The Greenstation at the Green Tent Sunday, Sept. 2

Earth Man Dan visits the Green Tent

LEARN ABOUT THE DARK SIDE OF THE RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE INDUSTRY...and how to improve it in your yard

Green Zoning is how Dan Mabe and The Greenstation are gradually improving our environment one property at a time. 

Did You Know:

• The EPA estimates each weekend approximately 54 million Americans mow their lawns, using 800 million gallons of gas per year. That’s enough gasoline to fill the Rose Bowl 8 times to the rim!
• Gas powered lawn equipment is not subject to the same emission regulations as cars and is a major contributor to the emission of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons, lead, ozone and sulfur oxides?
• Despite improvements over the years, the Los Angeles area remains the most ozone-polluted regions in the country, according to a report released by the American Lung Association.

Earth Man Dan will explain the typical practices of residential maintenance mow and blow crews and how you can work with your gardener to reduce gas consumption, toxic emissions, noise levels and the toxic and solid waste being created at your house.  He'll conduct hands-on demonstrations of emission free, mowers, mechanical sweepers and other gardening tools and techniques that will immediately improve the quality of life for you and your neighbors—and your gardener.

Learn about the benefits of the Green Zones already sponsored by the city of Santa Monica, Santa Monica College, The South Coast Air Quality Management District and The Malibu Country Mart.

Master Gardeners & Preservers this Sunday, August 26

ABC's of home-preserving...plus seeds

& seedlings

UC Cooperative Extension LA County Master Gardeners and Master Food Preservers take over the Green Tent on August 26th. Master Food Preservers' Erik Knutzen (co-author with Kelly Coyne ofThe Urban Homestead and Making It) will show you his sauerkraut kit, while Shelley Marks brings some of her delectable and beautiful preserved food in jars, all to encourage you to learn the art of food preservation to enjoy seasonal produce all year long at home.

Meantime, the Master Gardeners will give away seeds and seedlings as usual. Master Gardener Julie Strnad says: 

We are now in the in-between season: too late to plant summer veggies, too early to plant fall. But the Master Gardeners are pushing the season, expecting that it will continue to be warm and sunny.  They'll have:

• Poblano peppers
• California Wonder Bell peppers
• Swiss Chard
• Velvet Queen Sunflowers
• Pickling Cucumbers
• Lemon Cucumbers
• 3 flavor melons (a cantaloupe type melon, could be one of 3 different kinds)

Our wonderful Master Gardener volunteers complete an intensive training program in all aspects of gardening and are a font of information. The Master Food Preservers complete an intensive training program in the basics of safe and successful food preservation. They both give their time teaching others, especially in low-resource communities.

LA Beyond Coal at the Green Tent Sunday, Aug. 19

Saying "No!" to dirty energy

Los Angeles gets 39% of its energy from two dirty, out-of-state coal-fired power plants. These coal plants discharge vast quantities of air pollution, consume huge amounts of water and emit destructive global warming gases. Instead of giving our money to these heavy polluting facilities, the Sierra Club's LA Beyond Coal Campaign wants DWP to invest in local clean energy, energy efficiency, and jobs here in Los Angeles. You can help.

Clean energy is the smart phone of electricity -- it is sleeker and cheaper every day and makes lives better. Iowa already gets 20% of its energy from wind. Texas has enough wind turbines to power 2 million homes. 

The fast-growing wind and solar industries each already employ more people in the U.S. than the coal-mining industry.  With more than one in four of them working in manufacturing and exports, clean energy is one of the best ways to continue seeing "Made in the U.S.A." stamped on products.

Come find out more at the Green Tent.  

Hands-on Workshop at the Green Tent this Sunday, August 12

Got dirt? 

Sure you do. But mix in a little sand and straw and do you know what you've got? Building material! 

The earth (dirt) beneath our feet is used for building by 80% of the world's population. Some of the most beautiful homes right here in Los Angeles are made of Adobe.  

What if LA's cityscape was filled with earthen buildings? Aside from beautiful adobe Spanish houses, we would also see  self-sustaining Earthships (tires rammed with earth) and hand-built Earth Domes (polypropylene bags filled with earth). 

On August 12th, join EarthWorks Natural Building for a hands-on earth-building workshop. We will make a cob mix  and find out more about the exciting revival of hand-built houses.

Local artist James Sullivan at the Green Tent this Sunday, Aug. 5

Using recycled materials to create art & awareness

Kids and adults are invited to make handmade paper at the Green Tent this Sunday. 

It will be wet and messy and fun! 

Artist James Sullivan is bringing tubs of homemade pulp, made from old junk mail, wrapping paper, lint, leaves & flower petals, seeds, and other odds and ends. You'll dip small screens into it and press the pulp into wonderful, one-of-a-kind sheets of paper.

The focus is on repurposing and reusing any local items close at hand. You don't need to buy things to be creative & have fun! 

James is primarily an abstract painter. He's done a lot of printmaking as well as craft and building projects that recycle/repurpose. See more examples of his work at https://www.facebook.com/pages/James-f-sullivan-studio/243096442380499.

Bring Your Cell Phone to the Green Tent This Sunday!

All politics is local.  How many times have you heard that?  But how can you have a voice in your state government when Sacramento is so far away?  How can you have an impact on the rapidly-deteriorating state of our oceans?  Besides bringing your own bag and bottle, how can you really help address the problem of plastic debris?

Join marine debris activist, Andy Shrader, this weekend at the Green Tent to find out about two state bills the Mar Vista Community Council supports, whose passage is essential to the health of our oceans: a statewide ban on plastic bags and a statewide ban on polystyrene food containers (aka, Styrofoam). 

THIS SUNDAY AT THE MAR VISTA FARMER’S MARKET

Bring your cell phone and, on the spot...

Call your State Assemblymember Holly Mitchell, Betsy Butler or Steven Bradford and leave a message with your address, asking him or her to vote YES on SB-568 (Lowenthal) (Styrofoam ban).

And call your State Senator Ted Lieu or Curren Price, and leave him a message with your address, asking him to vote YES on AB-298 (Brownley) (plastic bag ban).

Statewide Ban on Styrofoam Food Containers

http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3995

http://www.cleanwateraction.org/action/support-sb-568

http://www.cawrecycles.org/issues/current_legislation/SB568_11

(Restaurants Shrug at Foam Ban: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/plastic-283386-foam-san.html)

Statewide Ban on Plastic Bags

http://www.healthebay.org/get-involved/take-action/california-plastic-bag-ban

http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6373

http://www.cawrecycles.org/current_legislation/ab298_11

Your State Assemblymembers and Senators really do pay attention to your phone calls.  

Master Gardeners & Preservers this Sunday, July 22

From seed to can...everything you've ever wanted to know

Your zucchini is going like gang-busters. Your tomato plant is looking a little ill. You bought way too many peaches at the Farmers' Market. What can you do?


Come to the Mar Vista Community Council's Green Tent on July 22 and ask an expert. The UCCE LA County Master Gardeners are back...and they're bringing the UCCE/LA County Master Food Preservers with them! 


The Master Gardeners will have FREE summer herb and veggie seeds and seedlings, and advice on how to increase your bounty.

The Master Food Preservers will answer your canning questions. Preservation is many things: canning, pickling, fermenting, freezing, drying and more! These experts can suggest what to do with your excess backyard and farmers market produce.


Our wonderful Master Gardener volunteers complete an intensive training program in all aspects of gardening and are a font of information. The Master Food Preservers complete an intensive training program in the basics of safe and successful food preservation. They both give their time teaching others, especially in low-resource communities.


Stop by to pick up a free seedling and packet of seeds..and chat with some garden and food preservation experts.

EnerGtech Experts returns to the Green Tent July 15

Saving energy...a live demonstration

Society is making some strides to alternative and cleaner sources of power generation. But wouldn't it be better if we all used less? 


Come see a live demonstration of an Energy Monitoring System presented by Brent Locke of EnerGtech Experts. He'll measure the energy used by different types of lightbulbs, turning them on and off from his iPad. 



EnerGtech Experts is a "geek squad" of energy saving advisors, helping home owners and businesses find energy savings with the g-Meter™. The g-Meeter accurately measures, every 5 seconds, the electricity used by lights and any thing else that's plugged in. Homeowners can watch their energy consumption in real time from their own private account on any Internet-connected device. 


A survey of 36 studies by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) in Washington, D.C. found that homeowners with real-time feedback on their power consumption—down to individual appliances—reduced their consumption by 12%. Being able to accurately measure your consumption allows you to accurately manage it.

One Hour Organizing presents on July 8

Tired of junk mail? Want to see it disappear?

• Are you tired of going through the daily deluge of junk mail?

• Do you normally toss it in the trash?

• How would you feel if it just disappeared altogether?

One Hour Organizing will share tips and tricks to eliminate your junk mail - paper and email - once and for all.

Did you know that producing the junk mail delivered to your door each year

• Destroys over 100 million trees 
• Takes 28 billion gallons of clean water
• Produces more CO2 than 9 million cars

Let’s do our part to reduce these statistics. 

BRING your junk mail! Grab what you can! Or just drop by to find out how to eliminate it.

One Hour Organizing is dedicated to helping you simplify your life by eliminating things that no longer serve you.

Cardborgami visits the Green Tent July 1

Bring your kids and help decorate

a cool, origami shelter made of recyclable cardboard. See how it folds up and expands. Learn about Cardborgami's program for helping the homeless using these innovative temporary shelters. It's all happening this Sunday at the Green Tent.



Origami, the ancient Japanese art of paper folding, inspired the structure and form of the shelter. It's primary material - standard cardboard - provides natural insulation and structural qualities. The folds provide structural stability.

The shelters are waterproof and flame-retardant, and can fold open and closed in less than a minute with no assembly required. When not in use, the shelter folds into a size a single person can easily carry. Come try one out and see how it's done!


Intended to provide a temporary, portable and recyclable shelter to the homeless and to disaster victims while helping to get them placed into permanent housing, a Cardborgami structure would make a great playhouse as well!

Cardborgami's goal involves more than simply handing out the Cardborigami units to those in need. The plan is to partner with other homeless aid organizations that have facilities where people could safely use the shelters overnight and also learn how to construct their own Cardborigami unit. Cardborgami hopes to integrate a recycling program into their distribution system, encouraging the homeless to collect cardboard and turn it in at the same centers where they can construct and pick up their own portable unit.