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| Rancho Mirage's mascot: the bighorn sheep |
It was so heartening Saturday to see likeminded people in my community at The Living Desert for the zoo's "Party for the Planet" Earth Day celebration.
A bunch of booths dedicated to subjects ranging from waterwise gardening to composting to solar energy lined the thoroughfare between the Palm Garden Patio and the hummingbird/butterfly pavilion. I flitted like a butterfly myself from one exhibit to the next.
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| A friendly warthog |
High school kids showed us some neat, homemade experiments with temperature and water vapor. I pledged myself to be "green" for the next year with the Living Desert Green Team. I picked up a CD-Rom on "Lush & Efficient" landscaping from the Coachella Valley Water District. (Awesome website for CV gardeners, by the way.) Checked out some solar arrays for that time in the future when I am financially able to purchase one.
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| Looks yucky, tastes great. |
Then I stopped by the Riverside County Waste Management Department booth to ask a question of the Master Composters who were stationed there. "Hey, I've been juicing this week and have saved all the remnants of my vegetables and fruits -- in a big bag on my kitchen counter. But I don't have anywhere to compost it yet! It's starting to reek!"
Done!
Between my misanthropy and homebody tendencies, I have never gone to a single public green event. I'm starting to see that I should. More exposure to people means more ideas transmitted more quickly, and that (as far as the green movement goes) has to be a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI don't compost (zero outdoor space, so not OK with worms in a drawer), but I do freeze all my veggie scraps and make my own vegetable stock. I still feel bad about throwing the soggy remnants away, but at least I used them first. I have to say, the stock comes out pretty tasty compared to store bought.
Fresh vegetable stock does taste so much better! That's a great idea for a way to reuse my juicing scraps.
ReplyDeleteYes, I wished I had more time to talk to people. It was worth it to go. The cities and public works organizations out here have really seen the (green) light in a lot of ways. Generally because consumer/citizen knowledge of sustainability out here in the desert is the only way they can conserve resources long term.