Continuing with our new feature at Green Mama, this week we meet another green friend, Abbie from Connecticut. Abbie is an A.P. Environmental Science teacher and was raised “green” before green was the new black. Abbie grew up in a farming family, in fact her family’s farm Rose Orchards has been in the Rose family for 300 years.

Combining her upbringing on her family’s farm with teaching Environmental Science, Abbie learned a few things about how to treat the Earth with the kind of respect that any good friend deserves. Here a few tips from Abbie:

1. In the Kitchen

• Cook from scratch as much as possible.
• Keep cloth shopping bags in the car so you never forget for quick stops.
• Buy foods from local farmers.
• Buy organic foods, as well as hormone and antibiotic free chicken, pork, and beef.
• Buy local hormore and antibiotic free milk and eggs.
• Choose natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup.
• Tote a reusable stainless steel container for on-hand water.
• Eat fish and game.
• Freeze and preserve fruit and veggies.

2. Home Improvement

• Use salvaged building materials.
• Choose Energy Star appliances.
• Plant trees!
• Reduce oil consumption for heating by burning wood.
• Choose wind and hydropower for 100% of electricity (Abbie recommends contacting your local electric company to find out how).
• Change your bulbs to CFLs.
• Clean green with natural cleaning products and microfiber cloths.
• Do-it-yourself. Abbie’s husband Ed builds most of their furniture, including their bed, cabinets, and tables.

3. Beauty and Fashion

• Choose all natural and earth friendly products, including Burt’s Bee’s, Honebee Gardens (Abbie loves their odor free nail polish), and Tom’s of Maine products.
• Air dry. Your hair, that is.
• Buy organic and recycled clothing as needed. Abbie loves Global Girlfriend.
• Launder with care. Abbie only washes full loads with cold water.

4. Work

• Inspire others. Abbie encourages high school students to be environmentally active through her role as the advisor to the Environmental Club.
• Mentor earth friendly projects. Abbie is helping a Green Mama featured student named Kayla who is hosting the “Green Awakening” fashion show.
• Promote recycling at school and the workplace.
• Learn more. Abbie attended the Island School Teacher Conference, a program at a sustainable school in the Bahamas.
• Build and operate your own greenhouse. Abbie’ high school students use all natural and organic methods in their greenhouse.
• Spread the word. Abbie assigns her students Silent Spring, and she recommended that I read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
• Be a role model at the copy machine. As a veteran teacher, Abbie makes an effort to reduce paper consumption. Here’s how:
  • Instead of handouts, she burns a CD with all of the articles, review sheets, and projects for her AP Environmental Science class.She posts readings on her web site instead of Xeroxing.

Abbie’s a leader to environmentalists everywhere. Her coming adventures as a green friend of the earth include planting fruit trees and vegetable garden, starting a compost, investing in a hybrid or biodiesel car, and switching to biodiesel for her home heating. Thank you Abbie for being such an inspiration to green people! Mother Earth can use more friends like you.

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 24th, 2008 at 11:22 pm and is filed under Green Friends, Green Living, Health and Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.