Like a lot of you, we try to buy local seasonal food as often as possible. Sometimes when cruising the Farmers Market or Whole Foods, it’s hard to tell what is actually seasonal AND local. And then there’s the problem of what to do with certain items, as any participant in the Ambrose CSA will [...]

November is a great time for composting – the sudden influx of pumpkins and leaves will make your backyard pile a happy place. If you’ve been wanting to start a compost pile, now is definitely the time. It’s like you can actually take Fall and stuff it in your pile! Take those pumpkins, break them [...]

Even though we haven’t used a ton of our black gold bounty, we continue to add more and more organic waste to the family compost pile. We’ve been at it for many moons now, and it’s so much a part of our routine that I can’t imagine throwing our excess food into the garbage. One [...]

Thank goodness for the wonderful stores and markets where I am able to conveniently purchase food for myself and my family. I am being sincere. Thank you Whole Foods, thank you Harris Teeter, thank you Mt. Pleasant Farmer’s Market, thank you CSA, the Norman’s really need you. Without you, we would starve, as my bleak [...]

Zoe and I had the absolute pleasure of volunteering a few hours of our time for Fields to Families. I was introduced to this non-profit through two of Chad’s coworkers, who are on the board, and I instantly wanted to help. After looking at my schedule and capabilities, I decided helping at a booth at [...]

The Sustainability Institute has been chosen as the Whole Foods Market 5% nonprofit recipient for Tuesday, March 31st. The Whole Foods 5% Day project is part of the company’s community giving program, and does a great job supporting local nonprofits around the country. If you want to support The Sustainability Instititute, be sure to stop [...]

Buy Local Week is upon us, and Lowcountry Local First is on the case! They are sponsoring several events this week to raise awareness around local businesses, growers, and manufacturers located here in the Lowcountry. Supporting the local community is a huge part of going green, as it reduces the carbon footprint of our purchased [...]

If you’re already composting, then you know this is the most bountiful time of year for your pile – the greens and browns are everywhere, especially if you carved pumpkins. If you don’t have a compost pile, then think about starting one – this is the best time! Composting is all about managing the balance [...]

As most of you know, buying local food is one of the best things you can do to lead a more sustainable life. Fresh food travels an average of 2000 miles to reach our plates, which means eating locally grown food can really make an impact. To bring awareness to local businesses and growers, Lowcountry [...]

The College of Charleston is a not only a huge asset to the city, but a big influence on local trends and culture. That’s why I’m excited to see this video roundup of steps they’ve taken to provide a more sustainable dining experience to students. They eliminated trays that needed washing, switched to biodegradable food [...]

This Sunday, October 26th, the SC Aquarium will be hosting the 5th Annual Sustainable Seafood Festival at the Charleston Maritime Center. The festival celebrates the sustainability of our local seafood, one of the many green advantages we have here in the Charleston-area. This is a great chance to have some fun AND get your green [...]

Our foray into cleaning with vinegar has been great, so I thought I’d share some of the cool things I’ve learned: Vinegar is as old as dirt. Not really, but vinegar has been a part of human life for 10,000 years. Hippocrates used apple cider vinegar for its many healing properties. 1 cup of vinegar, [...]

Have you noticed the new captions in the produce department of Harris Teeter? Cute handwritten bubble signs announcing, “locally grown.” No kidding. Cabbages, collards, mustard greens, peaches, grape tomatoes, and others display their hometown pride. It is reassuring that a regional, but large, grocery store is utilizing the farms here in the Carolinas. The shipping [...]

Yes, pop the organic champagne and fire up the fair trade jug band — the compost pile we began last fall is fruitful — literally. Our table scraps haven’t gone to Bee’s Ferry for months now, and instead their worm-riddled nutrient-rich remains are ready to be mixed back into our gardens and flowerbeds. I’ve known [...]

I have enjoyed being a member of CSA. Serving meals made with fresh local produce made me proud. As I continue to learn as a homemaker, I realize that the meals I prepare impact our environment. Not only did I learn about different veggies, I tried new recipes. Sure, the beet chips didn’t work out [...]

A couple months ago, we asked our readers how they were buying local food. With oil prices at an all-time-high, cooking with locally grown food can greatly reduce your impact on the environment (and save some serious cash too!) We had 99 respondents at the time of this writing, and over 40% were shopping at [...]

I am now an Ambrose Family Farm CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) member. On Wednesday evening, I picked up the first summer harvest from a volunteer’s home in Park West, Mt. Pleasant. We emptied the box and filled one of my canvas bags with cobs of corn, onions, carrots, yellow and green squash, cucumbers, beets, kale, [...]

Green, green, green, green…Spring is here, and everything is green. I love it, but my compost pile likes brown too. That’s why I took the opportunity after last week’s hail storm to rake up all the green leaves that were in my yard. But instead of putting them directly into the pile, I am letting [...]

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, [...]

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 an [...]