Share and Voice 9:

Share and Voice 8: Smart Traveling

Everyone loves going on vacation, but since vacations are supposed to be relaxing and worry free, most people don't stop to think of ways that they can reduce their ecological footprint while still getting some quality R&R. Here are a few websites that can give a few tips on how to be more environmentally friendly while on vacation. From traveling advice to lodging considerations, there is tons you can do so check it out!

• Environmentally Friendly/Green Hotels
• Top 10 Green Vacation Ideas
• Don't Take Your Carbon Footprint With You
• Clean and Dirty Cruise Ships
• The 5 Most Eco Friendly Airlines

Share and Voice 7: Tips On How To Be Green

While browsing the internet, I found this great article called, "Being Green: 11 Environmentally Friendly Habits." The thing that really caught my eye about this article is the fact that they used the word "habits." Sometimes it drives me absolutely crazy when people say you have to "change" your ways to fit certain standards or lifestyles. In reality, it isn't that easy to just change something that you do with the snap of a finger. You need to make conscious effort to change something in your life by getting into a routine and making a habit of it. Another thing I really liked about this article is the fact that all 11 tips that they give are extremely easy to do. Two of my favorites are  1) buying environmentally friendly toilet paper (I had no idea how bad normal toilet paper was), and 2) using hand powered kitchen tools instead of electric ones such as electric knives and can openers. Seriously? How hard is it to use a hand held can opener? Check out the rest of the article!

Share and Voice 6: Saving Energy During The Holidays

The Holidays are usually a very expensive time of the year. Not only are the decorations running the electric bill a little higher, but there's also presents that need to be bought, big meals to be cooked, and the list goes on and on. Not to mention the cold weather this time of year isn't very easy on the heat bill. But wait! You're in luck! There's a TON of ways to save money and energy ruing the holidays! Here are a few ideas:

• Switch to LED lights
• Use a timer on your lights and decorations
• Decorate with candles
• Unplug appliances etc. when you go on vacation
• Plan ahead so you can cook multiple things at once instead of turning the oven on and off multiple times

Of course these are only a few ways you can save. There are lots more! Check them out at these awesome websites:

• About.com: How to Save Energy During the Holidays
• Consumer Energy Center
• Suite101

Share and Voice 5: Make Your Own Christmas Decorations

As a kid, I remember one of my favorite things about Christmas was making homemade Christmas decorations at school. I would either bring them home and use them to decorate, or wrap them up and give them away as presents. Not only is making your own decorations fun, it's a good way to save money too! I found this really neat website that has TONS of ideas for making your own Christmas crafts. Here are a few of my favorites:

* Using old burnt out light bulbs to make ornaments.

* Using an old cds and juice can lids to make cute snowmen

* Using old ornaments and lights to make a centerpiece













Check out the website for hundreds of more ideas!  Free Christmas Crafts  Enjoy!

Share and Voice 4: Glee - Green It. Mean It.

As I'm sure others in this class are, I am a huuuuge fan of the television series "Glee." According to Wikipedia, "Glee" had close to 10 million viewers last season, and given the content of the show, I can bet that the majority of viewers are in their teens and twenties. One great thing that I've noticed about "Glee" this season is the fact that during commercial breaks, they have been promoting the "Go Green" campaign. They give great tips on how to conserve and be environmentally friendly every day! Here are a few links to a few of the clips that are also featured on YouTube. Check them out!

Share and Voice 3: Green Dating

In my Marriages and Families class, we are currently discussing relationships and dating. While we were discussing the concept of online meeting/dating, our teacher brought to our attention a couple of very interesting dating websites. One that caught my eye was GreenSingles.com. According to the website, some common interests of the members include:

• the earth, ecology, sustainable living & the environment
• natural living & alternative therapies
• vegetarian, organic & other healthy lifestyles
• nature & outdoor activities
• human rights & animal rights
• holistic & new age philosophies
• green politics & world events
• alternative education & local economies

I don't know quite where I stand on the whole online dating phenomenon but I just thought it was an interesting site, it's great for people who are using it for a good cause :)

Share and Voice 2: Giving Green

Now I know that Christmas is still quite some time away, and shopping for Christmas gifts can be a daunting task. But why not get some of that shopping done early and have fun doing it? There are tons of websites that have some really neat gifts that are environmentally friendly! I was recently looking through a couple different sites and had a blast looking through the different products that they had to offer and thought of friends of mine who would really love them! Buying eco-friendly gifts is not only a great way to help protect the environment, but it is also a great way to get the word out without being seeming too pushy about it. Here are some great sites to check out: 

• Nigel's Eco Store
• Tree Hugger
• Eco-Artware

Share and Voice 1: Looking for an Environmentally Friendly Career?

This week after finishing reading the first part of my read 'n' seed book, I started wondering if you could look up specific environmentally friendly jobs. I found a very interesting website called EcoBusinessLinks. It is an environmental jobs directory and breaks up eco-friendly jobs into a variety of categories, and also has a search engine on their page that will look for jobs specifically through their website. I think this is really neat because it just goes to show how important being environmentally friendly has become. One of the greatest things I think this website brings to the table is the fact that it offers a specific volunteering and internship section. That way if you're not quite sure if an environmentally based job is right for you, at least you can try it out! :) I encourage everyone to check the page out and see if there's anything that interests you!

Welcome to Barefoot in the Backyard with Brenda!

Hi! My name is Brenda and I am currently a senior at the University of Minnesota Duluth. I am majoring in Community Health Education with a minor in Psychology. I love being active and being outdoors as much as possible, but my absolute favorite activity is volleyball! I started this blog for a class I am taking called Environmental Health. Throughout the semester I will be writing about our impact on the environment. I will be looking at different ways of how to be environmentally friendly, and also how by keeping our environment healthy, we are helping to keep ourselves healthy too!

There are six possible types of posts on my blog. They include:

1. Advocacy Project

2. Eye Openers

3. Reflections

4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change

5. Read 'n' Seed

6. Share and Voice

If you notice at the bottom of this post, the categories will be listed as labels. This post has been labeled with all five kinds of posts. You will also see the number of each kind of post in my Labels Gadget at the top of the page. All post titles from now on will begin with one of the categories above.


The members of my web group are:

1. Dane@DanesTrailofHealth 

2. JD@EarthandMeWithJD 

3. Samantha J@SustainabilityWithSam

4. Alicia@OutandAboutWithAlicia

5. Matt

6. Molly 

You can subscribe to my blog by clicking the subscribe gadget in the gadget column. You can also follow my blog by clicking "Follow this Blog" in the gadget column. I am subscribed to all the blogs in my blog list gadget. You can see my complete profile and all the blogs I am following by clicking on "See Complete Profile."


I am hoping to have a lot of fun blogging this semester and hope that you enjoy following along!