Helping Kids Learn to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

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Helping Kids Learn to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Guest post by Bob Roberts

By reducing the amount of natural resources you consume, reusing items that would otherwise go to waste, and recycling trash so it can be repurposed, you’re helping ensure a brighter future for children today. However, planning for the future includes not only taking steps in the present, but also preparing for tomorrow. By teaching children good conservation practices today, you’ll contribute to a cleaner future. Children who learn how to reduce, reuse and recycle now will gain the foundation they need to pass those practices on to their children and continue preserving natural resources.

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7 things you’re doing wrong in your garden (and how to fix them)

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7 things you’re doing wrong in your garden (and how to fix them)

If you have been gardening for a while, you’ve probably realized that making mistakes is a big part of the process of learning. Even the most experienced gardeners make errors of judgment that can lead to a failing or otherwise unsuccessful harvest. Some problems are inevitable when it comes to growing your own food: weather changes can ruin a harvest in a single day, so if you are not prepared (or available) to act fast in case of unexpected frost, heat wave, extended periods of rain or humidity, or sudden insect infestation, all of your hard work can be ruined very quickly…

Whether you’re a neophyte, a seasoned grower, or a business owner looking to make a profit from your harvest (or just earn a little extra cash on the side from your farm), you may be making some of these common mistakes that growers make, all of which affect the health, productivity, and viability of your garden in a major way.

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What Is Battery Recycling and How Can You Recycle Nickel Batteries?

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What Is Battery Recycling and How Can You Recycle Nickel Batteries?

People use 4-5 wireless devices powered by batteries on an average in their daily lives. Batteries contain environmentally hazardous heavy metals, which must be removed from traditional waste treatment systems. While these batteries do not pose threat to humans when in use, they can affect human, animal and aquatic life if not disposed of properly. Like newspapers, glass and plastic, batteries can and must be recycled and help us save the environment.

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Preparing Your Bee-Attracting Garden for Winter

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Preparing Your Bee-Attracting Garden for Winter

Bees, unfortunately, are disappearing at a rapid rate. Those of us who are already gardeners are doing their part to sole the problem by setting up a bee-friendly series of plants. The Honey Bee Conservancy offers some tips for those who are not aware of what makes a garden attractive to pollinators like bees. Bee-friendly gardening is a year-round task, and with fall approaching it’s important to prepare. Winterizing your garden and planting cool weather-blooming species that will keep the bees coming back are crucial steps in making fall adjustments.

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Companion planting: how to do it, mistakes to avoid

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Companion planting: how to do it, mistakes to avoid

Companion planting is a small-scale method of intercropping, which refers to the practice of planting one kind of plant next to another or others that help it thrive. It is often associated with small-scale organic gardening (the type of gardening I have exclusively done for the past 18 years) or other biodynamic planting methods, and it is a favorite technique of farmers seeking to produce more yield in less space.

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Sick Building Syndrome: a hidden cause of stress at your workplace?

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Sick Building Syndrome: a hidden cause of stress at your workplace?

Guest post by Toby Dean

A workplace involves a myriad of stressors, and each individual in the same office environment copes with the same stress differently. Apart from stress coming from human beings and situations, there could be unexplained health issues at the workplace that could be creating a problem in your life. This is especially likely if you have shifted to a new office building, have been transferred to a different place, or changed your job. If you have experienced sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, runny nose or blocked sinuses, itchy eyes and skin, etc. as soon as you enter your office building, and if these symptoms subside on their own when you step out of the building, then you are suffering from Sick Building Syndrome. 

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How to Build A Bug Hotel (Infographic)

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How to Build A Bug Hotel (Infographic)

For the environmentally-conscious gardener, building a bug hotel can be a wonderful and rewarding DIY project. Not only do bug hotels provide an attractive garden feature, but they also attract beneficial insects that provide natural pollination and pest control. What’s more, building a bug hotel is a fun activity that the whole family can enjoy, and is a great way to teach children about the natural world.

Constructed from plant materials and common garden odds and ends, bug hotels offer a cost-effective and fun way to help preserve local wildlife by giving nearby insects a safe place to shelter. When it comes to designing a bug hotel, there aren’t any set rules, meaning you can get as creative as you want.

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Container Gardening 101: Small Spaces, Big Yields

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Container Gardening 101: Small Spaces, Big Yields

This summer I’ve been blogging about container gardening quite a bit (that is, when I managed to blog! We’re undergoing some big changes here at Green and Prosperous that have taken up most of my blogging time, including developing an online course on container gardening for beginners and experienced growers alike). This post continues our summer theme, with a focus on how you can grow more in less space.

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5 Tips to Bring Nature Indoors

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5 Tips to Bring Nature Indoors

It’s common knowledge that nature has a positive impact on people and can help us relax and get in touch with our inner selves. Having this in mind, it’s not surprising that more and more world-famous interior designers are incorporating numerous elements of nature into their projects. So, if you want to follow in their footsteps and decorate your home according to the latest trends, take a look at the list of 5 tips on how to bring nature indoors which we’ve prepared just for you. Enjoy and get inspired!

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How often Should I Clean That?

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How often Should I Clean That?

Guest post by Kat Buckley

Some of the basic household tasks we will generally get done but other places in the home can go months or even years without being cleaned. This infographic from HappyCleans looks at how often you need to get all the different items around the house cleaned. For example, the fan vents are one area of the house that rarely get cleaned. The problem is that if they’re left too long dust, pollen, and other allergens will end up clogging them, and in some cases, can cause particles to be released into your home from supply registers.

If you have ceiling fans, they are another area of the home that can get really dusty and these can be quickly dusted with a pillowcase. Of course, if they’re high up you need to be extremely careful not to injure yourself. Using a duster with a long handle that is made for such hard-to-reach areas is usually the best way to tackle the problem.

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Addressing the Global Water Inequality Crisis – Infographic

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Addressing the Global Water Inequality Crisis – Infographic

Guest post by Tom Murphy

In a planet that’s 70% water, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there was more than enough of this precious resource to comfortably sustain its population. However, when you think through how much of this water is fit for human consumption, you realize that maybe there isn’t a whole lot to go around for more than 7 billion inhabitants. In the Western world, water scarcity certainly isn’t a problem for most (with some exceptions in pockets of the US, the EU, and Australia ), but delve deeper into impoverished Third World/Global South nations and it will soon dawn on you just how shocking the disparity of water availability is on this planet.

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Room to Grow: 8 things you need to do to make your container garden thrive this summer

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Room to Grow: 8 things you need to do to make your container garden thrive this summer

Updated August 7, 2023

Whether you have already begun your container gardening adventure or are just getting started, you’ve probably realized that container gardening presents many advantages over traditional in-ground gardening. Aside from being a great way to grow some of your own food in small spaces, as a container gardener you can exert more control over a number of variables that can sabotage an in-ground garden, like weather, pests, and soil quality. I covered these and other matters in last month’s post on container gardening. This post addresses some of the practical matters involved in not only starting your container garden, but helping it to thrive. Here are 8 things you should be doing to keep your container garden healthy, happy, and productive well into the fall season.

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Installing and Maintaining a Japanese Zen Garden in Your Backyard

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Installing and Maintaining a Japanese Zen Garden in Your Backyard

Zen gardens were originally created by Buddhist monks as a place for meditation and contemplation. In earlier times, they became known as a space for the ruling elite in Japan – a place where they could find calm and peace while the country was in the midst of war or strife. But with the passing of time, Zen gardens became associated with a way of life deeply rooted in Japanese culture.

A traditional Zen garden is a miniature landscape of mountains and water. It is created using artistry infused with tranquility that can inspire a homeowner as well as visitors seeking peace and comfort in their lives. Installing and maintaining a Japanese Zen garden in your garden will not only add beauty to your premises, but will also add value to your house. Here are the steps you should take in building this type of garden in your home.

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Eco-Labels Around the World (Interactive Infographic]

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Eco-Labels Around the World (Interactive Infographic]

Guest post and infographic by Customlabels.net

Nowadays, people are more aware of the impact their purchasing decisions can have on the environment. In order to reduce their ecological footprint and negative impact on the natural world, a growing number of consumers have decided to buy products that will do less harm to the environment. They avoid buying bottled water, use their own grocery bags and choose eco-friendly products as much as possible.

Today, various products can have an “eco-friendly” or “green” inscription on their packages, but sometimes these statements can be false. So if you want to be sure that you are buying a product that is produced with a more controlled, less detrimental impact on nature, you should look for eco-labels on its packaging.

Eco-labels are certificates that mean that higher standards of environmental protection are upheld during all stages of the product's life cycle. Eco-labels are often mixed up with environmental labels, but they are actually a subgroup of environmental labels.

Check out the infographic below to learn more about eco-labels. It will give you an interactive overview of their meanings, managing organizations, and the industries they apply to.

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