Photo from EarthEasy.com

Holidays are filled with traditions. It may be useful to simply think about ways to build on those traditions in new, more sustainable ways. And it’s our guess that these steps might add significant quality to your holiday celebration. Some ideas for greener holidays from Eartheasy.com:

• Buy Less.  Give more while spending less. Here are ideas for how to give greener gifts.
• Buy Smart – think “green”. Look for locally made gifts, gifts made from recycled sources, or gifts produced by sustainable companies. Consider re-gifting!
• Connect with Nature. Start a family tradition of giving back to the earth and instilling the values of sustainable living to your children, friends and community. Take a hike or snowshoe. Participate in the Annual Bird Count in your area.
• Lower the impact of Holiday Lighting. Consider the size of your lighting display as well as the light sources. Explore LED lights that use up to 95% less energy than the traditional larger lights.
• Choose a live tree. Live trees, on the other hand, are a renewable resource grown on tree farms, that are replanted regularly. They contribute to air quality while growing, and almost ninety percent are recycled into mulch. Live trees are usually locally grown and sold, saving both transportation costs and added air pollution. Live trees also smell like Christmas!

For more ideas, we suggest Eartheasy.com – a great side providing simple and understandable information on this topic and more.

Please share with us how you’ve altered your holiday traditions to honor both the holiday and the earth!

10/10/10 – A Global Work Party day organized by 350.org. For those who haven’t heard of 350.org here’s an overview:

350.org is an international campaign that’s building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis—the solutions that science and justice demand.

Our mission is to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis—to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet.

This great organization, headed by writer and activist Bill McKibbon, has been spending months encouraging individuals, groups and organizations to create work parties in their own communities focusing on ways to lighten their footprint while putting pressure on local, state, national and international leader to take climate change seriously.

Interested in learning more? There are over 7300 events registered to be taking place today all over the world. 350.org website has tons of information.

At Pinehurst Inn in Bayfield, we consider every day a work day, but today, there will be time spent both making more biodiesel and getting into the native gardens. Baby steps, but very real in our world.

The gardens are lush this year. And the produce baskets are overflowing. Yes, zuchinni, carrots, greens, beets (ah, beet greens!), peppers, and more. So the idea of World Kitchen Garden Day really struck us – a wonderful way to celebrate this time of year when we are blessed with this fantastic array of food.

World Kitchen Garden Day is an opportunity to
celebrate the multiple pleasures and benefits of home-grown, locally grown foods.

• celebrate the positive role of organic kitchen gardening (good health, good community, and it taste’s so good!)
• To raise awareness about the benefits of eating local and to encourage people to explore local food options in their areas
• To build community spirit, at local and international levels, around the universal experiences of gardening, cooking, and eating (think Farmers Markets, community gardens, and more)

The concepts and ideas of this “celebration” are so important – and should be considered every day of the year. But today, look around your own community and get to know your local farmers and growers.

At Pinehurst Inn in Bayfield, we are thrilled to build our breakfast using not only our own produce, but numerous delicious veggies and fruits from our area orchards and farms. This morning we serve our very popular Pinehurst Blueberry Oven French Toast (using wonderful blueberries from Highland Valley Farm in Bayfield). And tomorrow we will be doing something wonderful with those fresh beet greens – stay tuned! We might even share another recipe.

Happy harvesting!

This includes a wonderful group of inns that have innovative and creative practices highlighting their green efforts. Happy to be among such a great group.

More information on our sustainability efforts can be found on the Pinehurst Inn Website.

Fortunately Bayfield is blessed with amazing orchards providing berries throughout the summer. Fresh organic eggs are delivered to the Pinehurst kitchen weekly from Angel Acres Farm. Big Water Coffee provides freshly roasted coffee beans on a regular basis – ah, the aroma! Sour Dough Breads used for Pinehurst French Toast recipes come from Ashland Baking Company. Dairy products come from Tetzner’s Dairy – a great multi-generation farm that allows milk, cheese and more to be purchased on the honor system (oh, and let me tell you about their ice cream!!).

Consider the Pinehurst Blueberry Oven French Toast – incorporating Bayfield blueberries, organic eggs, fresh dairy whole milk & cream cheese and locally made sour dough bread. YUM!

Why purchase local foods?

• Health benefits – fresher means high nutritional value
• Taste benefits – fresher mean better taste and truly ripe
• Economic benefits – supporting local businesses just makes sense as we keep our money recycling within our own area
• Environmental benefits – sustainable farming supports the environment by enriching the soil, protecting air and water quality, and minimizing energy consumption.

Perhaps just as important are the great farmers and producers that we’ve gotten to know – all characters in their own right – who share not only their products and produce, but their love of the area and the knowledge that we are creating something yummy for our guests using their ingredients.