Clean Your Plate

I grew up in the era where you ate everything off your plate, without complaint, before you were excused from the dinner table. While I wish I could have carried over the "without complaint" part, I made a decision early on in parenting not to force my children to eat. I wanted them to learn to listen to their own bodies rather than eat food simply because it was there. We do have rules-they need to try everything (3 bites) and eat something from every food group. I also give them a small helping and encourage them to finish that before having seconds on what they love. And, even though I said I would never do it, we do bribe them with desert.

I assume our household is not unique in that we have a lot of food that goes to waste. I recently heard that the national average is 40%. Scary! I am pretty sure that we come in below that number. I wrap up half-eaten sandwiches for another lunch and reserve the same helping a few times rather than throwing it away (don't tell my kids). A friend of mine has a diet plan where she just eats what her kids have left over (she always lost her pregnancy fat quickly!). I tended to do the opposite and eat my meal PLUS the rejected bread crusts. At some point I stopped doing this deciding that I was worth more than PB&J bread crusts.

Of course those crusts don't just go in the garbage! In our house food gets recycled too. Here are our top recycling systems

1. Dog and cat. I honestly don't know how anyone could have a toddler without a pet. I'd be spending all day cleaning the floor. I remember one of the first times we ate out at a restaurant and I was horrified to see how much food ended up on the floor. With a dog, I never knew. The downside....fat pets.

2. Chickens. Our girls get many savory morsels. They especially love those over-rip strawberries that are rejected by everyone but still free of mold

3. Worms. Yep, we've got a bin of red worms in our basement that eat some of our fruit and veggie scraps. Vermicomposting is a fun educational project and it is amazing how these worms turn food into good fertilizer for the garden. They are so easy that they we have been unable to kill them despite months of neglect. The little ones love picking out (saving) the worms from the finished compost come springtime. Another bonus-good fishing worms!

4. Outdoor compost. This is a must-have for families. I now see all the waste as a RESOURCE! I don't encourage waste, obviously, but I also don't stress about it either. Todays tossed banana peel is tomorrow's garden loam. My kids know that I am a compost freak and just love seeing how this food and weeds get transformed into dark rich soil every season. It is another perfect educational opportunity to learn all about micro-organisms, soil life and bugs and worms. Another bonus-taking out the compost bucket is a easy do-able chore for almost any age child.

Instead of "clean your plate", my kids will have memories of me calling out "scrape your plate"

kudos to Camp Invention

My son is attending Camp Invention this week and I was happy to see that not only are the kids building their inventions out of broken appliances and recyclables, but they are being taught how to disassemble their contraptions at the end of the week to separate out trash from items that can be recycled. They were taught that 85% of household waste is recyclable and that Waukesha Co has a higher rate of recycling than the nation as a whole. One of their "challenges" is to figure out ways to clean up a polluted Sludge City (today was contaminated water). It is always nice as a parent when I know my kids are hearing the same message away from home as in the home. Thank you Camp Invention.

Free Lunch at Mom's

We can't have a Green Parenting month without mention of the environmental benefits of breastfeeding. I realize that this is a decision that can only be made at a specific time in a woman's life and that not every woman or baby can breastfeed, even if they wish to (although, medically, this is not common). I also realize that there are many other health and personal benefits that breastfeeding families enjoy, but that is a topic for another blog. For anyone out there reading this who might be expecting or planning a pregnancy, here are the reasons it fits with Green Parenting:

Think about the energy that goes into making formula. First you have to either grow soybeans or have a dairy production-both that require lots of energy input and chemicals such as pesticides and hormones. Yes, I realize that there are organic formulas out there which is wonderful for those unable to breastfeed, but this isn't the choice made by the majority of formula-feeding parents. That commodity is then sent to a plant to be processed and then likely another plant to be made into formula. Other chemical vitamins must also be produced, shipped and then added to the formula as well. The product is then shipped to stores around the country. Parents then drive to the stores to buy it and mix it with water in bottles (that also had to be manufactured, most from plastic). This doesn't count the miles put on the cars of all the 20-something sales reps as they canvas the OB/GYN's offices or other marketing. Then there is the energy output to heat the formula and the energy needed to clean the bottles.

Now lets talk about the energy needed to breastfeed. Human milk is made from the energy from food that the mom eats or that is stored in her fat cells. Talk about sustainability! What if we could run cars off fat cells? What mom doesn't have a bit extra at the end of a pregnancy? The milk is the perfect temperature, always at the ready, comes in it's own attractive container and doesn't need to be refrigerated between feedings. All that and healthy too.

If you are not in a point in your life to be making a decision about breastfeeding, you can still help by supporting others that do make this choice. Smile when you see a breastfeeding mom in public, bring a meal or other help to a new mom, stand up for a baby's right to eat wherever he/she is hungry (not in the public restroom), support breastfeeding moms in your workplace when they need to take breaks to pump milk.

If you are expecting or a new mom with breastfeeding questions or concerns, check out a local La Leche League group at http://www.lllofwi.org/
There are several groups that meet monthly in Waukesha County. Trained leaders are available for telephone help 7 days a week.

Living in Abundance

Why is it that green living is often defined in terms of what we should do without-big cars, excessive shopping, air conditioning, bleached paper, water bottles etc. What if, instead, it was defined by what we choose to add to our lives-more time with family, better tasting food, creativity, cool technology, learning new skills etc. Very often our choices are not an either-or option, but we tend to emphasize one side of things. I-tunes and MP3 players have certainly decreased the wasteful packaging and plastic in music CD's, but most people don't think about downloading music for that reason, instead we emphasize the fun and convenient new technology. Why can't other choices we make also be about more fun and new ideas? A resuable bag can be MORE stylish instead of less convenient. Coffee in a resuable mug can be about BETTER taste rather than less waste. Refinishing a second-hand table can be MORE satisfying instead of less fashionable.

How we perceive and talk about the choices we make in our lives matters. Our children are watching and listening. Do they hear us making choices that emphasize the downside of our choices or the upside? Do they hear a righteous self-sacrifice or a sense of adventure or fun? I hope that when my children and I bike to the park, they are just having fun and not feeling that we are "doing without" our car to save gas or that we are better than the people who drove their SUV's there. I hope they don't give it much thought at all so that by the time they are adults, it simply becomes an obvious way to travel short distances when the weather is nice. Choices based on fun will last much longer than those based on guilt or superiority, for children and adults alike.

A few years back I heard a woman being interviewed on WI Public Radio (sorry, don't remember who or what the actual topic was). She was admitting that she was a prior book addict. She bought and kept hundreds of books until she hit a personal financial crisis and was no longer able to support her habit. It was then that she discovered the library. Her discovery was not that she could check out books for free, for she already knew this. What she learned was a new perspective on the books in the library. She realized that the books were bought with her tax dollars, so they were actually "her" books (well, at least in part). She pretended that she owned all the books in the library system and that she was simply being nice and sharing them with everyone else. Suddenly her feelings of self-pity in her financial crisis changed to abundance. She said that even though she has recovered financially and can afford to buy all the books she wants, her sense of abundance about life in general has stayed with her. What if we took this perspective about all the land that we "own" in all the area parks and nature preserves? I am reminded of the stories where families of modest means always set an extra plate at the dinner table in case a visitor arrives in need of nourishment. Unless we truly are struggling to make ends meet (and there are those that are, even in wealthy Waukesha County), how can we not feel a sense of abundance in this land of plenty?

My personal challenge for the rest of this month is to listen to myself and the messages I send to my children about abundance and depriviation and to find opportunities to see the MORE in the green living choices our family tries to make.

Green giving and Birthdays

If you have school aged children, you probably spend a number of weekends of the year taking your child to birthday parties. I've spent more time than I'd like in the Target toy aisles trying to find a last minute gift that is affordable, meets the cool factor (according to my kids) and the good gift factor (according to moms). Today my son received an invite in the mail that asked the children not to bring a gift but rather a donation to the Humane Society. We've gotten a few of these invites in the past and it always warms my heart that these kids are fine not getting a mountain of gifts and that my kids are choosing to be friends with such selfless children.

My daughters have birthdays coming up and I am almost late getting a present to my niece so gift giving is on my mind. I love giving gifts to the children in my life. Thinking about what they would like makes me feel connected to them and there are so many really cool toys and books these days that it is hard to resist the temptation not to go overboard. I have been happy with some of the gift giving we've chosen in the past that has been "greener" than the other outings to the toy aisle so I thought I'd share some and hope that you will do the same

1. Make a gift. I had fun making a stuffed felt pizza for my niece and it cost hardly a thing. My uncle and his wife made those fleece tie blankets for all the little ones one year. All the kids love them for the couch snuggling blankets.

2. Give an outing. I took another niece to a gardening class at the Botanical Gardens in Milwaukee and we had a wonderful day together. I got to know her much better than at big family gatherings. I've done plays, concerts and other shows for other children and now the grandparents are starting to do the same for my kids

3. Give a class. My mom and dad often give money for a class for my kids. I make sure I bring it up any time my kids are having fun with the class so they remember the gift and it is more than just a monetary donation for us.

4. Give books. I have given a "book a month" to a niece and nephew. I bought books (some new, most used) and wrapped them up for the parent to "deliver" each month. It was fun finding books that we loved at garage sales and sharing them. The parents said their kids loved getting presents all year long

5. We donated money to a chosen charity for each niece and nephew for the Baptisms.

6. Give consumables. One Christmas my dad gave us kids a large supply of our favorite snacks. My brother got a case of Captain Crunch cereal and I got a mega container of peanut butter to dip carrots in. We thought it was a riot, partly because this was before Sam's Club so the big sizes were really funny.

Going Green Conference

Check out this Green Living Conference to be held in Oconomowoc in September. Good talks on green business plans, community development, green living at home, and local food networks. It is hosted by the Wisconsin Town and Country Resource Conservation and Development network. They are involved in working with communities to develop a sustainable development plan that is good for the local economy and the earth. Oconomowoc and Jefferson are two nearby communities that are developing such a plan. Is anyone aware of other efforts in your communities such as "the natural step" program?

www.townandcountryrcd.org
opportunities for sustainable economic growth, healthy communities and a healthy environment in the Town and Country RC&D area through the support and coordination of our region's agencies, municipalities and organizations."r mission is to optimize opportunities for sustainable economic growth, healthy communities and a healthy environment in the Town and Country RC&D area through the support and coordination of our region's agencies, municipalities and organizations."

Were You Born in a Barn?

I can still hear my dad say that when one of us kids left the back door open in winter. I can also hear, "Turn off the lights" "If you are cold, put on a sweater" and "Don't hold the fridge open!". Usually he could call these things out from the other room and I was always amazed that he knew that I did actually forget to turn off my bedroom light even though he was sitting in the living room. We were conserving energy in the 1970's long before it was hip to be green. We were conserving energy because there was an energy crisis, because my dad was a cheapskate and because he was raised by depression-era parents who wasted nothing.

Now it is my turn to yell out, "Why is every light on in the house?" and "Don't let the water run while you are brushing your teeth" (from the other room). The hip green movement has led to some pretty cool options like hybrid cars, bamboo clothing and high efficiency appliances, but as a culture we are often more interested in what we can buy than how we can conserve. Doing without or doing with less is practically un-American. Yet, as wonderful as a hybrid car is, the better option is to simply drive less. Compact flourescent light-bulbs are great, but it doesn't mean we should leave all our lights on. We need to combine a bit of the 1970's conservation ethic with the 2008 green consumer fashion.

To get our kids engaged in the kilowatts we were using, we took a look at our We Energy bill and compared usage from one year to the next. We were excited to see that after some swapping out of light bulbs and high-efficiency appliances, our usage actually went down (although the cost still went up!). This motivated us to challenge ourselves to lower it even further-"how low can we go???" Kids often want to do something to help global climate change and turning off the lights, not wasting water in the shower and putting on an extra blanket in winter is something tangible they can do to make a difference. When we sat down with our kids, they came up with lots of ideas on their own. Now when we remind each other to turn off the lights, it isn't mom and dad nagging, but a kind reminder of a family project.

There are some cool websites where you can calculate your family's carbon footprint, such as
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html
It is a nice reinforcement for what you are doing well and shows concrete areas where you can improve. By looking at it in sections, this can be less overwhelming and allows us to tackle one area of change at a time. As I am writing this, I am thinking of ways to keep kids and families engaged in this. Like many families, we give our children daily and weekly chores. I wonder how it would work to have each of them "in charge" of a specific area to oversee for the month (water, lights, heating/cooling, transportation etc). They could monitor the rest of us/keep us in line and think of ideas for how we can do better. I think I might find that it is not only the kids in our house that need some gentle reminding from time to time to turn the lights off.