to your compost pile.
8. Party like an eco-star. If you’re hosting a party this year, set out recycling bins for those beer bottles and soda cans. If it’s a small get-together, use the plates and cups that are already in your cabinets. But if this year’s shindig will be a 50-plus throwdown, check out dinnerware made from recycled or compostable materials.
9. Walk the neighborhood. The best part about trick-or-treating is seeing everyone’s costumes. So, leave the car in the garage, get out a flashlight and walk your kids around the neighborhood.
10. Donate your costume on Nov. 1. Do you know of a program in your community that could use your costume? There’s probably a school, local theater troupe, shelter or center that just might love those fairy wings and fireman hat. Or you can continue to use them as “dress up” clothes for your children’s play time.
Good luck, be safe and have fun on Halloween!
The kids have been back to school for a few weeks now and a routine has finally been established so now it’s time to think about making their lunches as eco-friendly as possible. I have always considered September to be rejuvenating, refreshing and the perfect time to accomplish everything that you’ve wanted to accomplish throughout the year. I challenge you to make those healthy changes that you’ve been thinking about this year, especially if it’s for the benefit of the greater good and the environment.
The best place to make a huge impact for your health, pocket book and the environment is with lunch. I am on a mission to show people how easy it is to pack a healthy, no waste lunch every day, whether it be for school or work. For starters, please consider investing in a reusable, insulated lunch bag, a stainless steel (we love our Lunch bots) or glass container for your lunch and a good-quality reusable water bottle (preferably stainless steel or glass). For an even greater impact, consider taking your own reusable silverware with a cloth napkin. These items can be found at several websites, including: www.onesmallstep.com and www.kidskonserve.com.
It is estimated that you can save approximately $250.00 per year by packing a waste-free lunch rather than a disposable lunch (this would increase immensely if you go out to lunch). You will quickly recoup what you invest in reusable lunchboxes, bottles, and other food packaging containers. With regard to the environment, it is estimated that the average child’s lunchtime trash totals up to 67 pounds per school year. For the average elementary school, that’s almost 10 tons a year – just from lunchbox waste! For more mind boggling statistics, check out this website: http://www.reuseit.com/learn-more/top-facts/disposable-lunches.
Ok, so now that you have invested in good quality lunch accessories, let’s talk about what to pack in your lunch. There are myriad websites and books to choose from that are dedicated to lunchbox ideas. My favorite is: http://www.veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/. I always make extra food for dinner so my husband has left overs to take to work everyday. My husband has access to a microwave to heat up his food, but my daughter won’t be able to heat her food. Some quick and simple ideas that I plan on including in my daughter’s lunch box are: raw veggies with hummus or black bean dip, cut up raw fruit, crackers with vegan cheese, tofu nuggets, tempeh bites, pasta, salad, soups (in an insulated container), soy yogurt with homemade granola and of course, the ubiquitous PB & J sandwiches. I look forward to the challenge of providing healthy, nutritious fare on a daily basis. What do you plan on packing in your lunches?
Healthy schools free from toxic chemicals are critical to a child’s health and well-being. Unfortunately many children’s school supplies, such as lunchboxes, backpacks and binders, are often made out of PVC—a plastic that is toxic to children’s health. PVC is unique among plastics because it contains dangerous chemical additives including phthalates, lead, cadmium, and/or organotins, which can leach out of the plastic. Toxic chemicals released by the PVC lifecycle have been linked to chronic diseases that are on the rise such as asthma, obesity, cancer and learning and developmental disabilities. A new 2011 study found PVC is the most widely used hazardous plastic in the world.
Good news! The Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) has just released their fourth-annual Back-to-School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies to empower you to make smarter, healthier shopping choices for a toxic-free future. This guide lists the most common back-to-school supplies made out of this toxic plastic and suggests safer PVC-free alternatives in over 35 product categories, from lunchboxes and laptops to 3-ring binders and backpacks.
You can download the 2011 guide here to find safer products for your children this back to school shopping season. You can also download this wallet-sized guide for shopping tips on the go.