By Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky, Healthy Planet Arts Editor

Photo Caption: Everything is Golden, by Lizzy Martinez at COCA. 

Art fairs abound in autumn but reserve October 7-9 for the best—Best of Missouri Market at Missouri Botanical Garden, that is! Over 100 artists, vintners, unique food producers meet under open-air tents, showcasing (and selling) everything special to the […]

By Dan Zarlenga, Missouri Department of Conservation

Photo Caption: An eastern pipistrelle bat roosts in a cave. Bats are our nighttime allies, eating insects that would otherwise bother us.

Photo courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

How cool would it be to be able to see sounds? What would they look like? What colors would they be? […]

By Dr. Amy Davis, MD

COVID 19 and the problems that have arisen in the aftermath of even mild cases are confounding doctors across the country. Symptoms commonly include, fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath and poor endurance. Many other issues are being seen including joint and muscle pain, recurrent shingles, reactivation of mono, strokes, myocarditis, […]

Friendship — It’s the Perfect Blendship  

Every year around this time my friend Lynn drives from Little Rock, Arkansas to spend a week with me. Our friendship has endured for over 40 years, longer than most marriages. We go back to when I was a broadcast student and she was my professor. Back to when […]

By Jean Ponzi

Where can you bop out to, for a Nature-rich day? 

Missouri Botanical Garden has curated a map of 50 great locations, on the Missouri and Illinois sides of our region, where you can explore biodiversity as you enjoy being out-of-doors. 

Sites on this Nearby Nature Map range from public parks to state and local conservation […]

By Susan Hunt-Bradford, Publisher

Fall is finally underway, and my hiking boots have been staring at me all summer. It’s time to brush them off and go for a hike with both of my dogs. Fall is my favorite time to hike, not just because of the colors but also because it’s cooler. Winning, all the […]

By Linda Wiggen Kraft, Healthy Planet Green & Growing Editor

Oh, the colors of fall. How can our hearts not sing with the brilliance of orange, reds, yellows, purple and other colors? All too often when thinking of garden colors, we think of spring and summer first, but fall colors are the fireworks of a garden. […]

By J.B. Lester

I have seen photos and film clips of the feral cat population roaming around historic cities in Italy but never really came to understand the wild felines. Then a year ago we had a feral cat birth her litter under our front porch in Webster Groves. When they became weaned, we took some […]

By Sarah Wilson, MA

I slipped between the fence rails, heading toward the trough with a bucket. There was a lone sheep at the far end of the paddock that I didn’t think much about. Then, off to my left, the instructor’s Border Collie, Skip, dropped into their signature crouch, moved a few feet toward me, […]

By Tom Braford

In past months, we have talked about creating socially balanced community, reconciliation community facilitated by sociocracy and economic balance in community by forming worker-owned co-ops to build out and operate from the site.

With those as a base, how can we balance out the environment and the climate? When we consider that, many still […]

By Charmin Dahl

My 13-year-old walked into our living room displaying the universal teen scowl. “If I hear ‘Your Generation’ one more time… ‘Your generation has to save the planet!’ ‘Your generation has to fix the world!’ It’s too much!” 

Generation Z (also called Gen Z or Zoomers) range from age 7 to 25, and number about […]

By Jasmin Acosta

Living in the moment is like having the fear of heights,

As we fear of falling into new experiences that are presented in our daily lives. 

Like looking down from a mountain we can see everything that we couldn’t see from the ground,

And the clouds feel close enough to grasp like a snowball,

But fear creeps […]

By Simon Yu MD

Do you want to live a longer, healthier life without chronic aches, pain or chronic illness? Your oral cavity, gum and dental status can provide an ample “mouthful of evidence” of your health status, and your physician most likely overlooked the dental-oral connection to your health. Medical doctors rely on dentists to […]

Original Recipe by Leigh Hendry

For a while now I have been exploring the concept of food as medicine. When I don’t feel my best I always try to eat better, cleaner, drink more water, eat less sweets, less bread. Food does make people FEEL certain ways. Food can give you comfort or bring you back […]

By Deb Powell

The FOYER is the first place we see when we enter our homes. It’s also the first place others see. When we enter a bright and organized foyer it’s like receiving a ‘welcome home’ hug and smile. This also entices us to organize the rest of the house. Let’s get started! ϑ

You may […]

By Ann Lapides

Peonies are perennial garden classics, adored the world over for their magnificent blossoms and heavenly fragrance. They are incredibly long-lived plants; some have been known to live 100 years! Superb as cut flowers, peonies have no rivals. Alone or in mixed bouquets, they have an ethereal beauty and an unforgettable perfume. Peonies are […]

Toby is the love of my life right now. He is one year old and  has all the characteristics of the corgi. He’s cute, smart, witty, stubborn and most of all he’s very, very lovable on his own terms.

 He is what they call a super chewer. He chews everything from laundry that I’m trying to […]

Any month is a great month to adopt a pet, but the ASPCA has officially declared October as adopt a shelter dog month. 

There are many beautiful things about adopting a shelter dog, cat, rabbit, or whatever pet you choose. I have been fortunate to have had many amazing dogs and a cat. My first dog […]

By Amy Williams, Licensed Massage Therapist and Esthetician at Vitality Unlimited Spa

Fall has arrived when you start seeing pumpkin products everywhere. As festive as the use of this ingredient may be, there is another reason for its increasing popularity: Pumpkin is loaded with vitamins and minerals that are beneficial for overall health and can also […]

By Natalie R. Toney, M.F.A.,C.H.

Ahhh,October! If you’re anything like me, the first leaf with the slightest hint of color that falls to the ground has me dreaming of the the cooler days of Autumn,and all the many delights the season brings.Apple cider by a fire, bundling up in a cozy sweater or cute jacket and […]

Recipe by Julie M. Hale and Matt Allen, Healthy Planet Food Editors

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons regular butter, room temperature¾ cup of brown sugar1 large egg1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1 ½ cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon cinnamon1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

In a large mixing bowl add sifted flour, baking powder, softened […]

By Kate Dickman

Just Moms STL was formed in 2014 by Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel to raise awareness of the issues their community was facing regarding the nuclear and other hazardous waste at West Lake Landfill in North St. Louis County, and they have been a valued partner of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment […]

By Natalie Meyer, Chair of USGBC Missouri Gateway Advocacy Committee, Senior Account Executive Siemens 

We all agree that our planet needs a hug, but it seems that when our attitude meets political action it does not happen fast enough or with enough force to be effective. However, on August 7th, the U.S. passed the Inflation Reduction […]

Makanda: Gateway to Giant City and Outdoor Adventure, can easily fill a 3 or 4 day getaway! 

With its breathtaking natural beauty and unlimited opportunities for outdoor recreation, a trip to Giant City State Park and the Makanda area offers loads of fun. From camping and horseback riding to fishing and rappelling, it’s an outdoor lover’s […]

By Susan Hunt-Bradford, Healthy Planet Publisher 

St. Louis Community College has many different options for majors and programs for students seeking all kinds of education to find that perfect career. STLCC has two top-rated programs at their Forest Park campus: Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry Arts. Both are Associate of Science degrees. The degrees are […]

Each day of the week will feature different Green Dining Alliance establishments donating a portion of their sales to support the GDA.

St. Louis, MO (September 20, 2022) —  The 2nd Annual Green Dining Week returns October 17-23 and includes 17 Green Dining Alliance establishments. Each day of the week will feature at least one GDA member, […]

By Dr. Gail Cloud, D.C.

I often have patients ask me when the work on themselves will end.

My answer is: it never does. It gets easier, and we recover more quickly when triggered or upset, but the work never ends. We certainly have times when we rest, and we coast a bit. But, we also have […]

By Sarah Wilson, MA

This is the time of year I look forward to — the cool air, the leaves turning, the sound of those leaves as Daisy and I walk through them.

Left alone, those leaves blow into drifts and piles. They settle, creating, over time, strata for life. Near the ground, the leaves mat up […]