Posted in berkeley, fun things to do with kids, green living, tagged trudy, trudy the corpse flower, UC Botanical Garden, voodoo lily on June 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Trudy the Corpse Flower at the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley bloomed during Monday night, the 22nd of June. I had a chance to visit her today and she’s already started to close up. Then she opens up and her petals fall down, and in about 4-6 months she should have red fruit.
Posted in contra costa, hiking, hiking with kids, tagged bay area wild flowers, bay area wildflowers, CA wildflowers, east bay native flowers, east bay wildflowers, mt. diablo wildflowers on June 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Here is a terrific wildflower guide that I came across with photos of East Bay wildflowers organized by color. It’s put out by the East Bay Regional Park District.
Posted in all, bay area events, berkeley, fun things to do with kids, green living, tagged corpse flower, giant flower, rare plant, titum arum, trudy, trudy the corpse flower, voodoo lily, what to do on father's day on June 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting “Trudy the Corpse Flower” at the UC Botanical Garden in Berkeley. Trudy is a member of the Voodoo Lily family (no joke!) and is the largest flowering structure in the plant world. Trudy is 16 years old and currently stands almost 6 feet tall. Her family originates from Sumatra, Indonesia and she first bloomed in the garden at age 12. When she blooms her leaves will open up into one dark red giant flower. Trudy will then warm herself up to human body temperature to create a foul smell to attract beetle pollinators. If pollinated (she will be hand pollinated at the garden) she will then bear beautiful red fruit.
Trudy can be viewed daily and is expected to bloom as early as Father’s Day, June 21st. How appropriate!
Posted in all, brentwood u-pick, contra costa, fun things to do with kids, green living, natural living, natural living moms, tagged apricot u-pick, apricots, brentwood organic u-pick, organic picking, organic u-pick, organic you pick, the farmer's daughter on June 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »
We are so excited to finally have found an organic u-pick farm in Brentwood! The Farmer’s Daughter is the ONLY organic u-pick farm that I know of that is part of Harvest Time. They’re not certified organic, however they farm in a sustainable way and don’t use chemicals. Today we picked apricots, and in the upcoming weeks they’ll have nectarines and yellow peaches. Please note that the fruit we picked today wasn’t low to the ground, which makes it less fun for young children. A lot of the ripest fruit was out of reach even for us adults, and it would have been nice to have had access to some ladders. Also note the coffee bar was not open 😉
Available for purchase at the farm stand is picked white corn, peppers, squash, green and wax beans, stone fruits, watermelons and more.
The Farmer’s Daughter is located on the NW corner of Walnut Blvd. and Marsh Creek Rd. (925) 634-4827.
Posted in all, bay area events, berkeley, contra costa, green living, natural living, pleasant hill, tagged bicycle cohousing tour, bicycle tour, co-housing, cohousing, cohousing directory, east bay cohousing, pleasant hill cohousing, shared community, US directory of cohousing on June 12, 2009| 1 Comment »
Cohousing is a type of collaborative housing in which the community is planned, owned and managed by the residents. Cohousing residents usually have their own private house or apartment, but then have access to generous shared areas which creates a village like atmosphere. Cohousing fosters community, sharing, green, and economical living.
In Contra Costa County there is a community known as Pleasant Hill Cohousing. Once in awhile there will be a unit for sale, rent or available for house-sitting. Pleasant Hill Cohousing offers free monthly tours of their community; see their website for more information. Currently there is a unit for sale which is a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath townhome priced at $480,000Â plus $9,000 for the carport (separate parcel), total $489,000. If interested contact Joanne Brown: joanne@joannebrown.com.
A new 23-24 unit cohousing community in Berkeley is being formed. 1-2 bedroom flats will be close to everything. For more information visit: East Bay Cohousing (EBCOHO)
There is a Tour de East Bay Cohousing event on Sunday, June 14th from 9 am to 3:30 pm. Cost: $35-45. Bicycle to and explore 6 cohousing locations in the Berkeley/Oakland area.
Interested in cohousing? Â Search the US Directory of Cohousing for a location near you.
Posted in all, antioch, recycling, tagged antioch, contra costa reuse center, generation green, green effect, national geographic green effect, reclaimed materials, reuse center, trashopia on June 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Would you like to have a Reuse Center located in Contra Costa County? You can help! The non-profit group Generation Green is trying to raise funds to open one. They’ve entered in the National Geographic Green Effect contest, and have a chance at winning $20,000 towards their cause. Please vote today for Trashopia!
What: Open Contra Costa County’s first reuse center – Trashopia. Trashopia will fulfill many needs for the community, including:
• Art gallery for local artists using reclaimed materials
• Classrooms for hands-on reuse art instruction
• Intern program for youth at risk
• Low cost materials for art, science and math programs in schools. There are twenty-two Title 1 schools in our catchment area. Teachers may spend up to $1,500 of their own money per year on supplies. Supplies from Trashopia will be a fraction of this.
• Central place for businesses and the community to send, and find, reusable materials
Where: Fachinni Salvage has acquired a warehouse in Antioch and will donate the second floor for Trashopia. The building has been vacant for 15 years and needs repair and remodeling.
When: If awarded $20,000, work would begin immediately. We have the space, the sources for reuse materials, the community contacts and the experience. Funding would be used for:
• Repairs and remodeling
• Reuse store equipment
• Classroom equipment
• Creating and distributing reuse education brochures
Who: Generation Green has been holding educational workshops since 1990; engaging people in the process of reusing materials creatively and helping people divert materials from landfill. Businesses ready to donate include:
• Thrift shops
• Bowling alleys
• Sign manufacturers
Why: So many reasons, including:
• Low cost materials for the community
• Materials diverted from landfill
• Promote creativity and environmental awareness while educating and engaging people through the medium of art
Please vote today for Trashopia!
Posted in all, bay area events, brentwood u-pick, contra costa, fun things to do with kids, natural living, tagged bicycle farm tour, brentwood bicycle tour, brentwood farms, brentwood on bike, Farm tour, frog hollow farms, herb garden, Shelley's Garden, shelly's garden on June 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »
June 21, 2009, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. $30 per adult, $15 per child.
A 15 mile tour by bicycle through farm country in Brentwood. Enjoy a chef-prepared lunch at Frog Hollow Farms (famous for it’s organic peaches) and visit Shelly’s Garden (known for it’s culinary herbs). Enjoy picking  some corn along the way, plus snacks and water are provided. You must bring your own bicycle and helmet. Click here to purchase tickets.
Posted in all, bay area events, contra costa, fun things to do with kids, green living, natural living, walnut creek, tagged cherry festival, Contra Costa weekend events, diablo valley, diablo valley farmers market, shadowbrook winery, temescal festival, walnut creek events on June 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Saturday & Sunday, June 6th and 7th, Heather Farm, Walnut Creek. Wine and beer, distinctive art, hand-made crafts, children’s area, entertainment and more.
Saturday, June 6th, Shadelands, Walnut Creek. Opening day of the new Diablo Valley Farmers’ Market. Ribbon cutting ceremony at 9am along with local Shadowbrook Winery releasing it’s new wines. Kids crafts, music and of course lots of fresh local produce!
Saturday, June 6th, downtown San Leandro. 100th anniversary of the San Leandro Cherry Festival which started in 1909! Farmers market, cherry pie bake-off, live music, arts and entertainment, specialty foods, activities for children and more.
Sunday, June 7th, Telegraph Ave. from 47th to 51st, Oakland. Eco activities, music, global food and more.
CoCo Earth Moms 