viva verde

I am still recovering my old-bones from a few events that i participated in this past weekend. One of which was on Saturday: the Tree Huggers Ball.

The 4th-annual installment of this locals-only-eco-community-event is located in Baker Canyon, in the absolutely GORGEOUS Santiago Mountains by locals who live in the area.  I must say that the location was simply wonderful, but a bit of a trek to get out there.

(the view above from where we were stationed!)

This was my first year to the event, and i had no idea what to expect, however one i did at least think of was the extreme HEAT that was a result of a heatwave that made the situation one that was less than comfortable.  I dont know how someone could combat this while planning an event, we still were not in the main hot-weather month to really see this, but still, it was pretty intense.  My advice: bring your own ice and a spritzer bottle to pamper yourself in the shade.

The event, overall was fun; my cohort for the day, Lisa a water conservation specialist  was so great with the temp and everything, thank you Lisa for your help!

(that’s Lisa workin’ the booth! go Lisa!!)

i do however, have some tips for next year, just from my observation with green events and just general green-living:

1. always serve a vegetarian meal as the main course: BBQ was the fair by-in-large and that didnt seem to make sense with being “eco”

(love tie-dye, but these would ROCK as flags for the event)

2. with such a large natural space, a large compost pile would have been key to making the event as low impact as possible.

3. the port-o-potties after 7pm where in the dark!  yeah, try doing your business in one of those with no lights, not fun!

4. there needed to be more small-group activities to get folks in the “mood” for staying longer and participating.

5. keep the corn cups out of the sun cause the melt!

(good thing: THE LOST BEAN- these guys rock!)