Mountain Biking: Rubber side down- Time for a TurnaroundWell, my friends, things are finally looking up, and good timing, too, since I’m sure you’re all sick of me bitching. Recent bike build, including wheels… fun! In what feels like a fairly short time, I’ve come from sitting around … Continue reading → […]
- This Raised My PulseHey, baby… wanna ride? I may be injured, but I’m not dead yet. I can still have racy thoughts. Here’s more info. In other news, UBI was an awesome success! I had a blast. I highly recommend it. Overhaul day…. … Continue reading → […]
- Time for a Turnaround
- Edgy Veggie
Casey Middle School Bike Club gets students fired up about biking
Casey Middle School’s Bike Club participates in a race.
Hey! It’s a guest post from Casey Middle School teacher and Bike Club sponsor Catherine Powers!
Casey Middle School’s Bike Club wrapped up a fantastic 2009-2010 school year with a great showing at the CU Short Track race on May 19, helping to kick off that weekly series. Read more
Fifth graders to world: Stay on designated trails!
Hey! It’s a guest post from Deanna Williams, USFS Wildlife Biologist & Angela Mundt, USFS Wildlife Technician!
This spring, as the skis get put back in the garage and the mountain bikes get dusted off, Boulder Valley 5th graders have a message for local bikers, motorcyclists, and horse riders: Please stay on designated trails! That unmarked path may be tempting, but it might be causing serious damage to the land and our drinking water.
The Boulder Ranger District, of the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest, is enlisting local 5th graders to promote watershed protection, local wildlife conservation, and trail rules/etiquette. Selected artwork from the 2010 Student Wildlife Art Contest will be recognized here at BigGreenBoulder and incorporated into new educational trail signs on the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest.
Damage from unauthorized trails off the Peak to Peak Highway.
The art contest was inspired during efforts to repair and restore several miles of undesignated trail that was damaging a sensitive streamside area that runs east of the Peak to Peak Highway. Heavy use of these trails damaged plants, disturbed wildlife trying to raise young, and introduced sediment and pollutants into the Boulder Creek watershed.
Fifth graders participating in the contest are designing artwork around 3 themes: Read more
Balcony garden step one: “growing” my dirt in a compost bin
Hey! It’s a guest post from the Camera’s Allison Barrett!
Allison
A few months ago I moved into a quiet apartment that had one amazing feature: A large balcony. We aren’t talking 4′ x 9′ or even 5′ x 10. We are talking a 6′ by 25′ balcony that had so many possibilities that the mind boggled.
I happened to move in next to a green thumb and, throughout the cold winter months, before she ran off to Arizona, we devised greater and greater plans for what to do with my space. Her balcony, even in the dead of winter, was a warm, cozy place with chairs spaced appropriately for company and gardening pots and tools carefully placed on the side, ready to be used again as soon as it was time.
Why compost?
So these grandiose plans came down to one simple fact: I needed dirt. Three options arose.
First, sneak out and “borrow” dirt from neighboring homes in the dead of night. Second, buy dirt from a dirt store. Third, and the most enticing, make dirt. Create compost using all the organic materials left around after making a meal, coffee and reading the newspaper!
The first one would land me in jail, the second was not very appealing due to a small budget and even smaller ambition to carry large bags of dirt up to the second floor where my apartment was located. The last one made the most sense. Eco-friendly, cost-effective and hey, I have a balcony, I have plenty of room to “grow” dirt. Read more
Electric lawnmower convert
Hey! It’s a guest post from Camera editorial page editor Erika Stutzman.
Erika
This weekend, we took advantage of a program that swaps carbon-meanie gasoline-powered lawnmowers for small, efficient electric ones.
We have a small yard; we leave the grass clippings mulch to keep them out of landfills. We have an organic garden that feeds us. We are persnickety about our water usage here in the dry American West, using as little as possible and only in the cool of early morning or late evenings.
But yes, our mower was powered by gasoline. Even last summer, when gasoline cost about $100 a gallon. Because in addition to trying to be green, we are also thrifty. The mower was from the 1970s and was a hand-me-down from our children’s grandpa; it was too small to be very useful (except for small yards, like ours) and it took some serious muscle power, as it was both old, and a push mower.
Living City Block Denver: A glimpse of a greener future?
Hey! It’s a guest post from the Rocky Mountain Institute‘s Ben Holland!
Ben
Smart growth. Sustainable cities. These terms get tossed around a lot. And, typically, they are used in reference to new buildings and new communities. What about our existing buildings and our aging cities?
Living City Block is taking aim at this question. By combining urban revitalization with a focus on energy-efficiency retrofits and cutting-edge renewable technology, they are trying to set an adoptable standard for urban sustainability.
Raising the bar
Typical building renovations increase energy efficiency by 10 percent. Pretty marginal. If you consider the fact that 80% of the existing buildings in the U.S. will still be in operation 50 years from now, that’s not exactly pushing the envelope to a sustainable future.
What if you could cut the energy consumption of an entire community by half? Even better, what if that community could produce more energy than it consumes?
Sex, cupcakes and the planet: 6 green reading suggestions from the Boulder Book Store
Mandy
Hey! It’s a guest post from Mandy King of the Boulder Book Store!
Happy Earth Day, Boulder! If you’re a booklover like me, you tend to associate every holiday and major event with books. With that in mind, here are my top picks for books to celebrate Earth Day.
Earth by Bill McKibben
1. Eaarth by Bill McKibben. No, that’s not a typo. The two A’s in the title of McKibben’s latest manifesto refer to his belief that our planet is changing beyond recognition. Twenty years ago, McKibben was one of the first people to talk about global warming. Raise your hand (umm…or comment below) if you read his game-changing book, The End of Nature. I think we can all agree that we’ve done damage—in some cases, irreparable—to our planet and Eaarth provides a meaningful discussion about how we can turn to our communities to survive. Intrigued? Bill’s going to be speaking at First United Methodist Church this coming Tuesday. Read more
How to host a clothing swap party
Got stuff? Want stuff? Have a swap!
Hey! It’s a guest post from Melanie M. Sidwell!
Melanie
I like new clothes (but hate shopping). I also like free things (who doesn’t?). I’m a working parent flying solo these days with little time, patience, and funds to hit the mall, so when I was introduced to the idea of a clothing swap, I was immediately on board.
Why? A clothing swap puts into action “Another (wo)man’s trash is another (wo)man’s treasure,” truly making this living green lifestyle thingy very fashionable.
We’ve all been there, staring at the closet overloaded with clothes but have nothing to wear. A swap brings together your friends and their unwanted, misguided fashion choices for scoring free new-to-you finds, as well as a chance to socialize and do social good.
I’ve been to a few swaps, both held amongst friends in their homes and open to the public events; recently I hosted one at my home with ladies I love. Here are some tips to get you swapping: Read more
Urban potato crop in a bin on a balcony
Ed. note: Thanks to Camera editorial page editor Erika Stutzman for this guest post!
I’m an accidental organic potato farmer, and you can be too. Even if your only outdoor space is a balcony. Even if, like me, you happen to be a rather inexperienced, ineffective home gardener plagued by pests. Sure, I had a lot of hot peppers and a few tomatoes and herbs, but what I really had was a bumper crop of pests, including earwigs, slugs and a tenacious 11-year-old Bichon Frise with a taste for organic kale and corn. Want to know how a small white dog could pull ears off a 4-foot corn stalk? So do I.
A potato bin in action
But we harvested this week, just ahead of the frost, and to my surprise: My otherwise mediocre home garden yielded nearly 40 pounds of perfect potatoes. Surprisingly large, with picture-perfect roundness and smooth skin, and creamy interiors that taste amazing even without cream or butter.
The secret is inexpensive “potato bins,” great seed and the tenets of potato farming: Not too much fuss, no daily watering, and letting the stalks wither and die before harvest. Wither and die? I can do that! I did that to my entire garden all summer long! Read more
