Clean Cleaning Challenge!

A diry house is an unhealthy home, but can a clean house be unhealthy too?

After doing some research, we have discovered something rather unsettling. Those chemicals we pull out regularily to clean our homes have been linked to both short and long term health problems! From liver-damage to reproductive problems, cancer to migraines, these chemicals are obviously killing more then just germs. On top of that, they are believed to have damaging effects on ecosytems, notably in waterways.

The good news is there are tons of alternatives to the conventional chemical soups! In the above video we try a few out in the bathroom. The results? A fresh-smelling, head-ache free and healthy clean!  

WE CHALLENGE YOU TO MAKE YOUR OWN CLEANERS ! FOR STARTERS, TRY THESE:

Queen of Green's All Purpose Scouer:

1 1/2 cups baking soda
1/2 cup liquid castile soap
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp white vinegar

Queen of Green's All Purpose Powder:

1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup washing or baking soda
chase with  1/2 cup white vinegar

Note: Most ingredients can be found at health and specialty food stores such as Choices Market and Whole Foods.

For more great recipes, from laundry detergent to window cleaner, check out :

http://www.springbreakup.ca/#p=week3

For more information on chemicals to avoid, visit:

http://www.sierraclubgreenhome.com/go-green/cleaning/green-household-cleaning/

Environmentally responsable cleaners available for purchase:

http://www.smallplanet.ca/index.html

Laundry Challenge

Nothing beats the peak of summer, when the sun is hot and the air is dry, for putting laundry out on the line.

For this challenge, we will not be using a dryer until September 20th 2011 which happens to be the last day of summer. But we won't give up completely after that! Even in the fall, there are good drying days. Laundry will dry in surprising conditions, so don't be turned off by advancing clouds or cool breezes. Rain won't ruin your clothes and neither will leaving them out over night. Eventually the sun will return and dry your laundry.

By choosing to use an alternative drying method you will:

Save 100% of the electricity used by a dryer.

Use renewable and free energy provided by mother nature herself.

Make your laundry smell fresher and cleaner than ever before.

If you don't have a clothes line:

• Put up a clothes line
• Hang laundry on the railings of a balcony
• Lay laundry in a patch of sunny grass
• Put up a clothes line

If you don't have the space available to put up a clothes line, try hanging laundry on drying racks in front of a sunny window. Even better, open the window and let in the summer breeze!

We challenge you to hang your laundry outside!

Until next time,

Under A Tree

Good For You, Good For Our Earth

We have been so lucky to be given the opportunity to help with the production of "Good For You, Good For Our Earth": A new series on Shaw TV channel 4 starting August 17th about sustainable food and nutrition. Each segment takes place at a different farm where host Lori Petryk uncovers the farms sustainable practices and chats with the farmers who work hard to bring food to our plates.

 

Tune in on Wednesday's at 3pm, 6pm, and 10pm

 

To watch previous segments, check out our website:

http://www.goodforyouandearth.com/

 

Also, We are on the hunt for winter sponsorship so PLEASE like the shows FB page and show them how much you like the show! 

 

Link to facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Good-for-You-Good-for-Our-Earth/225933194094005

 

 

Herstory

We made this short film during a workshop with Reel Youth.
We started with the word "isolation".
We found it was more than being separated or alone.

We can be isolated in a city, from the source of our resources and the reality of our waste.
We can be isolated from decision making due to gender, physical appearance, age etc.
We can be isolated from one another because our voice feels week and we are afraid

We challenge you to help us free the isolated voices

Everyone has the right to be heard

until next time,

Under A Tree

aka Marie-Claire and Hannah



Love Vancouver Festival

A while back, we attended the Love Vancouver Festival. It was great! We met lots of inspirational activists who taught us a lot about sustainability. It was powerful to see how many individuals around Vancouver are altering their lifestyles to be more environmentally friendly. 

Paper Challenge!

Wait!!!

Avoid absentmindedly throwing away your school notes!
Before you toss your math excercises in the trash (gasp) or even the recycling bin, consider the following: Save each piece of paper that is blank on one side. Make a stack of reusable paper on your desk or in your drawer that can be used for future note taking, projects and even homework. 50% less paper means 50% less trees being cut down. Trees serve many purposes including:

• Reducing erosion of our precious soil ressource
• Allowing streams to twist and turn, creating calm sanctuaries where fish can spawn
• Supplying us with oxygen
• Absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

There are hundreds of other reasons why trees are our friend...easy on the paper!

WE CHALLENGE YOU!

Until next time,

Under A Tree

aka Hannah and Marie-Claire

Seed Bombing Challenge

No, these are not your typical destructive bombs. These are peaceful and beautiful bombs! Seed bombing is a planting technique used by First Nations Peoples. Its an easy way to re-introduce biodiversity to our cities.

Why is is important to seed bomb?
Plants are important to everyone. Yes, even for city-dwellers! Plants give us flowers, flowers give us bees, bees give us food. Plants detoxify soil, soil gives us healthy food. Plants give us oxygen, oxygen lets us breath.

What is in a seed bomb?
4.5 parts natural red-clay
3 parts compost
2 parts seeds: SEEDS MUST BE NATIVE TO THE AREA!
1 part water, as needed
*seed bombs should be about an inch in diameter
*wait for individual bombs to dry before throwing
*Never seed-bomb farmland
*Always use non-invasive native plant seeds

WE CHALLENGE YOU TO GO SEED-BOMBING!

* recipe provided by Patch (www.facebook.com/letspatch)

Until next time,

Under A Tree

aka Marie-Claire and Hannah