Dwindling Footprint Student Sustainability Contest 2011

Yes ladies and gentlemen I won an award for my facebook page and my blog.  I was ready to give up on my blog due to the lack of followers.  However, I decided to enter this contest for my school regarding sustainability and I won second place.  I would normally throw a fit for not being in first place but truly the first place winner had amazing graphics something I must add to my talents.  This has reinvigorated me to continue bringing green, eco-friendly and sustainable tips no matter the amount of followers.  Although more followers would make me very happy!

Thank you to all who have stayed with me and continue to follow me.  I hope to bring you far more interesting posts and DIY projects as I dive further into my Environmental Studies! 

~Deanne

P.S. posts have been far and few lately only due to the heavy load of classes I am currently taking.  Be patient, hang in there with me and please get your friends and family to follow my page there will be more posts to come.





What are your kids reading?

 I posted about a book I read as a child that affected me deeply and it made me think of books kids are not reading thanks to video games.


I do not know if Dr.Seuss was an environmentalist but many of his books had many lessons on the environment.  The Lorax was the first book I can remember from my childhood that made me fully aware that my actions and choices have consequences on the planet.  I can even remember crying for the Lorax and yelling at the destruction!

Beautifully illustrated book that takes us on a primitive journey into nature!

All the cool and wonderful creatures that hide in the desert during the day and night that most of us would be too scared to go looking for at anytime.  Instead check it out in this wonderfully descriptive book.

This book is a lot of fun! It has kids acting like recycling super heroes with many easy ideas to take a second look at that item you think is trash!


More than 50 projects for kids that are step by step activities for your kids to keep busy for hours.


A sing along book with lots of Earth Day activities that you can use all year long.

I hope you can get your kid on a fun reading book list with these little gems stuffed in there somewhere.  By the looks of it most are iPad and Kindle ready too which is a great way to make your kids think they are tech-cool!

~Deanne

Kids school stuff...

With my son already back in school I still have school products on the brain.  There are so many items being pushed out there at are kids that have little value or made from toxic products.  Here are some of my fav's that have been kid tested and believe me no one is harder on products than my kid.

Smencils and Smens are an awesome product that kids love and us green loving parents are proud to buy.  Made from 100% recycled newspaper and plastic how can you go wrong.  Not to mention you kid will think you are cool for buying them.  Get you PTO/PTA to use them as fundraising items and feel good about buying these to raise money for your school instead of another landfill item that is not biodegradable like these products.  You can buy them on their site or Amazon if you cannot convince your kids school to sell them instead cookies and pretzels.

Here are some other items that I have bought and used in our home.  I am very considerate in my son's needs to feel like he fits in while also being an eco-friendly mom.  As much as I would love for him to stick out like a sore thumb so he is a shining eco-friendly example to others, I want him to feel proud to share the cool things he uses in school that just so happens to be eco-friendly!

~Deanne

Fundraising options that are more eco-friendly :

Smencils and Smens

go-green-fundraising

greenraising

green schools this site is an amazing resource for parents to take action in their own schools!
mabels labels

PTO/PTA School Fundraising....

Lets raise money for our schools while teaching our kids we can save the planet and our schools at the same time!  These fundraisers we currently have just drive me crazy with a bunch of stuff that just fill the house or landfills and waterways.

The things that drive me crazy....

Christmas wrapping paper

Yankee Candles

Cookie Dough (isn't our kids having an obesity epidemic)

I mean come on there are better options out there that won't clog our landfills, ruin our waterways and just maybe something we might use.

I have been looking at some companies that usually handle most schools and they were full of things I just will not buy nor will I sell.

So I found these companies:

Go Green Fundraising 

Equal Exchange

Earth Friendly Coffee

Serrv

~Deanne

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Believe it or not school is around the corner....



my son's first day of school so long ago


Yes that is right I said it.  Our kids will be heading back to school really soon, some states start in the beginning of August while others start after labor day.  Just because our kids are heading back to school doesn't mean we have to stop our green thoughts and just by the toxic cheap stuff at our local wally world.  I know that sometimes Target, WalMart and other places will carry eco-friendly options but jack up the price while the cheaply foreign made toxic versions are on sale.

One of my favorite places to make my first and sometimes my only stop for eco-friendly school supplies is at The Ultimate Green Store!  You name it they have it: from backpacks to soy crayons!

I do hit Amazon often though....cheaper prices.  I will check out prices everywhere else then hit Amazon.

Here are some tips before you buy:

• Before you shop check the house for any unused school supplies from last year.
• Make a list
• Find out exactly what the teacher wants your kid to have
• If you can't go all "green" replace important items like a BPA free water bottle.
• get reusable sandwhich bags the others are clogging our landfills and waterways
• get pencils made from recycled sources like recycled newspaper pencils
• buy soy or bees wax crayons
• vegetable based glue
• rechargeable batteries
• solar backpack
• Buy in groups: get other mothers together buy in bulk because it is cheaper

Here are some possibilities:

sandwhich bags

lunch boxes

water bottles

recycled pencils
backpacks
note pads


All in all it is about sending our kids off to school with the best products to make their day great and not fill them up with toxic chemicals.  Remember they will be inhaling and absorbing this stuff all day.

~Deanne