Here in Arizona, swimming pools are among some of the worst chemically ridden environments that our families interact with on a regular basis. From those inside lush, lavish resorts, to our gyms, community pools and even our own backyards, we fill these glorious bodies of water with chemicals like chlorine, acid, clarifiers, algaecides and tile cleaners week after week in the name of keeping them clean and safe. But what is safe about exposing our bodies and skin to these chemicals on a regular basis?
Unfortunately, many people have a hard time enjoying their own pools - whether to swim for exercise, play with their kids, or take a break from the summer heat - due to the amount of chemicals used for treatment. While chlorine has undoubtedly provided us with beneficial uses for many years, it can also cause a myriad of health issues from over exposure.
I perceive water in a swimming pool as a caged animal. We contain it and attempt to tame it for our own pleasure and enjoyment, but over the course of time, it’s unreasonable to expect healthy returns from such a toxic situation. Rather than holding it captive, what if we worked to understand it? The process of having a healthy relationship with water - whether in our shower or our swimming poolbegins with understanding its physical makeup.
At Exceptional Water Systems, we research water down to the quantum physics level. It is with this deep exploration that we are able to understand how we benefit from and maximize water’s existence in our world. Our expertly crafted systems are designed to diffuse natural gasses like oxygen, ozone, and carbon dioxide into water, helping to boost its disinfecting, oxidizing, and balancing capabilities while keeping it healthy and safe, even as it goes down the drain or is splashed across the yard with the fiercest of cannonballs.
We are committed to providing water quality above and beyond industry standards. If you’re tired of literally swimming in harmful chemicals, we are here to help you engineer a clean and safe swimming pool system that utilizes nature’s greatest elements to nurture life’s most basic building block - water. Once you’ve had the opportunity to swim in a highly oxygenated pool, you’ll find there is just no substitute! At Exceptional Water Systems, we provide healthy water for humanity.
If you would like to learn more about our systems, please visit our website at www.exwsystems.com or call (480) 694-4709.
GOOD
14 Planet-Minded Parenting
16
20
Eco-friendly habits to teach your kids at home
A Sense of Wonder
How school gardening programs spark curiosity and develop lifelong learners
Code Green
Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino’s April Stovall champions sustainability
HEALTH & WELLNESS
24 The 411 on Forever Chemicals
26
SAVOR
What you need to know
Submerged in Sound
Immerse yourself into the world of sound healing with two Valley experts
48 Recipes
Picazzo’s Limoncello Margarita + Queen Creek Olive Mill’s Lemon Garlic Broccoli
50 The Rise of the Climavore
TRAVEL
Eating with the environment in mind
54 Travel With Purpose
Kind Traveler partners with Visit California for the state’s first regenerative tourism program
TECHNOLOGY
58 Achieving Environmental Equity in Arizona
Addressing discriminatory urban planning practices to promote health and well-being in frontline communities
ABOUT THE COVER: The life and times of Arizona native and environmental pioneer Stewart Udall are chronicled in the soon-tobe released documentary, Stewart Udall and The Politics of Beauty.
Largest gynecologic oncology and surgical breast oncology groups in the region
Expert multidisciplinary teams treating colorectal, pancreatic, lung/esophagus, urologic and neuro oncologic disease
Leukemia, hematology and blood disorder therapies
Bone marrow transplant and CAR-T therapies
Extensive clinical research trials
Support services, dietitians, financial assistance and more
Happy Earth Month! This is the time of year that our staff lives for - a time to honor the work our community performs year-round to protect and restore the places that make Arizona, and our planet, such a spectacular place to live. This, of course, is due in part to a truly legendary environmental and political leader from Arizona by the name of Stewart Udall. Our great nation owes a debt of gratitude to this humble man who made it his life’s work to protect our natural lands and resources, and who seemingly amassed a list of environmental accolades as long as the Colorado River. Our cover story is dedicated to his memory and should be a gentle reminder to us all that when we personally embody the principles of environmental stewardship, we have the ability to positively impact our environment for decades to come.
In this issue, you’ll also find a tribute to one of Green Living magazine’s long-time writers, Ric Coggins, whose untimely passing shocked our community in February. He made an impact on our readership that is felt to this day - our office still receives calls and inquiries about his stories detailing his journey and eventual recovery from large B-cell lymphoma. He was a great family man, writer, master gardener, adventurer, worldtraveler, and friend whose passion for the environment and nature was an inspiration to us all.
Both of these men, although very different in their work, shared a similar love for our planet. This month, I intend to continue to evaluate the changes that I can make with my family to continue to be better to our Mother Earth. I hope that you’ll join us at our second ever Green Living Earth Day Extravaganza at Heritage and Science Park in Downtown Phoenix on Saturday, April 22. We’ll be celebrating our planet with a host of eco-conscious exhibitors and activities that will educate, inspire and empower you with the knowledge you need to protect our environment in a fun and interactive way! This free family event will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature live music, yoga, Qigong, live healthy cooking demonstrations, dancing, electric car displays and so much more. This month, consider that small changes from each of us can add up to one big positive impact for our planet. What will yours be? Share with us on Facebook (@greenlivingazmag), Instagram (@greenlivingmag) and Twitter (@greenlivingaz).
Eco-consciously yours,
Dorie Morales Publisher
Michelle Talsma Everson is a freelance journalist who believes that communication is an art, where the right messaging can tell impactful, vivid stories. Using that art, she has built a career as a journalism and public relations professional in the Valley. Her work has been seen in magazines, newspapers, and online outlets across Arizona and nationally for over a decade. Learn more about her writing at mteverson.com.
Born, raised, and educated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, David M. Brown is a Valley-based freelancer. In addition to sustainability, he writes about the arts, architecture, cars, and other topics he is passionate about. Learn more about him at www.azwriter.com.
conscious life
greenlivingmag.com
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Our web exclusive explores holistic practices that can help improve emotional well-being and cognitive abilities in women, including meditation, aromatherapy and yoga - all of which can help reduce stress, lessen anxiety, and boost mental clarity.
Green Living Magazine hosts one of its biggest events of the year on Earth Day, April 22, where we celebrate, educate, empower, and inspire others to protect our planet. The event is open to all ages and admission is free. www. greenlivingmag.com/events/ earth-day-extravaganza-2023/
Electric vehicles have recently achieved wide public popularity, with sales up 2.7% last year. The industry is seeing a massive surge in support across multiple sectors, leading car companies to pour their efforts into expanding technology behind their electric vehicle models.
Our team paid a visit to Stemistry flower bar and coffee lab to celebrate 16-year-old entrepreneur Dylan Capshaw’s expansion into Downtown Phoenix. Check out the details in our Good section.
Our team was thrilled to meet with the City of Phoenix, Shape Up US, and More Than Modeling to put the finishing touches on planning for our Earth Day Extravaganza happening later this month.
Explore her Crystal Bowl Showroom in Scottsdale, Arizona, and purchase your favorite vibrational frequency. Because she believes in her healing practice through Crystal Sound Bowls, she sells only the best to the public. By appointment only.
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Sound healing allows soothing vibrations to transfix all sensations of being and provides an opportunity for human existence to realign into perfect function.
Kim Balzan SOUND produces endless vibrational frequencies using various instruments and high-quality Crystal Sound Bowls. Kim carries the finest Alchemy Crystal Bowls on the planet, each infused with pure quartz crystals, gemstones, or precious metals.
Her Crystal Singing Bowls send healing vibrations to expand health; introduce peace; provide relaxation; reduce anxiety; increase concentration; assist through grief; bring love; reduce pain; balance the nervous system; and so much more. From playing on television to selling out sound events, you can count on Kim to provide an extraordinary experience with each mallet stroke.
Kim creates experiences with SOUND for all occasions on location or in her extraordinary private space.
Zaha Hadid Architects announced a joint venture partnership with the Education Above All Foundation (EAA) to donate 27 tents to communities in Turkey, Syria and Yemen that will serve as schools, clinics and emergency shelters. The tents are weather-proof, modular structures that can be easily moved and re-assembled, making them ideal for displaced populations. The structures also incorporate components that can be upcycled or recycled for sustainability.
Green Magic Homes offer an innovative and eco-friendly way to build. These homes are composed of prefabricated, vaulted panels which are made from composite laminate materials. They are easily assembled, with perforated flaps allowing for simple connection and secure sealing of the components together. Like traditional hobbit homes, reinforced walls are covered with soil and greenery, making them energy efficient and energy saving.
Dutch company Kipster is revolutionizing the egg industry with carbon-neutral eggs. The company reduces greenhouse gas emissions internally and offsets any remainder by supporting external carbon reduction projects. Kipster feeds its chickens with upcycled food, reducing the need for land to grow corn and soy, and leaving more for human consumption.
Nextracker, a company that provides solar tracking systems and software solutions, recently raised $638 million in its IPO - the largest of 2023. This is indicative of investor confidence in the solar energy industry given solar prices have decreased and should further decrease with the anticipated Inflation Reduction Act subsidies. This will create increased demand for Nextracker's equipment, which helps adjust solar panel angles and optimize energy yield from the sun.
Arvin Goods is a Seattle-based clothing company that strives to shatter the methods of the current pollution and waste-producing apparel world. It started by making socks from discarded fabric scraps and with it, created a new industry category deemed Clean Basics, defined by its use of low-impact materials. Expansion of the line now includes hats and other apparel.
Looking for a skincare or beauty product that helps you and the environment? Origins might have your answer. A long-time company with a history of formulating skincare products targeted to a variety of concerns, Origin’s ingredients are derived from nature by bio-tech lab scientists who “identify the high-performing, bioactive elements of plant- and earth-based ingredients –then use innovative technologies to unleash and amplify their benefits.” Scientists “consciously formulate” each product with clean ingredients that are researched and evaluated for purity, efficacy and safety. Since 2009, the company has planted and cared for over 2.3 million trees in Asia, Europe, and North America. The company also uses minimal packaging, 100% renewable electricity in its manufacturing process, and offsets carbon emissions from shipping for every U.S. order. www.origins.com
A day at the beach can turn sour with a sunburn, and it can feel even worse when you’ve used a commercial sunscreen that contains gnarly chemicals that can harm marine life. In addition to being free from parabens, gluten, and Vitamin A, Sun Bum products are vegan, crueltyfree, hypoallergenic, and Hawaii Act 104 Reef Compliant - which means they don’t contain contain oxybenzone or octinoxate, so they’re safer for marine life. Sunscreens come as a spray, roll-on, or lotion, and the line is completed by various hair and lip care products. Sun Bum’s nonprofit organization, Protect the Groms, partners with elementary schools and other organizations to provide shade structures for playgrounds and sun safety education with the intention of “moving the needle on skin cancer.” www.sunbum.com
Direct from the beautiful Island of Hawaii, Kapa Nui Nail Polish is safe for you and the environment. Founders Terry Lam and Dr. Lyn M. Lan searched for a way to develop nail polish that is devoid of toxic chemicals and ingredients and safe for all users. They found it with the help of an organic polymer chemist who developed the nail colors with an acrylate copolymer made from carbon, nitrogen, and water that degrades to naturally occurring forms of these elements, making it both human- and ecofriendly. According to the company's website, pregnant women, children, and people with cancer can use Kapa Nui Nail Polish. The company is PETA Certified vegan and cruelty free, and no wheat products are included in the products, as well. In addition to a wide range of colors inspired by the beauty of Hawaii, the company offers base and top coats, nail strengthening and repair, polish remover, and cuticle oil. www.kapanuinails.com
If you’re still toting that heavy, always-damp-never-dry, scatterssand-everywhere cotton bath towel to the beach or pool, do yourself a favor and ditch it for a Sand Cloud towel. Sand Cloud towels are Turkish organic cotton towels that are lightweight, easy to roll up, and sand resistant. Even after a swim in the ocean and a walk up the beach, these towels still chase away the sand with a few shakes and dry faster than a basic cotton towel. They’re also warm enough for cooler beach days. Sand Cloud was started by three friends in San Diego, California, who wanted to reinvent the beach towel and help marine life. The company’s tag line, #SaveTheFishies, points toward the company’s mission of donating 10% of all profits toward marine conservation through partnerships with several nonprofit foundations that benefit marine wildlife and the ecosystem. www.sandcloud.com
IIt may sound crazy, but to this day, 50 years into life - I still feel a twinge of guilt on the rare occasion that I buy a box of sugary cereal. Yes, I’m an adult and can buy whatever I want, but that rule set by my mom so many years ago still stays with me. In hindsight, I’m incredibly grateful for the example that she set because she instilled in my sisters and me the good nutrition habits that we live by today.
The same can be done for saving the planet. Setting a good example for your kids on how to live more eco-friendly is seriously powerful and can help instill “green” habits that go well beyond Earth Day to a lifetime of sustainable living. Here are seven simple ways to do it:
Back in the 70s when I was a kid, a neighbor of mine in New Hampshire had a compost pile, and at the time, I thought it was just plain weird and a bit gross. Today, composting is a popular way not only to reduce food waste in landfills, but also to generate nutrient-rich soil for your plants or a home garden. In a nutshell (excuse the pun), composting entails combining organic material such as fruit and vegetable scraps and yard waste (leaves, grass, flowers), with a bit of water and air, and letting it decompose, resulting in the perfect soil. Composting can be a fun activity for kids and parents to do together. If you choose to donate the soil, let your kids help research possible recipients.
Growing up, eco-friendly products were hard to find, and those we did have were less than stellar (aka toothpaste that could pass for caulking). Luckily today, buying green is big business, with many sustainably-based stores and endless amounts of high-quality products, from food to house cleaners to cosmetics to choose from. For example, there are some great brands for cleaning countertops that use natural ingredients, oils, and fragrances that make your kitchen smell almost like a spa. Seeing what items you purchase can have a major influence on your kids’ choices down the road.
Setting good nutrition habits for your kids when they’re young is one of the best gifts you can give them. Be intentional about preparing healthy meals and buying organic, all-natural ingredients. There are multitudes of cookbooks out there for kids, so have them find one they like and create a week-long menu
that you can cook together. Even better, make it a fun habit to shop at farmers markets on the weekends, not only to get the best produce, but also to introduce kids to the farms in their community.
We all know the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. But beyond the catchy phrase, this is truly an easy way to demonstrate sustainable habits to your kids. For example, you can ditch the paper towels for some nifty, reusable, and recyclable cloths with fun designs; or choose eco-friendly, reusable pouches for sandwiches and snacks at school. Switching to reusable products not only saves a ton of money but also reduces kitchen clutter and - better yet - decreases the amount of waste headed to our landfills.
Finding hidden treasures at local thrift shops and consignment stores can actually be a fun outing for kids, while simultaneously modeling the values of reusing and repurposing items to give them longer life. Take them with you to help find that perfect item for an outfit or for a unique gift for birthdays or holidays. Second-hand stores not only help teach the benefits of reuse, but they can also save you loads of money on housewares, books, decor, and more.
When planning that family vacation or summer camp, you now have many ways to make it an educational experience for you and your kids. Several companies offer unique, travel-with-purpose packages in the U.S. and abroad for your family to volunteer to participate in conservation projects or give back to the community while being immersed in different cultures.
Choosing a hybrid or electric car is another tangible and practical way to demonstrate sustainability to your kids. Invite them into the process of looking at different cars and deciding on the elements you want. Beyond the car, find out if there’s a light rail in your community and explore how you might incorporate using it at least once a week. Better still, use your own power by biking. If your destination isn’t too far, opt for the bike and make it an outing with your kids. Not only is it fun, but it provides great exercise while leaving a zero-carbon footprint.
You’re invited to attend our biggest fundraising event of the year!
The gala that’s always a little less formal and a lot more fun!
Friday, April 21, 2023 6pm - 10pm
DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Paradise Valley – Scottsdale
Auctions | Cocktails | Dinner
Attire: Blue Jeans of Course!
habitatcaz.org/events
habitatcaz.org
BY LYNDSEY WAUGH
WWonderment. It’s perhaps one of the best things about childhood and what makes spending time with young children so enjoyable. To see the world again through their eyes… The spark of curiosity as clouds form across the sky, a sense of awe while quietly watching a spider slowly build a web, or wondering why some flowers close with the setting of the sun. The joy of wonderment is a fundamental part of early childhood experiences, yet as we age, there is a shift. Curiosity is replaced with answers, structure, and schedules, and slowly wonderment becomes less and less noticeable, as responsibility and the pressures of growing up take hold.
School gardening programs embrace and encourage a child’s innate curiosity, melding wonderment with academics as children learn through hands-on lessons taught in the outdoor classroom.
“We often jump to the benefits that school gardening
programs have on student academic outcomes because of their effectiveness in teaching science, math and other subject matters, but first and foremost, school gardening experiences help students keep a sense of wonderment alive as they begin to understand the world around them,” explains Em Shipman, executive director of KidsGardening.
This materializes as a lifelong love of learning. “We all know older people who still have that spark. They’re curious. They’re the 80-year-olds going out for a walk, slowing down to notice the leaves unfurling on trees as they pass by in spring, or who are hungrily reading new books and learning new things,” says Shipman.
But it’s more than that, she explains. Lifelong learners may also be able to navigate interpersonal relationships better, be more self-reflective, and maintain a healthier mindset because of their ability to adjust their perspective as greater insights or learnings unfold.
“Helping kids develop a lifelong love of learning will not only bring joy to their living experiences, but it also gives them a framework and motivation to seek out new answers and find the discovery process rewarding,” says Shipman. “This is core to building healthy relationships and perhaps even being willing to change career paths or be more accepting of different perspectives.”
Moses Thompson, director of University of Arizona’s School Garden Workshop, couldn’t agree more. Through a unique partnership with Tucson Unified School District, Thompson and his team support 70 school gardens, more than 30,000 students annually.
“Our school garden spaces are living classrooms where students are highly motivated to learn because the ability to connect with nature, observe plant life cycles, and grow their own fruits and vegetables feeds their curiosity in a way that engages all their senses,” says Thompson. “This heightens their learning experience and retention, which is great for all learners, especially those who sometimes struggle in a typical classroom setting.”
Manzo Elementary School is recognized nationally and internationally for its outstanding school garden programming, which is core to the school’s culture. Classrooms open into a central outdoor greenspace that serves as the anchor point to the garden program. There, a mix of raised and lowered garden beds filled with fresh vegetables are spread amongst a greenhouse where students oversee plant germination; a chicken
Expand your sense of awe for the world around you. Take yourself on a "Wonder Walk" to begin connecting with the experience of wonderment in your life. Or consider taking a Wonder Walk with a child to share in their curiosity.
Set off without a destination in mind. If you need parameters, give yourself a time limit. This wander is about the journey, not the destination. Get out of your head and notice the world around you. What catches your eye? What do you notice about it? What do you wonder?
Try on different lenses to study the world around you. Look at the micro-scale. What's growing between the cracks in the sidewalk? Then zoom out to the macro. Why is the land around you shaped as it is?
What do you see that brings you a sense of calm, wonder, or joy? Allow this feeling to sit with you as you continue throughout your day. Consider journaling or writing “one word” to capture the feeling of your experience.
coop where birds are rotated out to the grass area throughout the day to graze; and a fully operational aquaponics system, where plants and fish grow together in harmony. It’s a magical space, brimming with wonderment for students, parents, and teachers alike.
Thompson explains that the garden also provides students with the quiet space for self-reflection or for a school counselor to work with a student in an environment that is more inviting and disarming than an administrative office.
“When we bring a student who may be struggling with an issue at home or an issue in the classroom into the garden to talk about how they’re feeling, it’s
a whole different ball game,” he said. “They’re able to release tensions they’re holding and use skills like observation to connect first with the world around them and their body, and then to the root of what’s causing their feelings so they can learn how to work through them.”
Across the country, thousands of school gardens provide outdoor experiential learning for students. Still, access to garden education is still out of reach for most schools. Sprouts Farmers Market, wants to change that. Sprouts has been actively involved in the school garden movement since 2015, and the company views these outdoor learning spaces as a game changer in helping kids grow healthy. Through its Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, Sprouts is investing more than $3 million this year into school gardening programs nationwide that will provide three million students with access to outdoor learning. During Earth Month, Sprouts is partnering with KidsGardening to host a “school garden giveaway” where schools can be nominated to receive a new or refreshed learning garden, plus a modest grant budget to assist with teacher training and programming.
For Shipman, the idea of “every student in every school having a garden” is big and very exciting.
She wonders aloud, “What would a world look like if every student in every school had access to a garden, where all students grew up to become lifelong learners full of wonderment? What kind of world would that be?”
Celebrate Earth Day with the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation at Green Living ’s Science Center Event on Saturday, April 22. Sprouts will be on site to share more about their school gardening programs, plus a few hands-on activities to spark kids’ curiosity around eating fresh fruits and veggies!
BY JENNIFER SCHWEGMAN
AApril Stovall always wanted to be a part of something great. As a child, she loved roller skating and told herself that someday she would join a roller derby team. And why not? She was tough and could do anything she set her mind to.
“I took great pride in developing my roller-skating abilities,” says Stovall. “I used the activity to get fit and stay healthy.”
A self-described “Marine Corps brat” who moved around a lot as a child, Stovall learned the importance of being an active participant in supporting the health and wellness of the community. It helped her establish roots and foster friendships. She regularly searched out opportunities to get involved and be active. She learned how to work hard and crush obstacles. Her motto? “If you’re not falling down, you’re not trying hard enough.”
Staying true to her roller derby passion, in 2015, Stovall joined the Arizona Roller Derby, the second oldest roller derby league in the country. Three years
later, she transferred to the Casa Grande Roller Derby and found her home. During this time, Stovall really grew as a skater. The league’s mission statement of empowering women and giving back to the community made her feel like it was the perfect fit.
Stovall (or April May Dismember, as she’s known on the circuit) also leads the team’s volunteer efforts. She is a vocal champion for the advancement of women, especially in roles that are not traditionally held by women.
As community is an integral part of Stovall’s personal life, her choice to work for Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino also aligned with her need to give back and make the world a better place.
“While roller derby is known for powerful women, my start as a security officer in the hospitality industry 23 years ago was just the opposite,” says Stovall.
In a field dominated by men, Stovall conquered new responsibilities and moved quickly up the ranks. Today, as director of facilities and surveillance, she is responsible for the safety and security of the physical property and hundreds of guests each day. She also oversees the technology, construction, and environmental services departments for the property.
“Caesars Entertainment is committed to sustainability. Our program, CodeGreen, is our public pledge to employees, guests, and the community-at-large that our organization will consistently explore and implement new ways to reduce its environmental footprint.”
Many of the property’s CodeGreen initiatives were inspired by the Ak-Chin Indian Community’s deep roots in farming, agriculture, and passion for protecting and sustaining our land, air, and water. In addition to its focus on reducing the property’s carbon footprint, efforts also focus on energy-savings, water consumption, and recycling.
“CodeGreen introduces real solutions to the world's environmental and sustainability challenges we face today,” says Stovall. “We can do our part here at Harrah’s to encourage others to do their part.”
Some of the many ways the company is committed to sustainability include a commitment to measurable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions; investing in sustainable practices that increase energy efficiency and water conservation; and promoting recycling and waste reduction throughout all areas of the property, including the casino, hotel, and restaurants.
“I’ve been a Harrah’s AkChin Casino team member since 1999,” says Stovall. “The organization’s
ongoing commitment to community and the environment is more than lip service. We do what we say and put action behind our words. I’m proud to lead the effort.”
Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino is part of Clean the World, a global health initiative committed to improving the quality of life in vulnerable communities. Through the partnership, the property recycles discarded soap to be sanitized, processed, and distributed to communities that need it to prevent unnecessary deaths from hygiene-related diseases. The property also organizes CodeGreen community sustainability events that include building hygiene kits for veterans and the homeless population.
And recycling doesn’t stop with soap: Harrah's AkChin Casino also recycles thousands of pounds of cooking oil every year to be turned into biofuel for transportation, heating, and electricity.
“Conservation is at the core of our hotel’s energy management system,” says Stovall. “We conserve energy in unoccupied spaces by resetting air conditioning to 75 degrees. In the hotel rooms, refrigerators are set to low when rooms are unoccupied, and showers are installed with low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators to help decrease water consumption on the property. Housekeeping also conserves electricity and water by changing sheets and towels upon request.”
And on the gaming floor, Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino has an enhanced focus on improving air quality through cold plasma ionization bars that kill viruses, bacteria, and mold; and UVDI purification units that improve the quality of air and keep guests healthy through multi-stage filtration.
Whether she is assisting her teammates at the rink or crusading for a better planet at work, for Stovall, when purpose and passion align, there is nothing quite like it.
Ric and I met at a design industry event in 2015 and hit it off immediately. His passion for life and doing good for the environment were apparent, and over the course of several months, we continued to bump into each other at industry events.
Eventually, our friendship grew through conversations over coffee, which allowed me to learn about his path in life. We talked about everything from our families to religion and our careers. He was incredibly knowledgeable and well-versed in many topics. From cars and travel to farming and food, health and wellness, master gardening and sustainability - he spoke with passion and purpose when it came to his hobbies.
Ric absolutely loved to cook and treated my family and me to some of his best work, including homemade mulberry wine from the trees in his yard, and even sauerkraut - which turned out to be the best I’d ever had. Over the years, our families enjoyed some incredible times together.
Ric’s knowledge of sustainability also translated into some notable stories that long-time readers of Green Living may remember. In June 2016, he wrote his first article about Robert Bosch and the green movement, followed shortly thereafter by a fantastic piece about the importance of eating native seeds, and a couple months later,
what green activism meant to him. He was excited to write for the magazine, following in the footsteps of his father, who was a regular contributor to organic gardening and farming magazines.
Ric’s pieces continued to get great feedback and in January 2017, he wrote the first article that introduced Green Living ’s master gardening series, in which he sourced endless amounts of information to create 12 months of content. Ric dove in head first, attending master gardening workshops and cultivating relationships with other master gardeners to bring timely and relevant stories to our readers. Eventually, he encouraged his friends to write for the magazine, as well. There was no bigger fan or supporter of this magazine than Ric.
Shortly after he started the gardening series, Ric began experiencing troublesome aches and pains in his body and his immune system began to show fatigue. In March 2017, his throat and lymph
nodes began to swell and he was diagnosed by a naturopath and an ENT with a thyroid issue. With no improvement in his condition by June, he sought an additional opinion from an endocrinologist who diagnosed him with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. It was aggressive, and his condition made it difficult to breathe. His only chance of survival was a program of intense chemotherapy. Ric first underwent a rigorous seven days of chemo, followed by another smaller round, and immunotherapy at the Hoxsey Biomedical Center in Tijuana.
During his cancer journey, Ric researched nearly every type of medicine and treatment possible and spoke to various practitioners of both Western and Eastern medicine to devise a holistic treatment plan that eventually resulted in a cancer-free diagnosis. He avidly followed the “Chris Beat Cancer” and “The Truth About Cancer” series of books.
Throughout his brave journey, Ric invited Green Living readers to reach out and provide comments on his articles. He received hundreds from people all over the country who related to his struggle, found hope in his survival, or wanted to connect with someone who cared. We received requests for Ric to appear at our events because they wanted simply to meet him.
He was humbled and happy to meet with anyone and everyone who benefitted from his story. I’m happy to say that in 2019, Ric’s
articles graduated from sharing about his fight with cancer, to detailing his cancer recovery journey. Readers even saw a return to articles on gardening, biodiversity, and health and wellness. As a member of our advisory board, Ric offered incredible insight, ideas, and valuable recommendations relating to the future of the magazine. I trusted him implicitly.
It seemed that everyone that knew Ric - and even those who simply felt like they knew him through his writing - absolutely loved him. His ability to connect with others was unparalleled. He deeply loved his wife Suzette, his children Leah, Sheena, and Sean, and his grandkids Cyrus and Ty, and he cherished every moment that he spent with them. He was called
Papa by his grandkids. He celebrated his friends and continued to devote his time and energy to causes and professional organizations (the National Kitchen and Bath Association was particularly close to his heart) that he was passionate about even following his retirement. There aren’t enough words or accolades to summarize Ric’s loving way or the impact that he had on his family, friends, and community. He was the most generous of humans, always ready to help others even if it meant putting his own needs aside. He loved Yahovah, his family, his friends, and, of course, HUGS. Our community is mourning the untimely loss of Ric, and I miss him deeply. I am grateful that his legacy of wisdom, warm personality, and zest for life will forever live on through his words written here, in Green Living.
Mark Morales and Ric Coggins
Since the 1950s, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been used in consumer products around the world, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). “They are ingredients in various everyday products,” cites the NIEHS. “For example, PFAS are used to keep food from sticking to packaging or cookware, make clothes and carpets resistant to stains, and create firefighting foam that is more effective.”
Because of their prevalence, PFAS have been given the name “forever chemicals,” and many experts note their potentially negative side effects. So, what are PFAS, and how do they impact us? And – perhaps most importantly – what can we do to prevent any health risks associated with them?
“PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals that have been used to make things waterproof, non-stick, or stain resistant,” explains Riggs Eckelberry, a top national water expert and founder/CEO of OriginClear, described as a “Clean Water Innovation Hub that develops projects to solve America’s water problems.”
“Think Teflon, fire-fighting foams, varnishes – things you don’t want to be consuming,” he continues. “These chemicals are very long lasting by design and can persist in the environment for thousands of years – hence the term ‘forever chemicals.’”
Dr. Paula Ruffin, D.C., is a speaker, chiropractor, and functional nutritionist with an expertise in forever chemicals. “To put it more simply, they [forever chemicals] are man-made, highly toxic substances that will not break down in a natural environment,” she elaborates. “They are quite literally in everything we touch, eat, and breathe… One very common class of forever chemicals is phthalates. The most obvious place you’ll find phthalates is in body care products, scented plug-ins, air fresheners, perfumes, and candles.”
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “PFAS can be present in our water, soil, air, and food, as well as in materials found in our homes or workplaces.”
“Due to their widespread production and use, as well as their ability to move and persist in the environment, surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that most people in the United States have been exposed to some PFAS,” cites the EPA. “Most known exposures are relatively low, but some can be high, particularly when people are exposed to a concentrated source over long periods of time. Some PFAS chemicals can accumulate in the body over time.”
Because of their overuse, there has been a lot of research into the potential health consequences of PFAS. “Current scientific research suggests that exposure to high levels of certain PFAS may lead to adverse health outcomes,” according to the EPA. “However, research is still ongoing to determine how different levels of exposure to different PFAS can lead to a variety of health effects.”
“Because of their persistent nature, they can build up in our bodies and negatively impact our health,” Eckelberry says. “According to the EPA, exposure to PFAS can impact reproductive health, cause developmental delays in children, increase certain
cancer risks, reduce immune system function, impact hormones, and even increase cholesterol.”
“Many people may not even make a connection between their health and their exposure to these forever chemicals,” Ruffin adds. “They are linked to a multitude of health concerns.”
Ruffin notes that prolonged exposure to forever chemicals can be connected to everything from behavioral issues in children to allergies, immune issues, and problems during pregnancy. She also says that forever chemicals may contribute to decreased fertility and lower testosterone levels.
“Scientists at [the] EPA, in other federal agencies, and in academia and industry are continuing to conduct and review the growing body of research about PFAS,” according to the EPA.
“Because there are many types of PFAS chemicals, which often occur in complex mixtures and in various everyday products, researchers face challenges in studying them,” cites the NIH. “More research is needed to fully understand all sources of exposure, and if and how they may cause health problems.”
While ongoing research is being conducted, most experts agree that there are multiple verifiable health issues associated with prolonged exposure to forever chemicals.
“We can be exposed to PFAS in a number of ways, including, food, food packaging, personal care products, and even our public drinking water,” Eckelberry says. “This is why I highly recommend having a water filtration system minimally at your kitchen tap to help prevent exposure to these and other chemicals that can be found in our water supply. The reality is that industry is the prime culprit, and they need to keep us all safe by finding
better, safer technology and by taking care of the water right where it’s polluted, so that it never gets into our water supply or soil in the first place. This is something we should make noise about.”
Ruffin advises that controlling your own personal environment is one of the best ways to help reduce exposure to forever chemicals. Some steps she recommends taking include:
• Getting your water tested and using a quality filtration system.
• Decreasing your use of plastics as best you can.
• Read labels and reduce your usage of products with high PFA levels. One resource she recommends is www.pfascentral.org/pfas-free-products.
• Eat fresh, organic fruits and vegetables when possible.
• Reduce consumption of paper products when possible.
“While all of this can get super overwhelming, I encourage everyone to just start somewhere,” she says. “Don’t feel like you must accomplish a whole list or go live off-grid in the mountains somewhere. Control what’s controllable… Pick one thing, and when you are comfortable with that change, pick another. Personally, I think the simplest thing to start with is removing all the perfumes, air fresheners, and candles from the home, then get your water tested. Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.”
To learn more about forever chemicals, including links to various government agencies and research being done on the topic, visit www.epa.gov/pfas/ our-current-understanding-human-health-andenvironmental-risks-pfas.
BBathing your body and mind in sound. It may sound a little hokey, but sound baths - an ancient form of sound healing - have been around for centuries. Purported to be rooted in Tibetan culture, sound baths have the capacity to help participants reduce their levels of anxiety, sadness, tension, and even physical pain.
The practice of sound baths dates back more than 2,000 years but has only recently begun to gain popularity in the U.S. In 2019, followers of E!’s “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” may have first learned about the modality when the network aired an episode featuring an extravagant baby shower for
Kim that treated guests to a 30-minute sound bath in her backyard.
But you don’t have to be a member of Hollywood’s elite to experience the benefits of sound healing for yourself. You may be able to find a sound bath
offered at your local yoga studio or featured as part of a wellness retreat. Right here in the Valley, more than 15 special sound healing events will take place this month at a variety of venues - some accompanying meditative yoga practices, others created to heal or address specific emotional needs, and even some designed with April’s lunar cycle in mind.
Those seeking a more intimate one-on-one experience may look to work with a sound healing practitioner like Scottsdale’s Kim Balzan. A former makeup artist, Balzan transformed her career path after she took time off to have children.
According to Balzan, “I had to get out and do something again, and it wasn’t going to be makeup.”
At the time, she notes that she was experiencing a shift in which she realized she was “meant for more.” She sought out different practices, techniques, and modalities that made her feel good personally, including holistic nutrition, yoga, and reiki. It was at this time that the healing qualities of sound resonated with what she feels was her soul’s deeper purpose.
“I knew everything else I was doing had to take a back seat to sound,” she says. “I began with Tibetan sound bowls and advanced almost instantaneously to crystal alchemy bowls.”
Each bowl and material used during a sound bath provides a different tone and vibration that are known to affect the body in different ways. Traditional Tibetan singing bowls are made of various metal alloys that produce acoustic healing vibrations that typically range from 110 to 660 Hz. On the other hand, crystal singing bowls are made from quartz, and can also be infused with various gemstones and precious metals - these are referred to as crystal alchemy bowls. Quartz bowls produce frequencies ranging from a tenth of a kHz to several tenths of a MGz. In short, the higher the frequency, the
faster the vibration experienced by the participant.
So, what does this mean? From a physical standpoint, different sound frequencies resonate with our bodies - and brain waves - in different ways. The vibrations travel not only through our bodies to clear energy blocks and promote circulation, but also have the capacity to promote healing on a cellular level. We can use these frequencies to shift our brainwaves from normal consciousness (beta state) to a state of relaxed consciousness (theta state) and even induce sleep. Sound healing works on your body to put it into a parasympathetic state, lowering your blood pressure, relaxing your muscles, and reducing stress.
For Balzan, the specific use of crystal alchemy bowls personally resonated with her very strongly.
“The vibration is so fast! It hits your body immediately and works so quickly,” she said. “For me, it was transformative - I was in a place where I just felt ‘blah’ and didn’t know I could feel joy again. It brought me bliss in a matter of seconds. That was it.”
Within a matter of months, Balzan had opened her own practice and began using the methodology to help others.
For sound healer and conscious leadership coach Sam Harper, she notes that she “stumbled upon sound healing about five years ago by accident.” She
continues, “I was at an International Yoga Day event and at the end of the session, we were guided into a sound healing session that rocked my world.”
A licensed therapist for nearly nine years at that time, Harper has a master’s degree in professional counseling with an emphasis in trauma and expressive art therapy.
“I transitioned into [sound healing] as my career organically, and it’s been a beautifully abundant adventure ever since,” she says.
A rather natural fit, she references strong musical influences from her father when she was a child, and her studies in music theory in both her undergraduate and graduate programs. And while her background in academia and music is certainly helpful in her newest role, it is Harper’s gifts that lie beneath the surface that may be the most intriguing to her clients.
started putting my channeled messages out on IG in 2022. It’s something I kept quiet unless you came in to see me for a session. I didn’t want to scare people off, but it’s a huge part of who I am, so the cat’s out of the bag!”
In addition to sharing these messages with her followers, Harper uses her ability to see a client’s energy to tell where it is blocked and facilitate its movement in the body with an assortment of chimes, gongs, rattles, drums, and, of course, crystal bowls. If all of this sounds a little too far-fetched for your liking, you’re Harper’s favorite kind of client.
“I actually love working with this demographic of people the most because they tend to have their minds blown by the experience,” she says. “It’s evidencebased and [there is] scientific proof to demonstrate the effectiveness of sound healing on the body.”
She’s not wrong. Among many that point to the principles of physics and the impact of sound waves on the body, a 2016 study by Goldsby, et al. - which researched the effects of singing bowl sound meditation on mood, tension, and well-being - determined that participants experienced increased feelings of relaxation and decreased feelings of stress, depressed mood, and anxiety post-meditation. According to the study, several participants also experienced an increase in their sense of spiritual well-being, and interestingly, participants 40 to 59 years of age appeared to experience a reduction in physical pain and tension, as well.
“It’s a gentle healing modality that works quickly without having to articulate your experience. It helps rewire the brain and neural pathways, which is what’s needed for somatic trauma healing,” says Harper.
Just a year ago, Harper began posting “daily channeled messages” for her followers on social media, in which she shares wisdom and messages that she is able to channel from what she refers to as “Source.” She explains that each of us has our own ability to connect to something greater than ourselves, and we may each refer to that entity as something different, whether it be Source, the Universe, God, Spirit, angels, spirit guides, or something else. In short, the name we assign to it doesn’t matter.
“I have been intuitive my entire life,” she said. “I only
Not convinced yet? Perhaps you should know what to expect. To experience a sound bath properly, no prior experience is needed. Like yoga, you’ll want to be able to get the most out of your experience by reducing any distractions like uncomfortable clothes, hunger, or thirst, and avoid alcohol ahead of your session.
Balzan notes each person will inevitably have a different experience.
“Some have visions, some see the energy as colors or different shapes,” she says. “Many experience a feeling of being lighter, like something was lifted. Some experience memories from years ago or visions of doing something they’ve always wanted to do come forward, even physical sightings of things leaving their bodies.”
Conversely, she notes that “some people may not go skipping out of a sound bath. It may stir up some heavy emotions that they need to let go of.”
Balzan says that some people may experience one sound bath and that’s all it takes for them to experience the transformation they were seeking, while others may choose to experience the benefits of the modality for a period of months or years.
She has experienced potentially the greatest satisfaction working with patients at cancer centers.
“The vibrations really resonated with the patientsespecially those going through chemo and grief. It brought them to a space of peace and quiet - a space that felt good,” she said. “They tell me how they didn’t want to 'come back' from the bath.”
At the beginning of each session for a new client, both Harper and Balzan take the time to walk them through the process by explaining the different ways in which each instrument - including bowls, gongs, chimes, drums, and mallets - can be used to create the sound waves that will go to work on their brain and nervous system.
As one might experience in a yoga class, beginning the session by connecting to your breath can aid
in settling the mind and allowing you to “drop into your body.” Post session, Harper notes that drinking water is especially important and that the next day, clients may experience a bit of an “emotional hangover.” She explains that this is because sound waves can bring a lot of emotions to the surface that are trapped in our bodies as cellular memories, but she provides assurance that the “hangover” will clear.
For those looking for a sound bath experience at home, an abundance of playlists and videos exist online, or you may enlist the help of your favorite practitioner for recommendations. In addition to offering in-person private and group sessions from her new location at The Portal AZ - a joint effort with Modern Reiki - in central Scottsdale, Harper recently released “The Sound Vault,” an online sound membership that provides subscribers with access to a growing number of pre-recorded and live healing sessions that they can access at any time.
The same simple guidelines apply for a sound healing session at home: get comfortable, breathe deeply, minimize distractions and just soak it all in.
For information about Kim Balzan and Sam Harper, their services and locations, visit www.kimbalzan.com and www.samanthaharper.com.
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People assume that going green is more work than living a wasteful lifestyle, but in reality, with just a little effort you can save some money while helping to save precious Earth resources. And although some of us may complain that corporate emissions count for most pollution, what we do as individuals matters. If we lead the way, others will follow by example. Imagine if everyone followed a green living path. We could - and can - effectively change the world for the better.
These groups have the community vibe we’ve all been searching for and allow items that are just lying around your house to go to good use in someone else’s. Simply go on Facebook and type “buy nothing” plus your city in the search bar, click on the group for your area, and ask to join. My group is located in North Phoenix and let me tell you, these wonderfully green people have been a lifesaver! I can post things I am not using, and they’ll be picked up within an hour… no bags sitting in my trunk for months waiting to go to Goodwill and no need to worry about them piling up in the city dump.
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We’ve all been there… you’re standing at the grocery checkout counter kicking yourself, realizing that you left your reusable bags at home or in the car. You end up with plastic bags because you don’t want to hold up the line. So now what to do with them? Reuse them as trash bags for small trash cans, cleaning the cat litter, or take them on your walks with your pups to dispose of their waste.
The green and yellow sponges that a lot of us grew up with are not biodegradable. They’re actually made of PVC - a form of plastic - which means it can take a hundred years or more for them to decompose. What’s more, they also shed little plastic microfibers into our water systems. There are tons of reusable and recyclable options that are often more sanitary than sponges, but if you’ve got a sponge habit that
you just can’t kick, look for the brown ones which are typically biodegradable. This super simple swap can go a long way to reduce plastic waste in our landfills.
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Just because something is recycled doesn’t mean it’s dirty. In fact, many personal care companies that use recycled materials also use natural ingredients in items like toilet paper, tissues, tampons, and pads, making it easier to avoid “forever chemicals” that are linked to cancer, developmental conditions, and hormone disruption. It makes sense that you want only the cleanest, most organic, and natural products anywhere near your delicate areas.
We are all guilty of this - buying and hoarding tools and equipment we think we may need in the future, or purchasing something for a one-time-only job. Oftentimes, after some of our tools sit in sheds or hot garages, we pull them out years later only to discover that they don’t work anymore. For those once-in-a-bluemoon jobs, try saving money and cutting back on major landfill waste by borrowing a tool from a neighbor, or try renting from stores like Lowe’s, Home Depot, or your local independently owned hardware store.
Gardening is making a comeback! Because more Americans are finding it harder to eat “clean” due to lack of availability or cost effectiveness, many are choosing to grow their own food straight from the earth. The Phoenix Public Library has seeds available for free based on seasonality, while the Arizona Seed Trade Association (www.arizonaseedtrade.org) is a great resource to learn more about what works well in the desert climate.
Instead of throwing your left-over food in the garbage or down the garbage disposal, composting is a fabulous alternative to eliminate waste. With an easy-to-remember formula of saving scraps that don’t contain meat, bones, or dairy products, you can use compost as a precious fertilizer. And if you don’t use it all yourself, you can always gift it to your closest farming neighbor.
Trees Matter AZ (www.treesmatter.org) is a non-profit that aims to cover Phoenix in an oasis of trees. If you’re located within certain city limits, you can contact them to get a free desert-adapted shade tree to plant on your property! Planting more drought efficient plants and trees brings the temperature down in urban areas, which then lowers energy usage and decreases our environmental footprint. Trees offer many other critical functions such as pollution and dust reduction, carbon sequestration, and habitats for birds and insects.
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Does your office only have trash cans with nary a blue bin in sight? Look into hiring an office recycling collection service or get together with your coworkers to create and manage one on your own. Create a schedule to take turns taking home collected scrap paper, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans to deposit into your own recycling can at your residence.
According to the EPA, the average passenger vehicle produces about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Purchasing a fuel-efficient vehicle not only saves you money on gas but also reduces air pollution and your carbon footprint. If a fuel-efficient car is
important to you, check out the U.S. Department of Energy’s online calculator to estimate the annual fuel cost of your current vehicle or one you might have your eye on.
Still using incandescent light bulbs? Switch to LEDs to use 75% less energy and enjoy bulb life that lasts up to 25 times longer. Lower your carbon footprint further by unplugging electronics when not in use and shutting off lights and fans when you’re not in the room. Most notably, invest in a programmable thermostat to save energy and up to 1% in energy costs for each degree you reduce the temperature in winter or raise the temperature in summer (over an eight-hour period).
Every time you drink plastic bottled water, you’re consuming tiny micro plastics that take time to be flushed out of your system. Not only are these bottles bad for your health, they can take up to 450 years to degrade in a landfill. Pick up a food-grade stainless steel reusable water bottle for years of fresh water enjoyment free of harmful plastic residues.
Zip top disposable plastic bags, plastic utensils and plates are also a supreme hazard to the environment, taking potentially hundreds of years to break down. Invest in reusable silicone zip top bags to store food items safely in your freezer or fridge or to pack your child’s lunch in for school. If you must purchase plastic utensils, wash them for reuse, as well.
By using less water, we not only save money - we save energy. There are a multitude of ways that we can make easy changes that add up to big savings every day.
Make sure to turn off the water when you’re not using it at the bathroom sink while brushing your teeth and at the kitchen sink when doing dishes. Better yet, invest in an energy efficient dishwasher to minimize water usage even further. Shorter showers, employing lowflow toilets and water fixtures, and investing in desert landscaping are all additional ways that we can save this most precious resource.
Instead of running your dryer in the middle of a hot summer day, try using a clothesline. If you don’t want your clothes in the direct sun, consider securing a retractable one on your covered patio or invest in a clothes rack that folds up to air dry your clothes wherever space allows at any time of the year. Not only will this extend the life of your clothes, it will also save energy and reduce your costs, as well.
With many ingredients in household cleaning products coming under scrutiny, the internet has exploded with hundreds of homemade recipes you can use to clean everything from your kitchen counters to your toilets and even your laundry. The added use of clean essential oils can also make your home smell great without the health concerns associated with artificial fragrances. Add to that the benefits of using refillable glass spray bottles and containers, and you’re not just taking care of your body and your health, but the environment, too.
We can all do our part to make this world a better place. It all starts with being just a little more mindful not just for Earth Day, but all year round.
BY JORDAN GERARD
SStemistry is Dylan Capshaw’s passion. Originally started as a home-based online flower business in 2021, Capshaw quickly transformed his operation to a brick and mortar location at 9015 E. Vía Linda St. in Scottsdale in 2022. Here, Capshaw found his stride filling online orders while also offering an in-house do-it-yourself flower bar, flower-infused coffee drinks paired with a delectable breakfast and lunch menu, and unique goods from other local artisans and businesses.
Capshaw recently opened a second location on March 26 at 618 E. Adams St. in Phoenix. He also runs two nonprofits on the side, and he’s training to be a helicopter pilot.
By the way, he’s 16 years old.
“I’ve always really enjoyed those little entrepreneurial endeavors,” he said.
His first entrepreneurial venture was ordering little Squishies toys in bulk and selling them when he was a fifth grader.
“My mom, she owns her own business, so I probably got some drive from that, and my dad has always been coming up with pretty unique ideas for companies, so I think the two of those combined maybe give me some drive and push me there,” he notes.
With the help of YouTube, his parents, and a business consultant, Capshaw’s been busy. When he started Stemistry as a pre-made flower arrangement business during the pandemic two years ago, he would come home and fill up to 100 orders a day. Since the flowers arrived fresh daily, he sent them out as fast as he could. He saved every penny that he earned, and his first purchase was a pair of nice shoes — Nike Air Force 1s. Then he saved the rest of his money and opened the physical store in Scottsdale just a year ago in March. He enlisted the help of a business consultant who had previously helped with his mom’s business.
“When I was first interviewing employees, I had never encountered a job interview myself, so I was completely lost on what to do,” he said. He now has eight employees in the store, and three who work on a contract basis.
Once he signed the lease, he got to work. With his school just down the road, afterschool sessions to build furniture with his friends were a common occurrence, and Capshaw always had coffee ready to go. Today, students enjoy
the space as they work on homework or just hang out.
“There will be a whole big group of kids doing homework in here sometimes after school, which is pretty cool to create that hangout spot,” Capshaw said. “They’ve been extremely supportive.”
He added the school district is supportive as well, especially if he has to leave for a staffing emergency, news interview, or “something big.” He’s lucky to have that support, he added.
The brick-and-mortar location in Scottsdale is a peaceful reprieve in a bustling area. It’s a calm coffee shop atmosphere with plenty of space for shopping local goods, hanging out, or making your own flower arrangements at the bouquet bar. Stemistry’s florists are available to guide and advise how bouquets come together. They also add “flower food” to the bouquets to help them last longer.
Stemistry sources its flowers through three Arizona floral distributors, who get their flowers directly from farms. The goal is to get the freshest flowers possible so bouquets last longer for customers, whereas grocery store flowers take a longer journey from farm to store and don’t last as long, Capshaw said.
Coffee drinks include a unique selection of teas and coffee shop favorites, but beyond the more commonly recognized drinks are unique lattes with flower-infused flavor profiles. The rose
Sixteen-year-old Dylan Capshaw is the mastermind behind Stemistry, a do-it-yourself bouquet bar and coffee shop with locations in Scottsdale and Downtown Phoenix.
latte, lavender latte, and flower garden latte are just some of the many different varieties - the prickly pear latte is particularly unique.
“I wanted drinks that were unique to us, [that] you couldn’t really find elsewhere,” he said. “Since we have the flowers already, I thought it would be pretty unique to mix flowers in with our coffee and meld the world between the two.”
At Stemistry, presentation is important, too. Each drink is topped with dried flower petals and if ordered to sip and stay a while, is served with a flower presentation, as well. For a truly unique twist on your morning coffee, try the 24K Gold Latte topped with real gold leaf.
“I think the biggest thing about Stemistry is being unique, so I just tried to come up with some pretty cool one-of-a-kind drinks,” he said.
It’s also Capshaw’s way of being ecoconscious in every sense of the word. Flower shops generate a lot of waste from the trimming of stems and branches, but Stemistry florists work to use the majority of its flowers in some capacity. Even flowers that are going bad or lower quality ones that are not sold to customers have a purpose and are added to the mini arrangements that accompany in-house drinks.
The shop also reuses vases that are donated to them, especially since vases can stack up. They’ve rarely had to purchase new ones, Capshaw said. Stemistry has also committed to using only paper straws with its drinks.
“I mean, obviously we only have one planet, so it’s super important to protect,” he said.
As far back as he can remember, Capshaw has always had a love of animals and volunteering his time to eco-
friendly causes. One of the first ways he can recall giving back was volunteering for Scottsdale’s Adopt a Road program when he was about eight or nine years old.
“Every weekend it was my favorite thing to go get my vest and my trash bag and my little trash-picker-upper, and I walked the road and picked up all the trash on it,” he recalled. It’s still there today, under Dylan C.’s Clean Road.
In 2017, he remembers hearing about Hurricane Harvey, the category four hurricane that struck Texas and Louisiana. YouTube videos showed dogs and other pets caught in the flooding. An unbearable thought, 11-year-old Capshaw created a website (he
learned from YouTube) and dubbed it the Dylan Capshaw Wildlife Foundation, setting a goal to raise $1,000 to help shelter pets. His mom shared it on her Facebook page, and he posted it on the neighborhood app Nextdoor. Capshaw raised over $2,000 as a result.
To help their son see the impact of his hard work, his parents booked a flight to Texas. Capshaw chose to donate the funds to the Rescue Pets Movement shelter in Houston, which was helping to relocate dogs that were abandoned during the hurricane. The nonprofit provides homeless pets medical care and rehabilitation, then partners with reputable
animal welfare organizations across the U.S. to find the animals a forever home. Capshaw funded an expedition where he was able to save 10 dogs from a flooded grocery store - with all 10 being placed in new homes that same year.
“That sent me on like, such a drive,” he said. “I was so happy getting to do that, that I kept growing the wildlife foundation until I eventually started rescuing animals on my own.”
Currently, there are about 60 animals in Capshaw’s care. He is licensed in the state to care for and rehabilitate marsupials. There’s a kangaroo that lives with him and accompanies him to schools to teach kids. The wildlife foundation is a 501(c)(3) and accepts donations to help feed and care for the animals.
More recently, Capshaw started another nonprofit during the pandemic when he decided to use a 3-D printer given to him as a middle school birthday present for the benefit of frontline workers. Home from school in April 2020, he read about the mask shortage and how frontline workers often reused the same masks every day. Unsatisfied with that solution, he found a template online that could turn one surgical mask into seven masks by cutting them and using it as a filter and printing a plastic piece. On that day, For the Frontline was born.
Capshaw was able to supply masks and face shields to frontline workers around the country, free of charge, thanks to donations. Eventually, three industrial 3-D printers were donated to him in order to print masks 24/7, and he printed over 1,000 masks. His room looked like a laboratory for a while, he said. His nonprofit shipped over 3,000 care packages that included masks, shields, gloves, and rubbing alcohol. He also supplied masks to the New York City Police Department.
Additionally, he donated face shields and different kinds of masks and also held donation drives for latex gloves. As the shortage caught up with the world, the nonprofit switched to utilizing the 3-D printers for any PPE equipment that is in short supply and ships it to wherever it’s needed.
This effort, combined with his wildlife foundation, earned him nominations for TIME’s Kid of the Year and Nickelodeon’s Kid of the Year awards in 2020.
Today, Capshaw’s determination is focused on the Downtown Phoenix location of Stemistry. Located in historic Heritage Square, the former two-level barn is circa 1899, and the shop has been retrofitted to keep the building’s historical integrity intact. Capshaw notes that it will mostly be an extension of the Scottsdale location, with the same themes and drinks, but will offer its customers the benefit of outdoor seating. The menu will also include special drink items honoring the location’s five original property owners, Katherine Baird, Edward Hasten, Leon Bouvier, Eliza Teeter, and Flora Rosson.
“The flavor profiles of those drinks were made to match kind of how those personalities were for those people, whether they were bold or soft,” he said. “So people come in and they say, ‘Oh, what’s the Katherine Baird?’ And then we get to explain a little bit about the history.”
In addition to all of this, Capshaw balances high
school, friends, and future plans. Currently, he works at the Scottsdale location before and after school, where he also manages his homework between various tasks, toggling back and forth on his computer between school work and management of the Stemistry online enterprise. Capshaw notes that he’s usually up early at 4 a.m. and goes to bed early.
“I think learning is probably the biggest thing. I’m always learning,” he said. “Every single morning I come in here, and my employees teach me so much. I view them more as coworkers because they’ve all
worked for other coffee shops, and they all have their own ideas, and I’m always inspired by them.”
Stemistry has turned out to be a community-oriented space with new and regular customers.
“I like having that, that aspect of this where I see the same faces, I get to meet new people, and I get to support other businesses around us the best we can, so I like having that space where everyone feels welcomed,” he said.
Visit the Stemistry website at www.stemistry.com and check out the company’s Instagram at @stemistryaz.
TThis Earth Day, remember Stewart Lee Udall (1920–2010), the Arizonaborn Department of Interior Secretary who served from 1961 to 1969 for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Six decades ago, Udall fought for environmental stewardship and justice and was one of the first public officials to warn about climate change.
On Jan. 31, what would have been Udall’s 103rd birthday, noted author and documentarian John de Graaf premiered his 90-minute film Stewart Udall and the Politics of Beauty at the Interior Department building in Washington, D.C., which is named for Udall. The film’s debut was attended by several notable figures who appeared in it, including former Arizona Governor and Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt. He credits Udall with fundamentally changing how we perceive our environment, establishing a “transcendental attitude.”
Deb Haaland spoke at the event and told the group that her love for the outdoors was inspired by
trips her family took that were like those the Udall family enjoyed, as shown in the film.
“I learned through those experiences how these lands sustain our health, communities, and our sense of wonder. Conservationists like Stewart Udall helped make those formative experiences possible for my siblings and me and, of course, for countless others,” she said. But filmmaker de Graaf is concerned that many young Americans do not know about Udall, known as “Mr. Conservation” in his time.
“He’s just a remarkable, not only state figure but national and international figure,” he
.Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
—Robert Frost, Birches
says. “He was an ambassador for the United States for conservation and parks all over the world.”
When we remember the words and accomplishments of other environmental exemplars such as Sen. Gaylord Nelson, the “father” of Earth Day; John Muir; Aldo Leopold; A.B. Guthrie; Rachel Carson; Teddy Roosevelt; David Brower, the founding Sierra Club director; and America’s prophet of nature, Henry David Thoreau, certainly Udall’s name deserves to be considered among these giants, too.
While he was interior secretary, four national parks were established: Canyonlands, Utah; Redwoods, California; North Cascades, Washington; and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, Virginia. Six national monuments and eight national seashores and lakeshores were also established, including Point Reyes National Seashore in California and Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. Furthermore, his work also created nine national recreation areas, 20 national historic sites, and 56 national wildlife refuges, along with the designation of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail as the nation’s first national scenic trails. Notably, he also helped ensure the restoration of Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C., and established the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation.
“While [Udall’s public career] takes place in the . . . 1950s and ’70s, it is absolutely current to the issues that we face today and to provide us inspiration that we can actually make the changes we need to make,” says de Graaf, a Seattle resident who grew up hiking and backpacking in the Sierra Nevada region in California.
De Graff believes that for Arizonans, Udall forms a triumvirate of political luminaries, with Barry Goldwater and John McCain. And, for all Americans, his legacy as interior secretary may be unprecedented.
“The Udall legacy is absolutely huge. So much great environmental legislation that we now take for granted was introduced by him and pushed by him through Congress,” de Graaf says, who was first impressed by Udall when he interviewed him in 1988.
Udall’s leadership, anchored in principle and bipartisanship, helped realize these acts: Clean Air; Water Quality; Clean Water Restoration; the Land and Water Conservation Fund; Wilderness; Highway Beautification; Endangered Species Preservation; Wild and Scenic Rivers and National Scenic Trails; Pesticide Reduction and Mining Reclamation; Solid Waste Disposal; and National Historic Preservation.
De Graff has been producing award-winning documentaries for 45 years, mostly for PBS, and written three books.
“With the story of one person, we can tell a huge story of the American history of that period, too. I hope the film makes that clear to all its viewers,” he says.
“Prescient” is Brooks Simpson’s short description of Udall. An ASU Foundation professor of history in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University in Tempe, he specializes in political and military history, as well as the American presidency.
“He was forward-looking, anticipated problems, and acted to address them in a timely fashion. All too often, it is not until an environmental problem hits us in the face that we begin to think about what to do, and then our options are limited, costly, and all too often fall short,” Simpson says.
“In terms of public figures, Udall is at the forefront of the environmental movement in the same way Theodore Roosevelt anticipated the need for widespread conservation initiatives,” he adds. “Stewart Udall believed that the government could make the lives of people better and focused on issues of common concern. He led quietly, yet his achievements are all around us.”
Udall’s legacy is “impactful. [His] body of work was extraordinary. The legislation championed by him are classic, timeless, and bipartisan legislative frameworks that are still in effect today. That is the true measure of an impactful leader,” says Chandler’s Vada O. Manager, an entrepreneur and investor who was the executive producer for the film.
A staff member for Gov. Babbitt, Manager is the first and only Black person to serve on the Arizona Board of Regents, and was also the first to serve as a press secretary when Gov. Mofford appointed him in 1988.
The son of a Mormon rancher, Udall was born in 1920 in a town called St. Johns on the lower Colorado Plateau in northern Arizona. His brother Mo would joke that the town was so small you could affix the entering and exiting signs to the same post.
Founded in 1874 by Hispanic pioneers, the mile-high rural town is near the Petrified Forest National Park, Painted Desert, and Mogollon Rim, the 7,000-foot high Ponderosa pine-studded escarpment that cuts across northern Arizona and New Mexico. This dramatic setting gave Udall an early appreciation for natural beauty and commitment to environmental sensitivity, de Graaf’s film points out.
He attended Gila College and the University of Arizona, then completed church missionary work back East, served in World War II as a waist gunner
in Europe on a B-24 bomber, and returned to UA in Tucson to star in basketball and complete his law degree. After marrying Ermalee Webb, he opened a law practice in 1949.
Three years later, Tucsonians sent Udall to Congress, where he served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his final term, he led the Kennedy presidential campaign in Arizona. Sixteen years later, he coordinated a presidential campaign for his brother Mo.
At UA, Udall demonstrated his commitment to racial justice as well, years before the issue became nationally prominent. He joined the Tucson NAACP in 1947 and with Mo fought to integrate the UA cafeteria. In 1962, he integrated the National Park Service rangers. As a result, Robert Stanton became a ranger and went on to become the only Black director of the National Park Service.
That same year, with Kennedy’s assistance, he forced the Washington Redskins professional football team (now the Commanders) to hire Black players, as the team’s home stadium was under the Department of Interior’s control. A year later, he approved the permit for Martin Luther King’s transformative
March on Washington, where the future Nobel Peace Prize laureate delivered one of the great speeches in national history, “I Have a Dream.” And, five years later, he broke with the Mormon Church because of its ban on Blacks in the priesthood.
In the same spirit, he sought to expand selfdetermination for tribal nations. In 1966, he prevented the federal transfer of lands to the state of Alaska to ensure that native Alaskans would not lose them. He supported Navajo miners, as well as the “downwinders” in Nevada, who had been adversely affected by atmospheric atomic testing in the desert.
Today, the country is unquestionably polarized and rift politically. Udall’s early mastery of bipartisanship is particularly appropriate in these times. His politics were based on his concept of the “Economics of Beauty”an appreciation of our resources viewed as life-affirming assets, not monetized real estate. Protected lands were part of the community, not a commodity, and certainly not the interests of a singular party.
“Udall was a creature of a different time and place when it came to the political environment in which he operated,” notes Professor Simpson. “His Arizona roots helped him understand the importance of bipartisanship, and he understood the costs and counter-productiveness of turning challenges and problems into fodder for partisan bickering and stalemate. He was more interested in results than in taking credit for them, which may help explain why many people are unfamiliar with his achievements, even though they benefit from them every day. The world’s a better place because of Stewart Udall.”
De Graaf adds, “In many cases, sometimes his strongest supporters were Republicans, and a few of his strongest opponents were Democrats, including Jim Crow Democrats from the South. He proved that we could come together as people, and we could make these decisions that benefited generations to come.”
As all humans do at times, Udall erred. The film reveals how he regretted supporting the Glen Canyon
Dam in 1957, which inundated some of the West’s most sublime canyon wilderness. However, he later opposed two additional Arizona dams in the Grand Canyon a decade later.
His befriending of various authors, poets, artists, and influencers - such as Rachel Carson, Ansel Adams, Robert Frost, and Lady Bird Johnson - also helped him advance the concepts of conservation, beautification, and stewardship. During his life, Udall wrote nine books including the environmentallyfocused The Quiet Crisis and 1976: Agenda For Tomorrow, in which he spoke about the dangers of urbanism and racial injustice. Accompanied by Frost on a trip to Russia, Udall even visited Premier Nikita
Khrushchev to support weapons reduction during the Cold War.
Udall died March 20, 2010 in Santa Fe, NM, one of his favorite places. Years earlier, he had written to his grandchildren, “Cherish sunsets, wild creatures, and wild places. Have a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the earth.”
“Stewart Udall and the Politics of Beauty” will soon be available from Bullfrog Films. For more information, visit www.bullfrogfilms.com or www.stewartudallfilm.org.
Sun City Farmers Market - Seasonal
Thursdays, Oct 6 - May 25, 9am - 1 pm
16820 N. 99th Ave., Sun City 85351
Carefree Farmers Market - Year round
Fridays, Oct - May 9am-1pm;
Jun - Sep 8am-11am
1 Sundial Circle, Carefree 85377
Downtown Chandler Farmers Market - Seasonal
Saturdays, Oct 1 - May 27, 9am-1pm
3 S Arizona Ave, Chandler 85225
Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market - Seasonal
Saturdays, Oct 1 - May 27, 8am - 1pm;
Jun 3 - Jun 24, 7am - 10am
3806 N. Brown Av, Scottsdale 85251
Roadrunner Park Farmers Market - Year round
Saturdays, 8am - noon Oct 1 - May 27
Jun - Sep 7am - 10am
3502 E. Cactus Rd, Phoenix 85032
Ahwatukee Farmers Market - Year round
Sundays, Oct 2 - May 28, 9am - 1pm
Jun 4 - Sep 24, 8am - 11am
4700 E. Warner Rd., Phoenix 85044
Farmers Market on High Street - Seasonal
Sundays, Oct 2 - May 14, 10am - 1pm
5415 E. High Street, Phoenix 85054
Ocotillo Farmers Market - New
Sundays, Oct 30 - May 28, 9am - 1:30pm
*Call for Summer Schedule
2577 W Queen Creek rd, Chandler 85248
Verrado Farmers Market - Seasonal
Sundays, Nov 6 - June 25, 9am to 1pm N. Market Place & W. Main St., Buckeye 85396
arizonacommunityfarmersmarkets.com
Arizona Community Farmers Markets has been creating and coordinating farmers markets in Metro Phoenix and across the Valley for more than 33 years.
Many of our farmers markets serve as local hubs for their communities, bringing together neighbors to shop and meet up on a weekly basis. Our Roadrunner Park Farmers Market has served the communities of Northeast Phoenix for over three decades.
Our mission has always been to provide local farmers, growers and other agricultural producers with stable venues that offer them the opportunity to engage directly with customers and grow their business. We support local micro-businesses from valueadded food producers and products, to local artisans and crafters.
IIt’s 6:30 a.m. on a mid-March morning. The skies are still black as we make our way towards two shipping containers repurposed as observation blinds on the edge of the Platte River. It’s brutally cold — in the single digits — and Nebraska’s biting winds howl through small viewing holes cut into plexiglass windows that overlook the shore.
As the dawn’s first rays peek their way above the horizon, faint outlines of several thousand sandhill cranes, still asleep in the gently flowing river with their heads tucked under their wings, begin to emerge.
A hush falls over the blind. Photographers with lenses as long as a human arm stake out their spots. Binoculars are unpacked. Cell phone screens are darkened. The cranes slowly begin to stir and purr, calling to family members. In concert with the rising sun, the fricative coos and trills are replaced by long, rolling “kar-r-r-oos” that carry across the water. One by one, the cranes begin to stir. In what can only be described as a kind of sandhill morning stretch, necks elongate, daggerlike beaks point toward the sky, and wings unfurl, their black-tipped feathers creating a rippling effect across the flock. Energetic young males dance in a series of gangly yet graceful leaps, bows, and pirouettes.
The sound reaches a crescendo, and just as the sun breaks through the clouds, the statuesque birds take flight. Waves of thousands of cranes lift off en masse from the river and head into the surrounding fields and farmlands.
At night, the scene is repeated in reverse, as the cranes return to their wetland refuges at sunset to roost.
Every year, from mid-February to mid-April, between 600,000 and 1 million lesser sandhill cranes — about 85% of the world’s population — converge on an 80-mile stretch of the Platte River Valley in central Nebraska.
Sandhill cranes are one of the most common species of cranes. Standing between three and four feet tall, with a wingspan reaching up to six feet, the silver-
gray birds are easily identified by their crimson-red crowns. Their trumpeting call is the product of long curved trachea that helps produce a low pitch that can be heard up to 2.5 miles away. They’re also one of the earliest species of birds: a fossil found in Florida dates back 2.5 million years.
As they have for millennia, sandhill cranes make an annual journey along the Central Flyway from their winter habitats in southern Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Chihuahua, Mexico, to nesting grounds in Alaska, the Yukon, and eastern Siberia. They arrive in Nebraska emaciated and spend about 29 days resting, refueling, and fattening up.
During the day, the birds feast on waste grain from last season’s harvest, along with worms, snails, mice, and insect larvae. At night, they return to the safety of the river. According to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the cranes consume nearly 1,500 tons of corn during their stay, and they gain as much as 20% of their total body weight.
This annual passage is one of the world’s greatest wildlife spectacles, often compared with the epic migrations of wildebeests and caribou.
“This is one of the last great migrations and the largest one in North America,” says Brice Krohn, president and CEO of the Crane Trust, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving critical habitat for migratory birds. “And this is the only place in the world where you can see it.”
Founded in 1978 with federal money, the Crane Trust’s original mission was to help conserve the endangered whooping crane. At the time, fewer than 60 of the rare birds existed. Today, the population has
increased to almost 700.
Whooping cranes, which are larger than sandhills and almost completely white, also migrate through central Nebraska. They usually follow the sandhills at the end of April. During our visit to the Crane Trust, a lone “whooper” - as they’re affectionately called - had joined the flock.
The Trust is set on about 10,000 acres of critical habitat for whooping cranes, sandhill cranes, and countless other birds and mammals that share the riverine ecosystem. More than 300 species of birds have been documented on the property, including ducks, geese, and grassland nesting birds.
“Climate change is having a major effect on many of these birds through their migratory routes,” Krohn notes. “Everything really is keyed upon their habitat.”
Krohn explains that although the cranes have been migrating through Nebraska for millions of years, the landscape has changed dramatically. Damming of Platte River has decreased the amount of water — throughout the years, it has lost 80% of its width and 70% of its flow. “We’re on a river that is functioning today, but it’s an over-appropriated or fully appropriated river system,” Krohn says.
Trees and invasive plant species also have encroached on the riverbanks. “Cranes don’t like trees coming up to the edge of the river,” Krohn continues. “They like wide-open views and wet meadows. So, we’re doing a lot of work to keep the prairie throughout the river system. We’re trying to protect the land as you see it today into perpetuity.”
One of the ways the Trust raises awareness and funds is by offering sunrise and sunset viewing experiences. Along with the cranes, about 30,000 out-of-state people visit the Cornhusker State during the six- to
eight-week period. Some are serious birders, and the migration is a bucket-list experience. Some are nature photographers. Others come simply to witness one of nature’s wonders. The locals have a name for these avian admirers: Craniacs.
During the day, flocks of sandhill cranes take over farmlands and fields across the river valley, from as far east as Chapman and to Overton in the west. Massive seas of gray birds can be seen in cornfields along Interstate 80, which runs parallel to the Platte River. And the Central Platte Natural Resources District maintains several crane viewing decks along the river, complete with free parking.
“The cranes will actually be out there among the cattle,” says Dusty Barner, owner of Dusty Trails, an outdoor adventure provider in North Platte. “Watching them come in to land is wild. They drop their legs and just let them hang down from way up above like they’re reaching for the ground already.” Barner offers daytime tours in a converted school bus that takes visitors on a 90-minute trip between North Platte and Hershey, stopping wherever large groups of cranes are found for viewing and photography opportunities.
Brad Mellema is the executive director of the visitor’s bureau for the town of Grand Island. He also is the former executive director of the Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center, an information and education center, art gallery, and gift shop located just minutes
from the Trust’s Wild Rose Ranch. “Midday is nice, seeing the cranes in the cornfield, but I wish more visitors knew that the special thing is on the river,” he says. “This is really where it’s at.” On any given night during the migration season, upwards of 150,000 cranes will roost in the river in front of the observation blinds at the Crane Trust.
Another prime viewing destination and information source is Rowe Sanctuary, a National Audubon Society center in Gibbon. Located on the south shore of the Platte River, the sanctuary offers an unparalleled location for evening viewing.
From a strategically placed west-facing discovery station situated on the banks of the river, we watch in silence as the evening sky glowed in fiery shades of gold and orange. Soon, a distinctive rattle call — kar-rr-oo, kar-r-r-oo — echoes from above the distant trees. At first, a few V-shaped formations appear. Within minutes, they’re joined by tens of thousands of birds that swoop and swirl, darkening the sky in shapeshifting murmurations and creating an unparalleled cacophony of sight and sound.
As the last flickers of sunlight fade, we make our way back to the center in silent awe. “I always say it vibrates your soul,” Krohn says. “It really does create a spark that makes you at peace with nature.”
Visit www.cranetrust.org and https://rowe.audubon.org for more information about the sandhill crane migration. For information about visiting Nebraska, go to www.visitnebraska.com/sandhill-crane-migration.
The perfect spring sipper, Picazzo’s new limoncello margarita puts a lemony spin on the classic margarita.
Ingredients
1 oz. Espolon Reposado Tequila
1 oz. Villa Massa Limoncello
1 oz. lemon juice
3/4 oz simple syrup
Directions
Place all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into sugar-rimmed cocktail glass filled with ice. Garnish with lemon peel and enjoy!
A quick, simple, and easy way to prepare a unique citrusflavored broccoli dish.
Ingredients
1 pound broccoli florets
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Queen Creek Olive Mill Meyer Lemon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for garnish
Directions
Add broccoli florets, lemon zest, minced garlic, lemon olive oil, and water to a microwave-safe bowl. Stir to coat broccoli completely. Cover bowl and microwave on high for 4-5 minutes. Check for tenderness. Cook 1 more minute if needed. Sprinkle lemon juice over broccoli and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and serve.
For many of us, the foods we select to eat often are based on the impact they have on our health or the welfare of animals. For some, eating low-fat meals is a way to reduce cholesterol and keep off the pounds. For others, the decision to consume a plant-based diet is a moral one, based on the argument that causing animals to suffer when other food alternatives are readily available is wrong.
But in recent years, there’s been a growing interest in choosing foods not for health or animal welfare but instead for — or in addition to — the environment.
In an Earth Day survey released last year, global management consulting firm Kearney examined the climate impact of consumer food choices and looked at the increased interest in “climavorism,” which it
defines as “the making of mindful food purchasing and consumption choices based on their impact on climate and the larger environment.”
For the study, 1,000 consumers across the U.S. were polled on their awareness of, and attitudes toward, the relationship between their eating preferences and current climate crises.
So what is a “climavore?” Unlike vegetarians or vegans, whose diets are defined by ingredients, climavores, or climatarians, practice climateconscious eating — that is, making dietary trade-offs intended to benefit the planet.
Corey Chafin, associate partner in Kearney’s consumer practice and the study’s principal author, said in a press release, “Daily food choice is a call to action for consumers keen to make a positive impact on climate outcomes, with nearly one-third of consumers in our survey considering environmental impact at the grocery store.”
For example, climavores believe that switching protein sources can help alleviate their impact on the environment. You don’t have to become vegan, or even vegetarian, to have a positive impact. Choosing chicken or soy over beef can reduce your individual climate footprint.
According to a report by the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, and Health, twothirds of our protein in 1900 came from plant sources. By the late 20th century, that number was reversed, “with more than two-thirds of our protein
coming from animals, primarily beef cattle.”
In a follow-up editorial, The Lancet wrote, “Intensive meat production is on an unstoppable trajectory comprising the single greatest contributor to climate change. Humanity’s dominant diets are not good for us, and they are not good for the planet.”
As a society, our carbon literacy is very low. The average American’s annual carbon footprint is 17.5 tons of carbon dioxide. By comparison, the footprint of the average resident of the United Kingdom is 8.3 tons.
The food we buy adds up to about 20% of our carbon footprint. And Americans consume food at least three times a day.
Carbon footprint isn’t just about how much gas you use or how long you keep the lights on. It is the measure of the amount of greenhouse gasses produced during a particular activity. The most common greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide or CO2. Methane, which is generated in the cattle industry, is another common greenhouse gas; it is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide is the most potent, at 298 times that of CO2, according to Clever Carbon, an organization whose goal is to raise carbon footprint literacy and create a carbon literate
society in order to accelerate reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, reach net-zero targets faster, and create scalable technologies and solutions.
When it comes to food, a single ingredient’s footprint is affected by a variety of factors: growing, harvesting, storing, transporting, retail, consumption, and post consumption or waste products.
For example, producing a potato emits 1.41 ounces of CO2 into the atmosphere. A cup of drip coffee emits 1.76 ounces. A single serving of chicken emits almost 3 pounds of CO2, and a single serving of beef emits almost 17 pounds. One pound of USDA ground beef has 83.79 pounds of KgCO2eq (methane) emissions.
While Americans are eating less beef today than they did in the 1970s — and even in the early 2000s — a 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization found producing a halfpound of hamburger — a patty of meat the size of two decks of cards — releases as much greenhouse gas into the atmosphere as driving a 3,000-pound car nearly 10 miles. The annual beef diet of the average American emits as much greenhouse gas as a car driven more than 1,800 miles.
So already you can see the impact of different types of foods.
“Food companies must add ‘Climate Impact’ to the product re-formulation and design-to-value campaigns to prepare for the rise of the climavore consumer,” Chafin noted in the press release.
Some restaurant chains are doing just that.
New York-based eatery Just Salad was the first quickservice restaurant chain to carbon label its menu in 2020. The chain, which has always partnered with local sources for their produce and which offers a reusable bowl program to help eliminate waste, features a “Climatarian” option on its menu that allows diners to filter foods with the lowest carbon footprint.
Carbon-friendly menu items include a label that expresses the item’s kgCO2 value. This stands for “kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent,” which shows emissions for many greenhouse gasses, not just carbon dioxide. All labels are verified by Planet FWD, a leading carbon management platform.
“It is really more important if we are trying to reduce the carbon footprint of the food system, which
accounts for 26% to 30% of global emissions, to talk a little less about local these days and more about shifting diets. ‘How low can you go?’ on carbon has very little to do about transportation and more to do with composition of what is in your food,” said Sandra Noonan, Just Salad’s chief sustainability officer during a panel at the 2022 SXSW Conference.
Following the launch of Just Salad’s Climatarian menu, St. Louis-based bakery-cafe chain Panera Bread announced its “Cool Foods” menu, which labels items that are “cooler” or more climate friendly.
Panera partnered with the World Resources Institute to analyze the ingredients of every entrée at the restaurant and certify those foods that align with globally recognized climate goals.
According to WRI, a Cool Food Meal is defined as “a meal that would help a consumer eat a diet with a food-related greenhouse gas emissions intensity falling at least 38% below the regional average diet.” The carbon budget is split across three meals plus snacks. Breakfast must be no more than 20% of the recommended daily carbon footprint, and lunch and dinner must be less than 30% each. This equates to no more than 8.4 pounds CO2e (carbon dioxideequivalent) for breakfast and 12.6 pounds for lunch or dinner. For example, the chain’s Mexican Street Corn Chowder has a CO2e emission of 4.2 pounds, and the Turkey Sandwich comes in at 8.5 pounds. On the other hand, the total greenhouse gas emissions of the Toasted Steak & White Cheddar sandwich are 72.44 pounds, making it a non-Cool Food Meal.
“If you want to be a climate smart eater, which means going as low as you can on carbon values, there’s a lot more nuance to the conversation about eating sustainably than we realize,” Noonan said.
So what can you do to help reduce your effects of food production on the planet? The local movement is a great way to start, as it reduces the need for transportation. Composting — or end-of-life — also reduces an item’s footprint. Additional choices that yield surprisingly large results include eating seasonally, avoiding excessive packaging, eating what you buy, purchasing misshapen or imperfect produce, and reducing meat and dairy consumption.
By choosing more wisely, we can all make a difference.
When Jessica Blotter and her partner, Sean Krejci, witnessed heart-breaking poverty, polluted swamps, and emaciated homeless dogs while on a trip to Belize, they decided to inspire lasting and meaningful action.
According to Blotter, “We asked ourselves, ‘What if we could create a way for travelers to easily make a meaningful positive impact within the communities they visit and, in turn, be filled with a greater sense of joy and purpose while traveling?’” She continued, “After years of development, the answer was kindtraveler.com, launched in 2016. In 2022, after becoming a Blue Startups portfolio company [a Honolulu-based startup accelerator], we launched Kind Traveler 2.0, a new web-based platform to optimize the user experience and created an [application programming interface] that will allow us to scale more efficiently.”
As owners and co-founders of the company, Blotter (who also serves as board director for the Center for Responsible Travel) and Krejci produced the Kind Traveler 2022 Impact Tourism Report gleaned from
64 interviews with Kind Traveler hotel, charity, and destination partners in 16 countries. Through this project, Blotter and Krejci found that 97% of travelers believe it’s important to impact the communities they visit in a positive way. However, according to the report, 50% of travelers find this goal confusing, and 35% don’t know how to put their travel dollars to work to create lasting change.
“While decarbonizing efforts are vitally important in creating a sustainable tourism industry, equally important is mobilizing travel dollars to support local communities in addressing poverty, advancing education, and creating equality,” Blotter says.
According to Blotter, travel and tourism is an industry worth $1.3 trillion (per data from 2021), which has the potential to impact destinations if resources are directed responsibly.
“Destinations are currently faced with global challenges, such as overtourism, climate change, poverty, pollution, and species extinction,” she says. “Many community and environmental nonprofits are central to destination health and wellbeing. However, beyond voluntourism, there is no easy way to mobilize travel dollars to support localized nonprofits in achieving the U.N. Global Goals, which largely center around preventing poverty and advancing environmental sustainability.” She continues, “Giving back to local nonprofits is one of the top five ways travelers wish to contribute to sustainable tourism and is also associated with higher levels of trip satisfaction, creating more memorable, purposeful, and meaningful trip experiences.”
Kind Traveler addresses these issues as the first and only hotel booking platform that empowers travelers to give back to destination-specific nonprofits connected to destination well-being and sustainability, thereby advancing regenerative and sustainable tourism principles. Today, Kind Traveler is partnered with more than 150 hotels and 150 nonprofits in 20 states and 22 countries. The company also just signed its first woman-owned, sustainable wellness hotel, Twelve Senses Retreat, in Encinitas, Calif.
Most recently, Kind Traveler partnered with Visit California to create programs for travelers to give back in various parts of the state when they visit. As Kind Traveler’s first statewide regenerative tourism program, the partnership includes 58
Californian hotels and 25 vetted local charities in 13 California destinations.
“Local charities may be suggested on behalf of the hotel, local tourism board, or the Kind Traveler community. We are currently working with Los Angeles Tourism, Monterey County & Convention Visitors Bureau, Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, Sonoma County Tourism, and Visit Greater Palm Springs, and we have recently confirmed a new partnership with Catalina Island Tourism Authority,” Blotter says.
For example, hotels in Santa Monica, Sonoma County, and Greater Palm Springs are all tied to environmentally-focused charities through their partnership with Kind Traveler. In Santa Monica alone, 10 hotels - the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, Hotel Casa Del Mar, Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites, Le Merigot Santa Monica Hotel, Pierside Hotel, Santa Monica Proper Hotel, Shutters on the Beach, The Ambrose Hotel Santa Monica, The Shore Hotel Santa Monica and Viceroy Santa Monica - have all chosen to support Santa MoniCARES as their Impact Partner.
Santa Monica Peir at sunset.The local nonprofit supports many Santa Monica-based nonprofit agencies addressing homelessness, environmental protection, arts and education, workforce development, at-risk youth, elderly assistance, and more.
Meanwhile, partner hotels in Sonoma County include The Lodge at Bodega Bay and The Stavrand, whose Impact Partner is Farm to Pantry, a nonprofit committed to rescuing food that would otherwise go to waste and getting it to people in need. And in Greater Palm Springs, travelers who stay at Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs can donate to Friends of the Desert Mountains, which works to preserve the unique wildlife and scenic beauty of the Coachella Valley and the Desert Mountains.
“Kind Traveler ensures that the participating charities are addressing at least one of the U.N. Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Charities must also be recognized as a tax-exempt public charity under section 501(c)(3), and international charities must provide proof they are registered and in good
standing with the state or local regulators. Lastly, charities must be located within the same city as the host hotel, be considered humane and not fund animal testing or research, and not conflict with any of Kind Traveler’s core values or ethics.”
Through Kind Traveler’s Give + Get hotel booking platform, travelers unlock exclusive offers and perks (such as free bottles of wine, late checkouts, and room upgrades) from participating Kind Hotels with a $10 or more donation to a local charity. Transparency also is key: 100% of donations go to the selected charity, and travelers receive impact metrics with their booking so they can see exactly how their travel dollars benefit the community. On the platform, travelers also can learn about the Kind Factors (how the hotel is advancing environmental sustainability, community impact, and individual wellness at a local level) at each participating hotel.
Travelers looking to give back beyond a financial donation can also discover unique opportunities and experiences with participating charities on Kind Traveler. “Each charity profile contains a How You Can Travel Kindly feature that spotlights additional ways travelers can get involved with the charity for an educational
and fun experience,” Blotter says. “For example, in Sonoma County with Farm to Pantry, travelers can help collect fruits and vegetables from a local farm that would otherwise turn into food waste and instead provide to those who may be facing food insecurity.”
Furthermore, travelers have an opportunity on Kind Traveler to learn about the sustainability, wellness, and community impact features of each property. “Local neighborhood guides are shared with each hotel profile, inspiring conscious, mindful, local travel opportunities and other ways to do good for the day or give back locally,” Blotter says.
Kind Traveler also provides educational resources for travelers and those in the travel industry to learn about best practices to advance responsible, sustainable, and regenerative tourism initiatives. For example, the Kind Traveler 2022 Impact Tourism Report, a 70-page free downloadable guide, inspires those in the travel industry by highlighting compelling examples of sustainability in action.
To date, Kind Traveler has helped 600 injured or sick marine animals receive care, provided 1,000 immunization shots to low income or homeless individuals, provided meals to 2,600 families in need, planted 470 trees in national forests, cleaned 7,500 pounds of trash from local waterways, and more. A
comprehensive impact report will launch later in 2023.
In other news, Kind Traveler also launched a pilot program in October 2022 with 14 global hotels for a new community impact certification dubbed Every Stay Gives Back.
Blotter notes, “The certification creates a formalized, thirdparty-validated giving program for hotels to mobilize donations to local nonprofits that are destination-specific and solve community and/or environmental challenges (regardless of where the booking originated) with every guest stay.” She continues, “Kind Traveler certifies monthly donations to local nonprofits and provides hotels a QR code, a landing page, and impact reports. The results in just a few months have garnered significant positive impact in local communities.”
310.873.3294, www.kindtraveler.com
BY STEVEN G. ZYLSTRA
GGenerations of discriminatory urban planning practices are creating a deep divide in many cities across the country, and the truth is that some communities are being impacted more than others.
In the United States, communities of color are almost three times more likely than their white counterparts to live in “nature deprived” areas, according to a 2020 analysis commissioned by the Center for American Progress and the Hispanic Access Foundation.
A different 2021 report compiled by Trust for Public Land found that neighborhoods with a majority of Black, Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, or Asian American and Pacific Islander population have approximately 44% less park acreage than predominantly white neighborhoods.
Studies show that being surrounded by nature can bring numerous health benefits, including alleviating stress, increasing academic and work performance, and helping offset the symptoms of depression and other mental health challenges.
Add to that, shade from trees not only provides a needed reprieve from the blazing Arizona sun, but it also helps curb the heat island effect that causes
underserved parts of south-central Phoenix to be 13 degrees warmer than wealthier, leafier neighborhoods just miles away.
Planting more trees also helps filter the air. In a 2022 report by the American Lung Association, Phoenix-Mesa ranked fifth on a list of U.S. cities most polluted by ozone. It also found that 84% of Arizonans live in communities that received “F” grades for their air quality.
This egregious situation is due to generations of redlining that pushed communities of color to undesirable locations near big polluters like freeways, industrial factories, and power plants. It’s no coincidence that children in these neighborhoods have significantly higher rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
The silver lining is that a majority of Arizona voters say they care about increasing access to natural spaces for lower-income populations and communities of color, as revealed by a new bipartisan Conservation in the West poll. In the survey, 72% of respondents
said ensuring marginalized communities are better connected to natural areas is important within environmental conservation efforts.
And efforts are well underway to improve equitable access. Urban planners are working to design “cool corridors,” pedestrian paths that will be lined with plants native to the Sonoran Desert. Nonprofits and community organizers are educating communities on the tree equity gap and planting trees that are helping folks of color literally breathe easier. And local, state, and federal policymakers are working to pass legislation that mandates more equitable infrastructure development.
A handful of Arizona legislators have attempted to address these disparities in the 2023 legislative session. Senate Bill 1689, sponsored by Senator Mitzi Epstein, would have funded planting trees at schools in lower income neighborhoods. Senate Bill 1508, sponsored by Senator Juan Mendez, would have called for limits on how many major polluters can be located in lower income neighborhoods. Unfortunately, neither bill was able to gain traction, illustrating the public policy challenges that are difficult but not unsurmountable.
At the federal level, environmental justice efforts have found greater success, with the Biden administration’s focus on the Inflation Reduction Act’s Justice40 initiative, which calls for at least 40% of certain federal investments to flow to disadvantaged communities. This opens the door for the private sector and several of Arizona’s most forward-thinking companies to access funding to create technologydriven solutions that address pressing environmental justice concerns.
Funding has been set aside to reduce pollution in frontline communities, conduct fence line monitoring near industrial facilities, install air quality sensors in disadvantaged areas, and address diesel emissions affecting neighborhoods located by highways.
And as a bonus, Justice40 funding has also been allotted for planting trees, establishing community and urban forests, and expanding green spaces in cities, which helps combat climate change, improves public health, and decreases the dangers associated with excessive heat in the summer.
Through a careful balance of public policy and education, community organization, and utilization of technology, we can more effectively prioritize environmental equity and make green spaces more accessible for communities in all parts of Arizona.
We are looking for experienced newspaper, magazine, and digital media Advertising Sales Representatives. We are seeking candidates who have demonstrated skills in the following areas:
• Direct, in-person, B2B sales, especially in the advertising field
• The ideal candidate will have two to five years of sales experience
• The Ad Rep will report directly to the Publisher
Responsibilities include the following: direct, inperson B2B sales of advertising for print, website, and e-Marketing formats in addition to sponsorships for eco events and summit events, through a relationship-based approach, being articulate and professional in both communication and appearance.
When celebrating Earth Day this month, don't forget to appreciate all the healing gifts with which Mother Nature has blessed us. Remedies, medicines, and cures can all be found in nature, if we know where to look. Something as simple as salt can have major healing properties. We stumbled upon a therapy called “halotherapy,” and, no, it isn't a way to erase all your bad decisions and earn your wings. It's a way to create an artificial salt cave environment in the comfort of a serene room in the middle of the city. Super-fine salt is pumped into a closed room, where you sit, relax, and breathe deep. It's believed to improve things like respiratory conditions and skin issues and is antibacterial and antiinflammatory. Not to mention drug-free with no side effects – let's do this!
She Said: First off, I highly suggest wearing shorts, short-sleeves and flip-flops. You gotta maximize the benefits of skin exposure to the salt. I couldn’t really see the salt and couldn’t feel it in my nose or anything, so I wasn’t sure anything was happening. I took a breath through my mouth. There it was! Definitely salty.
We sat back in our massage chairs, brining and pickling away, while we basked in the gorgeous pink-amber glow of the walls and ceiling, listening to sounds of ocean waves. It was quite nice! And I'll tell you what - I'd never pick a robot massage chair over an actual human, but dang it! I sat in that space-pod lounger without a care in the world and found out just how neglected my poor calves and feet were. That's great use of technology right there! Not all salt rooms will have the chairs, but I highly recommend finding one that does. I'm sure more halotherapy sessions would provide a more obvious benefit, but I did actually notice that the headache I had diminished quite a bit afterwards, and some sinus congestion improved in the days following. Coincidence? No idea. But just the relaxation of being in that calming room was worth it. Pro tip: A fine haze of salt definitely swirls around in there and lands on everything, so hide your belongings and don't wear glasses (oops).
HeHe Said: When Jen told me she wanted to do halotherapy this month I thought “Why would her halo need therapy? She's already a perfect angel!” We arrived at the spa and were quickly ushered to our golden, glowing salt cave that housed two of the most amazing massage chairs I've ever seen.
Seriously, if I could've fit one of these chairs down my shirt I would've walked out with it. The lady from the spa closed us in this room filled with salt bricks and turned on the salt emitters. I reclined my chair back to the “zero g” position and relaxed to the sound of ocean waves. The air felt similar to being in a slightly dusty room. On deep inhales, I could feel a tiny tingle in my sinuses. I nearly fell asleep as the massage chair squeezed and kneaded me all over. In fact, I'm pretty sure this particular chair had a crush on me, because it spent way too long massaging my butt cheeks.
At one point, I was like, “Hey pal, my back's up here.” I walked out of the cave feeling quite relaxed, both mentally and physically, and I did notice my sinuses and breathing improve over the next few days after. The verdict? I would recommend it and will go back.
April 22
Green Living Magazine hosts one of its biggest events of the year on Earth Day, April 22, where we celebrate, educate, empower, and inspire attendees to protect our planet. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore various vendor booths and enjoy vegan chef demonstrations, live music, a kids eco-fashion show, gardening, yoga, and more. The event will be held in Heritage and Science Park in Downtown Phoenix from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free. Learn more at www.greenlivingmag.com/ events/earth-day-extravaganza-2023.
April 15
Earth
Presented by SRP
Calling all animal and nature lovers! Join The Phoenix Zoo on Earth Day for a wild celebration of our planet and all its inhabitants. This fun-filled event features a wide range of activities and educational opportunities for all ages, including animal encounters, live entertainment, interactive exhibits, and more. Learn about the importance of conservation and sustainable living and discover how you can make a positive impact on our environment. Visit www.phoenixzoo.org for more info about the event.
Attention all nature enthusiasts and conservationists! The Cave Creek Museum invites you to a special event that will inspire you to make a positive difference in our fragile desert ecosystem. Discover how you can make simple changes to your daily routine to protect our precious resources and learn about the legacy of Geoffrey Platts, a local environmentalist who dedicated his life to preserving our natural heritage. Plus, get creative and make a craft using recycled materials! Find out more about this event at cavecreekmuseum.org/events/list.
The Queen Creek Olive Mill is sprouting into springtime by inviting you to enjoy the beautiful weather at the annual Olive Blossom Festival! The two-day event will be replete with live music, special vendors, and an opportunity for guests to observe the groves in full bloom! It's a fun and educational event that encourages sustainability and responsible stewardship of the planet. More about the festival at www.queencreekolivemill.com.
Show Mother Earth some love, do a world of good, experience the beauty of nature, and celebrate sustainability at Chandler’s Earth Day celebration! Engage in fun activities, learn about eco-friendly practices, and join hands to protect our planet for a better tomorrow. Find out more at www.chandleraz.gov/explore/ special-events/earth-day-celebration.
Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino is celebrating Earth Day this year with an exciting giveaway event on April 22. Attendees can enter for a chance to win a Tesla, four electric bikes, or a selection of Hydro Flasks, just by signing up for Caesars Rewards. But the fun doesn't stop there - players can earn additional entries for the giveaway by playing their favorite casino games. Find out more about the event at www.caesars.com.
April 29
This is an exciting community event that will make a positive impact on our planet! As part of Earth Month, Keep Nature Wild is hosting a Papago Cleanup round-up to remove litter and debris from this beautiful natural area. This is a great opportunity to show your support for the environment, connect with likeminded individuals, and enjoy a fun outdoor activity. Visit www. eventbrite.com and search “Keep Nature Wild” to find out more about the event.
Join the City of Flagstaff in celebrating Earth Day and making a positive impact on our environment! Participate in Drop-Off Day to dispose of electronic waste and hazardous materials, attend educational workshops and activities, and enjoy the natural beauty of our community. Visit www.flagstaff.az.gov for more information about the event.
April 22
This event is for kids to get creative and celebrate Earth Day by working alongside their new "grandfriends" at Villa Hermosa Retirement Community. Families and seniors will celebrate Earth Day by painting mini flower pots and planting flowers. This is a fun way to bring some kindness and friendship to the residents at Villa Hermosa while also celebrating Earth Day. Call (520) 499-1083 for more information.
April 22
Children's Museum Tucson: Earth
Get ready to go green and have a blast at the Children's Museum Tucson Earth Day celebration! Explore the magic of nature with hands-on activities, games, and crafts that will ignite your love for the planet. Enjoy a day filled with excitement and education as you learn about sustainable living and environmental conservation in a fun and engaging way. Come and discover how you can make a positive impact on our planet and celebrate Earth Day in style! Read more about it at www.childrensmuseumtucson.org.
The Earth Day Celebration at Red Rock State Park is an annual event that brings people together to celebrate our planet and learn about sustainable living practices. This event offers a variety of activities, including educational workshops, live music, vendors, and food, all in the beautiful setting of Red Rock State Park. The workshops cover a range of topics, from conservation and ecology to energy efficiency and green living. Visit www.azstateparks.com/ red-rock/events for more information on the event.
Arizona Good Business Summit is back, and it's bigger and better than ever before. This must-attend event brings together the most innovative and socially responsible businesses from across the state to share their insights, best practices, and success stories. With engaging speakers, informative panels, and interactive workshops, you'll gain valuable knowledge and practical skills to take your own business to the next level. To know more, visit www.localfirstaz.com/good-business.
Ladies, get ready to be empowered, inspired, and pampered! The Arizona Women's Expo is coming to town, and it's going to be an event you won't want to miss. Whether you're looking to connect with other like-minded women, discover new products and services, or gain valuable insights from leading experts, this expo has it all. With a diverse range of vendors, workshops, and interactive activities, you'll leave feeling refreshed, renewed, and ready to take on the world. Visit www.azwomensexpo.com for more info.
Plan your perfect event, conference, or business meeting at Avondale’s Visitor and Conference Center. Be treated to beautiful views of the Estrella Mountains and enjoy the site’s many sustainability features. Conveniently located near 500+ hotel rooms, several delicious dining options, and a variety of sports and entertainment venues.
