I love starting my garden plants and flowers from seeds. It is easy to find seeds for free too. This year I took the seeds from a green bell pepper and a store-bought tomato (the vine ones) and started them indoors. By the time it gets warm enough to plant outside, they will be ready to go! It's free food! Foraging for food is fun too. Right now, I'm finding Bracken Fern sprouts - cut them small before they unfurl, and steam - they taste a lot like Asparagus.

I was not aware of the impact of our night pollinators, such as moths, fireflies, beetles and bats. We normally only think of the bees when talking pollinators, but I found it very interesting to know that there are many others! One of the problems facing our nocturnal pollinators is light pollution, so taking steps to limit the amount of light used at night could be helpful in more ways than one. Very informative articles! Can't wait to celebrate May 20th - World Bee Day!!

I think we always hear about the threat of earthquakes, but I found out that wind is one of the biggest weather threats to the Olympic Peninsula. Definitely am stocked up on lanterns!

I already knew the basics; pollinators are key to our food, flowers, and the whole ecosystem, but taking a deeper dive helped me appreciate just how much they show up in our daily lives. Learning with my niece (who’s still very much not a fan of bees) made it even more fun. We talked about how her favorite fruit, strawberries, rely on pollinators, and how creatures like butterflies and birds do too. It turned into a really sweet moment for both of us to learn and connect. To help support our local pollinators, I picked up a lavender plant at the farmers market this weekend and I’m planning to grab another one next time I go. Little changes, but they add up.

My favorite way to make the vinegar solution is to throw some orange peels in a mason jar and cover with vinegar. I let that sit for a couple weeks and the orange helps with oil removal and adds a great citrus scent!

Using green materials to build our garden boxes, sharing with my family who also did the same! We also use reverse osmosis, something I share with others all the time, it's my favorite way to filter our water and tastes amazing!! Also Vertical Farming and hydroponic gardening, not only is it space saving but extremely satisfying to grow right on your countertop!

I love contributing to our community even when it's just a cup of coffee from my favorite stand in Manchester!