By Clint Green, “Reel Talk” Healthy Planet Film Reviewer
Indy, the dog gives the performance of a lifetime in Good Boy, from co-writer & director Ben Leonberg. While man’s best friend is no stranger to Hollywood, often leading family friendly fare such as A Dog’s Journey and classics like Beethoven and Homeward Bound, Leonberg provides audiences […]
By Abigail Sirevaag, Missouri Gateway Green Building Council Board Chair
2025 marks the 10-year anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement, where countries around the globe committed to curbing carbon emissions to achieve a 1.5-degree world. Many positive improvements have come since the initial signing, including the expansion of renewable energy capacity, setting of […]
By Dr. Amy Davis, M.D.
As the New Year begins, many people feel renewed motivation to focus on their health—especially when it comes to weight loss. Unfortunately, January is also when unrealistic goals, restrictive diets, and “all-or-nothing” thinking often take center stage. At our practice, we believe sustainable weight loss isn’t about perfection—it’s about creating supportive […]
By Dr. Gail Cloud
It feels like there is an epidemic of loneliness. It seems like so many of us feel separated and isolated from others. We seem to be afraid of speaking our truth, worried about how others will react to our words and our thoughts and beliefs.
What if we were to create a circle […]
By Malachi Rein, Director of the Building Energy Exchange — St. Louis
In St. Louis, you can see and feel our story through our surroundings. Lives and careers, happiness, pain, sadness and hope. That’s why we need to talk honestly about our buildings. It can be said, without exaggeration, that existing buildings are the crux of […]
Our medical director, Helen Gelhot, M.D., has consistently embraced cutting-edge technologies to reverse symptoms of and prevent chronic disease. Since the inception of her practice in 2008, she has been wholeheartedly dedicated to nurturing the sacred doctor-patient relationship. Taking an integrative medical approach -functional or holistic- she employs both natural and pharmaceutical elements as needed; […]
ARTul Resolutions for 2026
By Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky, Healthy Planet Arts Editor
Image: Becoming the Ocean for Gregory Corso, by Anselm Kiefer, at SLAM
Happy New Year! As I say every year, when making New Year’s resolutions, resolve to bring more ART into your life. Here are just a few ways to kick start that plan:
Warm up (figuratively […]
Celebrate and Support The Arts This Holiday Season
By Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky, Healthy Planet Arts Editor
Image: Winter Celebration at St. Louis Art Museum
As the year comes to a close, it is a good time to reflect on the ARTful experiences of 2025:
Did you attend a play? A dance performance? A concert? Which exhibitions did you view?
This […]
Attend the Heartland Hypnosis Conference to Learn How Hypnosis Can Help You
By William Mitchell M.Div., BCH, CI
When people find out that I am both a Protestant Minister and a Hypnotist, they want to know what can be done with Hypnosis. Most people immediately think of entertaining hypnosis stage shows. However, Hypnotism is much more than […]
By Diane K. Wilson
Step into 2026 with small, achievable changes that can enhance your health and well-being by tuning into your body’s energetic frequency, vibration and resonance. Let’s do this by understanding and improving these energies holistically.
Stay informed throughout the year! Follow my monthly Healthy Planet articles, blog posts, new classes (in-person, Teams/Zoom, email, and social media) […]
ST. LOUIS, MO — The Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association (EMBA) is gearing up for its highly anticipated 2026 Beekeeping Workshop & Honey Show Weekend, set to take place February 20–21 at the Holiday Inn SW — Route 66 in St. Louis.
Now in its 18th year, the event draws beekeeping enthusiasts from across the region for […]
Photo: Open Apiary Day — The Eastern Missouri Beekeeping Association has mentors, monthly meetings and hands on experience to guide you through a year of beekeeping. Photo Credit: Michael Kilfoy
The Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association (EMBA) is gearing up for its
highly anticipated 2026 Beekeeping Workshop & Honey Show Weekend, set to take place
February 20–21 at the […]
January is a fresh start, and for millions, it’s also Veganuary, a global movement that encourages people to explore a plant-based lifestyle during the first month of the year. Whether guests go fully vegan or want to make more mindful choices, Veganuary is all about discovering delicious swaps that don’t sacrifice flavor. At Clementine’s, that’s […]
By Dan Zarlenga, Missouri Department of Conservation
Photo caption: A trio of trumpeter swans wing their way across a Missouri wetland. Photo by Noppadol Paothong, Missouri Department of Conservation
You arrive at the venue, greeted not by clouds of smoke, but puffs of cumulus floating high on a ceiling of blue. The tables are ice floes, and […]
By Dan Zarlenga, Missouri Department of Conservation
Photo caption: The dark eyed junco. Just an extraordinary, ordinary bird.Photo by Jim Rathert, Missouri Department of Conservation
It’s just an “ordinary bird”… yet it can carry itself across a continent with little more than the gentlest of scents.
The tiny dark eyed juncos are common winter visitors around backyard bird […]
By Jasmin Acosta, Healthy Planet Staff Writer
As the year draws to a close, many of us feel a mix of emotion such as hope, uncertainty, gratitude, and maybe even regret. This mix of emotions is natural but is fundamental to set the foundation needed to create meaningful New Year’s resolutions. Planning for the year ahead […]
By Natalie R. Toney M.F.A., C.H., Healthy Planet Food Editor
Checking your “good” list for a fun, healthy, and versatile dish to serve throughout the holidays? Look no further, because baked spinach and kale “holly” bites will make spirits bright at any table this season! The festive green and white color beckons to be arranged in the […]
Honor your uniqueness while improving wellness and energy through the principles of ancient Ayurvedic wisdom.
By Dale Wilke, M.S., LMT
Every body is different, and Ayurveda recognizes and celebrates this truth. As one of the world’s oldest holistic health systems, Ayurveda teaches that we are each made up of a unique blend of the five elements: earth, […]
This popular annual event will once again offer visitors a splendid chance to see bald eagles in their natural habitat.
Photo: The annual Eagle Days festival returns for 2026 to the Audubon Center at Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary in West Alton. The event takes place Saturday, Feb. 7 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
As America marks […]
By Jean Ponzi
Building Confidence, Kindly
If I direct myself (or you) to BE CONFIDENT! It’s about as useful as saying BE TALL!
Good luck making this declaration work, say scientists who explore our species’ brains. Turns out Confidence is not just a feeling, or even an intention. It’s a learned response. We can build or undermine it. […]
By JB Lester
If you were to drive down Innisfail Drive in Webster Groves this holiday season, you might expect to see a little yellow house lit up with bright white Christmas lights. It is normally a beautiful sight, twinkling in the December darkness. My wife loves the little white lights each year as they bring […]
By JB Lester
My new year column is always about self-improvement, as the turning of the calendar is a great time for reflection and introspection. I have plenty to improve on and I plan to do just that in the months and years to come. But I need to know that everyone else out there is […]
Gateway Pet Guardians (GPG) is proud to have received a highly coveted grant from the PEDIGREE Foundation for its ‘Finder-to-Foster’ program, which keeps stray dogs out of the shelter in a temporary foster home. Adult-large breed dogs tend to languish in shelters across the United States, according to Best Friends Animal Society, and their euthanasia […]
By Linda Wiggen Kraft, Green & Growing Editor
In the great garden of greenthere are memories of the growing season to be seen.
The herbs of parsley, rosemary and sagesand the towering tomatoes grown in cages.
The glorious colorful flowersthat rejoiced in the rain and gentle showers.
The honey, mason and native beesthat pollinated the fruits of the trees.
The […]
Tucked in the stunning Shawnee National Forest, Giant City State Park is a hidden gem offering a unique experience for outdoor enthusiasts, families, and light adventure travelers. One of the park’s highlights is the annual wintertime “Gnome Roam”, inviting visitors to explore seven different trails while searching for whimsical winter gnomes scattered along the trails, […]
A brand-new year always brings with it a sense of possibility. Whether 2025 was wonderful, challenging, or a mixture of both, 2026 offers a fresh start—a chance to realign with what matters, create healthier habits, and step into a version of yourself that feels more grounded, joyful, and fulfilled. Making this your best year yet […]
From Founder to Future: A Roadmap to Implement Longevity and Employee Ownership
By Tom & Carol Braford
As Carol and I round out our 70s and look down the barrel of our 80s and beyond, we are facing our next chapter, as are over 3 million other small business owners.
We are joined nationally by 32 million employees […]
By Tom & Carol Braford
We have the opportunity right now to incrementally move a MetroLink North/South connector line forward as the voters were led to believe that we would be able to do when we passed the bond issue. Or, given that matching federal funding is no longer likely anytime soon, the mayor’s office is […]
2025: Reflections on a Year Full of Gratitude
By Susan Hunt-Bradford
Every New Year’s Eve, before the clock strikes midnight, I take a little time to look back on the year that’s just passed. This one has been interesting, to say the least. I’ve learned a lot—about myself, about others, and about what really matters. From people […]
2026… I’m Ready for Whatever You’ve Got
By Susan Hunt-Bradford, Healthy Planet Publisher
I say this every year, but I truly believe the year ahead will be a good one. So far, I’ve done a fairly decent job predicting how things will unfold — not because life is perfect, but because I choose to believe there’s always […]
Great Rivers Greenway shares first look at new bridge renderings in most ambitious bridge-building effort to date
Image: Dardenne Greenway Boardwalk
Great Rivers Greenway, the public agency connecting the St. Louis region through a network of greenway trails, has 8+ greenway bridge projects in planning and design and construction in 2026, the most in its 25-year history. These projects will […]
By Steve Davies, Healthy Planet Columnist
I have to say, in some ways, this has been a tough article to write on a topic near and dear to my heart for so many years. Having just turned the ripe old age of 64 last month, I have to admit I’m finally beginning to wonder, what’s going […]
By Steve Davies, Healthy Planet Columnist
Now my question here is what exactly would a recycling resolution be? I mean, first off, I know I already do a fair amount of recycling, like cutting out the greasy parts of a pizza box before putting them in the recycling bin and I also separate the layers of […]
At the start of a New Year, many of us make resolutions to improve our lives. But rather than focusing solely on traditional goals, consider updating your mindset and resolve to be more intentional about caring for your mind, body, and spirit. January is a chance to pause, refresh your routines, and truly celebrate yourself. […]
By Dr. Gail Cloud
I had an experience recently where someone called me and told me about the sticky situation they had gotten themselves into which reminded me of something that happened with my father and how it affected me years before.
In the past, when something like this happened, I would get very upset and anxious […]
December brings days filled with festive energy, joyful gatherings, and meaningful traditions. It’s a season of magic, connection, and celebration—but also one that can feel overwhelming with packed schedules and long to-do lists.
At Vitality Unlimited Spa, we believe one of the most meaningful gifts you can give to yourself and those you love is the […]
By Janet Starr
Nearly 35 years ago, I set out on a quest to find a spiritual teaching that would help me understand how God speaks to me. Growing up in church, I prayed every day but sensed there was more beyond that. Every religion and faith helps the seeker to connect in a way that […]
The Many Benefits of Being Vegan or Vegetarian
Whether you’re considering eating less meat or fully transitioning to a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, there are countless benefits that extend far beyond what’s on your plate. Plant-forward eating has continued to gain popularity, and for good reason: it supports personal health, protects the environment, and reflects a […]
By Janet Starr
Life can be a continuous grand adventure. Creating a better life is possible when using spiritual tools that work specifically for each individual. For me, experiences in daily living and in nightly dreams teach me how the divine works to show what is necessary to live in joy, grace, comfort, and peace.
To expand […]
Katie’s Cleaning Service, now in its 11th year, is currently looking for bi-weekly and monthly customers located in Webster Groves, Kirkwood and the South County area.
Katie’s Cleaning Service offers you the best cleaning services you can find. We are dependable, trustworthy and we go the extra mile, always paying attention to details.
Independently owned and operated, […]
Katie’s Cleaning Service, now in its 11th year, is currently looking for bi-weekly and monthly customers located in Webster Groves, Kirkwood and the South County area.
Katie’s Cleaning Service offers you the best cleaning services you can find. We are dependable, trustworthy and we go the extra mile, always paying attention to details.
Independently owned and operated, […]
By Dr. Amy Davis,M.D.
Headaches are something most people deal with at some point, but if you’re someone who struggles with migraines, you know they are far more than “just a headache.” They can interrupt your plans, your work, your relationships—your entire day. I know this personally. I’ve had migraines most of my life, and I […]
Christmas, Hanukkah & Kwanzaa Traditions That Bring More Light, Love & Connection
The holiday season shines brightest when it’s filled with love, gratitude, and community. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or simply the spirit of the season, there are many creative ways to honor tradition while adding new, meaningful touches. These ideas encourage togetherness, sustainability, […]
By Jasmin Acosta, Healthy Planet Staff Writer
As we enter a new year, we often make resolutions such as to eat healthier, exercise more, or try a new hobby. But what if we made a different kind of resolution? One where we choose to live life to its fullest potential. A resolution to feel deeply, to […]
Winter is a great time to enjoy the slower, quieter side of Shawnee Forest Country in Southernmost Illinois. The cooler temperatures mean no bugs or snakes and the trees are bare, allowing you to see much further into the forests. Bluffs hidden behind the summer foliage emerge dramatically into sight. The Shawnee National Forest can be magical any time of […]
By Stephen Rutherford
Photo: October 2025: Aslan (middle) introduces his wife, Sabina, to his former host dad. The Rutherford family hosted Aslan in St. Louis for the 2012-13 school year
“I don’t have to observe Ramadan, but I want to because I like the challenge.” Aslan, our new high school exchange student from Jordan, explained the intricacies […]