June is the perfect time of year to enjoy the outdoors. Gardens are lush and green after the Spring. The beauty of nature takes root, literally, and we are treated to landscapes rich with color, scent, and sound. Take a stroll through local gardens with spectacular water features on the 24th Annual St. Louis Water […]
Articles from ‘June 2024’ Issue
02 St. Louisans Encouraged to Take Action for Cleaner Air Based on Mixed “State of the Air” Results
Article courtesy of the Clean Air Partnership
The American Lung Association’s recently released “State of the Air” report finds that despite decades of progress cleaning up air pollution, 39% of people living in America – 131.2 million individuals – still live in places with failing grades for unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. This is […]
03 Smooth Hydrangea – 2024 Native Plant of the Year
By Ann Lapides
Creating an ethereal site in the shade garden Smooth Hydrangea, Hydrangea arborescens, is a cherished native shrub. Honey-scented clouds of large, 2-6″ creamy white, dome-shaped flowers appear for months beginning in May. Smooth Hydrangea will flower abundantly from May through July, with a scattering of additional flowers appearing into September. Its large flowers […]
04 Patient’s Story on Lung Cancer Treatment
By Simon Yu MD
This story was written by the husband of a patient of mine, who asked that I share it:
“In April of 2022, my never-smoking wife had a 2.9 cm x 3.9 cm mass in her left lung imaged by a PET Scan. The mass was described by the radiology MD as highly metabolically […]
05 What constitutes freedom? What does it mean to be free and live free?
By Dr. Gail Cloud
So what is freedom? The full moon of Scorpio is an opportunity to bring to light all that lies in darkness; hence the full light of the sun to guide us. The two planets touching each other, Jupiter and Uranus, infuse in us the influence of expansion and faith and sudden change […]
06 A Healthy Flora Creates a Happy Gut!
By Amy K Davis, MD
When intestinal flora is healthy, it favorably impacts your overall health and vice versa. Understanding how to rebuild your flora is key to improving your digestion, ability to fight infections and a healthy weight for starters.
The flora (trillions of microbes that inhabit your intestines) is important for many reasons.
Digestion
Vitamin production – […]
07 Focus on Health and Well-Being this Father’s Day
Father’s Day provides a special opportunity to honor the important men in our lives with a relaxing day at Vitality Unlimited Spa. The demands of work, physical activity, summer weather, and daily stress can significantly impact overall health and well-being. A day at our spa offers dads a peaceful retreat to relax, rejuvenate, and recharge mentally and physically.
Give […]
08 A Fleeting Moment In The Sun
By Dan Zarlenga, Missouri Department of Conservation
You may have heard a lot about cicadas lately. In fact, you may even be hearing a lot of cicadas right now. Some people say they’re ugly, gross, annoying. They call their sounds loud, irritating, and bizarre. They get frustrated to find the bugs covering their trees, deck posts, […]
09 Putting Family Wage Jobs First
By Tom & Carol Braford
There has long been a debate about how best to address poverty and all the myriad challenges that flowfrom it. Of course, there is no one simple solution.
At ICB, we have developed a suite of what we refer to as the 5Rs sustainable, social and physical community building technologies that address […]
10 “For A Good Reason”
By Wendell Phillips ‘Phil’ Berwick
I was having doubts that my plan to free fifteen families from bonded labor in Pakistan wasn’t going to happen. The closer it came to leaving, tree care operating costs were chopping my ‘freeing families from slavery money’. Then one morning as I walked with covid masked face hung low into […]
11 Dayempur Farm Holds Herbal Workshop June 22
Dayempur Farm is the home of Dayempur Herbals. Located in the rolling hills of Southern Illinois, Dayempur Farm has always been and remains, free of chemical use in the soil, air and water. Dayempur Herbals has been growing medicinal herbs and handcrafting products since 2007. The medicinal herb garden is at Dayempur Farm: Center for Sustainable […]
12 Supporting School Gardens over the Summer
By Deborah Rogers Curtis, Green Schools Coordinator for the Missouri Gateway Green Building Council
School gardens are becoming more common across the United States as teachers look for hands-on learning opportunities for their students. Gardens provide an incredible number of benefits, but they also come with challenges. One of the most significant issues is that the […]
13 Peach, Basil, and Balsamic Pizza… Perfect for Poolside or the Patio!
By Natalie R.Toney, B.F.A., C.H., Healthy Planet Food editor
The summer season is upon us, as is the season for parties poolside, on patios, by the lake, and really anywhere else we can soak in the sun (with appropriate SPF, of course!) after long stretches indoors. This season also brings an abundance of fresh fruits such […]
14 ARTful Living
June! It’s officially summer in St. Louis, and what an ARTful summer this promises to be!
By Michelle “Mike” Okonicky, Healthy Planet Arts Editor
Photo caption: Pottery by Jennifer Falter, Webster Arts Fair.
The Whitaker Music Series at the Missouri Botanical Garden, which began on May 29, celebrates summer evenings in Missouri Botanical Garden every Wednesday through July […]
15 Publisher’s Corner
Spring Cleaning Leads to Unforgettable Memories
By Susan Hunt-Bradford
I’ve been spring cleaning and decluttering for the last few weeks. I’ve lived in my current house for 21 years, and I have accumulated a lot of items. Many are lovely items that I’ve never used but thought I needed to purchase. Some are well-worn items that have seen […]
16 Earthworms’ Castings: Father’s Day on the Links
By Jean Ponzi
You Too Can Be a Weiner
My dad, Bert Ponzi, loved the game of golf. He loved to play it – and yak about it – with his buddies or any three guys he’d get to know. He loved live tournaments on TV before you could record to skip commercials.
He’d boost his music teacher’s […]
17 “…I wasn’t taught THAT in school.” Some Health Essentials!
By Diane K. Wilson
In the rush of modern life, crucial lessons often slip through the cracks.Here are some vital topics not always taught but essential for well-being:
Aura & Frequency: “Your vibe attracts: health, wealth, tribe.”
Brain, Heart, Gut Cohesion: “The gut is the second brain. Your heart contains brain cells!”
Breathing Techniques: “Inhale the future, exhale the […]
18 Fireflies in the Garden
By Linda Wiggen Kraft, Healthy Planet Green & Growing EditorFireflies and lightning bugs are two common names for a special kind of beetle that fills our summer evenings with their magic of bioluminescence. Their scientific name is lampyridae. One of the most special times of summer is when fireflies start their evening light show. Flickers […]
19 EarthDance Organic Farm School
EarthDance Organic Farm School here in Ferguson is a teaching farm, offering food and educational programs on a Pay What You Can basis for learners of all ages. Growing healthy soil, food, and community is central to their mission. The EarthDance team believes and works to ensure that health begins in the soil.
The farmer educators […]
20 Founder’s Forum: Cicada Summer, A Needed Distraction
By J.B. Lester
With all that is going in the world right now, wars, climate disasters, former president on trial, it is a welcomed relief that we can all be talking about the cicada invasion. The sounds of these buzzing insects, along with the twinkling of fireflies, are normally the harbingers of summer. Only this year […]
21 Inspirations for Life! Live!!!
By Deb Powell, Healthy Planet columnist
GO for it! Life is too short to live without your true desires. Put your efforts into getting them, and set fear and doubt aside.
This is segueing into my next set of articles. I started writing for the Healthy Planet magazine with a year of monthly organizing tips, then a […]
22 Nature? Nurture? Cowbirds Know
By Sarah Wilson, Healthy Planet Staff Writer
Cowbirds are the world’s most obnoxious neighbors. They lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, forcing those birds to raise the cowbirds’ young.
As you can imagine, this is not popular with the 200+ species cowbirds use in this way.
The other birds fight back. Species such as the Yellow Warbler […]
23 The Symphony of Living
By Jasmin Acosta, Healthy Planet Staff Writer
Knowing every decision that we will make in life simply strips away the beauty of spontaneity, an essential element that vibrates our soul due to the unpredictability. There may be moments where we will yearn for foresight to dictate the path that we should follow, but this reduces life […]
24 Recycling 101… Plastic Bags
By Steve Davies, Healthy Planet Columnist
So today we’re going to start with the plastic that is without a doubt at the top of many peoples list when it comes to recycling and that is the plastic bag. Those pesky ones that are used at many of our small and major grocery stores, as well as […]
25 Organized for Life: Prepping for Summer!
By Deb Powell, Healthy Planet Columnist
Getting organized now for the summer leaves you more time to enjoy it.
Want to be organized and get more done? Make a list! Set a timer for 30 -60 minutes! Then stop and do the next task or get up and move/stretch if you’ve been sitting…
OR: Write on a timetable what you […]