Nature and WildernessAlaska Wilderness League leads the effort to preserve wild lands and waters in Alaska. I’ve served on their board and worked with them on many campaigns to keep oil drilling out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Their work is particularly important right now, as the Trump Administration has set its sights on opening the refuge to drilling, which would destroy habitat for millions of animals, including calving caribou and denning polar bears.

Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance has successfully helped protect wilderness lands in the heart of the Colorado Plateau. I worked with them to help create the 2.3 million acre Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Now they’re battling to keep that region off limits to development, along with the gorgeous Bears Ears National Monument. If you love the wild, wild West, support SUWA!

Center for Biological Diversity proclaims their mission simply but boldly: Saving life on Earth. Right now, the group is fighting to protect elephants, wolves and bears, and make sure the effective Endangered Species Act is not abolished.

The Jane Goodall Institute works to inspire people to “conserve the natural world we all share,” thereby improving the lives of people, animals and the environment. “Everything is connected–everyone can make a difference.” I should note that Jane Goodall inspired me to become a conservationist when I was just a young girl. She continues to inspire and motivate me!

Climate Change

Moms Clean Air Force is mobilizing one million parents, especially moms, to help stop climate change, advance clean energy, and protect the air we breathe. I’m proud to say I’ve been a member for years, and have written dozens of articles for them on climate science, plastics and toxic chemicals, and more.

By the way, Moms Clean Air Force made my list of “5 Trustworthy Climate Change News Sources You May Not Know About.” What are the others?

Chesapeake Climate Action Network has devoted the last 10 years to fighting global warming, mountaintop removal, coal mining, and fracking while advocating for solar and wind power. They’re doing a great job protecting the nation’s Chesapeake Bay region and one of the most important estuaries in the United States.

Toxic Chemicals

Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families is leading the charge to protect families from toxic chemicals. In a recent major victory, they persuaded seven major retailers to commit to reduce their use of toxic chemicals in products and packaging. Yay!womens

Womens Voices for the Earth researches the impact that toxic chemicals in women’s hygiene and home cleaning products have on women’s health, then mounts campaigns to pressure manufacturers to clean up those products. They’re tackling some of the most toxic chemicals in the everyday products we buy – and helping to get rid of them!

Savvy Women’s Alliance is creating a national network of community chapters for people who want to live non-toxic lives. The group offers regular healthy living tips and many other resources to help you get off the bad stuff and onto the good stuff.

Family Planning

Planned Parenthood is on the list because they provide essential reproductive services and birth control that help limit population growth. Population growth has huge environmental impacts – more people mean greater demand for natural resources which leads to more consumption and waste. Climate change, water scarcity, air pollution are all linked to population growth. Planned Parenthood directly benefits women and Mother Nature both.

Environmental Justice

Dig Deep brings an essential natural resource to thousands of Americans who don’t have it: clean water. As hard as that is to believe, it’s true. Families living across the western US don’t have indoor plumbing or clean water to drink. Dig Deep is changing that by helping these communities dig wells and create low-cost systems that bring safe, hot and cold water into homes, schools and community centers.

I took Dig Deep’s 4 Liters Challenge and lived on 4 liters of water – only 1 gallon- for just one day. Could you do it? Read all about it here. 

Plastic Free

The Plastic Pollution Coalition is on a mission to stop plastic pollution and its toxic impact on humans, animals, and the environment. It’s mobilized a coalition of 500 member organizations, plus many individuals, that is working to find sustainable solutions to stop plastic pollution and empower you and me to list plastic-free.

Want to consider other organizations for Giving Tuesday? Check out Great Non Profits, a non-profit itself that makes it easy to find organizations doing good work on the issues you care about most.

You can skip to their list of environmental groups by clicking here.

Once you’re on the site, you can also easily find charities working to stop fracking, protect animals, safeguard clean water, and more.

Thanks for giving!

The post Can You Give to Just One of These 12 Eco Charities On Giving Tuesday? appeared first on Big Green Purse.

How do you celebrate Easter? At our house, it’s a time to enjoy the rebirth of Nature, the renewal of our spirits, and the arrival of a long-anticipated Spring. We try hard not to get caught up in the commercialization of this holiday and don’t go overboard making big flashy Easter baskets or buying lots of junk. This year, I’m getting new ideas for green Easter decorations and treats from my green sister bloggers, who offer a wide variety of thoughtful ways to make green Easter meaningful.

Green Easter Tips

Lisa at Retro Housewife Goes Green suggests several natural alternatives to conventional egg dying – including using red cabbage and onions, and dying ceramic eggs for veganistas.

Kristina at the Greening of Westford offers a very useful, step-by-step guide for dying eggs using spinach, blueberries, coffee and chili powder. One smart suggestion: make the dyes early in the morning or even the day before. Another, especially for someone like me who is somewhat artistically challenged: wrap rubber bands around the eggs to make stripes and other designs on the eggs when you dye them.

If you don’t want to deal with dying eggs at all, how about covering them? Lisa at Condo Blues uses Japanese Washi paper to cover her eggs, something I think I’ll try this year after seeing a picture of how Lisa’s eggs turned out (photo left)

Ronnie at Eco Nesting has done something similar with beautiful old silk ties her father-in-law gave her. I never would have thought to use fabric like that, but it makes perfect sense!

If you prefer to give your kids small gifts rather than baskets filled with candy, Lisa at Retro Housewife Goes Green offers a few suggestions here.

Speaking of candy alternatives, check out Trina’s post at O’BoyOrganic. She and her husband put together Easter baskets full of toys and books that their boys can play with over and over.

Amanda of The EcoFriendly Family also suggests looking outside the candy aisle for items to tuck into an Easter basket, like natural bubble bath and beeswax crayons.

Michelle at Everything’s Abuzz suggests several fun and easy ways to green your kids’ Easter baskets. Here’s one useful tip: replace plastic “grass” with shredded paper from home, or buy grass made from recycled paper.

Brenna at Almost All the Truth has some smart suggestions for natural Easter baskets and toys, too. I appreciate the links to the organic chocolate bunnies!

Speaking of bunnies, don’t miss this sweet story of the bunnies that grew up under Karen’s back stoop over at Best of Mother Earth.

Shane at Environmental Booty gets her girls making crafts at Easter, especially if it overlaps with spring
break and the kids need something to do other than watch TV. Here’s a photo of the Easter Bunny change purse her daughter made out of recycled juice boxes. I never would have thought of that!

If you really want to get crafty, there’s a link to decorations you can knit in my Big Green Purse blog on making Easter Earth-friendly.

Meanwhile, Amber at Strocel.com also recycles at Easter, from decorations to Easter baskets. “My kids have had the same Easter baskets for years,” she reports. “During the year they live in a closet, and every Easter we leave them out for the Easter Bunny, like we leave out our stockings at Christmas.”

Betsy at Eco-Novice makes food the centerpiece of her Easter celebration. This year, she’s planning on serving up whole-grain pancakes topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream. Check out her blog to get the recipe.

Diane at Turning the Clock Back recommends shopping second hand if you need spiffy duds to wear to church or to dinner. This is especially good advice if you have small kids who will only wear a frilly dress or fancy pants this one time this year.

How do you celebrate Easter? Let us know!

The post “Green” Easter appeared first on Big Green Purse.

By the time they were five and seven, they could hike all day — as long as we included picnics, tree climbing, rock skipping, tag and other games to keep them engaged and their minds off what they were actually doing: walking up a big hill, then walking down again.We also bicycled to local parks, visited horse stables, went to the zoo, and prowled the botanic garden. Going with friends whose kids were the same age as ours made it more fun for us all.

During several spring breaks, we camped at Cinnamon Bay in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It’s a wonderfully safe place where children can flit about wild as birds and find endless fascination in hermit crabs, land iguanas, bats, and the myriad fish they see when they snorkel. My son eventually joined the Boy Scouts. My daughter became a dancer and a musician as she entered middle school, but we still made it a point to go hiking as a family a few times a year.

One summer, we spent a week white-water rafting, kayaking, rock climbing and rappelling in West Virginia’s New River Gorge. I was thrilled that everyone was so “unplugged” from commercial culture and “tuned in” to the environment. Our last night, my son built a roaring fire so we could make s’mores. My daughter threw a few small logs on the coals, toasted her treat, then casually bid everyone a contented good night. When I checked on her a little while later, I found her snuggled up in the tent, her sleeping bag over her head, a mischievous smile on her face. She was plugged into her iPod, watching an old episode of The OC.

So…the best laid plans! I took solace in the fact that she was still under the stars…and doesn’t a beach figure into The OC somewhere?

How do YOU keep yourself and your kids connected to Nature? Here’s how the members of the Green Moms Carnival do it, courtesy of The Green Phone Booth.

The post I took her camping; she took her iPod. appeared first on Big Green Purse.

“One of the sweetest things about children is that when you get their attention, it is 100 percent.  They aren’t thinking about politics, or what bills are due, or planning a million things in their head.  Nope, they are just in the here and now.

Likewise, if you explain to children why you want to conserve water, protect habitats, or keep bees healthy they’re also right with you.  They don’t calculate costs, or party affiliation, or what their friends might think.  Kids are natural conservationists.

Here are some fun ways you can explore conservation with your children for Earth Day or any day:

Make a Date: Check the online event calendars for your local science center, arboretum, zoo, aquarium, or nature center.  These calendars are full of fun days that make an average excursion unforgettable, and the focus is nearly all on hopeful conservation.  They also often list kid camps, classes, and volunteer opportunities for teens.  Look for ways to get your kids engaged by touching, feeling, learning, and helping.

Grow with a Purpose: Plant a garden this year with a lifecycle and habitat in mind.  For lifecycle growing, have your kids help you start and maintain a compost pile(which in itself is fascinating science at work!) that prepares and feeds your garden.  Also, encourage your children to help you plant and keep up native flowering plants for the bees and trees, with seeds and other fruits for birds and little tree critters, plus your vegetables – all organic, of course!

Bee Happy: Get into beekeeping.  It’s one of the fastest growing hobbies right now, and importnat giving the way bee populations are dying, a likely consequence of industrial pesticide and herbicide use.  Have your children learn with you about the necessity of bees, how to take care of them in a non-toxic way, and set up and take care of the bee hives together.  Enjoy delicious honey as a reward.  Check with your local municipality for any ordinances or permits.

Entertain for Good: There are a lot of television, film, and print resources that educate on conservation, the environment, and nature in a fun and entertaining way that kids embrace. Examples include the Ranger Rick Magazine from the National Wildlife Federation, Disneynature films like “Earth” and “African Cats,” and the captivating Discovery Channel series “Life” narrated by Oprah Winfrey which is now available on DVD or through a subscription service like Netflix.

Put on Your Flip-Flops: If you are going on vacation this summer, pick a beachside getaway that coincides with a local beach cleanup day.  Heal the Bay and Surfrider Foundation are great resources.  Your kids will spend two inspirational hours helping nature – and they’ll think twice about where trash goes after that!

Pump Up the Tires: Dust off your bikes and peddle to the local store or explore bike paths to make conserving energy fun.   You will be surprised how much kids enjoy biking and the diversity you will find outside your car window.  To find safer biking routes, if you go to Google Maps, type in your city and state, and then click on “Get Directions,” and you’ll see a bicycle path layer that clues you into designated safe bike paths in your area.  Many states also list nearby recreational bicycle paths for weekend adventures – do a browser search.”

Terra Wellington is the author of The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home (St. Martin’s Press).  Her family finds a lot of fun in cleaning up Southern California beaches, especially when it includes an ice cream treat!

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