Mindful Metropolis

http://www.mindfulmetropolis.com/ is a website that helps being communities together across the city of Chicago in eco-friendly and conscious ways that bring people out of their houses and help them become an active part of their community. Their goal is to find sustainable ways to enjoy and build on each individual community in the city. They work with the arts, design and green culture by bringing citizens together through various activities. They serve as an inspiration for hundreds of people across Chicago. 
"We are eco-active, enviro-sensitive and socially involved. We are connecting Chicago’s conscious community. WE ARE MINDFUL METROPOLIS" Mindful Metropolis says on their "about" page.
If you live in the city and are searching for ways to reach out in your neighborhood or the Windy City as a whole, you can check out their page which is linked to at the beginning of this blog post. 
If you want to be active, be inspired, or to go out and do something, you can start with this amazing page. 

Chicago Flower and Garden Show

For Chicago natives who may be reading this or for out-of-towners who are planning a spring break getaway to the Windy City, the beautiful Chicago Flower and Garden Show is up and running at Navy Pier! Over 100 flower vendors, a flower fashion show and 25 (or more) vibrant gardens will be featured there until the 18th of March. There are also various seminars that you alone or with a group can attend on topics such as how to create a rooftop garden and how to plant in an urban environment. There are also potting parties which tend to be a lot of fun! 

Tablescapes will also be featured at this year's Flower and Garden Show. Eye-catching flower arrangements from Chicago's hottest clubs, restaurants, hotels and other indoor attractions. Watch Chicago's most celebrated florists work in their best environment! The Flower Show is by far one of the best ways to celebrate spring. Loads of fun and flowers await at this year at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show! 

Visit http://www.chicagoflower.com/ for pricing. You get a $2 discount on tickets when you buy online! Otherwise, they're available at the Navy Pier Box Office. 

Tips on being more Eco-Friendly

This is an interesting, and relate-able tip, because our clothing has so many buttons :)




Use Eco-Friendly Buttons!

Tree Buttons:

TreeButtons are hand-crafted wood buttons that are made from cross sections of Cherry, Birch, Oak, Maple and Apple tree branches. The buttons are dried in a kiln, retaining around 6 to 10% of their moisture so that they don’t warp or crack.

The buttons are hand-finished with sandpaper, and then preserved with an exotic nut oil to leave a smooth and fashionable eco-friendly button. Using wood-based buttons avoids the need for any plastic-based buttons and is a completely sustainable product.

You can see all these tips, and more at: http://www.dailyecotips.com/

Chicago Weather is Crazy, and it's All. Our. Fault.

This picture was taken from the Chicago snowstorm last year.





The varying heights of city buildings increase the lifting of air over urban areas.
As this rising air is carried downwind of the city, it cools, condenses and forms clouds. These clouds can often become rain producers for suburban and rural areas downwind of a city's center. Chicago of course, is no exception. In fact, increase is due to the fact that Chicago leaves one of the largest carbon footprints on earth, and it's our fault. We can reduce this though, but being more conservative with our electricity, power, and even building size! So next time you are complaining about the weather being crazy, remember, it might just be your fault!

Video on Water Conservation!

Here's a short video I made on water conservation. Sorry for calling both the dish-washer and the washing machine the washing machine! Sorry if it confused anyone; that's just how I say it. Sorry!

Nike Reuse a Shoe: The Cool Way To Recycle Shoes!

http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/
      The project linked above is a cool idea by nike started in 1990 called "Reuse-A-Shoe". The goal of the project is to take shoes and separate the 3 main parts of the shoe and use those parts to build tracks for running, tennis courts, and basketball courts. EVERY part of the shoe is used! This is Nike's way of using the 3 "R"s (Reducing, Reusing and Recycling) in their business. Bring your tennis shoes to any big. even flagship, Nike store in your city or town in able to be a part of this project!
     Sports fan or not, Nike will take your shoes in ANY condition to be recycled! If your space is cluttered by old shoes with holes in them or that are worn out, this is a perfect way to get rid of them INSTEAD of throwing them away. In order to find a store, you can use the Nike Store Locator right here!
http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/nike/en_US/storelocator
Please consider this awesome project, instead of sending your old shoes to landfills by throwing them away. Thank you so much for reading and please tune back in later for another post!

How to plant trees!

http://www.kidsface.org/pages/plant.html

Planting trees are very important because it excretes oxygen which helps us humans live! It's very important for life as we know it and this link will teach you how to do it. I personally think that planting a tree would be great and fun also!