GLAZFeb_2011

February 2011

Your conscious life

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MAgAZine

Your conscious life

ALSO INSIDE:

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features

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February 2011

Habitat for Humanity速

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2 greenliving az | February 2011

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departments

February 2011 Live Green

A Greener House for Humanity

4 Editor’s Note

A Healthy Red Heart

60 Green Scenes

The Chopra Center F.I.G.H.T.: H is for Heavy Metals

62 Green Pages

Pump Up Your Health

64 Green Personalities

Chocolate is Good Love Thy Neighbor

8 12 14 16 18 20 22

24 26 27 28 29 30

Green Kids Simplify: From Jam to Glam Everyday Uses: Great Ways to Give A Garden for Erik Green Thumb: Gardening for the Soul Pets: Heart Healthy

Work Green The James Learning Center Companies Giving Back CSR: Employees Give Back Car Review: Lexus CT200h After Hours Gallery Green and Carefree in Cave Creek

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32 34 37 39 40 43

40 52

Play Green Travel with Purpose Stewart Lee Udall Saving America’s Wild Horses SWCC Restaurants greenlivingaz.com

46 48 50 52 54

55 56 57 58

Book Review He’s Green She’s Green Cool Outrageous Stuff Recipes

February 2011 | greenliving az 3

February 2011

Editor’s Note “Giving Back” – our theme and focus for February – highlights how we as Arizona residents give back to our organizations, our community and the environment. I’m thankful that, from the time I was very young, my family and I engaged in community service – from rescuing animals to cooking at soup kitchens to volunteering at hospitals, and today, training my yellow Lab, Lilly, for pet therapy. The great thing about giving back is that it can be as simple or as involved as you like, and there is always something for everyone. No one is asking you to change your life, just to share a bit of goodness.

Within this theme, I’d also like to acknowledge public service and the sacrifices Arizona’s men and women have made to serve and protect our community. On a personal note, I’d like to honor Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her staff, and their continued efforts to promote and strive for advancements in renewable energy. Gabby has been a voice for green, and we at Green Living AZ thank her and wish her Godspeed for a

Want a free vacation? In PLAY, check out “Travel with

full recovery. To my friends at Gabby’s office, you know who

Purpose” and learn how you can donate your time and get an

you are, thank you for pressing forward.

adventure in return. More and more press is evolving about the efforts to preserve America’s wild horses. Read about

In LIVE, we discuss some of Habitat for Humanity’s

author and winner of the Academy Award for Best Screenplay

achievements in green building. February is Heart Month, and

for Dances with Wolves, Michael Blake, and his quest to save

we’ll take a look at our heart health, starting with “Pump Up

Arizona’s wild horses from abuse and elimination.

our Health,” and address child obesity in Green Kids. We’ll also help explain what every valentine secretly wants to know –

When President Obama addressed the nation in Tucson, words

whether chocolate is good for us. I say yes, but let’s consider

that were forever burned into my memory and heart were in

what our Green Couple thinks after they’ve reviewed organic

reference to the loss of 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green:

chocolates, and what our experts advise in “Healthy Guilty

“Let us live up to our children’s expectations.” We have

Pleasure.” Don’t forget your pup – his heart health is important

the ability to pull together as a state and as a nation toward a

too in “Heart Healthy Dog.”

common goal. I believe we can make this world better, safer, cleaner, healthier, more sustainable and as wondrous as our

In WORK, we look to what local companies are doing to give

children believe it is, together – if we just decide.

back and how owners of After Hours Gallery open their gallery and home to give back to our community.

Get out and give to your community.

With love and light,

Photo: Mrs. Livak’s 3rd Grade Class at Hopi Elementary

Tishin Donkersley, M.A., Editor-in-Chief

Photography by Branden Eastwood

4 greenliving az | February 2011

greenlivingaz.com

Our commitment to

Organic New Frontiers believes that growing and supporting organics is one of the best things we can do for ourselves, our children, and the earth, so we operate our own 80acre organic farm on the Central Coast of California, which supplies incredible produce to all of our stores.

Our farm’s tractors run on biodiesel, as alternative fuels may assist in keeping our farm and planet healthier.

Blooming flowers are planted throughout the farm to establish a beneficial insect habitat and to add natural beauty.

Our naturally occuring creek crossing is an example of a riparian corridor, creating an optimum habitat for wildlife and insects to help keep the balance and diversity of nature.

This symbol on produce items shows they have on our own farm been grown on our farm.

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Flagstaff • 320 S. Cambridge Lane (corner of Butler and Sawmill) Sedona • 1420 West Hwy. 89A (In Old Marketplace) Prescott • 1112 Iron Springs Rd.

“The Farmer grows the soil and the soil grows the crop.”

Your conscious life

INTRODUCING

AZ

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MAgAZine

Publisher John B. Stacy

Your conscious life

associate Publisher Dorie Morales dorie@greenlivingaz.com AZ • MAgAZine editor-in-chief Tishin Donkersley, M.A. creatiVe director Kate Larson kate@greenlivingaz.com

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PhotoGraPhY intern Branden Eastwood interns Jessica Finical Chad Hays Christina O’Haver Erika Ricketts adVertisinG sales Todd Beck todd@greenlivingaz.com Michael Burton michael@greenlivingaz.com Tina Connors tina@greenlivingaz.com Kathy Peterson kathy@greenlivingaz.com Sari Kreiter sari@greenlivingaz.com Matt Julia matt@greenlivingaz.com Lori Scott lori@greenlivingaz.com

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Green Living AZ magazine is a monthly publication by Traditional Media Group. Periodical rate postage paid at Scottsdale, AZ. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited or contributed manuscripts, photographs, artwork or advertisements. Entire contents © 2011 Traditional Media Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of content in any manner without permission by the publisher is strictly prohibited. Opinions expressed in signed columns and articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. Submissions will not be returned unless arranged to do so in writing.

Single copy price is $4.95 or $39 per year. Bulk and/or corporate rates available. No representation is made as to the accuracy hereof and is printed subject to errors and omissions. Green Living AZ magazine is printed on recycled, post-consumer waste paper and uses soy-based inks.

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humanity

A Greener House for

BY KRISTI EATON

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greenliving az | February 2011

greenlivingaz.com

Feature

M

any see building green as a status symbol. False perceptions lead some people to believe that only those with the thickest pocketbooks could afford environmentally conscious home installations or building materials.

example, Habitat volunteers now caulk any crack, penetration or seam in the exterior envelope to tighten the air barrier around the home, Ball said. Also, volunteers contour the ground for rainwater harvesting to reroute water for nearby trees and plants.

It turns out green building techniques and sustainability practices are paramount to building affordable homes for low-income families.

Sustainable housing and health

“The mission of affordable housing and sustainable building go hand in hand,” said James Ball, sustainable building manager for Habitat for Humanity® Central Arizona, which aims to build 100 homes each year.

Ball said green building is not just for the rich; in fact, it is a basic right. “All homes should have green qualities,” Ball said. “[Green homes] are made for the health of the occupant and the earth.”

Habitat’s mission is to build simple, decent and affordable homes for families in need and not to make money, Ball said. “As soon as you are focused on the user, that question about sustainability becomes a matter of fact and a common interest,” he said. “We have a long-term interest in the family being able to stay in the home and afford it — not just the mortgage, but operation costs as well.”

He added that Habitat for Humanity holds a zero-interest mortgage for the homeowner, with payments ranging between $400 and $500 per month. Payments are returned to Habitat for Humanity and help facilitate future building.

While many people associate sustainable building, or green building, with energy use and consumption, it also means building homes to be healthy in the long term for the consumers.

Using a Community Block Grant, Maricopa County’s Department of Human Services purchased 45 foreclosed homes in the West Valley, rehabbed them to ENERGY STAR standards and put them back on the market to sell to pre-qualified homebuyers. The 45 homes in Goodyear, Buckeye and El Mirage were repainted using

... green building techniques and sustainability practices are paramount to building affordable homes for lowincome families

Habitat for Humanity International focuses on five core elements of sustainable building: site selection, energy, water efficiency, indoor environmental air quality, and materials and resources.

Habitat for Humanity has been building “green” even before that word became synonymous with sustainable practices, Ball said. For example, Central Arizona Habitat houses are smaller compared to the average home. On average, a three-bedroom, two-bath house is 1,300 square feet, which will consume less energy, Ball said. Arizona Habitat houses also contain 100 percent desert landscaping. “It never made sense to give homeowners a large green yard that they need to pay for,” Ball said. “Instead, we use rock to cover the yard and a drip irrigation system.”

Habitat for Humanity houses meet ENERGY STAR standards by using energy-efficient appliances, insulation and heating and cooling equipment, as well as high-performance windows, tight building envelopes and HVAC ducts. ENERGY STAR homes are typically 20 to 30 percent more energy-efficient than homes built to standard residential building code.

In the last few years, Central Arizona Habitat for Humanity, which was created after Habitat’s West Valley and Valley of the Sun affiliates merged in 2008, has put even more sustainable techniques into practice and perfected older practices. For greenlivingaz.com

Concrete home Photography by Duane Darling Opposite page: Habitat Central Arizona’s Caring for our Community volunteers.

February 2011 | greenliving az 9

Feature

low volatile organic compound (VOC) paints, and old carpet was removed from most of the rooms to remove petroleum and other toxins that can be found in carpet, said Jonce Walker, sustainability manager for Maricopa County.

This year, Bonded Logic, which manufactures and markets insulation, will partner with Habitat for Humanity in Arizona to bring its “Cotton. From Blue to Green” program to the state. Through the program, donated denim is converted to insulation for new homes. The UltraTouch™ denim insulation is free of formaldehyde, chemical irritants and carcinogenic warnings, and is a healthy alternative to traditional insulation.

Legacy home Photography by Mathew Strauss

Maricopa County did a full energy audit on the 45 four-bedroom, two-bath homes that were part of the $9.9 million Community Block Grant. Buyers were guaranteed that after rehab efforts, they would see at least a 30 percent energy savings. Techniques used to rehab the houses include xeriscaping to cut back on water consumption, and using high-efficiency water heaters, Walker said. Officials learned that energy savings reached 34 to 51 percent after the rehab effort, with one July energy bill as low as $79. “We didn’t do any solar,” Walker said. “It was all through smart rehabbing.”

after

before

Officials wanted to steer clear of solar energy because of cost and its difficulty to maintain. “We tried to do everything we could, short of installing solar,” Walker said.

“Solar is a larger capital cost, probably double what we’d put into an efficiency house.”

Walker advised there are many things that can be done with little money, like being smart about where the water heater is placed in the house. Most people will want to place it in a hidden location, like in a corner of the house, but a more energy-efficient location would be in the middle of the house. By putting it there, it takes less time and energy for hot water to travel to the bathroom and other areas.

“[Green homes] are made for the health of the occupant and the earth.”

Affordable housing communities More than 50 percent of buyers choosing green homes earn less than $75,000 a year, and 30 percent earn less than $50,000, according to a recent survey. Affordable housing communities using low-toxic materials, energy-efficient appliances and alternative energy methods are popping up all over the country.

Casa Feliz Apartments in San Jose, Calif., is a new complex offering 60 apartments to low-income individuals and families earning $8,352 to $26,005 per year.

In New York City, Castle Gardens apartments opened to much fanfare last fall. The 110,000-square-foot building provides 114

10

greenliving az | February 2011

apartments to the homeless, formerly incarcerated individuals and low-income families from the local community. The Harlem complex features rainwater collection, aluminum solar shades to block the intense summer sun, and a silent vent that moves fresh air through the tops of windows. The LEED-certified building also uses energy-efficient appliances and lighting, green paints and sealants, and a rooftop garden.

Is affordable, green housing the next big thing? Ball, for one, believes affordable housing can help promote sustainable building practices. greenlivingaz.com

BY KRISTI EATON

A

ccording to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. Heart disease includes a myriad of conditions like heart attacks, congenital heart disease and congestive heart failure, and kills more than 600,000 Americans each year.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Arizonans, with one out of every four residents dying from it, according to the CDC. In today’s technology-driven world, it’s easier than ever for someone to find out whether they are at risk for heart disease.

Genetic testing is the latest scientific development used to test for cardiovascular disease and heart attacks.

“Scientists believe cardiovascular disease is related 50 percent to genetics and 50 percent to environment; because of that, we have now started genetic testing,” said Dr. Nabil Dib, director of Cardiovascular Research at Mercy Gilbert and Chandler Regional Medical Centers (CHW). “We are studying the connection between the gene and the environment to predict coronary artery disease even in patients where there is not a risk for coronary artery disease.”

Dib believes personalizing the medicine to the patient using genetic testing will be common practice in the future. “If we know who will develop the disease and who won’t, we can tailor the lifestyle, such as diet and exercise,” he said.

KNOW YOUR NUMBERS Dr. Richard R. Heuser, a cardiologist at Phoenix Heart Center and member of American Heart Association’s Phoenix chapter board of directors, said it’s imperative that people know their cholesterol and blood pressure numbers and take care of them if they are too high. “If it is very high, you can take care of it with diet and exercise; if you can’t take care of it with diet and exercise, we put [patients] on medications,” Heuser said.

However, sometimes people’s good intentions backfire because they increase the amount of food they eat after exercising, Heuser said.

“People need to follow a low-carb, low-fat diet,” Heuser said.

“Exercise in general should be a minimum of 50 minutes five to six times a week for a healthy lifestyle.”

12 greenliving az | February 2011

Heuser recommends taking a multi-vitamin and fish oil, both of which contain Omega-3 fatty acids found to reduce the risk of heart attack and coronary heart disease. Adding bran to the diet is another natural food believed to help lower cholesterol levels.

Including vegetables in your diet is an easy way to improve your heart health, said Dr. Laurie Teitelman, a New York-based naturopathic doctor. “[Vegetables] are a great source of fiber and packed with calcium, magnesium and antioxidants, which are all protective for the cardiovascular system,” Teitelman said.

got garlic?

[Garlic] has been clinically shown to be of use in patients with mild to high blood pressure,” Teitelman said. “This powerful, natural antimicrobial agent also works to thin and reduce the clotting ability of the blood.”

Garlic, an Italian food staple, has also been shown in numerous studies to reduce blood pressure levels. “Yes, plain old garlic, either fresh, cooked into your foods or in supplement form, has been clinically shown to be of use in patients with mild to high blood pressure,” Teitelman said. “This powerful, natural antimicrobial agent also works to thin and reduce the clotting ability of the blood.”

Heuser said he pushes patients to try natural methods before taking medications to lower cholesterol. “Unfortunately, the biggest reduction in cardiovascular disease has to do with medications called ‘statins,’” Heuser said. “They have had a huge impact, but there are some natural things to do to lower cholesterol.”

“Statins” (also referred to as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) are a class of drugs that lower the level of production of cholesterol by the liver. According to Teitelman, the ideal blood pressure should be 120/80. Anything above that is too high. The top number, or systolic number, represents the pressure generated when the heart beats. The bottom number, or diastolic number, represents the pressure in the vessels as the heart relaxes in order to refill itself. If the systolic number rises above 140 or if the diastolic number remains above 90 for two or more doctor visits, this is considered too high, she said. “Anywhere in between this greenlivingaz.com

range is considered pre-hypertension, which puts you at higher risk of developing hypertension,” she added.

BEATING ANXIETY

National Wear Red Day Friday, February 4

Anxiety disorders are associated with many different physical illnesses that can affect one’s overall quality of life, Teitelman said. People who experience anxiety may be more likely to experience heart disease, including elevated blood pressure and cholesterol. When an individual experiences anxiety, cortisol, a stress hormone, is released. According to the Mayo Clinic, cortisol increases your heart rate and places stress on the body’s blood vessel walls.

Join the American Heart Association to

There are many easy anxiety relievers. One of Teitelman’s favorite anti-anxiety techniques is deep breathing. The American Heart Association (AHA) states that regular exercise can decrease stress levels, feelings of depression and blood pressure. Laughter can also help relieve anxious feelings. According to the AHA, laughing quickens your pulse rate, which circulates more blood through the body and increases oxygen intake, thereby promoting relaxation.

an event at your work, school or local

promote awareness about the No. 1 killer of women – heart disease. As part of its Go Red™ for women campaign, National Wear Red Day gives everyone a chance to show support for women with heart disease. Simply wear red or help organize organization. Funds raised during the Go Red for women campaign benefit the American Heart Association and help support lifesaving educational programs and the development of new treatments to fight heart disease.

For more information about the Go Red for

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Arizonans, with one out of every four residents dying from it!

Women campaign and National Wear Red Day, please visit goredforwomen.org.

SOURCES AmericanHeart.org DrLaurieND.com heartsciencescenter.com mayoclinic.com phoenixheartcenter.com

greenlivingaz.com

February 2011 | greenliving az 13

Health & Wellness

The 7 Laws

of Enlightened Relationships

BY DAVID SIMON, M.D.

M

ost people envision an ideal intimate relationship based on shared interests, open communication, mutual nurturing and passion. When an individual perceives they are unable to create this level of emotional connection, the immediate thought is to work harder to create a “serious” relationship. It has been my experience, however, that lighthearted relationships are generally more desirable and longer-lasting.

Although there’s no proven formula that applies to all relationships, embracing a few key principles in your heart could reduce conflict and enhance the flow of love. These seven “laws” can be applied to friendships and business relationships, as well as with families, marriages and intimate partnerships.

1 | My relationships are based on equality Relationships based upon inequality may survive, but will never thrive. Love is the unity that comes from seeing yourself in another and the other in you. Despite inevitable differences in finances, education, physical beauty or IQ, your deep and unassailable inner dialogue must be, “I am not above you or beneath you. We are different expressions of the same underlying being and are therefore of equal value.”

2 | My relationships are mirrors of myself If there is discord in a relationship, ask yourself, “How might I be contributing to the problems?” Before blaming the other person, search your heart and see what you might be able to think, say, or do differently to shift dynamics. For example, if you’re seeking more attention, maybe start by being more attentive. If you’re seeking more affection, start by being more affectionate.

Rather than becoming frustrated with your inability to change someone else, the act of viewing others as mirrors of yourself empowers you to change someone who you have ultimate control over – you!

3 | My relationships have room for change Although hurled as an accusation, it’s not uncommon for people to say to their partner, “You’re not the person I married.” For that person, it’s a statement of reality. The river of change carries everyone along, and two individuals won’t necessarily change in the same way at the same pace.

Instead, look for ways that your relationship can accommodate and celebrate life’s inevitable changes while seeking to maintain the connection and commitment that transcends the field of change.

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4 | In my relationships, I let the past be past In every relationship, people can experience conflicts or difficulties that leave a residue of resentment. These remnants of past battles are often used as a baseline for the next argument.

Carrying the past into the present escalates conflict and tension but rarely helps us obtain our needs. Make a commitment to let the past be the past. Resist bringing up past transgressions and be present when talking through your current situation.

5 | In my relationships, I choose being happy over being right Winning an argument can be exhilarating; however, if you seek to win an argument, ultimately someone loses – sometimes it might be you. Truthfully, this “must be right” approach does not translate to loving. The alternative is to look beyond obvious differences and seek common ground. Consider your mate’s position and work toward a similar level of compromise.

6 | I nurture my relationships with attention, affection, appreciation and time Wherever we focus our attention, it grows stronger in our lives. Therefore, if you want a relationship to flourish, you must be willing to nurture it with abundant attention, affection, appreciation and time. We demonstrate our priorities by the abundance of vital ingredients we are willing to give to the relationship.

7 | In my relationships, I am prepared to communicate my expectations The more you are able to consciously communicate your expectations, the more likely you are to create a healthy and evolving bond. If you feel uncomfortable because you’re not receiving a good return on your emotional investment, ask yourself what you need that you’re not getting. Then express your needs in ways that maximize the probability of working together to obtain them. Remember that you will have to listen to what your mate requires and be willing to negotiate.

Commit to the power of love and don’t allow the accumulation of toxic emotions to limit your heart. Instead, keep your sights on being the loving individual you can and deserve to be. If you listen to the wisdom of your heart, it will guide you into higher expressions of love.

David Simon, M.D., is a mind-body healing expert, best-selling author and co-founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing. Located in Carlsbad, California, the Center offers many events and workshops focused on physical health, emotional well-being and spiritual awakening. Learn more at chopra.com or call 1-888-736-6895.

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Health & Wellness

F.I.G.H.T. For Your Health

“H” is for Heavy Metals and Hormones Nearly everyone on the planet has heavy metals in their body. Bone levels of lead today are more than 1,000 times greater than just 400 years ago.

Mercury toxicity from vaccines and amalgam fillings have been linked to autism and other neurological disorders.

Evidence suggests that heavy metal exposure is linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Current reports indicate that one in two people will develop the disease by age 80.

BY DR. GARRY F. GORDON, MD, DO, MD(H)

Heavy metal exposure is unavoidable Emissions from coal burning in China blanket the United States with lead, mercury and cadmium. In San Francisco, 30 percent of one’s mercury exposure comes from breathing the air. In the midwestern United States, crop losses of wheat, corn, soybeans and peanuts total in excess of $5 billion per year, due to damage from acid rain, heavy metal particulates and other toxic substances. Mercury has been found in every bird tested on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, at elevations of 8,000 to 10,000 feet.

Lead is also commonly found in cosmetics, toothpaste, water and snow. Mercury exists in many adhesives, Preparation H, psoriasis ointments, contact lens solution, vaginal lubricants, drinking water, fish, dental amalgams and tattoo dye. Arsenic, which may be associated with Type 2 diabetes, is commonly found in chicken meat due to arsenic-based additives in chicken feed. Aluminum is present in many antiperspirants and has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Cadmium is found in cigarette smoke, processed meats and instant coffee.

There is NO SAFE level of lead or mercury Toxic lead exposure suppresses the immune system. Almost every cause of death can be tied to the level of lead in the body.

Children are already heavy metal toxic at birth. As laboratory tests commissioned by The Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org) have shown, umbilical cord blood contains over 200 toxins and twice the level of mercury than found in the mother.

High levels of lead have been associated with aggressive behavior in children and high blood pressure in adults. Men with high levels of lead in their bones are six times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease. A 2004 study associated lead exposure with age-related cataracts in men and provides proof that bone lead levels are adversely affecting multiple parts of the body.

Mercury can be toxic to the kidneys and may be a factor in kidney failure. Exposure may result in neurological symptoms such as tremors, loss of balance, impaired hearing and headaches.

Other symptoms might include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gum disease and many more.

16 greenliving az | February 2011

Even more frightening is the synergistic effect when both lead and mercury are present together that results in them being more toxic than when either exists alone.

Heavy metal detoxification must be a life long focus Our levels of heavy metals and other toxins are directly correlated to the body burden of infection that we carry within us. The more we can reduce our internal toxicity and improve our terrain, the less we will struggle with chronic infections and disease.

Detoxification does not occur overnight. It takes nearly 15 years for the bones to remodel, and there is no faster way to get lead out of the bones at this time. While IV chelation therapy may have the ability to lower heavy metals that are readily accessible in the body, it is not an ideal treatment option for chronic heavy metal toxicity. It may, in the short term, lower the body burden, but once the IV therapy is discontinued, heavy metals from deeper stores in the body, such as the bones, will reemerge. Additionally, as we are continually exposed to heavy metals from our environment, the only way to successfully address chronic heavy metal toxicity in the long term is to detoxify daily.

In my F.I.G.H.T. program, I have developed a number of strategies for supporting the body’s ability to detoxify from heavy metals. These include: • Beyond Chelation Improved (BCI) – consisting of a packet of nine pills taken once or twice daily. This packet provides tablets which provide foundational nutrient and mineral support paired together to detoxify the body and prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other serious conditions.

• Essential Daily Defense – containing calcium EDTA, garlic, malic acid and other detoxifying nutrients. These can be taken separately or for increased detoxification.

• ACZ nano – a liquid zeolite that has the ability to attract and capture numerous toxins like mercury and lead.

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Health & Wellness • ZeoGold – a more powerful zeolite than ACZ nano that also helps increase the body’s level of glutathione, which is the master antioxidant and is critical in detoxification.

• Beyond Fiber – providing necessary prebiotic inulin that supports the gastrointestinal tract during detoxification and helps balance beneficial flora in the gut.

• EZ Defense Gum – may bind heavy metals released from amalgam fillings as a result of chewing.

• Beyond Clean – a gentle bath powder containing EDTA that helps to detoxify heavy metals through the skin.

• Exercise/Sweating – sauna therapy can be profound in assisting the body in the detoxification of heavy metals, chemicals and other environmental toxins.

For more in-depth information about heavy metal toxicity and how to detox using the F.I.G.H.T. For Your Health Program, please visit Gordon Research Institute online at www.gordonresearch.com.

SOURCES Alzheimer’s Association Department of Preventative Medicine and Community Health & Department of Pediatrics, New Jersey Medical School (UMDNJ) Health News JAMA NASA news release National Geographic Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health

Dr. Gordon received his Doctor of Osteopathy in 1958 from the Chicago College of Osteopathy in Illinois. He received his honorary MD degree from the University of California Irvine in 1962, and his Radiology Residency from Mt. Zion in San Francisco, California, in 1964.

Serving as Medical Director and full-time consultant for Longevity Plus, LLC for over 12 years, Dr. Gordon is responsible for the formulation and design of some of the most effective, all-natural nutritional supplements and protocols that aid in the treatment of most modern health conditions and concerns such as Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, hormonal disorders and osteoporosis.

Dr. Gordon has served as board member of Arizona Homeopathic Medical Examiners for over 10 years, and is co-founder of the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM). He is president of Gordon Research Institute (GRI). His findings represent over 40 years of scientific and clinical research. He is the founder and president of F.A.C.T. (Forum on Anti-Aging and Chelation Therapy), which serves as a “Free School” of Advanced Medicine for Health Professionals Institute and houses over 2,600 members. For more information about Dr. Garry Gordon and GRI, please visit our website at greenlivingaz.com and gordonresearch.com.

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February 2011 | greenliving az 17

Health & Wellness

BY BARBI WALKER

Improving Your Circulatory System

F

ebruary is synonymous with the heart – everywhere you turn in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, you will find much to remind you of the organ that can make you weak in the knees. Candy hearts, heart-shaped chocolate boxes, Valentine’s cards – with all of the visual reminders, February is the perfect time to think about your heart’s health status.

Remember, the heart doesn’t work alone – it needs the rest of the circulatory system to bring it all together. The circulatory system isn’t just the heart and lungs; it also includes the system of veins and arteries that deliver oxygen and nutrients to all of your body’s vital organs. The adult circulatory system carries roughly five liters of blood throughout the body and is made up of the cardiovascular (heart and lungs) system and the systemic (lymphatic) system. According to the Franklin Institute’s website, all parts must work well on their own in order for them to work well together.

Phoenix-based registered dietitian, Maya Nahra, RD, LD, agrees and explains that keeping the entire circulatory system healthy is key to overall health. “Oxygen and nutrition are carried by blood, and the circulation system delivers these to the heart and distributes nutrients to the body,” Nahra said.

Poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking are all well-known culprits for harming the circulatory system, but Nahra sees overconsumption of processed foods to be just as harmful to the circulatory system, and the body as a whole.

“Too much processed foods wear down the arteries because your body sees them as a non-food item,” she said.

Healthy circulation is needed to get nutrients to the right place, as well as disposing of the “garbage” or waste products from the blood. In “YOU: The Owner’s Manual: An Insider’s Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger” by doctors Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen, the authors point out that arterial aging, or damaged arteries, slows down your memory and your sex life, and hampers the proper function of your other organs. Having an unhealthy circulatory system causes your entire body to slow down.

According to Oz and Roizen, most Americans (and Asians and Europeans, for that matter) can expect at least a 50 percent reduction in the quality of their life due to arterial disease.

Taking time to get a massage can also help with circulation, lymphatic drainage, and relaxation. “Most of my clients see massage as part of their healthcare,” says Amy Shapiro, a massage therapist and yoga teacher, who has been in the health and wellness industry for over two decades. The long-term health benefits of massage come from getting them regularly, not the once or twice-a-year treat, Shapiro adds.

Nahra suggests improving your circulation by including the following four nutrients in your regular diet: Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin B3 and lycopene.

Vitamin E can be found in pumpkin seeds, olive oil and almonds. This vitamin reduces blood’s “stickiness,” which makes it less likely to attach to the arterial walls and create plaque buildup.

capillary walls, making them stronger and more resistant to damage.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), flavonoids have antioxidative and antimicrobial effects; they may also play a role in preventing cancer and maintaining overall heart health.

Vitamin B3, also known as niacin, is effective in improving circulation and reducing cholesterol levels in the blood. The University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) lists beets, brewer’s yeast, fish, salmon, tuna, sunflower seeds, and peanuts as the best dietary source for this vitamin.

Nahra adds that whole grains, not refined grains like those in white bread, are good sources as well.

Lycopene is found in watermelon and tomatoes. Nahra explains that lycopene and Vitamin E help prevent plaque buildup on the arterial walls.

By making these nutrients a priority in your daily diet and exercising at least 30 minutes three times a week, you can ensure your circulatory system is working well.

Let the month of the heart be about everything that makes it flutter, from vitamins to romance – and enjoy the chocolate too!

SOURCES awakenedreconnection.com, fi.edu, Maya E. Nahra, RD, LD, umm.edu You, The Owner’s Manual. Roizen, Dr. Michael F., and Oz, Dr. Mehmet C. Barbi Walker is a freelance writer and an award-winning journalist.

Barbi lives in Phoenix with her husband and young son.

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Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is found in citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit, as well as cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, dark green vegetables, strawberries and mangos. The flavonoids in these foods strengthen

18 greenliving az | February 2011

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Health & Wellness

Chocolate

BY ABIGAIL GILMORE

C

hocolate is a guilty pleasure for many, but depending on what type you prefer, you may not have to feel guilty at all.

Believe it or not, certain kinds of chocolate actually offer some health benefits! But be wary, as holistic nutritionist and owner of Awakened Reconnection, Maya E. Nahra, RD, LD said, “All chocolate is not created equal.”

There is a lot of processing involved in the production of chocolate before you get your hands on it, Nahra said, as pure chocolate is very pungent in taste. “The processing includes fermentation, alkalization, roasting and more, all of which deplete the flavonol content where the main health benefits [and antioxidants] of chocolate are found,” she said. “For example, cocoa powder that has not undergone Dutch processing [cocoa that is treated with an alkali to neutralize its natural acidity] is less processed and therefore retains more of its flavonol content.”

For you chocolate lovers, dark chocolate has been indicated to be healthier for you than milk chocolate, as sugars and fats are added to milk chocolate during the process. However, even dark chocolate can be over-processed. “As manufacturers are seeking out ways to keep processing to a minimum, it is always best to be aware of the source and processing [of] your chocolate bar,” Nahra said.

Health benefits Eating dark chocolate can help you stay healthy, but it is important to remember what element of the chocolate is truly helping you: the cocoa.

Naturopathic Doctor Wendy Wells added, “The best chocolate to eat would be the pure raw plant ‘cacao.’ This is unprocessed and has the highest quantity of flavonoids. However, the taste is quite bitter.”

“Cocoa seeds found within pods of the cacoa tree contain very high amounts of antioxidants called flavonols, which help protect plants by shielding them from environmental toxins and helping repair damage. In our body, they are especially helpful in protecting the blood vessel linings and may also help prevent high blood pressure,” Nahra said.

20 greenliving az | February 2011

Additionally, chocolate can help keep us in overall good health.

“Eating chocolate releases endorphins and serotonin from the brain; both of these contribute to a sense of ‘well-being,’” Wells said. “Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, both of which are stimulants and can help us focus. Chocolate also contains anandamide, which opens up our nerve cell channels in the brain in our ‘feel good’ centers.”

What about the fat?

Though chocolate does have health benefiting qualities, it does indeed contain fats, but not all of those fats are bad for you, said Doctor Katka Novakova of Rejuvena Health & Aesthetics.

“In our society, fat has been given a very bad name and so automatically everything with fat is bad for us,” Novakova said.

“That is not the case. Fats are actually an essential part of our diet.”

Wells recommends limiting chocolate intake to about 3.5 ounces a day to reap the health benefits while managing your waistline.

Nahra added, “Eating a piece or two a day never

hurt anyone!”

The Healthy Guilty Pleasure SOURCES awakenedreconnection.com Doctor Katka Novakova of Rejuvena Health & Aesthetics Doctor Wendy Wells of Wellsource Naturopathic Center Maya E. Nahra, RD, LD of Awakened Reconnection

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love Thy Neighbor Health & Wellness

BY SARAH MCLEAN

I

As you love yourself

t’s that time of year. Time to be in love, fall in love, and appreciate the love that exists in your life. I am reminded of the “Love thy neighbor as thyself” commandment.

Being kind and generous to others is rewarding. It’s even said in the yoga tradition that the path of service, or karma yoga, can lead to enlightenment.

Let’s look at this commandment more closely: Love thy neighbor as thyself. Perhaps before we can give love, we have to start with loving ourselves. How do you love yourself?

When people come to me to learn meditation, I sometimes ask them to review how they treat themselves. I don’t mean buying a new outfit or ice cream, I mean actually being kind and paying attention to oneself. Maybe you’ve forgotten your own inner loveliness. Did you know that you are wise, you are kind, you are aware, and you know what is good for you on a very basic level. Being unkind to ourselves can simply manifest itself in old habits or thoughts. It might come up that someone stays in a relationship that isn’t nourishing, or says nasty things to themselves when they look in the mirror, or doesn’t take good care of their body or ignores their own inner wisdom. We need

to be aware that the way we treat ourselves can affect everything we say or the way we behave.

I’ve written about really listening to yourself, discovering your intuition, asking yourself what you really want, living in tune with nature, beginning your meditation practice and remembering to be grateful. After all that, it all comes down to loving one’s self – which is often more difficult than it sounds, and it takes practice.

There is a Buddhist meditation practice known as “Loving Kindness.” It has the immediate benefit of sweetening and changing habituated negative patterns of mind. In this simple practice, one begins with truly experiencing love for themselves, and from there, one meditates on kindness to others.

To begin: • • • • • • • • •

Sit down and relax your body. Give yourself three slow, deep breaths through your nose and then let your breath return to its natural rhythm.

Bring your attention to your heart center. Gently place your hand there if you prefer.

Spend time cultivating a warm and gentle feeling about yourself.

With sincerity and kindness, silently say some sweet intentions to yourself about yourself. (See some examples below).

Notice how your heart and mind respond. There is no need to hurry. This is your time.

Experience your heart slowly fill with the warmth and bliss of your own loving intention.

After you give yourself attention, you can then send intentions for all beings to be well and free from suffering.

Keep your eyes closed for a few minutes and enjoy your state of being.

Take three breaths through your nose, deeper than normal, and come back to yourself and your environment.

Here are some intentions I use. Choose one that resonates with you, or come up with your own: • May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be peaceful and at ease. May I be free from suffering.

• I am safe, I am cared for, I am loved, and all is well.

• May I become an intimate, kind and friendly force for myself and all of life.

• May I be completely present in my own life.

• May I know and fully experience the Divine.

• I accept myself exactly as I am and exactly as I am not.

• May I remember the universal kindness surrounding me at every moment.

• There is no one on Earth who is more deserving of my love than me.

• May I be on my own side and not betray myself.

The more I practice Loving Kindness, the more I learn to know myself as a person capable of warmth, sweetness, love and a peaceful response to life. I trust myself more and have more to give. Each act of kindness to others then becomes an act of gentleness to myself and to my own spirit.

Featured in the New York Times, Sarah is known as the “face of mainstream meditation.” Sarah is a founding director of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing and the director of the Sedona Meditation Training Company.

She has been teaching mind-body health for 17 years, and is a sought-after inspirational speaker on meditation, self-discovery and mind-body health. For more information, visit www.sedonameditation.com.

22 greenliving az | February 2011

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Special Advertisement

“From your YARD to your YARD” Green Organic Composting in the Southwest Do you know where your yard clippings go after you put them in the green barrel? What about your bushes and tree trimmings after your landscaper hauls them away?

Thanks to a local company, GRO-WELL Brands, the chances are good that they will end up back in your yard as nutrient rich compost, or in your flower beds or garden as a soil or mulch with all the organic nutrients needed to grow beautiful plants. In fact, local professional wholesale nurseries use products from GRO-WELL Brands to produce plants you buy at your local lawn and garden retailers.

GRO-WELL Brands is the largest company in the Southwest specializing in the production of natural and organic products.

For more than 40 years, GRO-WELL, also known as Western Organics, has been dedicated to researching and developing green organic recycling processes. GRO-WELL is inspired by nature and devoted to creating a better environment using renewable natural resources. Operating from advanced production facilities in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Idaho and California, GRO-WELL owns some of the most recognizable brands in the all-natural and organic lawn and garden industry.

Nature’s Way, GardenTime, GRO-WELL Soil, OMNI and Organo are just a few of its brands based on locally recycled green organics. These products have a naturally low carbon footprint because they are sourced, manufactured and distributed in the communities that produce them. Further, by saving green organics from anaerobic decay in landfills, GRO-WELL reduces the production of potent greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide.

GRO-WELL and its recycling service provide a great benefit to the environment. Much of the biodegradable waste in the United States, grass clippings, leafs, and branches, are disposed of in landfill sites rather than green organic recycling or composting. It fills up valuable landfill space, and releases toxic gases like methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas. Green Organic recycling removes these risks and returns the organic material to the earth in the form of a valuable and nutritious material.

GRO-WELL has partnered with the City of Phoenix and the Salt River Indian Community to divert over 75,000 tons of green organic material annually from the landfill to their facility in South Phoenix for composting. This partnership continues to turn what some would call “waste” into a beneficial product for Arizona homeowners and businesses. This product finds its way into many of the products you see at retail garden centers throughout the state.

By directing production of green organic material into local products, native-adapted plants are able to grow in soil derived from its own natural nutrients, just as nature would have it. Many of the local professional wholesale nurseries throughout the region have recognized this and use these products in their growing yards.

As these plants are sold to consumers at retail stores, homeowners can take them home and put them into a soil the plant is already adapted to growing in. It is a win, win situation for all involved, including the plant! Next time you are at a store and buy a bag of Nature’s Way, GardenTime, or GRO-WELL Soil to plant your flowers in, it may have come from your own backyard!

Green Kids

W

hen you exercise, it takes your blood about 10 seconds to get from your heart to your big toe and back. A kid’s heart pushes blood through around 60,000 miles of blood vessels – that’s long enough to circle the Earth two and a half times!

Your heart will beat about 100,000 times in one day and 30 million times in one year.

On average, the human heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times in one’s lifetime.

When you squeeze a tennis ball, you use about the same amount of force your heart uses to pump blood throughout the body. Even when you rest, your heart works twice as hard as your leg muscles when you sprint.

The “lub-DUB, lub-DUB” sound your heart makes comes from heart’s valves opening and closing.

Place two fingers at the pulse points on your neck or wrists. The pulse you feel is actually blood stopping and starting as it moves through your arteries. As a kid, your pulse could range from 90 to 120 beats per minute. As an adult, your pulse will slow to around 72 beats per minute.

Your heart is located in your chest in between your lungs and is protected by your ribcage.

Cardiology is the study of the human heart and its various disorders.

The heart has four chambers: the left and right atriums, and the left and right ventricles. They allow blood to flow in and out of the heart.

SOURCES nationalgeographic.com pbs.org sciencekids.co.nz

Childhood Obesity is a Family Matter

BY AIMEE WELCH

I

n an age when bikes and baseball gloves compete with video games and computers for our children’s time, and busy parents feel forced to rely on drive-through windows, keeping kids healthy and fit isn’t easy.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than 30 percent of today’s kids are overweight, and nearly 17 percent are obese. These alarming statistics prompted pediatricians to implement regular body mass index (BMI) assessments to patients as young as 2 years old, and proactively work toward solutions for at-risk children.

Most obesity cases are triggered by unhealthy but controllable behaviors and can lead to social challenges and health problems like Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which often follow children throughout adulthood.

Tanya L. Horner, M.D, F.A.A.P. from Step By Step Pediatrics in Chandler addresses childhood weight concerns as a family issue, encouraging parents to purchase only healthy foods and drinks, make healthy choices and be active with their children. “I explain that a healthy lifestyle takes work, and everyone in the family needs to work together to make it effective,” Horner said.

So dig out the baseball gloves, overhaul your grocery list and walk the walk. Your kids will follow!

How Pediatricians Determine Obesity Body mass index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person’s weight and height. BMI is a reliable indicator of body fatness for most children and teens, and is used as a screening tool to identify possible weight problems for children.

1. Underweight: BMI below the 5th percentile 2. Normal weight: BMI at the 5th and less than the 85th percentile 3. Overweight: BMI at the 85th and below 95th percentile 4. Obese: BMI at or above 95th percentile SOURCE cdc.gov

SOURCES aap.org stepbysteppediatrics.com

24 greenliving az | February 2011

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Green Kids

Book Review Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters WRITTEN BY BARACK OBAMA ILLUSTRATED BY LOREN LONG REVIEWED BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER Your parents and grandparents want you to remember that you’re a wonderful kid and that they’re happy to see you when you walk into a room. They hope you know they’re really proud of you and that you’re loved very much.

As you’ll see in the new book “Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters” by Barack Obama, illustrated by Loren Long, your parents and grandparents also have a lot of bigger ideas for you too.

If you’re smart – and you know you are – your parents want you to be like Albert Einstein, who changed the world with his ideas about energy and light. When you’re brave, they want you to remember Jackie Robinson, who

opened doors and showed everyone that dreams really can happen.

Do you know how to honor others’ sacrifices? Then your grandparents want you to be like a woman named Maya Lin, who created the Vietnam Veterans Memorial so we all can remember soldiers in war. She created the Civil Rights Memorial, too, so we can recognize those who gave their lives for equality – like Martin Luther King Jr., who never gave up. Your parents and grandparents want you to grow up to be someone great, and that’s going to be easy because all these people and their unique talents are already a part of you. It’s true, because you are the future.

“Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters” simply oozes with encouragement. Author and President Barack Obama has written a love letter not only to daughters Malia and Sasha, but to all children.

Yes, Obama’s story is one that children will want to hear repeatedly, but the appeal for me (and, I suspect, anyone under age 5) is the artwork.

Award-winning illustrator Loren Long paints life into Obama’s words, and though parents will cherish the text, kids will love “reading” the pictures.

Of course you have dreams for your kids. “Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters” will reveal a few.

Valentine’s Mosaic Heart

Poster board Construction paper Old magazines or catalogs Scissors DesigneD by AMAnDA ForMAro Glue stick

Base Cut a piece of poster board to the size you want to work with. Draw a heart near the center of your poster board. To get a perfect heart, fold a piece of paper in half lengthwise, then cut it out.

Unfold, and you will have the perfect heart! Trace around your pattern with a pencil. Draw four lines from the edge of the heart extended outward to the edge of the poster board to divide the background into sections.

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Have you seen me?

I’m a common backyard bird and am native to Arizona.

I like to sing and am very vocal.

I build my nest in thorny bushes.

I have a gray body and a yellow or orange face.

I’m a verdin!

Facts:

• Verdins eat small insects and nectar.

• They can build their nests in developed areas as long as there are enough plants there.

• Verdin populations have declined in southern Arizona due to habitat loss and urbanization.

• Since 1967, the verdin population in Arizona has declined by 65%.

You may have seen me on a desert hike, or even in your own backyard! To learn more about ways to protect me and other Arizona birds, please visit the Audubon Arizona at az.audubon.org.

SOURCES Audubon Arizona Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Materials:

Instructions:

VERDIN

Photography by Cindy Marple

Amanda is a mother of four and the craft expert for Disney’s Kaboose.com. Find more crafts, recipes and activities at craftsbyamanda.com.

Prep Tear out magazine or catalog pages that have mostly color and not much text. (Laundry and cereal ads are usually great for this!) Tear pages into small squares and keep colors separated.

Gluing Begin with background colors first. Using the glue stick, apply squares in a tile fashion in one of the quartered sections of the background. Remember, the beauty of this project is that perfection is not required! Once the background colors are in place, fill in your heart with red squares.

Have a fun family craft to share? send it to us at info@greenlivingaz.com.

Framing To make the frame, cut four 1-inch wide strips of construction paper in your choice of colors.

For the Younger Set For younger children, it is not necessary or recommended to tear pieces so small. Allow children to tear pieces however they like (lengths, clumps, blobs) and let them at it! Larger pieces are much easier to manipulate for smaller fingers and attention spans!

February 2011 | greenliving az 25

Simplify

From

to Glam

Jelly is not just for toast anymore. Below are some creative ways to reuse your leftover jam and jelly jars.

BY KELSEY MAKINGS

Kitchen

Use the jars to store food like cereal, nuts, macaroni, flour and spices. You can also use them to hold kitchen utensils, or even use them as cups.

Bathroom

Jars are a great place to give little items a designated space. Use them in the bathroom to stash accessories like hair ties, clips and pins or other items like cotton balls, cotton swabs and makeup supplies. Jars also make great holders for combs and brushes, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Office

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Utilize jars as storage space for office supplies such as pens, pencils or rulers. They are also great for smaller items such as paper clips, rubber bands and safety pins. You can even fill the jars with glass rocks and use them as bookends on your desk!

Craft Room

Never lose your buttons, stickers, brushes or yarn again and keep those delicate items in your jar!

Bedroom

Got change? Empty your change out of your pockets or purse until you can cash your stash!

Garage

Have some honey-dos? Keeping designated jars in the garage or utility room is a great way to organize items like nails, screws and bolts.

Home Decor

For aesthetics, paint your jar, or add stickers and ribbon for some flair then add wild flowers. For a special candleholder, fill the empty jar with sand or salt and add a candlestick.

Add small items like buttons or seashells for added pizzazz.

480.516.3099

pjw1616@hotmail.com www.PattyWilsonFitness.com Scottsdale, AZ

Photography by Branden Eastwood

26 greenliving az | February 2011

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Everyday Uses

Great Ways to

Give

Whether donating time, belongings, financial contributions or lending a helpful hand, there is a certain sense of pride knowing you are making a difference.

While giving back is undoubtedly rewarding, it raises the question, “Where is my stuff going?” Below are simple ways to take unneeded items and turn them into something useful.

BY KELSEY MAKINGS

Old Sneakers:

Athletic shoes can go from running on the track to becoming the track itself. Nike’s “Reuse-AShoe” program breaks down donated shoes into three parts, which are then used to create various sports playing fields.

The rubber, made from the shoe’s outsole, is used for tracks, interlocking gym flooring tiles, playground surfacing, and even new Nike shoes and accessories. The foam from the shoe’s midsole is used as cushion for outdoor basketball and tennis courts, and the fiber from the upper part of the shoe is used to make cushioning pads for indoor synthetic and wood courts.

Electronics: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, only 15 to 20 percent of retired personal computers, TVs, cell phones and other electronic devices are recycled in the U.S. If you have outdated, yet still usable electronics, donate them to those in need. “Cell Phones for Soldiers” collects phones and sends them to troops so they can call home. “Phones for Life” distributes donated cell phones to victims of domestic violence, adults with disabilities and senior citizens. “Digital Links” provides computers to schools, hospitals and NGOs across Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Students for Recycling Used Technology (AZ StRUT), a local company, accepts and refurbishes aging or broken computer or electronic equipment. AZ StRUT donates the items to high schools around the Valley and local non-profit organizations.

Furniture:

The “Welcome to America Project” collects high-quality furniture and household items from donors throughout the Phoenix area, and delivers them every Saturday to refugee families arriving from war-torn and oppressed countries worldwide. Not only will these families benefit, but donating items may qualify for a dollarfor-dollar tax credit on your Arizona state taxes. Better yet, it doesn’t compete with school tax credits.

Food: Stonyfield Farms yogurt has partnered with Recycline, a company that makes Preserve™ brand toothbrushes, razors and plastic kitchen accessories out of recycled Stonyfield Farms yogurt cups. Then, when you are done with your toothbrush or razors, send them back to Recycline. They provide postage-paid envelopes and will recycle your items into plastic lumber, which is used to make park benches and picnic tables.

SOURCES azstrut.org cellphonesforsoldiers.com digital-links.org nikereuseashoe.com cellphonesforlife.com preserveproducts.com stonyfield.com wtap.com

OrganiCare

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February 2011 | greenliving az 27

a garden for Erik Vocational training for autistic adults

BY TISHIN DONKERSLEY, M.A.

F

or a group of adults with autism, working together to plant a citrus tree is an amazing event. At first glance, the social and communication skills required to work as a group might seem insurmountable for people with autism, a neurological disorder characterized by impairments in socialization and verbal and nonverbal communications. Yet these skills are being demonstrated week after week by participants of Humana GardenWorksSM, a vocational program created by the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) a Phoenix-based organization dedicated to providing a lifetime of support for individuals with autism and their families. Humana GardenWorks got its start in January 2010 with a grant from Humana, Inc.’s Arizona Benefits division.

With more than one million people identified with autism in the U.S. – 80 percent under the age of 22 – the need for job training is critical. Currently, more than 90 percent of people with autism are unemployed.

Humana Gardenworks helps adults with autism gain practical skills that will make them more attractive to potential employers. Participants are immersed in an environment where they learn about gardening, sustainable landscaping and water harvesting, and then develop their skills through practice in the garden at SARRC’s Vocational & Life Skills Academy in Phoenix.

The program also called for the promotion of partnerships with local landscaping and gardening organizations for the purpose gaining training resources and potential job opportunities.

Another goal was to generate public awareness about autism.

“Our vocational programs were developed to address the need for jobs as children with autism become adults,” said SARRC President Jeri Kendle. “GardenWorks is not only a practical job skill development program, it helps assess the interests and abilities of individuals and creates opportunities for personal growth.”

According to Humana GardenWorks program coordinator Brad Herron, a significant effort was made during the development of the program’s curriculum to move beyond the basics of gardening and create a program that met the needs of an Arizona environment and lifestyle.

28 greenliving az | February 2011

“Partnering with AZ Homegrown Solutions and the Watershed Management Group, we developed a curriculum that embraced sustainable landscaping and water management, two important elements to consider in Arizona,” Herron said.

GardenWorks graduate Erik Diehn has utilized his experience to set up a new home herb planter. “The skills I learned in GardenWorks have been quite useful, as my mother is currently away and I am tending to her garden, especially her tomato plant, which has needed a lot of care,” Diehn said.

Beyond practical job skills, participants have developed friendships outside GardenWorks, a sign that the program is working on several levels.

“I see emails exchanged and groups getting together to socialize. That’s amazing progress,” Herron said.

Over the past year, the participants of Humana GardenWorks have planted citrus trees, herbs, melons and all manner of vegetables. More than two dozen adults with autism have graduated from the program since its inception, and more than 75 volunteers have worked side-by-side with participants.

Many of the program’s products, including planters, are available for purchase at the Desert Botanical Garden and Pearson & Company in Scottsdale. The herbs grown in the garden are used in the soups created by CulinaryWorks®, another SARRC vocational program.

GardenWorks will offer landscaping and water harvesting services in 2011 to commercial entities and homeowners.

Working with Watershed Management Group, program participants will build cisterns, capturing more than 80,000 gallons of water. SARRC will become one of the few water harvesting demonstration sites in Arizona.

“Through the program, we hope to provide people with autism the skills they need to start their own businesses, working at a job of their choice, generating an income and having the opportunity to live a full life,” Kendle said.

SOURCES autismcenter.org culinaryworks.org Photography by Brad

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Green Thumb

Gardening is good for the heart and soul

BY DOREEN POLLACK

R

ecent medical studies have documented what backyard enthusiasts have known for years – gardening is good for us.

It’s taken me almost half of my life to discover a fabulous gym right outside my door. I equate turning compost to lifting weights, raking to using a rowing machine and pushing the mower like walking on a treadmill. A gardener’s exercise machines include posthole diggers, shovels, rakes, push mowers and wheelbarrows, and the running track is their yard and garden.

With February being American Heart Month, if you or someone you love is a gardener with a heart condition, consider using these tips to ease back into a hobby you love. Even those with severely restricted activity can still benefit from horticultural activities like flower arranging, taking care of houseplants, or watering outdoor plants with a hose.

Working with the soil and living plants is often very therapeutic and stress-relieving for many people. Each case is individual and I encourage you to please consult with your doctor and do not attempt anything that is against their recommendation.

If you are recovering from a physical condition, here are some tips to return to the hobby you love.

1 Work up to larger activities slowly. Take on each task in smaller chunks.

2 Work at trunk level. Avoid reaching high or bending low, as this requires much more energy. If you must, bend at your

3

4 5

6

knees instead of leaning over at the hips and back with your knees straight.

Sitting requires less effort than standing. Raising garden beds and using containers allows you to work in a sitting position, which will help conserve energy.

Avoid lifting or holding anything for too long. Use a cart or wheelbarrow and ask for help if needed.

Use electric equipment. Electric equipment provides some of the energy needed to get a task done. Consider an electric, selfpropelled mower. Set time limits and pace yourself. Take frequent rests to avoid working too long or too hard.

Consider reading or writing about gardening and sharing your gift with others. Stay part of the community you love. Attend garden club meetings and share your garden stories and knowledge with others.

Stay involved with gardening, even if you can’t do it yourself. Just being out in the garden will make your heart sing. Enjoy the beauty you have created. Ask others for support – you can always supervise!

So get out into the garden, get in touch with nature, and grow your own food and flowers. You will be glad you did!

Doreen Pollack is the owner of Down 2 Earth Gardens, where she provides garden consultations and coaching down2earthgardens.com. Send your gardening questions to greenpanel@greenlivingaz.com.

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Call for information 520.290.8588 February 2011 | greenliving az 29

Pets

How to Keep your

, Dog s

Heart Healthy

BY ABIGAIL GILMORE

K

eeping your dog’s heart healthy is extremely important, and much like humans, one’s heart affects the quality of life. To enhance your dog’s hearthealthy life, follow some of these tips:

Watch what they eat.

Dog owners should watch what and how much they feed their dogs and pay close attention to labels, said Doctor Eva DeCozio-Bush, Medical Director at VCA Apache Junction Animal Hospital. “Unfortunately [the] FDA does not have to approve what goes on pet-food labels,” she said. To be sure you are feeding your dog the right food, DeCozio-Bush suggests contacting the manufacturer directly. “Call an 800 number on the bag and ask where they make their food, who makes the food and where the ingredients are from,” she said.

Exercise together!

Dogs need to get the right amount of exercise to stay fit, and the amount needed will depend on age and breed. “Obviously you don’t want to run a marathon with a Chihuahua!” DeCozio-Bush said. Just make sure it is enough to get your dog’s heart pumping. Regular exercise will not only help keep the weight off, but also improve circulation and oxygen supply. Go to akc.org to learn more about your breed of dog and check with your vet to determine the appropriate amount of exercise.

Regular vet check-ups. DeCozio-Bush said dogs

five years old and younger should have a check-up once a year, but dogs older than five should visit at least twice a year. Breeds with histories of heart problems should visit the vet more often, with a minimum of twice a year. Make sure your vet provides a thorough exam each time since the next visit will be six months later. When heart problems are detected in early stages, vets will be able to have more preventative options and solutions.

Look for red flags. There are a few signs of heart problems in dogs, including lack of energy, weight loss and coughing. “If your dog stops in a middle of a walk and doesn’t want to go any further, that is cause for concern,” DeCozio-Bush said. She also said if your dog coughs a lot, especially over night, you may want to bring your dog to the vet, as excessive coughing will cause the heart to be enlarged.

If your dog stops in “ a middle of a walk and doesn’t want to go any further, that is cause for concern,” exercise, tiredness after only moderate exercise, reduced appetite, and weight loss. In dogs, severe cases of the disease may lead to heart and lung failure, most often recognized by a ‘swollen belly’ caused by accumulation of fluid in the abdomen.” Pet owners can discuss preventative options such as daily and monthly tablets and chewables and monthly topical with their vet. These medications can be effective and interrupt heartworm development before adult worms reach the lungs and cause disease.

Walk, play, fetch - keeping your pup’s heart healthy will extend her long and happy life!

Worms. According to the American Heartworm Society,

clinical signs of heartworm disease may tend to accumulate gradually over a period of months and sometimes years. “In dogs, recently infected animals may exhibit no signs of the disease, while heavily infected animals may eventually show clinical signs, including mild, persistent cough, reluctance to move or

30 greenliving az | February 2011

SOURCES Doctor Eva DeCozio-Bush, Medical Director at VCA Apache Junction Animal Hospital heartwormsociety.org Photography by Ryan Larson

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February 2011

Your conscious life

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The James Learning Center

By CharlIE PoPECk, lEED aP

T

he Highlands Center for Natural History is a vibrant, community-supported center that provides critical environmental education for people of all ages. Located on an 80-acre site in the Prescott National Forest outside of Prescott, and approximately 90 miles north of Phoenix, the Center includes educational programs about many topics, including information about the area’s transition zone between the southern and western Basin and Range deserts and the Colorado Plateau to the north. My favorite part of the Highlands Center was the LEED Gold Certified building at the heart of the development, the James Learning Center.

The James Learning Center is an excellent example of how a building can blend with its surrounding environment. It has many common-sense green building features incorporated into the design, like structural timbers and natural stone walls that were harvested from the surrounding forest. My three favorite design elements are the butterfly roof, constructed wetland and the building’s passive solar design.

Butterfly roof The “Butterfly,” or v-shaped, roof is the most attractive architectural feature of the building. It provides a stunning visual as you approach the structure. What’s really interesting is how the roof’s shape mimics nature. The arrangement and shape resembles that of desert plants that collect rain on their v-shaped leaves, and direct it to their roots. The natural greencolored standing seam metal roof collects and directs nearly every precious drop of rain that falls on it into two systems. On the east side, the storm water is directed into a large funnel and underground pipe, and on the west side, into a local schist rock cistern. Both of these systems slow the flow of water, allowing the soil more time to soak it in and nourish the extensive variety of native and adapted vegetation around the facility.

Constructed wetland The constructed wetland located near a separate restroom facility adds to the Center’s water conservation message. Considering the facility is located far from any city sewage system, a method of treating the blackwater from the restroom building had to be provided. The constructed wetland acts as a treatment facility, duplicating the complex processes that occur in natural wetlands, in which water, plants, animals, microorganisms and the environment interact to improve water quality.

Microorganisms in the wetland’s soil feed and filter the graywater from the restrooms as it moves through a two-pond system. The water then recharges into the wetland, providing nutrients to its array of native plants.

32 greenliving az | February 2011

Passive solar heating and cooling In an effort to save money for heating and cooling purposes, the building was designed to take advantage of Mother Nature’s passive solar resources. The structure is optimally oriented to harvest sunlight, with most of its windows facing south to permit the most efficient heat gain. Clerestory windows are located along the full length of the building, providing more than enough natural light to brighten the gift shop and other interior portions of the building. The stained concrete floors and natural stone interior provide thermal mass that collects heat from the sun during the day and radiates heat back into the building at night.

Passive cooling is provided by large window overhangs that will eventually be covered by native vines that are planted at the base of the windows. Properly place, high-efficiency windows provide natural ventilation and cross-ventilation that provides additional cooling effects throughout the building. Light shelves located over the windows help naturally light the building and provide an enhanced indoor environment for workers and visitors.

Projects like the James Learning Center are key to teaching the general public about the importance of sustainable construction and caring for our environment. Although green building is only a part of the facility’s curriculum, the sustainability information illustrates the importance of building with ecosystems in mind.

For more information about the James Learning Center or the Highlands Center for Natural History, call 928-776-9550 or visit their website at highlandscenter.org.

Charlie Popeck is the president of Green Ideas Sustainability Consultants and is a regular contributor to Green Living AZ Magazine.

Green Ideas specializes in helping design, construction and facility management teams understand and implement building science and sustainability into their projects. Email your questions to Charlie at greenpanel@greenlivingaz.com.

greenlivingaz.com

That Give Back

BY BARBI WALKER

C

orporate community involvement has become so important that it is increasingly woven into the culture of many companies. In fact, hundreds of businesses are incorporating community and charitable work, or corporate social responsibility (CSR), into their mission statements and business strategies.

Corporate social responsibility and corporate success were seen as compatible in an article in the Harvard Business Review back in 2006. The authors, Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer, wrote, “When looked at strategically, corporate social responsibility can become a source of tremendous social progress, as the business applies its considerable resources, expertise and insights to activities that benefit society.”

Five years later, we are seeing how companies took this advice and applied the knowledge. Multiple communities, states and organizations are reaping the benefits of increased corporate involvement. Large and small companies nationwide are giving back to global and local communities, which can create customer loyalty for the informed consumer.

People want to know that the companies they choose are having a positive impact on customers, the community and their employees; and that the company’s values and causes are meaningful and align with theirs, and whether the company is trustworthy and admirable, according to authors of “Consumed, Rethinking Business in the Era of Mindful Spending.”

Starbucks, Microsoft and Ben & Jerry’s are just a few of the multinational conglomerates that give back and have gained customer loyalty through philanthropic work and CSR.

34 greenliving az | February 2011

“Today, brands matter a lot,” said Ann O’Reilly, one of the authors of “Good For Business: The Rise of the Conscious Corporation.”

The implication is that what companies do matters a great deal to their value; one can only reflect on the Gulf oil spill and its impact on British Petroleum’s (BP) brand and value.

On a more positive note, the partnership of Ethos water and Starbucks was formed to provide clean drinking water to children in developing countries, and Microsoft gifts of software, computers and technology advancement are well known and unquestionably important. Equally so are the lesser-known programs by smaller, local companies and organizations.

Liberty Water, a utility company based in Avondale, goes above and beyond in its donation of money, time and resources to the communities it serves.

“Liberty Water created Liberty Days and Liberty Heroes as a way for the employees and company to give back to the communities we serve,” said Greg Sorensen, Vice President of Service Delivery.

The program has been in place since 2009 and was the result of

what companies do matters a great deal to their value greenlivingaz.com

Feature management listening to employees and their view on what kind of company they wanted to work for, Sorensen said.

Liberty Days are days in which Liberty Water employees connect with the community by participating in community activities and events. Employees are given three paid days to volunteer in the community. Liberty Days are also a way that Liberty Water can reach out to the community by hosting events like the Peralta Trail Cleanup in Gold Canyon, or Fire and Safety Day in Rio Rico, Arizona.

Liberty Water believes so much in CSR that they have a program designed to “catch employees doing something good,” Sorensen explained. The company’s Liberty Heroes program recognizes employees who go above and beyond in helping to uphold the company’s values of care, community, family and responsibility.

Manny Archuleta was acknowledged recently as a Liberty Hero.

Archuleta, an operations field supervisor from Sierra Vista, took a vacation day to volunteer at the local Veterans of Foreign Wars office to deliver a scooter and build a ramp for a disabled WWII veteran. “He needed a ramp so he could get in and out of his home,” Archuleta said. “I took time off so we could pick up the scooter and build the ramp.” Archuleta says he sometimes runs errands for the 85-year-old veteran, who also used to be his neighbor.

Liberty Water’s Liberty Hero’s Winner, Manny Archuleta, (R) is the operations field supervisor in Sierra Vista, Arizona.

Peralta Trail clean up, Liberty Water.

This is the kind of volunteerism and social commitment Liberty Water’s programs were designed for by encouraging employee engagement and employee pride.

“It’s meant for our employees to give back to the charities or community programs that are important to them,” Sorensen

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Feature added. “I think it’s fantastic. It’s a way for an employer to give back to the community it serves.”

According to The Washington Post, businesses give back in many ways, such as directing an amount of profits to charities or social causes, setting aside time for employees to have paid time to volunteer, as well as partnering with causes or charities in longterm relationships.

Many companies do all of the above and give to a myriad of causes such as the environment, animal welfare or humanity services. Even smaller local companies are doing both in big ways and winning humanitarian awards for it. In a recent issue of the Phoenix Business Journal, Grand Canyon University and McMurry, both local companies, tied for the Business Volunteer Program of the Year award.

Grand Canyon University students, staff and faculty came together to improve surrounding neighborhoods through the Canyon Cares program. “The volunteers of the program do everything from painting over graffiti to collecting toys at Christmas,” according to the Phoenix Business Journal.

McMurry, a publishing, marketing and public relations firm, has a total of 175 employees. McMurry’s Phoenix office hosts the bulk of the company’s employees, with 106 employees who have donated millions of dollars to charities and countless hours to the community.

“Everybody here has a big heart,” said Katie Haney, McMurry’s spokesperson. “Giving to our community is part of our culture.”

Each year the company decides which charities to support, and last year employees took 6th-graders from Madison Park Elementary School to Build-ABear. There, the students made bears to give to sick children at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

“The kids hand-delivered the bears and it was so great,” Haney said. She added that some of the children included hand-written notes of well wishes to attach to the bears.

Haney said sometimes it’s hard to decide which organizations to support, so they try to mix it up. One year McMurry collected blankets to give to a local animal shelter.

With so many companies doing good work, it isn’t hard to find one that is doing something great in your own backyard. As committed and concerned citizens, we have the ability to choose companies that do more than sell products and services - but commit to making the communities they serve better places to live.

Barbi Walker is a freelance writer and an award-winning journalist.

Barbi lives in Phoenix with her husband and young son.

36 greenliving az | February 2011

greenlivingaz.com

Corporate Social Responsibility

Green Living AZ asked local corporations how they engage and encourage their employees to give back to our Arizona community.

American Express American Express’ employee volunteer program, Serve2Gether, provides a variety of opportunities for employees to volunteer as an individual, as a team or together with family and friends to make a difference in our community. Employees can sign up for a variety of volunteer opportunities, including Habitat for Humanity®, St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance® and many more. Employees can also post projects online and encourage colleagues to join them at their volunteer opportunities. In addition, employees who log and record their hours on the Serve2Gether site are eligible to receive Serve2Gether grants for their designated nonprofit organizations.

TruWest Credit Union Encouraging and rewarding volunteerism with employees is a key component of TruWest’s efforts to giving back and creating a “culture of caring” for members. Several times a year, TruWest recruits volunteers for the Employee Volunteer Program to visit charitable organizations and events and help make the community a better place. Employees are rewarded with “points” for volunteering that can be redeemed for TruWest logo shirts, paid time off, auto loan discounts or cash.

In the last few years, TruWest has proudly helped several organizations like Habitat for Humanity®, HomeBase Youth Services, Special Olympics Arizona and Junior Achievement®.

REI REI’s core purpose is to inspire, educate and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship. To support its mission, the company actively builds partnerships with local nonprofit organizations that work to preserve natural spaces through various activities, including its grants program and volunteer opportunities.

In 2010, REI granted $3.7 million to organizations that help people experience, restore and enhance the outdoors through volunteerism, including Arizona Trail Association, Audubon Arizona, McDowell Sonoran Conservancy and Volunteers for Outdoor Arizona (VOAZ). The grants are the result of nominations made by employees at local REI stores. REI invites its community to join in caring for these places through volunteer opportunities hosted

by REI or its non-profit partners. Event information is available at rei.com/stores.

Desert Schools FCU At Desert Schools Federal Credit Union employees are engaged in volunteerism, community education and corporate financial contributions for Arizona charitable programs. Desert Schools employees donate time to programs such as St. Vincent de Paul, St. Mary’s Food Bank and Habitat for Humanity®. They are leaders in providing generous financial contributions to community enhancement programs like the Children’s Miracle Network and Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Additionally, Desert Schools is a valued educational resource, providing free seminars and classes throughout the state on such financial topics as estate planning, the importance of wills and trusts, Medicare enrollment and program information and many more.

“The Valley has been our home for over 70 years, and giving back to the community is one of Desert Schools’ core values,” said Susan Frank, CEO of Desert Schools. “Now more than ever, it’s important to give financially, give our time, and as a financial institution, to provide financial education. In 2010, Desert Schools gave over $500,000 in donations, over 2,000 volunteer hours, and taught over 200 financial education classes.”

greenlivingaz.com

February 2011 | greenliving az 37

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The Keys to Growing Wings Flowers and fruit are only the beginning. In the seed lies the life and the future. -Marion Zimmer Bradley Unlocking a child’s potential to grow from an environmentally friendly fledgling to developing the wingspan of a fully eco-conscious adult involves planting and nurturing a few key concepts. By creating a community, sowing seeds of sustainability, reveling in reclaimed space, celebrating recycling and inspiring a love for the natural world, the process will be effortless and engaging.

The Childhelp Wings program is putting this idea into practice by going green. Their spotlight on conservation encompasses caring about the environment, renewable resource education, sharing knowledge with peers and building selfesteem along the way.

Key Concept: Create a Community Childhelp is dedicated to the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect. The Wings chapter empowers children and families, specifically mothers and daughters, through character development and the promotion of philanthropic service that will last a lifetime.

Communities offer dynamic exchanges of ideas and the ability to create dramatic changes in a short period of time. For children, this socializing is invaluable and the opportunity for instant success with limited pressure keeps them positively invested. Start the process by finding an eco-auxiliary like Wings in your area.

Key Concept: Sow the Seeds of Sustainability Enjoying the bounty of nature without depleting resources is the hallmark of harmonious living.

On October 2nd, Wings rejuvenated the public garden at the Childhelp KEYS Community Center by planting flowers and vegetables to sell. Not only did the project make a difference for the children in surrounding at-risk neighborhoods, but it created a seasonal garden generating fresh produce and revenue.

Key Concept: Revel in Reclaimed Space Reclaimed space reduces waste by improving and reusing existing architecture. The Childhelp KEYS Center is a prime example of taking a local burden and refurbishing it into a bustling nexus for progress. Originally a South Phoenix convenience store plagued by drugs and gang violence, the structure was rehabilitated and provides mentoring for at-risk youth.

www.childhelp.org/ArizonaWings

Start with spaces in your home that can be decluttered and revisioned, then turn your sights to areas within your region needing a facelift and positive purpose.

Key Concept: Celebrate Recycling By practicing everyday ecology, children learn to incorporate good habits into their lives. Teach them that small steps are actually great strides in reducing our carbon footprints.

Childhelp Wings members use fundraising events as teaching tools. Their February 27th Enchanted Forest Fashion Show at Camelback Inn incorporates green initiatives by processing payments online to reduce paper waste and ensuring that related materials are produced on recycled stock by a local eco-conscious printer.

Key Concept: Inspire Love for the Natural World On April 3rd, Wings will host “Run the Course” at McCormick Ranch Golf Resort. Enjoying a great day outside is the best way to remind us all of the importance of caring for nature.

When children spread their wings, they learn selfsufficiency. By sharing key concepts of ecological conscientiousness, we promote the kind of personal growth that protects the planet.

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BY BILL ZERVAKOS AND CATHY DROZ

C

athy and I, along with some other media people, were invited to New Orleans recently to preview the all-new Lexus CT200h luxury hybrid. As one would expect, there was a lot of buzz about the car, not the least of which was comparable to the ubiquitous Prius. Let us say this right now, it’s not, nor was it ever intended to be, an upgraded Prius with a Lexus badge; and for that, kudos to Lexus. What will be interesting to witness is if the American buyer is ready for a euro-styled hatchback, engineered to appeal to American drivers.

We like the styling that incorporates a bit of Lexus’ signature L-Finesse design. It’s edgy without being garish, and honestly, it offers a good compromise between form and function when it comes to aerodynamics. It has a pretty aggressive stance and is surprisingly comfortable inside.

The interior of the CT200h offers a driver-focused design with supportive and well-bolstered seats that come standard in faux leather, polyurethane-based “NuLuxe” material that is softer than leather, although you can opt for the real deal if you desire. The dashboard is divided into divergent zones, the upper highlighted by an eight-inch LCD display screen, and the lower section that handles the audio system and other ergonomic controls.

Lexus touts this car as a driver’s car despite the fact that it’s a hybrid. While it certainly won’t set any speed records in the quarter mile, the car performs admirably and offers an interesting driving experience. The suspension is tight without being harsh, and allows the CT to easily soak up any imperfections in the road without losing its poise. If you’re not into the SPORT driving mood, you can choose one of three other driving modes: EV, ECO or NORMAL. The SPORT mode appeals to us because it had quite a bit more performance and the car adjusts for a quicker response.

We had a lot of fun driving the car, and we look forward to our week in the CT200h when it hits the press fleet in Phoenix.

This car is impressive, so if you are considering purchasing a hybrid, but want more styling élan and a bit more driving pizzazz for your daily commute, the CT200h may be just what you’re looking for. The CT200h will be available in March of 2011 with pricing starting just under $30,000.

Bill Zervakos is co-producer and co-host with Cathy Droz of Two for the Road USA radio productions. Bill has been testdriving and reviewing vehicles for manufacturers for over 16 years on radio, video and in print. Find more about Two for the Road USA at twofortheroadusa.com.

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February 2011 | greenliving az 39

Community

AFTER HOURS

BY TISHIN DONKERSLEY, M.A.

BY TISHIN DONKERSLEY, M.A.

After Hours Gallery

116 W. McDowell Road Suite 120 Phoenix, AZ 85003

afterhoursgallery.com

Tucked away on the corner of First Avenue and McDowell Road one will find the After Hours Gallery. For the die-hard First Friday art lover, this location is nothing new. Sporting the latest from local and awardwinning artists and photographers, After Hours Gallery installations include anything from painted recycled refrigerators, African sculptures, murals and stunning photography to gingerbread houses – this space is known for the edgy side of art. The exhibit rotates every month.

Patrons like “a little shock value and surprise,” Mike Oleskow, owner of After Hours Gallery said. “I chose this building not just for sustainable practices that encompass the building, but for what the space represents – community.”

Owners Russ Haan and Mike Oleskow are exemplary individuals who open their space, their home and their hearts to the community and bring a sense of warmth and togetherness to anyone who enters.

The building has four levels, is dividable and comprises of a work and live space, gallery and basement. When asked about choosing the location, Oleskow explained they wanted to be near the arts and closer to downtown, and the lot had been vacant for 40 years prior to purchasing. A team of architects worked with Haan and Oleskow to design the vision. Architect Scott Roeder of StudioROEDER explained, “There [were] many factors that played out in designing a project like the After Hours building, such as property size, zoning restrictions, preferred environmental orientation and, ultimately, material selections.”

40 greenliving az | February 2011

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Community

“Russ and Mike made an efficient and beautiful life decision that set in motion a much broader impact,” Joe Herzog, architect at Merzproject said. “While I think they knew how avant-garde and ‘green’ their decision was (for a city like Phoenix), it was about living smarter and conscientiously analyzing every design decision. Our client-architect team refined their home/workplace to the point where the building would be timeless, useful, durable and efficient throughout its life – the ultimate in sustainable design.”

When you enter the ground floor, the gallery, the space is divided into two sides: one is the art exhibit, the other is the After Hours Creative studio.

Both spaces have two-story glass walls that face the street, an abundance of natural light, a museum-quality rack system for rotating art and a contemporary vibe.

Mezzanine

Additionally, they wanted to use every piece of the building, Oleskow said. “I was ready for the challenge of creating ‘choreography of intimate spaces,’” Roeder said. Most importantly, from design to completion the owners, “wanted ensure a warm and welcoming feeling,” Haan said.

Back of Gallery

Prior to creating their home, Oleskow and Haan selflessly designed the building for future owners. It was about “long-term thinking for us, and designing a building with the thought in mind about who will use it next,” Oleskow said. “[The] idea of sustainability was for the future user.” They purposefully did not want to customize it too much, but keep it adaptable, and wanted to design a great building.

Haan and Oleskow consistently open their doors to non-profit organizations to host charity functions, auctions, gatherings and meetings.

Within the last year they hosted events including Home Sweet Home, benefitting Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix, Inc.; Animal Benefits Club; Actors Theatre of Phoenix; Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC); Keep A Breast Foundation; SRP Fridge-A-Thon and the Willo Historic Home Tour.

“Use of the building for the community is a part of giving back,” Oleskow said.

Gallery

From the studio side, a set of stairs leads to the Mezzanine level that doubles as a workspace and guestroom. Haan explained that the guest section can be completely closed off to provide a private escape from the work area, allowing one to feel totally alone and at peace. “Sometimes I come down here to write,” Haan said.

Another set of stairs, made from reclaimed wood, led us upward to the residential floor. As Oleskow opened the door, I was greeted by another

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Community

After Hours Creative studio

member of the family, Chloe’, their four-legged friend, a rescue, who was more than happy to fetch her ball to play.

The top floor of the After Hours building is a 1,100-square-foot residential space with an extensive connecting patio. Walking past the master bedroom, we entered the open living area and kitchen. A grand piano graced the space and details of the charming hosts came alive. As we opened the doors to the patio, there was the sense of an indoor/outdoor continuation. Standing out in the open, we witnessed spectacular views of the city and heard the hustle and bustle of life below, which reminded me of Phoenix’s vibrancy. Oleskow shared that it is not uncommon that guests from events sometimes end up on the patio, turning it into another gathering.

Oleskow explained that they also host photo shoots, wedding ceremonies and gatherings with local community leaders. It is also likely for local celebrity and upcoming chefs to come and cook in their kitchen to create their next big dish.

We retired to the couch, and being the gracious host that he is, Oleskow prepared a platter of meat and cheese paired with a white wine from their extensive wine cellar.

“Vertically and horizontally, the building provides for an ever-changing choreography of uses now and in the future, which responsibly sustains the building for generations to come,” Roeder said. “This demonstrates that design excellence can be highly adaptable yet remain unique to its environment.”

Mike and Chloé

To me, the beauty of the building also comes from the love and warmth that are poured into the space and the positive energy that exudes from those who share the environment.

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As I sat on the couch reviewing my notes, I couldn’t help but notice a book titled “Book of Dinners.” Oleskow explained that for the last three years they have kept a memory book listing all of the dinners they have hosted, who attended and the prepared dishes. Sometimes they flip through and reflect on all of the friends, laughter and conversations they have enjoyed in their home. I hoped one day to make a book like theirs.

After Hours is not just a building, it is an example of how two individuals, Russ Haan and Mike Oleskow, find joy and happiness in their lives by bringing people together for a purpose – to give.

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Green and Carefree

in Cave Creek

BY DAVID M. BROWN

I

n 2007, after years of hands-on work, Keith and Kay Vertes completed their 6,035-square-foot home on a four-acre lot sensitively inset on landmark Black Mountain in Cave Creek.

This five-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath home includes a five-car overheight garage and a stand-alone 1,200-square-foot twobedroom guesthouse. The two master bedrooms and heated spa and lap pool jut from the hillside looking north toward Spur Cross Ranch, the 2,154-acre county park with Native American petroglyphs, a riparian area and nearby Elephant and Sugarloaf mountains. This explains why building their energy-sensitive home has taken more than a decade.

Inspired by their sensitivity for the environment and history and cultures of the Southwest, the Verteses wanted to meld a variety of styles: Spanish, Mexican Hacienda, Old World and Western. “They all reflect the influences on the Desert Southwest over the last 100–150 years, and we wanted to capture a little bit of all of them,” Keith said. Their collection consists of hand-painted tiles, handcrafted crucifixes, glass pieces, antiques and furnishings from Mexico and Valley shops.

“Through 10 years of looking and collecting, we at first didn’t quite know what we would do with some of the pieces we collected,” Kay said. Residents of Arizona for 14 years, and married for 23 years, Kay, a real estate broker and the owner of the Building Group Inc., and Keith, a custom homebuilder, met in their native Cleveland. They have two daughters, Kristy and Jamie, who both live in Ohio with their husbands and a total of five children.

They quarried stone from nearby desert mountains, reused Douglas fir for beams and mesquite for cabinets, and used adobe greenlivingaz.com

bricks for some of their walls — a construction method used in Arizona for centuries.

“So many of the pieces we acquired over the years fit exactly,” Keith said, who’s built 400 homes in Ohio and the Southwest. “We sometimes say that this home is blessed, because almost everything has fit exactly, in some cases where we didn’t even plan one of our pieces to fit into a space and it did, almost as if was destined to be there.”

“We tried extremely hard to stay ‘green’ from the very beginning and positioning of the home to maximize energy conservation,” Keith added, noting that the home was designed to use the natural insulation of the earth.

“We spent weeks on the site during different times of the year and day to watch the sun and weather, how they affected the lot and how they would ultimately affect the home’s energy use, wind and rain protection, sight lines and views,” Keith recalled of the pre-building process. “I have extensive background in excavation and ground-up development, so I know the land speaks.

“It dictates orientation, elevations and levels on the home — not the other way around.”

The views are extraordinary — walk out to the back barbecue patio, a third of the way up Black Mountain, and the outside space, indeed, transitions seamlessly into the hillside. The landscaping wall, which articulates it, is comprised of black shale quarried from the excavation. Keith and his crew reused about 300 tons to build the wall and on other areas of the home.

February 2011 | greenliving az 43

Architecture

Similarly, Keith trucked in 150 tons of rock from DC Ranch, the luxury community about 15 miles south, to incorporate into the hardscaping and create focal-point walls. Pebbles from local creek beds were also used to create items such as the powder room wash basin and grout lines in the flagstone patios.

The couple also replanted any disturbed indigenous vegetation such as saguaro, mesquite, palo verde, cassia, cactus and various desert succulents. They also created latilla for ceilings from dead wood and saguaro ribs they gleaned from the property.

Keith, a hiking enthusiast, ascends the mountain almost every day from a trail and wash along the slope. He and his grandchildren regularly find arrowheads and sealed-up mines where area pioneers once found quality seams of gold and silver. Here too, they can explore the desert by trail, bike or horse, as the home also accesses local bridle paths.

“Keith goes uphill and I go downhill,” Kay said, who also takes daily walks to the town’s shops, restaurants or library.

Equally green is the structure and construction: concrete, cement-stabilized adobe bricks from Tucson, local stone, recycled wood products, saltillo tiles and InSteel 3D panel, a steel-truss system with a polystyrene core covered in two to three inches of gunite or concrete and finished with adobe plaster. This combination provides an outstanding R-value of 41-plus.

“It’s practically maintenance-free,” Keith said. “Cracks and dings add patina, not repair.” For other walls, adobe bricks offer outstanding thermal mass, insulating in particular against summer heat. Up top, roof insulation is blown-in cellulose two feet thick.

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greenliving az | February 2011

greenlivingaz.com

Architecture “We wanted to reflect the natural surroundings in much the same way any home built long ago would have used readily available materials,” Keith said. “We also wanted to use the most recycled wood, stone, tile and adobe as possible.”

The home includes 220 Douglas fir ceiling beams that Keith reclaimed from a nearby homesite. Scrap lumber became antiqued doors, and casements were made onsite with either mesquite or alder. Broken tiles and scraps were re-used to create mosaic patterns on the patios and in showers and tubs.

Many other green features appear: concrete counters and insulated concrete showers and tubs; tankless water heaters, which only start up when water is drawn; and for the pool, solar rings and a homemade solar heater. What’s more, the house is wired low voltage except for large chandeliers, and fit the home for solar capability.

Most importantly, the Verteses have stamped their signatures in sweat and time, reducing costs as well as environmental impact. For three years Keith built doors, cabinets, fireplace screens and woodcarvings, while Kay stained most of the doors, painted, tiled and landscaped.

The grandchildren call it theirs too. “When they visit, they love to sleep outside on the casita roof enjoying the stars and the howling coyotes wandering close by,” Kay said.

Photography by HighResMedia and Keith Vertes

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February 2011 | greenliving az 45

Feature

Donating Time to Nature

BY WILLIAM S. JANHONEN, LEED AP, NAHB-CGP

W

ould you like to take a free cruise on Lake Powell in Arizona’s Glen Canyon National Recreation Area? How about setting up a remote camera overlooking an eagle’s nest to watch baby eagles being born in the Great Falls Discovery Center of Massachusetts? Or, if you prefer, you can spend two weeks bird-watching in Virginia, digging on an archeological site in Montana, or living remotely on Kodiak Island in Alaska working with the namesake Kodiak bears. All you have to do is volunteer your time!

Volunteering vacations are a way to reconnect with nature and give back. By working in a national park, wildlife refuge or national forest, you get to watch animals in their daily habitat, learn how nature works and get the satisfaction of preserving our outdoor environment. With the cutback in programs and tough economic times, the Department of the Interior, National Park and Forest Services, as well as local organizations, rely on volunteers to assist in everything from administration, to banding and feeding fish, to capturing and tagging wild species for extinction studies. Arizona ranks 44th in the nation in volunteerism, with only 24 percent of its residents volunteering statewide for various programs.

The great part is that all of these vacations are free – you pay only the cost to get there, but you will have to work. Thousands of volunteers give up their time to spend a “working” vacation by donating their time to the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Forest Service. There is no better way to experience the true wilderness of our great country than by volunteering.

“We have wide opportunities for every level of volunteer here at Grand Canyon National Park,” said Laura Getts,

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volunteer coordinator for the Grand Canyon. “Projects include everything from exotic and invasive plant removal to weeklong back-country excursions into the Canyon for planting and much more,” Getts said. “We provide food and can provide equipment and transportation to the starting site.”

When I asked Getts about her most memorable experience, she recalled one of her regular evening runs along the rim. “I was running about sunset and just entering a forested part of the canyon, and a herd of elk ran through just ahead of me. I had to sit down because I was overwhelmed by the beauty,” she said.

Surprisingly, volunteering for these programs does not require any specific training, and the various services have applications that try to match your personal background and desires with the work available. Some volunteer jobs include monitoring wildlife, fixing trails and cleaning up trash, conducting tours, manning booths and coordinating groups of volunteers. If you have a skill, one of the park managers can find a use for it. From computers to cameras, from building streams to building benches, it all depends on what you are able and willing to do.

Assignment locations can range from tourist areas to remote areas in Alaska. Housing is one restriction on volunteer opportunities.

Some areas may have limited housing for volunteers and supply mobile homes, rustic cabins or plain old tents. Volunteers with RVs or those who can provide their own camping equipment are encouraged. Check with the program to see if they supply meals or transportation.

“We have had 30 years of campground volunteers, and they are essential,” Paul Schilke of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest said. “We also have a Wilderness Ranger Program where greenlivingaz.com

Feature

volunteers promote proper camping techniques as well as provide backcountry contacts for campers. The Ranger Program also acts as eyes and ears for informing us on needs and repairs to outlying areas.”

For corporations who want to promote how “green” they are, there is no better way than have some of your executives act as coordinators for a group of corporate volunteers at one of the wilderness areas.

The best way to volunteer is to find an area of interest, then contact the local branch. Several offices post job listings for volunteers who can opt for long-term positions or short-term assistance. If you choose to volunteer within your region, the local office will assist in this effort and circulate your application throughout the regional parks and services. If you want to take the family, several programs include young volunteers, such as the National Park Service program and Kids in the Woods.

In Arizona, Volunteers for Outdoor Arizona (VOAz) have been working to match people’s interests with projects since

1999. “Being part of nature in real time gives back to the volunteers as much as they give,” VOAz Deputy Director Carla Olson said. “We have about 180 members and many more volunteers, and we cover the entire state of Arizona with projects.” VOAz works with 38 different service agencies to assist in providing volunteers.

“I love being in a remote area such as the Superstition Mountain wilderness and knowing there are no people anywhere near and just enjoying the solitude,” said Kristi Alexander, an Arizona volunteer.

Spending time in the great outdoors helping our parks and forests could be the best investment in time you ever make, and the return on that investment may be memories of a lifetime.

One of my fondest memories was working at Chincoteague Island in Virginia, where wild ponies roam free. I was eating lunch during my break on a sunny bank next to a small inlet watching the fish come in from the sea when I heard a noise behind me. There was a Chincoteague wild pony standing a few feet away looking over my shoulder. He watched the fish with me for about 10 minutes, chewing grass, and then nudged my shoulder with his nose and walked away. You can’t experience that at Disneyland!

SOURCES Arizona Environmental Organizations: eco-usa.net/orgs/az.shtml Kids in the Woods: fs.fed.us/r3/asnf/conservation National Park Service: nps.gov/getinvolved/index.htm US Fish and Wildlife Service: fws.gov/volunteers/ US Forest Service: fs.fed.us/fsjobs/ and click on “volunteers” Volunteers for Outdoor Arizona: VOAZ.org and outdoorvolunteer.org volunteeringinamerica.gov/AZ

Photography courtesy of Volunteers for Outdoor Arizona

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February 2011 | greenliving az 47

Conservation

An Arizona Steward

Stewart Lee Udall

BY EDWARD R. RICCIUTI

T

wo months after Arizona’s native son Stewart Lee Udall died at age 90 in March last year, a federal law named the United States Department of Interior headquarters in the nation’s capital after him. Udall headed the department from 1961 to 1969 while Secretary of the Interior during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. “Without question, our nation would not be the same without Secretary Udall’s vision, leadership or writings,” said the man who now holds Udall’s post, Ken Salazar, at a ceremony dedicating the building in September 2010.

It takes significant achievements or events for the headquarters of a major federal agency to be named after someone. In the case of the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, it was the assassination of the former United States attorney general and presidential candidate. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters bears the name of J. Edgar Hoover. For two years short of a half-century, Hoover shaped the agency into the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency and made himself into one of the country’s most powerful people in the process.

Compared to Hoover’s run at the FBI, Udall ran the Interior Department for a relatively short span in its century-and-a-half history. However, he arguably achieved more than anyone who has ever held his post. Even after he left federal service, he so profoundly impacted the nation’s environmental psyche and policies that he stands in the company of conservation giants such as Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir. He championed environmental causes through much of the 20th century and into the 21st, declaring that the United States and China, “responsible for producing over 40 percent of the CO2 that is altering the earth’s atmosphere… have a moral responsibility to be in the forefront of any global campaign to develop new technologies to cut the emissions of this damaging pollutant.”

Said President Obama when Udall died: he left “an indelible mark on this nation and inspired countless Americans who will continue his fight for clean air, clean water and to maintain our many natural treasures.”

One of Udall’s first acts as secretary was to convince President Kennedy to call a meeting on conservation issues, the first at that level since Theodore Roosevelt sat in the White House. It brought conservation to the fore of the American agenda. Not before or since has there been such a colossal expansion of new natural lands under federal protection in the time span under Udall’s watch over Interior. These included 4 national parks, 8 national seashores, 6 national monuments, 9 national recreation areas, 20 historic sites and 50 wildlife refuges.

In all, he brought almost 4 million acres into the public fold, benefiting virtually everyone who enjoys the outdoors, from birders and swimmers to hunters and hikers. Among the federal laws championed by Udall were the Clean Air, Water Quality and Clean Water acts and amendments; the Wilderness Act of 1964; the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966; and the Wild

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and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.

Udall, in a sense, was a green prophet who awakened the American public to environmental awareness. He urged living green before it was fashionable. His 1963 book, “The Quiet Crisis,” ranks with Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” published the year before, as writings that opened American’s eyes to the need for environmental conservation.

Udall’s accomplishments were long recognized before the first Earth Day in 1970, considered the launch pad for the environmental movement. “Stewart Udall, more than any other single person, was responsible for reviving the national commitment to conservation and environmental preservation,” said former Arizona governor Bruce Babbitt, a former interior secretary and chairman of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

When it came to conservation issues, Udall was no dreamyeyed innocent, but very much a realist who, when he saw the need, could act in ways that brought heat from conservation interests as varied as animal rightists and hunters. In the late 1960s, he endorsed a study by wildlife management legend A. Starker Leopold, recommending that elk in Yellowstone National Park be thinned via culling by park managers. Animal rights groups protested. So did hunters who wanted to shoot the elk themselves. Udall was not an armchair nature lover, rather a leather-tough outdoorsman who climbed from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the south rim at age 84, and hiked to the top of Africa’s Mt. Kilimanjaro and Japan’s Mt. Fuji, the latter climb in winter.

he left “an indelible mark on this nation and inspired countless Americans who will continue his fight for clean air, clean water and to maintain our many natural treasures.” ~ President Obama greenlivingaz.com

Conservation “In the annals of American conservation, Stewart Udall stood as tall as one of the giant sequoias that are still standing today, thanks in large measure to his efforts,” said the WWF upon his death.

Udall was born in 1920 in St. John’s, seat of Apache County.

While in the Army Air Forces during World War II, he manned a tail gun during 50 missions over Europe. He starred in basketball at the University of Arizona, became a lawyer and was elected as a Democrat to four terms to Congress from district 2 southern Arizona.

He was recognized as the patriarch of a major political family.

His late brother and environmental advocate, Mo Udall, followed him into Congress, and his son Tom Udall (Colorado) and nephew Mark (New Mexico) both served in the House of Representatives and then the Senate.

The man of many parts who was called by the New York Times a “son of the West” was also at home in Eastern salons. He taught at the prestigious Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and helped spark a cultural renaissance in America by starting initiatives that led to the Kennedy Center, the National Endowments for Arts and Humanities, and the revival of Ford’s Theater. He also saved New York’s Carnegie Hall from demolition.

Among the literati he counted as friends was former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Frost, who, at Udall’s suggestion, read an original poem at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration. It set a precedent for future presidents. It was while Udall accompanied Frost on a good-will trip to the Soviet Union in September 1962 that he became part of a footnote to history. He was unexpectedly called to a meeting with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev who, in joking, vulgar fashion, warned that the Soviets could take America’s measure. It was a hint of the Cuban Missile Crisis that erupted the following month.

Writing in his book, “The Quiet Crisis,” published in 1963, Udall indeed sounded like an environmental leader when he wrote: “If in our haste to ‘progress,’ the economics of ecology are disregarded by citizens and policy makers alike, the result will be an ugly America. We cannot afford an America where expedience tramples upon esthetics and development decisions are made with an eye only on the present.” Would that he had been heeded.

Edward Ricciuti has covered conservation issues around the globe. His specialties include natural history, environmental and conservation issues, science and law enforcement. He was a curator for the New York Zoological Society, now the Wildlife Conservation Society. He has written more than 80 books, with his most recent “The Snake Almanac” (The Lyons Press).

Photography courtesy of the Department of Interior

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February 2011 | greenliving az 49

Conservation

saving America’s Wild Horses

BY CLAUDINE J. TAILLAC

T

o say that the wild horse is an icon of the American West is to put a complex situation full of powerful emotion and history into a simple statement that, although true on some level, rings hollow in light of the horse’s incredible history on this continent. Their existence here in North America, and their survival for hundreds of years, has defied expectations. A better word to use when trying to capture the true essence of their story is ineffable.

People have been adopting these wild roaming creatures since 1971, when federal legislation was enacted to remedy the “problem” of thousands of horses living on open range. The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act was the beginning of a new legacy in wild horses’ lives. For the first time in hundreds of years, chapters were added to their history. This history included humans, capture, confinement, sometimes slaughter, and sometimes adoption and new life. Even with new life, given by anyone willing to shell out a hundred dollars and change, one thing is clear: the horses’ past of gazing only toward the unending horizon – running, grazing, mating, rearing their young and looking out for one another – was altered forever 40 years ago.

A 40th anniversary is a suitable time to look back at this action to preserve and ask questions – some tough, some easy. What has been preserved? Has it mostly been the land, coveted by ranchers who argue that the horses present too much foraging competition for their livestock? Or have the horses themselves been

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Conservation

preserved? Certainly the freedom way of life has not been preserved for most of them. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the federal organization tasked with the program that upholds the act, estimates that there are currently 38,000 wild horses across 10 states. In the early 1900s there were millions of horses. As with any issue, there are advocates in each corral, and one wades into a quagmire when discussing with each faction how many horses there really are. Michael Blake, author of “Dances With Wolves” and wild horse advocate, says that now there are probably fewer than 15,000.

Blake first encountered the wild horses and the BLM’s program to uphold the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act in 1991 while doing research for a screenplay. A lifelong animal advocate, Blake already owned two domestic horses. His two passions, horses and animal rescue, came together one fateful day when he first visited the BLM’s site where captured wild horses were housed. Over the past 20 years, Blake has adopted seven wild horses and currently has five: Mariachi, Hope, Smudge, Shelby and Gypsy. His first two horses, Twelve and Samantha, are buried on his ranch, Wolf House, in Arizona. Blake’s take on saving wild horses goes well beyond keeping them from the slaughterhouse. “The wild horse problem is an example of a larger problem, which is that we have lost our connection with the earth,” Blake said. “Just if the wild horses could be saved, we might be able to move in a positive direction with other things in our lives.”

There are more than 30,000 wild horses being housed at private ranches throughout the country, all at taxpayers’ expense. Most of the horses are available for adoption, but as with most homeless animals, there are many more waiting for homes than there are homes available. Once the horses are adopted, the BLM has no control over where their adopters take them. Sadly, many of

them are taken to slaughter immediately. “It costs $125 to adopt one of these horses, and people can turn around and sell them to a slaughterhouse for $500,” Blake said.

Blake’s three mares were scheduled to be slaughtered before he rescued and adopted them. His stallion, Mariachi, was left to survive without his family, who were captured by the BLM when he was a foal. Mariachi thrived and became a herd stallion, rearing a large family and protecting them in the wild before he was captured at the age of 10. Mariachi and Hope were both housed at a BLM-sanctioned ranch before Blake adopted them.

“When they got out of the truck at my ranch and into the arena, I had never seen two animals more skinny and torn up than these two,” Blake recounted. They are now both healthy and living happily, although not with total freedom, at Wolf House.

Blake wrote a memorial book to his first wild horse, Twelve, that chronicles in beautiful and heartbreaking words and photos the plight of the wild horse and the intense reward that comes with greenlivingaz.com

saving even one. “Twelve The King” is a true tribute to the quest to give back to these animals that have lived in harmony with the ecosystem in America for hundreds of years. “I would love to see my horses live free in the wild again,” Blake said.

Qualifying to adopt a wild horse is not complicated. Potential adopters must fill out an application, which is available on the BLM’s website, and prove that they can house and feed the horses adequately.

“A friend of mine produced a documentary about the wild horses called Disappointment Valley, and it’s a remarkable look at what goes on,” Blake said. James Kleinert, who created the film, has garnered the support of other celebrities such as Viggo Mortensen and Sheryl Crow.

Although the issue of wild horse management has been going on for decades, it has recently gained heightened attention. NBC, MSNBC and The New York Times did reports on the subject in 2010.

Giving back comes in many forms, and the list of animals in need is endless. So why should the wild horse be on this list? Blake answers that question with simple eloquence: “If we saved the last of the wild horses and let them run free, we could retain some of the real world.”

SOURCES blm.gov theamericanwildhorse.com twelvetheking.com

Claudine J. Taillac has a master’s degree in writing and is a freelance writer, editor and former managing editor of Northland Publishing. She writes about animal rights and lifestyle topics including food and travel.

February 2011 | greenliving az 51

Conservation

Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center

BY ABIGAIL GILMORE

52 greenliving az | February 2011

greenlivingaz.com

Conservation

T

here are many shelters and safe havens for domesticated animals in Arizona, but for larger wild animals, there is the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center (SWCC).

SWCC is the largest animal refuge in Arizona with the capabilities to care for sizeable wild animals, including black bears, mountain lions and Mexican gray wolves, which are an endangered species.

SWCC saves and rehabilitates wild animals that have been sick, hurt, orphaned, displaced and deserted. The non-profit, founded by Linda Searles, receives no government funding and is supported solely on donations, grants and volunteers.

Searles, a forever animal lover, said she opened the conservation center because of the lack of treatment available for wildlife in trouble. “I didn’t want to see wildlife dying because there was no place capable of treating and housing,” she said. “I wanted to see a veterinary medical facility for injured and orphaned wildlife, with an emphasis on large mammals.”

SWCC’s goal is to release animals back into their natural habitat, and they currently have more than a 70 percent success rate. For animals that are unable to be released, the conservation center will serve as their forever home.

In addition to saving animals, SWCC strongly encourages wildlife education. “As SWCC grew, I realized that education is key,” Searles said. “If we could inspire biology students, veterinarian students and interns to learn about and work with wildlife, they would have the ability to help the wildlife in the communities in which they lived by sharing their knowledge and inspiring others.”

the black bear loves anything new I put in his enclosure, from a donated Christmas tree to hidden treats of honey and peanut butter.

Our coatis and bobcats absolutely love any new scents that I place in their enclosure [from] perfume [to] different spices.”

Carr’s favorite animal? One of them is the Mexican gray wolf. “There are very few of these animals left in the world, so I feel lucky being able to work so closely with them,” Carr said. “Over the course of a typical day, the wolves howl four or five times; and even though I have been there for thirteen years, I still have to stop and listen.

There is nothing like hearing a wolf howl!”

You thought Halloween was over…February 19th visit the SWCC for their annual Howl at the Full Moon fundraiser. Guests will enjoy horse-drawn rides through the desert, a self-guided center tour, a silent and live auction and plenty of spirits and gourmet hors d’oeuvres. Then wrap up the night by joining the Mexican gray wolves in a howl at the moon! Reservations are limited.

OWOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOO!

To learn more about Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center, how to help or to schedule a tour, visit southwestwildlife.org.

Sources Founder and Executive Director, Linda Searles and volunteer and animal keeper Kim Carr.

Searles said she realized that by educating others, specifically the younger generation, many wildlife injuries and human-wildlife conflict could be prevented. “Most all of the wildlife that comes through our facility are there because of some form of human interaction,” she said. “Some are direct interactions, others are indirect; the animal may have been hit by a car or electrocuted; it may have ingested poisons due to urban development; it may have been displaced as a result of loss or fragmentation of its habitat, or it may have been removed from the wild to be kept as a pet — this happens even with mountain lions!”

“Our educators work hard to dispel myths, teach natural history and the importance of biodiversity, and counsel people on how to coexist with wildlife,” Searles said. Kim Carr is one of those educators, as she has been volunteering with SWCC for more than thirteen years and has worked as a part-time animal keeper for the past five.

“It’s such a gratifying experience to raise a baby skunk or help an injured coyote recover and be able to be released back into the wild again,” Carr said. “Another fun part of my job is providing enrichment for the sanctuary animals that can never be released.

There are a few animals in particular that make the most of it. Berry

Opposite and Top: Photography courtesy of SWCC Bottom: Photography by Tishin Donkersley

greenlivingaz.com

February 2011 | greenliving az 53

Restaurants

Province– Seasonal American Cuisine with Latin Soul

M

other and daughter Marlene and Cassie Tolman shared the same dream: to open a café. In fall 2009, the Tolmans’ dream became a reality as they opened Pomegranate Café in Ahwatukee.

BY ABIGAIL GILMORE

Phoenix Downtown 333 N. Central Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85044 602-429-3500

54

greenliving az | February 2011

“My mom and I had been dreaming about opening a cafe for a few years,” Cassie Tolman said. “We dreamed of opening a casual cafe where our community could come to be revitalized and nourished. We wanted to make a positive change in our little corner of the world.”

The café’s vision was to “challenge the stereotype that healthy food is bland and boring, that vegetarian and/or vegan food is unsatisfying,” Tolman said. “At Pomegranate, the food and drinks are even more delicious because we use the highest quality, most nutritious, dense ingredients available.”

The majority of ingredients in their kitchen are 100 percent organic, and locally grown ingredients are incorporated whenever possible, Tolman said. “We are interested in knowing if the products we use are sustainable and support the future of our earth. We know and care about the people who grow our food - we ask them questions about their philosophy and how they care for the earth,” she said.

The Tolmans incorporate green concepts beyond food, from recyclable plates, cups and to-go containers, as well as green cleaning products to keep the café sparkling. Also, parts of the café were built with recycled materials. “Our bar is built from recycled sunflower seeds and our placemats are made from recycled juice boxes,” Tolman said. “We have future plans to grow a community garden in our complex that would offer a respite as well as a space for education and collaboration.”

Tolman said one thing she loves about owning Pomegranate is watching customers get excited to eat healthy food. “One of our favorite things is seeing an unhappy husband or friend being dragged in to try our ‘healthy food.’ After a few bites they Pomegranate Café look surprisingly delighted!”

Tolman said. “Many of them 4025 E. Chandler Blvd., become regulars, and a meal Suite 28 at Pomegranate replaces a Ahwatukee, AZ meal at a fast food chain. We (480) 706-7472 hope our customers leave pomegranatecafe.com feeling nourished, satisfied and happy!”

greenlivingaz.com

Book Review

How to SHop for free A Review AuthoR KAtHY SpeNCer witH SAMANtHA roSe Reviewed by terri SCHLiCHeNMeYer

Every year you say you’re going to do it, but you never do.

Oh, sure, you have good intentions. You’ve made resolutions, vowed to follow through and failed; but this year it’s going to happen. You’re going to save some money.

Believe it or not, some people save by getting their clothes, food and even gasoline for free. You can too if you’ve got the time and “How to Shop For Free,” by Kathy Spencer with Samantha Rose.

As a mother of four, Kathy Spencer knew her husband’s income wasn’t going to stretch far. While researching one night, she discovered a secret: by using coupons and other discounts, she could get groceries and incidentals for nothing. Sometimes she could actually make money on the deal.

There’s a little prep work to shopping for free, Spencer says. You need to know what coupons are available (and there are quite a few of them).

You’ll need to know where to get them (your newspaper isn’t the only place!), and you’ll need to learn couponing lingo.

To start, Spencer says, make a plan. Don’t get discouraged if you feel like it’s going slowly; getting something for nothing takes time. She suggests to treat all coupons like cash and learn how to stack coupons to get free groceries, baby items, clothing, prescriptions, gym memberships, pet food, beauty products, even utilities. Then, pay it forward by donating your excess to shelters, hospitals, or anyone who needs your bounty.

With an infectious enthusiasm, personal anecdotes and weigh-ins from fans who have saved, authors Kathy Spencer and Samantha Rose explain how they regularly bring home food and other necessities without opening their wallets.

“How to Shop for Free” is an incredible book to have if your pockets are empty.

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February 2011 | greenliving az

55

He’s Green She’s Green

She is: Jennifer Burkhart He is: John Burkhart

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, take it from our green couple as they satisfied their sweet tooth with organic chocolates. The best part is that all bars are organic and fair-trade.

DAGOBA® Organic Chocolate “xocolatl” rich dark chocolate, chilies & nibs

He said: So we are subjected to sitting around eating chocolate all day – it’s a rough job, but somebody’s gotta do it. We decided to be brave and try a chocolate with chilies… bad idea. The spicy chilies seemed to enhance the bitter flavor in this already super bitter 74 percent cocoa bar; fortunately it takes a lot more than spicy chilies to make chocolate taste bad.

She said: Starts off delicious with a very rich, dark flavor and crunchy bits, and then BAM! Muy caliente! This one is for an adventurous valentine, right after a fiery Tango number. Ay ay! Chocolate and chilies was an interesting combo, but I prefer my chili powder with dinner, not dessert.

She gave it:

He gave it:

Endangered Species Chocolate® Organic Dark Chocolate with Goji Berry, Pecans and Maca

He said: When I first read “powdered Maca” on the label, I thought it was some sort of medicine man, woo woo powder. Turns out Maca is a root full of minerals. Maca root plus Goji berries and pecans make this a pretty healthy and tasty treat.

Yum, more Maca!

He gave it:

She said: This bar is ethically traded, vegan, gluten-free, and 10 percent of net profits are donated to endangered species. That’s something I can get behind! Not to mention it’s chocolate – GREAT chocolate – and healthy too. You don’t have to tell me twice to eat my daily serving! The pecans were perfect and the Goji berries were delightfully sweet, but I couldn’t taste the Maca. This one’s a thoughtful choice that’ll make your taste buds and spider monkeys happy.

She gave it:

Green & Black’s® Organic Dark Chocolate, with Crystallized Ginger Pieces

He said: After the DAGOBA bar, I was sure this one would be spicy and I wouldn’t like it, but I was pleasantly surprised. The crystallized ginger was sweet and balanced well with the 60 percent cocoa. Give this one a try if you’re feeling adventurous. It’s a unique and scrumptious combination.

She said: First off, I’m not a fan of ginger, and I wasn’t looking forward to eating this piece of chocolate. Blasphemy, I know! Thankfully, the ginger was far from the type that sits in a tiny dish next to sushi rolls. Oddly enough, crystallized ginger was very good! It tasted like bits of gummy, crunchy sugar. Also, this bar has only 60 percent cocoa, making it less bitter and creamier. I never thought I’d say it, but this one was my favorite!

He gave it: She gave it:

365 Everyday Value® Organic Swiss Dark Chocolate with Mint Crisps

He said: Few things go together more harmoniously than mint and chocolate. This bar was delicious! The mild 54 percent cocoa went perfect with the peppermint crisps. It was like mint chip ice cream, minus the ice cream. Yum yum!

He gave it:

Theo Organic Cherry & Almond Dark Chocolate

He said: This one was definitely not love at first bite. The almonds were good, but the cherry was a little too tart. Of course that didn’t stop me from eating more of it, and by the eighth or ninth piece, I began to like the tangy chocolate.

He gave it:

56 greenliving az | February 2011

She said: It tastes exactly as described – great crispy pieces with an overall light minty essence. The chocolate wasn’t too bitter, but was lacking some flavor and the bar was too hard. I did like to see that this is a Fair Trade product and 1 percent of proceeds are donated to help end world poverty.

She gave it:

She said: Mm, mm, mm! I suppose eating this whole bar in one sitting wouldn’t be too friendly to my waistline, but it sure would be blissful! I liked the sour cherry bits and chopped almonds with the slightly bitter chocolate.

Perfectly blended and softer than the other bars, you can be sure your valentine will be happy with this one!

She gave it:

greenlivingaz.com

Cool Outrageous 5 [Perpetual Calendar

1

Made from repurposed timber and 366 transparent acrylic tags, this perpetual calendar is definitely a futuristic way to manage your meetings!

Mark each tag with your notes and thoughts. This calendar can be mounted on a wall, or placed on a tabletop or shelf. For more information, visit calouette.com.

Repurposed record player clock Etsy.com seller Pixel designed this working clock, made from a JVC turntable. Featuring a real vinyl record as its face, this clock can be customized with any album! Check out this clock and more like it at the seller’s page on Etsy. com.

2

Vintage Suitcase Cat Bed Since you can’t really take Fluffy with you everywhere, this unique cat bed will make her feel like a true globetrotter. Made from vintage suitcases, Atomic Attic’s pet beds are a decorative, cozy and sustainable alternative to the average pet pillow. Check it out at the seller’s page on Etsy.com.

6 [Live in an EGGO GOLDENHEN Studios, a collaboration between James Goldsmith and Luke Henley put their eggs in one basket when they created “The Original Dream,” a life-sized home built from reused egg cartons and trays. The home was modeled after Howard Arkley’s well-known painting, “Family Home: Suburban Exterior 1993,” which is considered the Australian dream of suburban living. For more information, visit goldenhen.com/au.

3 [Solar Peace Sign Made from solar panel-equipped oil barrels, this six-meter, 10-ton “Solar Peace Sculpture” by Fred George was constructed to remind us of the consumption crisis. This six-meter version stands at the University of Saarland in Germany; however, George aims to build larger versions of these sculptures in other cities around the world, including New York City. For more information, visit solarpeacesculpture.com.

4

Heart-shaped Solar Lights Fill your garden with even move love with these heart-shaped, solar-powered lights. Made with a stainless steel garden stake, photovoltaic solar cell, amber LED and detachable hand-blown glass heart, these lights by Firefly™ turn on automatically at night and require no maintenance. Find them online at allsopgarden.com.

7

Vintage Record Bowls Retro - these bowls from Vinylux are made from recycled vintage records. The original record labels are intact and represent some of the most popular music ever put on vinyl. Vinylux gets its recycled vinyl from record shops, collectors and even people’s attics and sends its vinyl scraps to a record-pressing plant in Nashville where it’s turned back into new records. Find these vintage vessels at Nurturing Nature in Tucson or at vinylux.net.

Send us your cool and outrageous finds to submissions@greenlivingaz.com

greenlivingaz.com

February 2011 | greenliving az 57

Chocolate Mousse Serves 4-5 1 (12.3 oz.) package silken tofu, drained 3 oz. high quality bittersweet choco late, finely chopped 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 cup water

1 tbsp. brandy 1/2 cup superfine sugar Sugar-free or fat-free dairy topping or non-dairy topping 1 1/4 tsp. shaved chocolate

Recipe courtesy of Mary Heitmeyer, co-host of Healthy U TV Show and Owner/Executive Chef of ChefDujour. healthyutvshow.com

Directions

1 2

3

In a blender or food processor, puree the tofu until smooth.

Fill a saucepan with about two inches of water and simmer. Put the chopped chocolate, cocoa powder, ¼ cup water and brandy into a saucepan on top of water-filled saucepan.

Stir frequently, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Mix in ½ cup of sugar, a bit at a time, until smooth.

Add the chocolate mixture to the tofu and puree until smooth. Spoon the mousse into serving dishes, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. Top with dairy topping and sprinkle with shaved chocolate.

Orange Hot Chocolate Serves 2 4 cups of organic whole milk 1 cup agave nectar 1 orange 1 cup water

10 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa Whipped cream

Directions

1 2 3

Recipe courtesy of Keith Clausen.

Keith has been a mixologist for 14 years and for some of the finest resorts in Arizona.

Slice the orange. Combine water and agave nectar in a saucepan and heat to nearly a boil, add two orange slices and cook until you create the orange agave syrup. Remove from heat. Strain the syrup to rid of the orange residue. Save syrup for sweetener.

Heat milk in saucepan until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Let it sit for 20 seconds. Add cocoa, a ½ teaspoon of orange syrup and whisk until smooth. If needed, add more orange syrup to taste.

Pour into favorite mug and top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings and an orange slice. Serve immediately.

Valentine’s Raspberry Pancakes Serves 4 2/3 cup organic all-purpose flour 1 tbsp. organic cane sugar 1 tsp. baking powder 3/4 tsp. baking soda 1/3 cup plain organic yogurt 1 large egg, beaten lightly

1 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled 1/2 cup low-fat milk 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries Raspberry jam Powdered sugar

Directions Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and soda in a bowl, then set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, egg, butter and milk. Add to flour mixture; stir until just combined.

Fold in raspberries (if using frozen berries, let them thaw for a few minutes).

Heat a pan over moderately high heat and brush with additional melted butter. Drop 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto skillet; cook until bubbles form then flip and cook for one more minute. Serve with raspberry jam and powdered sugar.

58 greenliving az | February 2011

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GREAT FOOD • CRAFT BREWED BEER FINE WINE • ESPRESSO & COFFEE LIVE MUSIC • LOCAL ART a green cafe

a green cafe

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Join Us For Some Green Drinks Netwoking, Have One of Our Tasty Creations and Enjoy One of Arizona’s Largest Selections of Wine and Craft Brewed Beers HOURS Mon. - Thurs. 7:30am -11:00pm • Fri. - Sat. 7:30am - 12:00am Sun. 8:00am - 3:00pm we accept all major credit cards

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BEVERAGES Horizon Organic Dairy • Silk Soy Milk • Rice Dream Rice Milk • Locally Roasted Organic, Fair-Trade Shade Grown Coffee and Espresso • Swan Sisters & Maya Teas • Organic Lakewood Lemonade • Valley Orange Juice • Knudsen Apple Juice • Organic Monin Flavoring Syrups • All-Natural Blue Sky Cola • Reed’s Ginger Ale & China Cola • Organic Beer & Wines

RECYCLED GOODS Seventh Generation Recycled Paper Towels, Toilet Paper and Napkins • Corn Plastic Cold To Go Cups • Recycled Hot To Go Cups NATURAL CLEANERS Dr. Bronner’s Tea Tree Soap & Iodine Sterilizer • Citrasolve Floor Soap • Seventh Generation Multi-Surface Cleaner & Dish Washing Fluid • Ecover Dish Tablets • Biokleen Surfactant

WASTE FryingOilDonatedToaLocalBiodiesel Manufacturer • Glass, Plastic, Tin, Aluminum & Cardboard Recycling

By Earth Business • Vegetable Compost Donated To Karma Farm WE SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES AND USE ORGANIC, NATURAL & BIODEGRADABLE PRODUCTS WHENEVER POSSIBLE

Green Scenes

Paso Robles Wine Week in Scottsdale February 7-11 Sip with green winemakers from Tablas Creek, Ancient Peaks, Robert Hall, and J. Lohr, a winery with a 3-acre solar array. Over 30 winemakers in town for a series of wine dinners and a Grand Tasting at solar-minded El Chorro Lodge on February 9.

February Events Screening of Lunch Line, the movie February 28 Slow Food Phoenix and Arizona State University will hold a free screening of the Lunch Line, a documentary of the history of school lunches.

When: 5:30 p.m.

Where: Downtown Phoenix Civic Center, 424 N. Central Ave. Watch the trailer at ujifilms.com/lunchline/ For more information, please visit slowfoodphoenix.org.

Tickets: AJ’s Fine Foods and pasowine.com/events.

Childhelp Wings 2011 Enchanted Forest Luncheon & Fashion Show February 27 When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: Camelback Inn, Scottsdale For more information, please visit childhelp.org.

Valley Forward Luncheon February 17 Three of Arizona’s most respected economic development authorities will discuss the state’s changing demographics and economy.

When: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: The Ritz-Carlton, Phoenix For more information, please visit valleyforward.org.

Healing Trees Tree Plantings February 14 Join members of your community to celebrate Arizona’s statehood and take part in a collaborative effort to promote positive community change.

Visit healingtrees.org to find a planting location near you and to learn more about the Healing Trees mission.

Energy Medicine: A Hands on Experience February 18 Learn how to manage your energy system.

When: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Where: Fiesta Resort Conference Center For more information, visit: LearnEnergyMedicine.com To register, visit: http://tempe.innersource.net.

Second Annual Tomato Festival February 5 Purchase farm-grown heirloom tomatoes, experience tomato growing classes, kid activities and tastings.

When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: The Farm at South Mountain

Scottsdale Green Building Lecture Series March 3 Home Improvements and Green Remodeling What: Learn about green design strategies, materials and techniques to help you create a healthy, earth friendly and economically sound home suitable for our Sonoran Desert environment.

When: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Where: Scottsdale Granite Reef Senior Center For more information, please visit scottsdaleaz.gov/ greenbuilding.

6th Annual Sedona Marathon February 12 Register now for the race of your choice in the Sedona Marathon Event, the full marathon, half marathon, new this coming year, a 10K race and the 5K. For more information, please visit sedonamarathon.co

Sedona Bridal Fair February 26 Professional wedding vendors will include wedding planners, officiates, photographers, cake designers, caterers, wedding venues, musicians and disc jockeys, hair and make up artists, transportation companies, and much more.

Tickets: $10 per bride and $5 per guest.

For more information, please visit sedonabridalfair.com.

First Friday February 4 Enjoy music, live performances, food vendors, arts and crafts at this monthly festival.

Where: Roosevelt Row | East Roosevelt Street at 4th Street, Phoenix For more information, please call (602) 254-6500 or (602) 475-2661.

For more information, please visit slowfoodphoenix.org.

60 greenliving az | February 2011

greenlivingaz.com

Green Scenes

Second Saturdays February 12 With thousands of folks hitting downtown for the monthly event, 2nd Saturdays sees multiple venues offering music, street performers of all ilk and much more.

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Downtown Tucson For more information, please visit 2ndsaturdaysdowntown.com or call 520-547-3040.

Desert Botanical Gardens February 11 Romance in the Garden What: Begin a weekend of romance at the Desert Botanical Garden with a candlelit outdoor concert under starry skies.

When: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

February 13 Ken Druse on “The Love of Plants” What: Ken Druse will talk about the mysteries in the mathematical equations revealed in the leaves of an Agave; propagation secrets; plants that sparked social revolutions and artistic movements; some that caused wars; flowers that supported the economies of entire countries and led to their fall.

When: 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

February 26, 27 Corks and Cactus What: Experience Corks & Cactus, where guests are able to sample, sip and savor their way through the splendor of the Desert Botanical Garden.

When: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Please visit dbg.org for event information and ticket prices.

2011 Sarver Healthy Heart Conference February 12 Annual heart conference with educational lectures, health screenings including blood pressure, diabetes, asthma and “brown bag” prescription consults and complimentary breakfast.

When: 7:45 a.m.

Where: DuVal Auditorium, University Medical Center, Tucson For more information, please visit uafoundation.org.

Phoenix Zoo February 12 Jungle Love What: Dine out in one of the Zoo’s unique settings for an exquisitely catered dinner, savory sweets and adult beverages while enjoying fun entertainment and exotic animal encounters.

When: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. * Must be 21 or older to attend.

greenlivingaz.com

February Events Saturday Farmer’s Markets Gilbert: Val Vista Lakes Art Fair and Farmers Market 1600 E. Lakeside Drive, Gilbert 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on second Saturdays of the month Season: September through June 602-314-0323 Mesa: MacDonald St. Farmers’ Market NE Corner of Main St. and MacDonald 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Season: October through April Glendale: Farmers’ Market at Westgate 6770 N. Sunset Blvd., across from Cardinals Stadium 2nd & 4th Saturday of the month 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Season: September through May Phoenix: Roadrunner Farmers’ Market N. E. Phoenix near Paradise Valley, 3502 E Cactus Rd, Phoenix AZ 85032 (Between Freeway 51 & 36th St) 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Season: October through May 623-848-1234 Phoenix: Farm at South Mountain 6106 S. 32nd St. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Season: October through May 480-236-7097 Phoenix: Camelback Market 3930 E. Camelback Rd. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Season: October through May 602-224-0225 Scottsdale: Old Town Farmers’ Market The city parking facility at the corner of Brown and 1st Street In the Old Town area. (Next to the Carriage House) 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

(623) 848-1234 Tucson: Oro Valley Farmers’ Market Oro Valley Town Hall 11000 N. La Cañada Dr., Oro Valley 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Season: Mid-October through April 520-882-2157 Tucson: Plaza Palomino Artist & Farmer’s Market 2970 N. Swan Rd. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Season: Ongoing 520-523-1005 Tucson: Rincon Valley Farmer’s Market 12500 E. Old Spanish Trail 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Season: Ongoing 520-591-2276

February 2011 | greenliving az 61

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February 2011 | greenliving az

63

Green Personalities

An interview with Sam Kathryn Campana founding Director of Audubon Arizona

BY HEATHER FULTON

What lead you to become the Founding Director of Audubon Arizona?

I was recruited by the National Audubon Society for the Arizona state office. The regional director for Audubon knew of my work with the McDowell Sonoran preserve, and he recruited me. Audubon was looking for a person who had run a statewide office, who could manage public policy and fund raise, and with my work as Mayor of Scottsdale, I was qualified to do that.

What can the average person do to become more aware about local conservation efforts?

I suggest researching your city’s website – it should give you a lot of information without “greenwashing.”

Additionally, people can consider conservation when they are voting and notice if candidates are talking about local conservation initiatives, and what’s going on in Arizona’s environment.

From school board members to city council members to U.S. senators – the environment should be on everybody’s minds.

The Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center recently received the Valley Forward Association’s highest honor, the President’s Award for Special Achievement in Environmental Excellence. Tell us about the Center and what makes it so unique.

We were thrilled because we went that evening having been nominated for two awards that we would most covet; one for the building, because it’s so green. In fact, we were the first building in Phoenix to be given the Platinum rating, the highest LEED award you can get. What was even more exciting for us was that our programs had been nominated. We received one of the big awards for our Nature Education Program, and that was really meaningful because we had only been open a year! The focus of the Center is to teach people the history of why we built there and facilitate a relationship between them and nature.

One thing we’re most proud of about the Center is that our architect really tried to incorporate sustainable items that people could buy off the shelf. There’s nothing there that mystifies you or that looks like something sustainable you couldn’t incorporate in your own home or business.

work on all of the time.

I would start by being a “locavore.” If you can be conscious about the choices you’re making in the grocery store, that’s probably one of the most important things you can do for the environment.

Some small steps I’ve made toward living a greener life are changing the types of detergents and cleaning products, composting and driving less. I even have chickens now, so I have fresh eggs!

Are there any pressing environmental concerns affecting Arizona’s bird populations?

Tice Supplee, Audubon’s Director of Bird Conservation, reminds us that Arizona is a meeting place for birds and migrating flocks of birds from even Alaska and South America.

Water is critical to their avian health, so Audubon sits on several water working groups. Global warming will also impact our Arizona birds and our Audubon Research Ranch in southeastern Arizona dedicated to the study of grassland birds. Today, Arizona has one of the healthiest and most diverse bird populations in the country.

What’s on the agenda for this year’s Nature Film Festival?

We’re in the process of selecting the two films. We’re hoping that our film this year will be a big commercial film. Directed by David Frankel with cast members Jack Black, Steve Owen and Jim Parsons, it’s a film about birding called “The Big Year.” We’re hoping to either feature or preview it.

Fun questions

1. What is your favorite bird or animal species?

I’ve fallen in love with red-winged blackbirds. They have the most beautiful song and such a pretty bird.

In your opinion, what should Arizonans be most conscious of when maintaining a green lifestyle?

2. Other than bird watching, what is your favorite outdoor activity?

Gardening. My whole yard, with the exception of a few plants, is all either native or desert landscaping. I have over 200 species of cactus in my yard.

Making big changes like changing the type of car you drive, adding solar panels or removing your lawn and installing native landscaping, does make a huge difference; but the small sustainable changes we can think about every day are the ones I try to

3. What’s your favorite Italian dish?

Anything my daughters make me. My girls have become the best cooks!

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greenliving az | February 2011

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