Party for the Planet!

Earth Day was this past weekend and we had a great event at the El Paso Zoo to celebrate wildlife and the environment and to challenge people to make a difference! 

If you know me at all, you know I love my Earth.  Yup, it's mine.  Everyone should feel like the Earth belongs to them and say, "yes, it is my world and I should take care of it!"  This past weekend was a chance to spread that Earthy enthusiasm to others. 

Throughout the zoo there were activities, educational stations, partner organization booths and party music!  My area was appropriately titled "Dig in the Dirt" and was a chance for kids to get dirty.  Kids had to dig through three kiddie pools filled with dirt to find five plastic bugs each to win a prize of edible dirt!  I was a bit apprehensive that people wouldn't want to eat the dirt but boy was I wrong.  We made about 160 edible dirt cups and quickly gave them all out to eager kids with their dug up bugs and dirty hands.  The next day we moved on to a prize of an edible worm (sour gummy style) which was just as big of a hit.

My banner - all about how our soil is an important ecosystem service that goes unnoticed.

Throughout the zoo, people had the chance to learn all about how our environment silently gives back to us.  "Ecosystem Services are the processes by which the environment produces resources that we often take for granted such as clean water, timber, and habitat for fisheries, and pollination of native and agricultural plants."  In El Paso, and around the world, these ecosystem services are being taken for granted as we plow through open wildlife habitat to make roads wider, build bigger houses and much more. 

Edible dirt!  and yup cups are recyclable.

Although I didn't have much time to really "teach" about soil and its importance to our world, I was extremely happy to let kids get their hands dirty, sometimes at the sadness of their parents.  I loved the transformation of the "we have to do what" attitude to being aggressive to find more and more bugs with no fear.

Digging for bugs and getting their hands dirty!

Inside the classroom people had an opportunity to create a pledge of their commitment to make a difference in their everyday life to help out wildlife and the environment.  At first I thought we may get a few people to do it, but volunteers were awesome and we inspired lots of people to make a pledge!  They were also able to view the zoo staff and volunteers making their pledge on the TV in the room.  Click here to view the video that includes our zoo director, education curator and of course yours truly, pledging to make a difference!

So proud of all of the kids and parents that made a pledge to change the world!

 Check out some of the heart warming pledges that were made! :)

The classroom at the end of day one collecting more and more pledges!

Also got a quick chance to run around the zoo to see what was going on everywhere else.  Take a quick look at the excitement.  The education team offered many stations to learn more about ecosystem services and how you can take action to help our Earth and wildlife.

Miss Rose teaching kids all about PPMs! Should have stopped by if you don't know!

Waiting for their customers to teach them all about climate change!

 Rock climbing wall! Wish I got a chance.

These guys are my go to for plant ID! Love them! Wish I had their knowledge.

Plants and diseases and pests!  Grow a garden everyone!

Did you know just knowing that wild spaces are out there brings joy and happiness to people! CRAZY!

They auctioned off a Prius on Sunday in Las Cruces, I wonder who won???

I did not get a chance to make it over to my home girls (Heather) station in Africa where you could grow your own tornillo plant to be planted at the Rio Bosque park to restore native plants in the area.  What a unique way to help out the environment and I am excited to see what we get back in one month!  Unfortunately these little bugs have been eating lots of the seeds so it was a challenge to find the seeds, but making it all the more worth it in the end to see growing, healthy plants! 

What a great weekend to celebrate the Earth.  Let's continue it all year long.


And someone recently told me, I can't change the world!  I screamed back, YES I CAN!

Pure sass.

:)


Planet Party

Cooler Cleaning.

 This is what happens when you leave liquid inside a cooler and neglect it for a few months:

Mold, bacteria, stains... makes me want to vomit!

But here is the proof that my natural cleaner works!  All I used was my home made cleaning recipe with natural ingredients and ten minutes later, clean and ready to go!

Why should you make the switch?  Store bought household cleaners, even some of the "green" ones, contain many harmful chemicals that can affect your health.   Cleaners often contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other chemicals that contribute to chronic respiratory problems, allergic reactions and headaches.  You don't have to believe me, read this article from the American Lung Assocation, click here. 

The smell of bleach is often times related to a sense of clean because of the vast amount of historic uses.  Bleach has been used for decades to clean and disinfect, but its time to change! Bleach and other harmful chemicals is not the only way to keep your house clean.

I know I have posted the recipe on the blog before but here it is again with the places you can find the ingredients.   I don't measure so these are approximates and probably different than the last recipe I posted!  The mix does not have to be perfect.  The end result can be used everywhere on everything!  Although, I don't clean windows or mirrors with it as the baking soda leaves a residue.  So what should you use on your windows?  Water.  Nothing else.  It works.  Somebody (or some company) tricked us into believing we need a blue spray to clean our windows!

In a spray bottle add:

• 2 Tblsp Borax - Basically a mineral with a high pH (9.5) which increases the pH of the water it is in to make other cleaning supplies more effective.  The boron in borax inhibits metabolism in organisms and therefore kills unwanted pests and acts as a disinfectant.  Found in grocery stores, all purpose stores, ie: walmart, target.  Look in the laundry detergent section.
• 2 Tblsp vinegar - Because of it's high acidity it is effective at killing most mold and bacteria. 
• 2 Tblsp baking soda 
• 2 Tblsp All Natural Soap - I use Dr Bronners Lavender.  You can find these at all natural food stores but they also now have them at Target. 
• 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil - The big disinfectant!  Essential oils are found at natural food stores or health markets. 
• 10 drops of peppermint oil - I just like the smell.  I now associate peppermint with a clean house.
• Fill the rest with warm water and shake.  

Quick, simple, cheap and FUN!  You kind of feel like a mad scientist when you are mixing it all up.


Cooler and "cooler" cleaning!

My First Poppies Fest! 2012

Well March 31, 2012 was a crazy day.  The 2012 Poppies Fest on Castner Range was held at the Museum of Archaeology, chaired by yours truly.  The poppies themselves were in fantastic bloom and survived the harsh winds and cold front the week before.  Castner Range was in all of its glory that day with poppies blooming, unique craft vendors, educational exhibitors, children's activities, nature tours, nature talks, live music, yumtastic food and a vibe of protecting our mountains!  Thousands of El Pasoans, the Mayor, Congressman Reyes and lots of media came out to support the event and the mission of preservation. 

The Museum of Archaeology lies in the heart of Castner Range along the Transmountain Corridor, which is a road that travels through the Franklin Mountains in El Paso.  The road is the only road up and over the mountains and gives a traveler a beautiful view of the landscape while easily linking the East and West sides of El Paso.  The Transmountain corridor is in a heated battle between people who want to make the road wider and build, build, build, versus people who would like the area to remain in its natural state.  I am sure you know which side I am on.  The foothills provide much needed habitat for the unique and extremely high biodiversity that lies in the Chihuahuan desert.   Although, I am all for the improvement and building of El Paso, but there is plenty of underutilized space within city limits for growth.  There are many run down buildings, empty spaces within the city that could be revitalized and keep the growth centralized.  Centralized growth would allow for ease of public transportation or (an absurdity) walking from place to place.  Let's leave Transmountain wild and build our city at our city.  Keep it simple.

If you were not able to attend the event but would still like to support Poppies Fest and the preservation of the Franklin Mountains, "like" the Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition!  They are working hard to preserve the natural beauty of our mountains and have recently collaborated with the Sierra Club to take on the "builders".   The best way to keep up with what is going on with the conservation issues surrounding the Franklin Mountains is to follow a friend's blog at elpasonaturally.blogspot.com, where you can find just how to make your voice heard!

As you can imagine I was running around most of the day, but I was able to snap a few pictures of the event. 

Setting up their educational exhibitor stations.

Tigua Drumming and Dancing - and of course people enjoying.

The friendship circle dance led by the Tiguas.

LOVE this pic.  Just warms your heart.  Boy scouts were in charge of making sure people correctly placed their trash and recyclables!

Heather and Takota (EPZ Golden Eagle) made a showing!

Ceiba and Friends performing. 

Nature Tours every hour!  Wish I went on one!

Even David made it out.  Checking out a tipi.

Border Patrol volunteers on hand ALL DAY!  They were awesome!

This day took an army to put together.  I am so thankful for the committee volunteering their time to make Poppies Fest a priority.  Lots of appreciation goes out to all of the volunteers (over 100 people), all collaborating organizations, sponsors, media that helped promote the event for FREE and everyone that attended!

I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be the event chair.  I am excited to work out some kinks for next year!  (PS: I know our biggest kink is the shuttle situation.  Many ideas have been tossed around and you can bet next year will be better!). 


Poppies! ... do you know why they are called poppies?  Because when they go to seed, their seeds "pop" off of them!