 |
|
Showing posts with label Children Activities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Children Activities. Show all posts
Monday, November 9, 2015
Beach Clean-up Saturday November 14th, Fort Lauderdale Beach Park 7am - 11:00AM
Thursday, November 5, 2015
City News: Open Streets Fort Lauderdale & Winterfest Family Fun Day Nov. 22
And I will be doing a tree giveaway there! -- Gene
|
Monday, November 2, 2015
22 ways to reuse your Halloween pumpkin
From delectable treats to creative decor, here's how to get the most of your holiday pumpkin.
By: Jenn Savedge
October 7, 2015
Don't throw out that Halloween pumpkin! There are lots of great ways to reuse it. (Photo: Wallenrock/Shutterstock)
'Tis the season for pumpkins. Cute or spooky, carved or painted, candlelit or au naturale, Halloween pumpkins can be spotted on doorsteps, front porches, and sidewalks all around the country. But what happens to those pumpkins once the trick-or-treaters put away their costumes for the year?
Of the 1.3 billion pumpkins produced in the U.S., a lot are simply thrown away after the holiday, and that ends up contributing a sizable chunk to our greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Department of Energy. But just because Halloween is over doesn't mean that your pumpkin is no longer useful or needs to go into the trash bin. In fact there are so many ways to repurpose that holiday staple that you may have a hard time choosing.
From food to fun, here are 22 great ways to put your Halloween pumpkin to good use all season long.
Eat it
After Halloween, bring on the pumpkin-filled recipes! (Photo: Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock)
By far the easiest and yummiest way to reuse that pumpkin is to eat it. Carving pumpkins are just as edible — although slightly less flavorful — than other varieties such as sugar or pie pumpkins. But they still make for delicious additions to pies, soups, breads and even liquor. Here are seven of our favorite pumpkin-filled recipes.
- Pumpkin pie
- Healthy pumpkin and spice quick bread
- Spicy pumpkin hummus
- Pumpkin bread pudding
- Pumpkin pie smoothie
- Pumpkin seed brittle
- Pumpkin butter
- Parmesan pumpkin wedges
- Pumpkin liquor
Big tip: If you used a candle in your jack-o'-lantern, be sure to cut away any pumpkin pieces that may have wax on them. Oh, and don't throw out those stringy bits when you're carving. Add them to your other leftover veggies to make a flavorful vegetable soup stock. You can also puree the pumpkin guts and add them to your favorite risotto, pumpkin bread or pumpkin butter recipes.
Decorate with it
Spice up your holiday decor with pumpkins. (Photo: Charles Brutlag/Shutterstock)
Even after your get your decorating dollars out of a carved Halloween pumpkin, you can put it to use as part of your fall harvest decor. Use a little veggie oil on your pumpkins to prevent them from drying out and rotting. This will keep them beautiful all season long and give you plenty of time to reuse them in your seasonal decorating. Here are six great pumpkin decorations to try.
- Pumpkin bird feeder
- Pumpkin incense holder
- Pumpkin centerpiece
- Pumpkin planter
- Pumpkin serving bowl
- Pumpkin snowmen
Get beautiful with it
Pumpkin nourishes your body both inside and out. (Photo: fotoknips/Shutterstock)
Pumpkins are more than just beautiful and delicious, they are also healthy for your body. They are packed with vitamins A and C as well as antioxidants — all blended together in a moisturizing base that is good for your skin and hair. Use up your Halloween pumpkin by adding one of these these sweet-smelling recipes to your beauty routine.
Play with it
There are lots of creative ways to use that holiday pumpkin after Halloween. (Photo: Art-Man/Shutterstock)
Halloween might be over, but the holiday fun is just getting started. Try your hand at pumpkin bowling by filling recycling plastic bottles with water or sand (and topping with a tight lid) to use as pins. Set them up in a 10-pin triangle and use your pumpkins to knock 'em down. You can also try these two fun ways to play with your pumpkins:
Compost it
Turn your pumpkin into fertilizer for your garden. (Photo: Marina Lohrbach/Shutterstock)
Keep on putting your pumpkin to good use after you have finished decorating and playing with it by turning it into garden-fueling compost. If you've never composted before, don't be intimidated — it's much easier than you might think. Some cities offer curbside composting pickup. If that's the case, just add your leftover pumpkin to the pile.
Or start your own with this project tip:
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Cycling Tour concludes with Trick or Treat with the Trees at Esplanade Park October 31
Naperville, IL,– Florida’s trees will be in the spotlight this fall when the STIHL Tour des Trees to benefit the TREE Fund rolls out of Orlando October 25. 85 cyclists will ride 560 miles in a week to raise money for tree research and education and raise awareness of the value that mature, healthy trees bring to Florida’s communities. Since 1992 the Tour des Trees has raised more than $6.6 million to fund research and education grants and scholarships administered by the TREE Fund.
The city of Fort Lauderdale and the TREE Fund will host a Trick or Treat with the Trees event October 31 as part of the city’s Halloween celebration at Esplanade Park from 1-5 p.m. Headlining the event is Professor Elwood Pricklethorn, who is traveling through Florida with the STIHL Tour des Trees October 25-31. The Professor (aka arborist Warren Hoselton of Toronto, Ontario) will present a kid-friendly short course in tree science at 1:30 p.m. at the park, (400 SW 2nd St., Fort Lauderdale).
The Professor’s 45-minute interactive program focuses on how trees grow, where and how to plant a tree so it will live a long life, and what kids can do to care for the trees in their world. At the end of the program the children, their families and the cyclists of the STIHL Tour des Trees will dedicate a new tree planted at the park as a legacy of the Tour’s visit to Fort Lauderdale.
Fort Lauderdale will give away 120 “Florida-friendly” trees during the event, and the TREE Fund is offering a prize for the best tree-related costume for kids under 18 and adults. In addition, each child will receive a book about trees, courtesy of Bartlett Tree Experts, a STIHL Tour des Trees water bottle from the TREE Fund and a “Trees are Good” temporary tattoo from the International Society of Arboriculture. Fort Lauderdale’s Public Library also will receive a set of books for inclusion in its children’s collection.
Families are encouraged to come to the park to learn more about Florida’s unique urban forest and the people who care for it, and to take home a tree of their own. Representatives from The Davey Tree Expert Company, STIHL, the Florida Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture and Asplundh Tree Expert Co. will join the TREE Fund in offering treats for youngsters in costume at the event.
About TREE Fund
The TREE Fund is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge in urban forestry and arboriculture (the science of caring for trees in a landscape). The TREE Fund manages a portfolio of scholarships and education grants to engage and support the next generation of tree stewards, and research grants to improve the science, safety and practice of arboriculture.
With support from individual and corporate donors and major sponsors STIHL Inc., Bartlett Tree Experts , the Davey Tree Expert Company, Arborjet, Asplundh, International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), KASK, Tree Care Industry Association and Florida Chapter of ISA, TREE Fund research has contributed to:
- Improved utility vegetation management practices
- Understanding of air pollution reduction and carbon sequestration by trees
- Quantification of the benefits of urban trees
- Improved transplant survival rates in difficult sites
- More effective disease and pest management strategies for urban trees
TREE Fund w 552 S. Washington St., Ste. 109 w Naperville, IL 60540 w www.treefund.org
Monday, October 5, 2015
Fort Lauderdale Beach Clean-Up!
|
|
"Families That Grow Together" Workshop - Still time to register
| |||||||||||||
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)