Like many holidays, going green is possible with a bit of imagination, perseverance, and dare I say it, a little more money out of your pocket. Fourth of July, however, is proving to be especially tricky to write about. Most people will be outside for most, if not the entire, day, firing up over 60 million grills that will release enough energy to power over 20,000 homes for ONE YEAR! Since you’re already eating outside, you’ll be sure to use paper or plastic plates, utensils, and cups. Most likely, you’ll be drinking water, soda and other refreshments from disposable cans or bottles. Unless you’re living with strict vegetarians, there will be a precarious amount of meat being cooked. And the fireworks! Don’t even get me started…

For kids, Fourth of July is a great day to be outside. Thinking about insect repellant and sunscreen also raises questions of chemicals and outdoor safety. Not meaning to send parents in a panic, there are safe alternatives this summer to keep your kids safe from the sun and biting pests.

This week, I’ll cover a wide range of going green or sustainable ways to help make your Fourth a little greener, and give you ideas for the rest of your summer BBQs and outdoor activities. I’ve also found some cool green Fourth of July events across the country.

What will you be doing this Independence Day?

I have been on a MISSION - to find the perfect BPA-free sippy for my girls. And like many things green these days, it can be overwhelming! I need sippys mainly for camp and when we’re out (which is pretty much all day, every day, so you can see the importance). I’ve been using the Nuby soft sippys for a couple of years, and I do love them, but I’ve really wanted to try all the fun new stuff on the market. I also didn’t want to spend a ton of $$, but with two kids, it’s inevitable to have multiple cups.

We have some SIGGs, which have supercool designs. They can, however, be tough to clean. They also sweat terribly when you put cold liquid in them. This isn’t much fun when they’re bouncing around in a backpack or lunchbag, and can get everything else wet and slimy. But, they are leakproof, and the girls love popping the top open and taking a swig from their cool looking cups, so I’ll keep ‘em.

We’ve also tried the new Camelbak BPA-free water bottles. Actually, I’ve tried them, because they only come in Mommy sizes right now. But, they are great bottles - dishwasher safe, lightweight, and comes with or without a built-in straw. They also come in awesome colors! Get many of them for the gym or playground!

If you’ve been as BPA, PVC and Phthalate crazy as some people I know, then The Soft Landing is THE place for you. The Soft Landing is a one-stop shop for BPA, PVC, and Phthalate-free baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, bath toys, lunchboxes, even stainless cups for parents. It’s a great find for gifts, especially their line of “Go BPA Free Samplers,” an assembly of various products for you to try, including bottles, teethers, and first eaters.

I’m so thrilled that The Soft Landing is sponsoring this week’s giveaway with their Go BPA Free Sippy Sampler. This is a great way to test out four wonderful, all safe, sippy cups - right now, the sampler includes one Foogo insulated stainless cup; one Nuby easy-grip sippy with silicone spout; a Think Baby training cup with chunky handles; and a Klean Kanteen stainless sippy with two Avent spouts. All cups are for babies six months and up. The samplers sell out quick and are on-sale right now, so if you don’t win, grab one fast! The rules are the same - leave a comment here with an answer to this question - which Soft Landing product would you want to try the most? This giveaway will run until next Thursday, July 3rd at midnight PST. Good luck!

This contest is now closed! Thanks to everyone for entering! 

I mentioned it in my last post, but I’m so excited to tell you all about Jill Buck’s new radio program/podcast as an extension of her Go Green Initiative! Go Green Radio debuts this Friday, June 27th, at Noon EST/9AM PST, on Voice America internet radio.

Jill has invited me as well as Scott McGinness who is an actor, father and founder of Global Broadcast for Kids, a website that discusses all things kids through the eyes of - kids! The “junior journalists” give book and movie reviews, talk about health concerns, and of course, there’s a great channel devoted to going green! Global Green for Kids gives tips and advice for make the world a greener place, for kids, by kids. Go check them out as well!

Go to Voice America, and click on the “Network” option at the top. The show will automatically feed through. You’ll also be able to hear the show after it’s over by downloading it, and sign up for the Go Green Radio podcast, so you’ll always be in the know about going green!

I hope you can all join us, as we discuss how we came to be so eco-conscious, why we do what we do, and what we think the future of green kids will be. Leave comments after the show - we’d love to hear feedback! Thanks again for supporting teensygreen, and for making better decisions for your family!

Do you know how green your child’s school is? It might seem like a dream, but there is a way to help schools truly go green, beyond recycling and teaching the basics of eco-education. Mom and activist (among other notables) Jill Buck wrote the basis for her Go Green Initiative (GGI) at her kitchen table in 2002. Since then, GGI has grown to be the largest environmental education program in the world, with 1500 schools, 1.5 million students and over 113,000 teachers in all 50 states (as well as thirteen countries outside the US) participating!

So, how can GGI help your school go green? The very best way - by allowing parents, teachers, administrators and kids to develop a green plan themselves. When your school signs up with the Go Green Initiative (which is FREE), the school’s “Go Green Team” has access to GGI’s wealth of resources, including the five ways GGI can help your school form productive ways to have a successful plan. The GGI Planning Guide outlines the concepts of composting; recycling; environmental education; evaluating the environmental impact of activities (including such topics as indoor air quality and buying school supplies); and adopting a plan of responsible paper consumption. GGI is tailored to the needs of your school, and helps schools find a way for budgeting and implementation. GGI focuses on a thorough process of environmental stewardship. It also helps schools track their success, and has been a major testament to GGI’s own successes. In a recent announcement, GGI announced it has kept over SEVEN MILLION POUNDS of recyclables out of landfills in the last three years, as well as significantly reduced energy, water waste, and greenhouse gas emissions in schools around the world.

So, do not pass “GO” without “going green”! Read GGI’s “Why Go Green” section, and see how you can begin to help your child’s school - and children, and community, and on and on - go green!

Jill Buck is taking GGI to the internet airwaves, starting this Friday, June 27th! Her “Go Green Radio” show premieres at 9am PST/Noon EST on Voice America radio. I’m so thrilled that Jill has asked me to be one of her guests on her very first show, as we discuss Go Green for Kids! I hope you can join us and keep an ear to the radio Friday morning!

If I had to tally up what I’ve written about the most frequently (product-wise), Seventh Generation would probably be the winner - for their partnership in the Wee Generation sustainable diaper bag; their “Get Out of Hot Water” campaign, and just overall general love for their products and commitment to eco-education and natural products. Now that many SG products can be found in ‘regular’ supermarkets, it can be even easier to try out natural cleaning and baby care products that can not only help your home, but your family’s health as well.

This week I have an awesome Seventh Generation Natural Baby Starter Kit for one lucky winner! The Natural Baby Starter Kit includes two packages of size 1 chlorine-free diapers; one tub of chlorine-free baby wipe, plus one refill; and Natural Baby laundry detergent, all in a handy SG tote bag. This is a great gift for parents to be to try out some natural baby products! The rules are simple - leave a comment here with an answer to this question - what’s your favorite Seventh Generation product? (I’m a big fan of Wild Orange Kitchen Cleaner myself.) This giveaway will be open until next Thursday, June 26th at midnight, PST. Good luck!

This contest is now closed.  Thanks to everyone for entering! 

About ten months ago I wrote about the collaboration between Seventh Generation, Health Child Healthy World, the design firm IDEO, Rickshaw Bagworks and renowned architect William McDonough. Called Wee Generation, their goal was to create an ultimate green diaper bag, one that is upcycled and upcyclable; functional yet fashionable; and most important, created with parent’s needs (and feedback!) in mind. So, such as a child takes about ten months to be born, heeeeeeeeeeeere’s the Wee Generation Baby Bag!

The Wee Generation bag is made from PVC-free material, including post-consumer recycled beverage bottles. There’s a removable changing pad, as well as two removable interior totes for diapers and bottles, or toys and food, whatever you can fit in them. The bags are totally gender neutral, with a light interior so spills and dirt can’t hide from you. At $200, the bags don’t have the east price tag to swallow, but for the work put into them, it may be well worth it. It may also help to know 100% of the profits go to Healthy Child Healthy World, one of leading eco-education and advocacy groups for children. And, as a super special bonus, each bag is filled with goodies, such as a copy of the book Naturally Clean by Seventh Generation, a Wee Generation baby tee, Seventh Generation coupons, and more!

You can purchase the Wee Generation bag through Rickshaw Bagworks.

It is WAY too hot outside here in Florida to do much of anything - ice cream melts too fast to enjoy; the playground is blazing; even walking on the sand is a challenge. So it’s no surprise that our plants are suffering too, even with a daily passing storm. That doesn’t stop us from growing plants indoors, without creating a mess or sucking up space. Here are some great ideas for summertime seed growing, courtesy of the awesome website Brooklyn 5 and 10. They’re having huge sales on these little plant kits, so get some now before the weather turns again!

I grobot - I grobot will save the planet, one blade of grass at a time! Unpack this little ceramic robot, plant the peat and seeds, and watch it come to live - through it’s head! Great for boys who love robots (or dads who never grew out of that phase). The container can be replanted over and over again.

Eggling Herb Trio - This set of three ‘eggs’ look like they belong in your fridge - but need to hang out on your counter! With basil, mint, and thyme, these are an adorable way for kids to grow herbs (and cook and possibly eat them too?). The herbs can grow for five months in the porous ceramic egg, and then can be directly planted into soil.

Plantarium Garden Lab - These funky growing kits are encased in a colorful gel, so little ones can see the entire growing process, from germination to sprouting. Once the plants reach the top of the case, they can be removed and replanted into a larger post. This kit is great for older kids, since the instructions for growing are a bit more complicated. They can also be bought in single vial test tube kits, with seeds for marigold, pepper, tomato, and more.

Nyokki Pet Plant - Nyokki means “grow” in Japanese, and these cute critters will certain grow on your kids. The egg-shaped containers, complete with fabric legs and little faces painted on, will grow rye grass in about two weeks, and can be cut and styled again and again!

BPA and the use of it in children’s drinking products and pacifiers is still a hot topic in the news and with consumers. Thankfully, there’s a ton of information available now to help parents make informed decisions about how to safely feed their babies and toddlers. There are a lot of brands to choose from that have safer options, and the BornFree line is one of the top recommended BPA-free bottles and sippy cups recommended.

The BornFree system of bottles was created by a group of dads (go dads!) whose concern for their children’s health allowed them to take a big step to help change the way bottles and cups are made. BornFree’s signature honey colored bottles are made from a BPA-free polymer (plastic), and they even provide a line of glass bottles, which has become a big feeding trend in the wake of BPA. The bottles also contain a unique venting system to help reduce colic and ear infections. BornFree can be found at Whole Foods, Babies ‘R Us, Buy Buy Baby, and other retailers.

BornFree is celebrating Father’s Day in a very special way. If you or someone you know has a baby this Father’s Day (June 15th, 2008), you can win a year’s supply of BornFree bottles (up to 10 of them)! The first one thousand people who mail in a copy of the hospital proof of birth or baby’s birth certificate to the address provided are eligible. Click here for all the rules and regulations regarding this giveaway. Providing babies a safe feeding system (aside from breastfeeding, of course) without worry of chemicals is a great way to start their lives!

In honor of Father’s Day this weekend, I thought I’d write about one of my favorite places in South Florida. The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is a beautiful natural oasis in the middle of a city, with walking gardens, lakes, and many Japanese artifacts. The Morikami is a testament to what the Boca Raton/Delary Beach area was just 100 years ago - farmland where many Japanese immigrants came to work and live. The Yamato Colony was started in 1903 by Jo Sakai, where first only men, and then families grew and harvested pineapples and winter vegetables. As the land became more desirable and began to be sold off for development during World War II, George Morikami had a vision to preserve some of the land he lived on for much of his life. He bought much of the land that is now the Morikami Gardens, and gifted the land (which took ten years to accomplish!) in 1973.

The Morikami Gardens have been ranked 8th out of more than 300 Japanese gardens outside Japan by the Journal of Japanese Gardening. It’s a wonderful place to bring kids - quiet, charming, and full of natural beauty, you’d never know that right outside is a modern world so far from the six diverse gardens, including zen gardens, bamboo clusters and flowing streams within the museum walls. The Morikami always have amazing historical exhibits, and celebrates all the major Japanese holidays and festivals, with an emphasis on children’s participation. This weekend, the Morikami is hosting an Origami with Dad afternoon, free with museum admission.

If you haven’t tried origami with your kids, it’s a great craft that you can use with scrap paper or with special origami paper from a craft store. My five year old has become pretty good with the simple origami shapes, and loves being creative with all the paper airplanes she can fly through the house. The Origami Club is a great website to visit to introduce your family to the art of paper folding!

We all need help to be smart about food. Whether you have kids with allergies, diabetes, obesity, or just need to brush up on the latest food trends, if you’re reading this blog you are part of a community of parents who care about raising kids healthy and happy with food. This is why I love the website Smart Foods Healthy Kids. Started by Kelly Corbet (she calls herself the CEO/Chief of Belief), a environmental policy Harvard-educated mom of two (one with food allergies), the SFHK team is a group of passionate, health-minded people with the littlest eaters in mind.

SFHK covers all aspects of nutrition for kids. For kids with allergies and intolerances, check out their resource page, run by Robin O’Brien of Allergy Kids. There are great video and audio classes with recipes and information about nutrition and food trends. I’ve been using their recipe bank at least once a week, and my girls love the simple recipes that they can even help me prepare. What I really look forward to is their free weekly enewsletter, highlighting a healthy tidbit for you and your kids. Information such as the organic “dirty dozen” and “cleanest 12″ foods to help save your wallet at the organic market - and help you build a healthier kitchen.