Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day conjures images in tones of pink and red... not typically green. Green is typically more reserved for next month when Irish brogues come dancing off everyone's tongues.

But that doesn't mean you can't have an eco-friendly, heart-filled day.  Here are some thoughts to get you thinking of green ways to share the day with your loved ones.

All You Need for Valentine’s Day in 10 Infographics
From Natalija Snapkauskaite's 1/28/2014 post on Piktochart's Blog:
This article is made for all of us who are extraordinarily visual and love graphic data. You'll find infographics on the history of the day, where the Valentine dollars are going, worldwide traditions, typical social media personals, ways to say "I love you" in a multitude of languages and more.

Have A Green Valentine's Day!
From Mary Kate Ranii's 2/2/2017 Pennyslvania's Resource Council post:
Here you'll find some green gifts, dining, and ambiance ideas... who doesn't love the gift of an experience (where the memory will last a lifetime) or heart-shaped homemade cookies?!

14 Ways To Go Green This Valentine's Day
From Margaret Badore's 2/12/2014 post on Treehugger:
More good ideas (14 in fact) on ways to reduce waste and save money along the way with your loved ones. My favorite: #14 and giving the give of doing something to help someone out!

25 Ways to Set an Earth-Loving Mood This Valentine’s Day
From Katie O'Reilly's 2/12/2019 post in the Sierra Club Magazine:
This article is more for the gift-giver out there who'd like to find something special from a quality brand that places high value on sustainability.

Green Team Gazette Past Posts on Valentine's Day
This is always a good way to go through the archives and get some classic, timeless ideas!


There are lots of ways to show someone you love them. It wouldn't hurt to show the planet a little love along the way this Valentine's Day!

Image from http://greenubuntu.com/how-to-enjoy-an-environment-friendly-green-valentines-day/ and https://www.activekids.com/parenting-and-family/articles/9-nature-themed-valentine-s-day-ideas

Cereal for a Cause

Inventions and innovations of any sort come out of need. What if a need could be solved by a breakfast cereal?

That certainly is an innovative way to solve a problem. And, it is the approach that Nature's Path Organics have decided to take regarding endangered sea turtles. They created Envirokidz Turtle Splash cereal, a regular healthy and organic style cereal with a twist. With each box you purchase, you get a code you can register online in order to "symbolically adopt a real sea turtle." Also, while you are there on their website you can learn other ways to help sea turtles such as passing on plastic straws, finding or organizing a beach clean up, or donating to SEE Turtles.

The day I investigated this, the website counter revealed that 270 turtles had been adopted via Turtle Splash Cereal codes.

Target and Thrive Market are two places you can buy a box of your very own. However, in investigating this, it looks like Turtle Splash is just the newest in an already long line of Envirokidz from Nature's Path. They have 17 other cereals designated to do the same, many of which are vegan or gluten free. Their mission statement:

"Here at EnviroKidz our mission is not only to make delicious organic food for kids, but to help save animals and the planet. That’s why each box features real life animals – animals who we support every time you choose one of our cereals, bars, or oatmeals."

For most of their cereals & foods listed here, they work with partners at 1% For the Planet, where 1% of the sales benefits animal partners working to save endangered animals and their habitats, along with educating children worldwide. Other Envirokidz Cereals & Foods.

• Envirokidz Panda Puff Cereal
• Envirokidz Choco Chimps Cereal
• Envirokidz Leapin' Lemur Cereal
• Envirokidz Cheetah Chomps Cereal
• Envirokidz Amazon Flakes (benefits macaws)
• Envirokidz Gorilla Munch Cereal
• Envirokidz Koala Crisp Cereal 
• Envirokidz Jungle Munch Cereal

• Envirokidz Crispy Chocolate Rice Bars (benefits koalas)
• Envirokidz Crispy Peanut Choco Rice Bars (benefits lemurs)
• Envirokidz Crispy Berry Blast Rice Bars (benefits cheetahs)
• Envirokidz Crispy Peanut Butter Rice Bars (benefits pandas)

• Envirokidz Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (benefits chimpanzees)
• Envirokidz Chewy Strawberry Granola Bars (benefits macaws)

• Envirokidz Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (benefits elephants) 
• Envirokidz Brown Sugar Maple Oatmeal (benefits caribou)
• Envirokidz Chocolate Chip Oatmeal (benefits chimpanzees)

Image from https://www.naturespath.com/en-us/products/envirokidz/turtle-splash/ and https://www.mommykatandkids.com/2014/05/natures-path-envirokidz-cereal.html

Barbie As Environmental Leaders

I was a big fan of Barbies when I was a kid. It makes sense--it was the 1970s and Barbies were an "it toy" for girls. I had a 2-story doll house that someone had made, and one of my prized parts of it was the staircase that my dad had built to set next to the garage so Barbie and Ken and the crew could get up to the 2nd floor. (I mean really, what kind of house like that didn't have steps?)

I also had the fuschia Corvette and the barbie camper, and I remember zipping around both all over my house

Fast forward 30 years, and the Barbie camper & car made their way under my adult Christmas tree for my preschool daughter. Cleaned up by my dad after years of living in the attic, the vintage "Barbiemobiles" were in lovingly restored.

However, my daughter, always more of a tomboy, was never a fan of Barbies. Instead, her stuffed animals went tooling around our house in the Barbie camper. Barbie had been replaced in our house by my critter-lovin' girl.

Wildlife Conservationist
Barbie

Fast forward another good dozen years or so, and there's potentially a new generation of Barbie-camper-drivers out there. Mattel and National Geographic have teamed together to create a new Barbie product line based around "exploration, science, conservation, & research." In the mix is "Ecologist Barbie" (or officially named "Wildlife Conservationist" Barbie). My daughter has well passed the age of driving her stuffed dogs around in the Barbie camper, but I love this idea. Barbie routinely has gotten her feminism on and taken on new adventures, and here we are again, with a new role of scientist and explorer in her credentials and curriculum vitae.

Nature photojournalist

Nalini Nadkarni, forest ecologist and canopy scientist, is part of the current promotional team of Mattel & National Geographic highlighting the explorer series of the new Barbie line and the wildlife conservationist Barbie. Other Barbies in this series include an astrophysicist, an entomologist, a polar marine biologist, and a nature photojournalist.

Polar Marine Biologist

Nalini, had long tried to get Mattel to embrace an idea of "Treetop Barbie." They didn't buy into it, so she created a line of her own via resale shops and constructing her own outfits in the early 2000s. Although not affiliated with Mattel, she got them to let her continue and she sold approximately 400 over the years.

Entomologist Barbie

From her 2009 TED Talk (where she discussed her created her own repurposed Barbies from thrift shops that she outfitted in outdoor gear to produce the dolls on a small scale): "My feeling is that we have taken this pop icon and have just tweaked her a little bit to become an ambassador who can carry the message that being a woman scientist studying treetops is really a great thing."

Astrophysicist Barbie

About 15 years later, she was finally invited to serve on National Geogrpahics and Mattel's advisory committee to come up with an "adventure series" of Barbies. What better way to inspire girls to embrace alternatives to traditional gender roles and careers. 

To read up more on Nalini Nadkarni's current venture with Mattel, check out these two articles:

• NPR's October 18, 2019's article "Tree Scientist Inspires Next Generation ... Through Barbie" (Be sure to listen to the 13 minute interview on the page)
• Washington Post's January 17, 2020 article "She started climbing trees as a kid. Then this ecologist helped create scientist Barbie."

Plus, don't forget to check out the Barbie Explore page on Mattel.com.

Or, watch Nalini's 2009 TED Talk to learn more about the inspiration for Conservation Barbie:

Video from https://www.ted.com/talks/nalini_nadkarni_conserving_the_canopy?language=en, Barbies from https://barbie.mattel.com/shop/en-us/ba/barbie-wildlife-conservationist-doll-gdm48, other pics from my camera.

Trailforks: Making It Easy to Trailblaze

In the attempt to unplug and get more hours out in the great outdoors, hiking and biking are two great ways to go about that. State or National Parks make sense for that, but sometimes you just want a little something closer to home. With that though, sometimes you don't know where to begin that quest. Trailforks makes it easy!

Trailforks is a trail management system that ties with its own app to help you find where to go and what level of difficulty the trail holds. It's crowd-sourced with the help of GPS to create a common community. This means that users can update the information to help you know about the condition and other user-data that may be helpful. It gives recommended rides, notes the popularity of the trail, and reviews. You can also check out trail-specific photos and videos other people have uploaded to the database. You can also use GPS to map your trail while traversing on it. Not only does it accommodate the hikers or bikers out there, but it provides information for skiers, snowshoe'ers, snowmobile'ers, ATV'ers, horseback riders, dirt bikers, and electric bikers too.

Makes you want to go forth and plan some outdoor adventures!



Video from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNPkKe3U6I4; logo from https://www.trailforks.com

Words of Wisdom from Climate Scientist Katharine Hayhoe

Katharine Hayhoe is one of my all-time, go-to climate scientists. She's well-known in her field, and one thing that makes her stand out is the fact that she is a Christian from Texas, and she maintains that it is because of her religious beliefs that she continues with her scientific pursuits. A marriage sometimes in today's partisan world that's rare. I especially like her views on why climate change has become political--it's not so much an issue with the ideas (which do become the scapegoat), but more on the fear factor of how the solutions will effect the economy.

Here's Katharine is on a segment of CBS New's "CBS This Morning" from last February 27, 2019, sharing her view, her wisdom, her optimism, and her ideas of ways we can help our planet. Moral of the story: we need to be talking about it, listening to each other, and meeting each other at our hearts to truly hear each other and why climate change matters to us.



Video from https://www.cbsnews.com/video/katharine-hayhoe-on-why-we-need-to-talk-about-climate-change-to-fight-it/, image from https://images.app.goo.gl/83MSviqmFuT88BH2A

View at the Recycling Center & Landfill

Not long ago, I was at our county's landfill & recycling center. The reason? To offload a bunch of cables, keyboards, and old phones for work. You can't just leave your electronics on the curbside, so it really was the only option... especially with the planned obsolesce of computers & technology.

I've been to the landfill and recycling center a few times, though I won't say I'm a frequent flier. It's changed a bit through the years. I always find it fascinating, seeing what people offload at the recycling center... and also seeing what things land at the landfill.

About 12 years ago, I visited our local landfill on a school field trip with 2nd and 3rd graders. At the time it was the tallest structure in the county, with the exception of the air traffic controller's tower at the airport. It was striking to be standing on top, looking down at the growing carnage, especially seeing how small items like lawn furniture (and other identifiable items) were. I was in about as much awe as the kids were. I was even more in awe a few years later that when I revisited the same spot, and you could see the noticeable difference in the height of the trash. I don't remember the exact numbers, but back then, the sections of the landfill were expected to be filled by 2020-2025. Looking at that timeline now, in retrospect, really is striking.

Even at the recycling center this year, it was eye-opening. It really gets you thinking both about materialism and minimalism. A lot of stuff we all just had to have...and here it is, being offloaded. Truly an interesting perspective being there shortly before the holidays.

If you haven't been to your landfill or recycling center, I strongly recommend it. It will shift your view on what you think you need, and what you feel like you can't live without!

Photos from my camera at the Anne Arundel County Maryland, Millersville Recycling Center.

EdTech Fitness With Richard Byrne

Richard Byrne is a powerhouse in the edtech world and has been for well over the last decade. With over 14,725 blog posts on his Free Tech For Teachers since 2007 (averaging more than 1000 per year), and being a frequent Edublog award winner, he knows his stuff. He's often one of my first go-to places to learn more about edtech tools.

Other notable notes about Richard Byrne:

• He also writes for the following websites, which he also created:
• Practical Ed Tech
• iPad Apps 4 School
• Android 4 Schools

• He has a resource library of his own creation on his YouTube channel (with over 16,000 subscribers and too many videos to count).

• He's also a well-traveled edtech presenter who has been all over presenting a myriad of educational topics. 

Needless to say, he's a busy fellow. Given that, he also started the website Ed Tech Fitness--knowing how busy teachers can be (and how their own self-care/wellness often falls through the cracks.) Given my own health pursuits for the new year, I signed up for his Ed Tech Fitness weekly newsletter & challenge, and I'm currently on board for his Junk-Free January. With only about 2 weeks under my belt, I am happy to say I'm still mostly on track! 

Richard uses Ed Tech Fitness to share not only his own healthy path, but some helpful hints to staying on track as well as saving time along the way to make room in your schedule for exercise. Likewise, he shares resources that have helped him on his own journey. I also love that he speaks the language of teachers, knowing the time constraint, busy seasons, and stress loads that are unique to teachers. For anyone who has a health or fitness resolution on their 2020 game plan, it's a great resource.

Images from http://edtechfitness.com/join-me-for-junk-free-january/, http://edtechfitness.com, and https://www.freetech4teachers.com

Unseasonably Warm

I'm writing this outside* in 65° weather, wearing only capri yoga pants and a long sleeve t-shirt. Did I mention it's mid-January? I've just returned from an hour-long bike ride in the county park, making it 2 bike rides in 2 days. Sitting back, I take a minute to bask in the warmth of the sun on my face. This is my ideal weather, it's just odd given we had a late start day due to snow just 4 days ago. Plus it's January.

As much as I love the outdoor activities this weekend and the major dose of Vitamin D to go with that Vitamin N (Nature), it's disconcerting weather for January. A Google search of "unseasonably warm weather January" brought up a bounty of news articles discussing the weather for the weekend of January 10--12 from Boston to Cleveland to NYC to DC. In fact, according to AccuWeather, record highs were likely to happen in over 100 locations in the eastern US. Yet, strikingly, Texas got snow this same weekend.

Blips on the radar screens happen all the time, as do fronts coming in and out. But with wildfires in Australia, and earthquakes strike the already hurricane-damaged Puerto Rico, It feels like reason #7,542 as to why the climate deniers need to sit up and start paying attention to science!! It feels like it's all screaming climate change. Insert eco-rant here!!

So what's a girl supposed to do when it seems like the signs are all around??

For now, what I think I need to do is take a deep breath, before climate panic sets in! I'm going to pause. I'm going to go enjoy the day and take advantage of the gift of the unseasonably warm weather. Along the way, I'm going to embrace some climate optimism. I'm going to start here:

• From Eco-Business.com: "Got Eco Anxiety? Here Are 10 Reasons for Climate Optimism" by Robin Hicks (12-9-2019)
• Climate Reality Project's ""The 5 Stages of Climate Optimism" (1-4-2019)
• GTG's "Climate Optimism" (10-2-2019)

*It was Sunday, June 12th, 2020 when I was wrote this post.


Images from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezAZ5WVAOyI and my camera.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday around the bend, thoughts on service, social justice, civil rights, and leadership are the thoughts that flitter through teachers' heads.

Here's a list of resources to help you plan your Martin Luther King Jr. lesson plans:

From Teaching Tolerance:

• Teaching the Life and Legacy of MLK (Jan. 14, 2019)
• Teaching MLK With the Social Justice Standards by Lauryn Mascareñaz (Jan. 10, 2017)
• The Best of Our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Resources by Cory Collins (Mar. 30, 2018)
• Lesson: Dr. King and the Movement (Grade Levels 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)

From Green Team Gazette:

• Martin Luther King, Jr: Day of Service (Jan. 19, 2019)
• Dreaming With Martin Luther King (Jan. 16, 2016)

From a multitude of other great sources:

• We Are Teachers: 9 Meaningful Martin Luther King Activities for the Classroom (Jan. 3, 2020)
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is Coming Up –Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources (Jan. 4, 2020)
• Kids Discover: MLK, Jr. (This unit has been labeled free for the month of January 2020.)
• Amy Lemons: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Books & Activities (Dec. 21, 2019)
• Cybraryman's Martin Luther King, Jr. Resources

Image from https://www.weareteachers.com/martin-luther-king-activities/

Eco With Em: Climate Change

I've written about Eco With Em before as her infographic-style, hand-drawn graphics and her environmental slant really appeal to me. With all the conversations about climate this past year, this illustration of hers (posted January 1st, 2020 on Facebook) spoke to me--perhaps more so since she's an Australian and has been seeing first hand all of the devastation from the Australian wildfires. Likewise it seemed like the perfect follow up to my "Raging Wildfires" post from the other day:

Even more powerful was what she wrote on her Facebook post regarding it:

"2020. Here in Australia more than 4.4million hectares are gone, countless animals, sacred sites, over 900 homes and 12 people have lost their lives (including 3 volunteers that all had young children or expecting wives). Skies are blood red, 4000 people were stranded on the beach and were ordered to swim into the ocean and they’re still raging on. It’s hard to feel cheery and impossible to fathom.

The only possible sliver of positivity I can find in this is that it is impossible to ignore. We still have hope and time (I say that with sensitivity and the understanding that there are people out there IN THIS right now). We are starting a new decade. We are where we are. And whether we like it or not Climate Change is inviting us into a new world. For everything to change, we have to change everything. Our attitudes need to change. Our leadership needs to change but if it does not we need to do everything within our individual/community/global powers to shift the needle ourselves.
There are solutions out there, right now, that can help reverse climate change. Regenerative agriculture, blue carbon, smarter home design, Reforestation projects, marine parks. Individually we can change what we eat, support local businesses, quit plastic and overall just consume LESS. Get back to what is important for humanity and leave what is not in the last decade.

The options are that we can blindly stumble into a new decade with an old attitude OR we can come together and completely change the way we live and get to work in healing the planet. I know what I will be devoting my next decade to."

I agree with her: "climate change is inviting us into a new world." If our leaders are going to be laissez-faire about it, then it is up to us as global citizens, national and local voters, community members, entrepreneurs, innovators, and everyday people to become the leaders we are looking for.


Image screenshot from https://www.facebook.com/ecowithem/posts/2903798489682225:0

The Raging Wildfires

The summer of 2018 I went to Silicon Valley & San Francisco as part of a school grant I was awarded in order to visit the birthplace of technology. I wrote about it extensively after my return. (See here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.)

With that trip at the start of August, the Carr Fire & Mendocino Complex Fires of California (Mid July to August 2018) were very much on my radar. Amazing how things like that always seem to perk one's interest when they directly could affect you. Due to our travels, we were never in harm's way, nor did we see any of that national disaster (as it was deemed August 4, 2018 in Norther California). The Mendocino Complex fire burned more than 459,000 acres of land, making it a California record holder as the single-largest recorded fire.

Again, I count my blessings that we were totally exempt from any of that at the time. Living on the East Coast of the United States, we were even farther removed, tho certainly saddened by the injury and loss of landscape, animal life, businesses, and more from these fires.

Likewise, for this environmentalist, it was yet again a signal that climate change was indeed a real thing, and these natural disasters were only further evidence of a planet in danger.

Fast forward to January 2020. This simple infographic, amidst the news of Australia's current wildfires, caused me to stop dead in my tracks. Wildfires that raged for a long time before they made national news, at least here in Mainstream USA. The same for the Amazonian wildfires, and I still don't recall the Siberian fires making news on my TV channels.

We all have the tendency to be egocentric, focusing on our own things. From a cultural perspective, that concept is called enthocentlrism, and from a country's perspective, it's often called nationalism. Some of it is a natural tendency to view things from our own perspective. Yet, here in today's world, where the Internet crosses 'round the world and back again in a nanosecond and we are all technically and technologically connected, we all need a global perspective. Not just that NIMBY: Not In My Back Yard perspective.

The view from my global perspective is that poor Australia is on fire in a way we have not seen before!

Social media has drawn our attention by showing not only visuals of Australia's fire, but also of darling koalas and kangaroos, clutching to their caregivers. When our heartstrings are pulled by cute animals (some of which are nearing extinction), we all do tend to take a little more notice as our heartstrings are pulled. 

Likewise, social media (because I follow news outlets and environmental groups) has led me to articles such as these:

• New York Magazine's "Global Apathy Toward the Fires in Australia Is a Scary Portent for the Future" by David Wallace-Wells (December 31, 2019) ~ This article details much of what I've mentioned above--how the fires have raged on for months, yet it took a long time to get mainstream attention. How climate change issues are often a secondary (or tertiary) news item, how climate deniers strike it up as unrelated or even fake news, and how horrific situations become normalized. (Take mass gun violence, for instance.)

• New York Time's "‘It’s an Atomic Bomb’: Australia Deploys Military as Fires Spread" by Livia Albeck-Ripka, Isabella Kwai, Thomas Fuller, and Jamie Tarabay (January 4, 2020) ~ This article details the Australian military deployment to tackle the fire--a deployment in size which hasn't been seen since WWII.

• CNET's "Australian Bushfires: Everything We Know and How You Can Help by Jackson Ryan (January 3, 2020) ~ Just as the title describes, this article gives a lot of the specific and logistical issues of the fire. At the end, the article lists nearly 30 ways you can help, including links to organizations where you can directly donate.

Sending prayers to all in Australia, a beautiful country I visited years ago. May we come to a swift closure on these red days and may we as global citizens do all that we can to help with this climate crisis.

Infographic from https://www.statista.com/chart/20387/recent-wildfire-events-by-acreage-burned/, images from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/04/world/australia/fires-military.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes&fbclid=IwAR1wM3uYAKNYpfpWBRVR1sx9w5wvqoqnFRXCxvslUr9gBVQr5pmZDb8yW9w and "Raging Wildfires" create at canvas.com

Starting The Year Off Right

As I wrote in my previous "Happy New Year 2020" post, the rotation around both the sun and the calendar bring about a lovely level of reflection. The start of something new. Resolutions, goals, or "One Word" focuses for the year ahead are frequent and often plentiful among the masses as people... as they go forward with the good and toss the rest from the year before.

I spent my New Years Day doing all my favorite activities:

~ brunching with a a couple of dear co-workers while basking in the fact that we were still on winter break;

~ delighting in the sunshiny 47°F weather and soaking in some Vitamin D & Vitamin N in the glory of my own backyard;

~ napping & reading on the couch by the Christmas tree;

~ doing a little writing & reflecting over here at GTG.

I hope your New Years Day was equally rewarding.

As an aside... my "One Word" for this year: Vitality.

Why? It brings to mind "health & wellness," which is something my body is craving with achy knees and slowing metabolism. But more than that, it also brings about "energy," "liveliness," and "robustness." Who wouldn't want to have those items daily? I also see it as a springboard to ask myself if activities or behaviors bring that. Is mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, playing copious games of Words With Friends, or reading Apple News ad nauseam going to bring me all of that? In five minute blocks, they may help me decompress. But more than that (and who amongst us hasn't gotten sucked down the rabbit hole of our own tech)--probably not. Same for the comfort food and binge-watching TV. Seems like a positive word filled with 20/20 focus and clarity for me to wrap my year around.

May you find a word that helps you focus your 20/20 vision on helping you be the best you can be!

"Vitality" photo created at Canva.com; the other one from my camera & my backyard.

Happy New Year 2020

Calendars, just like years, are cyclical. Given that, it's easy to take note each year as you circle back 'round to the benchmarks of birthdays and anniversaries.

New Years Eve and/or Day is one such benchmark... highlighted with festivities, fireworks, fun, family, & friends. The ball drops. The clock hits the stroke of midnight. Some people toast with fizzy drinks or celebrate with kisses, while others opt for a more subdued and introverted approach. No matter what, it brings about reflection over the prior year as well as anticipation and even expectation over the year ahead.

It's a nice juxtaposition with the year ahead: 2020. Seeing with 20/20 vision is seeing with great accuracy. 20/20 is an American investigative journalism news show that's been on air since 1978.  I like the synonymous thought of using the year 2020 to see with greater clarity. To fully investigate what's around you and where you want to go. To go forward with open eyes, embracing the gifts around you, and making the most of every day you have. To focus on what's important. To have the vision to determine where you will be a year from now based on this year ahead.

May your 2020 bring you all of this. Cheers to your year ahead and for the new decade ahead!

2020 created by me at Canva.com; The Neil Gaiman quotes were found at https://www.canva.com/learn/inspirational-quotes-for-the-new-year/, and the Michael Hyatt quote is from https://michaelhyatt.com/photos/dont-fear-failure-fear-exact-place-next-year-today/

Recycling That Thin Plastic

When the recycling rules continue to change, that's when the buy-in begins to thin out. Even for us die-hard environmentalists.

3+ years ago when we re-did our kitchen, we opted for a big recycle bin in the pull-out cabinetry and a little secondary compost bin behind that because at the time, we had backyard composting. Well, in those three years, we decided that we didn't like backyard critters who had outsmarted our composting system and the recycling rules of our county changed. They used to promote the "when in doubt, throw it out (into your recycle bin)" and they'd take it from there. So we went from recycled a majority of our household waste to having to create space for a trash bin under the sink and to stop putting our recycling in a plastic trash bag.

But, like I said, it all changed. And with that change, the people in my house were all discombobulated when it came to what you can and cannot recycle. The thin plastic has been a perpetual question. Luckily, this video does a nice job of making it all a little more crystal clear. May it help set it all straight in your kitchen too!!

To learn more, check out PlasticFilmRecycling.org.

 

Video from https://www.facebook.com/askHRgreen/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARBPrHchSyoa287R2npE8T_9eJcxM0pxmTdIrscgJ0k0D5Q40ihN2-7qP0GsaMj-Y95T9jvfknEqEc_I&hc_ref=ARTAI2iwSKyAJtoc_NHdTvNEp9gWx3v6wNTwQvOvRHg0tkfc-FILitjgkjulKgvAMZg&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARBQMM6TLo91Ew8EA9frxPT8FFZoWG77Si5EtLwjzqnGXAQan7gm9GE4iQioVLHfYFEIAlsbUplTd0NQTMXmWbKJFUDr8RXKPiG_vjOIJOD3yaGejas5q5Iatgjcc5-W0YGpmZv86S7N--yDXFyt-Y8lV2rwnJbvHwrjVDlz2VuTT_h__p60yLIrSutWDo6VU7SLnb11SJRqRlJyYCJ_rNG2VvR28C_fA3aLgR9V1QQ-DHhehODwiPQGSLoMYcz7E9LF-w-1FC14JlKeaZs5IUyROMsrIgyUt3FSX0RgPcO8ogdnZWV_3diUcWMteeEaSjPAoRIRaDbaiCMk6gWrCeIgJe50ezidZEkEXmPf9RPqlJqPvVVytnJZh00

Seasons Greetings

Wishing you a wonderful and safe holiday season here at GTG. 

May you find peace during your holidays, joy in the twinkling of the lights, 

and magic in they eyes of the children who surround. 

Take time to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors!

Image created at Canva.com

Wrapping Up What To Do With That Wrapping Paper

'Tis the season, most certainly indeed! Both Hanukkah & Christmas are next week, and odds are high there are some gifts you are both giving and receiving. With the changes over time with recycling, it can be tricky to know what to do when it comes to gift wrap, bags, and wrapping paper. Given that, I used the information from this NBC News article to create an infographic to help give you the ins and outs of recycling this holiday season!

Infographic created using Canva.com: https://www.canva.com/design/DADuIB6kRGk/share/preview?token=1jdAvDhoUSFL4tnQP1MeUg&role=EDITOR&utm_content=DADuIB6kRGk&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton 

Time Magazine's Person of the Year: Greta Thunberg

It seems rather fitting that 20 years ago Time Magazine changed their annual designation from "Man of the Year" to "Person of the Year." We've come a long way since 1927 (which went to Charles Lindbergh). Greta Thunberg won this year's recognition as the "person, group, idea, or thing that, for better or worse... has done the most to influence the events of the year." She also is the youngest person ever to achieve this honor. Her dedication for the planet via her activism, speeches, and climate strikes is notable, and she is the first environmentalist to be named as such--with the exception of The Endangered Earth who won 1988's Planet of the Year. Time has two exceptional links about Greta & why she was chosen for Person of the Year.

This year when I was crafting my Christmas Wish List, I discovered that Greta was the inspiration for a number of environmental books for kids of all ages. May this list come in handy if you are looking for any last minute holiday gifts or environmental reads for 2020.

--No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference (Nov. 2019) by Greta Thunberg
Authored by Greta herself.

--Our House Is on Fire: Scenes of a Family and a Planet in Crisis (coming out March 10, 2020) by Greta Thunberg, Svante Thunberg, Malena Ernman, and Beata Ernman
The family story of Greta and her parents Svante & Malena, and her sister Beata and how they dealt with Greta's Asperger's syndrome and rising environmental activism.

--Greta Thunberg and Climate Change (Sept. 2019) by Robert Bonaparte
A 42-page book that is heavy on the science of climate change.

--Greta's Story: The Schoolgirl Who Went On Strike To Save The Planet (due out June 2, 2020) by Valentina Camerini
A chapter book for 3rd-7th graders.

--Our House Is on Fire: Greta Thunberg's Call to Save the Planet (Sept. 2019) by Jeanette Winter
A picture book for ages Preschool to 3rd graders.

--We Are All Greta: Be Inspired by Greta Thunberg to Save the World (Sept 2019) by Valentina Giannella
From Amazon: "this is a book for young people, for parents, for grandparents and anyone having to answer direct and urgent questions about what must be done to protect our world."

--Greta and the Giants: Inspired by Greta Thunberg's Stand to Save the World (Nov. 2019) by Zoë Tucker
A picture book for ages Preschool to 2nd graders.

--The Greta Thunberg Story: Being Different is a Superpower (Sept. 2019) by Michael Part
A book geared for kids and adults alike.

--The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience (Oct. 2019) by Hillary Rodham Clinton & Chelsea Clinton
This is the only book on the list that I've currently read.. and it's the one on my nightstand that I am still reading. Greta is one of the 8 environmentalists who are in the "Earth Defender" chapter.

May these books and Greta Thunberg's recognition help to continue to bring greater awareness and momentum to the fact that #ClimateChangeIsReal.

Time magazine cover from https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg/; All book images from the associated links at Amazon.com

Checking in About Computer Education Week

Here at the tail end of Code Week (or Computer Education Week) 2019, which is officially Dec 9-15 this year, this video falls in the cateogory of "Must-See TV." Even though it is from 2013, it still feels very current and is a good use of your ten minute viewing!

Take time to pursue some coding... whether it's Computer Education Week or not!



Video from https://youtu.be/dU1xS07N-FA and image from http://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/divisions/special-projects/arkansas-computer-science-initiative/computer-science-communications/computer-science-education-week-announcements

Holiday Shopping in the Resale Market

'Tis the season... for holiday shopping. Yet trends in shopping are shifting. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have already passed us by... so if you missed those deals and the big box stores, boutiques, and shopping online isn't doing it for you, maybe you need to check out one of these trending gift destinations, where you're destined to get something one of a kind. What's this new shop in town?  Well, it's really not new. It's the idea of "thrifting," or getting your gifts from thrift stores, consignment or second hand shops, and taking advantage of a circular economy by saving money and saving resources.

Articles such as the November 14th, 2019 Bloomberg's "Used Stuff Is the Next Big Trend in Christmas Shopping" reiterate this concept. The "pre-owned marked" isn't as frowned-upon as it once was. In fact, ThredUp (an online thrift store) has forecasted resale as a booming and growing industry. Projections suggest the resale market could grow to a $51 billion industry by 2023. (There are a lot of great infographics here on ThredUp's 2019 Resale Report, including the screenshots shared here.)

Some big name companies are getting into the game as the resale market shops have been booming:

• Fashionphile, an online portal for pre-owned purses and accessories, is a Neiman Marcus investment.
• ThredUp partnered with Macy's Inc. & J.C. Penny Co. this August.
• RealReal Inc is a high end consignment shop that went public in June to the tune of $300 million.
• Poshmark has been on the resale rise since its founding last year.

Other shops that might be new to you in this "new-to-you" market:

• Depop
• Heroine
• Thrilling
• And of course, eBay's been around for awhile. As have Goodwill, Salvation Army, and your local consignment shops.

With all this in mind, clearly people are beginning to shop differently. Might be worth a pursuit or two this year as you are looking for "that perfect gift." Or, some of these platforms might be worth pursuing when you are looking to downsize old sizes or make room for all the new holiday gifts coming your way later this month!

All images from ThredUp's 2019 Resale Report: https://www.thredup.com/resale

Our Climate Our Future

"Our Climate Our Future" is one of the projects from Alliance for Climate Education [ACE]. After a decade of climate education for our youth, while also creating young activists, ACE proudly has enlightened and educated over 3 million students.

"Our Climate Our Future" is a video series that totals 40 minutes of climate education. It's a combination of teen narrators, animation, and a lot of facts. Here's the trailer.



The 40 minutes are well worth it and you walk away learning a lot. It leaves you empowered. Imagine if our middle and upper school students world wide all watched this and decide to take this on? To watch the video in its entirety (either as an educator, and educated citizen, or as future activists), all you need to do is get on their email list. You can either watch it in total, or by chapter. Chapters include:

1. Welcome
2. Living Large
3. Fossil Fuels & CO2
4. CO2 & Climate Change
5. Real World Impacts
6. Is It Real
7. The Big Picture
8. The Solutions
9. The Movement
10. Take Action
11. It's Up To You

There's an interactive piece where you can use your mobile device to text your responses to questions that are tied into the video.

Also at the website, you'll also find Educator Resources such as a discussion guide and a student worksheet of comprehension and vocabulary activities.  Likewise, the Activities pages has a significant list of other classroom activities. There also is a portal where you can get ideas of ways to take action to be part of the solution.

Also on the website you can find "Climate Stories"--20+ stories of what young people around the US are experiencing and also ways that they are taking action. Their video stories are great ways to open your eyes to other people's experiences as well as the way climate change is affecting people around the country. Additionally, there is a form in which you can potentially share your story here too.

My favorite quotes of the movie: 

"When the people lead, the leaders will follow." 

"Today, over 90% of people under the age of 30 

agree that climate change is a real problem 

and that humans are responsible."

"No one is too young to lead."

Every day actions take us steps forward. Their question: what's your 'DOT?' What's a DOT? It means: "Do One Thing."

So my question: What's your DOT? Maybe it starts with watching this.

Video from https://youtu.be/TPORBBoGnjA, images from https://ourclimateourfuture.org

The Mighty Mississippi River Watershed

According to National Geographic, the Mississippi River is the 4th largest river, behind the Amazon, Nile, & Yangtze Rivers. Notable in and of itself, but when you consider the whole watershed, which reaches from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachian Mountains and runs through 31 states, it's bigger than you think!

To help you visualize it, Nat Geo's website has an animated map created by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio which brings all the branches, streams, and tributaries of the Mississippi River to life. You can click the above link to see the map from its original home at National Geographic (where there's more information on its creation), or watch it here.



Five sites to lead you to some more mighty Mississippi fun facts:

• 10 Awe Inspiring Facts About The Mighty Mississippi River
• The Great River Road: Canada to the Gulf
• JustFunFacts.com's Interesting Facts about the Mississippi River
• Science For Kids: The Mississippi River
• History Channel: 10 Things You Didn't Know About the Mississippi River

Video posted from https://www.facebook.com/usfws/videos/10156005451350775/?v=10156005451350775, map image from https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/watersheds/basins/mississippi/aboutmississippi.html