Category: Green Lifestyle

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Green Lifestyle Earth

MAEOE – Be Green, Learn Green, Live Green

The annual Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education Conference was held in Ocean City Maryland February 3rd-5th, 2023. The theme of the conference this year was Be Green, Learn Green, Live Green.

What does it mean to Be Green?

Green is a term used for being environmental friendly. It refers to keeping our earth healthy and clean. Being green means respecting our environment by keeping it clean and not leaving trash around, while using our resources in the right way, without wasting them.

MAEOE is a wonderful organization that helps schools in Maryland to be Green Schools. This is my school’s 4th year recertifying as a green school. In order to do the application for our recertification we have to collet data on how our school is green! The MAEOE conference is one way that I bring back information and ideas on ways our school can thrive in being green.

Landscape Design for Nature Educators

The first workshop I attended at the conference this year was a landscape design workshop! I was super excited about it because as an art educator, I haven’t had much learning about landscaping, planting or designing gardens. Though as the green school coordinator, who has won a few grants for our school for environmental projects, it would greatly help me plan for outdoor gardens at our school.

I learned so much from this workshop. The presenters gave us all a folder of information about native plants, which shared when to plant and where. We also learned a lot about how to work with the stakeholders at our school, because it is a team effort to keep these gardens going.

Eco-Anxiety/Grief

Another amazing workshop was about dealing with the anxiety and grief that can come from the state of our ecosystem. It is vital to grieve… to release the ideas we have of what we expect. We come at the world with a negativity bias, which helps us survive through lifetimes. But it is important to see into the present moment… using nature to help us regulate our emotions in the now. We can visit the past and the future, but we should not live there. Practicing gratitude intentionally. We created nature mandalas and did a thought experiment called Future Beings! Such a great session.

Green Conference

Environmental Team

I am excited that I get to be apart of such a wonderful team of people who love spending time with nature, and really see the value of connecting with the earth. Being the green school coordinator at my school allows me such amazing experiences and opportunities to learn more ways to remind people we are all connected. I love making connections at these events, because it allows us to create better experiences for our students while working with other passionate educators.

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Earth Green Lifestyle

The Garden Club

So we are a month into our first big garden! I recently put an all call out for those interested to share in the gardening and the harvest! There are usually 5 of us in our club.

We have tilled, fertilized, and planted onions, cabbage, brussel sprouts, peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, potatoes, squash, kale, and beets so far in the vegetable side.

There is also a spiral herb garden that has a variety of mint, catnip, motherwort, Mugwart, stinging nettle, echinacea, yarrow, anise hyssop, feverfew, fennel, blue anise, evening primrose, sage, Mullen, self heal, and horehound.

Garden

So far things are going well. I have been watering at night, but I think they need more water so I am going to look into an irrigation system.

Tending the Garden

Some of the plants are a little sad, and I wonder if its the fertilizer, sun or water? There are some gardens that have covers over the plants, so I am going to try that. The sun is really hot and full on them during the day.

While I am out there in the dirt I can feel the plants… when they are too hot from the sun I feel for them, when they need more water I can feel their thirst.

It made me sad when I woke up to see a few of my plants looking so sad. To think that I did not take enough time to listen to their needs. Feeling sad for them made me think about my actions and how I could take care of them better. I want the garden to thrive so badly, perhaps I am just learning patience again. Patience and listening.

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Earth Green Lifestyle Revealing Treasures in your Own Backyard

Horn Farm Center

Saturday, May 1st was the annual Horn Farm Center plant sale.

The Horn Farm Center

The Horn Farm Center is a conservation success story. Born out of the effort to save the farm from industrial development in 2000, the Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education was established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation in 2004. The Horn Farm was saved by a community of passionate people, who understood that our natural spaces and cultural practices of stewarding and cultivating the land are sacred and need to be preserved. 

Horn Farm Center

The plant sale was fantastic! There were so many varieties of plants, fruits, veggies and herbs! I was able to purchase a bunch of things for our garden, and at the same time give back to the community. All proceeds support local, regenerative farming practices and education at the Horn Farm Center.

I was so inspired by the mission and goals of the Horn Farm Center. Currently I am working on starting our own community garden, so seeing how they do things was very helpful!

If you live in York, you should totally check them out! They have a schedule of amazing events, classes and workshops here!

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Earth Green Lifestyle

Gardening by the Moon

Gardening this year is going to be so wonderful. I am super excited about growing food! I have purchased many seeds, and begun tilling the dirt. The garden was overgrown with grass and weeds, so before I could till I had to get a lawn mower! Being that we moved in December, we had no need to purchase a riding lawn mower for our 1.5 acres. But now it is spring and the grass was growing fast!

Gardening

We were fortunate to find a 48” Husqvarna riding lawn mower on Facebook marketplace. It just reached 600 hours, which I learned is how you tell how long your lawn mower is expected to last! The average is 1500 hours. It is so much fun mowing my grass!

Now that the grass is mowed over the garden I am able to begin tilling the rest! The garden is at least 23ft. x 15ft, and I have only tilled a small portion.

The garden had turnips growing wild and taking over, along with strawberries! So I have transplanted some of the strawberries, and have let the rest to grow where they are for now.

On the spring equinox my friend Rachel and I planted 12 packs of seeds, there were three packs that did not grow at all, the rest are ready to be transplanted to larger containers! I was thinking maybe I could put them right into the ground, however it might be too cold just yet.

My Peach trees are blooming so beautifully… the green leaves are coming out. But I noticed that the bark has some mold looking fungus growing on it… some of the lower branches do not have any leaves at all. The bark also looks like its been shredded a little. Copper fungicide is supposed to work for the lechins which is what I think it is.

Another one of our trees that I have yet to identify, it is graphed…. has mites. So I purchased fruit tree spray. I hope that helps.

Gardening By the Moon

I have always been interested and fascinated by the idea of planning my garden around the cycles of the moon! Recently I came across the website Gardening by the Moon! They have wonderful digital resources that assist with what to plant and when! I am excited to be using these resources to help me plant!

I love learning as I go, being in the experience and figuring things out. Connecting with my network to hear stories of the way others have experienced life. Gardening is such a beautiful thing to build community around.

We have an idea, to invite our friends to share our garden with us. To plant food and share in the tending as they can. We would over see the garden daily. Then to come together for a community harvest dinner!!

I am looking forward to watching the garden and my community grow in peace, love, joy and unity. <3

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2020

Such an interesting number … 2020.

An interesting year it was for sure! A lot was documented in the first half of the year… and then fall came… and school started back up virtual, and then we bought a house.

Things have been in a constant state of motion. 2020 was like the winding up of the music box, doing the work with hope of something beautiful to come out of it.

I had been looking to purchase my first home for a while… but I had not seen anything that resonated with me. It took me over a month, and seeing over 20 houses until I finally found the right one.

2020

On my way to see the house, a bald eagle flew over my car and followed me along my route for a while. When I finally pulled up the house and got of the car, I felt my heart start to get warm.

When we went inside, the current owner was there and I felt comfortable in the space and speaking to her about the home. As we took our tour, we headed outside to the yard… 1.53 acres.

Walking the property, my heart grew warmer and warmer… filling up with excitement. Tears began to roll down my face, tears of joy and gratitude that this land has chosen me as its steward. Excited to be able to care for mother earth in this beautiful sacred space.

We have 4 peach trees, and a very large area designated as a garden, with beets growing all over. There is a shed for the garden specifically, as well as a 3 car garage that will be used as a studio!

The house has taken up a lot of my extra time, as I dive right into home ownership and all that it entails.

Our first project was the hot water heater! It was slowly dripping from the temperature pressure release valve, which is not a HUGE deal but it did need to be fixed. So as I look into the project some more, I find out that the thermal expansion tank should be checked to see if it is still functioning. Well come to find out the tank had failed and needed to be replaced. After many many trips to Lowes, I finally completed the task and replaced the tank! I learned so much from one of the employees in the plumbing department, like to check your water pressure and to make sure you inflate the tank to the proper pressure for your system.

After replacing the tank, the temperature pressure release valve stopped leaking!!! First DIY fix completed and in the books.

Aside from fixing little things here and there, we have repainted almost the entire house, and are currently putting up drywall in places that had remodeling begun by the previous owners. Still lots to do!

It has been wonderful being home and teaching virtually for this period of time in my life. And being that it was winter, we were forced to stay inside and complete projects. Though I am very excited for spring, when I can get outside and work on the land more. Also it seems we will be going back to in person teaching in March!

We also got a new addition to our family! Meet Daisy! She is a Border Collie Blue Heeler.

And last but not least… one of my very favorite things about our property… we can see the sunrise from my backyard AND the sunset from the front!!

All of this, while completing commissioned art for clients, teaching 3 in person private art lessons, teaching virtually, and studying a few new interests.

2020 was a powerful year for me…

it wasn’t an easy year for sure, but it was a year full of growth, and blooming. Coming into my power and realizing my dreams. Connecting with the land and with other like minds. Stepping into the future I have been manifesting for a while… it was such a powerful year, and has me excited about what is to come.

Making it through the energy of 2020 has helped me to see that I am strong, centered, unified and more than capable to navigate the path the universe has before me.

Here is to all of the learning and growth that propels us forward… Thank you for being here with me, and for following your heart as you walk your authentic path in this life. <3

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Sacred Retreat

Sacred Retreat

I know many people who are entrepreneurs, and small business owners. The world is different from the point of view of owning and operating your own business, whether it’s making art to sell at craft fairs and events, or doing reiki in a room you rent at a wellness center.

As practitioners, makers, and vendors we have in essence two jobs. One is to practice and create the thing we are passionate about. The other is to manage and structure the flow of that passion into a sustainable living.

Sacred Retreat

The REVIVE, REFILL, REFRESH retreat was planned with a vision, hosting a space for people to come and find their center. To come and revive, refill and refresh their soul. What we received was far more powerful then we could’ve ever imagined.

There were 8 participants, and 8 vendors. Each vendor presented a 30-45 min workshop about something they were passionate about.

Auria Faith lead us in an active listening activity where we were partnered up and then given a sheet of questions to ask the other person. The trick was we could only listen to their responses. We were not to talk back or have a conversation about the answers.

She also led us in a guided meditation using essential oils to envision our passions as a seed growing and expanding out into the universe. The choice of oils were Lavender, Wild Orange, and Manuka. Most everyone went for the meditative qualities of Manuka.

Merlin Peters discussed Tensor Rings and how he was lead to being creating them. Marlin discusses how the length of the copper wire is important to how the ring works. Tensor rings transmute negative ions into positive flows. It clears out energy from EMF’s as well.

Joanna Baker lead us in a guided meditation to our shadow selves to see and accept ourselves as we truly are, from all points of view. This was a very peaceful meditation for me, as I felt my shadows were simply there as way showers for the path.

Johanna Geister talked about our energy bodies, discussing the different energy lines and points of our body. She also led us in a grounding visualization where we all went barefoot to the grass to connect with the earth and envision our energy flowing through us as we breathed. It was such a beautiful experience with a little mist coming from the clouds rolling over. She also taught restorative yoga which was a perfect ending to the day.

Brenda Solonoski from Burns Valley Herbals and Retreat gave everyone a tour of her gardens, and identified plants that most people would find in their environments.

She also led a bundle, and tea or steam blend making workshop where people created their own smudge bundles from freshly picked herbs.

Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman from Therapeutic Thymes shared with the group ways to take their business to the next level through target marketing. Therapeutic Thymes is a holistic and nature magazine based out of York.

Jill Reed from Green Healing Room shared her journey to practicing stone readings and was available for readings for everyone. She read EVERYONE at the retreat, each reading was spot on and exactly what each person needed to hear. After her readings she gave each person a stone that was called for them. I received two rough cut jades. These stones have really been powerful for me lately. Holding them while I meditate. Jill has a gift to translating messages she’s open to receiving for each person she reads.

I shared how creativity is spirituality, using the flower of life and sacred geometry to tie everything together. Everyone explored creating the flower of life as we discussed how the meditative process opens up your mind to seeing new perspectives. I also was blessed to share intuitive henna with a few people <3

Each of us has a passion and a desire to share that passion with others. Most of our time is spent working on our goals to keep our fire burning, as well as learning ways to share what we know with others. When we do events and vend at places, a lot of energy goes into preparing our gifts, as well as our hearts and minds for the many people we will interact with throughout the event. We rarely have time for our own sacred retreat.

Rarely do we have time to commune with one another. Let alone share and learn from one another. We each have so many gifts we offer the world, but we are also the people who miss receiving those gifts. We give so much of our time to goals, that we rarely have time to be open to receiving.

This sacred retreat was a time for vendors to come together and share and receive from one another. This retreat showed us how important this was for each of us. We need to remember we too deserve to receive our gifts. It gave us time to listen, and process what we learned. To sit and communicate our own experiences and thoughts. To be there for each other, witnessing each others light and standing in our own.

When we heal ourselves, we help others on their journey by sharing what we’ve learned. Supporting one another by holding space for self expression and authenticity is vital, we are all connected.

I am forever grateful for those who participated in the sacred retreat, Revive, Refill and Refresh in August. Miigwetch to all my relations.

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The Rising of the Phoenix

Summer Solstice 2020 at Burns Valley Herbals and Retreat was an amazing growing experience.

Bringing up the story of the Phoenix. A powerful fire ceremony, balance through the water, and rising above the ashes.

The weekend started off with lots of rain, which canceled the awesome set The Wild Hymns were going to play! Instead they sat with us and Megan played a little guitar while we listened to the pouring rain.

Around 8pm my children came to me to tell me our tent had flooded and everything was soaked! I became so frustrated… and disappointed. It was a tough moment for me. And on top of that, when we went to get into the car… the door was locked with the keys inside! The universe was really testing me. The rain finally stopped around 8:30 pm, everyone tired, wet and ready for bed.

Saturday morning I woke up early to pray and meditate, to help ground and center my energy for the rest of the weekend, and was greeted by the fog, so peaceful and serene. The message was to breathe and let go. Let go of expectations, fears, worry and doubt.

Everyone woke up a little groggy, but ready to get into the heart of the summer solstice energy. Our schedule was adjusted a bit to accommodate time to clean up campsites. Breakfast was delicious and morning yoga was perfectly lead by Brenda. Our day was off to a more balanced start.

Brenda lead a garden tour, and tea making workshop while others spent time on their creative expressions for the altar. The time was so peaceful.

I was able to fix up the altar area and light the Solstice candle just before it started to rain again. Grateful that this time we were all prepared, we danced and made music to celebrate.

Our fire ceremony was to be held out by the pond, however with the rain we improvised and rearranged the tables under the pavillion to have our ceremony there.

It was divine.

After the ceremony the rain departed and the sky opened up to a beautiful night, where we saw shooting stars and celebrated with jumping the fire, a drum circle and fireworks.

Sunday started with Laughter Yoga, lead by Tammy and Jack Bray.
The perfect ending to such a divine weekend.

At the end of the event on Sunday I went back to the altar to clean up and to my wonder, the Solstice candle was still lit! Even after all the rain!

I am so blessed to know so many beautiful and magickal people. So many kind souls to travel through this life learning from and growing with.

I am forever grateful for my dear sister, Brenda Solonoski. Without her love, support, and partnership this event would not have happened.

Check out the video of our event and look out for the next retreat …

REVIVE, REFILL & REFRESH
August 14th-16th 2020

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Divine I Am Earth Existence Green Lifestyle Most Popular Spirituality Video

Earth Meditation

The earth is the Goddess, in all her feminine and receptive energy. Her direction is North. The Pentacle and a bowl of salt are her tools. Her colors are green, yellow, brown, black, and her season: is Winter.  The Zodiac Signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn are earth signs.

Earth energy is grounding, bringing us back to the present moment when all else might be up in chaos.

The Earth is the foundation of our lives, as it is both our home and our source of sustenance. The Earth Element is ever-present and highly versatile, manifesting as both soil and seed, and witnessed in the eternal rhythms of growth, harvest, decay, and regeneration.

Earth is represented by the diverse topographical features found all over the planet, including forests, fields, caves, rocks, valleys, and gardens. This “classical” Element is associated with abundance, prosperity, and strength.

It is presented as the duality of existence.

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Stinging Nettle

Stinging nettle has been used for hundreds of years to treat painful muscles and joints, eczema, arthritis, gout, and anemia. Nettle is a superb nourishing food and has beneficial actions on many parts of the body including the urinary tract, liver, digestive tract, reproductive system, and respiratory system. Known as an overall nourisher and strengthener, stinging nettle leaf is full of vitamins and minerals most notably magnesium, calcium, iron, and protein.

Harvesting stinging nettle at Burns Valley Herbals and Retreat was such a learning experience.  I used gloves to hold the nettles while I cut them, however I still got stung.

I learned when brushed by the nettle, its best to leave the area alone so it will sting less. If you touch the area a lot, it rubs the sting into your skin more and lasts longer! I got a few welts and a rash from where the nettle touched me above the gloves! It went completely away within 12 hours. 

Nettle’s sting, however, reminds us to value our gifts just as we must honor and protect our work if we are to remain healthy. With her sting, she asks us to recognize and honor the worth of what she gives; if you’re willing to brave the sting to gain her treasure, you’re more likely to value what you have taken.

Enjoy the video, please comment, like and subscribe!!

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Divine I Am Earth Existence Green Lifestyle Most Popular Spirituality Video

Stewardship!

Stewardship is the job of taking care of something.

When we are stewards of the land, we are taking care of what’s been given to us.

We are showing our gratitude for all of the gifts we’ve received.

The earth provides so much life energy.

Show respect and reverence through tending the land.