Friday, October 9, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Why trees are important ... by Little Miss Green
As you might remember, one of our recent Change The World Wednesday challenges was all about kids (you can read that challenge HERE). While I was impressed with all of the articles written about that challenge, I was particularly impressed by the stories of children who take it upon themselves to live a "greener" life. They are Eco-Stars and the hope for our future.
One such Eco-Star is Little Miss Green, the eight year old daughter of Mrs. Green who writes a fabulous blog called Little Green Blog. Little Miss Green is amazing ... she seems to consider all of her actions and judges them according to what is best for the earth. So, I thought it would be fun to hear from her. She (with the approval of her mom) kindly agreed to write something for us. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do:
Why trees are important
One of the things I love most in the world is trees.
I live in an area surrounded by trees and we have some in our garden too, so I'm very lucky. Trees, along with water are the most important things in the world because we need them to live.
I enjoy climbing them and if they all get cut down to make paper I won't have any to climb.
The most important thing is they give us oxygen and breathe in carbon dioxide which allows us to breathe.
Trees are houses for squirrels and birds, wasps and bees and they give us and the earth shade on sunny days.
They also provide us with food and if you're very poor this can be the only thing that keeps you alive.
If there are no trees, animals can start to die. If the bees start to die, we could start to die as well because they pollinate one third of all the food we eat.
Bees pollinate cotton too. Without cotton our clothes would have to be made from polyester. Polyester is made from oil and they cut Mother Nature's face open to get the oil.
Bees also give us beeswax. My Mummy uses beeswax to make me lipsalve to keep my lips comfy in the Winter and she adds manuka honey to make it extra special. She also uses beeswax to make creams to heal my skin if I cut it.
Trees are also very very important in floods. If we did not have trees you can have flooding when it rains. That is why there are nearly always trees around a stream. If there weren't any trees to drink the water the stream or river would flood and destroy the land.
When there is flooding and if it's on a steep hill, all the water would rush down the hill. If this kept happening, soon the soil would begin to roll down the hill too and might fall on top of houses and kill people.
I use tea tree, eucalyptus and neem oil to keep me healthy. Without these trees I would not have this special, safe medicines to use and I might have to use man made drugs instead.
Dead leaves turn into compost which makes the soil fertile. When the soil is healthy it can grow new things in it like more trees, food and pretty flowers.
I have six trees in my garden and I love them all.
Maisie lives by the side of the garage and shades my den. She blocks the entrance so no trespassers can get in. She has dark green leaves which make good collages.
Leafy is a tall sycamore tree which my tree house is built in. He is possible to climb but he is very big. I fly the helicopters which he scatters over my treehouse platform. He is the biggest of the lot. He protects me from the rain. There is a bees nest in him and whenever I go into my treehouse playing he gives off special messages because the bees never sting me.
Rose is the boss of all the trees. She is a rose tree with white flowers. Rose is unique and different from the others. She is quite stern and stubborn but as she is so different from the others I almost love her best. She is the smallest.
Maggie is a magnolia tree. She gives me lovely buds; when I was younger I used to think they were butterflies. She also gives me lovely sweet flowers and in spring until winter she is covered with lovely dark green leaves. Occasionally I pick off a small stem and it smells like lavender. I love Maggie; she is my favourite.
Buddy has lovely pink sweet-smelling flowers in the winter time. She is beautiful to look at with her dark green leaves. She is too small to climb and is more bush like. Her leaves have a red tinge to them which looks beautiful.
Apple is more difficult to climb. He gives me lots and lots of apples with red patches on which Mummy made into Apple and Blackberry pie. He has two branches leaning over my hammock which I swing on.
Grayling is a lovely tree for climbing. He's a cheerful happy lad who loves talking to me in his heart. At the very bottom of his trunk there is a branch which I get to bounce up and down on. My best friend likes him too because she learned to climb in him.
I love trees, they are beautiful to look at and give us so much. I don't like it when people cut trees down to be greedy and we should all take care of and love the trees.
Wasn't that wonderful? I don't know about you, but with the future of the earth in the hands of children, like Little Miss Green, I feel a lot better.
As always ... I would love to hear from you!
One such Eco-Star is Little Miss Green, the eight year old daughter of Mrs. Green who writes a fabulous blog called Little Green Blog. Little Miss Green is amazing ... she seems to consider all of her actions and judges them according to what is best for the earth. So, I thought it would be fun to hear from her. She (with the approval of her mom) kindly agreed to write something for us. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do:
Why trees are importantOne of the things I love most in the world is trees.
I live in an area surrounded by trees and we have some in our garden too, so I'm very lucky. Trees, along with water are the most important things in the world because we need them to live.
I enjoy climbing them and if they all get cut down to make paper I won't have any to climb.
The most important thing is they give us oxygen and breathe in carbon dioxide which allows us to breathe.
Trees are houses for squirrels and birds, wasps and bees and they give us and the earth shade on sunny days.
They also provide us with food and if you're very poor this can be the only thing that keeps you alive.
If there are no trees, animals can start to die. If the bees start to die, we could start to die as well because they pollinate one third of all the food we eat.
Bees pollinate cotton too. Without cotton our clothes would have to be made from polyester. Polyester is made from oil and they cut Mother Nature's face open to get the oil.
Bees also give us beeswax. My Mummy uses beeswax to make me lipsalve to keep my lips comfy in the Winter and she adds manuka honey to make it extra special. She also uses beeswax to make creams to heal my skin if I cut it.
Trees are also very very important in floods. If we did not have trees you can have flooding when it rains. That is why there are nearly always trees around a stream. If there weren't any trees to drink the water the stream or river would flood and destroy the land.
When there is flooding and if it's on a steep hill, all the water would rush down the hill. If this kept happening, soon the soil would begin to roll down the hill too and might fall on top of houses and kill people.
I use tea tree, eucalyptus and neem oil to keep me healthy. Without these trees I would not have this special, safe medicines to use and I might have to use man made drugs instead.
Dead leaves turn into compost which makes the soil fertile. When the soil is healthy it can grow new things in it like more trees, food and pretty flowers.
I have six trees in my garden and I love them all.
Maisie lives by the side of the garage and shades my den. She blocks the entrance so no trespassers can get in. She has dark green leaves which make good collages.
Leafy is a tall sycamore tree which my tree house is built in. He is possible to climb but he is very big. I fly the helicopters which he scatters over my treehouse platform. He is the biggest of the lot. He protects me from the rain. There is a bees nest in him and whenever I go into my treehouse playing he gives off special messages because the bees never sting me.
Rose is the boss of all the trees. She is a rose tree with white flowers. Rose is unique and different from the others. She is quite stern and stubborn but as she is so different from the others I almost love her best. She is the smallest.
Maggie is a magnolia tree. She gives me lovely buds; when I was younger I used to think they were butterflies. She also gives me lovely sweet flowers and in spring until winter she is covered with lovely dark green leaves. Occasionally I pick off a small stem and it smells like lavender. I love Maggie; she is my favourite.
Buddy has lovely pink sweet-smelling flowers in the winter time. She is beautiful to look at with her dark green leaves. She is too small to climb and is more bush like. Her leaves have a red tinge to them which looks beautiful.
Apple is more difficult to climb. He gives me lots and lots of apples with red patches on which Mummy made into Apple and Blackberry pie. He has two branches leaning over my hammock which I swing on.
Grayling is a lovely tree for climbing. He's a cheerful happy lad who loves talking to me in his heart. At the very bottom of his trunk there is a branch which I get to bounce up and down on. My best friend likes him too because she learned to climb in him.
I love trees, they are beautiful to look at and give us so much. I don't like it when people cut trees down to be greedy and we should all take care of and love the trees.
Wasn't that wonderful? I don't know about you, but with the future of the earth in the hands of children, like Little Miss Green, I feel a lot better.
As always ... I would love to hear from you!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Vegan Recipe - Artichoke Pesto Penne Pasta
One of the easiest ways to walk a little gentler on the earth is to eat meatless meals (read more about that HERE). So, once a month (on the first Friday of the month), I post a vegan recipe.
This month's recipe comes from my bloggy friend, Tracy, at Strawberry Hedgehog. Tracy is such a talented woman. I first got hooked on her blog when I saw recipes for vegan muffins, salads and even ice cream ... wonderful recipes which she shares, regularly, with her readers. As I got to know Tracy, I learned that she also makes vegan soaps ... luxurious, wonderful smelling soaps which she sells in her vegan bath and body shop. On top of all that, she's really a nice person. So, if you haven't visited Strawberry Hedgehog, I urge you to do so.
Tracy shared the following recipe with her readers a few months ago. I've made it a couple of times and we love it. I hope you and your family enjoy it, too!
Artichoke-Pesto Penne Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
1 package whole wheat penne
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup pine nuts
1 handful baby spinach
2 handfuls fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 can artichoke hearts
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Cook the penne according to the package directions, drain, and rinse with cool water.
Saute the garlic in a bit of olive oil until it starts to brown. Turn off the heat and toss in the pine nuts for just a minute. Put the garlic, nuts, basil, spinach, nutritional yeast, and lemon into your food processor and blend until smooth.
Drain and quarter the artichokes, mix them with the penne, and pesto. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill and enjoy!
Thanks to Tracy for this yummy dish!
As always ... I would love to hear from you!
This month's recipe comes from my bloggy friend, Tracy, at Strawberry Hedgehog. Tracy is such a talented woman. I first got hooked on her blog when I saw recipes for vegan muffins, salads and even ice cream ... wonderful recipes which she shares, regularly, with her readers. As I got to know Tracy, I learned that she also makes vegan soaps ... luxurious, wonderful smelling soaps which she sells in her vegan bath and body shop. On top of all that, she's really a nice person. So, if you haven't visited Strawberry Hedgehog, I urge you to do so.
Tracy shared the following recipe with her readers a few months ago. I've made it a couple of times and we love it. I hope you and your family enjoy it, too!
Artichoke-Pesto Penne Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
1 package whole wheat penne
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup pine nuts
1 handful baby spinach
2 handfuls fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 can artichoke hearts
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Cook the penne according to the package directions, drain, and rinse with cool water.
Saute the garlic in a bit of olive oil until it starts to brown. Turn off the heat and toss in the pine nuts for just a minute. Put the garlic, nuts, basil, spinach, nutritional yeast, and lemon into your food processor and blend until smooth.
Drain and quarter the artichokes, mix them with the penne, and pesto. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill and enjoy!
Thanks to Tracy for this yummy dish!
As always ... I would love to hear from you!
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