Sustainability Journal

  • Fun things to do with fall leaves

    Fun things to do with fall leaves

    By Brooke Hamilton-Benjestorf

    Let’s make sustainable crafts with some readily-available nature bits - like fall leaves! They’re so beautiful, and part of what makes them so - outside of the fact that each one is unique like a snowflake and the colors are...

  • A Hierarchy of Recyclables

    A Hierarchy of Recyclables

    By Brooke Hamilton-Benjestorf

    What is and isn’t recyclable isn’t as straight-forward as it feels like it should be. Like how many times I have to tell my husband that soft plastic is not recyclable, or how many times my best friend tells me...

  • Fall Events in Napa

    Fall Events in Napa

    By Brooke Hamilton-Benjestorf

    Napa is such a delightful place to live for approximately 7,498 reasons, and one of them is that there are always fun, seasonal activities put on by the community for the community. And there are so many local events to...

  • A Pile of Leaves on Fire

    A Pile of Leaves on Fire

    By Brooke Hamilton-Benjestorf

    Fall is highly symbolic, I think. And also highly charged in a human behavior sort of way. For me, fall is a mixed bag of colorful, rotting leaves. And maybe the pile of leaves is on fire. It seems highly...

  • A Small History: Lawns

    A Small History: Lawns

    By Brooke Hamilton-Benjestorf

    When I was a kid I didn’t know there were yards without lawns. Everyone had a lawn where I grew up, to the point where the word yard is nearly synonymous with the word lawn in my early years. And...

  • A Small History: Geraniums

    A Small History: Geraniums

    By Brooke Hamilton-Benjestorf

    Owners of beautiful, eclectic homes giving tours to TV crews seem to have a universal fondness for geraniums, or pelargoniums. There’s something about them. They’re leafy greenness plus a brilliant pop of colorful petals is surely a draw. The sheer...