Recycle by City, August 2

DO YOU KNOW WHAT GOES IN YOUR BLUE BIN?

According to LA's Zero Waste Report, 30% of what we put in the blue bin (by weight) is stuff that shouldn't be there! And as a nation, we toss over $7 billion worth of recyclable materials away each year.

Better recycling saves natural resources, saves landfill space and provides much needed revenue to our cities. The City of LA made $3.8 M from the sale of recyclables in the 2013-14 fiscal year!

Stop by the Green Tent this Sunday and boost your Blue Bin IQ. Play a hands on recycling sorting game using real everyday items, with different levels of difficulty for kids and parents alike. You'll likely have some of your recycling myths shattered. Learn some recycling tips from a pro and where/how to dispose of Household Hazardous Waste. Get your recycling questions answered. 

Guest Tracy Bugh is on a mission is to increase awareness about proper recycling. To this end, her company, Recycle by City, built a digital recycling platform with simple, in-depth info on local recycling programs. The site also has a myth busting quiz and a page full of recycling tips and tricks - which is local to the bone. And they provide the marketing to get people interested in recycling. 

Master Gardeners, July 26

Summer’s well under way, and things are popping. Although not all the seeds they’ve planted have started to come up, the UCCE Los Angeles County Master Gardeners
will be on hand at to give away free seeds and plants, and to help answer your gardening questions. Come by The Green Tent on Sunday, July 26 from 9 am to 1 pm. 

So far, the chard, pole beans, patty pan squash and Asian baby leaf lettuces are doing well. As of July 15, the mixed basil, calendula, arugula and kale were still pretty small but our Master Gardeners have high hopes that they’ll come up in time for their monthly visit.

The Master Gardeners' now-retired director, Yvonne Savio, invites you to subscribe to her new blog and newsletter, and to submit YOUR gardening events for her to promote!! Sign up and share your news here: http://www.gardeninginla.net/.


Native plants help conserve water, offering habitat to beneficial insects and local wildlife. Great resource here: http://theodorepayne.org/

And be Water Wise!! Lots of great ideas for your garden.

Please remember to drop off your plastic plant six packs to help our MGs continue planting seeds for their monthly visits. They’re always at The Green Tent on the FOURTH Sunday of the month.

Westchester Playa VIllage, July 19

The Village Movement

Recycling Event

Westchester Playa Village is this week's Green Tent guest. They'll be collecting donations of the following items:

• Used ink and toner cartridges that they'll recycle to help save on ongoing office supplies
• Yarn that will be given to seniors who enjoy knitting and crocheting
• Puzzles and games that you're no longer using, to give to seniors to enjoy

They'll have arts and craft supplies to make Birthday and Get Well “Thinking of You” cards to mail to their senior members to brighten up their day!

As our population continues to age and live longer, healthier lives, the need to support older adult in our community is ever-increasing. Most seniors wish to remain independent and active for as long as possible, in the comfort and security of their very own homes and neighborhoods, and with the dignity and respect they deserve. This is where the village movement at Westchester Playa Vista comes in.

The “Village Movement” was born out of the desire to create a local support system for seniors, and their families, who want to “age in place” without facing expensive home care support or being placed into an alternate living facility. Instead, through a membership, community-based organization, older adults can receive valuable support from volunteers in their community. For a nominal annual fee, individuals gain access to pre-screened volunteers who help with a wide array of tasks that older adults need assistance with.

Westchester Playa Village (WPV), a local non-profit organization founded by a former resident, is one of over 140 villages across the country. Initially serving the Westchester/Playa del Rey community, WPV has expanded to also serve Playa Vista, Marina del Rey, Culver City, Del Rey, parts of Mar Vista, Ladera Heights, and adjacent areas. WPV operates out of a small office in Westchester and provides a wide array of services including:

 

-  grocery shopping and running errands

-  transportation to and from medical appointments, social outings, hair salons

-  taking trash bins out/in on a weekly basis

-  help with household chores and minor handy work

-  teaching computer skills and how to use other electronic devices

-  yard work and gardening

-  friendly visits, walking buddies, and pet care

-  referrals to pre-screened service providers

-  opportunities to meet other members and volunteers through special events and informational programs

Stop by The Green Tent - with or without donations - and learn how you can become a part of the growing village movement of neighbors helping neighbors.

KCET + Food Forward, July 12

There's so much happening at the Green Tent this Sunday that we're overflowing into the MVCC Tent!

KCET is bringing its 50^th Anniversary Community Kiosk to the Green Tent and hopes you will come by to let them know how you envision a better California. Click here for more information.

Next door, at the MVCC Tent, Food Forward inaugurates its monthly Backyard Harvest Food Drive. Click here for more information.

KCET, July 12

How do you envision a better state?

KCET, a service of KCETLink, will be at The Green Tent this Sunday with its 50^th Anniversary Community Kiosk and hopes you will come by to let them know how you envision a better California. Postcards will be on hand for you at the kiosk to fill out that then become part of the exhibit. Afterwards, KCET will post all the responses on its website at KCET.org/betterstate, amplifying your ideas to an even wider audience.

KCET is eager to see your ideas on “How Do You Envision a Better California?” and is excited to hear your thoughts on what inspires you about our state and what KCET means to you. There will be “Save the Elephants” coloring pages for the kids and the first 20 people who fill out a postcard will receive an exclusive KCETLink stainless steel water bottle. The following week, a postcard will be drawn to win a pair of KCET 50^th anniversary car shades. 

For more than 50 years, KCET has played an important role in the lives of many Californians, as a source of learning, enlightenment, and inspiration. Now as part of its 50^th anniversary celebration serving Southern and Central California, KCET developed the Community Kiosk campaign which has been visiting sites all over Los Angeles this past year.

This is not the first time KCET has made an appearance in Mar Vista. Just last year, concerned about the water shortage, kcet.org’s “Living” columnists visited the 6^th annual Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase for suggestions on what to do Beyond the Lawn: Mar Vista’s Green Gardens.  Also Mar Vista homeowners were featured in a special segment of KCET’s award-winning SoCal Connected series entitled “The Lawn Goodbye: California’s Water Woes.”

Addressing environmental issues has been a major commitment for the station for decades.  SoCal Connected has explored important environmental issues in all of its six seasons with multiple segments and a yearly environmental special. This year the show aired environmental stories including “Treated Human Waste as Fertilizer – The Stinky Truth”; “California’s Water Supply: On Shaky Grounds”; and “Urban Farming in a Food Desert Oasis.”

In addition, KCET.org has developed a leading environmental resource on its website, ReDefine, that covers news and critical analysis of change in California's environment. The site offers critical insights into the way we relate to our environment, from air to water and wildlife to energy.

Earth Focus, a long-running environmental series that airs regionally on KCET and nationally on Link TV, KCETLink’s satellite network, covers issues that impact us locally and globally.

Food Forward, July 12

Do you have a plethora of produce in your garden? 

A flood of fruit on your trees? 

Food Forward launches its monthly Backyard Harvest Food Drive this Sunday. Drop off your excess homegrown fruits and veggies at the MVCC Tent - next-door to the Green Tent - from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. This nutritious fare goes to St. Joseph Center and New Life Society, agencies that directly serve those in need in the community. 

Food Forward not only battles hunger in Southern California but also works to curb the environmental issue of food waste. Recent studies have shown that 40% of the food in the country never makes it to the table and 20% of what goes into municipal landfills is food. Southern California is an abundant land of agriculture and donating surplus food to the 1.28 million food insecure in LA county is a win-win!

For more information about donating your homegrown produce to the Backyard Harvest Food Drive, please email volunteer@foodforward.org.

Food Forward is a Southern California based non-profit that recovers produce from backyard fruit trees, farmers markets and LA's downtown wholesale market and then donates 100% of what is collected to local hunger relief agencies. 

School Gardens and Save Our Watershed, July 5

We're celebrating our wonderful school gardens this week at the Green Tent. Find out how our local schools are using them to meet curriculum guidelines with programs like Mark Twain Middle School's "Seeds to Plate." Learn about their educational, social, emotional and health benefits. 

Green Committee co-chair Jeanne Kuntz will be on hand to share her fun experiences as a Walgrove School garden volunteer and answer your questions. Jeanne's bringing her vegetable stamps so kids (and adults) can make their own veggie cards. She may even challenge folks to take the Veggie Pledge. 

The MVCC Green Committee will soon launch a new blog - MarVistaSaveOurWatershed - to celebrate the shift within our community from thirsty lawns to climate appropriate, watershed wise landscapes. 

Are you a part of the change? Stop by the Green Tent and tell us about your garden. Are you wondering what "climate appropriate, watershed wise landscape" means? We'll have some answers this week at the Green Tent.