Saturday, September 24th
Missouri Botanical Garden

By Jean Ponzi
Green Resources Manager
Earthways Center at Missouri Botanical Garden

Celebrate sustainable living and explore ways to maintain your personal health – and a healthy planet. This festival is packed with useful resources and family fun!

Bring your home improvement ideas and talk with over 100 green product and service exhibitors. Talk one-on-one with Washington University physicians and other experts about a variety of health issues and cancer prevention tips. One of this event’s best features is that presenters are eager to discuss your projects and questions, and provide local resources you can really use. There’s something for everyone, of all ages.

Enjoy local foods, live music and shopping the Green Marketplace. Help paint a Metro bus with artist Genevieve Esson. Join guided sessions of yoga, tai chi, zumba and other popular fitness activities. Take advantage of free health screenings, get your annual mammogram (advance scheduling required by calling 800-600-3606), sample from healthy-cooking demos, and explore the giant inflatable human colon. Let natural-health advocates help you revitalize in the Relax and Renew Oasis. The Alternative Vehicle Show lets you talk with owners about the performance of their personal cars, trucks and business utility vehicles.

Kids can build and race a solar car, enjoy stories and puppet shows and make art from recycled tiles and other materials. Snap your photo with costumed recycling characters and rock out with the Radio Disney Rockin’ Road Crew.

And be sure to stop by The Gateway Gardener’s GreenGardeningStL.com booth, where you’ll be able to find lots of information on sustainable gardening practices, including info about native plants, rain gardens, recycled compost bins, composting, organic gardening, vegetable and herb gardening, water conservation and much more! And be sure to sign up to win a free native plant–they’ll be giving away one each hour from 11a.m-3p.m.

Biking to the Garden? Trailnet’s Bike Valet will tend your green wheels. Bring your own bicycle helmet or buy a new one for only $8, with custom helmet fittings provided by St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Expert workshops and talks will cover cancer prevention to backyard beekeeping, compost to healthy food options, alternative vehicles to green homebuilding – and much more! Sessions start on the hour, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; see the complete schedule posted online and at the event.

The Green Homes and Great Health Festival is brought to you by the Missouri Botanical Garden’s EarthWays Center in partnership with Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. Presented by Ameren Missouri. Sponsors include the Carpeneters’ District Council, Children’s Hospital, Laclede Gas, the YMCA, Gateway Gardener and others.

It’s all included with regular Garden admission, free for Garden members, kids 12 and under, and for St. Louis City and County residents until noon.

For a list of exhibitors, times and other details visit www.greenhomesSTL.org See you Saturday September 24 at the Green Homes and Great Health Festival!