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STAFF
Publisher, Stewart Sallo Editor, Pamela White Managing Editor, Jefferson Dodge Director of Sales & Marketing, Dave Grimsland Special Editions Editor, Katherine Creel Associate Editors, David Accomazzo, Quibian Salazar-Moreno Production Manager, Dave Kirby, Art Director, Susan France Graphic Designer, Mark Goodman Ad Assistant/Office Manager, Casey Modrzewski Circulation Manager, Cal Winn Inside Sales Manager, David Hasson Senior Advertising Executive, Allen Carmichael Account Executives, Rich Blitz, Francie Swidler, Joe Miller Circulation Team, Hakla Brunerova, Dave Hastie, Dan Hill, Alan Jones, George LaRoe, Jeffrey Lohrius, Elizabeth Ousley, Lowell Schaefer, Karl Schleinig Assistant to the Publisher & Heiress, Julia Sallo 10-Year-Old, Mia Rose Sallo cover photo: Susan France Marius Grimsland at Sturtz and Copeland Florists
CONTENTS
Food & Garden 3 • Sustainability 14 • Business 24 • Health & Wellness 31
2 June 17, 2010
Still growing
Boulderganic marks first anniversary
W
hen we pub-
Susan France
lished our first issue of
Boulderganic in June 2009, it was supposed to be an annual affair. We knew it would be a hit with our readers. But even we couldn’t have guessed how wildly popular it would become. Soon after that inaugural edition, it became clear that our readers wanted more. Three months later, we published our first Fall/Winter edition, and now we’re proud to offer three issues of Boulderganic each year — Spring, Summer and Fall/Winter. With your input and support, each issue has been better than the one before, and the Summer 2010 edition is no exception. Summer time is possibly the most beautiful, energizing time of the year in Boulder County. The chill of winter and the tumult of spring have both passed, and now is the time for reconnecting with nature and all of its benefits. It is the time to introduce your children to the joys of gardening, browse a different kind of thrift store for that DIY project you’ve been thinking about, or learn about a whole new way to grow your own food. In these pages, you’ll find infor-
Marius Grimsland, 5, poses at Sturtz and Copeland Florists
mation and tips on all of that and more, as we talk to local business owners, nonprofits, health specialists, farmers and others. And don’t forget, if you find yourself hungry for even more sustainable and healthy living content throughout the year, you can check out our weekly Boulderganic col-
umn every Thursday in the regular edition of Boulder Weekly. After all, sustainable living is a year-round practice! So take a glance at what Boulderganic Summer 2010 has to offer and, as always, drop us a line at info@boulderganic.com to let us know what you think.
Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
Teaching kids to dig the Earth
Pass down the shovel and watch the growth, plants and kids alike by Katelyn Feldhaus
G
Susan France
etting
Jack, 4, of Louisville, prepares to plant watermelon seedlings.
kids more
interested in vegetables than video games is not an easy task, but in order to grab their attention and transform their way of learning, we must change how they interact with the outdoor activity of gardening. Gardening is a way to promote healthy values in children and adults. Growing their own food encourages kids to eat it and make good food choices. They become proud of their blooming backyard goodies and find out how to reap the delicious rewards of fresh produce that tastes better and is more nutritious than what their parents bring home in grocery bags. “We have gone into classrooms and found the answer to, ‘Where do hamburgers come from?’ is frequently, ‘The grocery store,’” says Stephanie Muirhead, administrative director at the Thorne Ecological Institute. “Many kids have a total disconnect that the food they eat every day is actually grown by someone or comes from an animal. When we take students on field trips to Boulder’s Growing Gardens, they are amazed that they can pluck food right from the vine and pop it in their mouths.”
Boulder Weekly
Boulderganic Summer ’10
Teaching children to grow up green allows them to develop green lifestyles. “They are much more excited to eat healthy vegetables when they have grown it themselves or can pick it off the vine,” Muirhead says. Children develop an appreciation for the food that they have put their love and sweat into. “It is great to look at a vegetable and think that you grew it and you know exactly were it came from,” says Isabella Martinez, 11, who has been involved in the ¡Cultiva! gardening project since she was 3. “I feel that organic local food has a much more appetizing taste because you know how it was treated.You get to enjoy food without bad chemicals, and it is filled with your love. ” When kids are gardening there is a change in their attitudes about the world around them. “Kids seem to really have a love for nature when they garden, and they always seem happier and have less fear of getting dirty,” Muirhead says. “They have lots of curiosity for what the plant will become and how it will look.” The social benefits of gardening include bringing generations together. Families and
friends can all join in the outdoor activity, creating memories while making the yard beautiful and bountiful. “Working outside and being physically active is beneficial to the brain and body. Gardening also promotes responsibility, as someone has to take care of the plants as they’re growing,” Muirhead says. Kids of all ages and all sizes can enjoy gardening. It is a fun way to get active and enjoy the outdoors while contributing to the environment. “With nearly one third of children in the United States overweight or obese — a rate that has tripled in adolescents and more than doubled in younger children since 1980 — there has never been a better time to start than this new growing season to promote a solution to this nationwide epidemic,” says Jeffrey Restuccio, author of Get Fit Through Gardening, a book from Hatherleigh Press. Since 1992, Restuccio has been lecturing nationwide about a concept of transforming gardening into a comprehensive, lifelong fitness program. Restuccio is not simply promoting gardening as exercise, but a new way of gardening, one that has more in common with aerobics, the martial arts and circuit training than traditional gardening. Restuccio believes his simple, inexpensive solution can have a significant impact on millions of children in the United States. When breaking down the entire process of gardening you realize that it is exercise, even though it may not seem like it on the surface, see GARDENING Page 9
June 17, 2010 3
Eat out, eat well
Local restaurants lead the way in offering local, organic food by Clay Fong
M
eals made from organic and locally
West End Tavern, in Boulder, is known for its natural beef burgers.
produced ingredi-
ents are all the rage among conscientious diners, and Boulder-area restaurants are increasingly able to accommodate this appetite at several price points. From the reasonably priced meatless sandwiches at VG Burgers to the nationally recognized fare at high-end eateries such as Frasca and The Kitchen, there’s something for just about every wallet. For an ingredient to be termed “organic,” it must be certified according to U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines designed to protect the purity of food and promote sustainable agricultural practices. Examples of the guidelines include requirements that farmers not use synthetic chemicals, such as certain pesticides, and that animals consume organic feed instead of any number of nasty alternatives. Where things can get a little confusing is that a farm can follow organic practices, as some do in the Boulder area, without being certified. In this case, their product might not be much different from something with the organic label.
4 June 17, 2010
Even if it’s not strictly organic, buying local produce creates economic and environmental benefits. If a local restaurant buys from an area farmer, dollars stay in the community for reinvestment instead of going to an out-of-state grower. The higher volumes purchased by restaurants, as opposed to individuals, can also create a more steady revenue stream for the farmer. Bob D’Alessandro, executive director of the Boulder County Farmers’ Markets, observes that the trend is towards more structured farm and restaurant relationships. While local restaurateurs seek out ingredients at the Market, he says, restaurants have arrangements with specific farmers in which the farmers come by their restaurants and drop off their food. More restaurants are featuring dishes made from local ingredients as regular items, versus occasional specials. Among more affordable options, Modmarket features a vegan and gluten-free cashew butternut soup, spotlighting
Munson Farms squash. VG Burgers has successfully offered vegan and meatless sandwiches including bacon cheeseburgers and a tasty chicken ranch option. Local natural beef is a mainstay of the West End Tavern’s burgers, while local Long Farm pork figures into the Outlook Hotel’s ribs at the Blues and Green Restaurant and the Bloody Good Salad at Dish. Moving up the price scale, opportunities to savor sustainable fare increase. Longmont’s Terroir and the Chautauqua Dining Hall, like an increasing number of eateries, profess their commitment to using sustainable ingredients. Boulder’s Arugula Ristorante and Salt Bistro also showcase such local organic standbys as Hazel Dell mushrooms and Long Farm pork. Black Cat, under Chef Eric Skokan, has gone a step further by creating its own organic farm. Consequently, one can relish such choices as a “Salad of Lettuces that Survived the Frost” fresh off the farm’s Niwot acreage. Elsewhere, the Kitchen has built a reputation for its copious use of organic veggies, including Monroe Farm beets. Nationally recognized Frasca has also generated raves, partially due to its dedication to drawing upon suppliers such as Red Wagon Organic Farm. For those desiring the ultimate in back-tothe-land dining, featuring the best local and organic foodstuffs, Meadow Lark Farm Dinners is the place to go. This operation is based out of a school bus converted to a mobile kitchen that travels such venues as Cure and Red Wagon organic farms. At these locations, diners can enjoy a full-course meal of just-harvested fare. One is hard pressed to find fresher ingredients anywhere. As awareness and demand for meals made with organic and local ingredients increase, area restaurants have risen to the occasion by purchasing or even raising their own produce. There’s more available than there has been in the past, and it’s not just limited to eateries serving up special-occasion splurges. Respond: info@boulderganic.com
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Preserving your garden produce: A can-do approach by Jefferson Dodge
Y
es, you can. But are you doing it right? A couple of Boulder County canning
experts say there are plenty of simple tricks to make your backyard garden bounty last yearround.
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6 June 17, 2010
And they may even involve something other than canning. Tom Cree of Longmont, who holds the titles of master gardener, master canner/preserver and master composter, is superintendent of the “Pantry Store” food preservation contest at the Boulder County Fair. He agrees that one dilemma backyard gardeners sometimes face is what to do when their garden isn’t producing enough of a particular fruit or vegetable to fill a jar. While some might suggest buying smaller jars, Cree recommends another alternative: freezing. Anne Zander, the family and consumer science agent for Boulder County’s Colorado State University Extension office, says that if you won’t be using the produce within a couple of weeks, it’s important to blanch it before freezing it, to preserve color, texture and flavor. Blanching — boiling it briefly in water — kills enzymes that continue the maturation process, Zander says. She recommends immediately putting the produce in ice water after blanching to halt the cooking process, then sealing it in a Zip-Loc bag, being sure to remove all excess air (you can suck it out of a corner with a straw). Zander says you can also freeze in jars, which is good for things like salsa, especially when you aren’t sure whether the acidity levels are appropriate for canning. (If you are not using a “tested recipe,” you can bring it into the CSU Extension office in Longmont to have acidity levels tested, to ensure that you don’t get any food-borne organisms like E. coli or Salmonella.) When freezing in jars, Zander says, you don’t need to go through the traditional heat-driven canning process, you can just put the produce in fresh. “The backyard gardener is going to use freezing more than canning,” she says. But for those who choose canning, both Cree and Zander mention something that should be obvious: the importance of washing your hands before beginning the process. There are a few ways to can, including a new, somewhat experimental one that Zander and Cree don’t quite trust yet. It’s called lacto-fermentation, and it is believed to preserve produce as “raw food” because it uses its own lactic acid instead of heat (see Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon). “With food preservation, if you don’t do something right, you can get sick or make someone else sick,” Zander cautions when asked about such alternative methods. Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
She adds that most backyard gardeners use the boiling process for canning, although pressure canners (not pressure cookers or steam cookers) should be used for things like corn, beans, potatoes and squash. When using the boiling process, Cree and Zander agree that you need to boil the jars (after ensuring that they have no cracks or chips) and put the lids in a separate pot of hot — but not boiling — water. While lids used to have enough rubbery adhesive to allow for boiling and reuse in the good old days, new lids now have a thinner layer of that sealing compound and can’t reliably withstand boiling or reuse. The rings, on the other hand, can be reused. Zander recommends keeping them with the lids in the pot of hot water. When making a jelly or jam, they agree that it is crucial to bring the concoction to a boil for exactly one minute after the sugar and other ingredients are added, then remove from the burner. If the recipe calls for a 1/4-inch gap at the top, fill it up to 1/8 of an inch, because the liquid will shrink down a bit. By the same token, if the recipe calls for a 1/2-inch gap, fill it up to 1/4 of an inch. It only has to be super-exact if you are entering it into a contest, because the judges will pull out their rulers. Cree and Zander clean any excess food off the rims before sealing. Zander twists the rings only finger-tight. After the jars have cooled and the vacuum effect has sealed the lids, Cree unscrews the rings to make sure there is no food in the threads. “If you give one to Aunt Millie, you better have cleaned it,” he jokes. “If she sees food on the outside, she’s going to know you don’t know what you’re doing.” What if a lid didn’t get vacuum-sealed? “You put it in the refrigerator, and that’s the one you go after first,” Cree says. Properly canned items can last three to five years, although they begin to lose their nutritional value after the first year. Write the date, contents and even batch number or spice level (for things like salsa) on the lid. Boulder Weekly
If something is awry when you unseal the jar months later, Cree says, toss it. If there is mold on the top layer, for instance, either it didn’t seal right or it wasn’t processed long enough. “Usually, if you’ve made a mistake, you know it as soon as you open the jar,” he says. For more information, contact Zander at azander@bouldercounty. org or 303-678-6238. Respond: info@boulderganic.com
Boulderganic Summer ’10
For more about preserving: CSU Extension of Boulder County www.extension.colostate.edu/boulder
National Center for Home Food Preservation www.uga.edu/nchfp
High altitude jelly www.ext.colostate. edu/pubs/foodnut/09303.html
PNW0395/ PNW0395.pdf, also www.uga.edu/nchfp/ how/can_salsa.html
Cost fact sheet www.ext.colostate. edu/PUBS/ FOODNUT/08704. html
Freezing fruits www.ext.colostate. edu/pubs/foodnut/09331.html
Preservation with no sugar or salt www.ext.colostate. edu/pubs/foodnut/09302.html
Canning tomatoes www.ext.colostate. edu/pubs/foodnut/09341.html
Freezing veggies www.ext.colostate. How-to-can tutorials www.freshpreserving. edu/pubs/foodcom/ nut/09330.html
Salsa recipes to can http://cru.cahe.wsu. edu/CEPublications/
If you have any tips, resources or recipes, let us know at info@ boulderganic.com
June 17, 2010 7
Heirloom vegetables — a treat for the table by David Accomazzo Carol O’Meara
H
as the experience of browsing the produce
section of your local health food store ever struck you as more exotic than it should be? Ever been perplexed at the sight of an orange or UFO-shaped tomato, often costing up to twice as much as the familiar, spherical red ones? If you have, you’ve likely encountered heirloom vegetables, one of the biggest crazes of the health food movement. Heirloom champions say that as big agriculture started selectively breeding, or “hybridizing,” vegetables for maximum yield and disease resistance, the natural flavor of vegetables suffered. Hybridized vegetables were a godsend for farmers looking for high harvest numbers, but a travesty for backyard gardeners looking for a delicious addition to their summer dinner tables. Plus, they have great names. Is there anything you can grow at home that sounds more exotic than “French Rose,” “Northern Exposure,” “Winter Luxury” or “Yellow Indian Woman”? Thankfully, dedicated farmers and family gardeners have preserved the pre-hybridized vegetable strains, called “heirloom vegetables.” Heirloom veggies are a little harder to grow, but with the proper care and love, the home gardener can grow tomatoes just like their greatgrandmother did. “In a farm scenario, where the plant will set fruit pretty consistently so when they send the crews to pick it, they bring back a marketable
8 June 17, 2010
amount,” says Carol O’Meara, extension agent with the Colorado State University Extension of Boulder County. “Heirlooms don’t perform this way. They’re free-thinking plants, and they’re going to set fruit when they feel like it or when conditions are right, and then they’re going to ripen them up in their own time. You can have heirlooms, and you can have a lot of fruit on the plant, but you might only harvest one or two at a time. Well, if you’re a farmer and you have to get the crop in, you want to get a lot more at one time.” There’s an obvious obstacle to growing heirlooms in your garden. They haven’t been bred for constitution as their hybridized cousins have, so they can be slightly more susceptible to bugs and diseases. But they make a great addition to the garden, and there are certain precautions you can take to protect your plants, O’Meara says. Fertilize your plants properly. Water them accordingly. Mulching your garden, for example, helps conserve water, keeps the roots cool, and helps stop diseases like fungi from splashing onto the plant from the soil, all of which help boost the plant’s nat-
ural resistance to disease. “The thing is that they are not bred for disease resistance, but that does not mean they do not resist disease. Heirlooms were selected for a reason to be passed down from gardener to gardener, and part of that is performance. But they were chosen in their location of the world. Now you take a plant out of that spot and put it somewhere else, yeah, you might get some diseases. But just because it’s an heirloom, doesn’t automatically mean it’s going to succumb to the disease; it just hasn’t been bred for that resistance, per se.” Another important facet of heirlooms is that they haven’t been bred to grow in tight, easily manageable rows like hybrids have. So give them plenty of space. “Regardless of whether its melons, squash, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins,” O’Meara says, “the hybrids are going to be well-behaved. The heirlooms are not. This is pretty much the wild child of the garden, so you have to give them elbow room and understand that they’re going to put on an awful lot of plant for the amount of food you get off it, and don’t be alarmed.” If you’ve slacked off this year and have yet to fill up your vegetable garden, never fear — it’s not too late to buy certain plants and put them in the ground, O’Meara says. Short-harvest tomatoes — that is, tomatoes that bear fruit in 70 days — should do just fine at this point. And if you want to plant for the fall garden, you’ve got plenty of time. Just head over to Abbondanza Organic Seeds & Produce or Rocky Mountain Seed Company and pick up some of the green vegetable seeds such as broccoli, kale, bok choy, beets or spinach. For more resources about heirloom vegetables, O’Meara suggests picking up any of the three books by Amy Goldman of Seed Savers Exchange, The Heirloom Tomato, The Compleat Squash and Melons for the Passionate Grower. You can also call the master gardeners of the Colorado State Extension at 303-678-6388. Respond: info@boulderganic.com
Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
Susan France
Marius, Nikolai and Andreas Grimsland with some new garden plants. GARDENING from Page 3
he says. “You are really moving your body while trying to harvest the plants and take them from the ground to the sink to be washed,” says Martinez. The fresh air combined with planting makes it a fun workout. It builds a love of nature, inspires social interaction and leads to cultural exchange in the lives of kids who might otherwise be more interested in toys and television. “In this day and age, when kids are spending over 30 hours per week in front of a computer monitor and/or television screen, we strive to get kids outdoors into the fresh and natural world as much as possible,” Muirhead says. “Gardening and community experiences are beneficial ways to get kids connected to themselves and each other, to work together and see the difference they are making.” It may seem like more work to get kids involved in gardening than just planting your summer food and flowers yourself, but in reality a little guidance can go a long way. There are a variety of good activities, from decorating pots and stake marks to teaching them the basics of how to water, weed and grow plants — and how to properly harvest vegetables when the time comes. Boulder and surrounding communities have organizations that teach kids and adults alike about gardening and its benefits, like Growing Gardens and the ¡Cultiva! group. “¡Cultiva! brings together various youths from the community where everyone learns how to work together, plant and harvest veggies. We learn from each other, sell veggies, and donate the unwanted food to the homeless shelter,” says Martinez. Programs like these not only provide a confidence boost that many children need, they also offer a very primal form of security in passing on to another generation the knowledge about how to grow food. But there are other benefits as well. Gardening can be a tool of meditation, exercise and learning. Some therapists garden with their clients to help ground them and open up more. Nature is good for the body, mind and spirit. “Studies suggest that daily exposure to nature can reduce stress, improve symptoms of ADHD and decrease childhood obesity,” says Jennelle Freeston, interpretive naturalist at the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. “Time spent in nature forces all of us, young and old, to slow down, get closer, and discover tiny mysteries around us. Children are full of curiosity, and nature has endless opportunities to help foster a sense of wonder and awe.” Respond: info@boulderganic.com Boulder Weekly
Boulderganic Summer ’10
June 17, 2010 9
Grilling for the health of it
Barbecues need not be dominated by greasy burgers by Katelyn Feldhaus
N
ow that you have broken in your grills for Memorial Day, you can
keep cooking great meals throughout the summer. Unfortunately, barbecues don’t always involve the most health-conscious meals. Your favorite rack of ribs may be what is racking up your calorie intake. There are many ways to keep your barbecue a tasty hit while still being healthy. By choosing to grill a variety of foods that are full of flavor but low in fat and high in nutrients, you will have a memorable barbecue that will not pack on those extra pounds. There are many ways to make your backyard barbecue healthy, says Matthew WalkerBannon, owner of Flatiron Barbeque in Boulder. “Use leaner proteins like skinless chicken or fish. Marinades and rubs mean you can cut down on fats and still get great flavor,” he says. Fish and chicken are great low-fat options that can be cooked on the grill in many ways, and with countless inspired recipes, it can be fun to mix things up. “At Flatirons Barbeque we barbecue dishes from all over the world, everything from Chinese Char Sui-style ribs to Jamaican Jerk Chicken, but our real specialty is Whole Hog Roasting,” says Walker-Bannon. “Our Whole Roasted Lamb is a healthier option. We have a friend who raises lambs for us in a local and totally organic setting, which also means we get great meat with a very small carbon footprint.” Being eco-conscious while trying to grill wholesome, healthful foods is the key to better barbecues. Don’t be afraid to experiment or be inventive as you re-learn the art of outdoor cooking. 10 June 17, 2010
“Be creative about what you grill,” Walker8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter Bannon says. “Loads of veggies and fruits are 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro really good grilled and make for a healthier meal. 2 cloves garlic, minced For example, grill whole sardines or mackerel 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger with olive oil and lemon juice and serve with a 2 teaspoons turmeric salad of fresh herbs and grilled radicchio — perCoarse salt (kosher or sea) fect for a hot summer day.” 1/2-cup sesame seeds Kebabs are the perfect combination of foods, Lemon wedges for serving balancing out your meat and vegetable intake in You’ll also need: wide (at least 3/8 inch) a tasty way. metal or bamboo skewers. Creativity in any type of cooking is always what brings people back with plates licked clean, asking Cut the peppers into two-inch square pieces, for more, but before you go discarding the core and looking around your local seeds. Cut each tomato grocery store, be sure to into four wedges. Cut the do research on the quick seeds and pulp out of and easy-grilling foods. each wedge (save them “As well as being for stock). The remaining aware of the fat in their piece of tomato should be diet, people should also about one-quarter inch be aware of the amount thick. Cut it in half widthof processing in their wise. Cut the onions in food. It is much healthier half widthwise, and cut to cook from scratch and each half in quarters. try to avoid commercially Break the quarters into processed foods, which segments. Cut the cheese are generally heavy in into one-inch cubes. high-fructose corn syrup Assemble the kebabs. and chemical starches,” Skewer a piece of pepper Walker-Bannon says. through the flat side. Fish is just one tasty option for more healthful barbecues. There are plenty of Skewer a piece of tomato simple barbecue recipes on top, followed by a that are low in fat and do piece of onion. Skewer on not use over-processed goods, so you can grill a piece of cheese. Repeat in this sequence until out with your mind and stomach at ease. all the ingredients are used up. Here is a healthy garden recipe from Primal Make the basting mixture: Melt three tableGrill with Steven Raichlen, award-winning author, spoons butter in a heavy saucepan. Add the journalist, cooking teacher and TV host. cilantro, garlic, ginger and turmeric and cook More recipes can be found at www.primalover medium heat until fragrant but not brown, grill.org two to three minutes. Add the remaining butter and cook until melted, one minute. Add salt to INDIAN VEGETABLE CHEESE taste. KEBABS Set up your grill for direct grilling and preMethod: Direct grilling heat to high. Brush and oil the grill grate. Advance preparation: None Brush the kebabs on all sides with the basting Serves four mixture. Sprinkle on all sides with the sesame seeds. Arrange the kebabs on the grill grate and 4 poblano chilies or green bell peppers grill until nicely browned on all sides, two to 4 red ripe tomatoes three minutes per side, turning as the cheese 1 large or 2 medium red onions starts to melt and basting with the cilantro garlic 2 pounds paneer cheese, queso blanco or butter. Serve at once with lemon wedges for mozzarella cheese squeezing. For the basting mixture: Respond: info@boulderganic.com Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
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Back to the roots
Longmont organization to teach farming through aquaponics by Quibian Salazar-Moreno
I
t was just over a year and a half ago when Marion Murphy felt the urge to con-
tribute something to her local community of Longmont. Just like most of the country, she was entrenched in the presidential campaign, keeping up with the latest news, rumors and polls.
“For the first time ever, I got politically involved,” Murphy says. But the major jolt of inspiration for Murphy came from an interview with a teenager who was working on the campaign and being honored for her volunteer efforts. The teenager said the best way to make a change was to get up out of your seat, go into the community and do something. Simultaneously, Murphy was reading the writings of Michael Pollan, an author, journalist and food activist, who wrote an open letter to the president-elect in The New York Times about food policies. At the end of the article, Pollan said people could reinvigorate the local economy by reintroducing agriculture. That’s when Grow Your Own Meal Inc. was born. “My primary purpose in the beginning was
12 June 17, 2010
civic activism,” says Murphy, executive director of Grow Your Own Meal Inc., a business she launched with founding partner Ajay Jha, program director for Limited Irrigation Agribusiness Management and International Agriculture Development at Colorado State University. Murphy moved to Longmont from the East Coast and noticed a lot of pushback against “outsiders” because of how much the town, which was at one time an agricultural community, had changed over the years. “The people who grew up here feel like the town that they loved is gone forever,” Murphy says. “It makes them feel lost and disconnected. So I sat up in bed and said, ‘Wow, in an agricultural town, this ought to be the one thing that everyone could rally around without that cultural discord.’” Murphy decided on first launching a task force. She went around town to see if anyone was interested in getting together to take a closer look at Longmont and Boulder County policies that hurt the local agricultural businesses and try to change those policies. But then there was the suggestion that a task force was limited in what it could accomplish and that the organization should instead build a demonstration or project that is agriculturally based. That’s when the idea of having an aquaponics system was introduced. “Very simply, you have fish that grow in a tank, and the water is circulated throughout an entire system of growing,” Murphy says. “The raft system is something we want to do, where the plants sit on rafts in a tank with their roots dangling in the water. The water
comes from the fish tank, and it has the fish poop in it, and that’s what feeds the plants. And the plants clean the water, and the water goes back into the fish tank. So it’s a fully recirculating system and completely organic because you cannot introduce fertilizers because the fish would die. You don’t have to worry about augmenting your soil. You use a tenth of the water you use in open-field farming. Your growing time is severely shortened to about a third of the time, and it’s a yearround operation.” Grow Your Own Meal Inc. is still in the fundraising portion of the project. It needs $200,000, and plans to have a 1,800-squarefoot facility with tilapia in the fish tanks and lettuce in the floating rafts. The system can grow a wide range of fruits, vegetables and herbs, along with raising fish. The purpose of the aquaponics project is for researching and teaching, in the hope that someone in the community will be inspired to start their own system as a new business. But ultimately, Murphy wants people to be aware of where their food is coming from, and the closer to home, the better. “Very few people understand anything about where their food comes from, believe it or not,” she says. “Even the people that are so well-educated in Boulder don’t think twice about food production and food distribution. They think about what they’re eating. They’re very conscious that they want to be healthy, but not [about] where it’s coming from.” For more information and to send donations, visit www.growyourownmeal.org. Respond: info@boulderganic.com
Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
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Saving at ReSource Yard Facility conserves materials, money by Katherine Creel
W
Katherine Creel
hen you want a used bookshelf or pair
of jeans, you go to Savers or maybe cruise the local yard-sale scene. When you need a used car, there are plenty of knowledgeable
The ReSource Yard
dealers around. But where do you go when you want to pick up some reclaimed lumber? Or a recycled door? Or, if you’re lucky, a claw-footed bathtub? That’s when you go to the ReSource Yard, a truly Boulder institution Katherine Creel that has inspired imitations across the state. Founded in 1996, the yard is a part of the Center for ReSource Conservation (CRC), a Boulder-based nonprofit organization focused on conserving natural resources. The yard takes donations of used building material, certain appliances and fixtures, and then sells them well below retail prices. When a building is being renovated or demolished, almost everything in it can be donated to ReSource and resold, saving space in local landfills and helping to make good use of resources that have already been extracted from the environment. Mark Bowen, part of the sales staff at the 14 June 17, 2010
yard, explains that prices run about half that of retail because items are sold based on what the physical material is worth without having to pay a middleman. That translates to pretty big savings for someone looking to spruce up his or her home. A lucky shopper can find granite sinks, boxes of flooring tile, shelving and wide selection of doors and windows, to name just a few. The inventory changes every day, so shopping at the yard is an adventure, as well as a bargain. The yard has come a long way from its humble beginnings, however. “It started with a guy and a pile of materials,” says Shaun LaBarre, the current director of ReSource. Formerly located on 63rd Street, ReSource was once little more than an unpaved lot with a portable toilet — not the most comfortable situation for customers or employees. “It was a temporary site for 13-and-a-half years,” says Bowen, who began working at ReSource shortly after it first opened. Now the yard has more permanent — and more comfortable — facilities on Arapahoe Road. “Something we’ve been saying for a while is
we want to attract people who wear high heels,” LaBarre says. That wouldn’t have been too likely at the old location, which was largely dirt. Now, in addition to the dedicated DIYers who make up the core of their customer base, ReSource Yard also attracts casual bargain hunters, artists searching for unique materials and those simply curious about what the yard has to offer. LaBarre says the new location makes it a “more shoppable experience.” And that certainly seems to be the case. Thanks to their new, more visible location and much-improved facilities, Bowen says ReSource now gets five to 15 new customers each week, and regular customers are coming in more often, as well. In addition to providing funding for the CRC’s different education and outreach programs, the ReSource Yard also has another directive: reduce waste. “Landfill diversion,” Bowen says, “That’s what ReSource Yard is all about.” To encourage homeowners to donate instead of dump, tax incentives are available for donations. A typical single-family home, he says, can garner a few thousand dollars’ worth of tax deductions when it is deconstructed and the reusable material is given to ReSource. The highest deduction he can recall is $100,000 for a luxury residence, though he stresses that that is an unusual case. So next time you’re looking to get rid of some old cabinets or pick up a new-to-you countertop, stop by the ReSource Yard and help the environment in more ways than one. The ReSource Yard is located at 6400 Arapahoe Rd., and is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A Fort Collins branch of ReSource Yard opened in 2006 at 1501 N. College Ave., and is open from Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.resourceyard.org. Respond: info@boulderganic.com Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
Petal power
The flowers you plant can harm — or help — our ecosystem by Pamela White
H
ow much environmental harm does your flower garden cause? Forget for a moment the water you have to pour on
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Think instead of the environmental havoc your flowers and bedding plants create just by surviving and thriving. If you plant non-native species in your flowerbeds, you might be unwittingly contributing to the destruction of native flora on our open space and mountain parks lands. And that, in turn, harms the insects and animals that call our foothills and prairies home. White evening primrose. “How can that be?” you ask. The answer is blowing in the wind. And landing with a plop in bird or animal droppings. Or riding on the bottom of your shoe. Or heading down the trail stuck to your dog’s coat. “Any of those sorts of methods could allow a seed from some nasty thing in your garden to travel way up into the mountains,” says Dave Sutherland, an interpretive naturalist with City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. “If the wind blows a particular kind of seed up into the mountains, then it can start to grow up on Open Space and Mountain Parks land or on Forest Service lands.” In fact, the invasion of non-native plants is one of the biggest ecological problems land managers face these days. “It’s very serious,” Sutherland says. “Most people don’t see it. I go for a walk, and I know which plants are the non-native plants. They’re everywhere. They’re all along the trail. Chautauqua Meadow is almost a sea of non-native plants any more. Most people don’t have a botanical background. To them they’re just plants, and they don’t see what has really happened.” Among the worst offenders are Dalmatian toadflax and myrtle Boulder Weekly
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Dave Sutherland
White-lined sphinx moth with American vetch in a garden
spurge, also called donkey tail spurge. “Dalmatian toadflax … is not just on OSMP land, it’s all over Yellowstone,” Sutherland says. “The sap in myrtle spurge is just bad news. It’s a latex sap that can cause a very severe skin reaction. There have been cases of people getting it on their skin and rubbing it in their eyes. And that’s very serious.” Other common offenders include perennial sweet pea, Oriental poppies, says. purple loosestrife and a sweet little flower When a non-native like myrtle spurge or called dame’s rocket. Dalmatian toadflax moves into our mountains, “Dame’s rocket is a really pretty purple it begins to take up space in an ecosystem flower that is growing all up and down the where it has no natural enemies and to which canyons as you drive to Estes Park now, and it contributes nothing. It takes up precious it’s an escaped ornamental,” Sutherland says. resources upon which native flora also depend Given how much effort can go into culti— water, soil, living space — and begins a slow vating a beautiful summer flower garden here process of breaking the links that form Dave Sutherland in Colorado, it might not Colorado’s tightly knit bioseem like much of a problem network. if a handful of seeds from This is especially trouthe city end up on Flagstaff. bling in the foothills, where They’ll probably just die anymicroclimates in gullies and way, right? canyons permit unusual plant Wrong. species — and rare insects Taken away from their — to flourish. natural environment and the “We have some plants predators — both insects that are outrageously rare,” Blooming prairie smoke and diseases — that keep Sutherland says. “In some their numbers in check, they places, OSMP has plants that can spread through our are found nowhere else in Dave Sutherland foothills like weeds. And that the entire state.” brings serious consequences. When non-native plants “Plants are at the base of take root, city and county the whole ecosystem, and land managers must go into many animals are very picky triage mode, working to limit or very specific on which the spread of the plants in plants they’ll eat,” Sutherland order to protect the ecosyssays. “Over thousands and tem. millions of years, we have Decades ago, the Russian evolved an ecosystem here olive tree was recommended Shrubby Cinquefoil in a where plants and animals for landscaping in this area native plant garden may have very, very tight because it grew quickly and relationships with each survived in Colorado’s arid other.” climate. And so Russian olive trees were plantYucca, for example, is pollinated only by the ed everywhere. Now, both the city and county yucca moth, whose larvae feed exclusively on expend a lot of money and staff hours working yucca seeds. If either were to be pushed out of to keep these non-native trees from displacing the foothills, the other would disappear, as well. native vegetation. “Butterfly caterpillars are notorious for “The Russian olives will move in and push being picky about what they’ll eat,” Sutherland out the cottonwood trees,” Sutherland says.
16 June 17, 2010
“Cottonwood has really soft wood, so as a branch falls off and rots, woodpeckers or other sorts of animals can make nest holes in it. Owls and hawks can make nests up in the cottonwood tree. But Russian olive has very hard, dense wood. It’s too hard for animals to make cavity nests in it. The branches are thorny and dense, so it’s not a good kind of a tree for birds to make nests in it. And on top of it, the little Russian olive fruits it produces aren’t very good wildlife food. So once you get the cottonwood trees being replaced by Russian olives, you’re taking a tree that provides enormous habitat value and replacing it with something that has no habitat or wildlife value.” If the consequences of planting non-native plants are potentially dire, the benefits of planting native plants are tremendously beneficial. Native plants are accustomed to Colorado’s unpredictable weather — from late-spring snowstorms to dry winters to summer hailstorms — and require relatively little effort to maintain. “Imagine that this used to be the domain of the Arapahoe and Cheyenne,” Sutherland says. “Did they go around with watering cans watering all of these little plants when there was a dry year? Were there people caring for these plants 200 years ago? Nobody was caring for them. They were looking after themselves.” Sutherland, who practices what he preaches and grows Boulder County native plants in his garden at home, says he’s watched his garden bounce back after severe hailstorms that pounded his neighbors’ gardens into the dirt. And his garden saves him money and leaves him with more time available to enjoy his summer. “I never water my garden,” he says. Anyone interested in seeing a native garden can head up to Chautauqua and check out the Ann Armstrong Garden on the north side of the Ranger Cottage. Named after a Mountain Parks naturalist who died of cancer and maintained by a cadre of volunteers, it includes signage to help people learn while they admire the blooms. Gardeners are also encouraged to visit the Open Space and Mountain Parks website for a list of native flowers and tips for growing them. For more information go to www.bouldercolorado.gov/osmp/nativegardens. Respond: info@boulderganic.com
Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
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Boulderganic Summer ’10
June 17, 2010 17
CU toilet handles now go both ways
T
by Jefferson Dodge here used to be a saying
Heather May Koski
about how to save water when it comes to toilets.
If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if
it’s brown, flush it down. Well, the University of Colorado has put a new twist on that theme, installing flush mechanisms on hundreds of its toilets to save water and money. And while they don’t require you to let anything mellow, they still call for flushing down when it’s brown. The new toilet handles are dual-flush, meaning that you push the lever up when you go number one, and push them down for number two. The “up” flush uses significantly less water than the “down” flush. The levers are painted green, and they have stickers and/or signs posted prominently to inform users how they work. Moe Tabrizi, campus conservation officer, says that CU’s facilities management department has installed about 890 of the new fixtures over the past nine months, meaning that approximately 90 percent of the campus’s state-funded buildings now have the dual-flush mechanisms. The rest should be done by the end of the summer. “Our folks have done an amazing job,” Tabrizi says of the effort, noting that workers
tried to do the installations during off-hours, like in the early mornings before students head to class, to limit disruptions. He expects the campus to save 4 million to 5 million gallons of water each year thanks to the levers. That adds up to annual savings of $20,000 to $25,000, he says. Given that the project has cost CU about $40,000 so far, the savings erase the up-front expense fairly quickly. “It’s pretty fast payback,” he says. In addition, the university received a $5,000 grant from the city of Boulder’s water department to help defray the cost of the project. Tabrizi says the effort is one of many con-
servation measures that CU is pursuing. He notes that Gov. Bill Ritter issued an executive order a couple of years ago directing state agencies to reduce waste and energy use. The order sets different goals for percentage reductions, and for water conservation, the directive is to reduce water use 10 percent by 2012, Tabrizi says. To address the executive order, he explains, the campus formed “sustainable action teams” of faculty, staff and students for the different categories of conservation. One of those teams is focused on the goal of cutting water use by 10 percent, which at the CU campus represents a reduction of about 30 million gallons a year. According to Tabrizi, the dual-flush mechanism installed on campus toilets will account for only about 15 percent of that 30 million gallons. He says the team is exploring other ways to save water, including water conservation in research labs and water reuse. The new dual-flush handles weren’t added in CU’s residence halls, which are self-funded, because toilets in those buildings saw upgrades within the past couple of years. The new toilet handles are one of the most visible conservation efforts on campus right now, Tabrizi says — simply because everyone goes to the bathroom. And, in lean budget times, it’s not just about conserving a precious natural resource, it’s about not flushing money down the drain. Respond: info@boulderganic.com
Don’t just toss it in the bin
Non-recyclable items frustrate Eco-Cycle sorters by Ben Chambers
B
ags of dog poop. Lumber. Dead animals. Even a car transmission. Some peo-
ple think everything is recyclable.
Sensing trouble through the glass window in the Eco-Cycle processing bay, Gerard 18 June 17, 2010
Lockman rushes out of the relatively quiet supervisors’ office, returning after a few minutes carrying an automobile transmission that probably weighed 50 pounds. “Look at this,” Lockman says. “Someone tried to recycle this.” As a lead sorter at Eco-Cycle, Lockman must stop the sorting lines several times a day to remove things that clog up the machines. “You’d be amazed at the stuff you could find over there,” Lockman says. “We’ve got stoves, fridges, dishwashers, computers. You name it,
I’ve found it here. Car parts, signs, steel poles.” The Eco-Cycle workroom gets cold in the winter because it isn’t heated and it’s basically a large warehouse. On a recent spring day at break time, however, it’s sunny and warm, so some employees gathered at the picnic tables for a smoke and a gripe. “Plastic bags are a pain in our ass,” says Janet Jones, a sorter on the commingled-container lines. “Especially when they double-bag see RECYCLE Page 20
Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
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June 17, 2010 19
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everything, and you’re trying to rip them open and get in to dump them out.” Mitchel Akins, a forklift operator, nods his head. “An example of that is when the janitors go to take out all the stuff, they take one bag and put it in another bag, then take another bag and put it in there and another bag and put it in there,” he says. “Each one’s got like five pop cans in it.” “Yeah, that happens too,” Jones agrees. “But there are a bunch of bags that are double-bagged, you know, from restaurants and stuff where they use the big garbage cans. If they just took them out and dumped them in the dumpster without the bags it’d be perfect.” What else do people mistakenly send for recycling? “Dog poop and dirty diapers — tons of them all the time,” Jones says. “Can you believe people think those are recyclable? Every two minutes there’s a bag of poop going by. Wood is another thing. Always chunks of wood. Tree branches or pieces of two-by-four, broomsticks, all kinds of wood. If it goes down it can jam up stuff and break the equipment. Garden hoses. Anything made of rubber, we don’t recycle rubber.” Shredded paper only makes a mess at Eco-Cycle. The bits of paper are too small for the machines or sorters to pick out, so they go round-and-round the conveyor belts or fall through to the floor for people to sweep, eventually winding up in the trash compactor, destined for the landfill. “It’s a waste of time for the people doing it, and it’s a waste for us,” Jones says. The Boulder County Commissioners aim to achieve zero waste “or darn close” by 2025, while San Francisco is shooting for the year 2020. However, San Francisco has an advantage in the form of a mandatory recycling and composting ordinance requiring everyone to separate their refuse into recyclables, compostables and trash, which makes recycling more efficient and financially sustainable. When Jerry Martin, business operations director, began working with Eco-Cycle 15 years ago, waste streams were source-separated, meaning residents and businesses would separate newspapers from office paper or commingled containers before recycling them. That system produced little contamination, and most of what snuck in was recyclables from other streams. “Our newspaper, for instance, was probably 99.7 percent newspaper and inserts,” Martin said. “It was just pristine, and the mills loved it.” When Boulder switched to dual-stream recycling in 2001 to increase the amount of waste diverted from landfills and make recycling easier for residents, contamination on the paper lines jumped to about 12 percent. Then, to reduce the logistical costs of sending trucks out twice to separately pick up commingled containers and paper, Boulder switched to single-stream recycling in 2008 and 2009, raising the amount of unrecyclable items mixed in the recycling streams to 26 percent. “Single-stream [recycling] is not for everything,” Martin said. “The education message is not getting out. If you don’t tell someone, if you don’t give them good information, then they say, ‘Well, I’m a good recycler, and it should-oughta go in here.’ So therefore if it’s made out of steel, plastic, paper, whatever, it’s going in the bin.” Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
Drop in Chair & Table Massage Martin picked up a Coors beer bottle made from recycled glass. It was cracked with an embedded chunk of ceramic, which does not melt like regular glass. If too much ceramic, rocks or other contaminants make it through to the buyers, they will reject the load, causing Eco-Cycle to lose money. Americans generate about 4.5 pounds of waste per person per day, or 250 million tons in 2008, according to EPA measures. Eightythree million tons were recycled or composted that year, for a national average recycling rate of 33.2 percent. San Francisco has the highest recycling rate of any city, with 72 percent. The City of Boulder recycles or composts 31 percent of its waste, says Shireen Miller, Boulder’s waste reduction coordinator. Eco-Cycle processes about 25 tons per hour, with 30-some sorters who generally earn between $10 and $16 per hour. Boulder County owns the state-of-the-art facility one block north of 63rd Street and Arapahoe Road, which is operated by Eco-Cycle as a nonprofit organization. Inside the Eco-Cycle processing bay, glass and metal scrape and screech so loudly that earplugs are necessary. Conveyor belts send various materials to their proper areas. Revolving magnets yank metals up into an overhead chute. Hands fly over a speeding stream of commingled containers, chucking different types into their own bins. Air blows up through a vent on the paper line, tumbling items so a scanner can see if they are three-dimensional. An alarm goes off with a flashing red light as the paper line shuts down. One of the sorters climbs up onto the machine and drops down inside, out of sight. Several minutes later he resurfaces with his prize and the line starts up again. Lockman shares their discovery: a six-foot-long rubber belt, probably from inside an automobile engine, which had gotten tangled up in the equipment. It joins fellow prohibited items in one of several piles of junk located around the sorting lines. “Zero waste is a noble goal,” says Sam Goering, Eco-Cycle’s special projects coordinator. “But it misleads people into thinking everything is recyclable.” Even recycling-rejects have one last chance to avoid the landfill. A couple blocks northeast of 49th and Pearl Streets, the Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials, or CHaRM, accepts block foam packaging, electronics, scrap metal, shoes, cables, cooking oil, shredded paper and, yes, plastic bags. Respond: info@boulderganic.com
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Just the facts Americans generate about 4.5 pounds of waste per person per day, or 250 million tons in 2008, according to EPA measures. Eighty-three million tons were recycled or composted that year, for a national average recycling rate of 33.2 percent. San Francisco has the highest recycling rate of any city, with 72 percent. The city of Boulder recycles or composts 31 percent of its waste, says Shireen Miller, Boulder’s waste reduction coordinator. Eco-Cycle processes about 25 tons per hour with 30-some sorters who generally earn between $10 and $16 per hour. Boulder County owns the state-of-the-art facility one block north of 63rd Street and Arapahoe Road, which is operated by Eco-Cycle as a nonprofit organization.
Boulder Weekly
Boulderganic Summer ’10
June 17, 2010 21
Top 10 ways to enjoy a zero-waste summer by Iris Sela
I
n this town, it’s pretty easy to watch your waste-footprint. Here’s a little how-to guide
for eco-friendly summer fun.
Skip the bottled water Before you reach for that bottled water, swallow this: We use 17 million barrels of oil each year to produce the half a billion bottles of water Americans consume every week. Of those, only 20 percent are recycled! Plus, most bottled water companies are just bottling tap water and in the process using three liters of water for every one liter they bottle. Instead, arm yourself with a stainless steel reusable water bottle, a filter on your tap and skip the waste Curb your greenhouse gas emissions by composting When sent to a landfill, organic materials like food break down without oxygen and create methane, a greenhouse gas with 72 times the heat-trapping power of CO2 in the short-term. No matter where you live, you too can compost. Learn how at www. ecocycle.org/compost. Nourish your lawns and plants with Microbe Brew compost tea Soils depleted? Want to save water? Let Microbe Brew come to the rescue. Eco-Cycle brews a concoction of worm castings (a.k.a. worm poop) and highly oxygenated water to produce a liquid soil amendment teeming with living microbes and beneficial plant-growth compounds. It can turn your dirt to soil, help with water retention and make your plants heartier and more resistant to pests! Find out where to buy it and how to use it at www.ecocycle.org/compost. Participate in a zero-waste event This summer, there are more than 20 local public events going for zero waste with Eco-
22 June 17, 2010
Cycle, including the Boulder Asian Festival, the Lafayette Peach Festival and both the Boulder and Longmont Farmers’ Markets! Check out these events and let the vendors know how much you appreciate their efforts. Nix the waste at your summer gettogether Make this summer’s barbeque, birthday party or picnic zero waste with Eco-Cycle’s 100 percent-compostable Zero Waste Event Kit. You select all the utensils, bowls, plates and cups you need, and they’ll pull it all together and provide you with a compost container and guidelines. Visit their website for more on the
award-winning kits. Throw an eco-birthday party for your child With disposable plates, cups, napkins, utensils, toys, gift wrap and party favors, kids’ birthday parties can get pretty wasteful! Let EcoCycle throw a “Party with the Planet Birthday Party” for your child. They offer four fun themes to choose from with eco-inspired games, activities and take-home goodies tailored to your child’s age group. You provide the kids and cake, they’ll provide the party! They can also provide compostable tableware or tips for how to go zero waste on your own. Learn
more at www.ecocycle.org. Drink, bike, and support zero -waste businesses Whether you need a bike or a tasty brew, Boulder County has plenty of zero-waste businesses to support while you get your fun on. Thank them for their commitment to the community. Check out University Bicycles for some new wheels, the St. Julien Hotel & Spa for some live music and happy-hour delights, dine and jam at the Boulder Outlook Hotel’s Home of the Blues, or indulge in a latte at the Folsom St. Coffee patio. Find the full list of zero-waste businesses on the website. Read the A-Z Recycling Guide Time to retire your snowboard? Computer go bust? Don’t throw it out! Check out the A-Z Recycle guide at www.ecocycle.org/htrg for how and where to recycle the unwanted odds and ends in your life. Donate your cool stuff to the Reuse Eco-Auction Give your retired but adored, your huddled possessions yearning to be free, to the Shabby Chic EcoAuction! They’re looking for one-of-a-kind, cool but unwanted stuff you know someone else would just love. Donate items at www. ecocycle.org/auction. Join the Eco-Buzz Network Looking for even more ways to lighten your impact on the environment? Join the Eco-Buzz! Each month, they’ll notify you about a different campaign on topics like reducing wasteful “togo” packaging, ditching the bottled water habit, purchasing for the planet, and more. You’ll receive e-mail alerts twice per month, and you’ll find weekly posts on Facebook or Twitter. Sign up at www.ecocycle.org. Iris Sela works with Eco-Cycle. Respond: info@boulderganic.com
Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
Boulder Weekly
Boulderganic Summer ’10
June 17, 2010 23
Organic produce, delivered by Jefferson Dodge Jefferson Dodge
W
hen David Gersenson started the Colorado
version of Door-to-Door Organics in 2004, it was a one-man operation based in his 300-square-foot Boulder garage. He hand-packed the first box of farmgrown produce and made the branch’s first home delivery. To Bailey. By 2006, there were about 600 orders being delivered a week, he says, and the company has enjoyed 20 percent to 40 percent growth each year, culminating in its recent move to a new home in Lafayette, a 12,000-square-foot warehouse. Door-to-Door now has dozens of employees and eight to 12 trucks on the road at a time, and it delivers all the way from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, and as far west as Steamboat, Leadville and Vail. “It seems like yesterday, but we’ve come a long way,” Gersenson says, describing how his father and a family friend started the original Door-to-Door Organics in Upper Bucks County, Pa., in 1997. The concept was fairly simple. Deliver a box of organic vegetables and fruits to customers’ doors. Today, the concept is still simple — at least to the customer, who sets up a standing order on the company’s website and sets preferences for what types of produce to deliver, when they are in season. After being notified of their upcoming order by e-mail every Friday, customers can go online to make last-minute
24 June 17, 2010
Door-to-Door President Chad Arnold, left, and founder David Gersenson
changes to their selections up until 8 a.m. the day before delivery. “If you don’t want bananas and you want to substitute plums, you can do that,” Gersenson says. Customers pay by the box, opting for delivery weekly or bi-weekly, and there is no contract or commitment. There are four box sizes available: Large ($55), medium ($38), small ($32) and, for those who want only five vegetables and four fruits, there is the “bitty” ($22). Behind the scenes, things are a bit more complicated, say Gersenson and Door-toDoor President Chad Arnold, who got his business degree from CU in 2007. The company works with farms of various sizes, and where the produce comes from depends on the season. In mid-summer, Gersenson estimates, about half is from Colorado, and that figure rises to about 80 percent by the end of the summer. Customers can order an all-Colorado “Local Farm Box,” but the variety of produce available is more limited. In the winter, of course, not much is grown
locally, so Door-to-Door has to look farther, but the company only works with organic farms certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Gersenson says they are considering whether to bring produce with the emerging “Certified Naturally Grown” label into the mix, as well. They both speak highly of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, but they point out that Door-toDoor is for those who want more choice, year-round, than what is in season at a single farm. And want it delivered. Arnold says the company has some idea of how much of each type of produce it will need to order each week, based on customers’ standing orders. “So we get on the phone to find x-thousand apples,” he says with a laugh. Arnold says the boxes are still packed by hand, and the production lines start rolling at 5 a.m. so that the deliveries can be made later that same day, “in time for dinner.” The two say that summer is actually one of their slowest seasons, what with all of the backyard gardens, farmers’ markets and summer vacations. Arnold notes that the company tries to keep its prices competitive with mainstream and natural grocery stores. “And when you add in the fact that we’re putting it at your door, we’re beating them hands down,” he says. Door-to-Door is now offering an expanding product line that includes packaged goods that they have hand-picked for their high quality, natural ingredients — and, in some cases — local sourcing. They carry Boulder brands Justin’s Nut Butter, Conscious Coffees, Bobo’s Oat Bars and Chocolove, among others. Over the past few years, the company has opened branches in Michigan and Kansas City, as well. For more information, visit colorado.doortodoororganics.com. Respond: info@boulderganic.com
Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
Organic botanical farming is just a way of life
L
by April Charmaine ily Morgan may surprise some — a farmer who wears burgundy lipstick, blue
eyeliner, thick mascara, platform clogs, fitted dark denim and stylized jeans. But no, this is how she lives — at home in open spaces, looking good, checking plants, cursing the hail and running her own botanical skin-care line known as Lily Organics in the middle of Northeastern Colorado. “I’m into space. I love space,” she says about her humble farm. With medicinal herbs just beginning to grow into beautiful flowers and botanicals, she also grows some veggies on her city-block-sized plot — all labeled with certified organic markers. This medicinal farm has been certified organic for nearly five years and in existence for almost a decade more. What is striking about the farm is its simplicity. Nothing fancy, no major carved-out mounds of dirt or perfect rows of crops — just functional. There’s a plot here with sage, arnica, rosemary, calendula, feverfew and chamomile, and her “woolly garden” is tucked under a budding tree, giving life to peppermint, fennel, yarrow and comfrey. With access to 15 more acres on Morgan’s personal property and more in Hudson, this farmer is getting her space, using only what is needed, without leaving a carbon footprint. “I don’t think people put the connection together, being green, being a farmer,” says Morgan about the green movement. “Organic farming is the foundation.” With plans to remain a small company, Lily Organics maintains an honest level of quality Boulder Weekly
Boulderganic Summer ’10
the farm, with a father who control. instilled the value of know“You can’t make proding about money, plus a masucts for the masses and ter’s degree in public adminhave a great skin care line,” istration, she has an unlikely says Morgan. combination of skills. Lily Organics makes new She acknowledges that batches of product weekly she has become what her in its USDA Organicfather, also a farmer, wanted. certified laboratory. He trained her, pushed her, Featuring a cabinet of herbs and now she has something — all organic, of course — to show for the self-discipline and two or three shelves of he taught her. Lily Organics is products, the lab is small but now an institution in local just right to get the job natural foods stores. done with a little farm help Though running a farm and four consistent employand a business might seem ees. Doing somewhere stressful, Morgan devotes between 10,000 to 20,000 time to self-care, eating well, trials on products has creatmeditating, doing yoga — ed a level of expertise and the things that sustain her an ability to help others get personally and professionally. what they most need out of She manages this without a skin-care product. giving off a faux interest in Offering three major the lifestyle; it’s just her lines of chemical-free skin everyday life. She has writcare, Lily Organics’ variety ten a book about it, titled of products is impressive. All Beauty, Health, and Happiness branches have roots, and at — A Way of Life. Lily Organics there are a “The mountains are variety of classic products hyper,” she says, explaining served up in the most basic why she loves living on the way — straight from the plains. earth, footsteps away from Enjoying the diversity of the laboratory, and sent people, languages and culdirectly to local stores. ture has made this Michigan“Building the infrastrucLily Morgan arranges products, top, and born, seventh-generation ture has taken 24 years. We works on her organic farm, center and farmer want to keep her are finally ready for growth,” bottom. roots right here where she says Morgan, who became can enjoy the outdoors and interested in skin care the overall landscape of colorful Colorado. because of her personal experiences with probEventually she wants to collaborate with lem skin. other local farmers, like her neighbor Clark’s The company’s main marketing strategy is Honey, to create an “agri-tourism” industry doing demonstrations in local Whole Foods and for people to experience the wonderful, laboVitamin Cottage stores all over Colorado. rious, plain and simple quality of organic farmMorgan is one of those people who has a ing life. multitude of stories and experiences. She is not Lily Organics can be found at all Colorado natujust the entrepreneur of an organic skin-care ral food stores, Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottages, and company; she also has an avid interest in foster online at www.lilyorganics.com. children, teens and teaching classes in Finance Respond: info@boulderganic.com 101. Coming from a rigid life of hard work on June 17, 2010 25
Local drinks that are so good (for you) by April Charmaine
W
hen did beverages become so tasty and so insanely good for you too?
There’s a little saying that goes “nothing is new,” and that’s true of Colorado’s own High Country Kombucha drinks and the Bhakti Chai line, made locally by companies that serve up ancient beverages with a 21stcentury American flair. Both businesses have made drinks that at one time were unknown in this part of the world into something that people across the country crave and enjoy on a daily basis. The multi-flavored High Country Kombucha and spice-filled Bhakti Chai both give off an energizing zing to all who partake. Here’s an inside look at both companies.
High Country Kombucha Boulder Weekly: When did you begin this business? Ed Rothbauer, president of High Country Kombucha, Inc.: We (Steve Dickman and myself) started locally in the Vail/Beaver Creek area in 2002 producing enough Kombucha for local friends, bottled in Mason jars with hand written labels. In 2004, as the demand increased, we decided to set up a small kitchen in Eagle, where we could produce 240 bottles a day. Today, we are in health food stores all over the nation, and our current facility produces about 18,000 bottles a day. We are now looking to expand to a new facility and produce up to 100,000 bottles a day. BW: How many employees do you have? ER: We currently have 30 employees, including culturing, bottling, sales and administration BW: Why Colorado? ER: Colorado is our home, a place where bears, cutthroats, badgers and weasels are not business associates, they’re neighbors. Our pristine environment gives us the ability to enjoy our resources; as well as the responsibility to protect it. I can’t imagine any other place in the USA that 26 June 17, 2010
Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
could provide the purest water, the cleanest air and the most giving, helpful people. Every aspect of Kombucha is the result of its environment, and where else in the U.S. could we even come close to match the native origin of the Himalayas where Kombucha was derived? BW: Why is organic important to you? ER: Organic is very important. The fact that the word “organic” is on our product is not as important as the true intention of the word. Our teas are and have always been “biodynamic,” a name you don’t see on the label. This means that all of the teas used are cultivated in a completely sustainable environment. An environment that supports and renews every aspect of the ecological system it’s grown in, as well as the farmer’s and families that work to maintain the awesome environment. BW: What do you say to the people who are put off by the particles/taste of Kombucha initially? ER: Peoples have been trained for over 100 years to recognize sugars and more recently modified sugars, GMO’s and synthetic flavors as their own flavor preferences. I like to give people a chance to taste Kombucha and recognize the way they feel afterwards. Good Kombucha will taste good to almost anybody once they feel it in their body and decide the days of high fructose corn syrup are behind them.
Bhakti Chai BW: Bhakti Chai has incredible word-of-mouth reputation, how did it begin and where do you want it to go? Brook Eddy, founder and CEO of Bhakti Chai: We are so thankful for the grassroots support for our product and mission. We couldn’t have grown without such community enthusiasm. We did not have a marketing or advertising budget, but just tried to make a memorable product and a positive impact. BW: How fast has the company grown since 2007? BE: [We’ve had] 474 percent revenue growth from 2007-2009. BW: How many employees? BE: 10 BW: Where is the factory, and what is it like? BE: We produce in Longmont. We micro-brew over 4,000 gallons of chai concentrate a month and fresh press over 700 pounds of ginger a week. BW: Why Boulder County? BE: I was living here when I started my company, but it has been an amazing environment to launch a natural foods company, not only because of all the resources and support, like the Naturally Boulder community, but the interest and commitment to Fair Trade and healthy products. BW: Why is organic important to the company? BE: While we are not certified organic, our main ingredients — tea, sugar and ginger are certified organic. Organic is important to Bhakti because of the health and societal benefits, and it’s more sustainable. BW: How do you contribute to so many nonprofit organizations? How does Bhakti live up to its name, which means devotion through social action? BE: We started very early giving to local nonprofit organizations, so as we grew, our charitable donations increased. We also established monthly gifts with certain organizations, so that our commitment is built into our operating budget and does not depend on fluctuating months. BW: Anything else exciting about the Bhakti movement/vision? BC: We just launched our Bhakti Chai Chip Ice Cream, which is a creamy ginger ice cream with cardamom swirls and chocolate morsels. We are a bunch of foodies around here and love playing with flavors. Respond: info@boulderganic.com Boulder Weekly
Boulderganic Summer ’10
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BGBG takes green building higher
Education, support are guild’s focus
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by Katherine Creel
n 1996, Boulder became the first municipality in the United States to adopt mandatory “green”
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residential building codes.
The Green Points Building program, as it’s known, applies to all new residential structures and renovations more than 500 square feet. Deciphering these ordinances isn’t always easy, however, and that’s where the Boulder Green Building Guild comes in. In large part, codes are only as good as the builders and contractors implementing them, partly due to difficulty in understanding and applying them. For that reason, and also to help push green building measures into the future, a group of local building professionals founded BGBG, an association of like-minded, forward-thinking professionals, in 2004. Their goal? To make green building practices common practice. Recognizing that more homeowners and businesses would embrace green building if they understood its benefits, BGBG works hard to educate the public. Each month they conduct residential and commercial brown-bag seminars, covering topics from energy retrofits and green roof systems for homeowners to commercial HVAC systems. It was one of these brown-bag seminars that first attracted Susan Weeks, president and owner of Blue Spruce Construction and Design, to the guild three years ago. “I was so impressed … that I wanted to be part of that,” she says. Now she serves as secretary of the BGBG board of directors. She explained that one of the guild’s core functions is to facilitate understanding and adoption of building codes and ordinances as well as the increasing number of incentive opportunities available to property owners. With an influx of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, both the city and county are offering new programs to encourage energy-efficient improvements. Julie Herman, who has been executive director of BGBG for more than three years, says this will likely make renovating and retrofitting a more active sector than new construction. Because improving existing buildings is accomplished on a voluntary, incentive-based basis, though, convincing home and businesses owners to go along will be the main challenge. “There’s a lack of education on the return on the investment [in] energy efficiency,” Herman says. She hopes, however, that the new programs will change that. “There’s never been a better time to invest in it.” The guild also works with governments to help develop green building programs. Weeks advised the City of Boulder on its ClimateSmart Loan Program, which provides loans for property owners who want to make energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements, and she says other guild members have been tapped by the U.S. Department of Energy for assistance. “There are some very talented, very knowledgeable, very dedicated people here,” she says. For more information about the Boulder Green Building Guild, to view a list of members or to see a calendar of their upcoming events, visit www.bgbg.org. Respond: info@boulderganic.com Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
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Mother Nature’s therapy
Naropa University teaches students to harness the healing power of the wild
T
by Katherine Creel here’s something about being outside, surrounded by trees, drinking in the sunshine and
soaking up the sounds of nature that makes all of our troubles disappear, even if it’s only for as long as it takes to reach the top of the Third Flatiron. After all, that’s why so many of us can’t wait to hit the trail on Saturday after a long week of being chained to our desks. We might not be able to explain why, but nature just makes us feel better. That, in simple terms, is the idea behind Naropa University’s Wilderness Therapy program. Developed in 2002 by Deborah Bowman, the program takes the fundamentals of psychological counseling and integrates the benefits to be found from natural or “non-built” environments. Deb Piranian, program director, says research has repeatedly shown that not only do people feel less stressed in nature, most “peak experiences,” those profound moments of spirituality or revelation, occur in nature. Roslynn Regnery, a recent graduate from the program, can attest to the transformative power of the natural environment. She describes through-hiking the Appalachian trail in 2004, all 2,165 miles of it in mostly one go, as a kind of “equalizer.” “I liked everyone I met on the trail,” she says. “How often can you say that in everyday life?” The people she met, she says, were largely those at a transition point in life: grieving for a lost spouse, facing retirement or an “empty nest,” or military veterans returning from active duty. Regnery realized not only do people have an instinct to turn to nature for support, but that she Boulder Weekly
Boulderganic Summer ’10
of the unique way horses interact with their wanted to help them do that. human companions. She also recalls the self-confidence that came That’s not to say the name isn’t fitting. with being away from television, advertisements “The most wild place of all is inside [us],” and other mass media. Piranian says. “That was the dirtiest I’ve been in my entire And despite a presumed similarity with prolife, that was the smelliest I’ve been in my entire grams like Outward Bound, wilderness therapy life … and that was the most beautiful I’ve felt in isn’t just for troubled teens. It’s for anyone seeking my entire life,” she says. optimal emotional health. Children suffering from After her experience on the trail, Regnery an aversion to nature, adults dealing with the enrolled in Naropa’s program in 2007 and gradustress of work or cliated this spring with ents coping with age her four classmates, photo courtesy Roslynn Regnery or illness, almost making this the smalleveryone can find an est group in the proaspect of wilderness gram’s history. Most therapy to enhance years see between 15 their lives. and 20 students, and “Wildnerness isn’t that number is kept just a place to do low because of things,” Piranian says restrictions on group when she describes size in many of the the difference between program’s excursion wilderness therapy and areas and for safety programs like considerations. Outward Bound, The first year of where she served as study looks much like an instructor prior to any program for joining Naropa. “It’s licensed therapists, about understanding with the same core and developing a relaclasses and required tionship.” coursework. In the Whatever form second year, however, wilderness therapy students step out of Naropa students on a group canyon excursion takes — rafting the the classroom and rapids of the Colorado into the great outRiver or walking doors. Excursions around the neighborhood park — the key is to include backpacking in the backcountry, mountain develop a relationship with nature that supports climbing and river rafting. other relationships in the client’s life. The outdoor component makes this a physiWhile it’s hard to put into words exactly what cally demanding program. Applicants must be able it is about nature that helps us grow and heal, to carry a 50-pound pack off trail for 10 miles. Roslynn says, “Nature is non-judgmental … “It’s non-sofa therapy,” Regnery says. Despite the name and the rigorous excursions There’s no advertisements or things telling you the way you should be.” students undertake, wilderness therapy doesn’t “It brings you back to the basics in life.” have to be wild at all, and it doesn’t even have to Piranian says that while the connection be outdoors. For elderly or disabled clients, simply between humans and nature is often indefinable, bringing a little bit of the outside world into it’s not surprising that it is a nurturing connection. where they live can have profound benefits, and horticulture therapy is just one subset of the larg- “We’re a part of nature,” she says. “We’re not separate from it.” er wilderness therapy. Equine-assisted therapy is Respond: info@boulderganic.com also a popular form of wilderness therapy, because June 17, 2010 31
Decorating for wellness
Healing your life and the world one house at a time
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hen life gets stagnant,
by Lauren Duncan and looking really serious, maybe you want a grizzly bear or a hawk to keep an eye out for you,” Baker says. “Or it could be an image of a person who’s really strong in your life.” Mindful placement of objects around the home creates a flow of energy designed to address any of the areas of the Bagua map. Various corners of a house represent the various issues, and feng shui consultants advise the proper placement for ultimate improvement. “The bedroom represents relationship,” Hartnett says. “To enhance the health of relationship, we put objects in pairs, like two matching nightstands or two candles.” The kitchen and the dining room symbolize
people feel good; they think it looks beautiful and once they’re living with it they don’t like it many people turn to and they don’t know why,” she says. Baker, who’s traveled across the country to therapy, or exercise, feng shui homes and businesses, has noticed a difference in the local clientele. She says her or they trudge through, hoping Boulder clients are often more educated about feng shui and already own materials conducive the staleness will dissolve. Yet to the practice. “I have to do a lot more finessing when I’m some of life’s problems could be in a different community that isn’t as familiar with Asian culture,” she says. solved simply by redecorating. Sorcha Bray, a Berthoud resident and a longtime client of Baker’s, says feng shui has The practice of feng shui began in China affected her life in profound ways. 6,000 years ago as a way to understand the rela“When things have gotten stuck or stagSusan France tionship between humans and the nant [feng shui] gets things moving in a earth. It originated as a way to deterpositive direction. It lets the energies mine the most auspicious positioning of come in, it breaks down the dam and villages and crop land in relation to elelets all these good things flow into our ments and geography. Thousands of lives.” years later, feng shui remains a method In Bray’s case, these “good things” of creating wellness in life by shifting came in the form of real estate sucitems around the home. cess. When Baker tweaked a number Feng shui practitioners use a tool of things in Bray’s rental home, Bray called the Bagua map, which includes was shocked when three prospective nine areas of life that clients might renters applied immediately afterward, wish to address. The first level of the without even having been inside the map includes Knowledge and Inner house. Truth, Path of Life, and Helpful Friends “Things like that don’t just happen,” and Travel; the second level includes she says. “That’s the feng shui.” Ancestors and DNA, Health, and Bray wasn’t always the avid supLaurelyn Baker Children and Projects; and the third porter she is now. A self-proclaimed level includes Wealth, Fame and former skeptic, she changed her opinAchievement and Relationships. health, since food is consumed in those rooms. ion when the home she felt unsettled in was “Often times people will pick two or three According to Hartnett’s website, hanging a mir- feng shui-ed. areas,” says Mary Hartnett, a Boulder-based ror in the dining room may enhance health and “After [Baker] was done I was content to be feng shui consultant. “We’re always moving the wealth because it magnifies the abundance of in my home, and I hadn’t been before,” she says. energy — the chi — around in the house to good food. Such benefits don’t come free. According to try and solve any one of the issues.” Use of color is likewise powerful. Harnett Hartnett, feng shui practitioners can charge Hartnett practices the Taoist method of says that green is the traditional healing color, anywhere between $60 and $200 or more per feng shui, which is based on Chinese theories particularly light green. Reds, yellows and golds hour. Many local practitioners also charge by but incorporates Western décor. are warm, positive colors. square footage. And while many practitioners “If in one corner you need to increase “Some people are very high energy so they can use materials and décor the client already energy, would you like a plant? Would you like need blues and purples to slow them down,” owns, additional items often need to be pura crystal? Would you like a beautiful picture? she says. “If you’re decorating for wellness, the chased. We’ll put something beautiful and energizing colors you want to avoid are grey — that’s a “The answer is it takes a lot of resources,” there on purpose to enhance the energy dead color — and black, which you’d want to Baker says, and she asserts that feng shui is only there,” Hartnett says. use sparingly.” one part of the solution to negative energy. Laurelyn Baker, also a Boulder-based practiBaker says that one of the reasons feng shui “There’s karma, luck, all those things come tioner, says she often uses animal symbols to fit is so popular now in this country is because into play. It’s part of a holistic lifestyle,” she in with Western décor. designing for wellness hasn't been a priority. says. “It’s about getting the world in order one “If you don’t like the idea of having a “We design houses without comforting house at a time.” Tibetan wealth god with a bunch of swords things in mind. Things get built that don’t make Respond: info@boulderganic.com 32 June 17, 2010
Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
How to just sit
I
by David Accomazzo
t was a simple assignment, or so I thought. Write an article about meditation, not too long. Sounded easy enough at first. Man was I wrong.
Meditation, says Roland Cohen, a meditation instructor at Boulder’s Shambhala Meditation Center with more than three decades of experience, is “the simplest act you can do.” But like many aspects of meditation, that statement is filled with inherent contradictions, paradoxes within paradoxes. Which is fine, Cohen says, quoting one of his favorite meditation gurus: “If it isn’t a paradox, it isn’t true.” One basic belief at the meditation center is that every human being is naturally compassionate, kind, warm and “awake.” But our egos get in the way of our true selves and cloud our perception of the world. “Ego is a process of maintaining our reference points to ourselves. So we have this sense of ourselves of being continuously solid. But if you look at it really up close, that feeling of being continuously solid is made up of all these individual little reference points of who we think we are,” Cohen says. Think of watching a movie — the illusion of motion implied by the rapid projection of individual frames, a phenomenon called persistence of vision. Our ego, Cohen, says, acts on the same principle. “We see the whole world, everything else, in terms of what does it mean to me, the self. What do I feel about that? And the way that manifests is continuously that we like it, we don’t like it or we don’t care about it,” Cohen says. “And so we never see it the way it is; we always see it through this filter of, ‘What does that mean to me.’ We never see it on its own terms, seeing that as it is.” So we meditate to fight our ego, right? Wrong, Cohen says. Meditation’s goal is not destroy ego but to make us aware of it. “You can’t get rid of ego, because if you try to get rid of ego, that’s aggression toward yourself,” Cohen says. “You’re creating ego, which is trying to destroy ego. It doesn’t work. You just have a new ego. And it’s a problem because then you’re just beating yourself up.” The ego causes us to project ourselves onto the world and stops us from living in the present moment. If we’re not in the present, then we’re either remembering the past or predicting the future. Meditation tries to focus the mind on the present and see through the “gaps” of ego to appreciate the world as it really is. This state of being in the present is called “wakefulness.” Clearly, meditation is something you shouldn’t try to figure out on your own. Cohen says it is imperative to work with an instructor (meditation instruction is free at the Shambhala Center), lest you create an alter ego watching to make sure your regular ego meditates properly. “The mind is very subtle. The whole process of confusion is both gross and subtle. You need to have some sort of mirror to that so that you can actually understand what it is we’re talking about and what it is we’re working with. Otherwise, if you’re trying to be you own meditation instructor, you’re always maintaining some part of yourself to the other part to see how you’re doing, maintaining your concept about what you think letting go is. And that’s not letting go. It’s holding on to what you think you’re supposed to be doing,” Cohen says. Boulder Shambhala Meditation Center offers ongoing introductory classes and instruction in meditation. Go to www.boulder.shambhala.org for more information. Respond: info@boulderganc.com 34 June 17, 2010
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Dog days
How to keep Spot safe and happy during the summer
T
by Adrienne Saia Isaac he list of ways that owning a dog benefits us is a long and varied one. It includes physical health, mental health and emotional health,
and affects us at all ages. For example, a 2005 study published in the journal Respiratory Medicine suggests pet ownership could reduce children's risk of developing asthma, and research from Queen's University in Belfast, suggests dog owners tend to have lower blood pressure and cholesterol (not to mention providing an excuse to chat up other dog owners at the local park). Research also seems to show that owners suffer fewer minor ailments and serious medical problems. Not a bad trade-off for all of those early morning walks. Considering how much we owe man's best friend for helping us stay happy and healthy, it only makes sense that we return the favor and make sure Spot stays safe — and has fun — this summer.
TRAINING Summer is a great time to be out with your pet, but a canine companion running amok makes for an uncomfortable — and possibly dangerous — situation for you, your pet and the people Fido is chasing. “If you’ve taken some sort of class or have some skill set, it really makes it so much more fun for both you and your dog because you feel confident,” says Lindsay Wood, director of Animal Training and Behavior at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. They recommend positive reinforcement when training your dog; reward your dogs whenever they demonstrate a behavior you like. “You figure out what motivates them,” says Wood. “Every dog is motivated by something. It could be simply attention from you, but most likely it’s something else, like food or a specific toy.” Wood suggests teaching two essential behaviors: “leave it” and “stay.” The command “leave it” teaches your dog to avoid dangers on the trail, such as snakes or bones that he might want to pick up in his mouth. The command “stay” is essential for keeping your dog safe since you never know what you’re going to encounter when you’re on the trails. “That’s a real life saver,” says Wood.
SUN SAFETY We get about 300 days of sun a year, but our bright skies can be dangerous for our canine companions. Veterinarian Jennifer Bolser says to look for signs that your dog may need to get inside. “Panting is a dog’s way of sweating so it’s a good thing,” she says, “but when you’ve done too much for a dog, instead of wanting to chase that ball, they’ve decided to lay down.” Bolser also says that short-faced breeds, such as bulldogs and boxers, are more prone to suffering from heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Dogs can also get sunburned, especially on pink-nosed or lighter-skinned dogs. Apply kid-friendly sunscreen on their snouts throughout the day. If your dog is fair-skinned, try to limit their sun exposure between the hours of 36 June 17, 2010
Boulderganic Summer ’10 Boulder Weekly
10 a.m. and 2 p.m. when the sun is at its peak.
HIKING We love getting outdoors and bringing our canines with us. But we need to get our dogs as in shape and prepared as we are. “There is a certain amount of time you take when prepping for hikes,” says Wood, “and [dogs] need that prep time as much as you to build up their stamina and endurance, especially at altitude.” Start off slowly to build your dog’s endurance, increasing mileage and altitude with each hike. She also suggests carrying water and a first aid kit. The kit should include bandages, saline solution to clean cuts or wounds and an antihistamine in case of a bee sting. But that’s the only human medication you should give your dog. Leave the Advil and Tylenol in your pack and out of Fido’s reach — they can be lethal to your pooch. And remember that we’re not the only animals on the trail! Exercise caution when it comes to big predators. Bolser suggests talking or buying your dog a bell to wear on the trail as a deterrent. Predators theoretically hear the sound and run away before you know they’re around.
GEAR Hiking is easier when you’re not stuck with all the gear. Companies such as REI make “doggie backpacks,” perfect to carry Fido’s food, bowls and first aid kit. You want to build your dog’s stamina gradually, though. “[Backpacking] is a great way for them to build up some stamina, too,” says Wood. “But remember that the additional weight is going to make the adventure a little bit harder on them.” She and Bolser suggest adding weight gradually. The amount of stuff you can add depends on the dog’s physical fitness, weight and the existence of other problems like arthritis. “Add food and a little bit of weight each time,” says Bolser. “You don’t want to slow them down or add too much.” Getting in major miles can be difficult on your canine’s paws, as well. They don’t have the advantage of throwing on a pair of Keen boots, but we can make them somewhat more comfortable. “One thing you might consider is teaching your dog to wear booties,” says Wood, “especially if you’re doing hikes over varied terrain.”
WATER SAFETY Practice common sense when letting your dog in the creek. “There’s certain times when the creek is really rushing and I wouldn’t let my dog in,” says Wood. Even athletic dogs can be carried away by swift currents. Keep your dog on a six-foot leash if they’re insistent on jumping in. Bolser also suggests using a doggie life vest when out in lakes or open water. “Having identification on your pet is key and training your dog before you go out is probably more important than anything,” she says. Make sure your dog is attracted to safe bodies of water when you’re out and about. “It’s really tough to keep active outdoor dogs from drinking out of streams,” Bolser says. “Choosing fresh water like running streams is better than a standing pool of muck.” If your dog does get into an icky puddle, watch for diarrhea — your pooch might have caught giardia or leptospirosis. For the latter, you can choose annually to vaccinate your dog. Talk with your vet to see if vaccination is the right option for you. If you’re still looking for a canine companion, we suggest local rescues like the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. They also offer a wide range of outdoor training classes and veterinary services. For more information about adoption or keeping your dog healthy, call 303-4424030, or visit www.boulderhumane.org. Respond: info@boulderganic.com Boulder Weekly
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June 17, 2010 37
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Greener green
City regs to make dispensaries more eco-friendly By Katherine Creel
T
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from building size and location to who can even own a dispensary. On May 18, the Boulder City Council passed a particularly eco-friendly ordinance that will require dispensaries that grow their own supply to offset 100 percent of their energy usage with renewable energy, either by purchasing solar or wind power from Xcel, producing their own renewable energy or being part of a community "solar garden." Considering how energy intensive the growing process is, that will mean a lot of solar and wind power being purchased. Just how much? An experienced local grower breaks down the numbers for us. During the vegetation cycle of growing, which lasts anywhere from a week to several months, 600- to 1,000-watt lights remain on up to 18 hours each day. During the blooming stage, which typically lasts eight weeks, the lights generally run for 12 hours at the same wattage. A 1,000-watt bulb uses 1000 watts (or one kilowatt) per hour, which means that two bulbs run for 18 hours each day for a month would consume 1,080 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy. Compare that to the monthly consumption of the average Colorado household: 679 kWh, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. With those levels of energy consumption, it’s no wonder cities are working to make medical marijuana one of the greenest industries around. Charles Ferro, land use review manager for the City of Boulder, says this ordinance was in reaction to learning about the intense energy demands of the industry. “Surprisingly, we haven't had any pushback from the industry on this,� he says. “It's very much in line with the sensibilities of the people of Boulder.� After all, what’s the point of having a healthy body if you don’t have a healthy world to live in? Respond: info@boulderganic.com
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