The TTG “Right to Know” College Road Tour launched this morning at University of Southern California (USC). After a trek through morning traffic in our Kia Sportage CUV, we arrived and set up our tent. This was the first time TTG has hosted a “Pop Up Eco Expo” on a college campus and the response was beyond anything we could have imagined. Students, faculty, employees, CalPirg, the USC Sustainability team, and more came out in droves on this warm spring day!

TTG Pop Up Expo at USC for Earth Day Celebration

People streamed into the TTG booth, engaging in rich conversations and learning from our themed display boards and conventional / conscious product displays. Samples from Nature’s Path, Natracare, Dr. Bronner’s and Desert Essence were a hit! Rafi, from Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, was a great addition to our team. In addition to sampling soaps, he spoke about the vital importance of GMO labeling and the Right to Know California Ballot Initiative!

USC students expressed great excitement about Project Green Challenge 2012, our 30-day eco lifestyle challenge coming this fall, with many signing up to lead the movement as USC campus reps. Special thanks to Catherine Uong, Net Impact USC, for helping to make this event happen.

The next Road Tour stop is UCLA for tomorrow night’s Sustainable Food Panel! Then, it is off to San Diego for UCSD and USD. Working with committed and passionate students that are ready, willing, and able to make positive and meaningful change in lifestyle, schools, and communities excites us tremendously. USC was a phenomenal start in mobilizing youth statewide! More to come…

Through education, outreach and collaboration, we can truly change the world!

No more dull dorm days! From April 1 – April 22 (Earth Day) college students around the world are invited to enter a contest to design the most ecofabulous, fashion forward head to toe look imaginable, with items found on eBay Green.

“We’ve talked about voting with your dollars – this campaign shows how you can vote for environmental sustainability and social responsibility through something as simple as a clothing purchase”, said Caitlin Bristol, Manager, eBay Green. “Here’s your chance to win $1,000 to then go to green.ebay.com and start reducing your footprint!”

Teens Turning Green, a Bay Area based, inspiring national non profit organization, in their effort to mobilize students to sustain the earth, launched GreenStyled in collaboration with eBay Green this week. GreenStyled is a fun contest to engage college students around the world in fashion forward but eco conscious wardrobe decisions. They can win a $1,000 gift card to spend on eBay Green (green.ebay.com)! You can finally get that stunning Renoir copper belt you’ve been eyeing, or even the Stella McCartney chain purse you’ve fantasized about. So get styling!

Log on here to sign up to participate: http://wordpress.teensturninggreen.org/programs/greenstyled/.

Interview with Judi Shils & Erin Schrode of Teens Turning Green

Teens Turning Green is an organization that I have long admired. In fact, when I came up with the idea for this blog, these women were on my list from Day 1. I wondered if Judi and Erin would agree to an interview, though, because they’re so incredibly busy doing their good work; plus, Erin is in college and was traveling when I emailed her. Well, they both blew me away with their kindness and speedy positive responses. I am beyond grateful for their time…and very excited to post my first double interview!

Bio: Judi Shils has spent the last 10 years of her life spearheading grassroots community projects. The dearth of answers around Marin County’s high cancer rates led Shils to found the non-profit Search for the Cause, now Teens Turning Green. Moving to the Bay Area and becoming a mother to daughter Erin changed the course of her life. Prior to this, she was an Emmy Award-winning television producer for 25 years with ABC Sports, FOX and Oxygen, founded The Diary Project forum for youth at the onset of the internet, and ran a successful student art show, Celebrate Arts. She also consults for the California Coastal Commission around public education.

Bio: Erin Schrode is a young ecoRenaissance woman. As the “face of the new green generation,” the co-founder and spokeswoman of Turning Green promotes global sustainability, youth leadership, environmental education, and conscious lifestyle choices. After working in disaster response in Haiti, she founded and launched The Schoolbag, a youth education project to provide tools and materials for students in need, as well as initiate active citizenry and environmental stewardship. A “sustainability prodigy” and eco expert, Erin has been featured in the NY Times, Vanity Fair, SF Chronicle, NY Post, Seventeen Magazine, Teen Vogue, National Geographic, ABC, NBC, BBC, CNN, FOX, MTV, E!, AOL, GOOD, Slate… More about Erin

Peggy: Judi, You went from being an award-winning TV producer to a founder of several non-profits. How did that shift happen? Have you always been an activist?

Judi: No, I didn’t even know that that word meant. It has been a wonderful learning curve!

I had moved from LA to the Bay Area in 1989 right when the earthquake hit…I had an awakened consciousness that I had never felt before…sounds SO Marin! Then my daughter was born and on that day I committed to making the world the best place I could for her and her generation. Had no idea where to begin, but I began. In 2002, I went to a meeting in the supervisors’ chambers and they officially announced that our breast cancer rates had risen 60% in 8 years…too many questions, no anwers and no money to do the research to get to the other end. So I decided to do whatever I could to help move the mountain, mobilize our community and policy makers and ensure that my daughter would have a fighting chance growing up in Marin to be healthy. Search for the Cause came to life with a door-to-door campaign taking place in November 2002. 2000 volunteers went to about 65,000 households on that day. Following the walk, which was amazing and mobilizing, Barbara Boxer called everyone in the Bay Area who was working on cancer research together…that changed the lay of the land.

Peggy: What makes you excel at what you do?

Judi: I live to vision and I won’t take no for an answer. I learned that from my time at ABC Sports. No wasn’t an option and neither is it when you are trying to sustain the earth. We all have to do whatever it takes and commit in a big way.

Peggy: What are you focusing on these days?

Judi: Our most ambitious program is Project Green Challenge 2012, a 30-day eco lifestyle challenge to engage high school and college students across the country to transition from conventional to conscious living. My daughter and I built this project last year with the help of 15 summer interns. It was the greatest piece of work we have ever done together. Almost 3,000 students or teams on 510 campuses participated in 48 states and 21 countries. we had no idea if it would work on October 1, 2011 when it launched. It was magnificent and we look forward to year 2! We are heading out on the first leg of our TTG Right to Know College Road Tour to promote the California Ballot Initiative to Label GMO Food and the Right to Know about all that you bring into your life on a daily basis. We will show up at California universities with our Eco Pop Up Expo and engage all the students we can to lead a more conscious life.

Peggy: Out of all your accomplishments, what are you most proud of?

Judi: My magnificent daughter and watching her grow into the most amazing and articulate instigator of change. She is passionate, committed, and quite an orator as well as a brilliant writer. She is one of the best communicators I have ever met and uses social media adeptly to change the world. She just won an award from the Organic Center for communication. It was a great honor in both of our lives.

Peggy: Your daughter Erin, TTG co-founder, is a self-described “unabashed optimist and fierce believer in people as architects of change”. How did you raise such an amazing young woman?

Judi: She arrived amazing and has totally inspired every piece of work that I have done since her birth. And now we do it together even though she has lived all over the world for the past two years. She is a junior at NYU and the abroad opportunities have been a great gift in her life. Luckily, because of our work and her work for a more sustainable planet, she is back and forth quite a bit. We are leaving in a couple days to celebrate her 21st birthday! A lot to celebrate. She is my light.

Peggy: Erin, Happy Birthday…you’re about to turn 21! I was looking at your Timeline on your wonderful website…wow, what a life you’ve had so far! How does it feel to have accomplished so much already?

Erin: I feel incredibly lucky to do what I love and love what I do. For me, conscious lifestyle is second nature. I approach everything in life from a thoughtful mindset, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I can only help that in leading by example and using my voice to spread the word, I can inspire others to begin the transition from conventional to conscious, to embark on the path towards sustainability, to join the ever-evolving process of turning green. While exciting, to talk about my accomplishments feels funny for me. In my head, I am just me: an almost 21-year-old girl following her heart. I suppose, I am a young woman on a mission to change the world

Peggy: Congratulations on your success with Project Green Challenge. How did you come up with the idea for this project?

Erin: For years, my friends have asked me: Erin, how can I go green? Where do I begin? Project Green Challenge is my answer: thirty simple steps to take your life from conventional to conscious, a tagline I crafted. This initiative has been a beautiful collaboration with my mom, the executive director of TTG, and a coming together of so many platforms and partnerships that we have fostered over the seven-year history of our campaign.

Peggy: How do you balance your school work with your Teens Turning Green work?

Erin: I sleep too little and travel too much, but somehow, all of the pieces of my life fit together in a beautiful way! New York University has given me an incredible opportunity to study social and cultural analysis, to be a student of the world on five continents, to expand my perspective and knowledge base. I make time for what matters in my life – and my work in the eco / international space is what feeds my soul. I am a proud to say that NYU supports that, recognizing me as a DEANS Scholar with a merit scholarship for commitment to both academics and service. I have been incredibly fortunate to have teachers that support my work both inside and outside of the classroom and have crafted schedules that allow for extended weekends, so I can travel to conferences or speak or shoot or whatnot.

Peggy: Are you a morning or a night person? You both have emailed me in the middle of the night, so I have a feeling I know the answer to that. How much sleep do you get?

Judi: Barely any…I work typically until 2 or 3am. There aren’t enough hours in the day.

Erin: A night person, without question. My most productive hours are from about 2am – 4am. 4 or 5 hours (ish, less according to my mom!) is my average, but I catch up whenever I can, sleeping for fifteen hours straight without any problem!

Peggy: Do you have a favorite inspirational book or quote?

Judi: This is how I live my life every day…I feel like I am channeling his words: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”, Mahatma Gandhi. The book that turned me from a conventional to conscious person was David Steinman’s Diet for A Poisoned Planet. It made me realize that we are all responsible for making choices that will impact our own health and the health of our planet in positive ways. After I read it, pregnant with my daughter, I went to Real Foods in Sausalito and transitioned everything in my house to organic. That was the start of my journey, and hers intertwined – to heal the world.

Erin: Many come to mind! I am deeply inspired and learn so much from the wisdom of others. Book-wise, I love Half the Sky by Nick Kristof (one of my favorite writers!) and Sheryl WuDunn), Mountains Beyond Mountains (the incredible story of Partners In Health founder and a personal hero, Paul Farmer), and Three Cups of Tea (a phenomenally inspiring story about the power of educating girls to transform our world). I am a big fan of quotes, especially those that I come across at just the perfect moment. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” is a beauty by Margaret Mead.

Peggy: Is there something you do every day (meditate, pray, exercise, read) that helps you stay grounded?

Judi: I walk and sit on my favorite bench at Phoenix Lake with my dog, Kasie. I remind us both what a gift it is to look out at the lake, at the trees, at the reeds, at the big sky and marvel that we live here! It is what allows me to do as I do every day. The peace and sanctity of that place gives me so much energy…such splendor!

Erin: I hear my mother’s voice in my head saying, “dream and do… find the silver lining.” That is my calm, my peace.

Peggy: How do you get out of a funk?

Judi: I smile. I call my daughter. I realize how lucky I am. Not often in funks! Too much to do.

Erin: I make lists and I cook. There are always a million and one things running around inside my head, so downloading them onto paper – or my iPad or the stickies on my laptop, as the case may be – is quite helpful in making sense of it all. And cooking or baking is how I offload stress. There are few things that I enjoy more than slicing, dicing or whisking in my own kitchen.

Peggy: Dark or milk chocolate? Do you have a favorite brand?

Judi: Dark. I love TCHO because it is fabulous chocolate and because they are “obsessed with creating a better world”…and so am I!

Erin: Dark dark dark! It is the only option, in my opinion. Kopali Organicsmakes the best chocolate covered cacao nibs. These bite sized wonders are the perfect, luxurious balance of everything great in the world. 100% organic, fair trade, pure dark chocolate from Peru. Does it get any better?!

Peggy: Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

Judi: That each us has the responsibility to be a mentor to one person who is a generation or two behind us. To work with, learn from, teach, and empower youth is a great gift in both directions.

Erin: That Haiti has a piece of my heart and I am deeply committed to sustainable development projects that will benefit the next generation! After working in medical relief at a field hospital, being around hundreds of children daily, and speaking with one specific teacher who articulated how a lack of materials prohibited him from returning to a classroom, I came to understand the pressing need for school supplies and educational tools to begin the process that allows children to resume their studies and grow, intellectually and emotionally. School provides a symbol of hope amidst disaster and poverty. Thus, The Schoolbag was born. I launched this initiative to enable children to pursue an education by providing basic school supplies to young people in need. On my forth visit to the country, our team of international and Haitian volunteers reached over 14,189 students with school supplies on our delivery this back to school (Fall 2011)! It was a truly phenomenal experience; to see the impact that a simple pencil and notebook can have on a student, a teacher, a community is beautiful. In addition to implementing successful programs in South Africa and East Timor, we are now gearing up for back-to-school 2012 in Haiti with an even more robust and committed team. There is nowhere on earth that I love more than that island nation – and my work there will continue for years to come, I know.

Peggy: Erin and Judi, thank you for your time and for all you are doing to help make the world a better place. How can interested people get involved with Teens Turning Green?

Erin: Whatever your interest, whatever your entry point, we want you involved in our campaign and we want to support you in your work. Collaboration and partnerships are at the core of it all! We have downloadable toolkits and loads of content on our website for initiatives ranging from food to fashion, paper to GMO, cleaning to dorm, and much more. These are great starting points! Take a look at our websiteteensturninggreen.org and see what sparks your interest. Start a chapter! Host an event! Join a social action platform! Want more info? Email us atinfo@teensturninggreen.org or call our office at 415.289.1001. Want to intern or become a campus rep? Have graphic design, video editing, or web skills? Have any thoughts or ideas? We want to hear! And I personally want to know what excites you and help connect the dots to turn your passion into action! Tweet me,@ErinSchrode, I am eagerly awaiting…

Teens Turning Green: Like them on Facebook…follow them on Twitter.

TTG’s 30 day challenge to take your life from conventional to conscious

With the holidays quickly rolling in are you gearing up to begin shopping for gifts? If so we encourage you to give meaningful gifts that will actually help the earth’s environment and you can do so by participating in Green Gift Monday on November 28th.

Directly coinciding with Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year, The Nature Conservancy is encouraging you to find gifts that have a deeper meaning and are responsible. A few ideas include sending an e-card, making something, giving an experience, donating to a cause in someone’s honor, or purchasing something that is eco-friendly. And if you are still not sure what green gift you can give all you have to do is head over to Green Gift Monday where you will find a Green Gift Guide as well as DIY gift ideas.  We also suggest you head over to the Teens Turning Green page where you can purchase an eco lifestyle gift bag with 100% of the proceeds going to fund our Project Green Challenge 2012!  Help change a teens life… and the world while you’re at it!

To hold yourself accountable to sticking with your sustainable lifestyle as you shop join the thousands of supporters by taking the pledge to give the gift of green this holiday season.

Happy responsible shopping!

The TTG Staff 

Your Guide to a Green Thanksgiving

by Mary Mazzoni

It can be easy to forget being green in the midst of the menu-planning, grocery-buying and family networking that precedes most Thanksgiving celebrations. But with all the effort, time and money you put into this yearly tradition, why not make your Thanksgiving a little greener? We’ve compiled six ways to bring sustainability into your holiday – without skimping on the festive fun.

Using your day-after leftovers in creative recipes like soups, sandwiches and breakfasts is the No. 1 way to reduce holiday food waste. Photo: Flickr/Pink Sherbet Photography 

1. Go low-waste

On a day where copious amounts of food are as commonplace as football and family togetherness, reducing waste can seem next to impossible. But creating a low-waste Thanksgiving is easier than you think. We chatted with Emily Vaughn, associate program manager for Slow Food USA – a Brooklyn-based nonprofit on a mission to change the way America thinks about food – and came up with these four quick and easy tips to shrink holiday waste.

READ: Meet the New $5 Value Meal

• Shop in your pantry: “Before you even start to make a menu, take stock of what you have,” suggests Vaughn. Using what you have on hand keeps prices down in the kitchen and reduces waste. Take inventory of what’s in your fridge, freezer and cupboards and build your shopping list around what you find.
• Use it up: One-third of food in America goes to waste, adding up to 15 percent of what’s in our landfills, according to Slow Food USA. Fight back against food waste by using every bit, like incorporating vegetable scraps and inner meats in stocks, gravies and sauces. Check out our library of reuse ideas for food scraps, and don’t forget to compost what’s left.
• Have a leftover plan: Sure, you could feed the family turkey and stuffing for five straight days. But why not incorporate your Thanksgiving leftovers into innovative recipes for added variety? Slow Food USA provides a library of day-after recipes in their Thanksgiving Guide to help you make the most of all your leftovers.
• Take a look at your energy use: “People tend to think more of physical waste on Thanksgiving, which is very valid,” Vaughn says. “Another thing you can think of is how energy efficient you’re being with your cooking.” If you have several dishes that need to be in the oven at the same temperature, put them in at the same time to reduce energy use (and prep time!). And start with some of your ingredients at room temperature, like butter, to reduce stove-top melting time.

2. All about the turkey

Turkey is the main component for many Thanksgiving meals. But have you thought about the impact your main course has on the planet? This year, 99.99 percent of Thanksgiving turkeys will be the same breed, the broad-breasted white, and most will be produced from industrialized farming, says Vaughn.

Farming practices for most industrially-bred turkeys can be harmful to the birds and surrounding environments, she explains. And drawing turkeys from a narrow gene pool can also pose a threat to American turkey production in the future, as close breeding increases the risk of pervasive diseases and pests on large-scale farms.

READ: Is Raising Chickens Right for You?

So, do I have to skip the turkey this year? No way. Just pick out a turkey with a conscience!

Vaughn suggests heritage turkeys as an alternative to mass-produced grocery store picks. Heritage turkeys, or breeds that have been kept consistent since the mid-20th Century, are typically cultivated by small farmers for generations. Rather than pumping turkeys full of artificial additives to increase hardiness and growth, heritage farmers carefully choose different breeds with the best traits and mate them together.

Over time, heritage farming practices produce turkeys that are naturally strong, self-sufficient and resistant to disease. These breeds are typically much tastier, too.

“The people who are taking time to do this work are doing so because they’re passionate about it and they believe that it’s the right thing,” Vaughn says. “But farmers can’t do this as a community service, they need our support. They need for people to be contentious about the way that they’re purchasing.”

Check out Slow Food USA’s heritage turkey directory to find a breeder near you. But keep in mind that heritage breeds are a little pricier than your standard Thanksgiving turkey. Most grocery store turkeys sell for about $1 per pound, while heritage turkeys can cost upwards of $5 per pound.

For a planet-friendly turkey that won’t break the bank, try other alternatives like organic, free-range or pastured turkeys instead, and buy from a local farmer whenever possible, suggests Vaughn. Not sure how to decode all those labels? Consult Slow Food USA’s quick guide below.

• Certified Organic/Certified Naturally-Grown: A turkey that has been fed organic feed for its whole life and has never been treated with antibiotics.
• Pastured: Turkeys that have been raised outdoors with ample space to move around.
• Free-Range: A turkey that was free of confinement for its whole life but may have been kept in a barn.

3. Vegetarian alternatives

If you or someone on your guest list is vegetarian or vegan, choosing a main course can seem difficult. Sure, you could bake up a “tofurkey.” But why not plan a mouth-watering main based around local ingredients instead?

“Some things you can look to are anything pumpkin-based,” suggests Vaughn.

Pumpkin, which can be found locally and in-season in most regions of the country, is rich, filling and hearty – as you’d want any Thanksgiving main course to be. The tasty fall gourd is also very diverse, with applications ranging from breads to stuffings to pastas. Check out some of our tips and tricks to treat the pumpkin right.

Not a pumpkin fan? Head to Slow Foods USA’s Thanksgiving Guide for other vegetarian options that will leave guests wanting more.

READ: 4 Alternative Thanksgiving Celebrations

“Another thing that a lot of my vegetarian friends really miss is that savoriness [of Thanksgiving gravy],” Vaughn says. To create gravies that rival the savory flavor of their meat-rich counterparts, start with ingredients like mushrooms to cultivate a palate-pleasing bite.

4. Choose local

Most Thanksgiving staples, like sweet potatoes, onions and pumpkins, can be found locally and in-season in most parts of the country. But to bump up the volume of your all-local menu, seek out indigenous meat and vegetable breeds that may be at risk of extinction.

SEE: How to Cook for Compost on Thanksgiving

“[In many parts of the green scene], it’s all about reduce, reduce, reduce,” says Vaughn. “With food, especially with endangered foods, one of the best things to do is to eat them. If we don’t create a market for these foods, we’re going to lose them from our fields and plates.”

To maintain a market for endangered meat and produce picks, Slow Food USA started its U.S. Ark of Tasteprogram – which catalogs more than 200 at-risk foods from all regions of the country. Use the list or ask questions at your local farmers market to find choices that are native to your region for a menu that’s as surprising as it is sustainable.

READ: Your Local Guide to Fall Produce

5. Ease big-day stress

The kitchen is bound to get a little hectic on Thanksgiving. But getting prepped early can help you spend more time in the family room and less time in the kitchen this year.

“There are so many things that you can completely prepare in advance and keep in the freezer, fridge or kitchen counter,” Vaughn says. Prepare all your pies and desserts a day or two ahead of time, and keep them in the freezer or on your kitchen counter until the big day arrives.

SEE: How to Save Food by Canning and Freezing

Vaughn also suggests prepping veggies for casseroles and sides the night before. So, on Thanksgiving, all you’ll have to do is assemble your sides and pop them in the oven.

To keep your veggies from going brown, put them in a sealable container, cover them with water and squeeze in a little citrus juice. Citrus keeps cut produce from oxidizing, which causes discoloration and a less-than-fresh flavor.

And to silence the inevitable “is it ready yet?” queries, prepare some easy snacks ahead of time. “Do yourself a favor the night before, and have something set out for you and your guests to munch on while you’re cooking,” Vaughn says. “It will be a much more painless process.”

READ: 8 Green Thanksgiving Tips

6. Eat on the cheap

As much as you love your family and friends, feeding the whole gang can get pricy. But luckily for you, Vaughn is full of suggestions to ease the burden on your wallet.

The myth that farmer’s markets are more expensive than grocery stores can keep some shoppers away from these neighborhood gems, Vaughn says. But in most cases, farmer’s markets are actually more affordable than large supermarket chains.

“If you’re a smart shopper and you shop seasonally and locally as much as possible, you will save money just by going to the famers market,” says Vaughn. Choosing items that are grown locally reduces the need for transportation, which shrinks the price (and footprint) of your meal.

READ: Go Loco for Local

Using vegetable scraps and the whole turkey, including inner meats, bones and fat, for stocks, sauces and gravies will also help you save a bundle of cash in the kitchen, as mass-produced picks can cost big bucks and homemade varieties are pretty much free.

Or try a potluck reduce money-related anxiety. “If you’re feeling like you can’t front the cost of the meal…invite everyone to bring one dish,” suggests Vaughn. “The cost isn’t borne by only one person, and you get to see a little bit about what everyone’s traditions are. It’s a great way to get to know your friends a little better.”

Have a few of your own Thanksgiving tips and tricks? Share them with Slow Food USA on Facebook andTwitter to help other families green their yearly traditions.

READ: Be Thankful, Be Green: Do’s & Don’ts for an Eco-Thanksgiving