Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)

Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)! If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far.

There's a lot of great information in this post and I encourage you to read through it ... however, if you don't have the time right now, you might find the following quick links helpful:

• The #CTWW Gang
• The Honor Society
• My Final Thoughts on Our Last Challenge
• This Week's Challenge

Last week we completed the second half of our Permaculture exercise by taking our observations of the week before and putting them to use. One of my observations was that rain runs off the roof creating a small ditch near the patio. We live in an apartment so have no control over rain water collection. I decided to plant cucumbers between the patio and that ditch. So far we've had rain every other day and rather than running straight into the storm sewer system, it is helping my vegetables. Success!

The Honor Society are those people who help us spread the "green" word by writing an article about our challenges and/or leaving pertinent comments. Here's what they had to say:

What is the biggest variable affecting your gardening success? Eco Warrior Me says that, for her, it's not the location or the variety of plant grown but rather something which she can't control. Can you guess what it is? You'll learn about that and see pictures of her garden visitors in this POST. Last week I totally missed a brilliant post by Eco Warrior Me. It discusses our connection to nature and touches on the idea of harvesting food from wild places. It's definitely worth going back for ... and you can find it HERE.

In Personal observations of permaculture Mrs. Green shares that the gardening methods she learned from her father aren't exactly the methods preferred by mother nature. So she made a few changes ... the results include lovely brown eggs from her chickens.

Kelly joined us ... so nice to see you Kelly. Here's what she had to say "I planted my very first patio garden after reading a book on permaculture and urban homesteading. I made a compost bin out of a cracked rubbermaid storage bin using a hole-punch on the lid for aeration. With all the rain we've been having in Philly this week, I started collecting rainwater to use during dry patches to save on water. I've also begun my seedlings from heirloom seeds from a seed saver's group, gotten my plants from local urban farms and mulch from the Habitat for Humanity thrift store. I have herbs, vegetables and even fruit and plan on sharing what I have with my coworkers and friends. It's been such a joy to start my day by checking on all of my plants to see how they've grown and connecting with the earth by turning my compost pile. (Not to mention, since trying to be more mindful about food and waste, there's been so much less trash to take out on trash day!)." Great job, Kelly ... hope you'll come back and give us an update! By the way, if you haven't discovered Kelly's blog yet, you are going to love it. Within seconds, I was laughing. She has a delightful style of writing, shares recipes and even includes a vegan dish or two.

Argentum Vulgaris is experimenting with coffee grounds as a growing medium. He's also trying a different location for his tomatoes to avoid cute little "beasties" (he's got pictures and yep, they are cute). He also went off on a slight tangent about coffee take out containers. Curious? You'll find the post HERE.

Ann included our banner in this POST about trash and litter ... and this ONE about the Swan Plant Flower.

Ellie stopped by ... Hi Ellie! She says "I recently just started planting my garden. Our main problem was that we also just built a patio so in our small, urban backyard we found ourselves we a lot of excess dirt! We ended up re-purposing our old, falling apart compost bin into a raised tomato bed that we could throw a lot of the dirt in. Pictures of the garden coming soon on my blog!" Can't wait to see the tomato garden!

Danna (aka @victoriabeergal) is very proud of her garden. I can certainly see why ... check it out HERE.

Alicia took on this challenge. Here's what she had to say "Our plants that we planted this past year were planted according to where they would thrive the best. This includes sunlight, water and soil. We found that for our okra we always get the kind that is really heat tolerant for our area. We plant marigolds at the bottom of our bean poles to ward off pests. We also plant basil in between our tomato plants as both of these plants benefit from this. The basil and tomatoes both are sweeter. I love a good compost pile. It is amazing what adding compost to your garden soil will do." Fabulous, Alicia!!

Our Twitter friends shared their thoughts this week:

From @pinkladyapril
- even though it's May it's still too cold & frosty at night to plant anything in my little garden! Hope to soon though

From @earthyurban
- Hey guess what folks it's Wednesday which means its #CTWW what will you do to make lasting change today? I'm donating my books.
- Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good.

From @givetreegifts
- My #CTWW challenge is to make better use of an area in our yard. #1 seeding eco grass which forms deep root systems to conserve water.
- My #CTWW challenge is to make better use of an area in our yard #2 Introducing some fruit trees to attract pollinators & feed the birds
- My #CTWW challenge is to make better use of an area in our yard #3 Creating some raised beds for planting vegetables
- My #CTWW challenge is to make better use of an area in our yard #4 Kick back and enjoy the fruits of our hard labor. LOL
- Tips For Naturalizing Your Yard: http://enconcerto.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/tips-for-naturalizing-your-yard/
- Naturalize Your Yard Organically: http://bob-ewing.hubpages.com/hub/Naturalize-Your-Yard-Organically
- In Favor of a Naturalized Lawn: http://www.homestead.org/TrendleEllwood/Naturalized/NaturalizedLawn.htm
- If you give the birds and frogs a welcoming environment, they help keep bugs under control. Create habitats for your "helpers".

From @almosttruth
- This week's #CTWW is perfect. I haven't done this much gardening in a long time. I am off to get marigolds and diatomaceous earth now.

From @nonmom
- Kerbibbles, I've been neglectful w/my #CTWW. I am recycling clothes by passing them on to friends & then charity. Everyone wins! :)
- I find that by tweeting #CTWW it keeps me on track & aware of what I can do that can make a difference. Such a positive :)

From @ecowarriorme
- Action urged on city climate risk http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18032328 > looks like an opportunity for permiculture. #CTWW

From @rckweddings
- I'm just trying to understand permaculture for the task for #CTWW. I did find a great spot to plant some vegetables.

From @themac533
- A bit of green bleach/hydrogen peroxide in your rainbarrel/drip-lines help keep clean and provides oxygen-rich water to the plants.

From @curlycanadians
- Shop locally. Buy from local area stores and retailers that sell sustainable items that won't cost the earth.

From @rulesofgreen
- I didn't plant anything new but I replanted my fern plant and moved it outside
- the plant needed a bigger pot to (hopefully) grow some more :-)

The #CTWW Gang are those folks who share our challenges on twitter using the hashtag #CTWW. If you're a Twitter member, I highly recommend following them ... they have a lot of great things to say. Let's meet them:

@pinkladyapril @earthyurban @ecowarriorme @accessorygal @givetreegifts @rckweddings @fredadewar @groovygreenlivi @laalicia @frugallysustain @dazediva @phxrealestate4u @peopletowels @kelly_bakes

@smallbits @almosttruth @welovetoread @freshgreenkim @nonmom @wandabrendlemos @theriverwanders @skipbang @tiffanystoybox @rtb808 @TheNewAuthor @caradafforn @whopaysthepiper @gwened02

@ecologikal @groovygrapevine @rckweddings @rozdb @themac533 @curlycanadians @rulesofgreen @tif_hamilton @teedazzle @milkwoodfarm @allnaturalkatie @jennyey @victoriabeergal

My Final Thoughts:

One of the core tenets of permaculture is to care for the earth in a way which ensures that all life systems can continue and multiply. When we ignore that concept and simply take without thought, we set ourselves up for disaster ... species disappear, crops fail and people starve. With all the advances in technology, we might be lulled into thinking that it doesn't matter ... that we'll always have enough of everything we need and that the extinction of plant and animal species doesn't affect us. But then we experience food contamination, poor air quality, a lack of clean water and a natural world that somehow seems unbalanced ... and we quickly realize that we're fooling ourselves by believing that we "know better". Permaculture asks us to observe the world around us and make decisions based on sustainability ... decisions which will ultimately ensure that existence on earth continues.

Thanks, everyone! If you wrote an article, I have Stumbled, Tweeted, Facebooked and posted it on Google +. You can help spread the "green" word by using the share feature at the bottom of this post.

This Week's Challenge:

This week's challenge is suggested by Joanna (aka @rubbishgeek) and is inspired by the Green Ham and Cheese Waste-Free lunch. Here you go ...

This week make every lunch a waste-free lunch. If you pack a lunch for yourself or your children, use reusable bags or lunch boxes, reusable food containers & utensils, avoid single-serve items (pudding cups, chips, etc.), use cloth napkins, etc. Think about food choices and preparation. Eliminate any waste associated with the process (compost scraps, serve leftovers, etc.). If you typically go out for lunch, try fixing your own food or choose a restaurant which doesn't use disposable cups, plates, etc. and one which cooks with local foods. The idea here is to eliminate any waste associated with lunch.

Or ...

If your lunches are already waste-free, let's kick it up a notch. This week, make at least one lunch from local foods ... if you can do a week, that's even better. Let's define "local" as foods produced within a 100-mile radius of your home.

Or ...

If your lunches are already waste-free and you always "eat local", then let's elevate this challenge one more step. This week try "raw" lunches. Prepare at least one lunch which uses no cooking energy to prepare.

Don't forget ... if you think that any of our challenges can be improved, you are welcome to "Up The Ante" by asking us to do better than the stated activity.

Until next time ...

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