Embracing the Good News for Planet Earth: Environmentally Friendly Christmas

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family

all wrapped up in each other.”

Christmas greetings from afar!  I hope you all are having a wonderful fall time and that the transition into winter isn’t too harsh.  For this month we decided to give you all a brief list of ways to make your Christmas more “green” both in helping save this wonderful earth we call home, as well as perhaps saving you some ‘‘green” in your pocket book.

I challenge you to just adopt one new environmentally friendly practice this holiday season.  Gift the earth for all it has provided you!

v  Natural decorations and scents: instead of spending money on candles and sprays to make your house smell like Christmas, try using natural decoration and scents … use pine cones, simmer oranges on the stove, or bake…cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves signal Christmas for many of us.

v  Reusable and not disposable: at your holiday party break out the dishes and cloth napkins, or ask people to bring their own. Think about how many plastic cups you use at all your holiday parties! 

v  Holiday cards: Redesign cards to make new cards, gift tags, glue onto plain gift bags, and more!

v  Wrapping paper:  instead of buying expensive wrapping paper use newspapers (the Sunday comics pages are great), junk mail, magazines, reusable shopping bags, or even old fabric (outgrown clothes) to wrap presents.  Children love getting creative. Challenge them to see who can be the most creative - break out the paint and markers!

v  Gifts: Make a list and check it twice, combine shopping trips or combine purchases online, re-gift (don’t we all have a pile of things we don’t EVER use!).  Gifts don’t have to be store bought - some of the most meaningful gifts are homemade or handcrafted.  Visit local vintage or thrift stores, consider alternative gifts like those mentioned in the November OCN article.

v  Trees: consider buying a real tree that you can plant outside when the holidays are over, recycle your live tree by donating it to the Department of Conservation (free curbside pickup), or if you buy an artificial tree or lights, make sure they are Energy Star Certified.

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.

~Native American Proverb

I hope this may help inspire you to make one change as this Christmas season approaches. And, I hope to see many of you around Christmas, as I will be back for a couple of weeks!  Kaitlyn

Embracing the Good News for Planet Earth: November

“Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”

Most of us have heard this famous proverb.  For those committed to finding pathways that promote more just economic systems that are sustainable, its simple wisdom is easily recognizable.  It speaks to the idea of alleviating poverty by facilitating self-sufficiency.

Supporting Fair Trade practices throughout the world is an excellent way to accomplish just that; alleviate poverty by facilitating self-sufficiency.  It truly is a “hand up, not a hand out.”  Not to be confused with “free trade,” fair trade is a system of economic exchange that allows people living in poverty, primarily in the developing world, to receive a living wage for their labor, and to build strong, thriving businesses that alleviate distress in their local communities.  What’s more, the standards they set often promote safe, healthy working conditions, protect the environment through ecologically sound methods, enable transparency, and empower communities in ways that can permanently break the cycle of generational poverty.  Fairly Traded goods typically reach our markets through ethical companies that exist almost entirely for the purpose of promoting and encouraging these practices.  Often these companies make an initial investment in factories and farms that provide safe working environments, and then ship their produce and finished goods to be sold in the developed world at a fair price comparable to those manufactured domestically.  The profits they receive are then reinvested into the communities that produced them so that workers are ethically compensated, and business owners are adequately supported.  These communities are subsequently transformed by the labor of those who worked to make a better way of life for themselves.  “Learning to fish,” in other words, they feed themselves for a lifetime.

I share this with you because, as you know, Olivet has supported Fair Trade practices for many years in various forms.  I have, likewise, made Fair Trade a major focal point of my own ministry over the past decade.  On Sunday, November 20^th, OCC’s Outreach Committee will again sponsor our annual Fair Trade Fair in an effort to not only give our faith community the opportunity to shop ethically and compassionately this Christmas season, but to also educate us still further about the important benefits of buying Fair Trade items.  As the holidays approach, I encourage you to consider reserving a portion of your Christmas spending for purchasing Fairly Traded goods.  You will have the opportunity to do so, not only at Olivet, but throughout our community and on-line.  With a little intentionality, you can turn your holiday cash into a just way of life for many living in poverty throughout the world.  You can shop ethically and compassionately in ways that give people hope.  My prayer is that we all find such ways to make the Christmas season a time when our hopeful expectations for a better, more loving world become tangible realities.  After all, that’s what Christmas is really all about.    

Blessings of Peace,

wes     

Alternative Holiday Gifts

“This certifies you to 1 story read aloud (your choice)”

“This certifies you to 1 hour of indoor play (your choice)”

“This certifies you to 1 general clean-up of room”

I recently came across a little booklet of ‘gift certificates’ handmade by my daughter when she was very young.  They were stapled between two pieces of red construction paper – the cover read “Merry Christmas LAURA!” 

Together we enjoyed using those certificates and she learned at an early age that gifts aren’t limited to ‘stuff’ – gifts of time, skills and service are very important too.

As you begin to make plans to honor family and friends during the seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas, consider a variety of alternative gifts:

Gifts of time, skills or service …

Time … make special time for a relative or friend…have lunch together, visit a park, museum, art gallery, go to a concert or sports event, work on a project together

Skills … gift of lessons – art, cooking, music, needlework, woodworking, sports or camping program fees

Service … work on a community project with friends; help someone with yard work or household projects

Make donations in honor of friends & family to organizations which are meaningful to them.

Heifer International and Church World Service offer online gift catalogs which provide good ways to involve children in gift giving.  As part of your Christmas gift to grandchildren or other little ones, allow them a certain amount of funds and let them choose which animals of other tools to provide for a family in need.

Heifer Project International … www.heifer.org

“Heifer Sampler”…. Flock of chicks, $20; Gift of honeybees, $30, Trio of rabbits, $60

Church World Service Best Gift Catalog …. www.cwsbestgift.org

“CWS Sampler” … Blanket, $10; Seeds & Tools, $25; 1 meter of a Shallow Borehole Well, $30

Fair Trade items – shop the Fair Trade Bazaar that will be sponsored by our Outreach committee on Sunday, November 20 with gift items from Community United Methodist Church’s Fair Trade store: jewelry, scarves, ornaments & other seasonal decorations, coffee, chocolate & more.

 

Handcrafted gifts – jams, jellies, pickles, relishes, baked goods, needlecraft items, wood crafted items, art work, pottery and more…whether handcrafted by you or another artisan

Enjoy giving alternative gifts for any occasion.

…Sustainable Living Steering Committee

August and September Recipe Challenge Winners

Thank you to all of our wonderful summer/fall recipes that were submitted for our contest.  I hope you all enjoy the flavors of the season!

Kale/Basil Salad

(Courtesy of Adam from the Center for Urban Agriculture, Columbia, MO- Submitted by Linda Graue)

Slice Kale (discard stems) thinly.  This recipe works best with curly Kale.

Chop Basil (Thai Basil is wonderful in this salad) thinly.  If you have large Basil leaves, it’s fun to roll the leaves then slice.  I like to use 2/3 Kale and 1/3 Basil.

Then add whatever you have on hand----tomato, red onion, cucumber, almonds, walnuts, etc.

Dress with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Bon Appetit.

~~~~~

Avocado, Tomato and Mango Salsa

(Linda Reed Brown)

1 mango – peeled, seeded and diced (if mango is ripe and juicy, let juice drip into the bowl for the salsa)

1 avocado – peeled, pitted and diced

4 medium tomatoes – diced  (Before dicing, slice tomatoes and gently push out the seeds and dispose of them)

1 jalapeno pepper – seeded and minced

½ c fresh cilantro – chopped

3 cloves garlic – minced

1 t salt

2 T fresh lime juice

¼ c red onion – chopped

Up to 3 T olive oil  (start with about 1½ T; that may be sufficient)

In a medium bowl, combine the mango, avocado, tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro and garlic.

Stir in the salt, lime juice, red onion and olive oil.

To blend the flavors, refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.

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The following delicious recipe was supplied by Vera Massey for a feature story – Tomatoes Made Easy – published in The Columbia Daily Tribune, August 11, 2015, in honor of Vera’s service as a nutrition and health education specialist with the University of Missouri Extension Service.

This is a simple, tasty way to use the cherry tomatoes from the Red Robin or Lizzano tomato plants offered through our ‘Seeds ‘n Spouts’ program last spring.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Line a jellyroll pan with foil.
Cut cherry tomatoes in half.

Drizzle olive oil over tomatoes (about 1 Tbsp. per pint)

Grind Tuscan salt blend (or salt and pepper) over tomatoes

Add several cloves of fresh garlic, squeezed through a garlic press.

Add a few springs of rosemary.

Roast at 325 degrees for an hour or 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Tomatoes are done when they look a little shriveled and your home smells amazing.

Drizzle with balsamic vinegar right before eating.

Roasted tomatoes may be served as a side dish with grilled chicken or fish, mixed with pasta or as the sauce for homemade pizza.  (goat cheese or feta cheese is a tasty addition)

In the winter, the same technique can be used for sliced sweet potatoes, sliced carrots, onions or red bell peppers, cut into chunks.

~~~~~

Laura’s Bridal Brunch Apple Salad

(Submitted by Karen Bradley)

1 medium unpeeled red apple, chopped

1 medium unpeeled Granny Smith apple, chopped

1 medium unpeeled pear, chopped (we did not use-Karen does not like pears)

½ cup red/green grapes halved

¼ cup craisins

¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts or almonds

6 oz. Greek lemon yogurt

2 tsps. lemon juice

2 tsps. Honey

2 tsps. Frozen orange concentrate

1 tsp. freshly grated orange rind

Mix apples, nuts, craisins and grapes in large bowl. In smaller bowl combine yogurt, lemon juice, honey, orange juice and orange peel; pour over fruit to coat serve soon-best immediately. Serves 4.

~~~~~

Donna’s Chocolate Ice Cream

Submitted by: Donna Martz

2 quarts Chocolate Milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1-12 oz Carton Cool Whip

Recipe makes 1 gallon

Mix ingredients and let cool in refrigerator for about an hour.

Freeze in home hand crank or electric ice cream freezer.

October and November Sustainability Challenge

Challenge: Enjoy Missouri Outdoors and the colors of FALL!

Get outside this fall and enjoy the fall colors and take a photo of your adventures.  Looking for the perfect place to go visit the Missouri Department of Conservation weekly fall color updates at nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/fall-colors. Submit your fall photos by Dec. 1st to be entered into our drawing for a fun fall prize by emailing them to kaitlynwintersbradley@gmail.com.  If you have any questions just let us know!

Embracing the Good New for Planet Earth: First Impressions of Merry Lea

Greetings from northern Indiana … I hope you all are enjoying the fall weather as much as I am!  As some of you perhaps know, I am now living in a small town in northern Indiana working on my Master’s degree in environmental education at beautiful Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center, a 1,100+ acre nature sanctuary, which is part of Goshen College.  It has been a whirlwind adventure thus far as I just finished up my first round of classes ranging from principles of education to natural history to research methods. 

We have now moved into our fall teaching schedule so we have been having fun leading student explorers across the property focusing on the sustainable working farm where they raise over 30 varieties of vegetables, plus chickens, hogs, and turkeys.  The Nature Center includes an ecological field station incorporating energy from both a wind turbine and solar panels.  The project was awarded LEED platinum certification in 2007.  It has been a lot of fun teaching the students about where their food comes from, as many these days don’t understand this and the processing food has to go through to get on their plate.  Not only do we have a class touring the sustainable farm but also provide autumn adventures, exploring wetlands, and so much more.  For me it is just such a joy to get students outside of the classroom and exploring nature – many for the first time.      

Although we have been focusing on classes and teaching, I am also working on my yearlong project – working with an urban community garden in a low income neighborhood in Fort Wayne, Indiana – helping them develop curriculum to provide outreach to both students and adults alike.  We do have plenty of time to play though (mostly on the weekends) so I have been active visiting the farmer’s market, hiking around Merry Lea and local Chain O’ Lakes State Park and visiting fairs and festivals around the region – so if you’re ever in northern Indiana let me know!

Kaitlyn Bradley

Bird banding

Gene Stratton Porter Historical Site

Working a local fair booth.

Beautiful sunrise

Observing a local pow-wow in Michigan.

Embracing the Good News for Planet Earth - Projects in Our Own Backyard!

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. ~Gandhi

This month we are shifting the focus to some real life examples of environmental stewardship here in our local community. We decided to talk with our very own Dane Steinhauer as he discussed his Eagle Scout Project that he completed in 2014. His project focused on working at Blue Ridge Elementary School on their outdoor education center which consisted of a short trail and small outdoor classroom area. Dane wanted to complete this project to encourage more students to get outside the classroom, explore the trail, and learn about some of Missouri’s native trees.

In order to accomplish his goal, he had to organize and put in motion many smaller projects: removing trash - particularly plastic bags (he received help from 4^th and 5^th grade students attending summer school), removing invasive bush honeysuckle, replacing existing culverts, “chatting” over the culverts and trail (applying a layer of fine, white gravel), and then finally installing the tree markers as well as creating a brochure for students to use. By the time it was all said and done Dane had helped organize over 165 hours of work -- including work completed by himself, his family, other friends, as well as elementary students and Cub Scouts. Although most of the manual labor was completed in July, a lot more work went into drafting the proposal, meeting with stakeholders, and completing all the required paperwork. He claims that his biggest satisfaction was helping to inspire younger Scouts to complete their own Eagle Scout Projects.

Way to go Dane and good luck starting your senior year at Battle High School!