Caryn received her My First Organics Classroom Bundle free as part of our recent launch of www.RealFoodAction.org and the Real Food Action Campaign. Real Food Action is a culmination of years of research that we did on the topics of nutrition, earth science education, school food, childhood obesity, local food systems and much more.  We found that they are all tied together, and that U.S. children are having a disconnect from the concept of where their food comes from.  Real Food Action is a resource derived from this extensive research, a resource for anyone seeking guidance on how to get involved, get educated, and get going!  It’s a wonderful springboard that points you in the direction of numerous other organizations and individuals that can help you make lasting healthy changes for our nation and our planet.

Are you looking for healthy activities to do with your kids this summer? Growing your own veggies is hot and healthy. It’s now also fun, easy AND charitable with a new line of products from My First Organics created for kids and classrooms.

My First Organics seed starter kits are just the ticket for tackling childhood obesity with an educational outdoor activity that enables better nutritional habits. Order now and take advantage of the Real Food Action Campaign, which applies 20% of your purchase toward giving a My First Organics Classroom Bundle to teachers who want them. Getting garden-based learning into homes and schools at the same time? That would fulfill Linda and Trent’s mission perfectly.

When company founders Linda and Trent McNair left tech jobs in Silicon Valley to start an organic nursery, Surf City Growers, they realized that teaching kids how to grow their own veggies was a big passion of theirs. Getting kids to eat their veggies can be a challenge, but research shows that when kids grow their own food, they will eat it.

"Support the Real Food Action Campaign today and start an organic veggie garden with your kids for under $20!"

More importantly, residents of Santa Cruz County who saw the article and would love to have a small plot of land to call their own and grow on have been seeking out the website to apply for a plot.  For more information about the Aptos Community Garden, or to get an application, visit www.aptoscommunitygarden.org

Save the Date:  Grand Opening Sunday, April 18th at noon.

This is an update for the Aptos Community Garden

Please join us for a blessing of the garden by Pastor Dale Sollum-Brotherton.  Come and meet our donors, Board Members, local officials, and the people who have signed up to have garden plots.  Guy Routley will be providing music and there will be light refreshments.  Trent and Linda McNair will be providing free organic starts for the plots grown at their business Surf City Growers. Thanks to Board Member Michael Olson, Pastor Dale and Trent did a live interview with him at the KSCO radio station. Linda McNair prepared a news release for local papers, with a very fine article appearing in the March 15, 2010 Aptos Times.
Progress is being made on the layout of the garden.  The donated pump from Capitola Pump is now hooked up to the cistern. Under the direction of CLC member Austin Pruitt and electrician Dan Bronson from A-Plus Electric, we are in the process of running power from the gazebo down to the garden to power the pump.    CLC members Gene Sanden and Mark Zabel have also provided support for this project. Gene has collected over a dozen 55-gallon barrels donated by Smith and Vandiver.  We will be using these for additional water collection and distribution in the garden.  Smith and Vandiver are located at 480 Airport Blvd. in Watsonville.  The barrels are provided to the public for free, and they qualify you for a $25.00 rebate if your water is provided by Soquel Creek Water District.
We are so thankful to the businesses and individuals who have donated to make this project a success.  We look forward to thanking you in person April 18th at the Grand Opening.  This is truly a community garden project. 

Our business donors include:

Capitola Pump
Central Home Supply
Dirt Works Earth Engineering
Earth Works
Ecology by Design
Hoge, Fenton, Jones, and Appel, Inc.
Jeff Taldmadge Construction
Lakeside Organic Gardens
Las Animas Concrete
Monument Lumber
Rotary Club of Aptos/Capitola
Rotary Club of Santa Cruz, Sunrise
Sand Channel Greens
Smith and Vandiver
Surf City Growers
Warren Gilbert, Architect

2009 Holiday Gift Guide

Our product was chosen by the ladies over at Cool Mom Picks (CBS Early Show, Real Simple Magazine, Martha Stewart Radio) and featured in the “Future Tree-Huggers” category and “Gift under $20″.  They run an awesome blog based in New York that is always on the lookout for the coolest indie-items.  Getting a good review is no small feat, and now we are bubbling over with glee to have been selected to be in their 2009 Holiday Gift Guide! Head on over and check out the guide.  You’ll find one-of-a-kind items like our My First Organics seed starting kits.  Find our mention, and you just might find a nifty little promo code to get one yourself for a discount!

Just 12 years ago a survey showed that the average age of Farmers was 54.6. The link between this statistic and our ever-shrinking local food system and small, family farm operations cannot be ignored.  Perhaps this article is another inclination that the public’s view of Farmers being a second-class citizens deserving of little or no repute (or respect) is shrinking rapidly.  In a world where food supply cannot keep up with population growth, this is a frightening statistic.

Hat’s off to these brave young men and women.

Be Cool. Bookmark This.

I’ve been a mother for six years and a farmer for four over here near the Pacific Ocean. But before this move, I spent 36 years of growing up, going to school, and building my professional and personal networks in the Silicon Valley. Those roots are still strong, and I often yearn for those days when I was chic.

I get together with my girlfriends/moms on a monthly basis who are still living that lifestyle. This is important, not only because it’s critical girl time, but I also get the opportunity to dress hip, have lunch or a cocktail at the latest venue, and be “in the know”. If you’re having trouble understanding this scene, just watch one episode of Sex in the City.

Now that our organics seed starting kits have the seal of approval from Cool Mom Picks, I believe I’m entitled to be the Coolest Mom for at least the next six months. I mean, according to them, our kits allow every mom to be like the most modern First Lady since Jackie O. How? By starting an organic garden with their kids — “just like the Obama girls!”

Founders Kristen Chase and Liz Gumbinner

Seriously, Cool Mom Picks has become my absolute favorite go-to spot to find hip ideas and gifts for my very cool mom buddies. Why? Well, its run by two very modern moms who understand what women like us want. And since they review green and organic choices, these ladies have become my soul sisters of the blogosphere.

Wendy Gabriel, The Green Side

One of the best things about this Green world we’ve immersed ourselves into are the great people we meet who share the same ideals. I found Wendy Gabriel’s cool site, My Green Side, and told her about us and what we’re doing. And next thing you know, she asks to interview ME for her column on Examiner.com!

I’m here to give Wendy some blog love. She’s written this two-part series on Irradiation. Part I describes the process and how it’s really doing more harm than good for our health and that of the planet. In Part II, she talks about a study that focused on a “mysterious neurological affliction in pregnant cats that have been fed irradiated food.” She also quotes Dr. Joseph Mercola talking about how the best ways to avoid irradiation is by choosing locally grown, organic food or by growing your own. Amen.
While it seems that the Internet has made us more insular and separated, it also provides us the opportunity to find like-minded people. When I read these words from Wendy’s blog, I knew we were compatriots:

I created My Green Side as a way to remind myself, while hoping to educate others, on how to live thoughtfully and responsibly for our children, ourselves and our planet…The journey I’m on has opened my eyes to many simple things we can do to make a big difference in the world around us and in our own homes. If we don’t try harder to live better, we will all languish in a pool of empty plastic bottles.

Linda McNair

I have to confess. It took a while for us to jump into the blogosphere. The websites we manage, not to mention the businesses, take up our working day. The thought of dealing with yet another web property overwhelmed us. Being a marketing pro, I knew we had to do it, and I have to say, I’m so thrilled that we finally did.

What’s great about the blogosphere is that we can write whatever we want, whenever we want to do so. But the added bonus is the other bloggers I have met along the way.

Being a mom of two (wait…six if you count the 2 dogs and 2 cats in the mix), I have discovered new friends like me — part journalist, part consumer, part mom — who are interested in spreading information about things that matter to us. We all know that the opinion from people we respect is what we seek when making decisions, and it’s probably the most important factor. I now realize that the relationships created in the blogosphere are a network of personal recommendations, and the most supportive network I have found is that of moms.

Mama's Money Savers

So this is a tribute to my newfound friends in the blogosphere. You heard about WantNot and Environthink a few days ago, now I’d like you to meet Mama’s Money Savers. A shout out to Cherisse for the great review!

I’m now investigating the world of Twitter. Gulp! Wish me luck.

Debra Atlas, who wrote the “Going green can taste good too” article last Friday, also pens the Environthink blog. Mir Kamin, who ran a fantastic (and popular!) contest for one of our kits on WantNot, also drives the the Iddy Biddy blog. We invite you to visit our fellow bloggers; they have lots of great green information to share!