Ballona Wetlands - Sunday 4/10 at the Green Tent

BALLONA WETLANDS

...an environmental treasure in our own back yard 

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.

Drop by the Green Tent on Sunday, January 20, 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. 

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." 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!

Environmental Racism - Sunday April 10th

Climate change is one of the most pressing environmental issues facing our world today. But have you thought about the intersection between the environment and racism, and how you can make a difference? Stop by the Green Tent on Sunday, April 10 to learn more, and win some environmentally friendly prizes!

Environmental racism is a big problem in Los Angeles. The most polluted communities in the city have large minority populations, and not much is being done to help them. In fact, one community in LA, Wilmington, is one of the most polluted areas in the country with an EPA pollution burden of 100/100. Our guests, members of the Palisades Library Teen Council, are hoping to raise awareness about this issue. If you stop by, you could learn more about what you can do to alleviate this issue while winning prizes! Make sure to check it out at our booth on April 10!



Master Gardeners - Sunday April 3

This Sunday, April 3rd, from 9 am to 1 pm, join the Los Angeles County Master Gardeners https://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/ at the Mar Vista Green Tent. It’s the first Sunday of every month at the Mar Vista Farmer’s Market. Stop by for your choice of seedlings lovingly grown by the Master Gardeners expressly for the Mar Vista community. As always, you’ll get a chance to start your own plants from seeds — everything the Master Gardeners bring, they give away for FREE! They grow seedlings for just this market and give them away for FREE, in addition to FREE seasonal seed packets. Bring your questions and they’ll answer them.

This week they are bringing marigolds, sunflowers, green bush beans, cilantro, succulents, loofa, baby lettuce and Swiss chard!

Road Ready - March 27th at the Mar Vista Green Tent

The weather has certainly warmed up but still don’t know quite where to ride your (new/old/rusty/borrowed) bike yet? Curious about the Metro Bike Share stands? Maybe you recently pulled that bike that has been hiding in the back of the garage and need to get it road ready. If you already ride, learn how to register your bike to minimize the risks of bike theft.
Stop by the Green tent this Sunday, March 27th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and let’s talk. Mar Vista's "Master of Cycling", Rob Kadota, with be there with his trusty bike stand and few tools to get your bike as road ready as possible. We will also have wide array of bike-related resources, including clubs and ride tips.

GREY WATER - March 27 at the Mar Vista Green Tent

Relaxing during a foraging expedition.

Come to the Mar Vista Green Tent this Sunday in the heart of the Mar Vista Farmers Market. Meet Art Lee…a Renaissance man for our times. Whether he is foraging for healing herbs or rerouting your washing machine to water your trees, his heart beats to the pulse of Mother Earth. And don’t forget to ask about his one-of-a-kind solar powered bicycle!

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 grey water 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.

Giving Freely

How many times do we get rid of things we have that are perfectly functional? Did you know that in the fashion industry alone:

  • The apparel industry is the 4th largest industrial polluter and accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions.

  • The average American sends 70 pounds of clothes to landfills every year. That’s 21 billion pounds of post consumer textile waste per year!

  • Less than 20% of what gets donated to charities gets resold.

And of course we get rid of much more than clothing. In Nicole Robertson’s new Swap Society article, she says “Giving things freely to neighbors instead of throwing them in the trash, and receiving gifted items instead of shopping, is the cultural shift the world needs right now. Overconsumption and excessive waste are trashing the planet.” Click here to read more! https://www.swapsociety.co/blogs/all/tales-from-a-buy-nothing-group

Water 4 Life Global - March 20 at Mar Vista Farmers Market

Water 4 Life Global is a women-led 501c3 nonprofit working on the ground in Guatemala to provide clean water to indigenous communities. Through the distribution of water filter technology, we help provide families with access to clean water they can drink, cook and clean with. 

We imagine a life free of water transmitted diseases, water toxins, malnutrition, and environmental damage, in a country that maintains each of these issues as very viable threats to the communities

and ecosystems. 95% of the water in Guatemala is dangerous to drink, mainly due to pollution, poor infrastructure, and unregulated sewage systems. Together, we can help heal the environment and health of families who rely on their waterways as a source of potable water. Spreading awareness about the global water crisis and ways to help is crucial to our mission. 

At the Green Tent, we will demonstrate how our village water filter works and share the

environmental issues Guatemala faces. You will have the opportunity to donate a filter and receive unique, hand-woven textiles made by a women's cooperative in Guatemala. Each piece was created using sustainable materials, natural dyes, and patterns that express the deep Mayan culture. Come by and share the love!

Ballona Creek Trash Interceptor

Photo Courtesy of Joe Clark

Ballona Creek

Trash

Interceptor Pilot Program: Every day new solutions are being offered to help our beloved planet get healthy. Come to the Mar Vista Farmers Market this Sunday, March 13 and visit the Green Tent, where Cung Nguyen from

LA County Department of Public Works 

will explain the latest effort by the county of Los

Photo Courtesy of Joe Clark

Angeles to stop the flood of trash from Ballona Creek before it enters the Pacific Ocean.  

We also welcome your assistance in securing the safety of local wildlife, so they are protected from getting caught up in the gears of

progress.

Photo Courtesy of Joe Clark

Email &/or call LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell and ask that she direct Public Works to:

 a) keep a close watch on the trash interceptor to make sure marine life is not caught up in the machine and harmed during

Photo Courtesy of Joe Clark

this pilot project and b) prioritize installing trash screens where storm water enters the creek upstream.

Water 4 Life Global

Water 4 Life Global

 is a women-led 501c3 nonprofit working on the ground in Guatemala to provide clean water to indigenous communities. Through the distribution of water filter technology, we help provide families with access to clean water they can drink, cook and clean with. 

We imagine a life free of 

water transmitted diseases, water toxins, malnutrition, and 

environmental damage, in a country that maintains each of

these issues as very viable threats to the communities and ecosystems. 95% of the water in Guatemala is dangerous to drink, mainly 

due to pollution, poor infrastructure, and unregulated sewage systems.

 Together, we can help heal the environment and health 

of families who rely on their waterways as a source of potable water.

Spreading awareness about the global water crisis and ways to help is crucial to our mission. 

At the Green Tent, we will 

demonstrate how our village water filter works and share the environmental issues Guatemala faces. 

You will have the opportunity to donate a filter and receive unique, hand-woven textiles made by a women's cooperative in Guatemala. Each piece was created using sustainable materials, natural dyes, and patterns that express the deep Mayan culture. Come by and share the love!

Loop Holes

 

Want to hear a shocking statistic? In the US, nearly 1 in 4 teens who menstruate cannot afford or access the period care products they need. As a result, they miss school and work and suffer from a lack of dignity - all because of a period. To make matters worse, there are no meaningful federal programs to help provide these necessary products to the people who need them. Until now, because we found a loophole. 

The federal program SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as Food Stamps) provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people. We created a (fictional) cereal called Loopholes where the prize inside every box is one cycle’s supply of pads and tampons, so families don't have to choose between buying food or menstrual care products. And because it’s food, the government pays for it with SNAP benefits. That’s right. We found a way to make the government pay for period care products.

While Loopholes is a fake solution to a very real problem, there is actual legislation in the works to do something about this. New York State Representative Grace Meng has introduced a brave new bill called the Menstrual Equity for All Act. The bill seeks to make pads and tampons freely available in public schools, universities, and prisons. In addition to many other reforms, the bill also proposes expanding Medicaid to cover these necessary items. 

Visit LoopholesCereal.com to ask your representative to support the Menstrual Equity For All Act and to find other ways to take immediate action. Together, we can make period poverty a thing of the past. Come visit the MV Green Tent this Sunday at the Mar Vista Farmer's Market to learn more!

Planting California Natives

 

Come by the Green Tent this Sunday, February 27th from 9am-2pm to learn about the incredible benefits of habitat gardening. Trish Mazure will be sharing how planting California natives creates a visually stunning display of color, provides a living ecosystem, and a thriving sanctuary for wildlife. 
We also have some good news! The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is offering rebates for removing your lawn. At the Green Tent, we will be offering FREE advice to help you create a new landscape that will provide beauty and natural habitat. So come down to the MV Farmer's Market this Sunday and see our display of resources to help you get started!



TESSA GROWS - February 13



TessaGrows is a celebration of the wonders of gardening and nature. It was born out of Tessa Nathan's desire to cultivate and spread the knowledge that plants yearn to share. Tessa describes her work as "an immense joy and privilege".

This Sunday at the Mar Vista Green Tent (located in the heart of the Mar Vista Farmers Market) Tessa will be sharing information about the ‘sprout, grow, feast’ cycle with aspiring gardeners. Tessa will describe how intention and simple, practical applications create miracles in both small and large outdoor spaces. Her ethos is largely based around the idea that this ancient wisdom already exists in all of our genes and, through a process of remembering, we are able to harness it and watch it grow in the most beautiful way.

Tessa loves being able to share the hard-earned nuggets she’s learnt from master teachers along her journey. And it’s beyond exciting to witness the joy of her students as they taste the fruits of their labor, while gaining respect for their environment and exploring ideas for sustainable living. 

 


Based in Los Angeles, TessaGrows offers one-on-one weekly or bi-monthly classes with families and children, sells vegetable and herb GrowBags, as well as insect identification cards, edible flower identification cards and other gardening accessories. 

 To find out more, please visit her website at www.tessagrows.com

 




 

Master Gardeners, February 6

On Sunday, February 6, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., swing by the Green Tent at Mar Vista Farmers Market when the UC/CE LA County Master Gardeners return with lots of lovely green gifts: free seedlings and free seeds!


This month they’ve lovingly grown the following plants and herbs (from seed) for you:

Cilantro — love it or hate it, it’s a unique plant whose leaves AND seeds can be used as herbs or spices! The seed pod becomes coriander, and you can use it whole or grind it to add a piquant flavor to whatever you’re cooking or eating. 

There’s a few parsley plants — the flat leaf Italian kind. 

Broccoli Raab — It looks like broccoli but it’s related to turnips!!  It is a cruciferous vegetable, alongside broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. The long, slender stalk is light green and topped with large darker green leaves intermixed with small buds that look like broccoli florets. While it's more similar in appearance to broccoli or broccolini, it's botanically closer to turnips and the taste is more like mustard or turnip greens.

Shelling peas — these plants are SO TALL right now, they’re just BEGGING for a place in your garden! 

Also in the legume family, they’ll share some fabulous FAVA Beans with you! These versatile beans are not only delicious, but they help fix nitrogen in your soil.

Nasturtiums are both pretty AND edible — put a little goat cheese and balsamic together with them for a unique appetizer. Or top a salad with them! 

And it wouldn’t be spring without some salad greens — there are plenty of mixed lettuce varieties to share!

And on the menu: ARTICHOKES!!! You can eat them, of course, with a decadent butter or mayonnaise sauce, or use their gorgeous flowers as table decorations or in a vase!

Wondering what to do in the garden this month? Click here for a great, easy-to-follow guide for February in LA County gardens.

Protect Playa Now ! 2022

Protect Playa Now

Join us at the 

Green Tent

 this Sunday in imagining clean air! 

learn about actions you can take to help protect our community. 

Protect Playa Now

 will have a prototype of an air quality monitor currently in design to detect combustible gases. The monitor is a citizen science effort with plans to create a network throughout the Westside and help keep us safe.

Protect Playa Now is a collection of concerned citizens mobilizing to protect Playa del Rey and surrounding communities from the threat posed by the SoCal Gas Natural Gas Storage Facility. 

The facility, located south of Culver Blvd and west of Lincoln Blvd, has an unsafe track record and puts our community at risk. When pressure builds and the company needs to release gas, toxic substances such as formaldehyde, benzene, hydrogen sulfide, and n-hexane, (a neurotoxin) are released into the air...the air our community breathes! Cumulative exposures to these chemicals can pose serious risks to the health of those living nearby. 

We have the ability to transition to real clean energy and ensure a future of climate resiliency, good green jobs and healthy communities. Click 

here

 to learn more about Protect Playa Now and their work. 

Electric Soup Recipe - January 2022

 

Honeynut Squash and 

Sweet Potato Soup

THE RECIPE !


Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

My goal was to convert my favorite soup recipe so I could avoid the use of my gas cooktop, and get the same delicious results from clean electricity.  I decided to experiment with my Instant Pot.  


I am excited to report that my experiment yielded a rich yet subtle soup with much less time spent in the kitchen. Among other adjustments,  I switched from butternut squash to a combination of honeynut squash, jersey and japanese sweet potato,  and yukon gold potatoes. 






Honeynut Squash 

The following recipe will provide a basic soup that will soothe your soul and satisfy your taste buds.  You can spice it up, thin it with broth, add texture with vegetables or make it into a hearty meal with the addition of tofu or chicken.  Top it off with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt and some fresh chives and you have created a work of art.





Squash and Sweet Potato Soup Recipe


Weights shown in grams.


800 G    Honeynut squash, seeds and stems removed .  Peel it if you like.
600 G    Sweet potatoes (white or orange flesh) cut into 1.5 inch chunks
300 G     Yukon, Red Bliss or similar potato, cut into 2 inch chunks
250 G     Yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1-2 Tbsp    Oil, butter or ghee
1 Tbsp    Miso
6-8 Cups    Water or broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Set Instant Pot to medium Saute.  If you are new to using this feature, get some tips here. 
Add oil, butter, ghee or a combination.
Add onion and saute until translucent.  (Note: sometimes the saute mode becomes too hot and I hit the Cancel button, wait a minute or two, and then turn Saute back on.)
Add cubed squash and saute for 3 minutes.
Add sweet potato chunks and saute for 2 minutes.
Add potato chunks and saute for 2 minutes.
Add about 3 tsp. salt and several twists of the pepper grinder.  You will add more later on, according to your tastes.  
Add water or clear broth.
Switch the Instant Pot to the "Manual" setting and set to 22 minutes.  Make sure the valve is set to "Sealing" on the lid, so the pressure builds.
After the cooking time is finished, allow at least 20 minutes of additional time for the soup to continue sitting in the pot with the lid on.  You can leave it in the Instant Pot for longer,  if you wish, until the pressure releases and the metal button on top drops down.  It will, of course, continue to cook as long as it sits in the pot.
Add miso.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup.  Keep it thick for now.  You can add more broth later if you choose.
Correct for seasoning and add more spices now if you wish.  Or put into jars and store in the refrigerator or freezer for later use.  I make a lot at once, so I can share it with friends and use it throughout the week.




  
 


Electric Soup - January 2022

Electrification Made Tasty


Squash and Sweet Potato Soup


Let's face it, Southern California is the home of the "winter wimp".  When the thermometer hits 50 degrees, it's time to wrap yourself in something warm and make some soup.  The sight of a big soup pot, simmering on top of the stove, has always been the essence of cozy.  But where there's a kitchen flame,  there is natural gas used as fuel.  And where there is natural gas, there is pollution, global warming and habitat destruction.  If you are reading this, you are probably aware of the effects of climate change and curious how you can help to reverse its devastating effects.  Luckily, Jane Goodall states repeatedly in her latest work, The Book of Hope, we humans are adaptable and creative.  So let's start with a simple soup...

I always thought that the rich yet subtle flavors of soup came from simmering it on the stove for an hour or two.  I am excited to report that using my Instant Pot and incorporating some unexpected ingredients produced a rich yet subtle soup with much less times spent in the kitchen...

Recipe and more details will be provided soon.  


Advance Praise for Electric Squash Soup

Jeanne, omg you are a soup maven. That is the best most delicious healing dish ever!
Marilyn G.  

OH MY GOODNESS!!! 😳I forgot to tell you

I LOVED ❤️the soup! Soo delicious ❤️thank you for sharing its goodness with me 🙏🥰

Birgitta K.





 

Bike Mar Vista and Beyond! January, 2022

 January 9, 2022

Bike Mar Vista and Beyond


Got a new bike over the winter holidays and don’t know quite where to ride it yet?  Maybe you recently pulled that bike that has been hiding in the back of the garage and need to get it road ready.  If you already ride, learn how to register your bike to minimize the risks of bike theft.  

Stop by the Green tent this Sunday, January 9 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and let’s talk.  Mar Vista's "Master of Cycling", Rob Kadota, with be there with his trusty bike stand and few tools to get your bike as road ready as possible. We will also have wide array of bike-related resources, including clubs and ride tips. 


Earth-Friendly Note:  When you do errands by bike, you will almost certainly end up shopping closer to home.  Great for the small businesses in your neighborhood.  It also fosters a sense of community, a stress-reducing bonus.  Lastly, if getting more exercise in the open air is one of your New Years goals, cycling ticks all the boxes!

See you on Sunday!

Master Gardeners, December 5

PEAS PORRIDGE HOT...
           PEAS PORRIDGE COLD


It’s a Pea Fest this month at the Green Tent as the LA County Master Gardeners return with FREE plants and seeds galore! Sunday, Dec. 5 from 9 am to 1 pm.

This month you can pick from a variety of garden peas:




Sugar Snap peas are crisp and delicious, eaten raw, steamed, blanched for your salads and side dishes…eat the entire pod as well as the peas. These are the chunky peas.







Snow peas make a wonderful addition to stir fries, but can also be eaten raw or cooked, pods and all. These are the FLAT, SKINNY peas.






And for those who like to do a little work in the spring, there will also be shelling peas! You won’t want to eat those pods, but don’t throw them away — use them in your compost 

Plus to help you make salads in the winter, they’re bringing mesclun mix lettuces, other mixed lettuces, Swiss Chard and mixed kales!





Top it all off with some edible flowers: Calendula! So many uses for this pretty plant: 









We hope you’ll bring your gardening questions and your empty six packs for the MGs to recycle and use to grow more plants for you!

 

Citizens Climate Lobby - November 28, 2021

Come to the Green Tent this Sunday, November 28, and learn about the work of Citizen's Climate Lobby and their audacious plan to make have CORPORATIONS use their resources on behalf of our precious planet Earth.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby

Citizens’ Climate Lobby(CCL) is a

nonpartisan, grassroots organization

focused on national policies to address climate change.

We work to create a broad foundation for climate action across all geographic regions and political inclinations.

CCL supports the inclusion of a carbon pricing and dividend  policy in  the 

Budget Reconciliation bill.

This policy is:

Effective

Economic  models indicate that this legislation would lead to 30 % less

carbon emissions in the next 5 years,  and to net zero  emissions by 2050  

Good for People

Will improve health and save lives.

The  carbon dividend puts money directly

into people’s pockets every month to spend as they

see fit, helping low and middle income Americans.

Good for the economy

W

ill create over 2  million new jobs,

thanks  to economic growth in local

communities across America.

Revenue Neutral

The fees collected on carbon emissions will be allocated

to all Americans to spend any way they choose. The

government will not keep any of the fees collected.