Poetry Artwork with text from The Lorax

Love literature as much as you love making creative things? Then this poetry art project - featuring a poem using text from The Lorax - is for you!

If you love literature as much as you love making creative things for you home then this poetry art project will tickle you pink green. (This is a blog about green living after all!) When I was in university I took a few poetry courses as part of my combined English and creative writing honours degree. One of the assignments – called erasure poetry – really stuck with me and I thought it would be a cool way to create some simple DIY artwork for my newly arranged shelf library.

This project actually combines two different poetry techniques – erasure and cut-up, which may seem similar but have an important distinction.

Planting a Sapling: How to Plant a Tree Sapling in 5 Easy Steps

Closeup of a tree sapling planted in soil with more trees in the background.

There’s nothing like planting a sapling. They’re so tiny, it’s almost unimaginable one day they’ll be towering trees. Trees with the ability to provide shade, a home to insects and animals and in some cases fruit to eat. From something so small to an integral part of our ecosystem, communicating with its kin through underground networks and providing oxygen for us to breath. Which, you know, is kind of important.

Devin and I try to plant a few trees every year out on the land. It’s our way of saying thank you to a place that gives us so much joy and doing our part in the battle against deforestation and other unsustainable practices. So, if you’ve never planted a tree – you really should!

5 of Canada’s Most Sustainable Buildings

5 of Canada’s Most Sustainable Buildings

Happy 150th birthday Canada! To celebrate our country’s milestone, I’ve put together a list of a few of its most eco-friendly buildings. As far as green countries go, Canada certainly isn’t at the top of the list. But with our government’s shifting priorities and increased public awareness about the impact of unsustainable choices, architects are now designing buildings with the environment in mind.

Interestingly, the current trend in sustainable building isn’t designing structures filled with fancy green technology. Instead it’s about creating smart buildings that don’t need all the bells and whistles. A building’s orientation, amount and quality of windows, square footage and types of materials are all current focuses in sustainable building. So here is a sampling of some of the greenest buildings in Canada. May they be an inspiration to us all!

Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup

Thick and creamy vegan broccoli soup... without the cream. Safe for vegans, lactose-intolerants and calorie counters alike. And it's delicious too!

Mmmm… soup. I am definitely a fan. Winter or summer, day or night, I’d eat soup seven days a week if I could. And I can. Because I’m an adult and although that comes with all sorts of annoying “responsibilities” it also comes with the freedom to eat whatever I want, whenever I want. (Within reason… and often not within reason at all. Hello, leftover pizza for breakfast.) And sometimes I want to eat thick and creamy soup… without the cream.

Yes. That’s right. No cream. Which means no dairy. Which means safe for vegans, lactose-intolerants and calorie counters alike. How is this possible, you say? It’s creamy, but there’s no cream? Well, my friends, let me tell you about a life-changing cooking technique called “roux.” Some of you may already be familiar – particularly if you’ve made gravy before. I myself had used it many a times to make gravy in the past before discovering it actually has a name. But, honestly, I thought it was just a gravy thing and didn’t realize until the last year or so that it can be used in so very many applications. Including the creation of a healthy broccoli soup… that’s also creamy and vegan!

9 Helpful Tools and Supplies for an Eco Friendly Garden

Closeup of a pair of hands wearing garden gloves and pruning a plant.

‘Tis the season! For gardening that is. There aren’t many things in this world better than sticking your hands in freshly turned garden soil. (Except eating it when pregnant – which I did. Don’t judge.) Last spring, I wrote a post featuring a Homemade Garden Fertilizer recipe, but I only tried it out once due to the fact that I had a newborn and a two year old at the time.

Now that my kids are one and three I obviously have so much more time on my hands so I’ll be dousing my abundant vegetable garden in homemade fertilizer on a weekly basis. Except I don’t have a vegetable garden this year because I was being facetious about all the time on my hands. Hello. My kids are one and three! I couldn’t even plant runner beans because my eldest kept spilling the seeds between the deck boards while my baby climbed fully-clothed into the kiddie pool.

Subscribe to My Blog and I’ll Plant a Tree!

Subscribe to my blog and I'll plant a tree! Because as the proverb goes: "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now."Subscribe to my blog and I'll plant a tree! Because as the proverb goes: "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now."

“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”

This Chinese proverb is one of my favourite quotes of all time as it reminds me that it’s never too late to do good. There’s something so simple and pure about the act of planting a tree, caring for it and watching it grow. Of course, not everyone has the time, funds or space for a sapling that will one day become a towering version of its former self. To be honest, I don’t have a lot of time or funds myself. But something I do have – courtesy of the land – is space.

So here’s how it works… For each one of you that subscribes to my blog during the month of June, I will plant a tree out on our land in your honour. I will then name it after you and sing ceremonial songs to encourage its growth. Or at the very least I’ll water it.

5 Fascinating Facts About Earth Day + How to Celebrate Earth Year-Round

A little girl sitting on a rock in a creek.

Happy Earth Day friends! If it feels like we just celebrated Earth Hour it’s because… we did. But really – is one hour plus one day enough time to fully acknowledge this planet that gives us so much? I think you know my answer to that question. Which is why I’ve created an enjoyable – yet informative – post featuring five facts about Earth Day. Just for you!

But first, let me boldly suggest we celebrate Earth Day 365 days a year. If this sounds like a daunting task – relax – it isn’t! It really is about the little things we do every day. The things that become so ingrained in our routine they no longer are tasks to put effort into. They’re just life. This Earth Day, let’s vow to make caring for our planet something we just do. Every day.

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