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Hi! Sorry I haven’t posted in a long time. I’ve been training to be a server at Red Robin (that is similar to taking a summer course!).
I stumbled upon this article on Better Homes and Garden. The holidays are right around the corner so in preparation here is a great list of ways to make decorative recycled gift boxes.
http://www.bhg.com/christmas/gifts/holiday-food-gifts-recipes-recyclables/#page=20
Tags: better homes and garden, crafts, gift boxes, gifts, recycle, recycle crafts, recycled boxes
This is an environmental blog, but people have more than one interest. So here’s my first non-environmental “Check It Out” post. My boyfriend, and love of my life, Spencer Moody just might be the #1 fan of the Cincinnati Reds. If you are interested in Major League Baseball and/or like the Reds, then you should check out his blog “Moody Baseball.” We recently attended the Dusty Baker Bobble head night when the Reds played the Indians. This was my first Reds game and I am now hooked. Perhaps my new mission will be to get baseball parks to recycle! Needless to say, we took our empty plastic bottles with us!
We also went through the Great American Ballpark’s Hall of Fame and the player attraction was for Johnny Bench.
Tags: baseball, bobble heads, Cincinnati, Cincinnati Reds, dusty baker, Great American Ballpark, Hall of fame, Indians, Johnny Bench, major league baseball, mlb, Reds, reds baseball, Spencer Moody
Looking around my own apartment I can see piles of junk that have collected throughout the year. Why do I keep all of this stuff? Maybe I’m just a packrat or maybe the environmentalist in me cannot bear to throw things out. Either way, I need to make a change.
Pile of old newspapers
Everyone has a few old newspapers laying around that either have been or meant to have been read. If you just cannot fit newspapers into your car because all of your other recycables take up the space, then here are some alternative uses.
- Fun Uses
PAPER MACHE. Cheap, fun and not just for kids! Paper mache can be used for all sorts of projects. For halloween or a themed party, paper mache is a creative and oiginal way to make your own mask. For birthday parties or bachelorette paties make unique pinatas. Paper mache can also be used to make banks, boxes and toys. The great thing about making paper mache is that all of its ingredients are already in the kitchen. If you don’t have glue you can substitute flour.
HATS. This idea I got from Gilmore Girls. In season 4 of this show Rory participates in a “Yale Daily News tradition” of making hats out of newspaper. (photo from Luke’s Diner)
- Practical uses
CLEANING. I uses old newspapers as a substitute for paper towels. They’re pretty good for soaking up grease or spilled liquids.
PACKING. As a college student, I’m constantly on the go and in transition from campus, home, and apartment. Save your packing newspaper with your boxes so you never have to search last minute for ways to keep your shot glass collection from busting.
Bottle caps
Maybe it’s just me but bottle caps are adorable. They come in different colors; each unique in design. I tuned 21 in January and ever since I have collected bottle caps from my drinks and my friends’. I plan on using them for some purpose some day and here are some ideas I have:
PICTURE FRAMES. Making a picture frame and putting a nice picture of you and a friend/significant other is an intimate gift that shows you care; and it’s light on your wallet. I have a few friends that are not 21 yet and thought this would be an original gift that stands out from the shot glasses and drinks she won’t remember she had the night before. However, my gift offers the opportunity to showcase her classy behavior for years to come.
TABLE. A friend of mine knew someone who used bottle caps to decorate a table. I believe he glued them to the table and then covered it in a clear, hard surface such as plexiglass.
JEWELRY. It’s as easy as punching holes and tying string. Making a one-of-a-kind bracelete for a friend or for yourself can be fun. Show off your beverage of choice!
Old Clothes
Want to reinvent your wardrobe? Summertime usually means summer clothes shopping because Grandma made you stuff your face at Thanksgiving, Christmas (or insert wintertime holiday here), and Easter. Instead of throwing them away or shipping them off to Goodwill consider these alternatives:
DOG TOYS. I learned how to do this at one of my Circle K International meetings (no not the gas station). Take an old t-shirt and cut it into strips horizontally. Then stretch the stips as far as you can. Afte the prep is over with simply make many thick braids and tie a knot.
QUILT. If you are expecting or know someone who is, this is a neat idea if your mom kept all of your baby clothes. I’ve always wanted to make a quilt out of band t-shirts. Quilts are great because they can be made from many differently designed material and still look amazing. My mom has a quilt made out of patches of jeans.
PURSES. Recenlty looses some of that junk in your trunk? Take those now baggy jeans and make them into something useful again. We’ve all seen the purses made out of jeans at stores and town fairs. W hy pay $15 fo something you can do yourself? Add studs, gems, and paint to make your creation stand out! The How-To part of the video begins around 1:05
Tags: 21, alcohol, alternative uses, bottle caps, CKI, cleaning, clothes, crafts, denim purses, DIY, dog toys, gilmore girls, hats, Jewelry, junk, luke's diner, newspaper, packing, paper mache, picture frames, purses, quilts, recycle, resuse
Sorry for the recent lack of posts. I was in a car accident on May 1st and that also happened to be the day before final exams week. Painful whiplash and 2-hr exams do not go well together. However, I’ve been going to an injury rehab place and am slowly getting better. I’ve also been working on articles for the BG News (BGSU student newspaper) and my first freelance piece. I promise to have some original environmental stories up soon.
In the meantime, I will try to post links and videos to fill in the gaps. Like this one:
Planet Green: Tea Bags
Photo courtesy of Kate Ter Haar via Flickr
This link will take you to the article on Planet Green that informs about 5 resuses for used tea bags.
1. Plant Food
2. Under Eye Dark Circles/Puffiness
3. Arts & Crafts
4. Controlling Odor
5. Soothe Your Skin
Here are some more ideas of what to do with leftover tea bags:
- Wedding/Party Favors
I saw a picture of handmade tea bags- tea and bags sold separately that individuals and construct for themselves- with messages tied around them. These favors were for a wedding and some messages just had the names of the couple and others said “The perfect blend.” I thought this was a super cute play on words and if the couple. For the avid tea drinking couple this would really show their chemistry and personality to guests.
- Make Natural Hair Dye
Via Reader’s Digest: “Steep 3 tea bags in 1 cup boiling water. Add 1 tablespoon each of rosemary and sage (either fresh or dried) and let it stand overnight before straining. To use, shampoo as usual, and then pour or spray the mixture on your hair, making sure to saturate it thoroughly. Take care not to stain clothes. Blot with a towel and do not rinse. It may take several treatments to achieve desired results.”
And for the tea drinking rascals…
- Throw Them at Your Friends
Wear white and dampen the tea bags. This game will hurt a lot less than paintball!
- School Prank
Are you a high school senior in need of a good prank to make your graduating class a legend? Well if your school has a pool and you and round up enough classmates to buy tea bags…I think you see where I’m going with this.
Tags: control odor, crafts, hair dye, natural dye, outside games, planet green, plant food, pranks, puffy eyes, reuse, save money, skin remedies, Tea, Tea Bags, under eye circles, wedding favors
Check out this site and help keep good use items out of landfills!
BGSU students backed up Wooster Street in Bowling Green this past week, some leaving for the summer and some graduating off to start their new careers. As students prepared to leave, environmentalism was still in the air.
A BGSU program originally hosted by resident advisors known as WYMO (When You Move Out don’t throw it out!) takes place at the end of Spring semester when on-campus students get ready to depart for the summer. Students who have items that they can’t transport and have no need for any longer can be donated right on campus. This end of the year program complements a year full of BGSU environmental projects and volunteerism.
Net Impact, a new organization at BGSU, hosted World Water Week to educate students and faculty about unsafe water in developing countries. This organization performed a “water walk” around campus carrying a banner and buckets of water. Students also spread the word by setting up a table in the student union where students could donate money and/or buy t-shirts. With a monetary donation, students could also opt to receive a water bottle filled with dirty water displaying a label with one of the many diseases that can contracted through consumption of unsafe drinking water.
Environmental Service Club (ESC) performed its annual highway clean-up. Members strapped on lime green vests and grabbed trash bags as they worked their adopted part of OH-25. ESC hosts three highway clean-ups in an academic year.
Bryant Sheppard, vice president of ESC, said he is an active volunteer because he feels that “there is a real problem with the way society has been treating our environment and clubs like ESC are great ways to help change these ways for the better.”
ESC also teamed up with Circle K International, a Kiwanis sponsored club, for a campus project. Members from both organizations crafted bird feeders to hand on trees around campus. The bird feeders were constructed out of simple materials that can be found in any home: a cardboard tube, string, wooden skewer, peanut butter, and bird seed.
Environmental projects were not just a product of university organizations. Many other volunteer opportunities were orchestrated through BGSU’s sustainability coordinator, Nick Hennessy.
One popular activity was Green Tailgating. At home football games, students distributed recycling bags to tailgaters and picked up the full bags when the game started. Students also distributed recycling bins throughout the stadium. Hennessy said that “an average of 1.6 tons was collected at each game.”
“My favorite service project was probably Green Tailgating,” Sheppard said, “because we got to have fun riding around on golf carts while still making a difference on campus.”
Another student-centered project was Orange Bikes. This is a continuing community bikeshare program that helps students who are unable to afford or transport a bike and at the same time reuses old unwanted bikes. Volunteers repaired and painted donated bikes to be used as shared bikes on campus that are identified by their orange color. Students can sign up and pay a small fee to receive a key that will unlock any orange bike on campus.
Hennessy also mentioned Campus Conservation Nationals, a three week contest for residential students. The goal for this contest was for students to reduce their energy use.
“BGSU came in first place in Ohio and fourth place nationally,” Hennessy said.
Final Exams may be finished but BGSU environmentalism lasts 365 days a year. Environmental leaders on campus like Hennessy and Sheppard are gearing up for next year’s activities. Sheppard said that BGSU has a lot of environmental volunteer opportunities but he feels like more students should get involved.
“There could be so much more done if more people took the time to help,” Sheppard said. “Some of them may not even know of these opportunities so we need to work to get this information out there.”
Accessible information about environmental projects is exactly what Hennessy has planned for next year. In the works for awhile now, Hennessy said the biggest plan for next year is to have the new sustainability Web site up and running. Hennessy said this site will “be awesome and alert more people to what we are doing in the area of sustainability on campus.”
Please watch this slideshow of photos that highlight some of this year’s environmental activities at BGSU.
Tags: BGSU, Bowling Green, Bryant Sheppard, enviornmentalism, Environmental Service Club, ESC, Green Tailgating, Highway Clean-up, Net Impact, Nick Hennessy, Volunteerism, WYMO
On April 16 I volunteered at Seeds of Hope Farm in Tiffin. BGSU students and some faculty helped to transplant over 1000 tomato plants and also build a chicken coop. Check out this video!
Tags: BGSU, BGSU Faculty, chicken coop, Farming, Seeds of Hope Farm, students, Sustainability, tomatoes, volunteer
Many places right in your own community can be a gateway for you to get active with the environment. Places like your local library or a nearby zoo offer environmental programs (a lot of time free ones!). This can also be a great way to help educate kids on environmental issues. If you are in the Northwest Ohio region here’s an upcoming opportunity you might be interested in: Toledo Zoo’s Party for the Planet!
Party for the Planet will take place this Saturday, April 16 at Toledo Zoo. Here is a list of some of the activities:
Activity: Polar Bear Enrichment. Time: 10:15 a.m. Location: Arctic Encounter
Activity: Shark Feeding. Time: 11 a.m. Location: Aquarium
Activity: Penguin Feeding. Time: 11:30 a.m. Location: Tiger Terrace
Activity: Orangutan Recycled Items Demonstration Time: 3:30 p.m. Location: Kingdom of the Apes
For a complete schedule of activities and list of recycling items to bring click here.
Photo Credits:
Polar Bear: www.kewlwallpapers.com via flickr
Shark: James Watt
Penguin: Adam Foster
Orangutan: Phil Handley
Tags: Adam Foster, Animals, April 16, James Watt, Kid Activities, orangutan, Party, Party for the Planet, penguins, Phil Handley, Planet, Polar Bears, Sharks, Toledo, Toledo Zoo, Zoo