Green Your Family Picnic

Warm weather means plenty of al fresco eating, and that includes picnics. The next time your family is looking to update their outdoor dining gear, check out these earth-friendly favorites.

• Pack your food in Lama Design’s picnic basket, that’s hand-woven out of 100% recycled material by Bolivian artisans. Bonus: The cool colors will be sure to stand out against a sea of tan, wooden baskets!
• Store sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit and veggies with dip, plus more in a Lunch on the Go food container. They’re reusable, and are made from non-leaching #5 plastic (which is probably safer than toting around glass!) that’s BPA- and phthalate-free.
• Ditch the paper towels in favor of these sustainable hemp napkins, made with plant-based dyes and manufactured in accordance with Fair Labor/Fair Wage standards.
• While bigger family members drink out of their reusable water bottles, tots can sip from Foogo’s stainless steel sippy cup, which is BPA-free and (best of all!) guaranteed leak-proof.
• Every picnic needs a comfy plaid blanket, right? Try one from Turning Life, which is crafted from 100% recycled fibers.
• End the meal with a healthy treat, like these raw oatmeal blueberry cookies from One Lucky Duck. They’re handmade in small batches with pure, organic ingredients, and are just plain delicious!

Local Events: July 20, 2009

Here’s just a sampling of the many fun family events happening across the country over the next few weeks.  Take the opportunity to get involved and connect with your community by attending a local event.  Know of something great happening near you?  Please share in the comments!

Norwich Family Blues Fesitval | Norwich, NY
July 23-26th

Come to the Chenango Fairgrounds for a good time, bluegrass-style! In addition to live bands, there will be a jam tent, guitar raffle, and special activities just for kids. Learn more at norwichfamilybluegrass.com.

Falls Fest | Menomonee Falls, WI
July 23-26th

The fun keeps going at this multi-day family festival, complete with kids crafts, a family entertainment stage, and a speech by Abraham Lincoln (well, that’s what they say!) Enjoy food, fireworks, and free admission–learn more at falls-fest.com!

Econventions Music Cruise | New York, NY
July 28th, 6pm

A free music cruise for parents only! Come and sail the waters with green business professionals for dancing, drinking, and of course, networking.   Read all about it at http://musiccruise.eventbrite.com.

East End Green Festival | Mattituck, NY
August 1-2, 10am-6pm

Come bring the families to Strawberry Field Fairgrounds, for a festival featuring  live bands, wineries, healthy and local foods, sustainable products, renewable energy and much more! Learn more at eastendgreenfest.com.

Kindergarten Mixer | Philadelphia, PA
August 8, 4:30-7:30pm

Learn how to introduce sustainable products, services, and programs for your schools.  This free event will feature workshops, vendors, arts and crafts as well as resources for adults.  Check it out at pleasetouchmuseum.org.

Tour d’Organics | Sebastopool, CA
August 16th

As organic farming and farmers markets change the definition of eating healthy, this tour offers fresh and local organic food and fun at every stop.  Learn all about organics, plus meals made from locally-grown ingredients, and the importance of exercise at the Sebastopol Community Center.  Read more at tourdorganics.com.

Raw Spirit Festival | Washington, DC
August 29th-30th

This festival features the latest and greatest in healthy eating and eco-living among three major cities. Come and check out seminars, health speakers, exercise and yoga, nature trails, food, art gardesn, music, dancing, poetry and much more. Learn about it at rawspiritfestival.com.

Leave No Trace and the PEAK Program

Whether its hiking, camping, canoeing, swimming, or something else entirely, one of the most important things to remember when spending time in nature is to leave the environment in the exact condition in which it was found. Promoting this concept of responsibly enjoying the outdoor is the main goal for The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, an educational, nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching people how they can minimize their impact on the planet when spending time in nature.

First created by the USDA Forest Service in the 1960’s, LNT has most recently formed a partnership with the National Association of State Parks Directors with the goal to expand the organization’s program in America’s state parks. What’s more, Leave No Trace also works with outdoor gear company REI to promote the PEAK Program, a joint effort that seeks to increase environmental stewardship among children.

Reaching over 100,000 kids each year PEAK, (which stands for Promoting Environmental Awareness in Kids), provides special PEAK Packs especially designed for elementary school-age kids who want to explore the outdoors. Each pack contains six activity modules to teach kids compassion for the natural world, and is available for purchase online at the LNT store. Even better, the packs can be borrowed from the LNT Center for just the cost of shipping.

Green Beach Picks

Whether your family sees the beach as an every weekend sort of thing or rents a shorehouse for a week each summer, we’ve got the earth-friendly goods to make your ocean-going experience a green one.

• Happy Green Bee has adorable skirted suits and boardshorts for the little swimmers in your family, and they’re made from organic materials. Moms can try this blue one-piece by Aaron Chang, made out of polyester from recycled plastic bottles, while dads can rock a pair of organic boardshorts by Loomstate.
• Don’t forget your SPF! Alba has a range of sunscreens that are all-natural and affordable, including a kind just for kids and another for sports.
• Keep your feet stylishly green with organic cotton flip-flops from Payless. The guys in your crew will dig Quiksilver’s all-natural sandals, made of linen, rubber, and no-VOC glue, while your littlest family members can slip into cork Birki sandals.
• When it comes to cotton, organically-grown is best. Try these beach towels from Sea Glass Organic, made from an organic cotton and bamboo blend.
• With its pink and blue butterfly pattern, Sarah Smith’s beach bag is cute. But its also socially responsible, made from fair-trade, organic cotton.
• Sprig has a host of dump trucks, molds, and scoopers made from recycled wood and reclaimed plastic for a safe day of playing in the sand.

Marriott Hotels

Marriott Hotels has stepped up to the sustainability plate by employing green practices that have a smaller impact on the environment.  The chain seeks to balance these earth-friendly initiatives while still meeting the needs of their hotel and resort guests.

First, Marriott is funding an environmental strategy to help protect and preserve 1.4 million acres of endangered rainforest in the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve.  The project commits $2 million to support and protect the employment, education, and healthcare for almost 2,500 people living in the area.

Further, Marriott is reducing its use of fuel and water consumption by 25% per hotel room over the next ten years as well as installing solar power within 40 hotels by the year 2017.  They are also implementing “reduce, reuse, recycle” programs in 90% of hotels, including guest and meeting rooms.  The chain has also replaced 450,000 light bulbs with fluorescent lighting, began a linen reuse program, and installed 400,000 low-flow showerheads and toilets. The Environmental Protection Agency has taken note of these efforts, presenting Marriott with a 2009 Sustained Excellence award and placing the ENERGY STAR label on 275 of their hotels.

When it comes to hotel supplies, Marriott makes no exception to the rule of staying green.  Hotel room key cards are made of 50% recyclable materials, pillows filled with recycled bottle material, coreless toilet paper made of 20-40% recycled fiber, non pre-washed towels that eliminate excess water waste, 75% recyclable pens, low-VOC  paint, biodegradable laundry bags, and laundry detergent that cuts the amount of phosphates released into waste water by 100,000 kg.  In addition to receiving Energy Star labels from the EPA, many of Marriott’s buildings have achieved the LEED status (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the U.S. Green Building Council.

By the end of 2009, Marriott’s global headquarters in Bethesda, MD seeks to obtain LEED Existing Building status (which shouldn’t be too difficult, since last year alone the building diverted 64% of waste from landfills).  The headquarters also has four Smart Cars available for employees who commute to work by carpool or public transportation.

Educating their employees and guests to support planet-friendly actions is also very important to the Marriott.  Marriott invites guests to join in their efforts and green their hotel stay by making a donation to the Rainforest Preservation Fund.  What’s more, Marriott promotes Green Meetings–if guests book ten or more rooms during selected dates, Marriott hotels around the world will contribute 5% of the total cost of the group’s guests rooms towards rainforest preservation.  Another new program is Eco Events, a menu listing eco-friendly products and services for guests.

Six Flags Great Adventure

Park Description
With twenty locations across the United States, Six Flag draws a family-filled crowd of thousands each day.  The theme park is open daily as well as a drive-through wild animal safari at their Jackson, NJ location where you and your little ones can check out a variety of animals including monkeys, giraffes, and lions.  The park also hosts festive events throughout the year, and provides numerous dining options.  With the growing popularity of their theme park franchise, Six Flags has allocated some of their spending to go green.

Green Scene
Although the shifts they are making are under the radar, Six Flags is taking the initiative to change things in their theme parks across the country to be more conscious of the environment and the effects their park may be having on it.  First, a plant-based memory-foam Ecomfort mattresses were placed in the bedrooms of their resort locations.  (The Great Escape Theme Park and Water Resort Lodge in Lake George, New York will be receiving 450 new mattresses in over 200 rooms.)  Management in the resorts are also being mindful of thermostat use, utilizing a towel reuse program, and are implementing the use of green cleaning products.  The silverware is even made from corn-based materials, making it fully biodegradable.  Six Flags has also committed to reduce energy consumption by switching to diesel-powered trains in four of their parks (with fuel coming from kitchen vegetable oil) as well as replacing older vehicles with updated, more fuel-efficient vehicles.  They have also lit the parks with LED lamps and have chosen EPA Green Power Partner to purchase New York State wind energy.  In addition, they have partnered with Perf Go Green to use biodegradable trash bags in trash cans across the parks.  Six Flags also works with Coca-Cola to place recycling bins on park grounds in an effort to collect paper, glass, plastic, and aluminum cans.  They also have water saving faucets in the bathrooms and low-water plants to save water.  In the works are plans for installing solar arrays, but no confirmation of this has been made yet.

www.sixflags.com