(Thanks to Betsy Martinez for contributing with this story and to Chris Cutro for the picture)

When Grisel Couto asked for a bundle of fresh cilantro, she got just what she asked for. The booth attendant hand picked them right in front of her and bagged the herbs – dirt clumps still clinging to the roots. That’s what makes this crop fields-meets-city veggie mart so unique: some of the produce is grown right before your eyes.

Roots in the City’s Urban Market, the first-of-its-kind farmer’s market, ran every Wednesday through April in Overtown, offering the freshest veggies and herbs in Miami.

And besides the freshness of the produce, or the fact that it’s grown on premises, or that it’s the first of its kind in South Florida, the market was special to the city because it offered those on food stamps twice continue

The number of Earth Day events in South Florida grows every year, but that’s no excuse to miss any of them. Here’s a list of South Florida Earth Day 2010 events.

If you don’t see an event, please e-mail me at editor@theecozine.com

LET’S RE-TAKE OUR PLATES FILM SERIES
WHEN: April 10-23
WHERE: Locations across South Florida
WHY: This is your best chance to watch some of the best and newest documentaries showcasing what really goes into your food and how much damage we’re doing to our planet. Documentaries include No Impact Man, The Garden, Food Inc,
ADMISSION: $5-$7
MORE INFO: Click here to read more on the film series

EARTH DAY EVERYDAY
WHEN: Saturday April 17
TIME: 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, 3109 E. Sunrise Blvd. Ft. Lauderdale.
WHY: Speakers all day and booths with great, local environmentalists and conservationists.
ADMISSION: regular park admission, $6/ car, $2/ pedestrian
MORE INFO: click here

EARTH MIAMI ON JUNGLE ISLAND
WHEN: April 17-18
WHERE:1111 Parrot Jungle Trail, Miami.
WHY: Two-day festival commemorates Earth Day with eco-tours a local horticulturist, recycle animal sculpture display by South Florida schools, interactive eco-conscious activities and stations
ADMISSION: $20 when you bring a can or bottle to recycle
MORE INFO: Call (305) 400-7000‎ or visit www.JungleIsland.com

THE FALLS’ “GO GREEN” EXPO
WHEN: Saturday, April 17
TIME: 1-5 p.m. The Little Planet Helper’s Club from 2-4 p.m.
WHERE: The Falls’ Center Court, U.S. 1 and SW 136th Street.
WHY: Expo will showcase various businesses that will educate families about the importance of keeping the environment clean.
ADMISSION: Free
MORE INFO:Call 305-255-4571

EARTHFEST 2010
WHEN: Sunday, April 18th,
TIME: 12 to 6 p.m.
WHERE: Crandon Park Visitors & Biscayne Nature Center, 6767 Crandon Blvd. Key Biscayne.
WHY: Celebrates 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Includes performances by Expand the Love and hands-on nature workshops on organic gardening, every child outdoors, raw food preparation, yoga and deep ecology. Must bring concert blanket or portable chair.
ADMISSION: regular park entrance, $6/ person
MORE INFO: Call 305-323-8858 or click here

GREEN DRINKS SOUTH FLORIDA
WHEN: Thursday, April 22
TIME: 6:30 to 10 p.m.
WHERE: Boca Raton Resort and Country Club
WHY: This is a black-tie event with a green-tie flair. Network with green business owners, enjoy an ECO fashion show, watch the ECO lifestyle awards, and have a delicious organic buffet dinner.
ADMISSION: $125
MORE INFO: www.southfloridagreendrinks.org

MIAMI GOING GREEN
WHEN: Saturday, April 24
TIME: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
WHERE: Bayfront Park, 301 Biscayne Blvd, Miami
WHY: The team onboard the Bahamas to U.S. Solar-Powered Crossing expedition will arrive to Bayfront Park. Also, dozens of local vendors and green organizations will be there.
ADMISSION: free
MORE INFO: Click here

Image courtesy of flyingsinger

Still not sure what to plant in your spring garden?

Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden is getting ready for its 31st Annual Spring Plant Fair April 24-25, only that this time it’s going to include the best from last year’s Edible Garden Festival, making it even more interesting.

This is the best opportunity to get your supplies of edibles before the summer is here.

The event will include culinary demos, a farmer’s market, lectures on composting, gardening, recycling and organic pest control, plus it’s your chance to check out dozens of local vendors.

More details will be coming soon.

Still not sure what to plant in your spring garden?

Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden is getting ready for its 31st Annual Spring Plant Fair April 24-25, only that this time it’s going to include the best from last year’s Edible Garden Festival, making it even more interesting.

This is the best opportunity to get your supplies of edibles before the summer is here.

The event will include culinary demos, a farmer’s market, lectures on composting, gardening, recycling and organic pest control, plus it’s your chance to check out dozens of local vendors.

More details will be coming soon.

Buying local has become a lot easier thanks to a new deal between Publix Super Markets and Redland Farms

Food grown at Miami’s Redland Farms has long been marked as Florida-grown, not really making a distinction between tomatoes picked 400 miles from here and those picked within county lines just few hours before.

Well, not anymore. The supermarket will start marking produce grown in the farms near Homestead under the label “Redland-Raised” in an incentive to promote locally-grown food.

Expect to find Redland-Raised avocados, green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, okra, sweet potato, tomatoes, papayas and sapotes, among other things.

I’ll be posting pictures of the produce after my next trip to the market.

Image by wonderlane

Halloween can be scary, really scary.

Think about all the candy wrappers ending up in landfills and the flashy costumes bought and tossed the next day.

Think about all the calories that you’ll put on before, during and after Halloween -yes, Halloween candy bowls tend to stay around for days after Halloween.

Doing the right thing doesn’t mean you have to miss on the fun.

Here are some tips for a green Halloween:

1-Costume: Instead of buying a $20 synthetic outfit shipped from China, get creative and come out with the same outfit with things you already have at home. The most common outfits are easy to recreate: a pirate, a nurse, a witch. Use old clothes or stop by a nearby Goodwill Store, where you could even find a used costume. Check out this site for inspiration. This site also has good ideas for home-made outfits for children, although some require some preparation.

2-Office candy: You can’t stop co-workers from bringing in candy, but you can try talking to them about having a healthy Halloween this year. There are tons of tasty snacks that won’t disappoint their taste buds. If no one sounds very exited about the idea, still bring some healthy snacks for them to try. It might change their minds, and it will keep you away from their candy bowl. Nuts and dried fruits are my favorite. Reduce your waste by looking for stores that sell the snacks by weight. Fruits and a few dips will also keep co-workers hanging around your desk (think yogurt, chocolate, peanut butter, just to name a few). Read labels and watch out for calorie-filled dips.

3-Pumpkin carving: Forget about this wasteful activity unless you plan to eat the pumpkin filling. Check out www.pumpkinrecipes.us for recipes and ideas. Make sure the pumpkin is later composted.

4-Education: Talk to your child about healthy and unhealthy candy. The site Greenhalloween.org suggests setting up a point system: they get points for every piece of candy they collect (and don’t eat), and then they get to trade their points for a new toy. If you have small children, you can also agree with other parents to only give out healthy candy, then take your kids only to their homes.

5-Treats: Most children are told not to eat unwrapped candy, so they might not eat dried fruits and nuts. Instead, give out small toys such as playing cards, books or crayons. You can buy certain amount of small toys, wrap each in magazine paper and put them in a tray or bowl. Have each trick-or-treating child pick one prize. They’ll love the surprise factor.

6-More candy: If nuts and dried fruit won’t do, you can always shop at health food stores for granola bars, chocolate-covered fruits and nuts, and organic and nutritious snacks. Make sure that all boxes, wraps and bags are recyclable. Buy bags of loose candy as opposed of individually wrapped candy. You can also make your own granola or chocolate dipped snacks.

7-The day after: Take your time to separate recyclables in their respective containers. Candy can be composted, so just toss away all the candy you don’t plan to eat or you’ll end up eating it. If you got a used costume from a Goodwill Store, plan to take it back. You won’t use it again and someone else could.

8-Share ideas: What do you do to make your Halloween green? Comment below! I’d love to hear what do you.

Image by jeffk

Thinking about starting a vegetable garden?

Then Fairchild’s Edible Garden Festival is your best first stop: get seeds, seedlings and advice from experts. Today is the festival’s last day, so don’t think too much about it.

I stopped by yesterday and got tons of advice on how to fight the insects that are colonizing my pepper plant, and I also picked up four ounces of composting worms that I can’t wait to start feeding.

Here are the five reasons why you should go today:

1-Seedlings: Although I didn’t get any -I’ve learned to quiet my beginner’s enthusiasm and be realistic about the space I actually have-there were dozens of seedlings to pick from: mint, parsley, chives, basil, pepper, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumber, arugula, romaine lettuce, jalapeno, celery, collard, carrots and more.

2-Worms: What I did end up getting was four ounces of worms after hearing Lanette Sobel from the Fertile Earth Foundation give a basic intro to composting with worms.

I’ve been collecting all my kitchen waste in pots and mixing it with soil that I later use for planting, but this takes a lot of space. Worms sounded like a faster and more space efficient idea. I’ll be keeping you up-to-date on my worm composting experience.

3-Lectures: This is the best part of the festival. Learn everything from growing tomatoes to growing edibles South Beach style. You’ll hardly find so many experts on edible plant matters at the same place elsewhere. Check out today’s schedule.

I was particularly interested in yesterday’s “Organic Pest and Disease Management” lecture by Andres Mejides: about a week ago, I found some yellow and white insects on my pepper plant.

With a lot of humor, Mejides went from the gentler pest solutions -like ladybugs- to the stronger ones -like sulpher. What I have apparently are aphids, so following his advice, I’ll use chili pepper and garlic to fight them.

4-Involvement: Learn about local organizations promoting edible green spaces and get involved.

GROW, a non-profit urban farm educating the community on land reclamation and urban farming, was there to talk about its farm by the airport and giving away free herbs grown there.

The Urban Oasis Project, which recently completed its 10/10 by 10/10 campaign (10 families, 10 gardens by October 10) was there getting the word out and selling seeds and sprouting kits. (Ok, here’s my disclaimer: I volunteer for this wonderful organization).

5-Local vendors:I ran across some interesting local vendors producing delicious products:

Delightful Bites was selling all kinds of rich homemade jams, jellies, preserves and chutneys.

Bees N the Keys had a variety of honey flavors and I was told you can actually visit their bee farm in Key Largo, something I plan to do next time I’m in the area.

Crackerman Crackers, based out of Bay Harbor Islands, is also worth checking out. They use unbleached flour and only a handful of ingredients for their crackers and breads- the old-fashioned way bread should be.

They specialize in two products: crackers made of golden and brown organic flaxseed and sesame seed, and German-style whole wheat bread made with organic pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

Since I began growing veggies in my apartment last month, thoughts about seeds, soil, seedlings and worms (yes, worms) have occupied my mind more than they should (e.g.: I had to forbid myself from making more trips to Home Depot).

So when I heard that Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden was having its annual Edible Garden Festival Oct. 24-25, I rushed to their site to make sure it was not sold out (it’s not) and was even more thrilled after reading the list of lectures scheduled through the weekend, including one by Melissa Contreras, co-founder of the Urban Oasis Project (I was inspired to start growing veggies after attending a potluck at her home and seeing the dozens of tropical fruit trees, spices and veggies she grows).

So what can you learn at the festival? See it for yourself; here is the complete schedule: (I’m still trying to get a schedule broken down by day so I can decide which day I’ll go):

Lectures

Saturday, October 24

* 10:00 a.m. The Sustainable Edible Garden, Ginny Stibolt
* 11:00 a.m. Creative Container Gardening, Carolyne Coppolo
* 12:00 p.m. Growing Organic Heirloom Tomatoes, Margie Pikarsky
* 1:00 p.m. Edible Landscaping in Paradise, Gabriele Marewski
* 2:00 p.m. Organic Pest and Disease Management, Andres Mejides
* 3:00 p.m. Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening, Adrian Hunsberger
* 4:00 p.m. Growing the Chocolate Pudding Fruit in South Florida, Noris Ledesma

Sunday, October 25

* 10:00 a.m. Get Your Veggie Garden Growing!, Angela Garrison
* 11:00 a.m. Creative Container Gardening, Carolyne Coppolo
* 12:00 p.m. Sustainable Gardening: Rain Gardens, Ginny Stibolt
* 1:00 p.m. South Florida Gardening with Fruits and Vegetables, Dr. Richard J. Campbell
* 2:00 p.m. Counter Top Gardening with Sprouts, Keith Seidler
* 3:00 p.m. Easy as Takeout: Asian Edibles in the Landscape!,Ron Mossman
* 4:00 p.m. Extreme Edible Landscaping: Urban Homesteading!, Melissa Contreras

Gardening Demonstrations:

Saturday, October 24

* 11:30 a.m. The Fall Veggie Garden: South Beach Style, Danny Ackell
* 1:30 p.m. Composting and Worms, Lanette Sobel

Sunday, October 25

* 10:00 a.m. Slow Food School Gardens, Hunter Reno
* 1:30 p.m. Square Foot Gardening with Kids, Hunter Reno

Cooking Demos

Saturday, October 24

* 11:30 a.m. Johnson & Wales
* 12:30 p.m. Chef Sean Bernal of Oceanaire Seafood Room
* 1:30 p.m. Herb Pesto, Chef Kira Volz of Creek 28
* 2:30 p.m. Avocado Tartar, Chef Elizabeth Barlow of Canyon Ranch

Sunday, October 25

* 11:30 a.m. Chef Adri Garcia of Green Rocks Foods and Mise en Place
* 1:30 p.m. Chef Giancarla Bodoni from Escopazzo
* 2:30 p.m. Chef Lori Moldovan, Certified Holistic Health Counselor

A scarecrow contest will be going on too. Although it’s too late to participate, it should be interesting to watch, specially since the materials have to be environmentally-friendly.

Click here for a printable coupon worth $5 off admission. Check back for a schedule broken down by day, I’m hoping to get a copy soon.

What lectures are you looking forward? Which one is a can’t miss? I’d love to read your comments and thoughts!

IF YOU GO:
WHAT: Fairchild’s Edible Garden Festival and Scarecrow Contest
WHEN: Oct. 24-25 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, 10901 Old Cutler Rd., Coral Gables
MORE INFO: Visit Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden’s website

Fruit juices and smoothies, vegetarian empanadas, organic produce and an endless honey selection; the farmers market at the Normandy Village Marketplace has everything to complement a day at the beach in a friendlier and more tranquil atmosphere than its South Beach counterpart on tourist trap Lincoln Road.

Stop for brunch and pick up a few Argentine empanadas ($1.95 each, three for $5.50) and an iced natural juice ($3.75 to $5.25) before heading down to the beach (just a few blocks away).

Besides regular chicken, meat and tuna empanadas, the Juices & Bites booth (which has a permanent juice bar across the street) sells a broad selection of vegetarian-friendly empanadas including spinach, spinach and cheese, corn and bechamel, broccoli and cheddar, onion and mozzarella, caprese, and three cheese. They also make all sorts of juices and smoothies including strawberry, banana, passion fruit, guava, mango, papaya, carrot and celery, and sell fresh coconut milk (let’s just pretend those soda cans next to the coconuts are not there).

The produce booth is a little pricey (in the $2-for-a-large-mango-price range ) but everything is organic and you can find many rare veggies that regular grocery stores don’t always carry.

Stop by the Bee Land’s booth for, well, you know what to get here. Most honey jars sell for $5-12, although there are a few family size bottles in the $40s. They sell uncommon flavors like eucalyptus honey, and jars with almonds and other nuts inside, as well as bee pollen and royal jelly, used to treat depression, menopause symptoms and other conditions.

The other booths at the market sell orchids and flowers (which I personally have some reservations about buying here or anywhere, but that should be another topic of conservation) as well as handmade jewelry.

Compared to the Lincoln Road market, there are only about six vendors here, meaning less price competition, but hey, it also means less time spent shopping around and more time at the beach.

If you go:
WHAT: Farmers Market at Normandy Village Marketplace
WHERE: 900 Block of 71st Street at the Normandy Isle Fountain, along the Rue Vendome, North Beach.
WHEN: Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MORE INFO: Visit www.themarketcompany.org

First you start recycling, then you start saving water and electricity, and so the search for greener home techniques begins. With the web saturated with information and tips, it’s hard to know what’s good for your home and what’s not (heard FTC’s recent warning against fabric makers passing toxic rayon as hip organic bamboo?)

Well, the Miami Beach Botanical Garden is making it easier to green your home with a series of free monthly lectures and workshops on subjects such as rain water collection, composting, and sand and wind tolerant plantings. It’s a great way to learn and get all your questions answered… for free!

SCHEDULE:

Composting
Sept. 12, 9 to 10 a.m.
Learn the fundamentals of composting and how to set up a home composting system from Lanette Sobel, co-founder of the Fertile Earth Foundation.

Rain barrel workshop
Sept. 12 / 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
A rain barrel can save most homeowners about 1,300 gallons of water during the peak summer months. Learn about water conservation and make your own rain barrel at a workshop presented by the Miami-Dade Cooperative Extension Service. Lecture is free, $45 for a rain barrel. Registration required. Call 305-248-3311 or email: bmcadam@ufl.edu.

Salt and wind tolerant plantings
Oct. 10, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
A workshop on coastal horticulture explores plants that are wind tolerant, salt tolerant and recommended for seaside balconies and South Florida’s coastal landscapes. By Steve Woodmansee, biologist.

Teas, tonics and tinctures
Nov. 14, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Dr. Sandra Breiterman lectures on the many herbs that enliven our diets, are “natural” cures with medicinal properties, and key ingredients in health and beauty treatments.

Cactus and succulents
Jan. 9, 10 to 12 p.m.
Peter Multach of the South Florida Cactus and Succulents Society discusses the culture and propagation of cacti and succulents.

All lectures and classes will take place at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, 2000 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach. Lectures are free unless noted. Call 305-673-7256 for more information.

Photo by dnorman

Not that us Floridians pay much attention to the seasons, but you can’t ignore that Labor Day brings the summer to an end. Before you know it, time light savings will make days shorter, nights longer, and in few weeks you’ll find yourself undusting your jackets and making plans for the winter holidays.

The end of the summer also means something else: cooler days make many of the state parks more endurable, specially the ones with no river or beach to dip in. And just around this time many state parks re-open their free tours and bird watching programs, which are not to be missed.

So it’s no surprise that in September, the State Parks Service celebrates Literacy Month, the time of the year when the state’s 160 parks proudly open their doors with all kinds of educational programs, guest appearances, lectures, workshops, book exchanges and more to bring two joys together: reading and being outdoors

This weekend, the Florida Park Service is offering free entrance to any of the 160 state parks for visitors who bring a library card, library book, or who donate a new or gently used family book.

If you go:
WHAT: State Park Literacy Month
WHEN: Sept. 11-13
MORE INFO: Visit www.floridastateparks.org

Photo by stig nygaard

I recently visited Crandon Park’s Visitors and Nature Center, where they run a Sea Turtle Awareness Program. From July to September -the turtle nesting season is April through September- they have open nights where visitors can watch staff members release turtle hatchlings into the ocean.

These are hatchlings that didn’t break their egg when the other turtles in their nest did. Each nests contains an average of 100 eggs, and there are usually 10 or so turtles that are always left behind. The center takes care of them until they are ready for their journey into a huge seaweed patch in the Atlantic where sea turtles spend most of their adult life.

Unfortunately, with so many threats like storms, predators, fisheries and human-released garbage, only one in 1,000 turtles will complete a life cycle, explained our guide.

So why am I sharing all this? Because I just read how a new study warns that loggerhead turtles are at risk of extinction, in part due to commercial fishing. Turtles get trapped in fishing nets, and usually don’t make it out. This happens once or twice a day among fishing fleets, which can reduce the turtle population by thousands annually, the report says.

But there are also other mayor threats mentioned in the report: coastal development that disrupts nesting, such as erosion-control barriers and other structures that prevent mothers from nesting and bright lights that can disorient hatchlings.

The population along the shores of Florida, Georgia and Carolina are at the highest risk, the report concludes. Are you getting the point?

The good news is that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which conducted the report, is also in charge of regulating the fishing industry, and it’s expected to come up tougher turtle protection measures in February.

So here’s the deal: We have to do something before sea turtles become a rarity in Florida. Follow this link to Oceana’s Website and with just a few clicks, send an e-mail to the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization. It takes seconds, LITERALLY.

Turtle hatchling photo via Crandon Park
Adult turtle photo by Coda

The Miami-Dade School District has more to celebrate than the new school year: last Monday, it opened the doors of its first green-certified high school, also the first in the State (see update below).

The Terra Environmental Research Institute, located in Kendall, will offer high school students a magnet program for biomedical research, environmental studies and engineering and robotics, the first such program in Miami Dade, reports The Miami Herald.

Meeting LEED requirements, the school has recycling centers on every floor, plumbing fixtures that use at least 20 percent less water, uses natural light efficiently, reducing the need of electricity.

Students will also learn how to eat healthy; The Herald reports the cafeteria has only healthy offerings. Read more here.

9/2/09 Update: I ran across this story on how the Palm Beach School District is taking steps to be greener by starting recycling programs, using environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies, and reducing energy consumption.

The Sun Sentinel article also mentions that the county opened the first green-certified school in Florida in the fall of 2008: Pine Jog Elementary, west of West Palm Beach, was the first school to obtain certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Ok, so Pine Jog is Florida’s first green “school” and Terra is Florida’s first green “high school”? There are so many companies and organizations claiming to be “first” green or that, that we sent an e-mail to the USGBC to verify the facts. Keep posted.

What do you think? How green is your child’s school? Will green schools help raise a more eco-conscious generation? We’d love to read your comments.

Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography

Once in a while, one has the urge to leave the city, the impulse to lock oneself in a Buddhist temple for a few months –if only one could forgo bills and long “to do” lists.

But if you have a day to spare, the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Palm Beach could help you find that peace of mind you’ve been yearning.

The museum is one of South Florida’s best-kept secrets. It was built in 1977 on the grounds of the Yamato Colony, a large Japanese farming community that settled there more than a hundred years ago, and houses more than 5,000 Japanese art objects and artifacts.

But the main reason to visit the museum is its 200 acres of Japanese gardens, with strolling paths, picnic and resting areas, a tropical bonsai collection, lakes, trails and small forests. The gardens reflect major periods of Japanese garden design from the eighth to the 20th century.

The museum serves as the center of Japanese culture in South Florida, promoting Japanese art and history through exhibitions, tea ceremonies, monthly performances and educational programs for children and adults. Check their monthly calendar for a list of activities.

If you go:
The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
4000 Morikami Park Rd.
Delray Beach, Fl 33446
561-495-0233