November 23rd, 2010 | by Neil Franzen | published in Engage WI, Sustainable Wisconsin, Your Stories
While reading my dispatches, you might think the sole work at Wellspring is their CSA program. In actuality, Wellspring also promotes community, education, and the practice of self and natural wellness. Many people and organizations have greatly benefited from workshops, retreats, and simply just spending time at Wellspring since its inception in 1982. This has included many groups of school children stopping out to visit the farm over the course of the season.
November 22nd, 2010 | by Jill Sisson Quinn | published in Best of Engage WI, Engage WI, Sustainable Wisconsin, Your Stories
“Do you feel like you have a relationship with the sun?” My friend inquired. Her voice came from out of the blue, a blue that silhouetted her body, which was perched on the rocky, western facing wall of Mirror Lake, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Cradled in a rump-sized cavity of the same outcrop, I lay [...]
November 18th, 2010 | by Susan Gloss | published in Best of Engage WI, Engage WI, Sustainable Wisconsin, Your Stories
“Next time you grab a bottle of household cleaner to wipe off your countertops or scrub your shower, take a look at the label. Does the label say “warning,” “caution,” or “danger”? Chances are, it does.” Susan Gloss explores the green in today’s options to clean.
November 16th, 2010 | by Neil Franzen | published in Engage WI, Sustainable Wisconsin, Your Stories
“Permaculture, or permanent agriculture, is a school of thought which focuses on building sustainable communities, homesteads, or farming operations around the concept of mimicking nature itself. The use of patterns and contours such as circular or curved shapes is preferred versus man-made rectangular ones (think standard farm fields and city street grids). These elegantly-shaped flows encourage a harmony with surroundings, including the natural life which shares the same spaces.”
November 14th, 2010 | by Jill Sisson Quinn | published in Best of Engage WI, Engage WI, Sustainable Wisconsin, Your Stories
Jill Sisson Quinn and the Wisconsin River Academy: “Once a year, my students become animals. They are designated as carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores, identifiable by a red, blue or green arm-band, in a large-group simulation game called Web of Life, which I first played as a 6th-grader myself at Camp Hashawa in Westminster, Maryland…”
November 11th, 2010 | by Susan Gloss | published in Engage WI, Sustainable Wisconsin, Your Stories
Susan Gloss explores the complex world of natural personal care products. “When I decided to write this week’s blog post on natural personal care products, I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to find clear information about what is safe and what is not, for both humans and the environment?
November 9th, 2010 | by Neil Franzen | published in Best of Engage WI, Engage WI, Sustainable Wisconsin, Your Stories
“Last week I proposed we consider organic versus conventional foods. This week I’d like to offer some insight towards arriving at an answer.” Read Neil Franzen’s followup to The Big Question.
November 7th, 2010 | by Jill Sisson Quinn | published in Engage WI, Sustainable Wisconsin, Your Stories
It’s drizzling, but that doesn’t stop us. I hand the key to Brad, who unlocks the shed and pulls out the first tandem bike with helmet dangling from each set of handlebars. As the students arrive for class, bikes are selected and lined up with their front tires touching the edge of the parking lot.
November 4th, 2010 | by Susan Gloss | published in Engage WI, Sustainable Wisconsin, Your Stories
The average American works 46 hours per week. This means that, no matter how many environmentally-friendly practices your household has adopted, if your office isn’t taking similar measures, the environmental impact of your work life might be canceling out the efforts you are making at home. The following are some simple ways that offices can adopt greener practices.
November 2nd, 2010 | by Neil Franzen | published in Best of Engage WI, Engage WI, Sustainable Wisconsin, Your Stories
I’ve always been an early adopter. Back in 1998, for example, I bought my very first DVD player for about $800 dollars. Those players are obviously quite a bit cheaper now, but at the time I was excited about the technology and wanted to encourage wider public acceptance with my purchase. What started for me in personal electronics has now become much the same regarding local and organic foods.
