10-year storm – 11 1/2″ in 4-days

admin | December 23, 2010

Serious weather the past few days! This sort of weather happens seasonally in the Tropics, but Southern California? Last night alone, we received 4″ of rain. That’s an incredible amount of water! (As a reference, a typical rain event bring between 1/4″ and 1″ over a 24-hour period, almost never more.) Over the past 6-days, Dec. 18-23rd, we’ve received a total of 11.5″! That’s our annual average in one week. wow!

We’ve designed our facility to handle water, but this storm was more than we had ever planned. (Note to self; always design for 10 and 100-year storm activities!) With that said, we weathered the storm quite nicely. Of course, Juggy stands strong and tall battling the storm. Our other creatures on the other hand, the chickens, had a tougher time. You know the term “cooped up”? Well add wet and cold to the coop, not easy! They live to fight another day.

Our rainwater tank doesn’t do much good full, either. At 550 gallons of storage, the tank fills after the first 1″ of rain. Our small rain garden was also full and overflowing. But what can and did handle the weather was our 100′ long bioswale. Our what? A bioswale is a retention basin to passively harvest rainwater storing it in the ground rather than a tank. For the first time ever, the bioswale at 3′ deep was overflowing, leaving the bridge floating. That’s 1000′s of gallons of water harvested! After 24 hours, the water level of the bioswale has dropped to a mere 4″.

Besides a couple house leaks, I think we did pretty darn good! With a 130-year old house, it’s inevitable that the windows leak. Our neighbors weren’t as fortunate as we were. South Coast Farms is partially flooded and the farm stand was filled ankle-deep in water!

On the other end of the spectrum, we have concrete river systems nearly failing. At 10am yesterday, Dec. 22nd, the San Juan Creek was nearly 20′ deep, rushing hard like any wild river. Unfortunately, the San Juan Creek isn’t wild and in turn the rushing billions of gallons of water nearly took out both sides of concrete walls just about City Hall.

The question is, how do we restore this watershed? Maybe the watershed isn’t a sequence of infrastructure, but a system connecting each of us? Maybe your home and how you use it is the important link in the watershed?

How did you handle the weather. What systems held up, which need improving? Tell us your stories.

Alternative Gift Wrapping Saturday, 12/18 at the Center for Living Peace

admin | December 14, 2010

Did you know that between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day Americans send an extra 1 million pounds of waste to the landfill each week?! Yipes! Good news is, there are a host of fun and clever ways to minimize your holiday waste. Join Morgan at the Center for Living Peace this Saturday, 12/18, from 1-3pm for a lesson in Alternative Holiday Gift Wrap. You’ll learn how to use once-loved, recycled, or reusable materials to ensure that your biggest impact this holiday season is the thought behind your gift-giving.

Today, we’re putting the spotlight on one of the tricks you’ll learn, Furoshiki. A very common way to wrap gifts or carry groceries in the Japanese culture, Furoshiki is a reusable, multipurpose and incredibly versatile technique to minimize your waste. In Saturday’s workshop, you’ll learn:

Yotsu Musubi, the four tie wrap

From Mammaoca2008's Flickr photostream.

Bin Tsutsumi 1, the bottle carry wrap

From betty.'s Flickr photostream.

Otsukai Tsutumi, the basic carry wrap

From geishblog.com.

Kousa Tsutumi, the slender object carry wrap

From Mammaoca2008's Flickr photostream.

Plus, a few more…The class is $12 per person. Call 949.854.5500 to get sign up. For more details including directions and instructor bio, click here. Here’s a video from wraprecyclenow to get you inspired.

Follow-up: Beeswax Candlemaking Workshop

admin | December 13, 2010

This weekend’s Backyard Skills class put the spotlight on one of The Ecology Center’s all-time favorite homemade gifts: beeswax candles.

The wax in most store-bought candles is a petroleum-based substance called paraffin that can release harmful substances such as acetone, benzene and lead into the air as it burns. These compounds can affect your indoor air quality and aggravate health conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory illnesses. Some of the substances have proven to be carcinogenic.

Beeswax is a natural alternative, burns longer than paraffin and has been recognized by the National Candle Association as a cleaner-burning candle material.

Set aside an afternoon to follow the steps below and you’ll produce several sets of beautiful beeswax tapers—a warm, healthy and environmentally conscious gift for family and friends. Let’s get started:

Tools and Materials:

  • 2-gallon cooking pot
  • an 8 to 16-inch-tall metal candle-dipping pail
  • 1 gallon of water to start, plus enough to keep the level steady throughout the process
  • Wooden dowel or hanging rack
  • Newspaper
  • Pack of candle wicks
  • A few pounds of beeswax

A few notes about tools and materials: The candle-dipping pail and wicks are readily available at craft stores. Beeswax can be purchased at natural-food stores and from online retailers. If you ask around at your local farmer’s market, you may get a great lead as well. The amount of beeswax you’ll need to buy will depend on the size of candle you make and how many sets you want to make. For instance, if you want to make one set of 8-ounce tapers, you’ll need at least 16 ounces of wax.

Directions:

Place chunks of beeswax into your tall metal dipping pail, set aside.

Prepare a hot water bath by filling your cooking pot half full with water. Bring to a boil, then set the pail of beeswax inside. The wax will take awhile to start to melt, so be patient.

Prop or wedge a sturdy wooden dowel between a doorway or set up a hanging rack nearby. In either case, be sure to cover the floor below with newspaper to catch drips.

Cut a piece of wick two times the length of your desired candle length, plus a few inches.

Using two fingers, pick the wick up by the center and dip both ends into the melted wax. Keep the ends from touching or they’ll definitely stick together. Repeat three times, increasing the “coat” on the wick each time. Move quickly, but allow the forming candle to drip and cool a bit between dips.

Carefully drape the pair over the dowel or hanging rack. Allow to cool.

Once a pair is cool enough for another dip, return it to the pail for another coating. The wicks will want to curl and bend; straighten them out by hand if you see this happening. Continue the dipping and cooling pattern until the candle set has reached the desired sized. If your arms get tired, rest a bit by carefully draping the candle over the dowel. You can also work on multiple pairs at once by letting sets cool on the dowel while dipping others.

While candles are hanging to cool, trim the drips that begin to form at the bottom of the candle. Let cool completely, tie ribbon around a pair and give, give, give!

Process note: Don’t forget to add more beeswax chunks to your dipping container. Maintaining the level of wax in the container will ensure you produce candles of consistent width from top to bottom.

Check out our weekly column at San Juan Capistrano Patch for this article and other green and sustainable living tips!

Membership Bash Photos

admin | December 7, 2010

A massive thank you to all who attended our membership bash. More than anything, our celebration this past Saturday was our way of saying thank you to our community for their participation and support this past year. Many came out to enjoy the homegrown tunes of Yo Pitzy Jug Band, food from La Sirena and Chomp Chomp Nation food truck. Thanks to Bonterra, Sambazon, VitaCoco and Guayaki for the beverages. The Eco Shop debut was a huge success, as well. (Please stop by this weekend for more holiday gifts, open Saturday 11-5pm.)

Again, thank you for coming out. We look forward to growing together in 2011!

Great Green Gifts! at the Bash

admin | November 30, 2010

It’s an exciting week at The Ecology Center. We’re gussying up the place in preparation for our first-ever Membership Bash this Saturday, December 4th from 3-6pm. There will be complimentary food and music amidst the wonderful group of folks that The Ecology Center has the privilege of calling our community. In addition to food, drink and festivities, there will be an opportunity for holiday shopping! We’ve rounded up local artisans and their unique, planet-friendly creations so that you can give consciously this year. You’ll find goods from the following vendors inside The Eco Shop:

31 Bits

The ladies of 31 Bits work with internally displaced women in Northern Uganda to bring colorful necklaces and bracelets made of 100% recycled paper and water-based varnishes to the international market. Providing instant income, literacy education and financial and vocational training, 31 Bits gives these women the opportunity to counter poverty.

Sass & Peril

Graphic designer and founder of Sass&Peril, Shannon makes funky screenprinted cards for all occasions. She uses recycled paper and a hand-pulled screenprinter to create her works. Check out Shannon’s blog for the latest on Sass&Peril.

Chantal deFelice

Chantal deFelice’s creations include earrings, necklaces, notecards, prints and ornaments. She uses quality, salvaged scrap wood, archival grade paper and inks, neutral pH adhesive, water based spray coat and sterling silver in her line. Find more examples of her work click here.

Sun Stones Garden Art

The artisans at Sun Stones make mobiles, rain chains, spiders, birdhouses and other nature-inspired pieces out of recycled and repurposed materials. You can find Sun Stones creations throughout Southern California and right here at The Ecology Center.

Come get to know these and other local artisans like Dean Butterfield, delightful trinkets and Jesse Miller this Saturday, December 4th from 3-6pm.

Introducing: The Apprentice Pack

admin | November 23, 2010

Just in time for the holidays, The Ecology Center is happy to introduce The Apprentice Pack – a collection of our favorite tools to jump start a more conscious lifestyle.

The Apprentice Pack is an organic tote bag containing:

The Ecology Center Kleen Kanteen

To-Go Ware bamboo utensil set

The Backyard Skills pocket field book

Organic teas from Guayaki

Organic vegetable seeds

A value of $65, you can purchase The Apprentice Pack for $50 as a fun, thoughtful gift for family and friends. You’ll find The Apprentice Pack and other conscious gifts like watering cans, low-flow aerators, books, soaps, skateboards and organic tees at The Eco Shop. Open on weekends from 11am-5pm.

Bright Lights, Little Energy

admin | November 22, 2010

In honor of our upcoming December Backyard Skills workshop, Beeswax Candle Making, we’re talking lighting today, alternative lighting to be exact – the kind that can lower your energy use, your electric bill and greenhouse gas emissions.

Skylights

Nothing new here, but it’s important to remember how effective skylights are in bringing natural – and free – lighting into the home. True, you can’t depend on them as a light source in the evenings, but, during the day, one square foot of glass skylight can provide 10 times as much light as a normal, vertically-installed window. To avoid higher A/C bills, be sure your skylights are properly insulated.

Light Tubes/Cans

These are really nifty. Light tubes (or cans) are essentially tunnels capped with lenses on either end. They can be installed in areas of your ceiling that can’t support a full blown skylight. Light tubes and cans bring an impressive amount of bright, natural and diffuse light into any room of the home, but are popular in bathrooms.

LEDs and CFLs

Both significant upgrades from incandescent bulbs, LEDs and CFLs use 75% less electricity to operate than incandescents. Since it takes water to make electricity, using LEDs and CFLs can help conserve water, too. They give off little to no waste heat. What’s the difference between the two? LED bulbs will last much longer than a CFL and is more expensive. CFLs are easier to find and produce a wider spectrum of light than LEDs.

Candles, of course!

Long before LEDs and CFLs, handmade candles were our only source of night lighting aside from the starts. Not all candles are created equal. Wax can be sourced from plant, animal and petroleum by-products. Our preference is for beeswax candles, they burn longer and smell sweeter than paraffin (petrol-derived) candles and do so without the release of carcinogenic compounds like paraffin candles.

Beeswax candles can be made in your kitchen! Join us on Saturday, December 11th, at 1pm for a lesson in poured beeswax candles. Sign up now to reserve your space, it’s limited! Call 949.443.4223 or sign up online.

Designing a Garden with Children in Mind

admin | November 17, 2010

From our Farm to Fork and Gardens for Life experiences here at The Ecology Center, we can vouch for a child’s love of being outside and, in most cases, getting their hands dirty. As we make progress on the construction of our green house and edible schoolyard, we thought it’d be fun to share some tips on designing a garden with children in mind.

The Children's Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Garden

While the idea of growing their own veggies may be enough motivation for some children, you may have to try other angles to engage others. Attracting butterflies, ladybugs and praying mantis, growing pumpkins for Halloween or all the veggies needed for pizza and/or flowers for necklaces might help you sell the idea.

Through gardening, children will learn a lot about agriculture and ecology, but there are a host of other opportunities in geometry, geology and math that should be taken advantage of. For instance, will your garden take on a circular shape? A rectangle? Will it be amorphous? Will you use all of it for vegetables or will a certain percent be dedicated to flowers? Performing a simple soil test can generate a conversation about soil quality, composition, erosion and nutrient loss.

Soil Repair at The Ecology Center

After deciding the shape and general composition of the garden, it’s time to prep the soil. This a critical step, since a garden is only as good as its soil. Omitting this step may lead to disappointing results and, worse, disappointed kids. Take the time to add organic soil amendments, remove old roots and clods. If you perform the soil test, you’ll know whether you need to add nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium and if you need to adjust the soil acidity – another great science education opportunity!

Here’s a step the kids will really love – choosing the plants. Be sure to honor what you’ve ‘sold’ the kids on. This will determine whether you need to buy pumpkin seeds, pollinator plants, or a variety of pizza-friendly vegetables. It will also help you narrow down your choices! If you think the kids are ready for the challenge of planting from seed, go for it! Otherwise, we recommend buying young transplants.

Garden shot from lifeisagarden.co.za.

After the garden has been planted, it’s a good idea to create a chart of watering and weeding responsibilities. Remember to keep the process fun, add a scarecrow, purchase colorful watering cans and shovels, add stepping stones or other decorative elements and bring a few children’s gardening books into your collection. Enjoy!

If you’d like to jump start your child’s interest in gardening at home, we recommend our Farm to Fork class, where students harvest items from our edibles garden and use them in preparing small plates meals – all with the guidance of local chefs. The next Farm to Fork, is Saturday, December 4th from 10:00 – 11:30am. Pre-registration is required and can be done by calling 949.443.4223. (Recommended for ages 6 to 12).

Fall Fruit Focus: Figs!

admin | November 12, 2010

Did you know that of all fruits, figs are one of the most perishable? After being harvested, they last only about a week! Fresh figs are an opportunity not to be missed. Not only are they delicious, but they contain nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids that are associated with healthy heart and brain function. At your farmer’s market, choose a plump, soft fig that gives a bit under gentle pressure. Here are a few fig recipes to get you inspired:

photo from marthastewart.com

Fresh Figs with Mascarpone and Warm Spiced Honey

8 small (or large) fresh, ripe figs, stems trimmed, halved lengthwise

1/3 cup mascarpone, softened

1/3 cup mild honey

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

4 sprigs fresh mint

Arrange the figs cut-side up among four plates. Use the back of a teaspoon to gently press into the center of the flesh and create a small indentation.

Add a dollop of mascarpone to the center of each fig half and set plates aside.

Place honey and spices in a small heat-proof bowl and set over a pan with simmering water. Cook over medium heat, whisking to blend, until honey is liquefied and warm, 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle honey over each fig, garnish plates with mint sprigs, and serve immediately.

Pan-seared Figs on Baby Greens with Hazelnuts

5 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon minced fresh shallots

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, skins rubbed off, coarsely chopped*

10 cups baby mixed greens, about 5 ounces

8 small (or 4 large) fresh ripe figs, stems trimmed halved lengthwise

4 ounces crumbled blue cheese, such as Roquefort or Gorgonzola

*To toast shelled hazelnuts, spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and put in an oven heated to 300 degrees until skins begin to crack, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove, wrap  nuts in a clean kitchen towel, and rub vigorously to loosen skins.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, 3 tablespoons oil, shallots, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Place hazelnuts and mesclun in a large bowl and set aside.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy, large skillet (do not crowd figs) over high heat until shimmering, which occurs just before the smoke point. Add figs cut-side down and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, toss greens and nuts with dressing and salt and pepper to taste.

Place equal mounds of salad in center of four plates. Arrange cheese on top. Distribute figs evenly on top of the greens. Serve immediately.

(recipes from wholeliving.com)

Pine Needle Basket Weaving

admin | November 3, 2010

Basket made by Lucy Telles. Featured in the Smithsonian.

For thousands of years, California Native American Indians have used local materials such as grasses, roots and shoots, to make baskets. (Archaeologists have identified some artifacts as being close to 12000 years old!) Their uses range from ceremonial accessories to practical daily purposes like cooking, serving vessels, storage, gathering, cradles and more. Today, the handiwork of the Alaska Aleut, California Pomo, Nevada Washo and Louisiana Chitmacha are considered among the greatest accomplishments of American design and craftsmanship. The works of acclaimed California basket makers such as Elsie Allen, Mable McKay, Dat So La Lee and Lucy Telles can be found in many museums. We profile Lucy here.

Lucy Telles at Yosemite National Park with her World's Fair prize winner.

Lucy, whose Indian name, Pamahas, translates to Meadows, was born in Mono Lake and lived in Yosemite Valley. She learned basket weaving as a child and quickly became known for her innovative work. She is recognized as the first weaver to use not one, but two colors in traditional Miwok baskets. Using bracken fern root for black and redbug twigs for red, she created designs that she sold to Yosemite visitors. In the 1920s, she was regarded as the best weaver in the Valley and frequently won prizes for her work. One basket in particular, took her four years to weave, and won first prize at the 1933 World’s Fair.

The wide variety of weaving techniques and basket shapes and patterns can be attributed to the fact that baskets are made with local materials. Finished pieces reflect the colors and textures of the local plants and trees found in the area. Best thing of all is – the basic techniques of basketry make the art accessible to novice artisans, like you. Sign up for our Pine Needle Basket Making class at the Center for Living Peace on Saturday, November 20th to test out your skills! All students will be bringing home their own handmade basket made from local materials procured by instructor Jodi Levine. Cost is $35. Register now.

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