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Posted on September 29, 2020by Anne-Marie Bonneau

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Would you like to add native plants to your landsc

Would you like to add native plants to your landscape? Do you live in or near Santa Clara or San Mateo Counties?

The Growing Natives Garden Tour 2024 takes place on April 13th and 14th. This free annual self-guided tour of gardens in Santa Clara and South San Mateo counties is hosted by the California Native Plant Society (Santa Clara Valley chapter) and the Master Gardeners.

Some of these native gardens have been going for over 20 years, others for only two years. For more info, lots of pictures of previous garden tours and to register, check out @growingnativesgardentour.

I started converting our yard to natives two years ago and we all love it—my family, the birds, the bees, the insects... I wish I had started sooner! Shown here is a ceanothus in the front yard.

#nativeplants #backyardwildlife #biodiversityconservation #homegrownnationalpark #shrinkthelawn #biodiversityconservation #climatecrisis

I was lucky to read an early copy of @edward_humes

I was lucky to read an early copy of @edward_humes groundbreaking new book, Total Garbage—out now!

Waste has been normalized to the point that many of us hardly notice it, from plastic pollution to water-guzzling landscapes to wasted food to inefficient heating (65 percent of heat goes to waste!) and so on. Humes argues that if we address this waste, we’ll address our intertwined environmental crises. And he has the stories to prove it.

You'll be inspired by the ordinary people and communities spotlighted in the book—the young and not-so-young, rural and urban, red state and blue state dwellers—using their creativity and common sense to tackle waste in all of its forms and thus tackle the biggest challenges we face.

Grab a copy wherever you buy or borrow books!

#TotalGarbage #breakfreefromplastic #plasticpollutes #zerowasteliving #zerowastelifestyle #zerowastechef

When equipping your kitchen, you can save money by

When equipping your kitchen, you can save money by avoiding gimmicky gadgets and opting for multi-tasking tools that can do all the things.

#eclipse2024 #makedo #buyless #lowwasteliving #zerowastekitchen #zerowastehome #zerowastechef

Happy Day 2 of Earth Month! These California poppi

Happy Day 2 of Earth Month! These California poppies and rock phacelia are thriving where a lawn once grew.

Planting natives addresses the climate crisis (native plants require less water and fewer pesticides and fertilizers) while simultaneously addressing the extinction crisis (planting natives supports ecosystems and restores biodiversity).

Insects support everything yet a study in the journal Nature states that insects have declined “almost 50% in the abundance and 27% in the number of species.” The study links these losses to climate change and land use. Because insects are “The little things that run the world,” as Edward O. Wilson put it, if they go, we go. But we can take action!

Plant a few natives in the yard or on the balcony if you have either one. And if you don't, you can help get natives in the ground in other ways. Volunteer at a local arboretum, community garden, school garden or park. I started small two years ago and have almost filled the front yard with native plants. @homegrownnationalpark has piles of info to help you get started.

#nativeplants #backyardwildlife #biodiversityconservation #homegrownnationalpark #shrinkthelawn #biodiversityconservation #climatecrisis

Zero-waste living or low-waste living or whatever

Zero-waste living or low-waste living or whatever you'd like to call it (if you need to call it something) need not look Instagram-worthy.

If you'd like to shop at a bulk store to cut down on plastic packaging waste you bring home but you don't own beautiful matching jars or other expensive zero-waste gear, use what you have on hand. You'll save money and buy less stuff.

A chain supermarket near me technically allows customers to bring in jars to refill at the small selection of bulk bins but they haven't trained the staff on how to deduct the weight of the jar from the overall weight of the jar plus the food inside. (Mom and pop bulk store staff know how to handle the tare weight though! It's their raison d'être.) I don't want to pay extra so I brought this empty paper bag to the store and filled it. Does it look fancy? No. Did it work? Yes.

#refillnotlandfill #breakfreefromplastic #plasticfreejuly #wastefreeliving #lowwasteliving #zerowasteliving #zerowastechef

I'm currently reading @doctorchrisvt's engrossing

I'm currently reading @doctorchrisvt's engrossing book Ultra-Processed People and highly recommend it to anyone who eats!

What is ultra-processed food (UPF)? Van Tulleken writes, "UPF has a long, formal scientific definition, but it can be boiled down to this: if it's wrapped in plastic and has at least one ingredient that you wouldn't usually find in a standard home kitchen, it's UPF. Much of it will be familiar to you as 'junk food', but there's plenty of organic, free-range, 'ethical' UPF too, which might be sold as healthy, nutritious, environmentally friendly or useful for weigh loss (it's another rule of thumb that almost every food that comes with a health claim on the packet is a UPF)."

I am fortunate to be able to both afford whole foods and have the time to cook them. Far too many people must rely on cheap, convenient UPFs. And corporations in turn rely on their workers eating these convenient foods. Van Tulleken explains "Here is the inexorable logic of all industrial food: to reduce the time workers require for a meal." UPFs are highly profitable not just for the corporations that manufacture them but for the corporatocracy in general.

The book is not at all judgy—except of the manufacturers concocting and marketing substances that we've never consumed in all of human history, until now.

I could go on and on quoting this fabulous book. Just read it! Five stars!

#foodsystems #UPF #bigfood #processedfood #eatfoodnottoomuchmostlyplants #plasticfreeliving #realbread

My favorite pajama bottoms now have a second life

My favorite pajama bottoms now have a second life as produce bags.

I bought these—intact—at a thrift shop several years ago for $2.50, literally wore them to shreds during the pandemic and finally tossed them onto my fabric pile. Decluttering the other day, I found them, cut the still-sturdy legs off below the knees and turned them into produce bags in about five minutes.

If you want to break up with plastic and don’t know where to start, consider making the switch to reusable produce bags. If you don’t sew, you can buy these all over the place. But if you do sew (or know someone who will sew these for you), you can get them essentially for nothing.

#producebags #reuserevolution #choosetoreuse #upcycle #breakfreefromplastic #lowwasteliving #zerowastekitchen #zerowastechef

This is just some of the stuff diverted from the Y

This is just some of the stuff diverted from the Yolo County landfill and sold at the Big Blue Barn on the landfill's premises. My daughter MK toured the facility this morning (she works in waste management) and sent me the picture.

Every county should have one of these! Does yours? Please give it a shoutout!

#landfill #reducereuse #secondhandfirst #secondhandshop #zerowasteliving #zerowastehome #frugal

UPDATE: Class is now full Missed last month's fre

UPDATE: Class is now full

Missed last month's free sourdough starter workshop? I've scheduled the next one for Thursday, April 25th, 4pm PT / 7pm ET.

Bring flour, water, a jar and a fork and launch your sourdough adventures! You'll eat tastier, more digestible bread and skip the plastic bread bags from the store.

Shown here: a loaf of low-knead sourdough bread and a loaf of banana sourdough discard bread. But first you need the starter!
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#sourdoughstarter #sourdoughbaking #sourdoughbread #sourdoughdiscard #sourdoughlove #wildyeast #fermentedfoods #freshflour #freshlyground #selfreliance #selfreliant #kitchentips #foodmadewithlove #sustainablelifestyle #simpleliving #wastefreeliving #slowfoodmovement #slowlivingmovement #artofslowliving #breakfreefromplastic #plasticfreeliving #plasticpollutes #zerowastejourney #zerowastelifestyle #zerowastekitchen #zerowastetips #zerowastechef #thereisnoplanetb

Some of the native plants in the front yard have f

Some of the native plants in the front yard have flowered, including this Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum). Isn't it pretty?!

Many years of drought had decimated what had been a lawn but we didn't want to replace it with new turf. I dreamed of attracting pollinators and birds but at the same time, had no idea where to start. Thankfully, at least two people who read my newsletter recommended I read anything by the entomologist Doug Tallamy. In early 2022, after reading his best-selling book Nature's Best Hope, I rolled up my sleeves and starting planting. We noticed more wildlife in the yard within the first year.

Until March 16th, Homegrown National Park, a movement started by Tallamy, is having its first online auction to raise money for its crucial work. Bid on all kinds of awesome items, including two signed copies of my book! Check out the auction at @homegrownnationalpark.
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#ifyouplantittheywillcome #homegrownnationalpark #dougtallamy #gardenersofinstagram #nativegrasses #nativeplants #nativeplantsofnorthamerica #killyourlawn #biodiversityconservation #climatecrisis #climateemergency #climatechangeisreal #extinctioncrisis #soilhealth #regenerative #thereisnoplanetb #noplanetb #permaculturegarden #lowwaste #lowwasteliving #ecofriendlyliving #intentionalliving #slowlivingmovement #artofslowliving #zerowastejourney #zerowasteliving #zerowastelifestyle #zerowastechef

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