Hello? Hello? Oh yes, I'm still here! March (well ok all of 2010) has been a little overwhelming. The entire family has been sick on and off this month (yes the entire month), we've had birthdays, anniversaries, worried about family members, saddened by friends who lost family members, and completely crazy with all the new stuff going on with Eco Mom Media. I have been reminded more than once this year that God won't dish out more than I can handle...and I honestly think he's testing me! So today I will hug my family tight and enjoy my friends. But I can't stay away from this place (blogosphere) too long! Did you know that March 27th is Earth Hour?? You have heard of Earth Hour haven't you? NO! OK, so on March 27th people all around the world turn OFF their lights (and phones and computers and well...anything electric) for one hour at 8:30pm local time. Why? To draw attention to climate change and the fact that we all need to globally take charge and make changes in our ... [ Read More ]
This is the day…
...the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 Win It!! Learn how to register to win your copy of This is the Day. Details at end of post. Congratulations to Megan, June, and PsuKlinke! Watch your inbox for details on how to claim your book! Thanks for reading! While this may be one of my favorite Bible verses it is also a title of a new children's book. This is the Day is written by Seattle-based author, Nancy White Carlstrom and teaches children ages 4-7 to protect our Earth and its creatures. This beautifully illustrated book takes you on a daily walk with God as you admire the ladybugs, eagles, and orca whales that He has created. I had the pleasure of reading it with Big B last night and he really enjoyed the illustrations and couldn't wait to see what each new day brought. This is the Day encourages our children to recognize that creation-care is God's calling for us to take care of the environment. I have often struggled with the ... [ Read More ]
3 Days until Earth Day 09!
With Earth Day only three days away my inbox is flooded with specials, sales, and events going on to celebrate the Earth. Today I will share just a few of my favorites. If you live in the Tampa Bay area and don't have plans for the day make your out to Honeymoon Island State Park for Island Earth Days. We went yesterday and had a blast. There were fun activities for the kids (all free) including face painting, paint a seashell, make a fossil, make a sock puppet, and more. There were also great festival food, good music, and eco-vendors. Some local agencies and environmental groups set up exhibits to help educate both the young and old on how to be a responsible citizen. I was a proud mamma when Big B asked a million questions about sea urchins to one of the Department of Environmental Protection employees. We are all looking forward to reading (and reviewing) our new books by Michael Sterns, Kokopelli & the Butterfly and Kokopelli & the Island of Change. What we expected to ... [ Read More ]
Celebrate Earth Day at Honeymoon Island
Looking for something to do this weekend in the Tampa Bay area? Then join me at Honeymoon Island State Park in Dunedin, FL. Little B hasn't experienced the Island yet so it's perfect timing! They are holding their annual Island Earth Days celebration this Saturday and Sunday from 10am-6pm. This year's festivities include music, entertainment, kayak racing and more. There will be environmental vendors and artists, lots of food & drinks, and an environmental education area for the whole family. I may even get the stroller out and take a guided nature walk. ... [ Read More ]
Earth Day 2009
ONE WEEK UNTIL EARTH DAY 2009! How will you be celebrating the day? ... [ Read More ]
Earth Day 09 Kids Eco-Swap
UPDATE: Due to lack of interest this event will be postponed! More info to come soon! Thank you for your interest; however limited it was. :) This Earth Day you are invited to join The Eco Chic and other families across the United States as we celebrate this wonderful planet that we live on. The goal of this swap is to 1) meet other eco-minded families in a different state, 2) send an eco-friendly care package to one family, 3) find creative ways to REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE, and 4) share creative ways to educate our children about how to take care of the planet Earth. Ideally the care packages would be made up of items that are found (from nature), handmade, reused, or recycled. Your care package might include a short lesson related to the environment. You can be as creative as you like. If you choose to purchase items (eco-books for example) we encourage you to purchase gently used items. Please keep your total investment under $10 plus shipping. We will accept a total ... [ Read More ]
Happy Earth Month
Welcome to April...Earth Month! With Earth Day quickly approaching we are all encouraged to act daily and not just one day a year. This week is National Cell Phone Recycling Week. EPA and cell phone companies have partnered together to raise awareness on the importance of recycling your cell phones and other electronic devices. Cell phones have become very disposable. Every 1-2 years customers upgrade to get the next great phone and only about 17% of old cell phones actually get recycled. Why do we need to recycle cell phones? They contain metals and plastics that can easily be recycled to make new phones. Recycling phones will save energy used to manufacture them in the beginning. According to EPA, "if Americans recycled the 100 million cell phones that are no longer being used, enough energy would be saved to power more than 18,500 homes for a year." Do some spring cleaning and recycle (or donate) those old cell phones you have stored away in drawers. Many retailers ... [ Read More ]
Happy Belated Earth Day!
Well it's been a very productive week! The event I was coordinating went very well; despite some pretty major problems with the printers. Even with all the problems I don't think anyone higher up in the company realized anything was wrong. It looked great. The employees loved our handouts. They loved our theme. Did I say it looked great? And the rain stopped late the night before!!! It was a little windy and chilly in the morning but the sun shined down on us in the afternoon. I was asked by a very few (concerned citizens) about the actual impact on the event. My response is hopefully very insightful on why people host events such as this. Our environmental management system (EMS) requires all employees to be familiar with the environmental policy, environmental impacts, targets and their individual responsibilities. Our handouts for the event had to meet many criteria. They had to be educational, carry a message, and/or be usable. We ended up handing our CFL bulbs, ... [ Read More ]
Happy Earth Day!!!
As I sit here and write this I am plagued with so much stress of the day it's hard to describe. The big Earth Day event has had it's share of obstacles along the way; I'm not sure why I expected things to go well today. They certainly didn't go well. My journey began at 4am this morning as I left my house headed for the airport. On Friday we were plagued with one of our handouts not arriving until AFTER the event was over; so my first challenge for the today was to make that happen. That was resolved by 4pm!! It was a stressful day waiting on those. The next challenge was with the printers. We were scheduled to pick up the displays today; there was no estimated time frame...but they were promised today. After several converstaions with the printing department we were still hopeful that they would actually arrive before we left for dinner. By 5pm we decided to stop in and see what the hold up was. The lady we had been dealing with...well she had just left to go home. She ... [ Read More ]
Earth Day 2008
Earth Day is one week from today; what are you going to be doing to help celebrate? Is your city planning any special events? How do you find out? The first place to look is Earth Day Network; where you can search by your zip code for events in your area. You can always search your local newspapers for happenings in your area too. Did you know that most cities are celebrating this weekend? Our local beach and State Park is holding an Earth Day festival over the weekend. Wal-Mart is celebrating on Saturday with 1 million free reusable shopping bags to give away. Publix is celebrating by focusing on their GreenWise Organic line. So what is the Eco Chic doing for Earth Day? Actually quite alot. I have to travel for work again so that's on negative impact I will be making while trying to eductate others; but it is absolutely necessary for me to be there. We're having a big outdoor Earth Day festival for our employees at the headquarters. As part of our environmental ... [ Read More ]