Farmers Market is Open!!!

YES WE CAN!
Shop at the Mar Vista Farmer's Market

New Rules:  
Enter only at the north or south end of the market.  Market staff will monitor the total number of shoppers and help to make sure that social distance is respected.

We are grateful to have this resource to insure our health and the livelihood of our vendors during this time of unprecedented change.  

Looking for something besides Netflix and news?  Check out this podcast by Rich Roll...
Taking Care in the Time of the Corona Virus




Which fruits and veggies have the highest vitamin C content?  
What about some of the other nutrients which are key for fighting off infections?
Click here for more information.




Did you know that fermented foods have been used for centuries to maintain vibrant health and fight disease?
Consider adding some sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, yogurt and other fermented products to your diet for health benefits in good times and bad.  Click here for more information.


And...save the date for the long-awaited, free 
Introduction to Drawdown

May be virtual...stay tuned for details.  


We CAN Reverse Global Warming !   

Weather patterns are changing and so can you.


This Drawdown Workshop is a 5-session series, which invites you to see both the possibility of reversing global warming and the important role you play in that process.

In this workshop, you have the opportunity to:

·      Connect with people in your community to find inspiration and discover new ways to address global warming and change your daily habits that impact climate change.
      Learn about a comprehensive scientific study from Project Drawdown of 100 solutions that together, could actually begin to reverse global warming by 2030
·      Learn how you can change the conversation about global warming from “game over” to “game on!”
                                                                                   
Date:  Saturday, April 25
Time:   2:30-4:30
Location: Virtual class or Mar Vista location - TBD
RSVP: Contact: 310-717-4518 or Jeanne@yogasalad.net
Delivered by:  Jeanne Kuntz - Mar Vista Green Tent Manager
                         
                     

Climate Solar Solutions March 8, 2020

Solar Panels help to Reverse Global Warming





Climate Solar Solutions of Venice  is excited to be on hand at the Mar Vista Farmers Market this Sunday to have fun while they demystify the ABC's of rooftop solar panels. Throughout the day they will be playing "Solar Plinko" in the Green Tent. At the end of each play, environmentally friendly facts will be read off. This is one of the most non-boring ways to learn about the importance and ease of prioritizing solar energy and helping you make a cleaner tomorrow.  

Climate Solar Solutions is committed to making a positive change in the world, starting one home at a time within our community. Climate Solar Solutions pledges to donate 5 solar panels for every 100 solar panels sold and installed to a local charity, annually. Ask us about our Green Giving program! 
Installing rooftop solar panels is one of the 100 top solutions for reversing global warming and bringing our climate back into balance....learn more at Drawdown.org.





*Drawdown is that point in time when the concentration of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere begins to decline on a year-to-year basis. It's not a quick fix, but we CAN REVERSE GLOBAL WARMING...if we all get on board and get our friends and families on board.  This is great news for humans and other living things.  It is a plan that invites us to participate at any level we can.   






Mar Vista Music & Art Walk - Saturday, March 7

Mar Vista Music & Art Walk


Saturday, March 7, 4-10 p.m.



Join us this Sunday at the Mar Vista Farmer’s Market to find out about the upcoming Mar Vista Music & Art Walk.  Our mission has always been to encourage community members to stroll their sidewalks and explore their neighborhood “Main Street”, Venice Blvd. Now over 5 years later, our completely free Art Walk continues to bring lovers of all the arts together to support one another and the community. 
Taking place on March 7th is “Green Dreams” Art Walk, a celebration of sustainability and all things eco-friendly! Along the one-mile stretch of Venice Blvd., between Inglewood Blvd. and Lyceum Ave., urban farming, local produce and plants, art made from recycled materials, and low or no-waste products will be highlighted at this event.

Stay tuned for more details

Drawdown Workshop - FREE

No Green Tent this Sunday
BUT...

The Farmers Market will be thriving and supplying you with the freshest, safest produce around.
And right now, fresh fruits and vegetables are more important than ever, as we focus on keeping our immune systems and those of our loved ones in top condition.



Which fruits and veggies have the highest vitamin C content?  
What about some of the other nutrients that are key for fighting off infections?
Click here for more information.


https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-sauerkraut

Did you know that fermented foods have been used for centuries to maintain vibrant health and fight disease?
Consider adding some sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, yogurt and other fermented products to your diet for health benefits in good times and bad.


And...save the date for the long-awaited, free 
Introduction to Drawdown

May be virtual...stay tuned for details.  


We CAN Reverse Global Warming !   

Weather patterns are changing and so can you.


This Drawdown Workshop is a 5-session series, which invites you to see both the possibility of reversing global warming and the important role you play in that process.

In this workshop, you have the opportunity to:

·      Connect with people in your community to find inspiration and discover new ways to address global warming and change your daily habits that impact climate change.
      Learn about a comprehensive scientific study from Project Drawdown of 100 solutions that together, could actually begin to reverse global warming by 2030
·      Learn how you can change the conversation about global warming from “game over” to “game on!”
                                                                                   
Date:  Saturday, April 25
Time:   2:30-4:430
Location: Virtual class or Mar Vista location
RSVP: Contact: 310-717-4518 or Jeanne@yogasalad.net
Delivered by:  Jeanne Kuntz - Mar Vista Green Tent Manager
                         
                     

UC/CE LA County Master Gardeners - Feb. 23

Sunday, February 23, at the Green Tent:

UC/CE LA County Master Gardeners

The UC/CE LA County Master Gardeners are back at The Green Tent from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23, with some greens, herbs and snap peas to share with you for FREE.

Come by with your gardening questions, and pick up a free plant (lovingly grown for you by the Master Gardeners) and some free seeds, while they last.




The Master Gardeners also emphasize the incursion of the ACP (Asian Citrus Psyllid) and the disease it carries, Huanglong Bing, and their destructive impact on our backyard citrus. The disease is here. And there’s no cure. Take a look at the LA Times article that appeared on Tuesday to see how serious and widespread the problem is in our area: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-18/citrus-collection-uc-riverside-givaudan

For more information on what you can do visit: http://californiacitrusthreat.org



And: please don’t forget to recycle your nursery 6-packs with the Master Gardeners so they can continue to plant seedlings for you.

Free Drawdown Workshop!!!

We CAN Reverse Global Warming !   

Weather patterns are changing and so can you.


This Drawdown Workshop is a 5-session series, which invites you to see both the possibility of reversing global warming and the important role you play in that process.

In this workshop, you have the opportunity to:

·      Connect with people in your community to find inspiration and discover new ways to address global warming and change your daily habits that impact climate change.
      Learn about a comprehensive scientific study from Project Drawdown of 100 solutions that together, could actually begin to reverse global warming by 2030
·      Learn how you can change the conversation about global warming from “game over” to “game on!”
                                                                                   
Start Date:  SUNDAY, FEB 23  (Free 5-Session Workshop)
Time:   10a-12noon
Location: Manzanita School, 1717 Old Topanga Canyon Blvd 90290
RSVP: Contact: 310-871-0061 or info@movetheworldnow.org
Delivered by:  Cecilie Stuart, Director of Move the World
                         
                     

February 16, 2020 The Learning Garden

REBUILDING THE LEARNING GARDEN! 

This Sunday February 16th, at the Green Tent, representing The Learning Garden , David King, The Gardenmaster, will have some free seeds and information on upcoming Learning Garden events! 
David King,  Gardenmaster of the
Venice High School Learning Garden
You can find The Learning Garden online at http://www.thelearninggarden.org/ - with our calendar of events and classes we will offer through-out the year.  

The Learning Garden provides the vision of a community growing some of their own food and using plants as a vital part of our lives. We are the home base for the Seed Library of Los Angeles, Westside Produce Exchange and many other groups. The Garden frequently has classes on gardening  - including some specialty classes like pickling, grafting and other garden centered skills. 

See our Calendar at our website for more information! 
The Garden has suffered badly over this last year as Venice High School (where our Garden is located) constructs a new building. We know we have a hard road ahead to restore the garden to something even better than we were in the past! 

Chat us up in the Green Tent on February 16th!



Audubon Society February 9, 2020

Sunday, November 10 at the Green Tent:

The Los Angeles Audubon Society

Join us on Sunday, November 9 at the Mar Vista Green Tent for our guest: Los Angeles Audubon Society.

Harlequin Beetle
The Los Angeles Audubon Society has taught local school children about the Ballona Wetlands since 1991. Every year, 2500 students have the opportunity to visit this special place and see the plants and animals that make Ballona their home. 

According to the Drawdown data, coastal wetland ecosystems are one of the top 100 solutions for reversing Global Warming. Relative to their land area, they sequester huge amounts of carbon in plants aboveground and in roots and soils below. Coastal wetlands can store five times as much carbon as tropical forests over the long term, mostly in deep wetland soils!

A project planned by the State of California will bring serious changes to the existing habitat. The Los Angeles Audubon would love to share more information about the future of the wetlands. Stop by the Green Tent this Sunday to learn more about programs that inspire our future conservationists and what you can do to keep Ballona thriving!

Learn about the outdoor education programs sponsored by the Los Angeles Audubon Society that bring the children of Los Angeles to remnant wild and natural places that are found amid our big city. They work with all age groups, from elementary to high school, striving to show and educate field trip participants that nature still exists in our own back yard and the importance of our local ecosystems. Programs are keyed to Next Generation Science Standards, and support curriculum being taught in the classroom.

Approximately 3,500 school children every year, at the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve and Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, engage in hands-on activities that include using binoculars to view local birds and other wildlife, scientific illustration exercises where they take a close up view of local flowers and invertebrates and record their observations through drawing, and hiking through open spaces. 

In addition, the Audobon Society hosts a monthly Open Wetlands at the Ballona Ecological Reserve to reach a broader audience, and allow access to a reserve that is usually closed to the public. Stop by the Green Tent this Sunday to find out how you can participate.

Honoring Craig Butler - Artist, Environmentalist February 1, 2020

          Good Bye, Craig...


It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of lifelong environmentalist and artist, Craig Butler.  It is easy to become depressed when contemplating our planet, but Craig never let his concern for the environment diminish his joyful approach to life.  A self-proclaimed hell-raiser, Butler was known for stunts such as riding his motorcycle off a campus building (Pasadena Art Center College of Design) wearing a cape bearing the word "ECOLOGY".  He became an environmental activist in the 60's and recognized the role that daily life choices played in the survival of our species.

Craig feely offered his art in service to the planet and humanity.
Scroll down to view images...  I took the liberty of adding a few captions.You can read more about Butler's fascinating life here.



Earth Glow
 Burning Bush
Why?!



Stranded


Who will lead us?

Wreckage

LA County Master Gardeners - 26 January, 2020


Sunday, January 26 at the Green Tent:
Master Gardeners

 Join the UC/CE LA County Master Gardeners (click here for more information from the Master Gardeners' website) at the Green Tent on Sunday, January 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for free plants and seeds! Here is what they’ve lovingly grown for you this month.

 Nasturtiums and borage



Fava beans.  




Sugar Snap Peas.


Lots of leafy lettuce.


Stop by with questions and go home with something you can grow. If you have any gardening questions that can’t wait, here’s the Master Gardeners' Hotline: http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/Gardening_Questions/

Remember: don’t plant or transport citrus! The Asian Citrus Psyllid is HERE and causing death to backyard trees. The only way to prevent its spread is to limit the number of trees in our area. Once a tree has the disease, THERE IS NO CURE. Find out more here (link). It’s closer than you think; Pasadena now has imposed a citrus quarantine because of the Huanglong Bing disease spread by the psyllid. Read this article from Pasadena Now to learn what Huanglong Bing disease (link) means for the citrus trees and which citrus fruits are affected.

And if you have empty plastic plant six packs, you can recycle them at The Green Tent and see what the Master Gardeners will grow in them for their visit to the market, which is always the FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE MONTH. Happy growing!

Metro Bike Share Ride January 19



This Sunday, January 20 at the Mar Vista Farmer's Market Green Tent 

Come for the information...
stay for the community bike ride!
This Sunday will feature tabling at The Green Tent Metro Bike Share  from 9am to 2pm followed by a special community bike ride through sections of Del Rey down to the Ballona Creek Bike path and then back to Mar Vista. The route will use two different routes between Mar Vista and the Ballona Bike Path. 


When the market closes, the day isn't over yet, because the Bike Share Program and the Mar Vista Community Council are hosting a group ride which begins at 2:30 PM on Sunday, January 19. Meet at the Venice & Inglewood bike station located down the street from the farmer's market. Group rides are free! However, riders should arrive prepared for the Metro Bikes' usage fee (here's a link to the Metro Bike pricing chart). The ride will take you around Mar Vista and onto part of the Ballona Creek bike path. Totaling to about 5 miles of a relatively flat round trip, the ride ends up where you started at the Venice & Inglewood station at around 4 PM.




BIKE RIDE :meet up/departure is 2:30 PM from 
Venice and Inglewood by the Metro Bike Share station. 

You can rent a bike share bike for the event or ride your own bike. The route is approximately 5 miles and nearly all flat.  Those attending may get their very own MVCC Hi Visibility Safety Vest and Safe Cycling booklet!. Supplies are limited. Here's a link to the Metro Bike Share event page for a few more details!


Stop by the Green Tent this Sunday, because Metro Bike Share will be here to answer your questions about the Metro Bike Share program! The bike program is one of LA Metro's multiple available transportation systems, with rentable bike stations located all over Los Angeles. You can unlock them with your TAP card and ride!

When the market closes, the day isn't over yet, because the Bike Share Program and the Mar Vista Community Council are hosting a group ride which begins at 2:30 PM on Sunday, January 19. Meet at the Venice & Inglewood bike station located down the street from the farmer's market. Group rides are free! However, riders should arrive prepared for the Metro Bikes' usage fee (here's a link to the Metro Bike pricing chart). The ride will take you around Mar Vista and onto part of the Ballona Creek bike path. Totaling to about 5 miles of a relatively flat round trip, the ride ends up where you started at the Venice & Inglewood station at around 4 PM.

Visit the Metro Bike Share website (link) for more information such as pricing, a map of Metro Bike stations, and riding tips!


Wild Birds - July 24, 2022

Wild Birds in Your Backyard!

On Sunday, July 24

, 

Wild Birds Unlimited of Santa Monica's Julie Hanson

 will greet shoppers at the Mar Vista Farmers Market's Green Tent and talk about “The Wilderness in Your Backyard.” For the wild birds around the neighborhood, a typical backyard is their wilderness, the place where they find food, water and shelter, and raise their babies.

For fun, kids can stop by and learn how to make a pine cone bird feeder. The local birds will delight in finding your backyard offering of a nutritious treat and the whole family will enjoy seeing who stops by for a visit.

Come and learn how you can enjoy the numerous wild birds living in your own backyard by putting out the feeders, food, and water that the birds love. 

Ms. Hanson will show Green Tent guests the typical wild birds that visit their backyards and neighborhoods, and how to view and recognize them.

Learn how you can support and protect the birds and their nests in the neighborhood's trees and bushes.

2020 Green Vision - Jaunuary 5, 2020


2020 Green Vision


Green behavior changes don't just benefit the environment - they improve your health and sense of well being and that of your community as well. Guest presenter Jeanne Kuntz identifies the Simple Seven Steps to ease into a smaller carbon footprint as you create healthy habits. 





Find a group that supports your passion and get involved!  Food waste, social justice, agriculture reform, soil health, ocean health, water conservation even immigration are all tied to the health of our planet and the future of humanity.   Stop by the Green Tent for a list of organizations to choose from. 



Walk or bike instead of driving whenever possible. You may end up shopping closer to home which is good for the small businesses in your neighborhood and fosters a sense of community, a stress-reducing bonus.

Get to know your neighbors. A recent Los Angeles Times article cited research that indicates people who have good relationships with their neighbors live happier, healthier lives. And when you are preparing those home-cooked meals, it’s so much easier to borrow a cup of sugar or a lemon from a neighbor than to drive your car to the market and back. A real stress-reducer!

Choose exercise options that have the lowest environmental impact while bringing you the greatest joy. Example: Instead of getting in your car and driving to the gym for an hour, and then driving back again, why not put on some of your favorite music and dance around the house? 


Prepare meals and eat them at home. You will burn about 250 calories for each meal you prepare. If you have young children, you will teach them a valuable skill which is empowering and a money saver.  

 Eat foods in their original form. No processing to degrade food value, no packaging to deplete the environment. 

Stay connected to your motivators. Write them somewhere and review them often! 



Stop by the Green Tent for tips on how to experiment with these ideas and incorporate the best into your life. Mar Vista resident and Green Committee co-chair Jeanne Kuntz is a certified wellness coach; learn more at her Teaching Wellness website. 

Athens - Sunday, December 29

Sunday, December 29, at the Green Tent
Athens Trash Talk

Recycling or Not! / Where does this go?! / Is this Recyclable?!? Can’t tell anymore!

We’ve all come across one of these containers full of pictures but the one item in our hand is not on there. After some deductive reasoning you know its not compostable because it's not organic material so you’re caught between Recycling or Landfill.
It seems like every day we learn something new about recycling and our waste infrastructure that leaves us guessing if recycling is another case of fake news or not. Well next time you’re caught in the dilemma of separating your recyclables we have some tips and tricks to help you sort properly.

Look at the number on your plastic container. Recyclable doesn’t always mean it’s recycled.  Color, size, and cleanliness play a critical role in recycling.
  • Best are #1 bottles, #2 & #5
  • Clear, white or lightly colored (not dark containers)
  • 4-inch minus rule (anything at or about 4 inches doesn’t make the cut so it is safe to landfill)
  • Clean out our container removing all liquid or food
Some helpful tips to avoid using recyclables are:
  • Have a reusable straw
  • Carry your own to-go container
  • Reusable utensils
  • Refillable bottles
  •  Bees Wax Wraps
  • Silicone bags
  • Reusable bags




Master Gardeners - Sunday, Dec. 22

Sunday, December 22 at the Mar Vista Farmers Market

Master Gardeners


 ’Tis the Sunday before Christmas, and all through the house,
Master Gardeners are bringing….
free seeds and plants for you and your garden! 


Join the UC/CE LA County Master Gardeners (link) on Sunday, Dec. 22 from 9 am to 1 pm as they occupy the Green Tent. They’ve lovingly planted greens and peas this month for you to take home and nurture on your own.


There’s lots of mixed lettuce (yes, Virginia, you can eat salad in the winter!), arugula seedlings that are just popping their little heads up, and some yummy (everyone’s favorite) sugar snap peas. (Here are some, dressed in Christmas colors!)

Come by with gardening questions and don’t forget to share those leftover seedling six packs so they can recycle and reuse them for next month’s Master Gardener booth. 


Important alert: The disease known as citrus greening is HERE and it’s being spread backyard to backyard. If you have citrus trees, please educate yourself about the Asian Citrus Psyllid, the insect that carries the Huanglongbing virus which is destroying citrus crops nationwide. As a backyard gardener you can be proactive in preventing its spread. 

Please visit this page for detailed information on what you can do: https://ucanr.edu/sites/ACP/Homeowner_Options/
And here’s a quick tip marker: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/QT/asiancitruscard.html

GREY WATER - DECEMBER 15, 2019


GET THAT GREY WATER IN THE GROUND!


Don't let the winter rains fool you.  We still need every drop of water back in the soil.  Redirecting grey water is an easy way to prevent waste.  


What is grey water? It's the "waste" water from your washing machine reused to water your fruit trees or perennial plants instead of being sent to the reclamation plant and then out to the ocean.With a greywater system, every time you do a load of laundry your plants get a good drink and you save money as well.



As everyone knows, California has experienced an extreme drought for many years and it will most likely continue. Water is probably the most important resource for every living species on our planet. Learn how to double the usage of your water!




Green Tent guest Art Lee holds workshops that cover all the information you need to install a grey water system at your house. He's bringing a mini greywater demo system so visitors can see how it works and will answer your questions. He'll also have a signup sheet for those interested in attending a future workshop.
Posted by at   


NO GREEN TENT THIS WEEK.

sorry- postponed due to rain...



 BALLONA WETLANDS

...an environmental treasure in our own back yard 



White-tailed Kite*
You may have heard about the 600+ acres of the Ballona Wetlands just to the south and west of Mar Vista. But have you visited this wild habitat where so many wildlife species and rare plant populations still thrive?   One imperiled bird species that our former neighbor and beloved Councilmember Bill Rosendahl loved, is the beautiful White Tailed Kite, which needs the upland areas where small mammals live just beneath the surface and provide great meals for the Kite, as well as for Great Blue Herons and several raptors.
Image Courtesy of Craig Butler

Drop by the Green Tent on Sunday, December 8, to learn about the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, which is a fragile mosaic of different habitats: seasonal ponds, wet meadows, salt pannes, sand dunes and prairie grasslands.  



AND - learn about the imminent threat to these special lands - there is a plan to bulldoze and excavate the life-rich soils at Ballona, destroy habitat for many thousands of animals and move things around, as if they are decorating the place.  
In the Yerba Mansa Meadow*
One of the historical sloughs at 
Ballona Wetlands, photo by Marcia Hanscom
Great Egrets*

Audubon Cottontail Rabbits*
Biologist Roy Van de Hoek (perhaps you know him from the Feathers & Foliage walks in Mar Vista or have seen his Blue Bird houses in our trees) and Marcia Hanscom, Executive Director of the Ballona Institute ,will be on hand to talk with you. Ballona Institute is known as "The Voice for Nature on the Los Angeles Coast."
Image Courtesy of Craig Butler
Click here  to learn more about the treasures at Ballona. And watch this video to see just some of the miracles at the water's edge.
According to the Drawdown data, Coastal wetland ecosystems are one of the top 100 solutions for reversing Global Warming.
Wetlands sequester huge amounts of carbon in plants above ground and in roots and soils below.  Coastal wetlands can store five times as much carbon as tropical forests over the long term, mostly in deep wetland soils.   There are also hundreds of trees on the ecological reserve - as well as grasslands, which have also been discovered to be strong in terms of helping with carbon sequestration - which could minimize impacts of predicted climate change.
Additionally, a methane gas storage field sits beneath the wetlands on our coast - the Playa del Rey Gas Storage Field.  SoCalGas wants to install new fossil fuel infrastructure as part of the ill-conceived plans for the Ballona Wetlands.  So Ballona Institute has joined with Food & Water Watch, Indivisible and other groups like Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project to - instead - close this gas plant down and to do everything they can to protect the sensitive lands at Ballona on the Los Angeles coast.


Learn about Ballona Institute's latest campaigns, including the most important one of all - the threat that bulldozers we once chased from the Ballona Wetlands are threatening to return! Stop by to learn what YOU can do to help save the Ballona Wetlands again!


* Photos by Jonathan Coffin
**Photo by Marcia Hanscom
Additional images by Craig Butler

playhouse arts December 1, 2019


Come to the Green Tent tomorrow, December 1, and a create a unique sculpture using Thanksgiving leftovers!!!  Let the fabulous artists from Playhouse Art LA show you how.


Cranberry STEM Structures with Playhouse Art
What should you do with those leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving?  Turn them into a super-fun STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) project for the kids!  You just need a bag of fresh cranberries (or a leftover handful or two will do) and a bunch of toothpicks, and let the kids become little engineers, building 3-D structures.  

For the little ones, you can start small with simple structures, like squares or rectangles, and once they get the hang of it, the sky’s the limit with what they can build.  Older kids will love the challenge of seeing how high and wide they can build their creations.  

You can also make it a game by writing shapes, such as houses, letters, buildings, people, etc., on pieces of paper and randomly choosing them one by one to build. 

The best part is it’s an eco-friendly project with just cranberries and toothpicks—and you can reuse both, so there’s no waste at all!  

Check out more fun STEM and art projects on our Instagram page, @playhouseartla.  




Playhouse Art L.A., is an eco-friendly kids’ art studio in Mar Vista specializing in super-fun and easy projects using food scraps and other items that are often thrown in the trash.  

Previous projects include using the last few shriveled clementines or all the leftover limes and lemons from a cocktail party to create beautiful cards! 

Made from citrus fruit, non-toxic food coloring and old cereal boxes, these cards keep kids safe, reduce post-consumer waste and create a lasting memory for a very special day.
Interested in doing your own DIY cardmaking?  The Playhouse Art L.A. staff will be happy to share their tips so you can easily run this project on your own.

Playhouse Art has fun, eco-friendly after-school art classes and tinkering workshops. Check them out at www.playhouseartla.com or on Instagram at @playhouseartla.  Have fun!

Vegan Dishes for Thanksgiving

Let nature help with the holiday menu.  Use locally grown seasonal produce.


Thanksgiving can be a time of coming together and strengthening bonds.  Sometimes that means setting aside differences and focusing on inclusion.  This often means making sure that there are foods for everyone.  If you are a guest at someone's home, why not offer to make one side dish where you can introduce the other guests to some of your favorite vegan delicacies?  A hearty root vegetable puree or tofu or tempeh stew will be very welcome this as we experience a California winter.  Maybe you can provide a dairy-free dessert ... great for folks who also keep Kosher.

But it's not just about the food.  Consider how you will shop and deal with leftovers to shrink your carbon footprint.  Get support year-round from the Zero Waste Chef. 

Perhaps the biggest share you can offer is preparing your own heart.  We are living in times of change, chaos and stress, and no act of kindness is wasted.  I will leave you with a quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi which I found in,  of all places, the astrology section of the Los Angeles Times!  (Hey, it's right next to the crossword puzzle.) 

"To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer."   

Happy Thanksgiving and Beyond!




Protect Solar Power - Send an Email Today


Last week, a group of construction workers at the NYC solar company Bright Power were fired for organizing to form a union. The workers has been inspired by the vision of the Green New Deal, which would create millions of good, union jobs in their industry, and were in the midst of forming one of the first ever unions at a solar company.
What happened at Bright Power is absolutely unacceptable, and shows us why we need bold, comprehensive policies that will expand renewable energy and ensure that workers rights are protected.
We are teaming up with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to drive as many letters to the Bright Power CEO as we can. Can you send a letter to Jeffrey Perlman, the CEO of Bright Power, demanding that the company rehire these workers and formally recognize their union?
The workers at Bright Power often worked under dangerous conditions -- in hazardous weather, without basic safety protocols in place. The bosses put their bottom line above the health and safety of their workers time and time again, and we can’t let them get away with it.
The Bright Power union would be one of the first ever unions at a solar company. This retaliation is our opportunity to send a message that anyone who wants to build wind and solar energy needs to pay good wages, maintain safe working conditions and protect their workers' right to organize
What’s happening at Bright Power shows us why we need a Green New Deal, a governing agenda that will confront the climate crisis and create millions of good-paying, union jobs in the process. Can you show your solidarity to these workers and send a letter to the boss at Bright Power right now?
Thanks for your support,
Evan Weber, Political Director 
Sunrise Movement