Top #GivingTuesday Organizations to be more Green

Giving Tuesday is a day set aside for us all to come together to support our local and national not-for-profits. While we shouldn't need a special day to support great causes, it is a great reminder that the holiday giving season is not just about shopping and gift giving - it is also about giving back.
Giving Tuesday was created by the team at the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact at the 92nd Street Y—a cultural center in New York City that, since 1874, has been bringing people together around the values of service and giving back—#GivingTuesday connects diverse groups of individuals, communities and organizations around the world for one common purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving.

This year I am involving my kids in making decisions on which organizations to make donations to. I want to focus on environmental and parks causes so I put together the list below as a resource for my family and yours. Take a look at these great organizations that are really making a difference and consider supporting them on November 29, or any day!

National Park Service

This year marked the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service. Show your support for the future of our National parks by making a donation to your favorite park or through the National Park Foundation. Our over 400 national parks preserve 84 million acres of the world’s most treasured landscapes, ecosystems, and historical sites. Your gift will help the National Park Foundation protect these treasured landscapes for generations to come.

Click here for more info and to find your park

Donate to the National Park Foundation here

The Trust for Public Land 

Creating Parks and Protecting Land for People
For over four decades, The Trust for Public Land has saved more than 5,400 special places in 48 states, protecting more than 3.3 million acres. No other organization can accomplish more with less money, so you can be sure that every dollar donated will make a difference! This year your donation will be matched dollar for dollar so your gift will make twice the impact. Learn more about the Trust for Public Land at tpl.org

Watch this fabulous video on the work TPL is doing for schools in NYC: TPL NYC Playgrounds Program
Donate to TPL today here

350.org 

An international campaign dedicated to fighting climate change, 350.org gets its name from the maximum level of atmospheric carbon dioxide — 350 parts per million (ppm) — that climate scientists agree will maintain our planet’s long-term ecological health. Now, the level is 400 ppm, and it’s rising by 2 ppm each year. This group organizes in 188 countries and strives to revolutionize the climate movement. Learn more at https://350.org/Donate to 350.org today here

Nature Conservancy 

Since its foundation in 1951, this global conservation group has safeguarded more than 115 million acres of land from development. The Conservancy works with landowners, communities and businesses to achieve conservation goals. Learn more about the Nature Conservancy at http://www.nature.org/
Donate to Nature Conservancy Here

Sierra Club 

EXPLORE, ENJOY, AND PROTECT THE PLANETThe Sierra Club, founded in 1892, has an impressive, storied history and is one of the oldest and largest grass-roots environmental organizations in the United States. The group’s website is a hub of opportunities to participate in all sorts of environmental campaigns, from rallying against fracking to opposing carbon pollution. Learn more at http://www.sierraclub.org/ 
Donate to Sierra Club Here

The Arbor Day Foundation

The Arbor Day Foundation inspires people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.
This is the mission statement of the Arbor Day Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit conservation and education organization.

Founded in 1972, the centennial of the first Arbor Day observance in the 19th century, the Foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with over one million members, supporters, and valued partners. Over the course of 50 years, a single tree can generate $31,250 worth of air pollution control, recycle $37,500 worth of water, and control $31,500 worth of soil erosion. Learn more about Arbor Day Foundation here: https://www.arborday.org/

Donate to Arbor Day Foundation Here

Learn more about #GivingTuesday at https://www.givingtuesday.org/ 

Earth Month Day 24: Reuse and Swap kids clothes with Thredup

Clothes don’t grow. Kids do.

Many people use springtime as a good reason to do the deep cleaning, reorganizing and purging.  It's also a time that we realize just how much excess we have.  And if you have kids, you know how quickly the out-grown clothes pile up! Last year I was discussing how my closets were overcrowding with a friend - we have both have two kids but of opposite sex of each other so we decided to swap clothes - my infant boy clothes for her preschooler girl clothes.  Not too long after that, I discovered thredUP.com - the online children's clothing swap site!  I thought that was just the coolest thing ever!  I had tried to sell my gently used clothes on Ebay and didn't have too much success.  I have also donated bags and bags to Salvation Army but with the increasing cost of new clothes (and the constant need to get larger sizes!) it would be nice to get something in return for the clothes.  That's were thredUP comes in... you give, you get, it's fast and it's easy!
thredUP is where families swap kids clothing (and toys!) online. Join thredUP's FREE online community to exchange stuff your kids no longer use, for clothing that fits & toys they'll love!

From Thredup.com:

Here's how easy it is to thredUP Picking Boxes of Clothes:
thredUP is the best way to clear out your kids clothes and toys that they no longer use. Take the clothes and toys your child has outgrown and prepare to thredUP—all on your schedule (monthly, quarterly, seasonally, annually). We've found that most parents list new boxes regularly once they learn how easy it is to do. Here's how:

•Receive a pack of FREE USPS flat rate boxes automatically sent to you (free of charge) upon registration.
•Sort clothes by making groups of the same size, season(s) and gender.
•Separate by clothing item type (tops and bottoms) and brand. Keep outfits and matching items together.
•Stuff USPS boxes with your organized groups of used kids clothing.
•Tell us about the clothing in each box in our "Build a Box" template.
•List your box and then wait for another member to pick it!

At thredUP we are committed to helping you exchange fantastic pre-loved clothes and toys. Real world clothing swaps are time consuming and hard to organize. We’ve created one for you that’s always available and always being updated with new listings from parents just like you.

•Navigate our listings similar to surfing eBay, iTunes or Amazon. Sort by gender, size, brand, season or type of item
•Find baby, toddler, or pre-teen clothing, and toys for all ages
•Pay $5 + shipping ($10.95) and it's yours
•Get your box sent directly to your doorstep by the parent who listed it
•Add listers to your Favorite Senders list and filter search results to view only boxes that your favorite senders have listed
•View community ratings to ensure high quality items and picking boxes with confidence

All you'll ever pay for basic swapping is $5 + ($10.95) shipping per box of kids clothes. At more than ten items per box, that's like $1.50 per item. No hidden charges. No recurring fees. You can decide at anytime to stop swapping clothes.



Building your box is super easy - you just simply select the categories your clothes fit into (group your clothes by size when building a box) and the brand names and write a brief description of the items.  You don't need to include photos or do anything special.  Once I got my clothes sorted and tested to see how many fit into the box, I was able to list a box on thredUP in minutes then just packed the box up.  My first few boxes got selected within a few days and my recent boxes got selected the NEXT DAY!  Sending them is even easier!  thredUP generates your shipping label and a USPS pickup will be automattically scheduled for the next day.  That's it - DONE!  SO EASY! Now I have more space in the closets too!

Now I have a credit in my account and I'm ready to start selecting boxes to see what goodies I can find!!

This is the ultimate way to reuse and reduce waste in our landfills!

Use my referal code http://www.thredup.com/Carmichael Nitzky69564 and receive a $5 credit!

*~ Sprout ~*

Happy Earth Month!

Although Earth Day is April 22, the whole month is dubbed EARTH MONTH by many organizations because there is so much we can do to celebrate and spread the word about protecting our planet that it couldn't possibly be done in one day!  EVERY day should be Earth Day!  So in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and the month long celebration, I will be posting a green tip, idea, link, topic, craft, image or product every day this month!  This will certainly be a huge task for me since I am really a part-time blogger (I work full time as a Landscape Architect and I'm a mommy of 2 young kids so only have time at night or on weekends..) but I am up for the challenge! 

So to start out Earth Month, I want to share a few websites that I love that relate to Earth Month or offer great ways for you to be more environmentally aware:

Planet Green - One of my favorite multi-media sites for everything about sustaining our planet and making healthy, smart choices: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/feature/earth-day/

Treehugger - From nature to science to architecture to fashion to food and travel, this is the A#1 place for everything green!  Another one of my favorites, this is a site to be following and reading everyday: http://www.treehugger.com/

Inhabitat - Inhabitat.com is a weblog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.  Sign up for their daily emails and get inspired every day with green design: http://inhabitat.com/

Mother Nature Network - MNN is the leading resource for daily environmental news, green commentary and simple steps to save money, stay healthy, and support the planet.  It's a cleanly designed website packed with interesting articles  http://www.mnn.com/ 

Practically Green - This is the best website to get tips on how you can be more eco-friendly and to set goals for yourself and to green your home and lifestyle.  If you already live eco-friendly, find out just how green you really are!  I did a few blog posts recently about this fantastic website - check it out: http://sprout5.blogspot.com/search/label/Green%20Living

April is also National Landscape Architecture Month and since I am a landscape architect, I will be sharing projects, info, and topics with you all month long!  To learn more about Landscape Architecture, check out;

The Dirt - the official blog of the American Society of Landscape Architects: http://dirt.asla.org/

Stay tuned, follow and forward this blog this month for some exciting surprises, giveaways and blog hops to celebrate Earth Month!

~ Sprout