American Cancer Society, June 29

The American Cancer Society has worked to finish the fight against cancer for 101 years.  Unfortunately, there is probably not one person in our community that hasn’t been affected by cancer directly or indirectly. We are excited to have ACS Staff partner, Ashley Millhouse, this Sunday at the Green Tent with some tips from the American Cancer Society on how to live a healthier life by fighting off cancer and helping keep our environment clean. 

Stop by and play the shocking “What’s In a Cigarette?” activity. It displays common household items (with very unnatural chemicals) and participants GUESS which item’s derivative is actually found in a cigarette. The common reaction: Ewww! And Gross!!! This is a family-friendly activity that teaches children and adults the harmful components of cigarettes and their devastating effects on not only the human body, but the environment. Ashley will also feature a “True or False” quiz on the myths or facts you may have heard about e-cigarrettes. 

Ashley is also presenting “Summer Sun Safety” featuring the proud ACS sponsor, Dermalogica Sunscreen. According to the latest ACS research, skin cancer is both the most common and most preventable type of cancer. It affects people of all ages and all skin tones. Grab Ashley’s great fact sheet and take the “Summer Sun Safety” quiz to learn how to protect your kids when swimming in the pool or playing outside from the sun’s harmful UV rays. 

You can also get more information about the Relay For Life walk-a-thon on August 16^th 10:00pm at Mar Vista Park. Relay For Life is the signature fundraiser for American Cancer Society and helps honor survivors and caregivers. Honorary Chair Bill Rosendahl is leading the charge for the FIRST Relay For Life in Mar Vista & West LA. 

American Cancer Society is excited to present] ways your families can FIGHT BACK against cancer and encourage cancer prevention. Your family’s health is their top priority and it is time to look at the ways our actions not only affect the environment, but also affect your personal health. If you would like to learn more about how ACS can do health presentations to your office, church, school group- you can reach her at Ashley.millhouse@cancer.org  

Green Communications Initiative, June 15

GreenCommunications Initiative is a nonprofit public benefit corporation devoted to people consuming less. Join them at the Green Tent this Sunday as they introduce their Walk-A-Mile Campaign! They'll have environmentally themed games for kids and face-painting. Well-known local artist Ralph Guthrie will demonstrate how to turn plastic trash into fine art. Visitors who take the pledge to Walk-A-Mile are automatically eligible to submit selfies for prizes in their Best Walk-A-Mile Photo Contest!

Learn about GCI’s ConsumeLESS Makeovers - a program to promote concrete and simple ways for consumers to positively impact our environment. It is a re-interpretration of the advertising staple where the Plain Jane Before is transformed into the glamorous After - conceived as a series of campaigns that each address a specific area of human overconsumption. 

Campaigns will include such hot-button consumer issues as single-use plastic and plastic packing, overuse of water, clean oceans, alternative energy/fossil fuel dependence, energy conservation, car culture, water conservation and biodiversity. In each case, the focus is on what we, as consumers, can do to affect a positive outcome on the issue and to shift the tide of human overconsumption.

True environmental change requires reduction of human material consumption on a scale massive enough to represent a tipping point. Communication is a process that by definition involves sharing. At the root of communication is a community. Together we must take the initiative to protect and preserve the health of our miraculous blue and green planet.

Walk-A-Mile is the first in GCI's series of ConsumeLESS Makeovers. It’s simple: participants pledge to walk/bike/skateboard/hula hoop any errand or commute </= 1 mile. The obvious benefits – better health, exercise, weight loss, more time with friends, family, dog – add to the potential for $$ savings in lowered fuel costs and supporting local business and community. Most important, it’s a simple, feel good way to make a positive impact our environment.

Statistics indicate that the overwhelming majority of American commutes are short distance. A whopping 30% are between 1-5 miles. If we can Walk-A-Mile to reduce this figure, we can have a tremendous impact on the successful reduction of carbon in our atmosphere and ultimately, the effects of climate change. Green Tent visitors who take the Walk-A-Mile pledge are automatically eligible to submit selfies for prizes in GCI's Best Walk-A-Mile Photo Contest!

See GCI's Facebook page for more information.

Downtown Women's Center, June 8

MADE BY DWC BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!

The Downtown Women's Center is celebrating 36 years of service to the women of Skid Row! On Sunday, June 8, DWC returns to the Mar Vista Farmers' Market with beautiful gifts locally hand made from sustainable materials as part of the MADE by DWC social enterprise.

Located in DWC’s LEED-certified San Pedro Street facility, the MADE by DWC gift boutique and café was launched in 2012 as a workforce development program, to break the cycles of chronic unemployment and homelessness by empowering women through vocational opportunities. 

The women of MADE generate economic and social capital by conceiving, producing, and marketing handMADE products such as journals bound from salvaged library book covers and chic travel pouches sewn using reclaimed fabric remnants rescued from landfills. The full range of DWC’s handMADE gifts includes soy candles poured into vintage teacups, hand-crafted felt ornaments, decoupaged picture frames, and all-natural soaps.

These beautiful products are available at MADE by DWC (438 S. San Pedro Street, Los Angeles) as well as at DWC’s MADE resale boutique (325 S. Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles), Bloomingdale’s Century City, the Craft and Folk Art Museum, Hudson News at LAX (terminals 4, 6, and 8), Raven+Lily, the Skirball Cultural Center, Babette in Santa Monica, and on Etsy(www.etsy.com/shop/MADEbyDWC). Take advantage this Sunday for your first pick!

The Green Tent is taking the day off. Look for MADE by DWC Boutique in our spot.

A nationally recognized pioneer of permanent supportive housing, DWC is the only resource in Los Angeles that is exclusively dedicated to serving the unique needs of homeless and very low-income women in downtown’s Skid Row community.

Veggie Fixation, June 1

Are you looking for simple ways to reduce your environmental foot print? How about Meatless Monday?

Does that sound daunting? Come meet chef Christine Oppenheim of Veggie Fixation at the Green Tent this Sunday and get some help.

Christine is a trained natural foods chef with a passion for creative and nourishing foods.  Veggie Fixation encompasses the idea that vegetables are more than a side dish; they are something you can, and should, get fixated on. 

She'll have samples of different grains and legumes that are alternative protein sources and ideas to share for preparing them and the wonderful produce at our Farmers' Market. Christine is knowledgable about creating alternatives for common food allergies, including meals that are gluten free, soy free and corn free

Master Gardeners, May 25

The UCCE/Master Gardeners of L.A. County return to the Green Tent on Sunday, May 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. They can help give you water wise gardening tips, as you pick up a free plant and some seeds for growing this season.

Despite last week's heat, a variety of seedlings managed to sprout, so there should be a variety of plants to choose from: Three Color Bush Beans, Patty Pan Squash, Edamame, Delicata Squash, Pickling Cucumber and Mediterranean “Garden Oasis” Cucumber are up.   Perhaps they heard the Master Gardeners talking about them and decided to “get with the program” 

Also there'll be a HERB FEST with  Cilantro, 3 kinds of Basil, Chives, Italian Parsley and Sage.

PLEASE BRING YOUR EMPTY PLASTIC “SIX PACKS” so our Master Gardeners can keep planting for you!

Just a reminder: here’s a GREAT link with monthly tips for Southern California.  

Your tomatoes love the heat BUT, we’re heading into summer and the drought is ongoing. 

Be water wise!! Peas and let’s celerybrate

Grey Water Corps, May 18

Learn How We Can REUSE the Water in Our Homes!

You're probably irrigating your yard with drinking water, since the same water that comes out of your kitchen faucet also comes out of your hose. But do your plants need drinking water? NO! Most are perfectly happy with greywater - gently used water from showers, bathtubs, laundry and sinks.

Reducing home water waste means lower bills and a healthier planet. Stop by the Green Tent this Sunday and learn more.

This week's guest, Grey Water Corps, designs and installs residential greywater irrigation systems and teaches homeowners how to use them. Their systems are generally simple and low-maintenance, relying on gravity and natural processes to save water to turn our homes into an essential part of a healthy ecosystem.

Please stop by to learn about a menu of options that would allow you to become a little more water self sufficient! Consider a  laundry-to-landscape grey water system that uses the water that washed your clothes to irrigate your garden!