Life at a "Swell's" pace

One of the things I simply love about the state of Oregon is how they love to conserve just about anything. The recycling programs here are amazing and the conservation efforts are even better. Here recently the Benton County Fairgrounds held a Kids Day of Conservation program through the Oregon State University. The program was to teach kids (and their parents) how important conservation of the forest, animals, as well as how to preserve them. There were several hands-on activities that were not only fun to do, but also a learning lesson along the way. We learned about forest fires and how to prevent them, keeping freshwater and ocean water fish safe, how birds live, how pollutants can really affect our drinking water and in turn affect us, how a beaver survives in the wild, and how important wind energy is for all of us.

Learning about fire safety.

Making bird feeder ornaments to hang outside for the birds.

Learning how quickly a fire can spread during the dry times in Oregon.

Learning about animal fur and skulls. The furs all had different textures.

Making a Fish and Wildlife Banner.

Headed inside the giant fish from the Oregon Game and Fish Commission to hear a story about how salmon swim upstream to spawn.

Learning how dangerous power lines are through Pacific Power. He also gave a very good visual on how lightning works from the ground up.

Then we got to make "living necklaces" with beans.

The bean stays in the bag until it begins to sprout and once the roots start to appear we plant it in soil.

We got to make another Dirty Baby. We just love these things. They are so fun to take care of and watch grow! We now have three of them at our house!

Skylar even got to make his own polluted water. He wasn't quite sure about it at first and looked back at us for reassurance that it was okay.

He added in pesticides (fruit syrup).

Then fertilizer (chocolate sprinkles).

Then the water (carbonated water).

And then he got to drink it! Ha!

After the lesson on how pollunted our water system can become we went fishing for crawdads and tadpoles.

Skylar got to see how some insects look under the magnifying glass.

Skylar got to pretend he was a beaver. He got to build a dam with sticks, dig in the mud, and claw at the water.

We learned a lot about beavers, birds, and other creatures and animals. We had a great time at the event and look foreword to the next one the following year.

Eco-Tip: Dispose of expired medication by calling your local hospital or local hazardous waste disposal center. Medications should never be flushed down the toilet or thrown in the trash. For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

This Video.

Because, let's face it, Earth is pretty awesome and so is life. Everyone's life has value no matter what color, race, religion, or background. Love and kindness are all we need to survive on our beautiful Earth, in the end.

This Picture.

Because I had a lot of fun playing around with the pixels on it to enhance the bluejay and the sunflower.

This Christmas album and tea towel.

Because I will be giving them away on SNORTH next month.

This statement.

Because global warming is real. It may not kill all humankind off, but it is very real.

This picture.

Because Skylar painted it for me on my phone app and changed my phone background to this picture to surprise me and make me smile. The app is a painting app called Zebra Paint.

Random Photo of the Week:

BeeSpa has a load of earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and other items to choose from. Skip over there and check out the selection now!

Eco-Tip: Use a toaster oven for smaller cooking jobs. A toaster oven uses about a third less energy as a full-sized oven. For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.