Would you like to help our beautiful California State Parks but don’t know how?  Consumers throughout the Southland can give a badly-needed boost to state parks simply by shopping at local grocery stores and buying certain products.  It’s all part of “Preserve Our Parks” (http://preserveourparks.info) a public/private partnership that unites Stater Bros. Supermarkets and Coca-Cola Refreshments for the third straight year. 

Preserve Our Parks is a six week, intensive campaign, which runs through May 10, aims to raise $750,000 to help provide forest preservation, trail maintenance, habitat preservation and beach clean-up across the 750,000 acres that comprise the state park system in Southern California. Read more ...

Consumers all across the continental U.S. can plant thousands of trees this spring – in areas devastated by wildfires and disasters – without ever getting hands dirty.  Honest Tea® is teaming with the National Forest Foundation in a public/private partnership to plant up to 50,000 trees.  

The “Bag to Tree” reforest campaign starts in local participating stores where consumers purchase four or more bottles of Honest Tea and receive a free, reusable shopping bag that comes with a unique code.  Consumers redeem the code online at www.honesttea.com/bagtotree where they select from one of five regions for planting their tree. 

The five regions are the West and Rocky Mountain, which have been affected by wildfires; the Midwest, which requires prairie restoration; the Southeast, which requires reforestation; and the Northeast, which requires hydrology (water) renewal. 

After Honest Tea consumers redeem their code online and select a region for their tree, they can access online information about local tree planting initiatives, April 16 Earth Day activities as well as other ways to support reforestation in targeted areas.  They can also use social networking tools on the site to help spread the word to their friends and family about The Bag to Tea program.

Honest Tea is very proud to join with the National Forest Foundation (www.nationalforests.org) to plant more trees across the country. 

"The heart of The Peaceful Woman Maui Passage is learning through nature and reflection in an experiential, no-lecture format. Here are a few journal entries that give a glimpse of my personal experience. Yours is bound to be different but at least as rich! Journal Entry Monday - Today we immersed in the native hula, exploring this graceful dance of talk story and falling in love with Hawaiian elder, Auntie Gordean Bailey. My heart sprung wide open when Auntie and three of her students greeted us with a beautiful chant, singing us into their abundant garden paradise. Tears were streaming as we entered this sacred space, donned our hula skirts and prepared to learn the movements and sing a story of awakening the peaceful woman." Sor'a, Boise ID, Maui Passage February 2010

MESSAGE FROM PAULA

Sweet Friend,

I invite you to join me for a birthday celebration retreat in Maui!!! Apr 3-9, 2011

In February 2011 I'll be turning 62 and decided to do something special as a gift to myself and to you. I'm inviting 24 women to join me for a Peaceful Woman retreat to delight in Maui's magic and feminine beauty. For a whole week we get to play in nature, share deeply with each other and have lots of fun!!! Read more ...

Songwriters are invited to enter the International Women’s Day SONG COMPETITION www.internationalwomensday.org/songcompetition

The winning song will be sung at the largest gathering of women in the history of the world! The Women’s Information Network (WIN) (www.theWINonline.com) is hosting this historic event and launching an international SONGWRITING COMPETITION especially for the 100^th Anniversary of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2011.

On that special day the WIN will present fabulous LIVE celebrations in 10 cities across America that will be simultaneously streamed online to women in 176 countries. www.InternationalWomensDay.org

Women worldwide will connect to celebrate and honor women past, present, and future, in many exciting ways. On huge screens they’ll watch celebrations in New York, Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Amazing women celebrities, athletes, political leaders, and experts will speak about women’s issues today and how we can “Enlighten Women’s Minds and Empower Women’s Hearts, for a Better World.” There will be live musical entertainment (and MAYBE YOUR SONG WILL BE SUNG!) dramatic performances, and much more.

The WIN invites songwriters everywhere to create the perfect inspiring theme SONG for millions of women to hear.

The deadline to enter is January 15, 2011. The winner will be announced on February 8, 2011, exactly one month before International Women’s Day. The winner will receive a $500 cash prize. Read more ...

 “It’s a volcano.” said one of the women, proudly displaying the sand mudpie she’d created. ‘Mine’s a castle,’ said another, placing a feather on the highest tower of her sand village. We surveyed the diversity of our artwork. There were moats, rock gardens and stairways, there were bridges, windows and towers. We happily had our photo taken with our creation thanks to Cathy who happened to be passing by, curious as to why 5 grown women had brought buckets and spades to a beach, with no kids in sight.

After 30 minutes or so of play we sat down and reflected on our experience. Prior to this part of the adventure we’d all journeyed inwardly with a guided meditation, exploring our child-like self, and the imaginary worlds we create as children. We’d created an ‘inner sandcastle’ and explored it before embarking on the outer sandcastle. So we’d been primed to play. And play we did.

But it was deeper than that. After the play part we reflected on how we’d played… what had come up for us, and how we’d engaged with each other and the process itself. And the discoveries were rich. Some noticed how they jump in without planning, while others wait and prepare. Some reflected on how their childhoods had not been happy, and yet there were moments of joy and discovery and they were able to connect with that. We all spoke of the letting go process also – when the tide comes in, or someone walks over your sandcastle – how do you feel? We reflected on grief, on joy, and how also, as we contemplate the shifting sands of our own lives, it’s important to honor our emotions. Read more ...

 
I’m normally very sure footed. If there’s a waterfall somewhere upstream somewhere I’m the first to be leaping from rock to rock with delicious anticipation. But today was different. I was meant to be heading up the group, but my feet kept slipping into the crevices between mossy rocks. I kept being fooled by dead ends.

I stopped and wiped my brow. I figured nature was trying to say something and I’d been ignoring her for some 200 yards. And probably most of the morning actually. I looked ahead. It was only getting steeper. Finally I sat down. Read more ...