Healthy foods challenge

Our newest club challenge/goal is to eat healthier foods and be aware of what we are putting into our bodies.

Some tips:
- If you want, keep a food journal for a day or a week or for all two weeks before we meet again and write down any ingredients you've never heard of.

- Try to eat food that includes ingredients you know are wholesome, which is easiest if you eat things that don't come in packaging.

- Shop the perimeter of the store to find real food, rather than packaged food.

- Try to eat organically or locally--shop in the organic section of the grocery store or go to the Farmer's Market Saturday morning.

- Read ingredients labels and avoid the following: hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners or preservatives, bleached or bromated flour, any ingredients that you aren't familiar with and/or can't pronounce.

- Eat mostly vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

- Avoid refined sugars and candy. (How and Why)

- Enjoy one meatless day during the next two weeks to reduce your meat consumption and your environmental footprint. (MeatlessMonday.com)

- Don't restrict yourself too much. Choose one thing to start with, like avoiding high fructose corn syrup. Then slowly add more things to avoid/be aware of until you are eating mostly healthy, wholesome, nutritious foods. Otherwise, you'll burn out on the whole challenge by realizing how difficult it is to avoid all of the bad foods. Start small.

Try to keep this in mind for the next two weeks so we can have a discussion about the challenges we've faced at our next meeting on February 12.

ACE: Alliance for Climate Education

As you may be aware, our club will be participating in an event presented by ACE (Alliance for Climate Education) . Our club will be creating a set of questions or ideas for classroom discussions that the science classes can use after seeing the presentation in May. We will see the presentation in February on the 18th, so we will have an idea of what kinds of questions would be good to ask.

We also received a packet of background concepts, comprehension questions and terms. It will be very useful in helping us think of questions to create for the science classes. I can scan the packet and email it to you all. I think we should all have a copy by February 18 so we can have some background knowledge before watching the presentation.

To get a better sense of the presentation, here are some of the terms and questions listed:
- greenhouse gas
- greenhouse effect
- human-caused greenhouse effect
- fossil fuel
- atmospheric concentration
- emissions
- carbon footprint
- What does the ozone layer have to do with global warming?
- Name four of the main natural greenhouse gasses.
- Where do fossil fuels come from and how are they created?

From their website:

"ACE performs 45-60 minute interactive assembly presentations for high school
students that explain global climate change and its effect on our planet, while
offering solutions. Our program is scientifically based, interactive and
energizing - and we present it at no cost to schools."

I encourage you to look through the organization's website at http://www.acespace.org/. There are ways to "take action" and learn more about climate change. They even have a blog! I told you guys blogs are cool :-)

Volunteering at the Alviso Adobe

If you've never been to the Alviso Adobe Community Park, you're missing out on a real nature opportunity! Located on the site of the old Meadowlark Dairy (where the actual dairy itself was located, not the drive-thru) and the restored Alviso Adobe building, this interpretive nature center is run by the City of Pleasanton's naturalist, Eric Nicholas. For more information about the park, visit the website here.

Eric Nicholas puts on day classes and presentations throughout the year, as well as present to elementary schools about the Ohlone Indians and the natural world. Most events at the Alviso cost money, somewhere around $10 each depending on the event. They're interesting and full of information about nature and history.

To find out more about activities offered at the park, check out the Winter/Spring 2010 Activities Guide. You should have receieved a copy in the mail, but if not, there's a digital copy found here. Hit Ctrl + F to search "Eric Nicholas." You can search through the classes he offers. Two that I am attending are "Prehistoric Art" on February 20 and "Tools from the Ancient World" on March 27. There's a registration page at the end of the guide that you can print, fill out and turn in with your fee to the Parks and Rec department. Additional information can be found in the guide. While many of the opportunities at the park cost money, there's one that certainly doesn't: volunteering! There's always opportunities to garden or help Eric with something for a class, etc. For example:

Garden Chores
All ages
Come up to the Alviso Adobe Community Park and lend a helping hand. It’s a new park, with new plants, and that means new chores. Be a steward of the land as we plant, water and weed the garden. Native plants help native animals find food and shelter, so stop by and sift the soil through your fingers . . . it’ll be good for your soul. Please call (925) 931-3483 to book a time to volunteer.
Saturdays Weekly, Year-round 10:00-11:00am Free!
Alviso Adobe Community Park Instructor: Eric Nicholas

And if you need service hours or want to help in other ways, you can email volunteers@museumonmain.org and let them know you're interested in helping out at the Alviso Adobe.

I was thinking it would be a great club project to plan a Saturday to go up there and volunteer in the garden. I will arrange with Eric when that would be best. Please email me if you're interested in attending so I can let him know how many people to plan for. Also let me know which Saturdays in the coming weeks you would not be able to attend. We would be volunteering from 10-11 A.M.

For more about the park and its events, check out these links:

- Alviso Adobe Community Park (Wikipedia)

- Autumn leaves and graveyard stories (a post from my blog in which I mention an activity I participated in at the park)

- Native plant uses class (a detailed account of a class I attended at the park)

- Observing Ridge Runners (a post about the summer camp Eric Nicholas runs and for which I wrote an article)

A historic dairy display inside the recreated dairy building.

A nature display of skins and tools that may be used during a presentation about the Ohlone Indians.

A feather and ink calligraphy activity at the grand opening of the Alviso Adobe Community Park on October 24, 2008. (Pictured on right: Kelsey, an 8th grader at HPMS. She will probably join E-Club next year as a freshman. Check out her animal blog here.)

Bulletin Green Tip #4: Create recycled Valentine's Day cards

This Valentine's Day, show your love for the Earth while showing your love for friends and family: create a Valentine's Day card of recycled or reused materials or make your own to avoid purchasing a wasteful card from the store.

Whenever we purchase something that can otherwise be hand-made, we tell corporations that we support what they're doing and we increase demand for those products, when we otherwise could be decreasing our reliance on the corporate world. It increases the amount of trees cut down to make cards, the amount of plastic used to laminate those cards, quantities of ink used, transportation and fuel usage, and many other things that can be damaging to the environment in such a large-scale operation. Don't you wonder how many cards go unused and unpurchased every year? There are so many cards being produced for Hallmark, Walgreens, Walmart, Target--there's no way they're all used. Most of them are not recyclable.

Nice Hallmark cards can show someone that you care enough to spend money for a card and can seem like a better gesture than making a card yourself. It's become part of our culture to associate spending with appreciation or how much you care, and that's often not the case considering it's much easier to buy a card and sign it than you for you to come up with an idea, create a card, and write your own thoughts.

Sometimes, of course, it may not be appropriate to make a card, especially when it's for a professional or business reason. However, Valentine's Day is a time to show others how much you appreciate, care for, and love them. Creating a card is a great way to show that you care enough to take the time to make something special for them.

Even if you don't use recycled materials, you are at least reducing the demand (however slightly) for more unnecessary cards to be produced. You may be reducing the amount of gasoline burned to get the finished product to your Valentine (if you reuse, especially if it's something like a local paper you're reusing). Plus, decorating a card is a lot more fun than simply signing your name!

Some materials you could use to make your card:

- Newspaper/magazine: Find an article or picture in your used paper or magazine that relates to something your Valentine is interested in and use it as a decorative aspect of your card. Or, create a collage of pictures and words--you could even write your message this way. You would have otherwise just recycled the paper or magazine, so you might as well give it a second life as a Valentine!

- Used tissue paper, wrapping paper, and other gift wrap items, like bows: They've already been used for one purpose, so now use them again--plus, they're colorful!

- Torn, worn, or otherwise unreadable old books: This makes for a unique, interesting, readable Valentine card. If you have a book that's literally falling apart at the bindings, take it apart and find some interesting passages in the book to use as a background for your card. Supplement with construction paper for structure and color.

- Draw a picture: Even if your artistic skills are negligible, drawing a picture says a lot about how much you appreciate someone.

This website has some more great ideas for recycled Valentine's Day cards, along with design ideas. If you have any suggestions, feel free to post a comment including your idea. At our next meeting (February 12), we will make some recycled Valentine's Day cards, so bring in some materials to do so.

Science on Saturdays

Starting January 30 (tomorrow), there will be "a five-week series of lectures and demonstrations intended for middle and high school students" relating to science.

Three of the events relate to the environment:

The February 13 event is titled "Put it back when you are done: Storing carbon dioxide in the earth, not the atmosphere" and will be presented by Roger Aines, a scientist from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and Ken Wedel, a teacher at Tracy High School.

February 20's event is titled "Understanding climate change: seeing the carbon through the trees," and will be presented by Karis McFarlane, a LLNL scientist, and Dean Reese, a Tracy High School teacher.

And finally, on February 27, there will be an event on "Harnessing fusion energy: the power of light" by Ed Moses, a LLNL scientist. It would be great if you guys attended one or all of these and reported back to the club about what you learned--you could even write a blog post about it!

The series is held at The Bankhead Theater located at 2400 First Street in Livermore. The events are free and, for each event, there are two presentations of it on the same day. The first starts at 9:30 A.M. and the second starts at 11:15 A.M. The presentations are an hour long and seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so get there early! No pre-registration is required.

Some teachers give extra credit for attending, so check with your teachers if you plan on going. The events are always fascinating because the scientists who work with and have extensive knowledge on the issues are the ones presenting. At the end, there is an opportunity to ask them questions. For more information about the Science on Saturdays series, visit their website at http://education.llnl.gov/sos/?page=home.

(If you do plan on going, let us know. We can let others in the club know that you're attending and perhaps you could carpool or at least sit together at the event.)

"Flow" Film Showing

Our club is planning a showing of the documentary Flow sometime this semester. The film won multiple awards at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and tells the story of our current water crisis. The topic relates to people everywhere, and we thought it would be a useful, inspiring, and informative movie to present to the Pleasanton community.

We will show the film for free in the multipurpose room and possibly sell popcorn or cookies at the event to raise funds for the club and help offset the cost of renting the MP. It will be open to the public and we would encourage teachers to give extra credit to students who attend. The event will be all about raising awareness for the issue the movie discusses.

Here's a link to the trailer: http://www.flowthefilm.com/trailer

From the movie's website:
"Irena Salina's award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis.

Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question 'CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?'

Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround."

For more information on the film, please visit the website at http://www.flowthefilm.com/.

Mohr Garden Project Work Day 1 - Pulling up old plants

At 9:30 this morning, students, parents and a creative science teacher gathered at a local elementary school to begin the process of getting some planter areas ready for a new garden. Task #1: Remove the old plants that have been there for many years.

One of the Environmental Club Co-Presidents (left), a club member, and a student obtaining her service hours working on the section of garden that will become a drought-resistant/native plant garden.

Today, we focused on three areas that will be converted into different types of gardens. The new garden club will be designing and maintaining the gardens with the help of adult volunteers and our club.

This area will become a flower garden.

The day was spent digging out and pulling up the old plants, searching for hidden roots, and saving worms, ladybugs and frogs that were disturbed by our activites. Most worms and ladybugs went into other areas that weren't going to be eradicated, but some worms found themselves in front of Betty, the science class turtle. Frogs were brought to quiet areas on the other side of the building.

The Environmental Club Secretary separating branches from dirt after all the plants had been pulled out.

Fortunately there was a great turn out; many high school students helped out to acquire their service hours necessary to graduate, and lots of parents showed up with their children, helping get some of the larger bushes and stubborn plants out. It was a very productive day, but there is still a lot that needs to be done before planting can begin.

A club member, a high-school student, and our other Co-President working to pull out a stubborn plant.

This area will become an edible vegetable garden.

The drought-resistant/native plant area free of bushes.Thanks to all the club members who came to help out!

Bulletin Green Tip #4: Reduce fireplace use to reduce pollution

This time of year, a fire in the fireplace is tradition. Since the dawn of mankind, we have been using fireplaces to warm ourselves and to cook meals. Back when the earth's population was smaller, using fire for heat everyday was great and innovative for many centuries.

Unfortunately, our population has grown exponentially, and burning fires contributes to air pollution. Try to use your fireplace as seldom as possible, and especially on spare-the-air days opt to use a heater or pile on the blankets (considering it is illegal to burn fires on spare-the-air days!) Some are upset that Christmas was a spare-the-air day this year, but it wasn't just some Scrooge regulators trying to ruin holiday traditions--the air quality that day was terrible, and to allow burning would have put everyone's health--especially those with conditions like asthma--at risk.

Also, a study found that using a fireplace to warm your house is really inefficient. According to this article on Yahoo! Green, "Another estimate found that for every $100 you spend on firewood, you get only $10 to $20 worth of heat. The traditional fireplace only warms your heart, not the room."

From the same site:
"If you upgrade to a woodstove, make sure to follow the EPA's advice:

• Burn only dry, well-seasoned wood.
• Never burn household garbage or cardboard.
• Keep the doors of the wood-burning appliance closed.
• Install and maintain a smoke alarm.
• Install and maintain a carbon monoxide detector."

If you want that fireplace feel, there are electric fake fireplaces that you can purchase that don't emit the same type or quantity of pollution. Or put tall candles in the fireplace on a nice stand for a more subdued decorative fire.

A realistic-looking electric fireplace.
On a related note, if you don't use your fireplace, then plug and seal the chimney flue so that heat won't escape from your home.

Happy Winter!

Mohr garden project update

Hey everyone!

So I just got an update from Ms. Conley, and she said that the timing for Saturday Jan, 16 is 9:30 AM to 12:30. Bring gloves, water (reusable water bottles! woo!) to drink, lunch/snacks (if you wish) and tools if you can. They only have a few shovels, hoes, rakes etc.

Hope to see you there!

AVHS Environmental Club officers

Mohr garden project first work day

AVHS Environmental Club is going to be assisting Mohr Elementary School with its new garden! This is a very exciting opportunity for us to connect with the younger students and inspire them to appreciate nature and gardening.

The first work day will be Saturday, January 16. For those of you interested in helping out, please email the club at avhsenvironmental@yahoo.com.

Plan on wearing things that can get dirty and maybe bring some work gloves (we'll be using shovels, pulling up plants, etc.). If you have friends who need service hours/want to help, let them know about this opportunity and have them email us.

Bulletin Green Tip #3: Turn down your thermostat.

Wintertime means colder weather and resultant heaters blasting warm air into homes. Heaters can mean a lot of energy usage and high electricity bills. Reduce both by turning the thermostat down a couple degrees. Grab a blanket and bundle up in warm clothes to make up for it. It's always best to stay below 70 degrees, and when it isn't super cold outside, keep it lower. Don't forget to turn it down during the day when no one's home.For more thermostat tips to saving energy, check out this article.