Every day my boys and I take notice of the trees and flowers blooming in our yard. This season, we are also watching vegetables bloom and grow in our backyard. The reasons for adding a vegetable garden seemed only natural, and exciting, to us.

Chad and I are avid gardeners. We truly enjoy planting perennials, shrubs […]

Whole Foods Markets across the U.S. will be celebrating Earth Day by eliminating plastic bags. Once the store on Houston Northcutt Boulevard uses all of its supply, there will no longer be a choice of paper or plastic. Hooray! What a great way for this company to set an example.
Disposable plastic bags are […]

Two weeks ago, I went out with the boys to turn the compost pile we started last fall. As soon as I flipped the first forkful, a haze wafted into the air. At first I thought it was bugs, but then I realized what was going on: we had steam!
This is good news, and means […]

On Tuesday, April 8th, The Mount Pleasant Farmers Market will reopen for their season. From 3 p.m. until dusk vendors will be selling their local goods in the field in front of Moultrie Middle School, off Coleman Boulevard. Local growers and farmers will be selling seasonal fruits and vegetables. Right now, we should […]

Boone Hall Farms U-Pick Strawberries is open! The Norman family is thrilled. The ride on the “bumpy” cart is a must, and I love to point out the labeled fruit and vegetable patches we pass. Then, arriving at the strawberry fields, we venture armed with pails (bring water bottle as well, it […]

We’re now into February, and the compost pile I started last fall is really coming into it’s own. Here’s a quick update.

The pile is about 2-feet deep now. And except for the edges, it has an even consistency throughout.
Jen has started bringing home used Starbucks coffee grounds from the Longpoint Road location. They sit […]

Are you becoming obsessed with plastic bags yet? I am. The bag phenomenon is everywhere. I mean, I’m hooked on my own canvas bag. Jen is blogging about becoming the “crazy bag lady”, and the other Jennifer started a project that gives them away. Then there’s the numbers: 100 billion each year in the U.S., […]

Have you ever discovered that you’re being green without knowing it? Upon reading, ‘Greenpeace: A Guide to Living,’ we were surprised that a vegetable-based diet was ranked second right behind “don’t drive” as a way to lower your environmental impact. Chad and I have been lacto-ovo-vegetarians for over a decade.
In my opinion, humans […]

Turning landfill-bound kitchen waste into rich gardening soil is a very sustainable practice, even in tiny suburban-sized doses. I love the idea of using free homemade soil to enrich the garden plot I’m using to grow some summer veggies, all while learning loads about biology, chemistry, and patience.
Composting is a green activity that’s a bit […]

One way to address the issue of our mass consumption as a country, and the realities of what ends up in the landfill as a result is, well, ignore it.
A group of 5th grade students at Charles Pinckney Elemetary School are choosing a different tact. Pinkney’s Ecology Club, lead by S.A.I.L. teacher Mike Cline, […]

Jen was about to pitch the pumpkins when I yelled, “Wait! We’ve got a compost pile now.” I really had no idea if you could add pumpkins to compost, but I had sent them to the landfill every year in the past…enough was enough.
A quick Google search shows tons of pages urging readers […]

I procrastinated all Summer and never started a compost pile, so I was pleased to read that Fall is the best season to get one going. That was enough. I was on my way to Lowe’s for chicken wire and fence posts, and had one up in no time.
Composting yard waste and kitchen scraps is […]

The Sustainable Seafood Initiative is a community-wide effort that has been underway since 2002 to promote the conservation of fishery resources and the use of locally and domestically caught seafood in restaurants.
Sustainable seafood refers to fish that are caught or farmed with consideration for the long-term viability of individual marine species and for the oceans’ […]

It’s no secret that munching on locally grown food can greatly reduce your impact on the environment. The average U.S. meal travels 1500 miles from source to plate, which causes an unnecessarily large carbon footprint because of all the transportation. Every time you buy something grown in the Charleston-area, you are choosing to eliminate your […]