The Urban Permaculture Farm Magazine
For 
Top Eco-Friendly Gifts for the Holidays
1. The Pitch Birdhouse
A green gift idea for the gardener in your life. Made of 100% recycled milk jugs, detergent bottles and other plastics, this long lasting birdhouse will hold up to the elements and adds a modern take on the traditional birdhouse. Encourage wildlife to thrive in your back yard. The 1 &1/4" hole in this bird house will attract these species of birds: Nuthatch, Chickadee, Titmouse, Beswick's Wren, Downy Woodpecker.
The Lawn of the Future the Eco way
The Lawn of the Future by Patti Moreno, the Garden Girl
America is lawn obsessed and has been since the 1950’s. The environmental impact of having a traditional lawn is staggering. The energy used to maintain a traditional lawn, the chemical pesticides and fertilizers that are used are poisons and the amount of money spent on lawns can run you thousands. The gas powered lawn mowers, blowers, and edge trimmers pollute the air, are too noisy and require yearly maintenance. Using a gas powered lawn mower for one hour is equal to driving a car for 350 miles. Americans spend an average of 30 billion dollars a year to maintain their lawns making turf big business and US lawns use 270 billion gallons of water PER WEEK.
Growing a Greener World on Public Television
Growing a Greener World is a groundbreaking new series that delivers the latest trends in eco-friendly living mixed with traditional gardening know-how to a 21st-century audience. For viewers of all ages with stunning HD video, a fresh and engaging style, and always a compelling story. Each episode will feature the people, organizations, and events that are making a difference in our world today by raising awareness and influencing others to better stewardship of the environment we all share. Watch Joe Lamp'l and his co-host Patti Moreno as they explore the country seeking out innovation and inspiration for green lifestyles.
Urban Wildlife Garden Photo Gallery
Developing sustainable landscapes has the added benefit of bringing and encouraging wildlife of all types to call your corner of the planet home too. It seems like since we started our urban farm we have seen all manner of fauna visit us, from beautiful and itinerate wild birds to regular visitors like Kooky the Red tailed hawk. If you have pictures of your own visitors be sure to send them over to info@gardengirltv.com
Live a Greener Life
Start composting.
Waste is just energy misplaced. Keep your kitchen scraps out of your garbage can by starting your own worm bin. Worm bin you say? Why yes. Everyone has a plastic storage bin so purge your self of some clutter and transform it into a worm breeding factory. Put 1/4inch holes on the bottom of the bin and along the lip to allow for airflow. Place it in a pantry or closet in a convenient place for you to access every time you cook.
Why yes. Everyone has a plastic storage bin so purge your self of some clutter and transform it into a worm breeding factory. Put 1/4 inch holes on the bottom of the bin and along the lip to allow for airflow. Line the bottom with cardboard and fill with a thick layer of shredded newspaper and moisten with water, 1 quart of soil to help the composting process, and one pound of red wiggler worms. Place the bin in a dark area like a pantry or closet in a convenient place for you to access every time you cook. Place kitchen scraps daily. A powerful worm bin can digest its own weight in worms, in ideal conditions, every two days! The more worms, the more it can consume and turn into potent worm castings that you can use on container plants.
What If??
What if "Global Warming" is a natural occurrence? Many argue that warming and cooling periods have been taking place for as far back as we can measure. Global warming periods have occurred approximately 100,000, 200,000 and 300,000 years ago. Scientific evidence has been extracted from proxy sources such as ice cores, tree rings, coral reefs, sediment layers and rocks. Compiling this data enables us to look back millions of years to determine past temperatures.
Without the "greenhouse effect" the earth would be an uninhabitable wasteland. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, "The atmosphere has a natural supply of "greenhouse gases". They capture heat and keep the surface of the earth warm enough for us to live on.
Plants for the Office
Do you want an easy way to boost morale in the office? It can be as simple as adding indoor plants. There is so much more to office plants than just brightening up a room or giving it color. Plants for the office can bring real health benefits to your body. Try adding a plant in your office and it can lower blood pressure and reduce stress. When indoor plants are present, you will see less complaining of headaches, colds and heart or circulation symptoms. Many companies have noticed after adding greenery to the office that it enhanced creativity and productivity in their employees.
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An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.
Sustainability, in a broad sense, is the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which in turn depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources.