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Hello and welcome to the:
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Here comes fall issue!
I know, I know, a lot of people are so not ready for fall. But, like it or not autumnal temps - and all the goodies that come with it - will soon be here.
This month's newsletter contains tips on how to help protect kids with life-threatening food allergies going back to school. Yours or the neighbor's or a stranger's.
And Bill Duesing is taking on leaves! Let's face it, nature did not design leaves to be throwaways in fall. Bill will teach you why.
Also.... Alicia Ghio has a great recipe for healthy, delicious baked apples!!
See? There is a lot you can do to make a difference this fall.
I hope you have a healing autumn!
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 We get by with a little help from our friends....
by
Laura Modlin
Do you have some compassion to model for the children around you? It might be just what the doctor ordered to help save some lives.
To protect children with life-threatening food allergies.
Perhaps the biggest conservation project we have is to safeguard the well-being of this generation. Many children are already afflicted with health and behavioral issues. And while long-term the solution comes down to healing the natural world - right now a growing number of children need protection on a daily basis.
It takes adults educating themselves on why this matters and how to help - and then passing along knowledge and understanding to impressionable youngsters around them.
And, ultimately, it might just save someone with no known history of life-threatening food allergies.
"A large percentage of the food allergic incidents in school are children who previously had no known reactions," Jessica Curran, mother of two boys with life-threatening food allergies, said.
Not only that, but a history of a minor reaction, such as hives, has no bearing on the future.
"A child can have hives 50 times as a reaction and the 51st time can be anaphylaxis," Curran said.
And a child who goes into shock for the first time is less likely to have an EpiPen.
An ounce of prevention
Fortunately, there are easy things that anyone can do to help reduce the risks.
One of the most important things is hand washing.
"All parents should teach their children to wash their hands before and after eating," Curran said.
Hand sanitizers do not remove food protein though. Soap and water is preferable. Or hand wipes can be used as a back-up.
Food allergic reactions may occur without a child actually ingesting the food that causes a reaction. Children have had reactions from things like high-fiving their friend who just ate their allergen or touching an object with residue.
"Peanut protein [for instance] can last on a surface up to 120 days," Curran said.
Another way to help is to read labels.
"You have to read the whole label, all the ingredients," Curran said.
Not all products have allergy labeling.
"[Read entire labels] for all food you send in to school," Curran said.
The societal aspect
For children with food allergies, that food is a deadly weapon.
"If you put a peanut in one hand and a gun in another - both can take my child's life very quickly," Curran said.
And yet eating is a big part of socializing.
"That bond can happen in other environments [though]," Curran said.
When planning a celebration, parents can think of ways of being inclusive to all students. And involve their children in preparations.
"There are ways to have fun without food," Curran said.
Nothing is 100%
Parents with food-allergic children - like all parents - tend to recognize that their child will never be 100% safe. None of us are untouchable. But, like with other dangers, putting barriers in place reduces risks.
And focusing attention on the root of the issue could someday make this type of story obsolete.
"Shouldn't you be wondering what in the world has changed that's causing these things?" Curran said. "That's where the conversation should be."
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About leave the leaves ....
Bill Duesing wrote the following piece for broadcast on October 25, 1996.
It tells the story of the life cycle of leaves and shows us just how important it is for us to not disrupt nature's rhythm with leaf blowers and other methods of leaf removal.
Where he talks about the time of year in the present, he is referring to the October time frame.
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Leave the leaves 
Used solar collectors
by
Bill Duesing
First the beauty's all around, and then it's on the ground.
The sugar maples here are dropping their leaves. The ashes dropped their yellow leaves a week ago: the red and white oaks still hold on to most of their sturdy brown and scarlet leaves. Local folk wisdom says that the more the leaves hang on the oaks, the more snow we'll get in the coming winter.
Trees grow leaves in the spring from the carbohydrate reserves stored in their roots. Later in the growing season, more leaves, along with stems, flowers and fruits are produced from the fresh sugars made by the first leaves.
Once unfurled, leaves become elegant solar collectors. Using the energy in sunlight they combine water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air to create sugar and oxygen. That sugar, called glucose, stores some of the sun's energy in the bonds between its six carbon atoms and is at the base of nearly every food chain. These sugars also provide the energy and most of the materials needed to make trees a little bigger each year- to create another growth ring around the whole tree, from the tip of the roots to the end of each branch.
All season long, leaves carry on the amazing process of photosynthesis. They capture energy from the solar flux which powers our planet and store that energy in wood, leaves, fruit, and sap. Green plants are the only real producers on Earth. Everything else consumes.
As they collect solar energy, leaves simultaneously release oxygen, reduce air pollution and cool the environment by transpiring water and absorbing some of the sun's energy. The sugars they produce then flow to where they are needed. They combine with minerals from the soil to create new leaves, wood, flowers and fruit, or to fill storage cells in the roots, depending on the season. We may harvest some of this production by collecting the maples' sap for making syrup, gathering hickory nuts for nutritious food or cutting oaks for lumber and firewood.
 This is the time of year these solar collectors shut down and fall off to reënter the continually cycling pool of nutrients in the soil which nourishes all life. Soon it will be too cold to keep water flowing to the leaves. The sun will be at a lower angle and will have much less intensity than it has between the spring and fall equinoxes, the growing season here. The buds for next year are already formed, however, and await the light and temperature cues next spring which will bring forth more leaves.
Most of a tree's leaves will fall on the ground above its roots. These leaves, crunchy and dry at first, insulate the soil. This keeps roots and the soil life on which they depend protected from harsh rains and the winter's alternating freezing and thawing temperatures. The warmth of summer lingers longer in the soil. Eventually, water, age and the decomposers begin to turn the leaves into humus, which provides food and homes for millions of soil organisms. The minerals are then released from the leaves, and become available for use by the tree for another season.
This cycle of growth, death and decay to nourish more growth has gone on for millions of years, slowly building up fertile soil, diverse ecosystems, complicated ecological relationships and metabolic stability.
So, let the leaves stay just where they fall. Our society's obsession with raking up, or worse yet, blowing leaves and hauling them away is yet another indication of just how far removed we are from nature's cycles. If you must get rid of leaves, do it quietly and be sure to compost them nearby.
Raking leaves and mowing lawns are very destructive to the great northern forest which once covered this region. This magnificant forest will begin to reemerge if we just let the leaves lie where they fall.
Then, you can enjoy the colors as much on the ground as you did on the trees.
This is Bill Duesing, Living on the Earth.
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Here's a recipe for some yummy comfort food ...
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Healthy baked
apples!
by
Alicia Ghio
It is incredibly hard to believe that August is already here. It seems like summer just got here. I admit I was a little bummed when Laura said this month's newsletter was a fall preview. Oh, the fleeting days of summer. With that said, however, fall does offer her own delicious bounty.
I have always found August interesting when it comes to the food that's "in season."It's a month where you are typically start out knee deep in tomatoes, zucchini and a myriad of other summer ingredients, yet by the end of the month crops normally associated with Fall begin to make an appearance. Among those fall favorites are, of course, apples.
Apples can do it all: savory or sweet, raw or cooked. Now, I know they say certain apple varieties are better for baking or cooking than others. Yes, that's completely true. However, I've never really been one to follow those guidelines. If I get a hankering for apple pie, I use the apples sitting on my counter whether they are perfect for that use or not. It always seems to come out just fine. I say that the best apple to use is the one you have on hand.
Case in point, I used Gala apples in this baked apple recipe. Typically, Gala apples are best for cider or drying. I threw caution to the wind and I loved the end product. Paired with a heavy dose of cinnamon and chopped pecans, these baked apples are a simple dessert that make welcoming Fall a little easier.
Baked Apples
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 Gala apples, washed and cored
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (or use melted butter)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup water
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Wash and core your apples. Stand them up in an 8 x 8 baking dish.
- In a small bowl combine the chopped pecans, maple syrup and vanilla. Stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the cored out hole in the apples.
- In another small bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and salt.
- Spoon the mixture on the top of the apples.
- Pour the water into the bottom of the baking dish around the base of the apples.
- Place in oven and cook until the apples are softened (fork tender), about 40 to 60 minutes depending on the size of the apples.
- Serve hot from the oven or at room temperature.
Serving Idea
- A scoop of ice cream is fantastic with baked apples, but for a healthier option top with a dollop of yogurt.
(Photos by Renato Ghio)
Alicia Ghio is a passionate home cook on a mission to inspire people to know where their food comes from, to know what's in it and to savor the flavors of fresh ingredients. She is founder and editor of the multimedia blog, Local Food Rocks (
localfoodrocks.com), and has appeared on network television as an expert on local food.
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And here is a pair of hero moms! ....
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Hero Moms!
 Patricia Donovan (Tricia) never meant to end up at the Connecticut state capitol, but in March 2015, Jessica Curran and Tricia testified before the education committee on a bill they wrote: HB 6975 - that would create a task force to study food allergies in Connecticut schools.
"Jessica and I wrote a bill for our [state] reps, who agreed to sponsor it -Cristin McCarthy Vahey and Brenda Kupchick," Donovan said.
It went through rewrites by Legal and others added their two cents as well.
"They added in language from a bill that wasn't getting traction alone that dealt with training bus drivers to administer epinephrine," Donovan said.
She said that the bill about training bus drivers was "much needed" and a great  bill to combine with theirs. Representative Hampton had been sponsor of that one.
"So our bill was raised out of [the] education committee and passed through both houses!" Donovan said. "The governor signed it on July 2nd!"
Now Donovan and Curran are waiting to hear if either of them will be appointed as parent reps.
"I am sure they can only take one of us," Donovan said.
The moral? Next time something impacts your family and you, press on... governing bodies need residents to push for what is important in the communities. Don't be a lazy "advocate!"
Read more about the bill by clicking here.
Photos: Donovan, left, and Curran in Hartford, Conn. at the state capitol this past spring. Submitted photos.
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And now back to Bill Duesing ... a hero in the local food movement ...
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Bill Duesing!
For 40 years, organic farmer, author and environmental activist Bill Duesing has been working to promote organic agriculture and greater local food sufficiency in Connecticut and the Northeast through lectures, writings, media and community work.
In 2010, he was awarded the Bronze Medal by the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut. With his wife, Suzanne, he grows fruits and vegetables on the Old Solar Farm and advocates for a local and organic food system.
He served for 12 years as the Executive Director of CT NOFA, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut. He is currently the CT NOFA Organic Advocate. For three years, he chaired the board of the Community Farm of Simsbury which trains farmers, educates urban and suburban students and provides certified organic food to the needy.
He is author of Living on the Earth: Eclectic Essays for a Sustainable and Joyful Future. Bill was the founding president of CT NOFA and founding chair of the New Haven Ecology Project and its Common Ground High School, located on a farm in New Haven. He was a founding board member and past president of the Connecticut Farmland Trust. For several decades, Bill gardened with elementary and high school students in New Haven and Bridgeport. For 10 years, he wrote and delivered a weekly environmental essay on public radio from Fairfield, CT. Many of his radio pieces are archived online by the University of Massachusetts.
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Quiet Communities
Fuel-powered landscape maintenance equipment (leaf blowers, mowers, trimmers, edgers, cutters) bring noise and air pollution into communities.
This raises concerns over health and environmental impacts. Quiet Communities, an independent 501c3 organization, conducts research, provides education, and assists communities to find quiet, sustainable, and healthy solutions."
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Until next month.... enjoy the harvest!
More on what to do with leaves coming in September!
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Thank you for helping heal the natural world - and the people who depend on it... that's us!
The future of our planet is in your hands.
Laura Modlin
Founder and Publisher
A Return to Simple
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