Eco Tips!

Roland Park: A National Model

In north Baltimore, there lies a community of well designed homes guarded by the spirits of old trees. Nearby the hustle and bustle of the crowded harbor, it's a literal breath of fresh air. There are many who call this area home, and home it has been for over 100 years. Roland Park is a residential neighborhood that was built in Baltimore at the end of the 19th century. An area of natural beauty made accessible by rail, Roland Park became a place of carefully planned, gently-curving streets; a collection of single family homes sited wisely on large lots of land; and grand expressions of civic beauty. The elements of Roland Park's design can clearly be related to important historical planning movements- the Urban Parks, Garden City, and City Beautiful movements of the 19th century- as well as to movements happening today, such as the New Urbanism.

In 1890, William Edmunds, president of the Baltimore newspaper, Manufacturer's Record, owned land just north of what was then the Baltimore City boundary. At this time, Baltimore was already a busy and congested city. The charter for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad six decades prior had made Baltimore a major shipping and manufacturing center in the country. Like many other cities at the turn of the century, Baltimore had a plethora of harrowing conditions. As people were moving into cities in decades past, hoping to find economic opportunities, those who could now afford it were leaving the cities to seek residence away from the factories and filth of the central city districts. With the extension of rail lines, the land Edmunds owned would be a daily escape that had previously only existed for the wealthy owners of summer and weekend cottages. He was hoping to subdivide and develop 100 acres of this land and came across the opportunity through a man by the name of Charles Grastly. Having recently moved to Baltimore from Kansas City, MO, Grastly met Edmunds through his position as editor of the Baltimore Evening News. Grastly had connections back in Kansas City that could start the development of Edmund's land. The Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage Trust Company, with which Grastly had previous land speculation experience, financed the project along with an investment from an English business syndicate. To start off the development, Jarvis and Conklin selected Edward Bouton as general manager and appointed George E. Kessler to the position of lead architect; and so the Roland Park- Kansas City link was established. In Baltimore, these men formed the Roland Park Company and the development of Roland Park, named after Roland Thornberry, a Baltimore County landowner, had commenced that same year (Lewand, 1).

Falls Turnpike, known today as Falls road, was lengthened and renovated in 1805 after the Falls Turnpike Charter was approved. A year later, Coldspring Lane was created. Together, these two thoroughfares made the area of today's Roland Park accessible where the hilly terrain had previously kept it from being so. In 1890, the development began with Plat 1, the area extending just north of Coldspring Lane and to the east of Roland Ave. This section of Roland Park was designed by the Jarvis and Conklin chosen architect, George Kessler. Before studying in Germany, Kessler spent some time in the 1880s training under the well-known landscape designer, Frederick Law Olmsted. Kessler had a bit of Olmsted's landscape intuition, and in Roland Park's design was able to "blend the curvilinear and the formal in the same parkway without breaking its continuity" (Wilson, 108). Together with Bouton's strong emphasis on preserving the existing scenery, Kessler's plans created a revolutionary new lifestyle. This lifestyle went hand in hand with the growing consensus that by living near parks, people would become healthier and happier. In Roland Park, however, residents didn't just live near a park, they could live in the park.

Club Road; Picturesque and curving

As a reaction to the unsanitary conditions growing in cities during the early 19th century, figures like Frederick Law Olmsted stressed the need for sunlight and open air, arguing that natural spaces gave city residents opportunities for leisure as well as a release from the filth of city life. This idea was the fuel behind what became the Urban Parks Movement. At the beginning of Roland Park’s inception, Frederick Law Olmsted was merely an influence, having spent some time training Kessler. It wouldn't be until the development of Plat 2 that Frederick Law Olmsted had more direct control in Roland Park through the hands of his sons, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and John Charles Olmsted. In 1897, when Plat 2 was in the works, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and John Charles, son and stepson respectively, had acquired Olmsted's practice upon his retirement in 1894. The Olmsted Brothers firm became the leading architect for Roland Park. Though Kessler's designs for Plat 1 were reminiscent of the picturesque quality often found in Olmsted's work, it was still more traditional in its design. The land of Plat 1 was fairly flat and bounded by two parallel, arterial right-of-ways. It did not require "unusually creative site planning," as would the later plats created by the Olmsted Brothers. With the rejection of the city grid system of laying out roadways and its emphasis on natural elements, Roland Park had become a Romantic Suburb, with winding lands and the feeling of being immersed in nature (Messner).Romantic Suburbs were communities planned in picturesque settings. The resembled the landscapes of English Gardens, which had so influenced landscape designers of the time. Romantic Suburbs were harmonious communities, "...a complete environment that fulfilled expectations of a tranquil life, close to nature, with urban comforts" (Jackson, 86).

At the same time that Roland Park was being developed, another planning concept was gaining popularity in Europe. Starting in England, the Garden City movement was introduced by Sir Ebenezer Howard with the publication of his book, Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform. Howard's Garden City idea was one of social progress. Having spent some time in America during the Homestead Act, Howard had been inspired by Olmsted's work (Legates, 309). Upon returning home, Howard was exposed to the ideas of Utopian Socialism. He took the need for parks that had been stressed by Olmsted and added to it the need for social housing. Howard "added a new element to the rights of man- the right to space" (Campbell, 42). He had felt cities were in need of great change. Cities were the cause of our social issues, and the Garden City was the solution. By moving populations of no more than 32,000 people into centralized cores outside of- and separated by green belts from- cities, societal and housing issues could be addressed and corrected.

The Garden City, Howard explained, would be a self-sufficient community, economically independent from other cities. Howard gathered his idea from the comparison of country life to town life. The country was expansive and beautiful. It was, he felt, created by a higher power. The shortcoming of the country was that it was too rural. Living in the country was inconvenient in an age of rising technology. The town, on the other hand, was the symbol of society. Yet society, as we know, had many issues. Howard saw more than just these two alternatives; he saw a combination of the two, the Town-Country. "Town and Country must be married, and out of this joyous union will spring a new hope, a new life, a new civilization"(Howard). Roland Park was a great example of this union: each home was surrounded by nature while everything the city had to offer was a mere 20 minute train ride away.

Roland Park's shortcoming, in terms of these ideals, was that it lacked some of the better amenities the town had to offer. Residents still had to travel into the city quite often for work and often for large purchases. In fact, residents needed to do so. Bouton permitted, "only those businesses which are necessary for the comfort of our residents"(Master Plan). Though a few shops and amenities were available within Roland Park, most needs would have provoked a train ride to one of Baltimore's central business districts, such as the one along Howard Street. Also in Howard's Garden City, there would be opportunities for leisure; but the residents of these "houses in a park," unlike those in the Romantic Suburbs, did not individually own the green space out their front door. This land, instead, belonged to the community, with a Garden City Company as the sole landlord. Some similarities can be drawn between Roland Park Company and Howard's idea for a Garden City Company, such as the strict covenant they both transcribed, but it was not quite the same.

Shopping opportunities in and adjacent to Roland Park

Quite an important concept of the movement, Howard's Garden City would be a place for everyone. This was far from the truth in Roland Park. Sadly, "the suburban world of leisure, family life, and union with nature was based on the principle of exclusion"(Fishman, 4). With the strict and legally mandatory covenant introduced by Bouton and the Roland Park Company, Roland Park legally excluded many groups of people. In 1910, residents were required to sign the covenant, which excluded African Americans. In that same year, department stores were segregated and racial tensions were most extreme. Three years later, Jewish residents were also barred. Unfortunately, Roland Park had set an example and many other Baltimore neighborhoods would soon follow this model. But it was not only the covenant that kept out certain people; the houses generally had a minimum value, making them unaffordable for some (Ames). This requirement, in addition to the fact that the cost of commuting by rail, though not entirely unmanageable, meant living in Roland Park was too expensive of a lifestyle for most members of the working class. This lifestyle became an expression of the upper class. With the establishment of the Baltimore Country Club in 1898, this separation of classes was exaggerated even more.

The Garden City movement had made its way back across the Atlantic to America, but it wasn't until a few decades later. By the 1900s, Roland Park was well underway, and so it's not very likely the movement had much influence on Roland Park's designs. One thing, however, can be said of Roland Park and the Garden City Movement: it is alike other Garden City developments in that nearly all Garden City endeavors failed to meet the principles outlined by Howard. Most attempts at Garden City design are better classified as Garden Suburbs, rather than Garden Cities. These places were still almost wholly dependent on nearby cities; they were not as large as Howard's Garden City populated by 30,000; in fact, they were quite the exact opposite of what Howard prescribed for his Garden Cities. It's hard to ignore the patterns of certain blocks in Roland Park and how they resemble these sorts of derivatives of Howard's concept. It may perhaps be coincidental and not at all because of direct influence, but the designs of areas like Merryman's Court and Ridgewood Corner, in Plats 5 and 2, are surprisingly comparable to developments like Hampstead Garden Suburb, the first Garden Suburb. In these two parts of Roland Park, a grouping of houses are set facing a common green area, a frequent element used in Garden Cities. Even the architectural styles are evocative of the English vernacular architecture used in Hampstead and other Garden Suburbs. In regards to its social intentions, the Garden City movement cannot be clearly seen in Roland Park. The common Garden Suburb, however, and Roland Park can be equated.

Just three years after the members of the Roland Park Company had come together, something grand was happing in the Midwest. In 1893, The World's Columbian Exposition had opened in Chicago. The Expo is best known for its impressive architecture, emphasis on civic design, and the Beaux Arts value of joining disciplines- art, architecture, sculpture, landscape design- in the city development process. These principles became a part of the City Beautiful Movement. The resulting designs expressed grand, neoclassical architecture; civic monuments; and the establishment of cultural institutions. The influence of the City Beautiful Movement is more obvious in the cultural buildings of Roland Park, such as the Enoch Pratt library, the municipal water tower, and St. Mary's Seminary- the last of these three being perhaps the best example of City Beautiful architecture, and one of Baltimore's most recognizable landmarks today. The homes along Goodwood Gardens, West of Roland Park, a street once referred to as "Millionaire's Row," are also great examples of this movement. Their designs are grand explorations in residential architecture. For the most part, however, Roland Park residences were humble, yet sophisticated structures rather than an exploration of the City Beautiful.

Similarities between a Garden City and Roland Park

In 1940, the rail line was removed from Roland Avenue as the automobile had become the frontrunner in intra-city travel. Eight years later, the Supreme Court ruled that the restrictive covenant which restricted African Americans and Jews from living in Roland Park was illegal. Roland Park has gone through some changes, but for the most part remains unchanged. Many original trees still remain, and ones planted by Bouton have since grown. It's likely Roland Park wouldn't look anything like this today if it weren't for the strict covenants and careful planning that went into its design. And it is precisely that planning that has given Roland Park the status it holds today as one of the earliest planned communities that happens to be home to the nation's first shopping center. It has been a model and leader for many communities to follow. As we've seen with the racially barring covenant, that hasn't always been proven a good thing. However, Roland Park had been inspiration for communities across the country and remains so today. With modern-day planning movements, it is a reference. The narrow paths set behind houses serve as service lanes where the unattractive necessities of single family living (trash pick-up, electrical wiring, and automobile parking) can take place. This is a practice that the New Urbanists currently promote in their Traditional Neighborhood Developments.

Garage access via service lane

Whether for good or for ill, Roland Park has always been of an exemplary design. It was a learning process from the beginning, and we have certainly gained the issues it met and how they were overcome. A model community of various planning movements, the neighborhood has received recognition many times over. Now, holding national status, this old neighborhood in Baltimore continues to mature and grows ever more romantic, garden-like, and beautiful.

Bibliography:

Ames, David L., and Linda F. McClelland. "National Register Bureau Suburbs Part 2: Historic Residential Suburbs: Guidelines for Evaluation and Documentation for the National Register of Historic Places." U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America. National Register Publications, 2002. Web. 10 Oct.

Campbell, Scott, and Susan S. Fainstein. Readings in Planning Theory. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2003.

Howard, Ebenezer. To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform.

Jackson, Kenneth T. Crabgrass Frontier: the Suburbanization of the United States. New York: Oxford UP, 1985.

LeGates, Richard T., and Frederic Stout. The City Reader. London: Routledge, 2007.

Lewand, Karen. North Baltimore, from Estate to Development. Ed. D. Randall. Beirne. Baltimore, MD: Prepared by Baltimore City Department of Planning and the University of Baltimore, 1989.

Messner, Rebecca. "Olmsted's Shortcuts | General Home & Design." Urbanite Baltimore Magazine. 1 July 2011. Web. 14 Sept. 2011.

Roland Park Civic League. Greater Roland Park Master Plan. Baltimore, 2010. Print.

Wilson, William H. The City Beautiful Movement. Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, MD, 1989. 

The above text and presentation images are from a report studying an historic Baltimore City project [my chosen project being the planned community of Roland Park] as its creation and development relate to planning movements. It is the resulting coursework of an History of City and Regional Planning seminar in Morgan State University's City and Regional Planning Graduate Program.

Washing Laundry Without the Help of a Machine

In Honor of Zero-Waste Week: Living Waste-free

September 5-11 is Zero-Waste Week, and to kick it off, I'll talk about some improvements I have made in my life to live waste-free. I have been on the waste-free kick for a while, but most intensely in the last 2 years. It began with removing the trash from my "brown-bagged" lunches (check out that article here), and it has progressed in all aspects of my life.

Now, just standard recycling and re-purposing is something I've been doing since childhood. What I'm talking about here is serious cutting back of the amount of non-recyclables that get "disposed". Think about it, we throw out plastic baggies, food containers, tissues, toilet paper, paper towels, used/old/broken items, among millions of other tiny things every day. With each toss, it might seem trivial, but it adds up quickly. We don't see the the piles of waste growing and growing, though, now do we? No, but others do. That's because wealthy countries like the United States actually export their garbage (and not always legally)! We don't want to deal with the messes we create, so we send them off to less fortunate communities all around the world. That's the American way, I suppose, but American isn't the only country to participate in such trades.

All this because we are raised to live the consumer lifestyle. Not everything we use, however, is consumed. Thus a lot more ends up in landfills than we would like to admit. For more information, take a look at this video, "The Story Of Stuff":


Upsetting isnt' it? Well, that's why we need to cut back. In every room of the house, there are steps you can take to eliminate waste. In the kitchen, use sponges and reusable towels, not paper towels, to clean up messes; or using jars and tupperware to store food, not plastic baggies. In the office, you cut back by recycling paper, and even reusing one-sided paper for notes; or switching to electronic filing and messaging. But what about in the bathroom? The bathroom is one of the biggest waste creating rooms in the house (both biological and garbage waste). Here are some tricks for getting rid of waste in the bathroom.

Waste-Free in the Washroom

I'm going to be talking about garbage waste today, perhaps down the road I'll get into composting toilets, but for now, we'll just address the many toiletries and beauty items that are used each day.

We all have our routines, and there are a few basic hygiene habits we all carry out (or should). Let us take a look at my personal morning and evening routines and evaluate the neo-traditional method of executing the task, and how it can be done waste free.

The alarm goes off. I have poor vision, so I either reach for my glasses or my contact lenses. Contact lenses are a waste, but for my lifestyle, most days I go for them first. In their defense, contact lenses use much less plastic as framed glasses do. You would need to use thousands of contact lenses, I'm sure, before you would have the same amount of plastic needed to create glasses. One study explains,

The overall environmental impact of waste generated thorough the use of contact lens products by the end consumer is insignificant (0.5%) compared with the amount of waste generated in our everyday life.

Either way, permanent glasses or replaceable contact lenses aren't having an enormous effect on the waste plastics industry.

So, after that less than satisfactory waste-limited step in the morning routine, I head to the bathroom. First, I wash my face. Traditionally, I would use a cleanser that came in a plastic bottle, or a bar soap that was wrapped in a cardboard box. Plastic and cardboard can usually be recycled, but depending on the plastic used for the bottle and your local recycling initiative, or the inks and coating on the cardboard, these items are sometimes trash and not recyclables. Even if they were recyclables there is still the aspect of creating single use containers. My changed behavior is now buying bar soap that comes without any packaging. I use Sappo Hill's Oatmeal Soap to cleanse and exfoliate.

After I was my face, I will apply a toner or astringent. To apply, I would use a cotton ball, and one often wasn't enough to apply the product to all of my face, my neck and my chest. So I would use and dispose of multiple cotton balls each time. Mind you, I wash my face each night as well, so we're talking at least 4 cotton balls thrown out each day, maybe 6 or more. Instead of buying and throwing away cotton balls, you can invest in reusable cotton rounds, which can be used, kept, cleaned and reused. Better for Grownups makes a set you can purchase online at Amazon.com. Finally, in the face prepping routine, I apply moisturizer. This process, however, still has me buying recyclable plastic containers. I have yet to explore a solution to this issue.


The next step in my routine is to brush my teeth. Before, I would use a toothbrush made of virgin plastic, and often one that used way more plastic than necessary to make. Now, I use a BPA-free plastic toothbrush made from recycled yogurt cups. I take advantage of Preserve's Toothbrush Subscription program. For $13 a year, I have a toothbrush mailed to me every 3 months, and the old toothbrush is sent back and recycled. It is 100% post-consumer, and the brush and the mail packaging is all recyclable. I will try this program for the next year, and perhaps later explore other alternatives, such as a wooden handle and natural bristle brush. This type of a brush could be composted or used in a woodburner.

After I brush my teeth, I'll apply deodorant. A couple months ago, I invested (a measly $7) in a deodorant stone. Made of mineral salts, it is an alternative to the deodorant sticks sold in convenience stores. I have used the stone with varying degrees of success. Because it is not an antiperspirant, I still have to use a natural deodorant on top of it. I think it's something that will be more beneficial in the winter months. In the summer, however, when I limit my A/C usage and participate in high-impact activities, I still use a natural deodorant. Right now, I use Tom's Natural Deodorant. I love Tom's product, though I haven't been too thrilled with the deodorant. The Daily Green rates other natural deodorants here. If you're interested in the deodorant stone you can buy it, like the reusable cotton rounds, from Amazon.com.


In the shower, I also use a Preserve razor which, like the toothbrush, uses little plastic to begin with and is 100% post-consumer. I know I can count on Preserve to make quality recycled products. For soap, I again choose a Sappo Hill brand soap that is bought without packaging.

There are many other ways to save waste in the bathroom. When discussing waste-free habits, I don't think we can ignore energy usage. Living inefficiently and irresponsibly in terms of energy/electricity is a major waste. My brother showers in the dark. Fortunately for me, I have a window in my bathroom, so I just rarely turn on the lights. And you can always be green when you can't be waste-free. Saving water is key as well. I never leave the water running while brushing my teeth, while lathering my hair, while shaving, or while washing my face until it's time to rinse; and shower time is always limited.

I obviously left out a lot of my routine here, and that's simple because cosmetics, shampoos/conditioners, etc don't always have waste-free solutions (See the links in the last section for alternatives I have not yet explored). In these cases, the ingredients used in your products are just as important. If there's something you can't buy as a reusable, buy a natural and organic alternative to today's neo-traditional standards instead. It takes a while to get into a new habit, but after that, it's easy being green.

Finding Alternative Alternatives
There are some waste-free alternatives I have not yet tried. For example...

• In addition to green toothbrushes, there are options for flossing as well. If you have a store like Whole Foods, MOM's Organic Market, Trader Joe's, or another natural market nearby, you may want to check if they have dental floss made of natural, not synthetic, fibers. Also remember that less packaging is always more. No dental floss? Opt for natural, wooden toothpicks. (The only reason I haven't switched to natural dental floss is because a couple years ago I bought a couple years worth of floss that worked with the REACH® Access® Flosser. I see now that it's a lot of plastic to accompany such a little bit of floss, but I bought it at a time when I needed incentive to make me floss in the first place, this made it easy. My policy, however, is to use what I have until it's been exhausted [so long as it doesn't affect my health] instead of throwing out perfectly usable products.)
  
• Instead of liquid shampoo in a plastic bottle, there are bar shampoos. Check out the list of bar shampoos on Nature Mom's Blog.
• I don't know of any waste-free conditioners, but you can create your own hair conditioning treatments. Last week, I made a banana, honey and egg hair conditioner
• I also am not familiar with any waste-free makeups. Until I know of any, I buy organic, natural, mineral makeup that doesn't use the dangerous and unhealthy chemicals that impregnate cosmetic aisles and counters across the country.

Resources:
1) The Story of Stuff. Web. 05 Sept. 2011. .
2) Rufus, Anneli, and Kristan Lawson. "Exporting Garbage What's the Deal with Rich Countries Shoving All Their Trash to Developing Countries?" Mother Nature Network. 6 May 2008. Web. 5 Sept. 2011. <http://www.mnn.com/money/sustainable-business-practices/stories/exporting-garbage>
3) Rastogi, Nina Shen. "Contact Lenses Produce Trash, but Their Environmental Impact Is Minimal." The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - The Washington Post. 26 Jan. 2010. Web. 05 Sept. 2011. .
4) "Environmental Impact of Three Replacement Modalities of Soft Contact Lens Wear." PubMed. Eurolens Research, 26 Mar. 2003. Web. 05 Sept. 2011. .
5) Zissu, Alexandra. "Best Natural Deodorants - 9 Natural Deodorants You Can Trust - The Daily Green." Going Green, Fuel Efficiency, Organic Food, and Green Living - The Daily Green. Web. 05 Sept. 2011.

Self-centered Humans

Pardon the language at the end, but I think this is a fantastic little comic!


See the original, here.

Local on a Budget

In response to my recent post about the cost of buying local food for one week, I'd like to share this link from the Co+op Stronger Together website. It talks about buying local food on a Budget. The tip about joining a CSA is a great one, I don't know why I ever decided against joining the closest co-op this past year, I seriously regret it!

Composting

I have been composting since the end of Spring. It feels so much better to keep my food waste out of the trash. I live in a house with 6 adults, half of whom are foodies- and who love to cook with whole ingredients. Now, all the food goes into our compost pail and then into our compost bin and not into landfills.

Composting is a tricky habit to learn. I know a lot of people complain about recycling- they're unsure of what can be recycled. I have been recycling for so long that it has become second nature for me. Composting shouldn't take too long to understand. If you're going to start composting at home, be sure you know what can and cannot be put into a compost heap. The dos and don'ts of composting are very simple.

Do put in produce scraps, organic matter, and lawn clippings. Do not, however include cooked food, not even vegetables. Always (and especially in a home compost pile) avoid adding meat, fish, dairy products and bones, pet waste or items cooked in oil to the compost pile. They can attract outdoor pests and harbor many types of bacteria and disease.

Moldy fruits and vegetables are fine to add. Watch the fats you add to the pile as fats are difficult for the good bacteria to digest. Breads and grains can also be added, but in moderation.

Anything you eat can be composted. This statement is true; however, that doesn't mean that every food is ideal for a compost pile. Citrus and alkaline are harmful in excess, and rinds are difficult to break down. As I mentioned before, breads and grains can be composted but are not as quick to decompose. This is also why meat and fats should not be added.

Do you research, read some text on the subject, and then just go at it! It's so much easier to begin than you might think!

The Total Cost

The total cost of my local purchases these past 9 days was $105.51

$5- 12 ears of local corn
$1- 2 local cucumbers
$4.50 - small loaf of local Zucchini bread
$3.50- local brownie (an unnecessary purchase)
$3.07- locally brewed mocha latte (another unnecessary purchase)
$37.00- Dinner for two at a local, vegetarian restaurant. Supplied a total of 4 meals.
$14.00- dinner at a local foods restaurant
$1- toffee, graham, pecan bar
$4.75- 1 local zucchini and 1 basket blackberries
$3.99- 1 Tub Seven Stars Farm Vanilla Yogurt
$3.49- 1 Dozen Nature's Yoke Large, vegetarian fed, free range eggs
$4.95-Spring Mill Bread Co. Honey Whole Wheat loaf
$1.38- 2 local Bagels
$2.99- 1 Salazon Chocolate Company dark chocolate bar
$5.71- 1 block chedder from Bowling Green Farm
$5.19- 1 package La Pasta ravioli
$3.99- 1/2 Gallon Trickling Spring Milks

That was for well over a weeks worth of food, plus I went out to dinner twice, and bought food out another time as well. Take those purchases out and it become $47.94! When I think about the amount of food I bought in excess of what I needed, and what I bought because I considered this past week a special occasion, it ends up being very affordable!

EAT LOCAL!

Day 9 Eat Local Challenge

To be honest, I'll be thankful when this is done and I don't have to take pictures of my food and upload it all to the blog. But it's been a great experience!

This morning, I drank some of Odwalla's Superfood drink; it's a favorite store-bought smoothie of mine, but expensive to buy the whole 1/2 gallon at over $8. It's all natural, and the plastic bottle is made of 100% plant material.

I woke up early to go to the local farmer's market with my grandfather this morning. We got a dozen ears of corn, a musk melon (cantaloupe- I just love calling it musk melon now that I know!), 4 tomatoes, 2 cucumbers, and some zucchini bread.

Day 7 & 8 Buy Local Challenge

The challenge is extending to span two weekends, and thus 9 days total. Yesterday, the 7th day, I started off with a local peach on top of peach greek yogurt.
As a pick-me-up, I bought a mocha latte from Atwater's. Like the many others that I've pointed this week, here's yet another obvious local food oxymoron: coffee can not be local. The shop, however, is local; Atwater's makes their own breads and foods using local ingredients. In addition, the latte was counter culture coffee. Counter Culture Coffee ensures that the coffee beans used in creating your drink were sustainably sourced. I don't drink much coffee, so I don't have much to say about Counter Culture and Atwater's. Prior to today's experience, most of the coffee I drank was made at home, using Baltimore Coffee and Tea blends and beans. Baltimore Coffee and Tea is another local seller of coffee products and offers Fair Trade coffees.

For lunch I ate yogurt with blackberries again, with granola on top. And I had some cereal to snack on.
I left for the beach after work, so I snacked on the way down. I ate a walnut brownie that I bought from Atwater's earlier. When I got to the beach I ate some musk melon and some almonds.

Eating at the beach may be a bit more difficult than I expected, but I brought some food with me. I have local yogurt left- which I used to make a smoothie this morning-
- and local eggs- which were used to make the pancake I ate this morning.

For lunch, we ate at a local pizzeria, and for dinner, my aunt made spaghetti. I don't think much or any of that meal was local. But it was family made, and delicious!

I couldn't get any local milk at the store down here, so I just bought organic. Tomorrow morning I'm walking with my grandfather down to the local farmers market, so I'll get some good stuff.

Horizontal Mural as Traffic Calming

Today is 18th Hamilton Street Festival. More exciting news than that, the Hamilton horizontal mural being completed by some organizations and collectives in the area. Whitney Frazier, of the Hamilton Arts Collective, is helping to create the first horizontal mural for the area. Below is a sneak peak sidewalk sketch of the mural before it was begun.
Murals are a wonderful opportunity to bring communities together; to express creativity and brighten the neighborhood; and also, as can be seen with this project, a traffic calming technique! Traffic calming is what cities use to slow the traffic through neighborhoods and other areas. Ideally, traffic would never get so fast to begin with, if only roads were narrow and followed the contour of the Earth, if parked cars lined the street and if trees were added to the planting strips, but that's not the case. Instead, traffic engineers add speed bumps and speed cushions, bump outs, colored and textured pavers, raised intersections, curb extensions, chicanes, diverters, speed cameras, etc. This list seems to grow everyday, with new solutions created every day.
These solutions, however, only slightly alleviate the problem, and do not address the root of the concern. If our roads were designed for people and not for the car (i.e. wide and straight), we wouldn't need these traffic calming elements in the first place.

Regardless, solutions like this, the Hamilton horizontal mural, are the ones I enjoy seeing. Neighbors comes together to create a beautiful piece of art that the community can be proud of.

The mural is at the intersection of Hamilton Avenue and Harford Road in Baltimore, MD.

Day 6 Eat Local Challege

Who knew posting every night about what you ate would be so time consuming!? Really, I've spent as much- probably more- time writing these posts as I have preparing and eating the food! Anyway, today was a trouble free day. Breakfast was a parfait of MOMs' granola, farmers market blackberries, and local yogurt. Yummy and a good day starter.
For lunch I ate the rest of the ceasar salad from One World, and the rest of my fiance's meatless meatball sub. I still can't believe I ordered enough food to supply me with three meals!

And for a late dinner, I ate the rest of my nachos, chili, and guac from One World Cafe. Nachos never look appetizing after being reheated, but they were delicious!

If only I had some local ice cream for dessert!!

Well, tomorrow is the last day. I have plenty food remaining, not necessarily a good thing since I'm taking my vacation tomorrow after work. Looks like I'll be bringing 1/2 a loaf of honey whole wheat bread, a container of yogurt, a zucchini, s cucumber, a squash, granola, eggs, blackberries, and cherry tomatoes with me down to the beach. And that's just the local food in my fridge and pantry that needs to be taken! I have other non-local food that I should take so that it wont spoil! Obviously, I've bought way more food than I needed this week- all just to prove a point: buying local is easy, convenient, and affordable! If I am not broke at this point- you know it's not an expensive lifestyle!

More to write tomorrow!

The Bat Question

I'll elaborate in more detail my thoughts and concerns about the declining bat populations in the future; In the mean time, I want you to read this article!

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/2071945/two_bat_species_closer_to_endangered_species_act_protection/

Day 5 Buy Local Challenge

Today began as the least interesting local eating day of them all. I kicked it off with the 2nd Saw Mill Bread Co. bagel I bought from MOM's, topped with non-local cream cheese and with a glass of Trickling Springs local milk.

For lunch, I scrounged together a sandwich from some non-local cheese (muenster and swiss), non-local mayonnaise, local tomato, and vegetarian "pepperoni" slices; all on two slices of my honey whole wheat loaf, also from Saw Mill Bread Co. It was a huge sandwich, but mock pepperoni does not make for good sandwich filler. I also ate one of the juicy and really delicious peaches from the Burton Farm produce stand. Last week the peaches were good; this week the peaches were amazing!!

After work, I was going to stop by the Timonium Fair Grounds Farmers Market- but realized I have enough local food to finish the week, and not the money to afford excess produce. So to avoid the temptation, I didn't even drive by for a photo of it. When I got home, I finished off the Salazon chocolate bar (didn't last me nearly as long as I had hoped), at a few of the blackberries I bought from Three Springs Farm at yesterday's farmers market, and had another glass of Trickling Springs Creamery milk- the 1/2 gallon is almost gone. So alone, I would probably drink 2+ bottles a week. That's $7.98 a week on milk for just myself. In my opinion, it's worth it. As long as I can afford to buy this milk over a California organic milk, I will do so.

For tonight's dinner, my fiance and I met up with my cousin and her boyfriend for a double date at One World Cafe. It's a vegetarian restaurant in Charles Village in Baltimore. I've been there 3 times before, and loved it each time. If it were closer, I'd be there more often. We ordered so much food!! I got a ceasar salad to share with Shane, my fiance, but he was too busy eating a miso soup to make a dent on it. Then I got nachos, which are supposed to be a group shared appetizer sort of thing, but I ordered them just for myself. And on top of that, I ordered a cup of vegetarian chili and a bowl of guacamole! The waiter even warned me of how much food that was, but I insisted. I doggie-bagged a lot; I now have all of tomorrow's meals set to go!
I am stuffed but somehow still could have eaten dessert!!! What is wrong with me! This local food has me wanting more!!

On a side note, my work just started carrying a collection of home and kitchen accessories with phrases like "Eat Local", "Go Organic", "Homegrown", and "Farm Fresh" on them. How apropos!? If I wasn't trying to simplify my life and stop unnecessary purchasing, I would definitely have bought some stuff!

Day 4 Buy Local Challenge

Of all weeks to arrange dinner dates, the week that I am trying to eat strictly local meals would not have been my ideal choice. Luckily, I have awesome friends and family, and so the two meals out I am to share this week, will be at appropriate restaurants.

Tomorrow, my fiance and I will be going on a double date with my younger cousin and her new beau. She asked if we would be interested in going out with the two of them to One World Cafe- a great vegetarian/vegan restaurant that I had introduced to her earlier in the year.

Tonight, however, I met up with an old college friend. Without even having to say anything to him about the Buy Local Challenge, he had already taken into account my vegetarian diet and suggested a restaurant himself: Soup'R Natural

As found on their website, the family owners of Soup'R Natural pride themselves on being

"a community restaurant featuring fresh and natural foods, like the herbs and vegetables growing outside our restaurant and the local eggs, meats, and ice creams selected from farms just a few miles away."

How appropriate was his choice!? I arrived earlier than I expected, so while I waited, I snapped some shots of the outside and their garden. For our meal, I had some homemade lemonade (delicious!!!) and I ordered their Feta Melt Pita- a large portabella mushroom stuffed with tangy feta cheese, in a whole wheat pita. It was served with tri-color potato chips and a mini pickle. It was fantastic, I will definitely be going back for their local fountain milkshakes!





Before all of this local eatery fabulousness, I began my day with breakfast: a peach/pineapple smoothie. It was made from 1 whole fresh, local peach; 1 c pineapple chunks (not local); 1 Tbsp Flax seeds; 1/2 cup cottage cheese (not local); 1/4 granola; 3/4 cup yogurt...ugh, I'm stuffed just thinking about how much food I put in there! It was yummy, though; a great start to the day

My lunch was a bit less substantial, and a lot less local. I finished off the local musk melon (a.k.a. cantaloupe), and ate some cereal (not local).



After work, I made a quick stop at the farmers market before heading out to dinner. I didn't plan on it, but I bought a Graham Pecan Toffee Goodness bar- or called something to that liking- from Rare Opportunity Farm, a farm from Westminister, MD. It was only $1 and it was amazing! I ate it before I could get a photo! Atwater's, a local restaurant that cooks with local foods, sells Rare Opportunity jams.
I then proceeded to the stand of Three Springs Fruit Farm, from whom I frequently buy produce. Today, I bought a zucchini (for my zucchini mock crab cakes), and a small basket of blackberries. These two totaled $4.75. The zucchini will be used for one meal, though I can maybe I can stretch it into two; the blackberries will provide snacks and small additions to meals for a few days.

Looking back, I ate a lot of food today- and that wasn't even all of it! I had frozen yogurt from Tutti Frutti: a mix of flavors- Taro, Pomegranate, Mango, and Pistachio- with strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, granola, and nuts; and more of my Salazon Chocolate bar. Mmmm, that's okay- I already know I wont have time to pack a healthy lunch for tomorrow.

Yummy Salazon Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt!