Natural Awakenings

Natural Awakenings is a free magazine (community of magazines, really) addressing natural health, green living, fitness, nutrition and personal growth.

If you’re looking for fair trade stores, green dentistry, spas, yoga, massage, health food stores, practical articles or a calendar listing local events, then this is for you.

Find your local edition here:

• Northern Suburbs, Oakland, Macomb, St. Clair, Genesee, Livingston, Shiawassee and Lapeer Counties (http://www.michiganhealthyliving.com/)
• Greater Ann Arbor & Surrounding Communities (http://www.a2namag.com/)
• Greater Grand Rapids (http://www.naturalwestmichigan.com/)

This blog does not need to reprint all organizations, companies and services advertised in this magazine. I just want to highlight sources of information, not publish it all again.

Energy Issues

These are the two local electricity providers for central Michigan:

• Consumers Energy (blog post / official website)
• Tri-County Electric (blog post / official website)

We all can do a better job of efficiently using energy. Learn more here:

• 8 Easy Projects for Instant Energy Savings (Mother Earth News)
• Energy saving tips from Tri-County Electric.
• ENERGY STAR Yardstick.
• Home Energy Saver--Energy Audit Tool.

Interested in installing wind or solar power equipment at your residence? Here are additional off-the-grid resources:

• Off-Grid
• Build It Solar
• Home Power
• Gaiam--Real Goods
• Mother Earth News--Renewable Energy

Tri-County Electric Cooperative

Tri-County Electric provides services to parts of several counties in central Michigan (also see Consumers Energy).

While it appears that purchasing renewable energy is not an option, the website has two features that members and non-members should take note of.

• Links to free energy audit tools.
• Tips for energy efficiency.

Fire Fly Lane (CSA)

Fire Fly Lane, located near Farwell, is a creative CSA offering several types of shares.

Flower Share – Receive or give a weekly bouquet from May 10 – October 25. Order by April 1st. $135 per share.

Gift Share – A basket or bouquet to fit your budget or palate. Order any time.

Community Share – Various veggies and flowers can be delivered to the local organization of your choice. Order by April 1. $25 per row.

Salad Lovers Share – Receive most of the ingredients for two salads each week (recipes included). Sold in 4-week blocks, so specify season when purchasing. Order by May 1. Begins in June and continues through the fall. $50 per share.

Festive Fall Share – Receive a pumpkin for carving, some mini pumpkins and gourds for painting, and two bunches of cornstalks for decorating. Additional pumpkins available for $3 each. Order by June 1. $15 per share.

Soup Lovers Share – Receive ingredients for a weekly pot of soup (recipes included). This 12-week share begins in October and end January 1. Order by June 15. $144 per share.

Other Options:

Door Step Delivery – At harvest time, call for a brochure and order by phone to have produce delivered to your area if you live in the area.

Flowers – Order unique bouquets and corsages. Visit the farm for your own creation.

(989) 588-2372

W Michigan Food Guide

An excellent resource is the West Michigan Guide to Local Food, which can be downloaded and saved on your computer as a PDF document. That link will also lead you to information regarding where you can find the newest edition.

The 2006-2007 Guide is currently online (03/08).

Guide Contents:

• Seasonal availability chart for produce
• Farmers' Markets
• Community Supported Agriculture
• Fruits and Vegetables, including U-Pick
• Processed Foods, including Meat, Dairy, Food Products
• Restaurants, Caterers
• Retail Outlets
• Other Resources
• Relevant and Colorful Advertisements
• More

Related Links:

• Food Shed
• Western Michigan Environmental Action Council
• Taste The Local Difference

An idea for someone to run with: expand the W Mich Food Guide to include ALL of Michigan.

Consumers Energy

Consumers Energy is the primary provider of electicity for central Michigan (also see Tri-County Electric).

Did you know you can purchase renewable/green energy from Consumers Energy that is generated by wind and waste decomposition?

1. Click on <For Home> at the top of the main page (left side of dark blue bar).
2. Click on <Green Generation> part way down the list of options.
3. Click on <join Green Generation> near the bottom of the GG page. Or select other links on the Green Generation page to read various bits of info on green energy.
4. Choose one of the three participation levels--GreenTeam, GreenBlocks, GreenBusiness.

Mars Hill -- God is Green

Although I'm not a member of the church, I have made the 90-minute drive to Mars Hill a handful of times. It's the greenest church I've experienced. Confession: I didn't buy carbon offsets for those trips to Grand Rapids (Grandville, really).

Want to learn more? Check out last summer's series, God is Green. Speakers included Matt Krick (Theology of Ecology), Matthew Sleeth, M.D. (Serve God, Save the Planet), and Rob Bell (MH Teaching Pastor).

You can also check out this presentation by Steve Bouma-Prediger, author of For the Beauty of the Earth.

Read more about Mars Hill at Wikipedia.