If your watershed is doing something you would like others to know about, or you know of something others can benefit from, let me know and I will place it in this Information newsletter.
If you want to be removed from the distribution list, please let me know. Please note that all meetings listed are open to hard drive by logging on to www.adobeacrobat.com. Enhance your viewing by downloading the pdf file to view photos, etc. The attached is all about improving life in the watershed.
Celebrating Earth Day
This is already posted at EnviroInsight.org
1. Celebrate Earth Day By Doing Something That Benefits Mother Earth. For many people, celebrating Earth Day is a 24/365 practice. What are you going to do? Nothing is too big or too small. Some ideas might include things such as:
a. Give away home grown plants to people who may benefit from growing their own flowers and food.
b. Show others how to make their own composted soil for their gardens
c. Re-purpose old worn out materials into new items of value
d. Walk, ride a bike, take a bus, improve the quality of vehicle you drive to a higher mileage model
e. Use/reuse fabric bags instead of the plastic grocery bags you get from the grocer
f. Upgrade your home’s windows making them air and heat tight.
g. Convert your lawn to a xeriscape. Some communities will pay you to do so.
h. Collect rainwater in barrels and slowly release to keep your plants alive i. Volunteer to an organizational event that benefits the environment or people
j. Be a part of a cause that does environmental good
k. Buy only the amount of food you can consume before it goes bad
l. Compost putrescible food
m. Re-purpose banana peels, apple cores, etc. to stimulate flowering of tomatoes, bell peppers, globe artichoke, annual flowers, and more. (contact Editor for details)
n. Companion plant your garden to control pests in the garden, naturally.
o. Control fly populations via parasitic wasps. No they will not sting you, your dogs or cats, r cows or horses or………
p. Exchange your gasoline powered lawn mower with an electric or battery powered
2. Why Composting Is So important. Every year, Americans throw away over 30 million tons of food waste. Composted, this waste could make enough soil to grow 1 billion tomatoes.
40% of the food prepared for consumption goes uneaten. Rotting food creates 20 times more harmful to the than carbon dioxide.
Less than 5% of food waste is recycled. (Source: Jobes Blood Meal bag)
You can construct a compost bin in your back yard compost food waste etc..
Personal Note: This year, the editor produced 7.5 cubic yards of compost from a 4’d X 5’w X 4’H. – great looking stuff and nutrient rich!
People in the U.S. throw away an average of 1 pound of food today (Source University of Vermont)
3. Plastic Water Bottles – What’s So Wrong With Them? More than 60 million plastic bottles end up in landfills and incinerators every day- a total of about 22 billion last year. Six times as many plastic water bottles were thrown away in the U.S. in 2004 as in 1997.
Out of the 50 billion bottles of water being bought each year, 80% of them end up in a landfill, even though recycling programs exist. 17 million barrels of oil are used in producing water bottles each year. Bottled water costs an average of a 1,000 times more than tap water. Drinking 2 liters of tap water a day only costs 50 cents a year.
1 million plastic bottles bought every minute, that’s nearly 20,000 every second.
https://www.ecowatch.com/plastic-bottle-crisis-2450299465.html
Jun 29, 2017 – About 480 billion plastic bottles were purchased globally in 2016 but less than half got recycled, meaning most of this waste ends up in our oceans and landfills. Even worse … In the U.S., Americans went through about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year with a dismal 23 percent recycling rate.
That’s what’s wrong with plastic water bottles. Try Stainless steel and glass lined bottles instead and reuse them over and over for years.
4. Granite Creek Cleanup Coming April 21: This Year’s Event Offers More Activities for Participants. Prescott Creeks will be hosting the annual Granite Creek Cleanup Saturday, April 21. In what has become a rite-spring event in Prescott, the cleanup brings out over 500 friends and neighbors to clean up our creeks, lakes, and trails and to celebrate our community’s waterways and natural places. Now in its 12th year under Prescott Creeks leadership, the Granite Creek Cleanup’s approximately 5,000 participants have removed over 46 tons of waste materials from Prescott waterways, trails, and natural areas. As Cleanup participation continues to grow, Prescott Creeks is expanding this year’s Cleanup offerings to include a stewardship activity in Watson
Woods Riparian Preserve.
The 2018 Granite Creek Cleanup sponsorship group features 38 local businesses and organizations, including Primary Sponsor: Arizona Eco Development. Please thank all the Cleanup sponsors for making it happen.
After over a decade of getting people out to take care of our waterways, cleanup efforts are paying off. Last year’s cleanup drew over 550 participants of all ages, but saw a continuing trend of less litter and debris collected. This year, participants can choose to be involved in other activities including trail repair and trash cleanup in Watson Woods Riparian Preserve, along with the traditional trash and debris cleanup along our creeks in town. On the day of the event, participants will gather at Granite Creek Park to pick up their creek assignments, gear, and the event t-shirts, and then spread out near and far to explore and take care of our waterways, trails, and natural places.
To help facilitate getting everyone through day-of-event sign-in and out to the Cleanup activity of their choice, early registration is recommended for those interested in participating. More information and an online registration form are available (through Wednesday 4/18) on the Prescott Creeks website at www.PrescottCreeks.org/Cleanup, or by calling (928) 445-5669. All pre-registered participants will receive an email update on Friday, April 20th with relevant information about the event and volunteer assignments.
5. A Few Ideas To Save Water And Money In and Around Your Home. Practice any of these activities and you’ll save money and water:
a Don’t overwater you Bermuda grass – let it go brown during the winter months. Water it once every 15 to 30 days
b Sweep your driveway or walkway instead of hosing it off
c Water your lawns ¾ to 1 inch every time you water.
d Wash your pets outside, on the lawn
e Conduct a bucket test if you suspect a leak in your pool (ask editor for details)
f Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth
g Water gardens and shrubs using emitters or other ground-level watering devices. Avoid lawn sprinklers- that adds to evaporation
h Convert your lawn to a low water use area. Ie. Plant cactus, succulants and low water trees and shrubs (see Botanical Garden pamphlets)
i Place a brick in the water closet of your toilet so you use less water per flush
j Wash your car/truck on your lawn.
k Challenge yourself to take a one minute shower
6. Use Vinegar As Your “Go-To” Cleanser. Use vinegar for this partial list: Vinegar can help to dissolve mineral deposits that collect in automatic drip coffee makers. Fill the reservoir with vinegar and run it through a brewing cycle. Rinse thoroughly with water when the cycle is finished. (Be sure sure to check the owners manual for specific instructions).
Brass, copper and pewter will shine if cleaned with the following mixture. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of distilled vinegar.
Clean the dishwasher by running a cup of vinegar through the whole cycle once a month to reduce soap build up on the inner mechanisms and on glassware.
Deodorize the kitchen drain. Pour a cup down the drain once a week. Let stand 30 minutes and then flush with cold water.
Unclog a drain. Pour a handful of baking soda down the drain and add 1/2 cup of vinegar. Rinse with hot water.
Eliminate onion odor by rubbing vinegar on your fingers before and after slicing.
Clean and disinfect wood cutting boards by wiping with full strength vinegar.
Cut grease and odor on dishes by adding a tablespoon of vinegar to hot soapy water.
Clean a teapot by boiling a mixture of water and vinegar in it. Wipe away the grime.
Clean and deodorize the garbage disposal by making vinegar ice cubes and feed them down the disposal. After grinding, run cold water through.
Clean and deodorize jars. Rinse mayonnaise, peanut butter, and mustard jars with vinegar when empty.
Get rid of cooking smells by letting a small pot of vinegar and water simmer on the stove.
Freshen a lunchbox by soaking a piece of bread in vinegar and let it sit in the lunchbox over night.
Clean the refrigerator by washing with a solution of equal parts water and vinegar.
Clean stainless steel by wiping with a vinegar dampened cloth
Clean china and fine glassware by adding a cup of vinegar to a sink of warm water. Gently dip the glass or china in the solution and let dry.
Get stains out of pots by filling the pots with a solution of 3 tablespoons of vinegar to a pint of water. Boil until stain loosens and can be washed away.
Clean food-stained pots and pans by filling the pots and pans with vinegar and let stand for thirty minutes. Then rinse in hot, soapy water.
Clean the microwave by boiling a solution of 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water in the microwave. Will loosen splattered on food and deodorize.
Make buttermilk. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of milk and let it stand 5 minutes to thicken.
Replace a lemon by substituting 1/4 teaspoon of vinegar for 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
Firm up gelatin by adding a teaspoon of vinegar for every box of gelatin used. To keep those molded desserts from sagging in the summer heat.
Prepare fluffier rice by adding a teaspoon of vinegar to the water when it boils
Make wine vinegar by mixing 2 tablespoons of vinegar with 1 teaspoon of dry red wine.
Debug fresh vegetables by washing them in water with vinegar and salt. Bugs float off
Prevent soapy film on glassware by placing a cup of vinegar on the bottom rack of your dishwasher, run for five minutes, then run though the full cycle.
The minerals found in foods and water will often leave a dark stain on aluminum utensils. This stain can be easily removed by boiling a solution of 1 tablespoon of distilled vinegar per cup of water in the utensil. Utensils may also be boiled in the solution.
Unsightly film in small-necked bottles and other containers can be cleaned by pouring vinegar into the bottle and shaking. For tougher stains, add a few tablespoons of rice or sand and shake vigorously. Rinse thoroughly and repeat until clean or determined hopeless.
After cleaning the bread box, keep it smelling sweet by wiping it down with a cloth moistened in distilled vinegar.
To eliminate fruit stains from your hands, rub your hands with a little distilled vinegar and wipe them with a cloth.
Grease buildup in an oven can be prevented by wiping with a cleaning rag that has been moistened in distilled vinegar and water.
Formica tops and counters will shine if cleaned with a cloth soaked in distilled vinegar.
No-wax linoleum will shine better if wiped with a solution of 1/2 cup of white vinegar in 1/2 gallon of water.
Stains on hard-to-clean glass, aluminum, or porcelain utensils may be loosened by boiling in a solution of one part vinegar to eight parts water. The utensils should then be washed in hot soapy water
IN THE BATHROOM:
Kill germs on bathroom fixtures by using one part vinegar to one part water in a spray bottle.
Spray the bathroom fixtures and floor, then wipe clean.
Soap and stain build up can be removed from chrome and plastic fixtures if they are cleaned with a mixture of 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of distilled vinegar.
Clean soap scum, mildew, and grime from bathtub, tile, and shower curtains. Simply wipe the surface with Vinegar and rinse with water. AND MANY MORE USES
