That’s Natural! A Guide to Sustainable Products & Services in Southern Colorado
FREE
January/February/March 2010
Volume 7, Issue 1
The Garden Project Survey
Health Care Reform Sustainability From the Start
BlueStar Recyclers Electronics Recycling
Book Review Last Child in the Woods
Green Guide
The Best Sustainable Businesses in Colorado
We Are in the Business of $elling Social Change. That’s Natural! Goes Quarterly
We are expanding the counties and businesses that we serve, and have decided to go quarterly to be able to reach more people! Check out more updates and additions at www.ThatsNatural.info
Looking for People to Make Real Change It has come to my attention that there is a whole lot of say and a depravity of “do.” There are a lot of things that we would all like to see, personally, professionally, and in our community that are more “sustainable.” The hard part is making those changes. I can tell you something - IF YOU DON’T DO IT, no one else will. Our own lives and all of the aspects of our community are made up of people just like you and me. Have something interesting you want people to know about? WRITE ABOUT IT. Have a product or service that will help people? ADVERTISE IT. Want to contribute to the cause, and play a more active role in sustainability. JOIN AN ORGANIZATION, TAKE A CLASS, and of course READ THAT’S NATURAL!
Happy 2010! I am very excited about the new year and watching southern Colorado continue to grow and thrive. We all make up this thing we call “the economy”, and with consumers like ourselves making smart and sustainable choices, we will watch our communities grow and prosper. Happy 2010 to you and yours, and thank you for your readership!
Tisha T. Casida, Publisher
That’s Natural! Marketing & Consulting PO Box 1476 Pueblo, CO 81002 (719) 210-8273 Thats.Natural.Info@gmail.com www.ThatsNatural.info
Contributors
Nicole Kochis, Editor The Garden Project Survey Kara Finger.........................3 Western Landscape Symposium Liz Catt ..........................................................................5 Sustainability from the Start Angela Beery.................................................................. 6 Paws for Life Bev Kachel......................................................................6 Health Care Reform Carl Borden....................................................................7 Good Health Naturally Darlene Herbert.............................................................7 Book Review - Last Child in the Woods Susan Fries.....................................................................8 Forest Gardens Becky Elder....................................................................9 Transition Town Brian Fritz.....................................................................10 Those Pesky New Year’s Resolutions Tamrah Jo Ortiz............................................................10 BlueStar Recyclers, The Triple Bottom Line Bill Morris & Tisha Casida...........................................12 GREEN GUIDE From Our Community..................................................15
MAJOR DISTRIBUTION LOCATIONS
* Distributed to hundreds of small businesses, here is where you can be sure to pick up your copy, or feel free to subscribe (information in box to left). Vitamin Cottage - 101 West 29th St., Pueblo
For Subscriptions, please send $20 to PO Box above. *You will receive 4 editions per year - every three months. (Please include your address and contact information) ** Make Checks Payable to “That’s Natural!” That’s Natural! is a free marketing-magazine serving Southern Colorado. It is published bi-monthly, over 7,500 copies are circulated to more than 200 locations in Pueblo, Fremont, Huerfano, Otero, Las Animas, Teller, and El Paso counties. We serve small businesses with their marketing needs and specialize in marketing programs that capitalize on Sustainability - products and services that help people, the environment, and the community.
The nutritional, health, environmental, and political information in this newsletter are based on personal experiences and research by the author(s). The author(s), editor, and publisher do not offer medical advice or prescribe the use of diet as a form of treatment for sickness without the approval of a health professional, nor do they accept any responsibility for your viewpoints being expanded or changed. If you do use the information contained in this newsletter without the approval of a health professional, an attorney, or a mentor that you deem worthy of your consciousness, you are prescribing and directing yourself, which is your constitutional right to pursue such activities (that we encourage you to exercise), but the author(s), editor, and publisher assume no responsibility.
Wireworks - 103 South Union Ave., Pueblo Rawlings Library - 100 East Abriendo Ave., Pueblo Pueblo West Library - 298 S. Joe Martinez Blvd., Pueblo West Pinon Truck Stop - I-25 & Exit 110, Pinon Sunflower Market - 1730 Dublin Blvd., Colorado Springs Pikes Perk - 14 South Tejon St., Colorado Springs The Acupuncture Clinic - 2020 W. Colorado Blvd., Suite B-204, Colorado City
We believe that every human being has a right to health, education, the arts, and to be a part of the local economy. We believe that entities and products that encourage this should be promoted. We believe that educating the public about the inherent truths of our health, our education, our culture, and our economy is paramount to our rights as citizens. We believe in hope, change, and the power of a free market economy. We believe in the power of a consumer. And we believe all of THAT is very NATURAL! That’s Natural!
“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.” - Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.
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The Garden Project Survey By Kara Finger
College of Education, Engineering and Professional Studies -Exercise Science, Health Promotion, and Recreation Colorado State University-Pueblo - 2200 Bonforte Blvd. Pueblo, Colorado
AbstractFrom October 2009 through December 2009, using non-probability sampling tools including an online survey, a paper survey and personal interviews, data was collected from the citizens of Pueblo, Colorado to determine if there was an interest in and/or desire for curbside recycling, composting and community gardens. Results strongly indicate there is an interest in participating in and a willingness to support these programs. Recommendations as a result of this project include making any subsequent recycling program as convenient and inclusive as possible for every household. It is also recommended that those interested in creating successful recycling programs provide education and most importantly model desired recycling behavior and encourage friends and neighbors to follow suit to create the most successful outcomes. Introduction Global warming and “going green” campaigns abound in virtually every media outlet. The increased attention placed on environmental concerns seems to have generated a heighted awareness in the general public. Implications are everywhere that an individual’s personal
A local student conducted an exellent survey, That’s Natural! wanted to showcase the beginning of her work, and you can find the rest at www.ThatsNatural.info
habits impact the overall health of the planet. In their article, “The Social Context of Recycling,” Linda Derksen and John Gartrell write, “concern for the environment has become almost a cultural constant or norm in western society. Pro-environmental attitudes are now socially acceptable and desirable.”
Null Hypothesis: There are sufficient opportunities for recycling organic products into compost for gardens in Pueblo. Alternate 1: There are not sufficient opportunities for recycling organic products into compost for gardens in Pueblo.
The Would you support a project that collects paper products for composting and Alternate 2: abThere is a need in turn uses the composted waste to create a community garden? sence for curbside of a convenient, communirecycling in Pueblo. ty wide recycling/composting program, suggests that Alternate 3: There is a subthere is a lack of interest or stantial interest in Pueblo concern for the environto recycle. ment in Pueblo, Colorado. The questions related to current and potential habits in order to study In an effort to determine if the lack of interest of the beliefs and behaviors of the citizens of is the reason behind the lack of services, “The Pueblo, Colorado as they relate to recycling, Garden Project” survey was designed in an atcomposting, and gardening. tempt to answer to following question: Is there sufficient interest in Pueblo to support a program to recycle paper products and other organic matter into compost for community gardens?
Please visit www.ThatsNatural.info for the rest of this project and its results.
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Country Roots Farm
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For links to other great events visit: www.ThatsNatural.info
The fourth annual Western Landscape Symposium will be on Saturday, March 6, 2010. This year’s symposium is cosponsored by the Pueblo City-County Library District and will be held at the Rawlings Library. The keynote speaker is Judith Phillips, author of several gardening books about creating sustainable gardens in the southwest. Her presentation is titled: “Living Green in a Dry Climate: Gardening to Save Water and Reduce Heat.” This all day symposium includes sessions on Edibles for Small Spaces by Jodi Torpey. Jodi is the author of “Colorado Gardener’s Companion: An Insider’s Guide to Gardening in the Centennial State”. Bill Adams owner of Sunscapes Rare Plant Nursery will do a presentation on rockscaping, and Darrel Pearson, retired City Forester for
Colorado Springs will talk about selecting, planting and caring for trees. Carla Anderson, landscape architect will discuss the “Steps to Designing a Garden” and Joe Dixon will help homeowners with a presentation on irrigation basics. Come learn how to design, renovate and take care of a beautiful water wise garden appropriate to southeastern Colorado. This is an opportunity to be inspired and to ask questions from some of the most knowledgeable gardeners in the Southwest.
CSU Extension Pueblo County. Call 583-6566 for more information. Tickets will be on sale February 1, 2010 at the CSU Extension Office. On March 6th, tickets will be on sale in front of the Rawlings Library starting at 8 AM. The Symposium begins at 9:15 AM and runs until 3:30 PM.
Tickets are $18 each or two for $30 before the day of the event and $20 each at the door. Tickets can be purchased through the
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Sustainability From the Start - The Simplicity of Sustainability By: Angela Beery
When I think about sustainable living, I think about simplicity. It was Leonardo DaVinci who said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Living sustainably not only makes sense – it’s simply genius! It follows the laws and order of the universe. It obeys the “House Rules” plaque my great-grandmother has posted on her bathroom wall – “If you sleep on it – make it up. If you wear it – hang it up. If you drop it – pick it up. If you dirty it – clean it up.” Sustainable living is the ultimate common sense.
The simplicity of sustainability makes life easier and more economical in all areas – including when it comes to raising young children. It’s easier because you need less. It’s more economical, again, because you need less. Raising a sustainable-minded family proves that less is indeed more. When you wonder what to feed your child – the answer is, ahem – food. To quote author and Certified Nutritional Consultant, Kelly Hayford, “If it’s not food - don’t eat it.” When you are wondering what to put on your child’s skin or what to clean your baby’s high chair and toys with – the answer is natural products. If it’s not natural, don’t let your child breathe it in or absorb it into his or her skin. Again, if it’s not an authentic, bona fide, real, natural product – don’t use it on or around your baby. Food – organic food – is good for the earth, self-feeding and replenishing. Natural ingredients, too, nurture our children’s bodies and minds while being kind to the earth. Every time you use a product, take into consideration that you will eventually run out of it and need more. Make sure it is made in a way that does not harm
the earth. Out of concern for the future well being of our children and children’s children, we simply must take care of ourselves and our world so it can continue taking care of us. In the coming months, I will be writing a series of articles on the three ways toxins enter our babies’ and children’s bodies – first by consumption, second, through absorption and third, through inhalation. It will be a sort of “Sustainable: Consumption, Absorption and Inhalation (C, A & I) How To.” Readers will find that rethinking your family’s C, A & I is not only a step in the right direction sustainably thinking, but it is also extremely simple and affordable. It’s so obvious that you’ll want to kick yourself for not doing it sooner. I will also be posting information on my blog (http://economommie.blogspot.com) regularly relating to this subject area that I hope Southern Colorado parents will find useful. I’ve added to my great-grandmother’s list of house rules – “If you need it and want to continue having it – Sustain it up!” So how can we help our families live a simpler, more sustainable life in Southern Colorado? Let’s explore in the months to come.
Paws For Life By: Bev Kachel You want Sustainability??? PLEASE, check us out! We are Pueblo’s thirty- year- old, best kept secret… but that’s changing. We are PAWS for Life/Animal Welfare and Protection Society, a no-kill, non-profit, animal shelter located at 800 N. Pueblo Blvd. For those of you who are familiar with us, you know our shelter needs an update…badly!! What started out to be a safe haven and shelter for our animals has evolved into a 7.5 acre campus including a 25,000 square-foot built-green shelter. We are seeking Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the highest certification level designated by the US Green Building Council. Our campus will include a new Platinum shelter, doggie day care, bark park, agility course and emergency vet care facility. Given state regulations for shelters including things such as air exchange requirements and other necessities,coupled with the sustainable aspects for heating and cooling, it became evident to our architect and engineer that we would qualify for the LEED certification... that’s how it started!
That’s Natural! Quarter 1, 2010
Here’s how we hope it will end. We will be completely self sustaining with solar panels and geothermal heating and cooling. We have letters of intent for an emergency veterinarian facility and doggieday-care operations which will generate the income needed to sustain our operating expenses. Our bark park and agility course will be ‘members only” facilities which will also so generate income and ensure the safety and health of the participants. We own the 7.5 acres and have over $1million
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already committed to start the project. We hope to break ground in early spring. We are very excited bout this project and hope you will share our enthusiasm. Preliminary activities will be starting soon! Check us out: www.pawspueblo.org Phone# 719-251-4024
Health Care Reform By: Carl Borden
Wow, this health care reform bill is exciting, such big changes to our health care system. OH wait it really seems to be a reform for better ways to pay for insurance, not to really improve our Health and wellbeing. I am not sure, nor is any one else, what this reform will truly bring, we can theorize and debate until we are blue in the face, but the truth is we will not know how it will truly work out until it is implemented in to our lives. Then we will know. One thing I do know is that to really reform our health care system, we need to start at home, “We The People” are the only ones
that can really improve our health care. We need to start at home, we need to make the effort to make positive changes in our health and create a Wellness System not, a wait-until-you’rereally-sick system. What if we used our wonderful technology as the emergency backup system for our health and we depended much more on natural means for maintaining our heath? Mankind has used natural healing since he has been on earth, it obviously works, we are here. Ancient man has survived unbelievable health concerns and for the most part he only had the human touch and his healing intentions to help him get through it. Those benefits are still here today, most likely called alternative/complimentary medicine, (a more natural way of healing and maintaining our health). What if we all used all the natural sources of healing first, then if needed progress to the use of our modern technology. What did mankind do to maintain his health and wellbeing? Lets list some things that were available then that we still have today, the human touch (massage, body work, acupressure, acupuncture, healing touch, structural manipulation), healing intentions (energy work, reiki, guided imagery, therapeutic touch, visualization), physical balancing( Tia Chi, Gi gong, yoga, stretching, exercise, dance), and the human heart (love and compassion for each other). We still have all these and many more modalities in what is called alternative/complimentary medicine. We need to make the effort to find the parts of alternative/complimentary medicine that fits into our lives to help us maintain our wellness. We
need to show our health care system that it is not alternative/complimentary but as important as the rest of allopathic medicine. We need to show what it can do and we can’t do it from our couches or desks. We need to get out and create our own wellness. I encourage you all to go back, back to a more natural way of maintaining your wellness, before you have to go to the doctor. Learn what is out there to help you. Often in communities there are small groups that are set up to help teach you about alternative/complimentary medicine. You can find educational groups in your hospitals, cancer centers, or libraries. Call your White House representative and ask them if they are going to include natural wellness and healing in this reform. https://www.bodysensemagazine.com/images/ Autumn2009/MoreThanLuxury.pdf Carl is a Registered Massage/Acupressure therapist and has been in the medical field since 1988, to include: Navy Corpsman in Desert Storm, EMT, Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, and Radiology (RT. R, MRI). He graduated from Crestone Healing Arts School to receive his Registration in Therapeutic Massage and Acupressure. His training and philosophy is based through Traditional Chinese Medicine, and he believes that through compassion and the healing touch of another, we can begin to strengthen our Spirit-MindBody connection and begin to heal ourselves from within. I currently have my own practice “Healing From Within” located under a Wellness Haven at 126 West “D” Street #100 Pueblo, CO 81003.
Good Health Naturally - Exercise By: Darlene Hopkins
If you ask most health professionals, “which is the more important, diet or exercise?” they will say, “exercise!” Why? Because your body replaces each and every cell in your body at least once every six months. Most are replaced every three months. If we are exercising our cells are healthier therefore they can uptake more nutrients. It all seems so simple. I quote from Dr. Henry S. Lodge. “You choose whether those new cells come in stronger, or weaker. You choose whether they grow or decay each day from then on. Your cells don’t care which choice you make. They just follow the directions you send. Exercise, and your cells get stronger; sit down, and they decay.” (Complete article can be read at www.parade.com under the search button type in normal aging) Did you know that the USDA first endorsed physical exercise in its 2000 dietary guidelines? So how much exercise do we need? 30 minutes of activity on most days of the week can lessen the risk of chronic illness. Walking, biking, aerobic, doing
anything is better then doing nothing. Exercise is important for osteoporosis; it can help Fibromyalgia, and Muscular Dystrophy. Less than 20% of cancer patients maintain their physical activity after treatment. Yet research shows that exercise greatly improves one’s social, emotional, intellectual, and physical well-being. It helps to lower blood pressure, reduce your total cholesterol level, and increase the good cholesterol. It also helps prevent plaque from building up in your arteries. One thing, you want to make sure that you start out slow, pace yourself, do not over do it or you will be sorry. Anyone at ANY AGE can exercise and will gain benefits. There is not enough space to write about something so important. Do some research for yourself. Experiment! In my next article I will be addressing the do’s and don’ts in a healthy DIET. I will answer any questions via e-mail at theherblady01@yahoo.com
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Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder “For children, nature comes in many forms. Unlike television, nature does not steal time; it amplifies it. It (nature) serves as a blank slate upon which a child draws and reinterprets the culture’s fantasies.” This begins Richard Louv’s appeal in “Last Child in the Woods” to recognize that children are losing their connection to nature through their increasingly limited experience of being outside. Richard Louv received the 2008 Audubon Medal and has coined the phrase “Nature Deficit Disorder” to explain the effect less contact with nature has on children’s’ mental health. Louv is the co-founder and chairman of Children & Nature Network, an organization dedicated to getting children back into nature. As well, Louv’s writings have inspired the “No Child Left Inside Act of 2009”. Imagine having to legislate that children have the right to be taught “environmental literacy,” nature and healthy living? While mainstream education has all but eliminated any connection between students and nature, almost all “alternative” educators recognize the necessity of unstructured exploration at nature sites to insure that students are equipped with creative problem solving skills. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned here? As a reader with children, I recognize the implica-
Book Review
tions of fewer outdoor experiences in schools. Yes, I was the unreasonable parent that had to advocate for my first grader to have an “additional” recess. My request was successful but not without bureaucratic authorization, and not for every first grade at the school, only my lucky first grader’s class. But lack of recess is merely the beginning of the “outside problem.” My same first grader invited her whole class to a birthday party at the Pueblo Nature Center, and much to my dismay, most of the families had never been to the Nature Center with their children, and some didn’t even know where it was. So sad!
Inside.
“Last Child in the Woods”, emphasizes the need for our communities to take our children back to nature. For instance, those treasured institutions that help make Pueblo a nature friendly community, like the Pueblo Nature & Raptor Center and Pueblo Mountain Park might have no advocates in generations to come if children now are not today exposed to the wonders that lie within the woods and rivers, under the rocks, and off the beaten path. Louv compellingly explains that society is doing a disservice to children by insulating them from unstructured play in nature. And thus, the overwhelming response from organizations and programs like Children & Nature Network , Farm to Fork, and No Child Left
By: Susan Fries Executive Director of the Pueblo Performing Arts Guild, and avid traveler, bookworm, gardener, and cook.
For parents, educators, environmentalists, and elected officials that need confirmation that nature is an integral component of a person’s educational experience, “Last Child in the Woods”, will be a very affirming read. And for those that need a reminder that our natural environment plays a crucial role in maintaining mental health, physical health, and creative minds, “Last Child in the Woods” explains why kids (and adults) need to be outside and how to make this happen in our communities.
All the books reviewed for That’s Natural! can be found in the Pueblo CityCounty Library collection. Susan encourages you to walk or ride your bike to the library and check out a book. Now that’s sustainable!
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Photovoltaic Systems make electricity from sunlight. They can be Grid-tied, Off-grid or hybrid systems. Grid-tied systems connect your PV solar system directly into the utility grid and utilizes Net-Metering. Net-Metering keeps track of electricity grid usage versus photovoltaic electricity production.
in which you tie multiple energy technologies together. For example, connecting PV solar into a system along with a generator for times when there is not sufficient electricity from the PV system, or if the grid goes down (if the hybrid system is grid tied).
You are basically putting electricity “in the bank” for the times production isn’t as much as usage. Off-grid systems are utilized in homes/business that aren’t connected to a utility’s service, and require batteries to store power for use when there is no/little sunlight. A hybrid system is one
It is very important to have a skilled PV Solar installer design your system. If designed incorrectly, one can damage or ruin any part of the system, including the utility grid in the case of Grid-Tied systems. Furthermore if a system isn’t properly oriented, one will not receive nearly the potential en-
That’s Natural! Quarter 1, 2010
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ergy output of a properly designed system. Most importantly, if done incorrectly, you risk starting a fire and/or electrical shock, either can be fatal. It is the author’s opinion that current Black Hill’s Electric customers will want to take advantage of what PV Solar has to offer as soon as possible because Black Hill’s rebates and credits RIGHT NOW are among the highest in the nation. These incentives have already been lowered once! We believe time is of the essence! Give Energy Efficiencies a call for your free estimate! 719.993.8387 or www.proudsolar.com
Forest Gardens, Part I By: Becky Elder
Talk with a tree. Have tea with a shrub. Listen to a flower… Plants can help people maintain a spiritual relationship with the planet. Let the work of living mulch, worms and the soil organisms satisfy a gardener’s heart. Care for the earth, care for people and share the abundance are the base ethics of permaculture for living sustainably on the Earth and sharing the wealth of the organic. Forest gardening holds that philosophy connecting back into nature. Like French-intensive gardening, a forest garden is packed with food and function to make small produce big and works to increase the output of the land while improving the land’s health. These gardens can be beautiful and walk in tune with meditation gardens, children’s gardens and xeriscapes. Forest gardening enhances traditional gardens. “Nature never does just one thing” says Peter Bane, a national renowned permaculturist. Multi-functioning forest gardens link plant groupings with earthworks, water systems and integrative bio-systems that add fertility and stability, same as nature’s own forest. In such a garden the plants carry out as much work as possible. Once established, they can continue to produce, long after the gardener is gone. Rich in function and purpose, forest gardens offer more than food. Trees are at the heart of a forest garden. “Trees
R
are never just shade.” says Bane. Working in many ways, trees grow shade, feed the soil, create microclimates, buffer the wind, capture and release water, shelter birds and mammals and mitigate the intense Colorado sun. Some trees have medicinal qualities and many trees offer fruit and provide wood. Well-tended forest systems are excellent wildlife and bird habitat. The canopy, of the taller trees, is the sun mitigator, wind absorber, and microclimate maker. They protect the understory trees, those mid-range and dwarf trees, small groves and thickets. Sharing space with the understory trees, shrubs form another layer in the forest. Shrubs can bloom, add wind protection, increase privacy and some provide fruit. Perennials thrive in the sunnier areas of the garden, yet are in close association with the shrubs and understory, often growing under their leafy skirts. Flowers and food crops can be laid out in specific design patterns like keyhole gardens, herb spirals, or in raised beds. Annual crops join into this collective forest effort, too. Groundcovers protect the soil and provide “living mulch.” Some, like strawberries or Colorado native mahonia, have fruits. Root crops and tuberous plants nestle into the soil and work it deeply; helping break it up to breathe. Vines are an important part of a forest garden. Climbing up the understory branches, a vine can find support and seek out sunshine. (Grapes are a favorite.) Gardening up with vines increases
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the jungle effect of the forest and creates more abundance in small spaces. Of course, a forest garden will always have edible, food plants. But other plants, not just edibles, are vital to a forest garden. Insectary plants, such as catmint, sage or fennel, (herbs, in general) offer nectar source for predatory insects, beckoning them to patrol your tender edibles. Flowers keep beneficial, pollinating insects happy. Nitrogen-fixing plants are service plants that feed other plants living close by. Dynamic accumulator plants mine the soil for minerals. Mulching plants, as comfrey or horseradish, cover large patches of soil, smothering out unwanted weeds. Phytoremediation plants heal damaged land, cleaning out contaminants and pollutants. Plants living in association benefit each other; theirs is a symbiotic relationship. The forest garden works together as a whole. Trees, the microclimate makers, are surrounded by plants that fertilize the soil, hold more moisture, attract insects to pollinate and provide pest control for all the plants in the forest. It’s a beautiful system! Becky Elder has been gardening on the Colorado Front Range for thirty five years. A life-long organic gardener and CSU Master Gardener for 13 years, she owns Blue Planet Earthscapes & Urban Farms, an award winning gardening company. Blue Planet is a member of Peak to Plains Alliance, working to build food security within our communities. Certified in permaculture design (2002,) Becky teaches permaculture with High Altitude Permaculture, Sustainable Ways and Pikes Peak Permaculture. A former wildlife rehabilitator, her foothill gardens are Certified Wildlife Habitat and were included in the Audubon Society’s book: Colorado Wildscapes. Her own book, “Raven in the Garden, a Front Range Gardener’s Journal” was published in December 2007.
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That’s Natural! Quarter 1, 2010
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Transition Town By: Brian Fritz
The first training for Transition Town in the United States took place in Boulder, Colorado, in September 2008. Since then there have been multiple Transition Town Initiatives emerging throughout the country, with 15 of those in Colorado alone. The Transition Town Initiative was developed in the United Kingdom in 2006 by Rob Hopkins, a permaculture teacher, as a practical model for allowing communities to reduce their dependency on a fossil fuelbased infrastructure, develop greater local resilience and re-localize the community resource base. This includes all areas of the community resource: food and energy production, security and access, local economy, health care, education, transportation, etc. Transition Towns emphasize grass roots involvement, public awareness raising (related to the emerging crisis of Peak Oil, Climate Change and Economic Instability which will initiate into our culture what James Kunstler has termed the “Long Emergency”), collaborating with existing social activist organizations, community re-skilling and developing local, practical,
and effective solutions for meeting community needs. It aims to re-build ‘community resilience’ so that we can withstand the inevitable shocks and disruptions that occur from being so dependent on external infrastructure. One of the unique features of Transition Town is that it offers a positive, optimistic and upbeat approach which is meant to engage the collective intelligence and creativity of everyone in the community in addressing these serious challenges. Rather than a time of ‘doom and gloom’ it can be a time of collective coming together to re-create a low energy, healthier future for all of us. Transition Manitou Springs, which has been active for approximately a year now, has been building community momentum by
offering monthly educational film series, classes on various areas of sustainability, and working with local existing social activist groups. This spring we will be organizing a ‘Training for Transition’ workshop for Southern Colorado to train individuals how to bring this Transition model to their local communities. For more information on Transition Town please email Brian Fritz at tt.manitou@ gmail.com or visit www.transitioncolorado.ning.com.
Those (Pesky) New Year’s Resolutions………….. By Tamrah Jo Ortiz
As always around this time of year, I’m really aware of how deeply entrenched New Year’s Resolutions are in our culture – a time of new beginnings, fresh starts, the chance to do better, be better seems to permeate the very ethers in January.
and blank stares cooled my sharing-enthusiasm rather quickly.
Years ago, I took command of my New Year’s Resolution dilemma (because I either never made them, or, if I did make ‘em, never kept ‘em!) On December 31st, I would write down all my accomplishments of the past year and then….. …. I would backdate it.
1. How many resolutions are based on what other people think the person Should Do – not on what that person WANTS to do.
Such Power and Success! I excitedly shared this amazing insight with anyone who would listen! “Um, you’re not really MAKING resolutions, just recording history”
That’s Natural! Quarter 1, 2010
So I’ve stuck to my way and let others go theirs – but each year I’m confounded by the Resolution Mania, mainly because I’ve observed:
2. Resolutions made based on the fear of What Will Happen If I Don’t (lose weight, quit smoking, start exercising, saving money, etc.), rather than a sincere desire to experience something different. 3. Even if made from a place other than fear, it seems more like Navy Seal training - at any moment, one slip up, and you could “wash out” – How can anyone Enjoy Life with that kind of pressure? So I invite you to join me in the one resolution I did make this year: Have Fun! I’d really like to watch my hubby’s eyes pop out
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when I sport a bikini this summer (mind you I’m … well…yeah, I’m old as dirt and spread out about as much). He in his turn would like to be down 3 pants sizes by this summer. This is what this looks like in our home: He’s walking every day. I went with him today, because I enjoy spending time with him. When I shared this, he informed me he does not “Enjoy walking” he’s just going to do it till it becomes a habit. Okay …. but not my cup of tea. I love to sing and dance, so I bought a Karaoke mike that plugs into the TV ($14 in the clearance aisle!) and I’m singing, laughing and dancing my way into smaller jeans AND I’m having fun! No scales, dieting, meditation coach or personal trainer explaining why I’m not Doing it Right or Trying Hard enough. The cool thing is I’m having fun NOW, any benefits I get are icing on the cake that I’m getting to have and eat too. How about it? Shall we have fun and let the accomplishments take care of themselves this year?
“Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one’s thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
2010 Peak to Prairie Landscape Symposium For Homeowners and Professionals Friday, Feb. 26 and Saturday, Feb. 27 Details at
That’s Natural! Quarter 1, 2010
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BlueStar Recyclers, The Triple Bottom Line & Creating Community
Blue Star Recyclers, LLC is a locally owned and operated electronics recycling business located in El Paso County. The company is owned by Tony and Mary Fagnant, who also own and operate Qualtek Manufacturing in Colorado Springs www.qualtekmfg.com. Qualtek is a 50-year old Colorado Springs based specialty metals manufacturing business, which the Fagnants’ have owned since 1999. Mission/Vision: In support of the recent primary business model change from asset-remarketing to responsible end-of-life recycling, Bill Morris was hired as President of Blue Star Recyclers LLC. Previous to joining Blue Star Bill was the Southern Colorado Division Manager for Metech Recycling (formerly GRX) in Colorado Springs. The new mission for Blue Star Recyclers will be to provide ethical, secure, convenient, and affordable (end of life) electronics recycling services to business and residential customers in Southern Colorado; directly and through a wide array of strategic partners. The vision at Blue Star is to collect and recycle e-waste from our community as a way to serve, sustain, and create community in Southern Colorado. Our Focus: Recycling is all about convenience and motivation, and Morris believes all recyclers must provide prospective recycling customers with both. To achieve this Blue Star will offer a pre-scheduled route with “at your door” pick up service at no additional charge for businesses in Colorado Springs. This removes the primary obstacle many businesses cite as the reason they don’t currently recycle their e-waste. As for motivation – every Blue Star customer will be helping our community and our planet. That’s Natural! Quarter 1, 2010
Triple-Bottom Line Results:
Strategic Partner in Pueblo, Colorado
Morris believes that his primary responsibility at Blue Star is to produce triple bottomline results (People, Planet and Profit). While this is not an easy goal to achieve, anything short of achieving triple-bottom line results would be partial success. The following initiatives are currently underway in support of achieving those results:
PUEBLO RECYCLING PARK Jack Pendleton, 719-240-0504
People: Building a profitable business and practicing sustainability is not enough, what we do and how we do it MUST benefit people in our community. The mission at Blue Star will be to recycle e-waste as a way to serve, sustain, and create community in Southern Colorado. In addition to achieving those results internally, Blue Star partners will be held accountable to help produce these same results. An example of which is the selection of BETTR Recycling (see ad page 9) as our primary downstream e-waste materials processor. Planet: Blue Star is committed to the business practice that no hazardous or toxic electronic waste material collected by Blue Star will be land-filled, incinerated, or shipped abroad to be dumped. In support of that commitment, Blue Star Recyclers will provide ethical, safe, secure, and responsible e-waste recycling services. To help insure the fulfillment of that commitment Blue Star has hired EcoSentient , www.ecoSentient.com, to assess, develop and monitor the highest level of internal sustainability practices possible within Blue Star operations. In support of achieving our goal to be the greenest recycler in our market, by the end of Q1/10 Blue Star will deploy an alternative fuel fleet vehicle for its’ “at your door” route service. Profit: As strange as it sounds, the unwanted electronic items currently gathering dust in our homes and businesses is literally “FUEL” for our economy. Even small growth in the number of businesses and homes that recycle their e-waste will create the revenues and profits to increase payroll in this community. As the only locally owned and operated electronics recycler in the Pikes Peak Region, Blue Star will make sure revenue collected from this community will stay in this community. Page 12
Jack Pendleton, a small business owner in Southern Colorado has formed a strategic alliance with BlueStar Recyclers in Southern Colorado. Now, this electronics recycling service will be available year-round at the new Pueblo Recycling Park located in Pueblo’s City Limits. Pendleton has recycled paint with great success, and is very excited and anxious to offer this service to the community at-large. What This Is All About: As with all electronics recycling, there are specific charges that the consumer must pay in order to have their items recycled. In the past these fees have sometimes been lowered or off-set with sponsorships from companies, events, and grants. When someone pays to have their electronics recycled, they are actually adding money to the economy, which benefits everyone in the community (in fact, that is how local economic development works). The fee that you pay to recycle these electronic wares goes to pay employees at the drop-off location (like at BlueStar Recyclers and Pueblo Recycling Park), and that fee also goes to pay the people who are dismantling the electronic wares to send the components to their next destination. Often these people are “differently-abled” and this is their only hope at employment. Here at That’s Natural!, we are very excited to announce the official opening of BlueStar Recyclers in Southern Colorado, along with their strategic partnership with Pueblo Recycling Park. We encourage you to utilize these electronics-recycling services and to For more information, please contact: Bill Morris, President Office: 719.597.6119 Direct: 719.494.4436 bill@bluestarrecyclers.com
That’s Natural! Quarter 1, 2010
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All That’s Possible
Coming Soon - courses in your area and online!
Shift your perspective Rewrite your stories Love your life
How Important is Your Skin? Lemongrass Spa Products have NO HARMFUL Chemicals or Preservatives
Made in Colorado - Lotions & Soaps - Bath Crystals and Body Polishes - New Line of Facial Products
Nurture Yourself Call me today to find out more! Denise Laine-Coughlin www.ourlemongrassspa.com/denise
For more info: www.AllThatsPossible.com
719-251-5414
Wouldn’t you rather drink HEALTHY COFFEE? Healthy Coffee ---Balances PH levels, Natural detoxification, Pure energy, Oxygenates body, No jitters/no caffeine crash *Only coffee w/Certified Organic Ganoderma Regular coffee is acidic and toxic!
Need a sample? Call for a location to sample coffee or on how to get paid to drink Healthy Coffee.
Mary Waterman, Business builder, 719-423-0068
marycelebrateslife@gmail.com VISIT www.reishi.com for info on Ganoderma For even more products, visit: www.thepowerofearth.com
That’s Natural! Quarter 1, 2010
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Mountain Park Environmental Center
www.hikeandlearn.org
Summer camps for kids~ adult programs Guided hikes ~ pavillion rentals for groups
That’s Natural! Green Guide
The Best Sustainable Businesses in Southern Colorado LOCAL FOOD, AGRICULTURE, & HORTICULTURE
SECO Water Conservancy District Demonstration Xeriscape Garden. For Classes, Events, &and Tours Call: 719-948-5726 Country Roots Farm: CSA Phone: 719-948-2206 Website: www.countryrootsfarm.com - See Ad Page 4 Kitchen Wisdom: Whole Foods Cooking Classes Phone: 719-251-8310 classes-kris.blogspot.com - See Ad Page 4 Cattlemen’s Choice Beef: All-Natural Local Beef Call: 719-924-8532 Visit: www.cattlemenschoicebeef.com - See Ad Back Cover CSU Extension: Colorado Master Gardener classes begin in January, 2010 Apply Today! Call: 719-583-6566 The following four classes are taught by our good friend Tammy Stuever-Alhadef at A Wren’s Nest Farm - see ad page 4 The Art of Breadmaking I: 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1 at the Sangre de Cristo Art Center, $45. 719-295-7210. The Art of Breadmaking II: 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8 at the Sangre de Cristo Art Center, $45. 719-295-7210. Easter Bread; 6 to 8 p.m. Mar. 29 at the Sangre de Cristo Art Center, $30. 719-295-7210. Open Knitting lessons: 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays beginning Jan. 19 at the Sangre de Cristo Art Center. 719-295-7210.
BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS
NuWorldWeb, Website and Graphic Design, Andrea Quinn, www.nuworldweb.com All That’s Possible, tell_me_more@allthatspossible.com, www.AllThatsPossible.com
HOME-BUILDING & REAL ESTATE
Reliable Home Inspections & Energy Audits Call: 719-251-8841 www.hometuneup.com - See Ad Page 9 Dena Stevens, Eco-Broker “Do the Right Thing!” Call: 719 369-9087 http://www.activerain.com/dena
HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
American Wiping Rags: Recycled Rags & Microfibers Call: 719-671-7604
www.ragpeople.com - See Ad Page 14
NUTRITION
Jo Schrubbe, BS, BCN/Motivational Speaker - Health Educator Call: 719.485.3236 Email: jo@mynutritioncoach.us Healthy Coffee, Mary Waterman Call: 719-423-0068 Visit: www.reishi.com AND www.thepowerofearth.com - See Ad Page 14
RECYCLING
BlueStar Recyclers Electronics Recycling 690 Elkton Dr., Unit B Colorado Springs, CO 80907 Call: 719-597-6119 - See Ad Page 13 Pueblo Recycling Park & Southern Colorado Recyclers 1710 West 16th St. Pueblo, CO 81003 Call: 719-546-3478 - See Ad Page 13 WE RECYCLE 24 N. Research Drive Pueblo West, CO 81007 Call: 719-542-6327 or 719-320-3419 - See Ad Page 11
SOLAR/WIND/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
EcoSol: Complete solar panel design and installation Call: 719-485-6598 or Visit www.e-co-sol.com - See Ad Page 3 Energy Effeciencies: Photovoltaic Systems Installation Call: 719-994-8387 or Visit: www.ProudSolar.com - See Ad Page 8 YES! Solar Solutions 609 E. Enterprise Drive, Unit 120 Pueblo West, CO 81007 Phone: (719) 547-2929
COMLIMENTARY & ALTERNATIVE MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS
Carl & Paula Borden, RMTs Located at: A Wellness Haven 126 West “D” Street #100 Pueblo, CO 81003 - See Ad Page 14 Golden Flower Health Clinic *Reflexology by Wendie* 251 S. Santa Fe, Pueblo 719-542-9210 wiseowl@daeo.net The Acupuncture Clinic, Na Zhai, L.Ac., 2020 W. Colorado Blvd., Suite B-204, Colorado Springs, Colorado, www.NasAcupuncture.com, 719-634-1669
That’s Natural! Quarter 1, 2010
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Cattlemen’s Choice Beef
Even Cowboys want all naturally finished beef, FREE OF GROWTH HORMONES AND ANTIBIOTICS. This is Cattlemen’s Choice Beef Policy, here at THE MOUNTAIN FRONT RANCH, located at the base of the WET MOUNTAINS, (Fremont County Colorado).
Cattlemen’s Choice Beef cares about what your family eats. This is why our cattle are grown on native grasses and finished with native grasses, premium grass hay and oat hay. Our goal is to produce a beef product that is beneficial to your health without sacrificing what you expect from a cut of beef. Cattlemen’s Choice Beef has a distinct delicious flavor and tenderness that is unsurpassed that will please your palate. You will taste the difference at the dinner table with your family. Source Identified Cattle - Humane and Sanitary handling of our cattle is top priority along with No Factory Farming on the Mountain Front Ranch. Diets that are natural to cattle produce healthy and happy cattle without the use of antibiotics and chemicals, which is better for the cattle and you.
American Grown and Finished Call for Co-Op Hours & Check Website for Days for Pick-Up Truckload Specials Home-Delivery Available www.tolstores.com Dates & Locations Keith: 719-924-8532 www.cattlemenschoicebeef.com