Real-live nature is more relaxing than watching it on TV

A study from the University of Washington measured the heart rates of individuals while they either looked out a window, at a plasma screen television, or at a blank wall. They found that when people looked out the window their heart rates decreased more quickly than with the other two treatments which had the same effect. According to psychology professor Peter Kahn, people are losing important connections with nature as children grow up with less and less contact with it. Full story: Landscapeonline.com

Getting kids to eat
Engaging kids in meal preparation and other "tricks" can slowly make worlds of difference in a child’s attitude toward new foods.
Website helps people clean without chemicals
New cleaning kits available to help parents green their homes.
New book teaches children about soil
A new children’s book, Soil! Get the Inside Scoop, aims to teach kids about the importance of soil and the role it plays on earth.
Better to teach your large teens what to eat than encouraging them to diet
A study of 314 teen/parent pairs compared the parents' opinion of their child's weight status with what food-related habits they pursued.
Challenging economy has families eating more whole foods
Consumers are responding to the current economic climate by buying more basic ingredients and cooking from scratch at home.
Ordinary people take up gardening to save money on produce
With the recent increase in food prices, more and more people are starting their own gardens, and herb and vegetable seed sales are up by almost half from last year.