Earth Hour 2010: Saturday March 27, 8:30 p.m.
By Margaret Gilmour
This year, Earth Hour is scheduled for Saturday, March 27th, 8:30 p.m. local time, wherever you are.
Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour is a global sustainability movement conceived in Sydney, Australia in 2007. The message: A shout out to all citizens to show your concern for climate change.
In 2008 in the U.S. over 36 million participants turned off their lights for this global call-to-action. And last year, nearly 1 billion people in over 4,000 cities in 88 countries hit the switch for Earth Hour.
I was one of those people. For one hour, I sat with my family and read a book to my young son as candlelight illuminated the pages. When we were finished reading, we sat and watched the flickering flames for awhile.
Actually, all over the world lights switched off and candles lit up for one hour. This included Paris’s Eiffel Tower, Rome’s Coliseum and New York’s Empire State Building.
So this Saturday, hit the pause button for an 60 minutes, or plan a candlelit dinner that starts at 8:30. How about playing some parlour games by candlelight, or board games with your family?
Then again, you can enjoy the darkness and step outside, take in some stars and listen to the spring peepers singing their seasonal symphony.
The college my older son attends is planning an Earth Hour gathering complete with a campfire, s’more roast, glow-in-the dark Frisbees and student musicians jamming, unplugged. I like that idea, and I think we’ll light up our bonfire pit also.
What will you do for one hour to show your support while celebrating the one thing we all have in common: our planet?
For inspiration, click here for the official 2010 Earth Hour video.
Redbud Native Plant Nursery: Plantings for our region
By Margaret Gilmour
I’ve always been attracted to native plants, especially the more delicate, shade-loving varieties like geraniums (Geranium maculatum), Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) and wood ferns (Dryopteris clintoniana).
So has Catherine Smith, Owner of Redbud Native Plant Nursery in Glen Mills.
But, I am drawn to natives because, among other things, they promote simple, garden environments that demand less attention than non-natives.
Smith, on the other hand, loves how natives foster bio-diversity. “I love to see the critters they attract, and the increase in birds and butterflies that appear in native plant environments,” she says. (more…)
Mt. Cuba Center, Inc.: Nurturing Native Plants
By Margaret Gilmour
When Mr. and Mrs. Lammot du Pont Copeland decided to build their home on 113-acres near the village of Mt. Cuba, Delaware in 1935, they had a love for the outdoors, and a budding interest in gardening.
So, shortly after purchasing the lush, open fields, the couple commissioned Homsey Architects to design their stately Colonial Revival manor house that reflected the Copeland’s passion for historic Americana.
They also hired famed Philadelphia landscape architect Thomas Sears to create formal outdoor rooms that took guests and family members into well-scripted patios, terraces and courtyards, all framed with carefully planned plantings.
Then, what began as a love for formal gardens, evolved into a love of nature and a fascination with native plants in a woodland, naturalistic setting. Today the Copeland residence is home to Mt. Cuba Center, Inc., a 650-acre non-profit horticultural institution.
(more…)
Plant a Rain Garden
By Margaret Gilmour
What exactly is a rain garden?
It’s a shallow garden with a natural or dug depression, or sometimes it’s plantings installed at the bottom of the downslide of a slope. The rain garden is designed to capture rainwater and, in turn, help reduce storm water runoff and erosion.
These gardens allow about 30% more water to soak into the earth compared to conventional lawns. And because they are created to drain within 12-48 hours, there’s no threat of turning them into mosquito habitats. (more…)
8 Water-Saving Tips for your Landscape
By Margaret Gilmour
The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
We love the idea of celebrating Earth Day each year to promote global awareness, even if it’s just for one day. The hope is that this day will inspire and remind each of us to make little changes that benefit our planet. (more…)
Rain Barrel Special
By Margaret Gilmour
Last year the Chester County Conservation District received a grant to purchase 350 rain barrels.
They sold most of them at a reduced price to community members who attended a public education event on rain barrels and native plants.
The idea of selling rain barrels, of course, was to raise awareness for basic conservation techniques homeowners could practice in their own backyards. (more…)
An Enchanted Home
By Margaret Gilmour
We were under the spell of architect Helena van Vliet’s charming house and simple lifestyle integrating village life with contemporary technology. The home’s curving architectural details add shape and texture to the open interior spaces colored in calm, earthy hues.
The Simple Home: The Luxury of Enough
By Margaret Gilmour
Just after we decided to make Chester County Dwell a reality, Leslie discovered this beautiful book. And its pictures and philosophy inspired us both as they seemed to echo ccdwell’s mission statement that we’d just about finished writing.
Inside its pages 21 houses are featured with six different approaches to creating a path to a simple home:
1. Simple is Enough
2. Simple is Thrifty
3. Simple is Flexible
4. Simple is Timeless
5. Simple is Sustainable
6. Simple is Refined
The concept is illustrated through full-color spreads of gorgeous photographs and through the lives and choices made by homeowners living in places ranging from small apartments to larger country homes. The author explains that simple doesn’t have to do with size, or style, rather it’s an attitude you take on and choose to embrace.
Even if you only look at the pictures, you’ll soon find yourself with an urge to de-clutter and scale back a bit. All the images are clean, spare and filled with ideas you can try right away, or use when planning future renovations. And the section on sustainable living is a great guide to living a greener, more responsible life.
The Simple Home will definitely inspire you toward a simpler 2009.
Buy it here: Good Reads
Getting Back to Basics
By Margaret Gilmour
We loved this home because innovative design decisions took the house’s original character and intimate scale into consideration. Walk into the addition, and it feels as if it’s part of the older structure. Yet, the well-conceived space is constructed with lasting materials and incorporates sophisticated energy-conservation strategies, as well as the basics: topography, sunlight and window placement.
