Change The World Wednesday

Before we get started with this week's challenge, I have a favor to ask. Reduce Footprints is once again listed in Blog Interviewer so, if you have a few extra minutes, I'd really appreciate your vote. Just click on the picture at the left and then, once at the site, click on the "vote" button at the top of the interview. Thanks everyone!

Last week we challenged ourselves to plant something. Plants are marvelous ... they clean the air, provide beauty and food, they offer habitat to small critters ... and cultivating them can be as good as meditation or therapy. At my house, we plant everything in containers which then cover almost every inch of our apartment patio. I personally believe that herbs and vegetables are beautiful so ... no ornamentals in my "farm" ... just edibles. This year we decided to grow everything from seeds, some of which were collected from last year's harvest, rather than purchase plants from the local nursery. It is one more step towards sustainability. We planted heirloom tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas and all kinds of herbs. We also planted tamarind trees. We're keeping our fingers crossed for a ton of fresh produce this year.

Our Honor Society spent the week planting, as well. Let's check in with them:

Mrs. Green has been busy planting ... she's growing the usual vegetables and herbs ... but this year she's also growing something quite unique ... something which will help her with cleaning. Intrigued? I sure was ... read all about it HERE.

Kathleen joined us ... she just finished planting seeds for her family's first vegetable garden. Yay! I hope you'll come back, Kathleen, and update us on how your garden grows. By the way, if you enjoy contests and giveaways ... and interesting blogs, be sure to stop in at Kathleen's place ... lots of good stuff going on over there!

Argentum Vulgaris took the challenge. He's growing cayenne peppers and chuchu. Can you guess what chuchu is? Read his post HERE to find out. If you didn't know, AV is a chef ... so I'm anxious to see what he ends up doing with the chuchu.

Krys and the boys have been busy planting. In fact, they are already harvesting their produce. They have a spring garden where they grow greens, lettuce, broccoli and a few other treats ... and then they have a summer garden where they grow wonderful things like eggplant, cucumber, and okra. They even grow watermelon. Check out what they've already harvested HERE. And here's a tip ... if you're interested in vegan recipes and meal ideas, be sure to browse Two Vegan Boys ... I get hungry every time I visit!

Brian grew up in a family who always had a garden ... and it's in his blood. This year, in addition to planting vegetables, he's planting fruit trees. For those of you who know Brian, you are, no doubt, familiar with his brilliant writing ... he's a published author. On his blog, The New Author, he recently wrote about gardening. How does an article about gardening fit into a blog about writing? Read this POST to find out.

The Accessory Lady took the challenge and planted calendula seeds in pots on her windowsill. While she may only have a small space to plant, she appreciates nature and shares many of her "finds" with readers HERE.

Loving Kindness@Samsara dropped in ... always nice to see you Lian! If you've never been to Lian's site, I encourage you to visit ... it's a lovely, peaceful place with great, thought-provoking posts.

EcoGrrl has planted all kinds of things ... kiwi, corn, carrots, onions, spinach, lettuce, leeks (to name just a few). Want to see pictures of how her garden grows? Click HERE ... it's like a virtual tour of her yard!

Pacebutler stopped by and took the challenge. If you're interested in recycling, especially cell phone recycling, be sure to drop by his site for some great information.

KiraC joined us. She's relatively new to gardening but is giving it her best. She's going to plant a garden full of herbs and veggies and ... she and her son have scattered wild flower seeds around the front perimeter of their home. Oh .. I'll bet that is going to be beautiful! Nicely done, Kira!

Le-Chat just finished planting coriander seeds gathered from last year's harvest. If you are familiar with Le-Chat's blog, then you know that she is an expert at finding things, normally items destined for a landfill, which she then reuses ... often after a little creative re-engineering. That includes gardening supplies and even tulip bulbs. Scroll the posts HERE to see what I mean.

REWinn took the challenge. Always creative and inventive, REWinn is growing something quite unique. Here's a hint ... how does one Grow a Compost Pile? Find the answer and a very interesting idea HERE.

Wow ... wasn't that great? Our Honor Society never disappoints and always offers us so many variations on a theme. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Are you ready for a new challenge? Our very first challenge asked that we cut down showers to no more than 10 minutes. That challenge was quickly upped to no more than 2 minutes, which many of us accomplished. So this week we're going to return to showers and fine-tune our water use. Here it is:

This week, cut the number of showers you take in half. If you take a shower daily, try taking one every other day instead. Whatever the number of showers you take in a given week, cut it in half. Warning ... accepting this challenge may negatively affect any social functions or gatherings ... but will save water. :)

So what do you think? Are you up for the challenge?

As always I have Stumbled and Tweeted your articles. Information about our challenges, as well as a complete list of activities, can always be found HERE.

WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!