Ever get the feeling that we are ignoring the food that our kids are eating at school and sports events? Well it's time you join the Mercer Island Food Revolution!!! Headed by Linda Floyd, who was kind enough to do a Q & A with us, this revolution is all about healthier meals. No one wants to see our kids deprived of a fun treat once in a while, but who doesn't want delicious whole food served to our kids for their daily meals?
Please take the time to come and join us at the Community Dinner on May 5th at 6:00PM at Islander Middle School. Thank you Linda for answering all of our burning questions!
What inspired this revolution?
There has always been a strong interest in healthy foods for kids on Mercer Island. A parent group formed a few years ago to help the district develop a Wellness Policy and to advocate for healthier hot lunches at school. Now there is a national movement underway to change the way we feed our kids. Mercer Island Food Revolution is continuing the good work of the previous parent coalition and gaining the interest of even more parents and teachers as this has become a visible issue in the media.
What is this community dinner all about?
Our first Community Dinner is on Thursday, May 5th at 6PM at IMS. It’s an opportunity for families to come together to enjoy a healthy, delicious, freshly prepared meal. Busy families can take time to eat together and to hear about Mercer Island Food Revolution and our partnership with Experience Food Project, a Whidbey Island-based nonprofit. Chef Tom from EFP will prepare the meal along with district food staff. Admission is first come, first served and by donation. Any proceeds from the dinner will go toward food programs for island kids.
What kinds of foods can the kids expect to see in the lunchroom?
There have been some positive changes to the lunches served at the elementary schools this year. Desserts are rarely served now. Fruits or vegetables are served on the trays daily. There are occasional meal choices that are at least partly freshly made in the IMS kitchen. We appreciate these efforts. However, our group would like to see even bigger changes. We’d like to get rid of frozen, processed meals and have fresh meals made from whole foods. We are advocating for freshly prepared meals that are organic and local when possible.
What can we do as parents to support the Mercer Island food revolution?
There are many ways parents can support the Mercer Island Food Revolution. No one wants to deny treats for special occasions but for everyday snacks for school classes or sports teams try bringing fruits or vegetables; they are convenient and healthy. Perhaps for your child’s sports team you could suggest kids bring reusable water bottles so no parent feels obliged to hand out sugary juices or sports drinks. Support the Boys and Girls Club and Parks and Recreation as they strive to bring healthier snack and concession choices to our kids. Join our revolution by “liking” Mercer Island Food Revolution on Facebook. And come to our community dinner. We’d love to see you!
Community Dinner event page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=151275388273190
Mercer Island Food Revolution page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=151275388273190#!/pages/Mercer-Island-Food-Revolution/193826360649983
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution community page: http://www.jamieoliver.com/us/foundation/jamies-food-revolution/activists
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Keep our water clean!!: Take Back Medicine Event
FREE EVENT to TAKE BACK UNWANTED MEDICINES
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is sponsoring a National Pharmaceuticals Take-Back Day on Saturday, April 30, 2011 from 10 a.m.– 2 p.m. at Mercer Island City Hall. This one day event takes place at sites that are staffed by participating local law enforcement officials. It’s a great opportunity for our community to clean out their medicine cabinets and properly dispose of unwanted medicines, including controlled substances.
Why take unused medicines to this event?
· Unused medicines are a danger to our children, families and the environment.
· Washington State has one of the highest teen prescription drug abuse rates in the nation.
· Medicine poisoning among children and seniors is increasing.
· Medicines that are flushed or put in the trash can end up in our surface waters, groundwater and drinking water - exposing our families and hurting our environment.
The DEA has posted promotional materials for this event online at: http://www.nationaltakebackday.com/toolbox/index.php . We encourage your organization to get the word out about this great opportunity to safely dispose of unwanted medicines at this free event. Thank you!
Unfortunately, these programs do not have a sustainable source of funding and are not a permanent solution. To learn more about the problem and why Washington needs a permanent take-back program visitwww.TakeBackYourMeds.org
Transition Initiative Mercer Island (TIMI) Meeting
So you ask “What is the Transition Movement?”: The Transition Movement is comprised of vibrant, grassroots community initiatives that seek to build community resilience in the face of such challenges as peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis.
Transition Initiatives differentiate themselves from other sustainability and "environmental" groups by seeking to mitigate these converging global crises by engaging their communities in home-grown, citizen-led education, action, and multi-stakeholder planning to increase local self reliance and resilience. They succeed by regeneratively using their local assets, innovating, networking, collaborating, replicating proven strategies, and respecting the deep patterns of nature and diverse cultures in their place.
Transition Initiatives work with deliberation and good cheer to create a fulfilling and inspiring local way of life that can withstand the shocks of rapidly shifting global systems.
Please join us for our Fourth in a series of discussions designed to create a healthy and resilient community.
For those of you who missed the last event, the evening will include a brief over view of the Transition Initiative Process. We will plan together a series of community speaker events for next year, highlighting the fantastic energy of existing local groups & businesses that are part of the Transition Process on Mercer Island.
We will discuss how these activities fill-in a larger possible FUTURE VISION MAP for Mercer Island.
MONDAY, April 25TH, 2011 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm MI Public Library - Large Room (Over view of T.I. process starts at 7:00) MERCER ISLAND PUBLIC LIBRARY
TIMI
Transition Initiative Mercer Island email us at TIMercerIsland@gmail.com
April 25, 2011 (tonight)
6:30 – 9:00 pm
Mercer Island Public Library
Transition Initiatives differentiate themselves from other sustainability and "environmental" groups by seeking to mitigate these converging global crises by engaging their communities in home-grown, citizen-led education, action, and multi-stakeholder planning to increase local self reliance and resilience. They succeed by regeneratively using their local assets, innovating, networking, collaborating, replicating proven strategies, and respecting the deep patterns of nature and diverse cultures in their place.
Transition Initiatives work with deliberation and good cheer to create a fulfilling and inspiring local way of life that can withstand the shocks of rapidly shifting global systems.
Please join us for our Fourth in a series of discussions designed to create a healthy and resilient community.
For those of you who missed the last event, the evening will include a brief over view of the Transition Initiative Process. We will plan together a series of community speaker events for next year, highlighting the fantastic energy of existing local groups & businesses that are part of the Transition Process on Mercer Island.
We will discuss how these activities fill-in a larger possible FUTURE VISION MAP for Mercer Island.
MONDAY, April 25TH, 2011 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm MI Public Library - Large Room (Over view of T.I. process starts at 7:00) MERCER ISLAND PUBLIC LIBRARY
TIMI
Transition Initiative Mercer Island email us at TIMercerIsland@gmail.com
April 25, 2011 (tonight)
6:30 – 9:00 pm
Mercer Island Public Library
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Mercer Island School District honored by King County Green Schools Program
Way to go Mercer Island School District!!! Check out this article from the Mercer Island reporter about each school's involvement in the Green Schools Program.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Leap for Green schedule: Saturday April 16th!!!
LEAP For GREEN is coming!
Come to the best party in town this Saturday April 16th from 10am to 2pm at the Mercer Island Community Center. Brought to you by IslandVision and the City of Mercer Island with the invaluable support of our sponsors!
Our annual Earth-day Sustainability event is a fun free interactive event for kids of all ages hooking you up with what’s happening in your community and region!
This is a “YOU-Powered” event so get there under your own power and receive a small prize.
Kids bring your bikes ready to test your skill in the BIKE RODEO!
Some of our exciting participants:
Friends of Luther Burbank will be leading two walks at 10am and 2:00pm; The Goat Lady will have goats to meet and greet; Marita Dingus is doing recycled art; Regina paints faces; Charlie and Jennifer bring their chickens; Patrick and Friends will be playing excellent music all day; The latest model Tesla – bright orange; test ride electric bikes; check out information on the natural environment around you; Did you know the Mercer Island School District is now a certified Green District; the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Mercer have just rolled out their Green Business Program; Great food: Patty Pan Grill, Got Soup, Anita’s Crepes and Whidbey Island Ice Cream and sooooo much more!.
The entertainment line up:
10:00 am: Walk Luther Burbank (see description below)
10:00am to 11:00 am: Twirl Dance Studio (Marcie Spahi and Hoop to the Beat)
11:00am to 12:00pm: Roving Reptiles
12:00pm to 1:00pm: MI Martial Arts demonstrations
1:00pm to 2:00pm: Guelaguetza – Guatemalan Dancers
2:00pm: Walk Luther Burbank (see description below)
Friends of Luther Burbank is leading two walks of the park
Meeting location: Both walks will meet on the patio off the Mercer Room
Time: 10:00AM 0 11:00am
Meeting location: Both walks will meet on the patio off the Mercer Room
Time: 10:00AM 0 11:00am
| Judith Roan, will lead an easy walk through LBP in search of bird life. We will begin the walk from the back patio of the community center at 10:00am, and be back by 11:00am. April is usually a good month to listen for singing males on territory and to spot birds building nests. Bring binoculars if you have them. |
Time: 2:00PM - 3:00PM
| Amanda Clark will lead an easy walk through LBP along the boardwalk to Calkins Point and back along the path by the old barn ruins. We will talk about the typical plants and animals of the wetlands. We will also discuss the history of the park from its beginnings as a boys school. We will begin the walk from the back patio of the community center at 2:00 PM, and be back by 3:00 PM. |
A HUGE Thank You to our Sponsors:
Blue Sky Cleaners
Rotary Club of Mercer Island
Orthopedic Specialists of Seattle
Puget Sound Energy
Stroum Jewish Community Center
Steve Litzow
Cool Moms
Friends of Farrington
Visit this booth at Leap for Green: Green Man Gardens
We are quickly approaching April 16th when we will get together for a celebration of sustainability at the Leap for Green Fair at the Mercer Island Community Center. If you are interested in native planting in your garden come and visit Brett at the GREEN MAN GARDENS booth. He will be selling native plants and can answer all your burning gardening questions! Here is a Q & A we did with him to get you excited about native plants!
1) red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum)- one of the easiest of the native shrubs to grow, with bright pink to red flowers in early spring. It's one of the first native shrubs to bloom, and one of the best to attract hummingbirds. All it requires is good drainage. It is not too picky about soil types, and is happy in sun or shade. It's easy to trim but generally doesn't need it. It is fast growing, and quick to flower even from a young age. It's almost always one of the favorites when in flower, but looks good out of flower too.
2) camas (Camassia quamash or C. leichtlinii)- the two native species are very similar, but both are excellent garden subjects. These bulbs were used by native Americans as a food source (they ate the bulbs), but we grow them for the flowers. Light to dark blue purple spikes of flowers, usually around Mother's Day, are highly attractive to almost all pollinators, from bees and butterflies to hummingbirds. The bulbs themselves are as easy to grow as daffodils or tulips. All they need is good sun, and decent soil. Hardy and quick growing, camas is one of the most beautiful wildflowers in the Washington flora.
3) strawberries (Fragaria vesca, F. virginiana, and F. chiloensis)- we have three native strawberries to choose from. Most people grow the wood strawberry (F. vesca) for its fruit; small little sweet tart intense strawberries that make incredible jam if you have the patience to pick enough of them. It prefers moist light shade and is perfect under fruit trees and blueberries for an extra harvest, or in almost any protected sunny areas that get regular summer water. Beach strawberry (F. chiloensis) is mostly known as an aggressive groundcover for sunny dry spots, where it can get as dense as ivy but is much easier to control. It rarely produces berries but is worth growing for the shiny dark green leaves and contrasting pure white flowers anyway. The third of the three is my favorite- meadow strawberry (F. virginiana) has bluish leaves, is more drought tolerant than the wood strawberry but has just as good berries, if you can get them before the critters do. I like growing the fruiting ones in pots where they cascade over the edges so I can see and harvest the berries before the birds do. 
I will be selling plants, and have a table set up where kids of all ages can come and do leaf rubbings. I have pressed leaves and stems from several different native plants for people to use. I hope that as people walk through the parks, they will recognize how important these and other native plants are to our open spaces, both here on Mercer Island and in the whole region.
Why should we plant native plants on Mercer Island?
Native plants should always be an option, where ever you are. Generally speaking, native plants are perfectly hardy whatever the weather throws at us, are better adapted to our soils, have better disease resistance, and attract more and more diverse wildlife than exotics do. Aside from that, there is nothing that provides a sense of place, of being home, like native plants do. Walk in the woods here and you will see things like trillium, Oregon grape, salal, Doug fir and big leaf maple, all the things that make this region so unique in the world. You can find tea roses and hybrid rhodies in gardens all over the world, but there is only one place where the licorice fern covers the branches of old maple trees, with a carpet of salal, sword fern and trillium at their feet. Planting these in the garden not only brings that sense of place home, it gives a home for all the birds, butterflies and other critters that call these plants home. That is the essence of habitat, and how you can transform your garden into more than just a bunch of pretty flowers.
Tell us about your company and what services you provide for Mercer Island residents.
My name is Brett Johnson and my company's name is Green Man Gardens. I provide landscape design and consulting services with a focus on native plants and wildlife habitat. As well as being able to provide native plants to those who need them, I can also help by identifying what you have, both in native and non-native species, and provide help in developing a garden with native plants and wildlife in mind. If you want to attract hummingbirds, butterflies, or just have a healthier garden, I can help you choose plants that will thrive in your garden and attract wildlife.
What are the top three native plants you should have your garden?
Only three? That's not enough! Well, if I only get three...1) red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum)- one of the easiest of the native shrubs to grow, with bright pink to red flowers in early spring. It's one of the first native shrubs to bloom, and one of the best to attract hummingbirds. All it requires is good drainage. It is not too picky about soil types, and is happy in sun or shade. It's easy to trim but generally doesn't need it. It is fast growing, and quick to flower even from a young age. It's almost always one of the favorites when in flower, but looks good out of flower too.
2) camas (Camassia quamash or C. leichtlinii)- the two native species are very similar, but both are excellent garden subjects. These bulbs were used by native Americans as a food source (they ate the bulbs), but we grow them for the flowers. Light to dark blue purple spikes of flowers, usually around Mother's Day, are highly attractive to almost all pollinators, from bees and butterflies to hummingbirds. The bulbs themselves are as easy to grow as daffodils or tulips. All they need is good sun, and decent soil. Hardy and quick growing, camas is one of the most beautiful wildflowers in the Washington flora.
Camassia leichtlinii
3) strawberries (Fragaria vesca, F. virginiana, and F. chiloensis)- we have three native strawberries to choose from. Most people grow the wood strawberry (F. vesca) for its fruit; small little sweet tart intense strawberries that make incredible jam if you have the patience to pick enough of them. It prefers moist light shade and is perfect under fruit trees and blueberries for an extra harvest, or in almost any protected sunny areas that get regular summer water. Beach strawberry (F. chiloensis) is mostly known as an aggressive groundcover for sunny dry spots, where it can get as dense as ivy but is much easier to control. It rarely produces berries but is worth growing for the shiny dark green leaves and contrasting pure white flowers anyway. The third of the three is my favorite- meadow strawberry (F. virginiana) has bluish leaves, is more drought tolerant than the wood strawberry but has just as good berries, if you can get them before the critters do. I like growing the fruiting ones in pots where they cascade over the edges so I can see and harvest the berries before the birds do.
There are many other species I would recommend, these aren't even necessarily my favorites!
What will you be doing at the Leap For Green Fair this year?
I will be selling plants, and have a table set up where kids of all ages can come and do leaf rubbings. I have pressed leaves and stems from several different native plants for people to use. I hope that as people walk through the parks, they will recognize how important these and other native plants are to our open spaces, both here on Mercer Island and in the whole region.
Thank you Brett for coming to the Leap For Green Fair! Can't wait to see you there...
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