It’s hard to believe, but we’re back to school. As parents, we’re concerned about creating a healthy environment that is free of toxins that might inhibit learning.

Here are some tips to help you and your children to have a healthy, happy school year!

1. Keep Swine Flu In Perspective

Because it’s a new virus, there’s no telling how bad it will be this year, but so far H1N1 has proven to be a virulent strain of the flu, similar to the one that goes around every winter. The same basic rules apply:

1. Keep your child home if you think he/she is sick.
2. Wash your hands frequently with warm, soapy water or use a hand sanitizer if soap & water are unavailable.
3. Cover coughs and sneezes with your elbow, not your hand!

2. Recess Rocks!

A 15-minute break seems to be key not only for learning, but for social development and good health! Unstructured play is as important as structured play with emotional, social and cognitive growth.

3. Reconsider The Cell Phone

Many parents see cell phones as an important tool for staying in touch with their children and for emergency situations. Some children consider them to be a status symbol. There is still a lot of debate about the safety of cell phone radiation and its effect on growing brains. Kids are particularly vulnerable to environmental insults. Give it some careful thought.

4. Head Lice – The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Head lice is unpleasant and a fact of life for many school children.  The most common over-the-counter products contain actual pesticides!  Old-school treatments include olive oil, essential oils, Moroccan oil, even mayonnaise! There are tons of web sites that can help.

5. Check those backpacks!

Six out of 10 children will experience back pain before their 18th birthday and heavy backpacks are one of the reasons why. Pack wisely and use wide, padded shoulder straps. No backpack should weigh more than 10%-20% of a child’s weight. No more than 14 pounds for a 70 pound boy or girl.

6. Pack Healthy Lunches

Buy organic foods and pack them in nontoxic containers whenever possible. Use BPA-Free water bottles. Bisphenol A is a synthetic estrogen used to make some plastics and it’s been linked to a number of health problems including obesity! Pack a lunch with a healthy sandwich or wrap and a drink that isn’t loaded with extra sugars. Applesauce, yogurt, carrots, hummous and raisins are also great choices.

7. Vaccinate With Care

Vaccination is important for public health and is responsible for the eradication of several debilitating childhood illnesses. Discuss the necessary vaccines with your child’s doctor. Avoid immunizing when your child is sick. Take note of allergens like MSG or eggs and be sure to let your doctor know.

Have a fantastic year and remember, it is easy being green!

Jennifer Jesperson

Summer is here!  Whether you’re a regular beach-dweller or you only step in the sun once in a while, sunscreen is of the utmost importance to protect your skin. So when you stock up on your UV-ray protection, make sure the product you choose is not only safe for your body, but for the environment as well!

Chemical Sunscreens can be comprised of estrogenic toxins when absorbed by your skin can affect reproductive health and development. A study has shown that chemical sunscreens may harm coral reefs, so be on the look out for natural and biodegradable sunscreens for use on the beach.

Natural Sunscreens often include plant-based ingredients such as hemp seed oil, shea butter, jojoba oil and coconut oil that naturally provide UV protection – it helps that you can pronounce these ingredients too!

Check out http://www.allterrainco.com/sun_protection.html

Reapplying sunscreen and simply using enough throughout the day has a greater effect on protecting you from sunburn and UV-rays than using sunscreen with a higher SPF (and usually a higher price!). If you plan to spend a day outdoors, doctors recommend using a “shot glass” amount to cover all of your exposed skin, and to apply approximately 20 to 30 minutes before heading out in the sun.  Apply every couple of hours.

Before we know it, summer will be over.  As you start shopping for next years’ lunch boxes remember this:  During the average school year, each child throws out approximately 67 pounds of waste!  Think about purchasing reusable containers instead of plastic bags.

Laptop Lunch Boxes were created by two eco-conscious moms about seven years ago when the savvy pair realized that the best way to help parents pack wholesome, low-waste lunches was to “provide them with a lunch system that was not only convenient and economical, but also appealing to kids.” Made of lead-free plastic, its unique design, features single-serve individual containers, reusable utensils, a water or juice bottle and a handy carrying case.

Everyone from Wal-Mart to Land’s End to The Land of Nod are making eco-friendly backpacks now.  So keep that in mind too.

Our Sun Safety Committee members have offered their time and energy and will continue selling gift cards at school on Fridays during the summer. If every family purchased at least $100.00 a month, in grocery store cards, Stevenson would earn $4,000.00 a month!  At that rate, the kinder yard and possibly even the pirate ship would have a sun shade next year!  I don’t know about you, but I easily spend over $100.00 a month at Von’s alone!   And don’t forget about gas cards!  It’s SO easy!

Have a great summer everyone!  And remember, it is easy being green.

by Jennifer Jesperson

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.

Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

We had a salad for dinner tonight. The lettuce came from seeds that my son planted. I’ve gotta say, it was pretty cool. And tasty!
I spent some time in the school’s garden last week. You’ve heard Felix Chamberlain talk about it throughout the year. Fortunately for our Stevenson students, Jennifer Hughes has offered to take over for Felix, who will be off to Jordan next year. It was a great experience for me. Ms. Carrillo’s class joined us and I can’t even begin to tell you how excited the children were! They couldn’t wait to get their hands in the dirt! They were looking for bugs, digging holes, sifting mulch, pulling weeds and having a fabulous time!
Numerous studies show that the outdoors remains the healthiest environment for children and adults. Yes, even in Los Angeles! Gardening with children is one of the easiest ways to reap the benefits nature offers. Children with access to green outdoor spaces play more creatively and score higher on tests of self-discipline, according to a University of Illinois study. Studies show that nature and gardening are the best stress relievers. Recent studies by the American Dietetic Association found that children who garden eat more fruits and vegetables.

However, there haven’t been many studies (if any) on how nourishing the garden is for the soul. Caring for a garden is usually a silent activity, pierced only by the sounds of chirping birds and buzzing insects. But in the Old Stevenson Garden, it wasn’t quiet – and it was wonderful! There were screeches of “I found a pincher bug!” or “Look at the butterfly!” or “There are apples growing on this tree! When can we eat them?!?”
But even for children, the quiet time in the garden can be an antidote to all the noise and busyness of today’s culture. It’s a place where they can learn to be quiet. The garden can cultivate a sense of wonder in children and wonder, if nurtured, can serve as a lifelong source of joy and provide motivation for further learning.

Tips for Gardening With Kids

Gardening can be even more wonderful for children if parents plan some surprises. Here are some tips:

Plant some quick growers, like radishes, lettuce and sunflowers to keep the child’s interest.

Set aside a children’s garden and let the children choose their own vegetables and flowers. Teach the children responsibility by encouraging them to weed and water the garden throughout the growing season.

Do a theme garden. A pizza garden can contain segments with oregano, basil, tomatoes, onions and peppers. We just started a salsa garden with tomatoes, cilantro and peppers.

Have fun with vegetables. If you plant a pumpkin, when the pumpkin is small, scratch your child’s name on it and then watch it grow with the pumpkin.

Grow fragrant and medicinal herbs and flowers. The fragrance of roses has been used to cope with grieving. Lavender is a wonderful herb to grow in a children’s garden. It is known as a stress reliever and helps children to calm down. Growing some near a child’s bedroom window may even help the child get to sleep at night!

The garden offers a way for children and adults to recreate a connection with nature, which is essential to health and our planet!

When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves. ~David Orr

Remember, it is easy being green!

By Jennifer Jesperson

In the Beginning…
In 1963, former Senator Gaylord Nelson began to worry about our planet. Senator Nelson knew that our planet was in trouble and that many of our plants and animals were dying.

He wondered why more people weren’t trying to solve these problems. He talked to other lawmakers and to President Kennedy. They decided that the President would go around the country and tell people about these concerns. He did, but still not enough people were working on the problem.

In 1969, Senator Nelson had another idea. He decided to have a special day to teach everyone about the things that needed changing in our environment. He wrote letters to all of the colleges and wrote an article in Scholastic Magazine to tell them about the special day he had planned. (Most of the schools got this magazine then and he knew that kids would help him.)

On April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day was held. People all over the country made promises to help the environment. Everyone got involved and since then, Earth Day has spread all over the planet. People throughout the world know that there are problems we need to work on and this is our special day to look at the planet and see what needs changing.

One person had an idea and kept working until everyone began working together to solve it.

Jennifer Jesperson

“Behold, my brothers, the spring has come. The earth has received the embraces of the sun and we shall soon see the results of that love! Every seed is awakened and so has all animal life. It is through this mysterious

power that we too have our being and we therefore yield to our neighbors, even our animal neighbors, the same right as ourselves to inhabit this land. My love of our native soil is wholly mystical.”

- Chief Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotaka), Hunkpapa Sioux (1831-1890)

I thought that was a pretty appropriate quote for spring!

Three very simple words – re-use, repurpose, recycle. It’s a very simple concept really. If you can remember to think green, it becomes second nature. I know it’s not always easy or convenient, but it’s crucial. And an eco-lifestyle has a lot of great perks! It can save you money!!!

Here are a few easy tips for spring:

Plant a garden – It doesn’t have to be big. You’ve heard of the success of the Stevenson garden. Our children got out there and planted vegetables and they loved it! The kids even got excited to eat raw broccoli! I wonder how many of them do that at home? Try planting something with your child – you’ll be amazed.

Laundry – About 90% of the energy used while washing clothes goes to heating the water. Try washing in cold water and hanging some clothes and linens on a clothesline in the yard. You’ll save money and your clothes will smell great! There’s nothing like getting into a clean bed with sheets that have hung on the line. It can save you as much as $70.00 a year!

Change Five light bulbs – 
And help change the world. Now that it’s lighter longer, you can really make a difference on your electrical bill. Replace the conventional bulbs in your five most frequently used light fixtures with bulbs that have the ENERGY STAR and you will help the environment while saving money on energy bills. If every household in the U.S. took this one simple action we would prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from nearly 10 million cars. (Amazing isn’t it?)

Heat and cool smartly – 
Simple steps like cleaning air filters regularly and having your heating and cooling equipment tuned annually by a licensed contractor can save energy, money and at the same time reduce greenhouse gas emissions. When it’s time to replace your old equipment, choose a high efficiency model, and make sure it is properly sized and installed.

Use water efficiently – Saving water around the home is simple. City water systems require a lot of energy to purify and distribute water to our households, and saving water, especially hot water, can lower greenhouse gas emissions. There are simple actions you can take to save water: Be smart when irrigating your lawn or landscape; set your sprinklers to water during the coolest part of the day, early morning is best. Turn the water off while shaving or brushing teeth and did you know that a leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water per day? Repair all toilet and faucet leaks right away.

Don’t use disposable bags of any kind – The chemicals used to make paper bags are almost as bad as plastic bags! Watch for the spring PTA fundraiser – they’re selling those really cool bags again and I hear that they’re even cuter than they were in the fall!

Cut back on paper towels – Use old cloth towels to mop up spills. I’ve sung Viva’s praises before – really, they’re almost always on sale at Von’s and you can rinse them and wring them out and reuse them. I’ve even accidentally washed and dried one before and it didn’t fall apart in the washer! I used it again!!! Put out a stack of small hand towels in the bathroom and a little basket for soiled ones. You’ll save a ton of money.

- 40% of trash in U.S. landfills consists of paper products.

- 30% of the timber consumed in the U.S. is used to make paper products.

We need to change that.

Remember, it is easy being green!

Jennifer Jesperson

When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves. ~David Orr

The world has come together in Vancouver. And these Olympics are the greenest in history!

For example, the Olympic and Paralympic Village will reuse captured methane gas from a former landfill for energy and the primary heat source for the community will be waste heat recovered from the municipal wastewater treatment system.

The Richmond Oval, where all speed skating events will take place, has a huge ceiling – the size of almost seven Olympic hockey rinks! It is made with a million board feet of pine beetle-infested wood that otherwise would have gone to waste. Wood cleared from the six-acre site before construction began was used to make benches in the team dressing rooms. Even the rainwater running off the roof is collected in a pond for irrigation and for flushing the facility’s toilets!

NBC’s broadcast headquarters has a six-acre “living roof.” The roof features an enormous garden with 400,000 individual indigenous plants to help regulate the building’s temperature.

And of course how green could the Olympics be without sustainable transportation? The athletes will be traveling between venues and around the Olympic village via cutting-edge electric trolleys. Since their introduction three years ago, over 450 of them have been installed across Europe, and Toronto has ordered 204 models of a similar design.

Vancouver has raised the bar.

Remember, it is easy being green!
By Jennifer Jesperson