what an honour!

A little while back I was asked to become the "green spokesperson" of sorts for my home state, Tennessee. I had joined a great site, The Green Parent, and Jenn Savedge, its founder, asked me to put together some resources for being in Tennessee. I just found out that my information was published to the site. Check it out here. Please spend some time taking a look around the fabulous blog and consider joining the fantastic network of green parents!

shout out for eco books!

As a parent, I am always searching for ways to reinforce green values with my children. (I know some of it is sinking in because the other day I heard Fiona telling "Gigi" (my mother) how we don't leave on lights because it's "not kind to the Earth".)

Fortunately, the green movement is picking up speed and you are beginning to see green products, eco-themed books, and even reusuable shopping bags almost everywhere. Whilst trying to find environmentally friendly gifts for my girls, I was delighted to discover a series of books over the holidays.

Little Green Books are produced by the literary group Simon & Schuster. The "green books for green readers" are not only contain green themes, the books truly practice what they preach, so to speak. Books are:

* made from 100% postconsumer waste recycled paper
* printed with 100% vegetable-based ink
* Forest Stewardship Council certified (responsible use of forest resources)



For Christmas, I purchased Little Panda for Matilda from Target. Little Panda is a sweet, simple, "board" book for infants. It cloth pages tell the story of a panda who loves to eat bamboo, play with his friend, Little Monkey, and make funny faces. The cover is made with recycled fleece and is soft enough to find its way into baby's mouth. Tilly just loves cuddling the book and the black and white panda keeps her attention.

I was delighted to find today that Little Green books has a series of books for older children as well. Whilst grabbing a few things at Kroger, I came across The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle.


From the website, this book is "told from the point of view of a free-spirited plastic bottle, kids can share in the daily experiences and inner thoughts of the bottle through his personal journal." Lately Fiona has really been excited about learning recycling and really enjoys helping us sort the items in our recycling bin. I thought the book would be a perfect "surprise/treat" for her.

She was thrilled when I gave it to her! We had to read it 3 times in row. I was afraid that the technical jargon might be a little over her head (the book is for children ages 4-8) but the book tells the "science" behind recycling in a very whimsical way. She loved learning the new words which we were able to reinforce with the glossary from the back.

Not only are the books a valuable resource, the SimonLittleGreen.com website has fantastic tips, activities and games for children, teachers, and parents. I absolutely love the green activity sheet and will probably use some of the games for Fiona's birthday in April.

According to the website the books may be found in most major bookstores but as I said earlier, I found the girls' books in major retail chains. Every parent who wants to raise their child/ren 'green' will love these books!

"I love ants, Mummy, they are our friends!"**

** Fiona to me this morning as we are walking out the front door

I had always hoped my daughter would love the outdoors as much as her parents did. This morning's conversation was yet another affirmation that we are helping to instill in our 3 1/2 year old an appreciation for nature, the environment and animals. This got me to thinking...

Much has been written lately about the disconnect between today's children and their exposure to the natural world. It has even spawned a new type of disorder "Nature Deficit Disorder". In a recent study, it was determined that exposure to the natural world may be as important to children as adequate sleep and nutrition (from Tim Gill in his article, found here.) The National Wildlife Federation says that the research is showing that children with regular exposure to the natural world benefit by being healthier. They state children who regularly spend unstructured time outside:

* Play more creatively
* Have lower stress levels
* Have more active imaginations
* Become fitter and leaner
* Develop stronger immune systems
* Experience fewer symptoms of ADD and ADHD
* Have greater respect for themselves, for others, and for the environment

Do we really need data and research to tell us what we grew up knowing? Well, apparently because enough of the world's children are not getting outdoors! Let's hope you don't fall into this category, but if you do, it's not too late!

So where do you begin? There are endless possibilities and it can all be a bit overwhelming, but remember, every little bit helps, so start small. If you would like to raise a child to appreciate Mother Earth and its inhabitants, consider these simple tips:

1. go on a nature walk - this could be at a park or in your backyard! turn over stones, examine an ant hill, walk outside after a good rain and talk about earthworms!

2. create a garden with your child - examine the life cycle of plants and vegetables while instilling a sense of responsibility (watering, weeding, etc.)

3. don't be afraid to let your child get dirty! - we are obsessed with anti-bacterial soaps and germs these days. Some of the world's healthiest children grow up on farms, getting "stuck in"; so let your child create mud pies and dig in the dirt!

4. allow your child to collect things from nature - as long as it doesn't disturb the natural habitat! In Fiona's room, you'll find an array of downed pine cones, shells from the beach, an abandoned bird nest and on any given day, a vase full of dandelions.

5. celebrate natural "holidays" and mark special occasions with earth friendly gifts - Attend Earth Day or plant a tree on Arbor Day. Participate in your local events or start one yourself! Rather than buying your child another Power Ranger, why not celebrate a birthday by adopting an animal in their name or having a star named after them?

6. make environmentally friendly reading materials part of your child's library The Lorax by Dr. Seuss is no longer the lone beacon for future treehuggers; there are endless books out there with environmentally friendly themes. Visit your local library or bookstore or search Amazon.com's listmainia for suggestions

7. look to earth friendly/animal friendly organizations and websites to help find activities you can share with your child:
National Wildlife Federation combats nature deficient disorder with their 'green hour' activities
The Humane Education site is one of my favourites!
Children of the Earth is a site I just discovered
The National Resources Defense Council has an excellent site just for kids including an online magazine
National Geographic has a special children's section

8. visit nature centers, museums, and those nearby institutions that foster an understanding and appreciation for the environment - We did our homework and learned that our local nature centre, Ijams, has a wonderful series of classes known as "Nature Preschool". Each month there is a theme, such as amphibians. The class teaches the basic characteristics, incorporates an art project and is accompanied by an animal visit or a nature walk. Pictured below is Fiona learning about opossums (notice her tail!) at Ijams. (She loves Ijams so much that when asked where she wanted to have her 3rd birthday, she exclaimed "IJAMS!" She even had frog cupcakes at her request.)

Fiona learning about opossums at Ijams (notice the tail!)

After this morning's conversation with my daughter, I pondered on my way to work, the age old question...how much of Fiona's personality is nature (genetic) vs. nurture (our child-rearing techniques).

In favour of the genetic argument, you have to take into account that Fi's Daddy is an avid scuba diver and loves to be around any body of water - lake, ocean, stream, swimming pool, etc. As for me, I was raised camping in the Grand Tetons, have stomped around the Great Smoky Mountains almost all my life and embrace the title "Treehugger" whole-heartedly. So it could be said that it is "in her blood".


Conversely, there is the nurture side of things... we have worked really hard at exposing Fiona to all things natural. We have a strict "no television" policy during the week and she watches only 1 hour on Saturday and Sunday. As a result, she fills many of her free hours playing outside, going to the park, the mountains, aquariums, visits to the beach, etc. So could it be that simple exposure to the natural world has made Fiona a "treehugger in training"?

In the end, I determined it didn't matter one way or another how our daughter came to love the environment and animals. I am just so fortunate that she did! I will leave you with some of my favourite photos of my daughter out in nature...

Fi giving the butterfly a "drink of water" - Grand Cayman butterfly sanctuary

Visiting a farm in England

Fi splashing in the stream - Great Smoky Mountains - and offering me some acorns

And finally...relaxing on a tree with her walking stick

Managing "solid waste" :)

I have been very busy since my first real post. On my quest to be a more earth friendly mother this time around, I have been conducting a lot of research on better options for "number 2" aka "Strawberry". Though Fiona was born a mere 3 years ago, I have learned so much about the things we expose our children to every day without our knowledge. Though I started to beat myself up about the choices I made with Fifi, I knew I could only move forward. Things are progressing, fortunately. The options that are available today are so much more accessible and affordable. Even Babies 'R Us has tons of organic options - hurray! My latest passion...cloth diapers...

It all started with my neighbor who brought over a Knoxville Holistic Moms newsletter which had an advertisement for a new business that just opened up called Nature Kids Mercantile. NKM is a natural store for kids which features organic cotton clothing, natural cleaning and beauty products, as well as wooden toys. I was very excited to see this type of business being opened up in the Knoxville area. One of the main goals of the owner, GuruBani Whitney, is to create a community of like minded individual. This includes offering yoga, parenting and cloth diapering classes.

Prior to Jill bringing over the info on NKM, I had been conducting some cursory research on cloth diapers. After realizing that just in our family, we single-handedly consumed over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feedstocks and 20 pounds of chlorine in order to produce disposable diapers for Fiona for just one year , I knew could not make the same mistake again. There are just so many reasons why choosing cloth diapers is the only way to go - economical, environmental, and health reasons. (If you aren't convinced, go here and learn more! The facts and the benefits of cloth diapering will make you think!)

Early on, I stumbled across the G diaper system at my local Earth Fare. The G diapers just seemed like an easy transition from disposable diapers when compared to the old fashioned flat diapers that you have to fold yourself. I thought this was all that was out there. Little did I know a simple newsletter and a Saturday morning class would open up whole new world to me..



So, I immediately called and reserved a spot for the July 19th cloth diapering class. This would be the perfect place to learn more about cloth diapering in a "safe" environment. The class was fantastic! Very small and intimate with a relaxed atmosphere. The creator of Zoonique cloth diapers (her handiwork featured above) who lives just down the road in nearby Oak Ridge led us novices through the world of cloth diapers. I ended up learning a whole new vocabulary - All in Ones (AIO), doublers, prefolds, inserts, contours..... Bloody hell, there are so many options according to your price range and desire for convenience .

During the class we got a little off topic but hey, that was okay! We talked about everything including toxins in our baby products, why America is so behind the rest of the world when it comes to banning gentically modified foods and produce and how environmentally aware young people are today. It was so comforting to find folks like this in my own backyard!

In the end, I decided that G diapers, whilst a better option than disposables, is still not the best option. The liner or "absorbent" part of the cloth diaper is still producing waste and still has chemicals which will come in to contact with baby's skin. Besides, you have to wash the outside or cover of the G diapers; so, if I am washing the cover, I might as well toss the insert in as well! Voila - no waste!

Armed with more information, I became an ardent advocate of cloth diapers. Instead of the G diaper, I decided to go with the pocket diaper with hemp or flannel liner inserts. After considering all the brands out there - Happy Heineys, Fuzzi Bunz, Kissaluvs, Bummis, etc., I chose to "think global and go local". I want to use the Zoonique line of pocket diaper. The creators were smart to add some special patented features that just pushed it over the top for me. Of course, I like that I am supporting a local mother of 4 also!

I am sure that "non-believers" will question my choice but that's alright. I know that this is the only option for our family. Besides all the practical advantages, there is the more shallow point...cloth diapers are so much more individualistic and fashionable! Who wouldn't want to adorn their baby's bum in such cute creations? Ha, ha, ha!