What will they think of next?

A friend posted this on facebook, saying it was an easy way to keep her 4-year-old entertained on a rainy day. I think this takes recycling to a new level ... and a fun one!

http://www.netflixorigami.com/

Yes, it's NetFlix origami ... The website claims that NetFlix tear-off flaps are perfect for origami and paper airplanes because they're sturdy and colorful. And although most origami requires special paper squares, they have adapted their designs for use with unaltered NetFlix flaps. Just tear them off carefully at the perforated line and follow our step-by-step instructions for making paper-folding magic.

Check out the website - it's amazing what they can make out of these little mailers!

March green tips

Green Team member Jennifer Hobbs is currently reading the book Eco-Friendly Families, by Helen Coronato. The book is full of tips we can all implement each month - things that add up to big changes over the course of a year. We're sharing these with our readers each month as well!

• Motivate kids to become part of your home's housework solution by letting them make their own cleaning solution. Making your own cleaner is much safer for your family's health. Start by mixing 1/4 cup vinegar, one tablespoon baking soda, and one gallon of water. Put in individual spray bottles and let your children start cleaning.
• Put your playroom back in order after the long winter months by using disposable wipes containers, yogurt cups, and oatmeal boxes for storage. Over-the-door shoe holders keeps arts and crafts pieces organized and within reach. (Plus, if you know where things are, then you need to buy them less often.) You can also rub out minor marks on the walls with a damp washcloth dipped in baking soda.
• Start seedlings to plant in your garden. After a breakfast of eggs, rinse and air-dry the shells. Pinprick two or three holes in each shell, resetting them in a cardboard container. Lightly fill shells with soil and one or two seeds. Keep seedlings moist and warm until ready to transport outside. When planting, crush shells so roots can grow freely, but leave them there as nutrients for the soil. Check with your local nursery to find out when the best time to plant is.
• If crayon drawings are ruining your floors, remove stains by placing a dollop of toothpaste over the area. Using a sock that has lost its mate, rub the area. Scratches on wood floors can be treated with equal parts lemon juice and olive oil. This solution also makes a great furniture polish!

Cookware goes green

 

Add a few pieces of eco-friendly cookware made from materials found in nature - such as cast iron, glass, and bamboo - to the pot and pan collection in your cupboard. Some products may even add more to your cooking than just the ability to perfectly sear a chicken breast: Cast iron pans add dietary iron, making them an ideal choice for both the environment and your heath.

• Cast iron. Grandma had at least one cast iron skillet; she knew it would last forever. And, contrary to the popular belief, food won't stick to the material - just don't scrub it or let it rust. Manufacturing cast iron cookware since 1896, the Lodge company (located just down the road in South Pittsburg, TN) makes skillets and Dutch ovens of every size, including specialty pieces that are just as decorative as they are functional.
• Glass. Glass is made from readily available sand - there's no environmental shortage. Tempered glass (heat-treated to increase strength) baking dishes, such as those by Pyrex, cook evenly and can easily go from oven to refrigerator (let it cool first). Bonus: Many styles come with storage lids and are easy to clean.
• Bamboo. Bamboo is a truly renewable, sustainable material. It's a reed, not a tree, so when it's cut, it regrows from the tubers. You can't cook in the material, but it makes for aesthetically pleasing serving pieces. Plus, bamboo utensils won't scratch your pans. See http://www.bambu.greenfeet.com/ for more information and retail locations.

from Clean Eating magazine, March/April 2010 issue

A 90-minute world tour!

Bring the entire family to learn about animals all over the world!

On April 3, award-winning author Marty Essen will present his high-energy digital slide show, Around the World in 90 Minutes. This event is presented by the Chattanooga Nature Center (CNC), Reflection Riding Arboretum and Botanical Garden (RR), Tennessee Aquarium, UTC and Lookout Mountain Conservancy.

“This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the incredible diversity of life around the world from someone who has seen so much.” said Dr. Jean Lomino, CNC executive director. “We hope participants will leave with a greater desire to protect our planet.”

Marty’s show features interesting facts, humorous stories, and the best of thousands of photos he took while traveling the world for his book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents. It's the type of show where the audience has fun laughing at the stories, oohing and aahing at the photos, and then, when it's all done, they realize just how much they've learned. Around the World in 90 Minutes is great for wildlife lovers from 7 to 107!

Highlights of the show include:

•  Amazing animal facts
• Debunking animal myths
• Cuddly wallaroos and spiny walking sticks
• Charging elephants and howling wolves
• Deadly snakes and friendly penguins
• Bizarre creatures and endangered species
• Swimming with pirranhas
• Kayaking in the rainforest
• Hiking with the Porcupine caribou migration
• Rafting with humpback whales
• Surviving a hippo attack in Zimbabwe

“Marty’s presentation is the kick-off for the 2010 BioBlitz, and it is intended to bring more attention to this significant undertaking,” Lomino said. The Chattanooga BioBlitz brings together scientists and experts from across the region in a race against time to see how many species can be counted during a 24-hour biological survey of CNC and RR properties. Chattanooga BioBlitz combines the best of a festival, educational event, scientific endeavor, and contest into a unique event which is set for 3 p.m. April 30 and continuing through 3 p.m. May 1.

Around the World in 90 Minutes will take place at Benwood Auditorium on the UTC Campus, Saturday, April 3 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (Benwood Auditorium is located inside the Engineering, Math, and Computer Science building, at the corner of Vine and Palmetto streets. Click here for a map of the campus.) Cost is $5 for adults, $2.50 for children ages 4 to 11 and 3 and under are free. Attendees can pay at the door or reserve seating by calling 821-1160, ext. 0.

Books and photographs will be available for purchase.

February green tips

Green Team member Jennifer Hobbs is currently reading the book Eco-Friendly Families, by Helen Coronato. The book shares short tips we can all implement each month - things that add up to big changes over the course of a year. We're sharing these with our readers each month as well!

For February:

• If you have club soda that has gone flat, give it to your houseplants! Plants benefit from club soda's minerals, regardless of the carbonation. Instead of pouring it down the drain, share it with a leafy friend.
• Make your own natural air freshener by adding a cotton ball dipped in essential oil to your vacuum bag.
• For mopping, steep a cup of peppermint tea and squeeze in half a lemon. Combine with one cup of distilled white vinegar and swish in bucket. Once cool, mop floors clean. Vinegar is a disinfectant, the peppermint tea has antibacterial elements and helps remove scratch marks, and the lemon will act as a room freshener!

Green Disney - part 2

While walking the short trail to the Conservation Station area of Disney's Animal Kingdom, we were happy to notice handy tips for making backyard habitats - a perfect reminder that we can all make a small difference, no matter where we are!

So here, in pictures, are Disney's tips for making your yard a little greener!

Green Disney - part 1

"Landscapes of great wonder and beauty lie under our feet and all around us. They are discovered in tunnels in the ground, the heart of flowers, the hollows of trees, fresh-water ponds, seaweed jungles between tides, and even drops of water. Life in these hidden worlds is more startling in reality than anything we can imagine. How could this earth of ours, which is only a speck in the heavens, have so much variety of life, so many curious and exciting creatures?”

—Walt Disney (1901-1966)

While on our recent Disney trip, I was surprised to see several "green" initiatives being put into practice. Biodegradable cardboard straws are used instead of plastic, at least in some areas of the parks and resorts, and in-room recycling is encouraged. We found this in our hotel room on the first day:

I loved that guests were encouraged to save their plastic bottles, alumimum cans, and newspapers, and that housekeeping staff follows through with the recycling (I asked Barb, our room attendant, about this). Many of the park's garbage containers had separate disposal areas for plastic as well. Parks like Animal Kingdom and resorts like Animal Kingdom Lodge provide natural habitats for about hundreds of species, many endangered, while also educating millions of visitors. (Just last month, the AKL welcomed two Ruppell's Griffon Vulture hatchlings, the first of this threatened species bred at the Florida park.) And the trains in Disneyland now run on biodiesel fuel that starts as cooking oil in the park's restaurants and hotels.

Corporately speaking, Mickey has gone green. The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund distributes money to nonprofit organizations worldwide that help wildlife and wild places. The popular fairy Tinkerbell is now a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Energy's "Kids Saving Energy" program. And Disney has partnered with The Nature Conservancy to create the Disney Wilderness Preserve. This 12,000-acre area offers a model of ecological restoration and is one of the largest off-site wetlands mitigation projects ever undertaken in the United States.

But Disney is quick to point out that you don't have to be a gazillion-dollar corporation to make a difference; throughout Animal Kingdom, guests get small tips here and there, all of which add up to helping preserve our planet. Next time, we'll take a look at some of these!