Let's Have a Summer
Food Preservation Series

Food preservation is the science of preserving food by canning, fermenting, drying, salting and freezing, to name the most common. Some methods are as old as agriculture itself, allowing us to 'keep' food long after its fresh shelf life.

It's said there are two basic types of home preservers - those who do it as a hobby and a way to enjoy foods by creating their own delicacies, and those who are seriously looking at putting up enough food for the whole family. Food preservation is part of a simple conserving lifestyle.

If you are the latter, would you consider teaching a class to those just starting out? This would be pro bono to help with community skill-building and fundraising for the Coalition. Michelle Dohrn has stepped up for a July class in fermentation (details coming soon), but we would love to have a class on traditional canning, perhaps a drying class, or we are open to all food preservation techniques and ideas.

The series will be held at the Oak View Park and Resource Center kitchen on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. We'll fill you in on the details and dates as they develop. To discuss teaching, please contact Noel.

In the meantime, here are some of our favorite food preservation websites:

• National Center for Food Preservation
• Food Preservation History and Basics 
• Sustainable Skills in Country and City 
• Dehydrate2Store 

Water Conservation,
Appreciation and Preservation

Grassroots Style

We are looking for a movie maker and a water saver (read on):

The Ventura River Watershed Council has started building a great

Lorraine Walter heads up the Ventura River Watershed Council - thanks for joining us, Lorraine

We're looking for a videographer to help make a 2-minute video of an awe inspiring water-efficient home. Next we need one of you, who has been inspired by the Coalition in some way to save water. . . and oh boy, are you saving water - inside and out! Hit reply and sign-up to put your name on the small screen in a big way.

We had fun at our Friday potluck and water-themed program

Fifty of us got together to connect, eat from a great buffet of offerings and learn more how we can save water in our yards. A special thanks to Flora Gardens for donating gift certificates and plants for the drawing; and Renee Roth, Kathy Nolan and Van Vermeesch for sharing their knowledge and

Ken Wright shares his newest products - the Showerminder and a Conserve Water sign

passion for reducing and reusing our precious local water. The Coalition has a water resource page to help, too.

Angela (left) and Marian want to know if you have a graywater system, yet.

To get more involved with our watershed and water issues, come to a Coalition watershed meeting. We meet the 2nd Tuesday of each month, 5 p.m. at the Resource Center.

Giving Outside the Box

Support can come in all sizes and shapes for nonprofits, and the Coalition is no different. We were thrilled and tickled green when we got a call from longtime supporters Charlie and Caryn Bosson. They had a car they didn't need any more and offered to donate it to us. Of course we said a resounding YES! In the end it made more sense to sell the car on behalf of the Bossons and have them donate the proceeds to us. The bottom line is this was an easy way for the Bossons to give and for us to receive a generous donation.

As Caryn shared, "We know that it takes the participation of all of us in the Valley to ensure that we have an environment that's sustainable. So when we realized that our trusty 17 year old Nissan wasn't needed by our family any more, we thought this would be a great way to support the work of the Ojai Valley Green Coalition. The organization did all the work of selling our vehicle, and we were able to make a good-sized donation."

Charlie and Caryn Bosson with Cassandra Cotham, proud new owner of a Nissan Altima - she's thrilled!

The cool part is it was all kept in the family, so to speak. The Bossons have been part of the Coalition family since 2008. We had to go no further than the Board to find out another long time Coalition member's daughter, Cassandra Cotham, needed a car. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Thank you Charlie, Caryn and Cassandra.

Power of the People,
by the People,
for the People

Not sure if this is on your radar yet, but if not already, your electricity rates with Edison are going up soon. In all fairness the cost of doing business keeps going up for companies and consumers on many fronts. We dream of the day the Ojai Valley has its own utility cooperative, but until then it's on you and me to reduce our demand and that helps our pocketbook and the planet.

Here are some resources and reminders to help:

• 14 Ways to Stay Cool without Air Conditioning
• Edison Rebates and Incentives 
• Gas Company Rebates and Incentives 

And remember water conservation is energy conservation. We expend a lot of energy moving, cooling and heating water.