How much do you have in common with these patients who shed tears of fear, relief, joy, anger, frustration, thanks, anxiety, and lost love? These are interesting stories of a few Wellness Alternatives patients seen in our Functional Medicine office.

FEAR. Hashimoto’s Thyroid [...]]]> by Dr. David Peterson, D.C.
and Dr. Emily Heckler, DC, CNC, MBA

How much do you have in common with these patients who shed tears of fear, relief, joy, anger, frustration, thanks, anxiety, and lost love? These are interesting stories of a few Wellness Alternatives patients seen in our Functional Medicine office.

FEAR. Hashimoto’s Thyroid patient received an absolute recommendation to avoid gluten and dairy for at least 12 months and lectins for 3 months based on lab testing in order to improve her condition. This evoked tears. Change is hard! The physicians and office team will help make this lifestyle change. We can educate and support this process.

RELIEF. Prospective patient had three nights of good sleep (highly unusual), no intestinal discomfort for a week, yet woke up doubled over again in pain and experiencing diarrhea. Her procrastination had to stop. She called our office and a staff member spent 30 minutes determining if Functional Medicine was a ‘good fit’ for her health needs. Physician reviewed. Case accepted. Tests ordered. A plan was in place! Tears of relief.

JOY. After 2 months of treatment, an infertility couple is pregnant. We all cried with joy.
ANGER. We diagnosed an Auto-Immune patient with bacterial overgrowth and mold exposure through lab testing. Her root cause of sickness was finally identified. Patient cried with anger for the years this was missed and the suffering she had experienced. Knowing the root problem begins the path to health.

FRUSTRATION. New patient’s first consultation. She did everything ‘right’. She exercised, ate clean, dieted, hired a trainer, started taking Synthroid, and still gained 5 more pounds. It seemed unfair. She was concerned about hormonal imbalances or early menopause. A one hour consultation resulted in a plan of care which includes, hormone testing and testing blood levels of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH). Hashimotos’s Autoimmune Thyroiditis could be the underlying cause of symptoms.

THANKS. Mom of teen patient called to say thank you. Daughter’s menstrual periods normalized and moods improved, but an acne-free back meant buying a strapless prom gown. Mom shared a teary thank you; her daughter was on cloud nine.

ANXIETY. Current patient was having a ‘bad’ day. Was it stress causing abdominal pain and abdominal pain causing anxiety? Or anxiety causing abdominal pain? She needed support and assistance. We connected the dots triggering her current anxiety and made suggestions. Support and a trusting relationship with your physician/team must exist.
LOST LOVE. Male with brain fog and joint pain is tested for food sensitivities. Result: severe sensitivities to malt, yeast, barley, and wheat. Reportedly, there was a trail of tears in his last beer, but he is now on the path to health.

This is Functional Medicine. And despite the tears we love what we do. Many of our patients have been to several doctors and have gone to nationally recognized medical clinics, yet their symptoms continue to deteriorate over the years. All too often current medical care options do not address alterations in physiology that can profoundly impact patients’ health and quality of life. Our physicians look at autoimmunity and related issues such as gluten sensitivity, vitamin D imbalances, blood sugar instability, and intestinal permeability. Functional Medicine’s goal is to find the root problem and provide natural treatment options when possible. We also provide dietary, nutritional and lifestyle guidance that can result in significant and meaningful improvements to your health.

Don’t procrastinate. Check our web site, www.stlwa.com or call our office 636-227-4949. We are the leaders in Functional Medicine and Functional Endocrinology in STL. We make a difference.

If there ever was a market slogan that sums up a country it is Costa Rica’s Pura Vida! Pure Life! Visiting this peaceful Central American country has been on my bucket list for over two decades and I finally made it! If any expectation could have been exceeded it definitely was! The people are [...]]]> by Gretchen Inman

If there ever was a market slogan that sums up a country it is Costa Rica’s Pura Vida! Pure Life!
Visiting this peaceful Central American country has been on my bucket list for over two decades and I finally made it! If any expectation could have been exceeded it definitely was! The people are simple, family centered, devoted to faith and their country. There wasn’t any where I visited that pride in their community wasn’t blatantly evident. Even in the villages struggling with poor economy, drugs and prostitution there was an underlying desire to show the best of what they could offer.

The ecological conservation of this heavenly place on earth is in the forefront of the governing bodies. They are fairly self sufficient and sustainable agriculturally. It seemed that the entrance of foreign business interests were for cheap labor and nothing more. Witnessed on the miles of countryside were sugar plantations- the smell was sweetly intoxicating, palm oil farms for manufacturing food oils, coffee, melons, papaya, pineapple, mangos, pejibaya, bananas, strawberries, coconuts (pipa fria was my favorite- and young coconut with the top macheted off and a straw to slurp the cold refreshing coconut water- full of electrolytes) All the fruit was sold at it’s perfection! Nothing wasted. The local fish – a sea bass called Corvina was the staple in many a delicious ceviche, refreshing and often made the meal, but I enjoyed the calamari, shrimp and octopus too.

Recycling is a way of life, everywhere we went was small bins of sortable recyclables. There were trades folks that had created sellable crafts using recycled materials and creative, artful ways of reusing discarded materials – furniture, hammocks, fencing, etc. Their cognizance of planetary conservation is a matter of survival. The people live fairly simply in small gated homes that all appeared to reflect love and pride regardless of their socio-economic state. There is plenty of poverty and the two classes are distinguishable but segregated. Many people lack transportation and we saw many people on foot walking up and down the mountains, valleys and using foot power to get anywhere. Bicycles, motor bikes and buses were everywhere too. No one looked miserable.

The comida tipica (typical food) is definitely worth mentioning. I had expected something close to Mexican food and although there were similarities I never felt like I was eating Mexican food. The volume of fresh fruit in their diet was impressive. I’ve never been much of a fan of papaya until presented slices of perfectly ripened, custary, slightly sweet fruit- it was a revelation! The tamales are steamed in banana leaves and filled with vegetables, pork or eggs. They use more black beans and mix the beans and rice together- that and some cheese, meat or eggs is a perfect meal! The local cheese was fresh, salty and squeaky- reminded me of farmers cheese swimming in whey. The eggs are ridiculously fresh and shelved, unrefrigerated in the grocery stores. The tortillas were fresh, thicker than we’re used to and the corn meal is often mixed with cheese and griddled for a quick snack. I pampered my palate with some of the higher cuisine but it was French and classically prepared and presented. I saw many a Costa Rican cook living viva locavore because that’s all they have ever done! The tap water was consumable and refreshing- another revelation!

The B& B where I spent most of the nights was high on Volcano Poas just north of Alajuela in a strawberry-growing mecca, but also abundant in this region was arabica coffee, bananas, cut ferns and cattle. The rich view we had from the porch was of the city lights and mountains to the south of San Jose. Every morning was waking up to cool sunny days surrounded by wild bougainvilleas, hibiscus, split leaf philodendron, and prolific amounts of lilies and orchids and a really nice cup of local coffee.

As we ventured closer to the coast the green mountains turned into dry tropical forests. The week we were there they received the first rain since November – I’d always pictured a humid, sweltering environment – not unlike the Midwest in August!

I wasn’t disappointed. There definitely were muggy days but coastal winds allowed relief. A three hour hike to the bottom of a jungle ravine lead us to a cold swimming hole and the base of an incredible waterfall. We ran into several North Americans sharing the same amazing experience. As we were leaving a strong rain cooled the ascent and the tropical forest frogs emerged by the hundreds to give us a special view of the two diverse but symbiotic, micro climate.

Touring an orchid farm to see how these magical flowers are raised to give us such a unique plant in our indoor gardens was a special experience. The day spent at the butterfly conservancy taught me that over 350 species of butterflies are from Costa Rica and they preserve the species through careful measures and send pupa all over the world to ensure their survival. The people were passionate about sharing the beauty of their country. The experience I continue to feel after returning to the USA was that we’re on the right track and although we are significantly more complicated than Costa Rica, we get it! Pura Vida!

For the last few years you have seen this person or another talk about a new method of gardening or farming and how their method is better than the last method.

What does it mean when someone says their way works better than anything we have tried in the past? If you really [...]]]> by Randy Greene

For the last few years you have seen this person or another talk about a new method of gardening or farming and how their method is better than the last method.

What does it mean when someone says their way works better than anything we have tried in the past? If you really look at this “new” method it’s the same thing past generations have been doing for hundreds of years, we’ve just lost, or chosen to ignore, the knowledge that would have been passed on from generation to generation. It’s my belief that the largest contributor to the gap in the defusing of the basic knowledge of gardening and farming has been, and continues to be, the abundance and availability of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Is there a place for the proper use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, yes, but the availability and abundance of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has caused several generations of people in the United States to become ignorant to the basics of self sustaining plant production.

The generations following the great depression were lead to believe the best way to grow anything is to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and for a period of time after the great depression the best way to grow anything on parched earth with little water was to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. However, for the last sixty years we have had abundant resources, and the ability to use more self sustaining practices, but most have chosen not to change their ways of doing things. Many of us as 20th century beings want an immediate solution and we don’t want to think about what is needed. We’re looking for 20 second answers instead of long term solutions. The knowledge that has been lost from the generations that used self sustaining practices, not because they wanted to but because they had to, is a sad, sad condition to be experiencing. The knowledge that has been lost is the knowledge that would tell a farmer or gardener that if you see a bad bug on a plant, and you don’t want it on the plant, then take your hand a mash, instead of running to chemical pesticides. Knowledge that would tell a farmer or gardener that if they do a soil sample it will tell them what they are doing to the soil, or what they need to do to the soil, instead of just constantly throwing out more chemicals. Knowledge that would tell a gardener or farmer that if you use a chemical on a plant that you want to eat fruit from the likelihood that the fruit will contain the chemical used is pretty good.

It’s hard to believe that we would need a hundred years of experience to understand these basic ideas, but it’s surprising what people are ignorant about. We now have the ability to look at what we are doing and how we want to do things and an opportunity to learn from whole groups of people working very hard to relearn the knowledge that has been lost because prior generations have chosen not to believe in or pass on this knowledge due to ignorance and misguided beliefs.

Step outside today’s normal conventional beliefs and think about what you need to do and ask yourself how your great grand father would have done it. I’ll bet you can come up with an answer that will cost you less, take you less time, and is more self sustaining than today’s harsh chemical solution. Reach up and just squish that bug. Where does it say you have to spray something on it other then in catalogues you get in the mail that are trying to sell you the spray?

Randy Greene is the owner of Green’s Country Store & Feed, 8621 Highway N, Lake St. Louis. 636-561-6637.

Spring is my favorite season of the year. This year it started in February, but no-one is complaining. What happens when the weather is spring-like in February? Fruit trees blossom early, winter greens keep growing (and some of them bolt and go to seed), and adventuresome gardeners and farmers begin [...]]]> by Nancy Smith, Farm Sourcer-ess

Spring is my favorite season of the year. This year it started in February, but no-one is complaining. What happens when the weather is spring-like in February? Fruit trees blossom early, winter greens keep growing (and some of them bolt and go to seed), and adventuresome gardeners and farmers begin to think about planting early this year. . .really early.

So far, the result of this headstart has been bounteous crops of spring greens, asparagus, radishes, lovely lettuces and the earliest strawberries on record. Already the produce bins at Sappington Farmers Market have been overflowing with wonderful locally and sustainably-grown produce like Sam Miller’s incredibly beautiful and tasty organic asparagus.

As “Sourcer-ess” for the store, I have had the pleasure of traveling to Sam and Melinda Miller’s farm in Macomb, MO several times to pick up asparagus and other tasty vegetables. Since the Millers use only minerals as fertilizer and use no pesticides of any kind, their fields are a joy to behold and a source of health to them, their children and the lucky consumers who take home their tasty vegetables.

Since it’s a big job for a family to pick, clean, weigh and box so much produce, I am often called upon to pitch in. What a pleasure it is to wash sparkling French Breakfast radishes and form them into tidy bundles. This past week, I helped Sam and two of his children pick kale and broccoli. Working together in the field is conducive to good conversation, so I was able to learn more about what it’s like to be an Amish farmer with limited resources.

Sam talked about his first job, working for a roofing contractor, when he was a teenager. He had never been off the farm for longer than it takes to go to town and pick up supplies, so it was a tremendous adjustment for him. He was no stranger to hard work, but he was uncomfortable in a culture so different from his upbringing. His strong work ethic soon endeared him to his employers, and he grew to enjoy the time off the farm.

Sam’s wife Melinda has also worked off-farm. She worked as a waitress before her children were born, and she says “I loved it!” Her goal was to make sure that everyone left with a smile on their face, and I’m sure she succeeded. Melinda is a genuinely sweet young mother of five children, with an engaging sense of humor. My time with the Millers always leaves me with a sense of well-being, and I usually head for home with simple gifts, like Melinda’s homemade noodles.

The asparagus, kale, radishes and broccoli that I have been able to bring to the store are simple gifts for you and your family, too. Soon the produce bins will be overflowing with the Millers’ sweet and juicy Chandler strawberries. Don’t miss them!

Sappington Farmers Market is located at 8400 Watson Road, between Elm Ave. and Laclede Station Rd.

Go to www.TheArtofRelatingBook.com to purchase my book. Sign up for the monthly newsletter and listen to the “featured” radio show, get free relationship tips and preview the upcoming Healthy Planet article. www.ChristineKniffen.com

The pain of a relationship that ends can feel devastating. This is especially true when you [...]]]> Staying Too Long
Really Does A Number On Your Ego

Go to www.TheArtofRelatingBook.com to purchase my book.
Sign up for the monthly newsletter and listen to the “featured” radio show, get free relationship tips and preview the upcoming Healthy Planet article.
www.ChristineKniffen.com

The pain of a relationship that ends can feel devastating. This is especially true when you ignored nagging thoughts along the way that were telling you to go and that you would not be able to get your needs met by this person. Furthermore, if the other person then does the leaving you are often left “shell-shocked” and in disbelief. It is at this point that clients enter my office seeking help and relief from this all-consuming, heightened pain. In order to help them begin to move forward it is important that they understand what is often really going in inside them. I see two big variables that contribute to this level of “shell-shocked”. First, we become focused on trying to figure out “why and what” just happened. Second we are suffering from a terribly bruised and battered ego.

It can be difficult to try and heal from a broken relationship when we get understandably side-tracked trying to make sense of it all. We play the scenes over and over, endlessly ruminating about the events. We are searching for an understanding that we think will provide the closure we need in order begin to move forward. Unfortunately, most of us want something that we simply cannot get. Break-ups are often not rational. Perhaps you were planning a trip together last week, only to be told this week that it is over. I tell clients that when those types of in congruencies exist, and none of it makes rational sense, that it is more often about the internal emotions of the other person. People often have knee-jerk reactions to internal pressures of not feeling good enough or lovable enough deep down. And, as the relationship gets closer and closer these feelings intensify, leading to the eventual need to relieve the pressure by doing something dramatic such as ending the relationship. However, this is going on at the subconscious level. This is why you can’t get any good answers when you keep asking “why” to the other person. The closure does not come because the other person can only give seemingly ridiculous answers to your question.

Another crucial variable that adds to this level of angst has everything to do with our egos. Much has been written about our need to pay attention to our instincts. They are often right and we find in life that we create many avoidable problems for ourselves when we do not listen to what our gut is telling us. I have often said that the amount of pain we feel at the end of a relationship correlates directly to how long we stayed when we knew we should have left. Then, if the other person leaves us first because we didn’t listen to ourselves, we feel the full extent of our bruised ego. We think, “I can’t believe you left me…..I should have left you ages ago”. Their action has really bruised and battered our ego. We are not really pining away for all of the terrific, supportive qualities that the other person showed us. In fact, most of the time if we did a quick pro and con list for this person we would feel almost embarrassed that we stayed in a relationship so heavily weighted to the negative side. What rational sense does it make then to be suffering so much over the breakup? This suffering simply comes from our highly bruised ego, as we did not listen to ourselves earlier on and were beaten to the punch so to speak.
If you find yourself stuck trying to make sense of what happened, feel shell-shocked by the experience and can honestly say that you ignored your instincts then you must begin to rethink the whole situation. Understand that you don’t need answers as to “why” because there probably are no rational answers. Stop waiting for something that will probably never come. The break-up most likely had nothing to do with you. Likewise, understand that what you are feeling is more about a bruised ego and much less about what you think you have lost. Try to incorporate these ideas into your understanding of “what happened” and they just may help you begin to heal and move forward with your life.

Christine Kniffen, LCSW is a Relationship Coach and Therapist. For a free consultation call 314-374-8396.

No muss, no fuss. Get in, get out. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. If that’s the way you like to garden, then here are 10 “must have” perennial plants for you. Plant them once then sit back and enjoy.

Shade/part shade (4-6 hours of morning sun or dappled sun throughout the day)

1. [...]]]> by Kim Reiss,
Manager Sugar Creek Gardens

No muss, no fuss. Get in, get out. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
If that’s the way you like to garden, then here are 10 “must have” perennial plants for you. Plant them once then sit back and enjoy.

Shade/part shade (4-6 hours of morning sun or dappled sun throughout the day)

1. Yellow corydalis is truly a no-brainer in the shade garden. It has wonderful, ferny foliage topped by bright yellow flowers, and it lightly re-seeds itself against the house or wherever it decides it’s most at home. It flowers throughout the summer. Likes it dry, grows to about a foot tall and wide (before spreading).

2. Geranium Biokovo ‘Karmina’ is truly a must if you’re looking for a flowering groundcover that has bright red fall foliage and evergreen leaves – what’s not to love? Flowers are magenta and bloom in spring; plant reaches 6”-12” tall and wide.

3. Lenten Rose is another evergreen beauty that flowers in multiple colors, often when there is still spring snow on the ground. Can reach 12”-18” tall and wide, but can take the place of a small boxwood for daring gardeners looking for something a little different.

4. Coral Bells are where color begins and ends in the garden! From chartreuse green to peach to majestic purple to everything in between, you can find almost every color in the rainbow in the form of a mounding coral bell. Usually about 12” tall and wide, and often evergreen in the landscape. Looks great in containers, too.

5. Sweet Woodruff is a textural delight on the garden floor, bringing dainty white fragrant flowers in the spring, then great textured leaves throughout the rest of the season. A great groundcover for under shade-loving shrubs. 6”-8” high and wide.
Sun/part sun (4-6 hours of afternoon sun)

6. Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is an award-winning perennial geranium that does the work of a dozen flowers. If you don’t have one yet, then get off your couch right this minute and go get one! They’re that fantastic – purple blooms all summer with no deadheading and a soft, mounding and trailing habit. About 12” tall and 18” wide.

7. Perennial plumbago produces the true indigo flower that gardeners are always seeking in the form of a groundcover plant. I love it under roses because the blue flower contrasts beautifully with most rose colors, and the plant acts as a natural mulch to keep weeds down. Its foliage also turns an interesting bronzy/reddish color in the fall, which is a nice second season of interest. 8” tall and wide.

8. Blanket flower ‘Oranges and Lemons’ is my favorite orange and yellow in the perennial garden because it blooms like an annual but is actually a perennial. Even with no deadheading – because the seedheads are so interesting – this flower blooms its little heart out all summer, with a punch of color all summer long.

9. Herbs! Chives, golden oregano, thyme, etc. make great additions to the garden. Not only are they practical – you can step right out and harvest some herbs for dinner, but they add beauty, as well. Chives flower repeatedly, golden oregano is a stunning yellow ground cover, and thymes have a beautiful dainty flower that looks right at home between stepping stones.

10. Variegated iris or repeat-blooming iris are strong performers in the garden. Variegated iris have the beautiful purple bloom in the spring, but for my dollar, the drama starts with the strong white and green foliage that offers great texture in the garden for the rest of the season. There are also re-blooming irises that bloom in the spring, then again in the fall.

No excuses now for not getting at least a few plants in the garden. These are guaranteed to succeed for even the biggest couch potato. Who knows – maybe the next time you’re flipping through the TV channels, you’ll even watch a gardening show…

Kim is a manager at Sugar Creek Gardens and is president of the St. Louis Hydrangea Society.

The USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter’s mission is to transform the built environment and often when discussing green projects, we talk in singular examples such as an office building, a school or maybe a campus going green. But if we’re truly going to transform the built [...]]]> By Christy Cunningham-Saylor of Vertegy,
An Alberici Enterprise
and USGBC-Missouri Gateway Board of Directors

The USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter’s mission is to transform the built environment and often when discussing green projects, we talk in singular examples such as an office building, a school or maybe a campus going green. But if we’re truly going to transform the built environment, we should consider a grander scale when we think of projects – whole developments, neighborhoods and regions.

St. Louis has diversity when it comes to neighborhoods -79 distinct neighborhoods in the City alone and many, many more throughout the region. Some of these are bustling, thriving communities; some are recently on the rebound and others are struggling with economic and other challenges. You may have heard someone comment on an area “that once used to be the place to go shopping when I was a kid” and wonder what has changed. Looking beyond the conventional neighborhood and subdivisions of today, what should new and renewed communities include? How can connections between residents, services, jobs, schools and transportation options be incorporated? And how do we reduce dependency on personal vehicles?

Reducing personal vehicle usage is beneficial in a couple of different ways – less pollution is emitted by eliminating or reducing driving or by increasing use of public transportation. Besides, walking or biking are much healthier modes of transportation, which then impact common health issues in today’s population such as obesity and diabetes. Alternative modes of transportation often increase common, random interactions with our fellow St. Louisans, resulting in more neighborhood interaction and linkages. Other design elements which contribute to this idea are community spaces that are accessible to all, allowing for all age groups to intermingle.

LEED for Neighborhood Development is the first national standard for neighborhood design. It encourages neighborhood development projects that protect and enhance the overall health, natural environment and quality of life of communities. Additionally, LEED for Neighborhood Development promotes the location and design of neighborhoods that reduce auto dependency by providing jobs and services that are accessible by foot, bicycle, or public transit.
Doug Farr with Farr and Associates has long been an advocate of smart growth and new urbanism in addition to promoting the benefits of smart community design and green buildings. Doug was integral to the development of the LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System. He will be in St. Louis on Tuesday, May 8th to speak about sustainable communities and LEED for Neighborhood Development – not once but twice!

LEED for Neighborhood Development in an Urban Context (in conjunction with the City of St. Louis Mayor’s Sustainability Summit II) will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. This in-depth session will focus on the details and core concepts of the LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System.

If you’re interested in what is happening in our region related to sustainable community development, join us on the evening of May 8th from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for the Chapter’s regularly scheduled monthly program. Doug will present a case study of a local LEED for Neighborhood Development project in East St. Louis.

For more information about both events or to register, visit the Chapter’s website at www.usgbc-mogateawy.org.

Article courtesy of the St. Louis Regional Clean Air Partnership

With motor vehicle idling ranking as a major contributor to ozone pollution, 4th grade students from the Rockwood Center for Creative Learning’s (CCL) “There’s No Zone Like the Ozone” classes have embarked on an anti-idling campaign to help reduce emissions and improve the region’s air quality.

Led [...]]]>

Article courtesy of the St. Louis Regional Clean Air Partnership

With motor vehicle idling ranking as a major contributor to ozone pollution, 4th grade students from the Rockwood Center for Creative Learning’s (CCL) “There’s No Zone Like the Ozone” classes have embarked on an anti-idling campaign to help reduce emissions and improve the region’s air quality.

Led by instructor Kathy Nuetzel, in conjunction with the American Lung Association and the St. Louis Regional Clean Air Partnership, the “Action4Air” campaign kicked off last spring when students were tasked with developing an idling survey which revealed that, daily, half of the parents picking up their children from the CCL idled their vehicles and some arrived nearly 30 minutes early. Knowing that just 10 seconds of vehicle idling can negatively impact air quality, the students were determined to decrease idling outside the Center.

“This project really kicked off with a visit from Susannah Fuchs of the American Lung Association and the Clean Air Partnership, who spoke to our students and challenged them to solve the problem of idling,” said Kathy Nuetzel, Gifted Educator with the Rockwood CCL. “At the CCL, the curriculum is focused on presenting our gifted students with a real-world problem and empowering them to think critically about that problem and then take actions to fix it or solve it. In this case, the students in our Ozone classes stepped up to the plate in a big way.”

The students were divided into four groups with specific tasks. A Sign Group was in charge of developing proposals to CCL administrators requesting the placement of permanent anti-idling signs in the facility parking lot. The team also designed the signs that now hang in key spots throughout the lot.

A Message Group was formed to raise money to purchase the signs and promote anti-idling awareness within the CCL community. Students designed and sold anti-idling-themed t-shirts, created “thank you for not idling” flyers for posting inside all CCL busses, and also developed an electronic flyer asking parents to refrain from idling.
A third group identified idling concerns related to parent pick-up procedures and developed recommendations to improve procedures and decrease idling. As a result of their efforts, the CCL has already seen idling decrease by 15%.

“Before any work was done, our Ozone students studied many anti-idling campaigns across the country, and we gathered a lot of helpful and useful information,” said Nuetzel. “Once we put together our own successful campaign, we wanted to pass our experience along to others, and that’s where the Design Group students focused their efforts.”
The Design Group compiled and shared the students’ “Action4Air” strategies through a variety of channels. Their work has included the development of website content, PowerPoint presentations and a web video highlighting the campaign and its impact on the CCL so far.

“It’s truly incredible to see all that students have accomplished,” said Susannah Fuchs, Senior Director of Environmental Health for the American Lung Association of the Plains-Gulf Region and administrator of the Clean Air Partnership. “Not only are they drawing attention to the negative effects of vehicle idling on air quality, but their efforts go a long way towards helping their fellow students and teachers, and the region, understand the connection between air quality and lung health.”

To learn more about the continuing work of the Rockwood CCL’s “There’s No Zone Like the Ozone” classes, visit https://staff.rockwood.k12.mo.us/nuetzelkathy/Pages/default.aspx or call 636-891-6550. For information on ways you can do your share for cleaner air, visit www.cleanair-stlouis.com.