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 [...]

A big part of charting our family’s progress is keeping track of the “since we’ve used” items (3 years since we’ve used paper napkins, 2.5 years since we’ve used plastic bags, 2 years since we’ve used bottled water, etc). There seem to be many things that end of up in the landfill after once use, [...]

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 [...]

Local businesses, organizations, people, growers, and movements are the heart and soul of every local green scene. The Go Green Local Guide is a great place to look for local eco-friendly options (check the sidebar…down and to the right → ↓ ) Lately we’ve had local food on the brain, so I was able to [...]

Eating locally produced food is a key ingredient to a sustainable future. The authors of Plenty learned that while eating only food from local farmers can be rewarding and delicious, it was also exstremely difficult in our world of Magellean-like meals.  Lowcountry Local First advocates for all local businesses, and knows that true sustainabilty requires all [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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, [...]

Many years ago as a professional ballet dancer, I carried my ballet shoes in a string bag. My pointe shoes needed air after those long rehearsals. I remember shopping with a fellow dancer and watching her dump out her shoes in the car and then refill her mesh bag with apples and oranges. My current [...]

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 be able [...]

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 can be impossible [...]

Back in January, we asked a simple question: What was your top green resolution for 2008? As the early votes came in, the energy-related choices were slightly ahead. But as time went on, the choice became clear — Charleston, you want to buy local food and products! Out of 130 respondents, 20% of you resolved [...]

A great way to reduce your environmental impact is to practice a sustainable lifestyle – and that includes eating locally. Our meals travel an average of 1500 miles, and that’s a whole lot of trucks, boxes, coolers, and packaging – we can’t keep that up forever. We’ve got it good here in Charleston – long [...]

No, this isn’t a local version of The Biggest Loser… It is an effort of a nonprofit that I volunteer with to ease hunger in the Lowcountry and discourage food waste. The mission of Fields to Families is to help increase nutrition to the area hungry by coordinating distribution of fresh produce obtained from local [...]

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 [...]

If you’re trying to green up this decidedly orange holiday, walk right past those huge boxes of pumpkins at the grocery store and head out to Boone Hall Plantation. There you can pick a pumpkin right from the soil it was grown in, rather than right from the box it was shipped in. This is [...]