-Ali

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It’s been a pleasure…

You pick a plan, between 4-10 toys per month, and pay a fee (which to me sounds like a lot less than what it would cost to buy the toys new) and each month BabyPlays delivers a fresh batch of pint-sized entertainment to your door. You pick the toys and add them to a wishlist, much like a DVD by mail program if you’re familiar with those. You can keep the toys for a month or longer and there are no late fees. When you and your kiddo are ready for new toys, ship the last batch back and a new one will arrive within a few days.

It’s a great idea along the lines of sharing toys, buying used or borrowing from the library. For more information, and for answers to questions, visit BabyPlays online.

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Kid-Friendly Fridays: BabyPlays Toy Rental Program

The trip has a lot of interesting stops all across the US where the YERT team is finding all sorts of intriguing approaches to sustainable living and all sorts of interesting people. Most recently, YERT stopped by the Earthhaven ecovillage and the Ash Village Institute sustainability center, both in Asheville, NC.

It’s quite the journey and the blog is a great way to see the green side of America. Check them out online:

• YERT blog
• YERT website

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Website Wink: Your Environmental Road Trip YERT

If you’re interested in making your home more energy efficient, eating locally and sustainably year-round, and choosing eco-friendly fashions, then Down:2:Earth is the place for you. Join us March 28-30 at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center as we showcase companies that offer environmentally-responsible choices for aligning your dollars with your values. Educational workshops and chances to win great prizes are included with admission – it’s all happening at D2E.

This is definitely an event that I wish I could attend but I’m too far away, otherwise I would be there. On the list of speakers is Frances Moore Lappé of the Small Planet Institute. Exhibitors will include Alternative Energy Store, Green Source Supply and Design, Mourning Dove (eco-burial products) and many more. For a complete exhibitor list visit http://www.d2eboston.com/about/exhibitors.php.

And for more on this great event, visit the Down2Earth website.

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Down2Earth Conference is this weekend!

With that in mind, Grist’s Katherine Wroth has done a great job of rounding up some eco-friendly favorites and testing them out on her family, well her sister’s family actually because there were more mouths there and they were a good group of subjects representing a mix of mainstream and green toothpaste tastes.

Katherine combined the results of the toothpaste tests with info from the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep cosmetics database, and voilah, a great resource for readers on the best eco-friendly brands including Dr. Ken’s, Tom’s of Maine, Kiss my Face and more.

Find the review at Grist.

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Grist Review: Eco-Friendly Toothpaste

The questions address your home, your car, your travel, your water habits, recycling and lots of other every day living activities. A score of 100 is average, 50 is green territory and 20-30 is you should be teaching class. I scored a 48, which I consider pretty good considering I have yearly long haul “love miles” from Germany to the States to visit family.

The quiz doesn’t account for offsets (I do offset my air travel) for electricity or flying and there are plenty of topics that could be included on the list of questions like consumer practices (buying local, organic) but this quiz goes more in-depth than other similar online tools. And, after you get your score you’ll get helpful hints and tips on where you can improve your green living lifestyle.

Find the quiz here.

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Calculate Your Environmental Impact at Home

If you are a photographer, and you care about the environment, we invite you to submit your original photograph for the TIME For Kids Earth Day Photo Contest. The grand prize winner will receive a Canon digital camera and publication of his or her winning photo in the April 18, 2008 Earth Day issue of TIME For Kids.

WHAT: Judges will look for originality, creativity, photo composition, and how well your picture shows us the Earth Day theme: What’s the Most Precious Thing on Earth?

The deadline is March 31, 2008 so get out your cameras! Get the official entry rules here.

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TIME for Kids Earth Day Photo Contest

Apparently these animals have fallen through the cracks left by conservation program eliminations that have occurred under the Bush administration and their habitat is diminishing. In a press release, The Center for Biological Diversity explained the importance of protecting these species:

The Bush administration’s attacks on protections for Pacific Northwest old-growth forests are endangering hundreds of species, necessitating their protection under the Endangered Species Act.

With names like cinnamon juga, hoko vertigo, and knobby rams-horn, the petitioned species include 13 land snails, two slugs, 15 spring snails, and two river snails. All were recommended for Endangered Species Act protection by scientific experts concerned about their survival. The mollusks are very rare and many have such limited distributions that they could be extirpated by a single habitat-disturbing activity; fifteen of the species are known from 10 or fewer sites, and seven of them are found in only one or two locations.

Aquatic snails and terrestrial snails and slugs are a critical link in the food web because they consume microorganisms and forest floor litter and are then eaten by birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, mammals, and other invertebrates. They contribute to water quality and soil- and water-nutrient cycling and act as dispersers for mushrooms and other fungi. Empty snail shells are used for housing and egg-laying sites by other insects, and the reproductive cycle of many insects are dependent on snails that serve as parasitic hosts. Because they are extremely sensitive to pollution, mollusks serve as indicators of overall environmental health.

You can read the full petition here (in PDF) and see some pictures of the snails and slugs. For more, visit Center for Biological Diversity

Via ENN

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Endangered Species Protection Sought for Pacific Northwest Snails & Slugs

About Natural Collection: Natural Collection is the award-winning and UK’s leading (non-food) ethical retailer helping you to make stylish and green choices in your everyday lives. We stock a wide range of carefully selected items for you, your home and your friends and family.

We believe in finding the most inspiring environmentally-minded options to help you live a greener and more natural lifestyle. To find out more about the research involved in bringing you the best of ethical retail click here.

It’s a great site and the Carnival is full of ideas from greening your community to greening your kitty litter. Check it out here.

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Carnival of the Green at Natural Collection

Here in Germany I often see “habitats” integrated into agricultural land. For instance, farmers get an incentive if they plant wildflowers along the edge of their crops and I’m pretty sure they get the seeds for free. This little edge of shelter brings insects and bees back to places where they would otherwise chalk off to for-humans-only, and its a small but important endeavor to keep ecosystems in balance.

Planting a habitat garden doesn’t mean you have to go wild and completely un-manicured. You can integrate this little green gardening step into any kind of garden or setting. In my own garden, I give about a fifth of the area to wildflowers that attract insects and bees – a variety of plants that are beautiful and give enough diversity and density to the tiniest visitors.

This year we are also planting berry bushes for the birds (and us) along the edge of the habitat. The wildflowers are the first thing you see when you walk into the garden, the berry bushes make a hedge and beyond that things get more organized with vegetable beds. On the opposite end of the garden (which is a long strip) I plan a little bit more habitat with some bushes, mint and flowers. So, the garden edges are for wildlife and the middle is for people.

Couple things to keep in mind:

• habitat garden areas should be dense, like meadows
• don’t worry about uninvited guests, if you invite bugs, you also invite birds.
• choose native plants, your local birds and bees know these and the plants will thrive with little maintenance
• don’t worry about size, dedicate as little or big amount of space as you want

Here’s a Backyard Conservation Tip Sheet from the Natural Resources Conservation Service with more great ideas to get you started.

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Planning a Habitat Garden for Critters