A Trip to the Lily Ponds

Posted on June 8, 2011 by alyssabdh

After a couple of years of urging from my husband, we made a trip to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens (The Lily Ponds) last weekend and I was amazed at the beauty and tranquility of this park.  Located in an older neighborhood in Northeast DC, the Aquatic Gardens can easily be missed because entrances to Kenilworth Park are much more obvious, and not particularly desirable.  However a drive around the corner reveals a parking lot and shaded path to The Aquatic Gardens.

I had never realized how captivating water lilies are, as they were blooming in mass on my visit.  They are spectacular; a few ponds held pale pink, or hot pink, lilies.  There is a luminescent quality to the white ones that is enchanting, each flower seemed more perfect than the last.  There were a couple that were not blooming, yet the leaves seemed to defy gravity and boasted a spiritual artistic quality that could not be described.

The Aquatic Gardens have a couple boardwalks with suitable shaded spots for viewing the marshes or photographing birds and wildlife.  There is also a gift shop and information area with some interesting blurbs about how these gardens got started, namely by Walter Shaw in the 1800s who named the pink opal lily after his daughter, renowned artist and lily cultivator in her own rite, Helen Fowler.  This park is known worldwide for its unparalleled variety of water lily species, which bloom at different times over the Spring and early Summer.

The park is free to visit (parking is free, too) and the park closes at 6:30pm according to summertime notices.  Everything seemed to be accessible by wheelchairs, with ramps built for the restrooms.  There are many spots of shade, but not a lot of benches until you get to the end of the boardwalks.  I was happy to see both Trash and Recycling bins clearly marked at a few key points on the path (recycling is something I rarely see in DC’s parks, unfortunately).

Don’t forget your camera!

Posted in Children, Family, Local, Recycling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Timonium Update!

Posted on May 25, 2011 by alyssabdh

We’re in full-swing now, setting up our Timonium store and its going very well.  I’m a big fan of the customer service desk, shown here during installation.  Its made from many environmentally-friendly materials by a local custom woodworker.   As always, our Free cups of fresh coffee, herbal or green tea, or Santevia-filtered water will be located on this desk.  Delicious breads will be available at this location as well.

The produce section, (you know how nutty we are about our 100% organic selection) is going to be vibrant and crisp, thanks to the excellent set-up for our top-notch produce staff.  We’ll have our compostable produce bags available for your greens, as well as re-usable produce bags available for purchase.

Speaking of bags, the new black re-usable MOMs shopping bags with a tree & apple design seem to be popular in our other stores and we’ll have a good selection on hand for opening weekend in Timonium, at our York Ridge Shopping Center location, starting May 28.

For those who don’t know, MOM’s does not sell bottled water.  This was part of our plastic-reduction campaign we called Plastic Surgery.  We will offer a free gallon of Culligan filtered water in your own container on each visit, 1 per household.  Each time you come, the first gallon is free, and the additional gallons are just 39 cents.  We’ll have a great selection of MOMs-tested re-usable water bottles (we really use these like crazy).

The new LED lights are in now, and a Huge variety of supplements, bodycare and cosmetics are getting set up now.

I bet there are some great things about MOMs that I’m forgetting to introduce, so feel free to Comment with anything I’ve missed!  Hopefully we’ll see you all for the May 28th opening!

Posted in Children, Composting, Employment, Energy Resources, Family, Fruits, Green Careers, Natural Health, News, Organic Food, Pets, Recycling, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Timonium: Here We Come!

Posted on May 5, 2011 by alyssabdh

The MOMs stores are abuzz with excitement over our Timonium location, which is opening at the end of this month!

Some of my favorite things about this location (the shelves aren’t even up yet!) are the old school composite floors. They have a pinkish hue, and are certainly not fashionable and cool like most modern retailers would choose. However, I love these floors because they are original & very high quality, and I know they would’ve been ripped up and thrown in the landfill if we were picky about being fashionable. Thankfully, we’re not and so we’ll have these pinky-orange retro vintage old school floors in Timonium, and they’re going to do their job just great.

Another of my favorite things (so far) are the sky lights. The sky lights allow natural light into the store so that we can use less electricity from lighting during sunny hours. Plus, natural light is kind to peoples’ moods. Sky lights are not popular among shopping establishments, in that controlling lighting can be more complicated and of course it costs money! But, for MOMs stores, we find having that natural light is worth the trouble.Timonium skylights

Its exciting to reach so many of our customers that currently travel long distances to visit us in Jessup and Frederick, with this new location. We know we’re going to be able to provide recycling of all sorts of stuff (from CFLs and batteries to paper and cans), like we do in our other stores, which helps keep the earth a little cleaner. We’ll also get to purchase even more wind power to cover the energy costs in Timonium, which makes us all feel good.

Its fun to read the fan mail we’re getting from Timonium residents on our Facebook page, which keeps us going when we see the hard work ahead of us in getting this new store open. We hope you’ll visit us!

Posted in Composting, Employment, Energy Resources, Green Careers, News, Recycling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Would Goldilocks Do?

Posted on March 14, 2011 by charisomatic

Yes, it’s true, my inner child longs for those salty, greasy pale yellow sticks they call French fries every once and awhile but my jaw hit the floor when I saw the commercial for Mickey D’s newest menu item: Oatmeal.

Turns out, this “wholesome bowl of goodness” is anything but.  Mark Bittman wrote a humorous, albeit alarming op-ed on the subject—apparently, the oatmeal contains more sugar than a Snickers bar and is just 10 calories shy of a McDonald’s cheeseburger or Egg McMuffin. Eek!

Which is worse? Embracing their roots and strictly offering the gooey high-fat, calorie packed “food” that many Americans have grown to love or purposefully blurring the line between junk food and “wholesome goodness” to lure in a different kind of customer?

Makes me wonder what Goldilocks would do if presented with a perfectly heated bowl of the fast-food giant’s porridge. She’d probably eat it and upset baby bear, but I’m guessing baby bear’s arteries will thank her later.

Oatmeal lovers! What’s your favorite REAL oatmeal recipe?!

 
Charis works at MOM’s central.


Posted in Children, Fruits, Natural Health, Organic Food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

My Shameless Addiction to Plastic

Posted on March 2, 2011 by ElizaMac

I have a confession to make. There are plastic bags stashed all over my house. I must have hundreds. It’s become a bit of an addiction. Someone call Hoarders, because I just can’t seem to let go— I have to have plastic bags in my life. I mean, we are at the point where I am raiding the plastic bag recycle bin at MOM’s just so I can have more!

That said, there is an upside to my recent obsession that helps the environment and feeds my creativity at the same time. I recently discovered the joys of creating objects made with “plarn”… otherwise known as plastic yarn made out of those pesky plastic shopping bags. As a fiber artist, I am constantly looking for new material to explore… and when my dad gave me some bags crocheted of plarn a while back, I knew that we were onto something big. They are beautiful and durable and well, you actually have to tell people what they are made of as the appearance conceals the origin of the material!

It took me a bit to figure out how to create my own plarn and subsequent projects. Finally, I stumbled across this great website. Eureka! My first couple of exploits have been small and humble, yet I am already finding fun ways to use this material and the joy of being able to manipulate color and composition by varying the types of bags and stitches used. So far, two little pot scrubbers have been born (each using up about 10 bags!) and a basket is in progress. In the basket (shown below), the spacing of different bag colors creates regular and interesting shifts in the pattern.

I am past the point of no return. So here I sit, hopelessly addicted to plastic, loving that I am finding a way to simultaneously help protect the Earth and nourish the creative spirit. This is what life is all about.

Fair warning: if you see a gleeful MOM’s employee rummaging through the recycle bins one day, muttering about color and such, please do not be alarmed. In fact, come on over and I will happily give you a quick lesson in plarn crochet.

Elizabeth works at MOMs Alexandria.

Posted in Family, Recycling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Quit Fracking Around

Posted on February 20, 2011 by alyssabdh

Several months ago my husband and I drove to see family in Ithaca, NY.  It was on this trip that we saw the word frack for the first time.  It seemed like a funny word, harkening back to Fraggle Rock episodes.  The town was buzzing with anti-frack messages.  Our family members briefly explained that fracking was the process for removing natural gas from rock and shale, and that it caused major damage and pollution.  Ithaca was determined to drive fracking out of the area (Don’t Frack the Gorge was the motto my husband wanted to coin).  They managed to secure a moratorium on the worst types of fracking until a review is completed, probably this year.

Then, a couple weeks ago, we watched the movie Gasland.  It became apparent that the concept of “natural gas” being a perfect alternative to oil is a short-sighted and probably flawed concept.  Fracking is basically in our regional neighborhood (here on the east coast: in Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and until recently, in New York – and many other states, and even public conservation land, across the country).  Fracking is affecting some of the most beautiful and preserved landscapes in driving distance (ie, the Catskills, Delaware River Basin, Pennsylvania’s multigenerational farmlands, and so on).

The documentary, Gasland, is decidedly anti-fracking in its message.  I haven’t done much research, yet, to try to understand the natural gas industry, its downfalls, and its possible “fixes.”  However, the sight of beautiful family farms in the shadows of massive fracking pump operations was an effective image.  The footage of tap water in neighboring homes that ignited when a flame was held nearby was alarming.  The assertion that 1.7 million gallons of water combined with chemicals is used to do a single frack, and then mostly drained right into the groundwater, was certainly provocative.  The hundreds of acres of public park land in the midwest that is now being fracked with no limit, was a sobering thought.

Then, a couple nights ago I happened to catch T. Boone Pickens on the Daily Show.  When Jon Stewart asked him about the environmental problems created by fracking, he simply said he’d fracked a few hundred sites and never seen any damage.  Granted, T. Boone Pickens is trying to convert the US from using oil energy to using more natural gas, but why is it OK to respond with such a dismissive and obviously disconnected answer?  I am sure he employs hundreds of capable professionals who could not only identify these problems, but probably solve them, too.

If you’re like me and want to know more about the environmental effects of fracking, check out the National Wildlife Federation’s blog post on the subject, including this tidbit:

Some have suggested that this development frenzy is a sign of progress, that natural gas in the United States’ shale formations is a treasure trove that must be tapped to help us wean ourselves from dirty coal and save us from global warming.  However, no one has proven that natural gas is any better than coal in reducing our vulnerability to global warming.  In fact, a newly-released analysis from Cornell professor Robert Howarth suggests that greenhouse gases from fracked natural gas may be worse than coal over a 20-year time horizon because of methane leakage during production and transport.

And a brief statement by the Union of Concerned Scientists looks at the effects in more detail.

An opposing point of view was published last year, in The Washington Examiner.  As usual, environmentalists are painted as alarmist & irrational, although most of what I have read rationally calls for research, safety regulations, and environmental protection, not absolute bans.

Finally, an editorial in The Baltimore Sun explores the upcoming fracking to take place in western Maryland.  Hearings are scheduled for Feb 23rd and March 1st.

Photo: Peter Firminger - WAGE

Alyssa works at all MOM’s locations.

Posted in Energy Resources, Family, News | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

New Opportunities

Posted on February 16, 2011 by lillyofthedessert

I moved this past weekend. Into an apartment. And after several days of lugging boxes up and down stairs, unpacking box upon box of books, selecting IKEA furniture, building IKEA furniture, I am ready to start shaping my new life in this wonderful apartment. My boyfriend and I had already agreed that we wanted to be living as eco-friendly as possible. And while we ideally want to be living in a house where we can recycle a million different ways and compost in the backyard, we aren’t there yet.

The night after we moved in, we ran over to the MOMs in Jessup to get the essentials we were missing. Two hours later we walked out with way more than we had planned but deliriously happy about our bags of goodies. The next day we stopped by Might Healthy Pet where we got eco-friendly toys and treats for my little Jack Russell Terrier named Stella. I’m working on getting her on more natural dog food but she has a very sensitive system and can have “issues” when I change anything up, even a little bit. Any ideas?

So how do we live as the “eco-warriors” we strive to be while being apartment dwellers? How do all of you handle supporting the environment in your various living situations?

Lilly works at Rockville MOM’s.

Posted in Ecology, Family, Pets | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Blood Oranges on a Snow Day

Posted on February 2, 2011 by lillyofthedessert

Yesterday my brother made a blood orange sorbet.  For months now, he had been asking “when is MOMs getting blood oranges?!” And we finally had a huge bag of luscious organic blood oranges sitting in the fridge.

My brother is 16 years old. He is exploring cooking and baking of all sorts.  Some days I come home to find him rolling out croissants, filling them with almonds and chocolate. Some days I am helping him roll and carve fondant because he has in his head to make a cake shaped just like a peppermint candy. But today belonged to the blood orange sorbet.

It was already snowing, school was canceled; he had all day.  He tied up his long blonde hair with a bandana and juiced that entire bag of blood oranges.  An hour later, we all rejoiced as he lifted up the measuring cup revealing three cups of the dark magenta juice.

A simple syrup and a delicate amount of blood orange zest were added to the juice and all was thrown into the ice cream maker.  As it quietly whirled around for half an hour, we ran between watching the snow fall outside and watching the sorbet swirl around.

It tasted delicious. It tasted fresh. Blood oranges have a sweet and rich flavor that was delightfully and authentically preserved in my brother’s sorbet.  He sat on the couch later that night, with at least six inches of snow on the ground and more coming down, and asked “when is MOMs getting lychees?”

Lilly works at MOM’s Rockville.

Posted in Children, Family, Fruits, Holidays, Organic Food | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

State of the Union: One Million Electric Cars by 2010?

Posted on January 28, 2011 by charisomatic

Tuesday night, Mr. Obama emphasized the importance of government investment in everything from high-speed rails and highways to schools and clean-energy industries.

The President listed several clean-energy goals to work towards. For instance, the President proposed that 85% of the nation’s energy should come from clean energy by 2035 and that he’d like to see America be the first country to have at least 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. The latter would require the production of way more electric vehicles and way more infrastructure, which could mean way more jobs. J.D. Power and Associates predicts there to be roughly 700,000 electric cars on the road by 2015, a whole 300,000 shy of the President’s goal.

In order to reach these goals, Mr. Obama challenged individuals and businesses to bring together the best and the brightest to work on developing new ideas and technologies. He went as far as proposing the elimination of taxpayer subsidies for oil companies. Pausing for a second, the President said, “I don’t know if you noticed, but they’re doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s.”

Here’s a quick, informative image of U.S. energy subsidies from 2002-2008.

If electric cars are a part of “tomorrow’s energy,” how exactly are we going to get Americans to make the switch to electric? Cutting back on oil subsidies will likely cause a rise in gas prices. Europeans pay roughly $7 bucks a gallon, and the Chinese around $5, which is much closer to what gas would cost on the open market. Over the last several weeks, we’ve seen an increase at U.S. pumps and it’s expected to rise into the summer months. What would happen if Americans started paying $5 a gallon? What sort of implications would there be for those who can’t afford a new electric car (even with tax credits) and can’t afford the higher price of gas to get to and from work? What’s it going to take to make the transition without placing a burden on the already fragile middle and lower classes?

In order to become a widely used mode of transportation, electric cars need to be accessible to the masses. Perhaps the government could offer a higher tax break for those in a lower income bracket or ensure that the proper infrastructure be installed in lower income areas. Also, the government should launch education efforts to make the public aware of the tax incentives and that electric cars have the potential to cost less to maintain and operate—especially if they are powered by clean-energy created on American soil. On average, charging up an electric car will cost about $3 per 100 miles whereas a gas-powered vehicle costs about $9 per 100 miles.

The benefits of switching to electric are profound, but it may not seem as obvious if Americans are unaware of what they could be saving.

Charis works in MOM’s main office.

Posted in Employment, Energy Resources, Green Careers, News | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Low Income Does Not Equal Low Standards

Posted on January 24, 2011 by ElizaMac

One of the great things I have noticed over the past several months at MOM’s is how many people are coming in and asking if they can use public assistance (“food stamps”) to pay for their purchases. I see this as an encouraging trend, one in which people from all walks of life are waking up to the importance of not only good nutrition, but the value of ethically and organically created food.

As someone who experienced part of my childhood on public assistance after the death of my father, I remember that there seemed to also be the implication that we would use those funds to purchase low-quality, mass produced processed food with no nutritional value. I also remember my mother lamenting that she hated going into our natural food stores at the time as there existed a certain level of snobbery. She therefore experienced being made to feel like a lesser person for having to use that method of payment.

What I love about MOM’s is that we have such a strong set of core values, most notably that we reserve judgment. This makes not only working at MOM’s, but shopping at MOM’s a warm, comfortable, and safe experience for everyone. We develop lasting relationships with our customers, and they often open up to us about everything from serious health concerns to their day-to-day struggles. Because of this, combined with the fact that MOM’s has such great prices ($0.79/pound for organic fair trade bananas? Amazing!) we have been very fortunate to develop a dynamic and diverse customer base.

We pride ourselves on being open, fair, kind, and accepting of everyone who walks through our doors. We encourage everyone to take ownership of the environment and their health through responsible eating. No one who enters our stores need ever feel that there is shame in poverty; rather, we appreciate the dignity of those who choose to make the right decisions when it comes to their food even when experiencing financial hardship.

Elizabeth works at Alexandria MOM’s.

Posted in Children, Employment, Family, Organic Food, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments