Autumn is my favorite season, mainly because it has one of my favorite holidays: Halloween! Over the past few years, I’ve worked hard to make my family’s Halloween a more eco-friendly holiday without taking out any of the fun.    Here are some easy tips: Costumes: Growing up, my mom would always buy those horrible cheap costumes that consisted of a vinyl smock and a plastic mask that would usually break in the middle of trick-or-treating.  Thankfully, these environmental Halloween costume disasters seem to be a thing of the past.  Fabric costumes can be reused over and over.  There are lots …

It's that time of year - Halloween candy on the shelves at CVS, chilly mornings and apple cider aplenty. Autumn has always been my favorite season and there are lots of fun ways to experience a New England fall, all while being sustainable! 1. Do some canning! There is still lots of fresh, local produce available, so stock up before it's too late. I love opening a jar of homemade marinara sauce in the winter made from backyard tomatoes in the summer. PickYourOwn.org has lots of resources on canning. Homemade sauces, jams, and jellies also make excellent gifts, so you can even start your …

Well, the time is here. Summer is nearing an end and Newton schools are back in session this week. One way that you can make back-to-school a little greener is by making your kids’ lunches eco-friendly.Packing your kids an eco-friendly lunch is easy and inexpensive. One of the most important things to do is to work on making a waste-free lunch.  The first step is to ditch the brown bags and find a good lunchbox, which are easy to find. Make it fun by letting your kid pick out his or her own lunch box. For older kids who may not think lunch boxes are cool, reusable lunch sacks (like ones from …

Even though Newton has had single-stream recycling since 2009, many of you may still have your old Newton recycling bin sitting around somewhere. There are a number of ways to put it to good use, such as using it as a planter for your yard. It works well as a planter because there are holes at the bottom already, which are important for drainage when container gardening. All you have to do is fill with soil and plant. We usually fill our containers with mostly compost, some top soil, and then mulch after planting.Even though it's nearing the end of August, you can use your recycling bin …

My family loves farmers' markets and we're so lucky to have two fantastic ones in Newton. Supporting farmers' markets is an important thing for any eco-minded person.   Here are 10 reasons why the Newton Farmers' Markets are particularly great: By shopping at our local farmers' market, you can support local farms instead of factory farms. Shopping at a farmers' market close to home lowers your carbon footprint.  The food doesn't have to travel as far, lowering carbon emissions.  Newton Community Farm even has a booth, and you can't get much more local than produce grown here in Newton!  Walk …

While there are many things accepted through Newton’s curbside recycling program, you might be left wondering where to recycle less common items. Luckily, Greater Boston has plenty of options and locations for dropping off those hard-to-recycle items.The Rumford Ave. recycling center takes a lot of items not recyclable through curbside recycling.  Some items they accept are aerosol cans, bicycles, auto parts, car batteries, cell phones and chargers, lightbulbs, empty propane tanks, white Styrofoam, and more. Styrofoam peanuts are also accepted at the UPS store at 321 Walnut Street.Both Whole …

Now that we’re in the midst of another warm, muggy summer, you might be wondering how to make your gardening habits a little more eco-friendly.  One key tip is water conservation; don’t use more water than necessary when watering your garden. Mulch can help with this significantly, as it keeps the moisture in your garden so you don’t need to water quite as frequently. If you haven’t put mulch on your garden yet, Star Market in Auburndale currently has bags of mulch on sale. (Unfortunately, for a place nicknamed The Garden City, there are not a lot of places in Newton to get gardening supplies…

Over the past few years, reducing waste has been a big priority in my life. This is one of the reasons why composting has become important in our home; the other reasons are that it helps our garden and we save money on soil.The City of Newton is very supportive with this important practice and encourages composting. You can even purchase a compost bin through the city at a reasonable cost. If you’re handy, you can also build your own compost bin; StopWaste.org has instructions on making different kinds of compost bins. If you’re new to composting, you might be surprised at how much you can …

After a long, snowy winter, summer is here - with the high temperatures and humidity to prove it! Here in Newton, there are plenty of wonderful green activities to do with your kids over the course of the summer. Whether you want to enjoy the warm weather outside or cool down to beat the heat, there are lots of options to have a fun and green summer with your children.   Here are some personal favorites:  Visit Newton Community Farm.  Get some yummy produce from the farm stand, teach your kids about the importance of small farms, and enjoy many of their programs, classes, and workshops.   Go …

It’s finally beginning to feel like spring, and with the warmer weather comes one of my favorite things: Farmers’ Markets! Usually in Newton, we need to wait until July, but this year Newton has started a spring farmers’ market, which began on Tuesday, May 24.The environmental benefits of supporting a local farmers’ market are numerous. The produce is generally locally grown and the other foods sold there are also often locally sourced. Some of the produce you’ll find uses less, if any, pesticides than the produce sold at grocery stores. It also helps you support local farms and the community…

Shopping at vintage stores is a great way to live green, but Newton’s newest vintage store takes it a step further and does even more for the environment.  JaLo’s Re-NEW is owned by two Nonantum women:  Lois Dominique and Jan Heath. Lois and Jan have created one of the most unique stores in Greater Boston. This fantastic little shop offers a “boutique feel without the boutique prices,” explains Lois.  Aside from a variety of new and vintage merchandise available at very reasonable prices, the ladies of JaLo’s also “renew” different items, meaning they take older items and give them a new life…

Whole Foods Market is known for having a robust selection of organic food, but their commitment to the environment goes beyond produce; they also have a strong devotion to providing other locally produced food and the Walnut Street location of Whole Foods Market offers a variety of foods that come from New England.  With the warmer months approaching, the Whole Foods Market’s Walnut Street store is getting ready to offer locally grown produce in greater quantities. Currently, you can find tomatoes and herbs from Maine, but over the course of the next few weeks you’ll find more locally grown …

After seeing how much waste was being produced at Mason-Rice Elementary School events, a group of PTO members saw an opportunity to make school events more sustainable.  They banded together to form the Mason-Rice Green Team, working to reduce waste and spearheading other green initiatives at the school.  “We felt a need and desire to change the culture at Mason-Rice,” explains Sunwoo Kahng, one of the members of the Mason-Rice Green Team.  The environmental initiatives that the Green Team participate in include reducing waste at school events, rebuilding the Mason-Rice garden, fundraising, a…

Harvesting rain is an excellent way to water your garden. By recycling rainwater, you can lessen the strain on the municipal water supply and save money, too. In many parts of the country, rain harvesting is illegal. Luckily, here in Newton it is not only legal to collect rain, but the Department of Public Work's Division of Environmental Affairs encourages it!    The benefits of harvesting rain are numerous: The water is free, so you save money on your water bill. The only cost is purchasing the rain barrel or buying equipment to make your own rain barrel. (Here's a video on contructing an …

There's a common misconception that going green has to be expensive. Sometimes it can be true, such was buying organic food or sustainable clothing.  On the other hand, many ways to go green are cheap, or even totally free. One way to do this is to find things that are used.   Buying or acquiring used items helps the environment by reducing waste.  It keeps things from ending up in a landfill and because so many things are made of plastic these days, these items will likely just sit in a landfill forever. Another important way it helps reduce waste is that used items won't come in packaging, …

When Peter Mahoney and Joanne Mead’s family of five began to outgrow their house in Newton Centre, they tried to figure out how they could make a new, sustainable home. But it was not just sustainability the family had to consider; they also had to build a home that was wheelchair accessible for their young daughter, Marianne, who has spina bifida. Initially, the Mahoneys hoped to find a larger home in their neighborhood, since it’s often more sustainable to upgrade an existing structure than to start from scratch.  They found a charming carriage house in Newton Centre, but sadly, in order to…

When Newton resident Susan Hunt Stevens learned that her son had a variety of allergies -- many of which were food related -- she began going through everything in her cupboards, reading the ingredients and becoming more aware of what was on the ingredient labels.   From there, Stevens started to become more eco-conscious and started working hard to learn how to make her life more sustainable. Eventually, she would go on to start Practically Green, a new website that teaches people and families how to live greener, more sustainable lives.  Stevens and her family moved to Newton from the South…

An eco-conscious Newton resident named Vitaliy Kholyavenko dreamt about having a home powered by solar panels for fifteen years.   He recently brought his dream to life.  Back when Kholyavenko moved to his Newton home, he learned that his house met the criteria for solar panels and that solar panels actually work quite well in New England. At the time, though, the technology was costly and inefficient. Last year, though, Kholyavenko looked into the solar panels again and learned that it was more feasible with today's products. Moreover, Massachusetts offers a variety of incentives, making …

Even the winter-lovers among us are likely tired of the cold temperatures and inches upon inches of snow. Snow days and weekends can seem never-ending to kids when it's too cold to play outside.   A solution for the winter blues and cabin fever? Fill up the days with some eco-friendly crafts.  Dig through your recycling bin and see what gems you can find. Here are a few ideas: Paper Egg Cartons Make a Chinese New Year Dragon!  Chinese New Year begins February 3, so celebrate by making a Chinese New Year Dragon out of a recycled paper egg carton.  Check out these step-by-step instructions.   …

There are many ways to stay green in the wintertime, but one of the biggest challenges is keeping an old New England house nice and toasty when the temperatures are dipping into the single digits. However, there are many ways to keep warm while saving energy.   If you don't already have one, buy a programmable thermostat. Set your thermostat no higher than 68 degrees when you are home and awake. Have it automatically lower the temperature when you go to bed or when you're usually at work -- this way, you don't have to remember to change the thermostat. According to Energy Star, programmable …