Last weekend, the homeowners, docents, and designers who are taking part in today's Green Gardens Tour gathered in the beautiful Santa Monica library to talk with each other and to be honored by the tour organizers at a thank you breakfast. The event was highlighted by brief talks from actress Amy Brenneman and TreePeople's Andy Lipkis, both of whom spoke about the power of conservation, and in appreciation of a few individuals who are doing......

Here's some food for thought. Last Fall, TreePeople founder Andy Lipkis told a group at a Farmlab Salon that "the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) send a request to the Governor and President to declare a state of emergency regarding the 5400 environmental/pollution related deaths a year. That equals out to be one and half 9/11's a year."...

On a side street in Silver Lake, two sisters open up their apartment every weekend to strangers who want to learn how to cook healthy and delicious vegan meals. Spork Foods began in December and has become a hit so far, with their small intimate cooking classes selling out quickly. Upcoming class topics include brunch, pizza, Jewish, desserts and more. A few weeks ago, they held their South East Asian class; here's what happened:......

Photo by Lush.i.ous via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Political Briefs and Dispatches from around California TreePeople founder Andy Lipkis gets to throw around his ideas and dreams for Los Angeles and Southern California on the KQED California Report's last of a 7-part series on climate change and California's water. We've heard them before here on LAist, but here he is in audio format in Monday's report: http://netzoo.net/audio/kathy.mp3"> Senator Hillary Clinton chimed......

Haven't you always wanted to grow your favorite fruit in your own backyard? This month you can have your tree -- for free -- thanks to TreePeople and SEE-LA. Just go to one of the Farmers' Markets listed in the flyer at right or fill out this form and you'll be on your way. * LA Mill Opening - Stop by the long-awaiting opening of LA Mill's new coffee shop in Silver Lake. You might......

If you haven't had the chance to visit Farmlab's weekly salon series, do try. Every Friday at noon, Farmlab, the people behind Not a Cornfield, host a salon with a special guest speaker (except next week when they are doing something different by presenting a play about environmentalism). A complimentary lunch is served and the energy of a lazy Friday is transformed into good vibes by the community that attends the talk in the......

Worthy Sounds is an event company dedicated to bringing people together through music and tonight are hosting an event tonight called "Green Spirits." It is their intention raise awareness about sustainable opportunities and help people get involved. Held at The Gibson Showroom, five diverse music acts will be performing, there is a silent auction and an eco-spa suite sponsored by Jurlique. Net proceeds will benefit Tree People. To RSVP, email: worthysounds@gmail.com. Details: When: Tonight,......

After yesterday's citizen forester training, we decided to join a tree planting up in Lake View Terrace in the Northeast Valley to see a citizen forester in action. A teenage girl led it for her Girl Scout troop, planting 25 trees at the Lake View Terrace Recreation Center. Supported by TreePeople, the morning was a cinch. It began with sign-ins and registration, followed by opening remarks and training. Then groups spread out to plant......

The Citizen Forester Class visits the Tree Planting Supervisor Class Yesterday, we took a workshop class with TreePeople on becoming a Citizen Forester. Probably one of the most organized learning experiences we have ever had, we're ready to rock with some tree planting next Fall. Summer planting is out of the question. What we did not know was that tree planting between June and September is not a wise idea -- it is sort......

Hiking Wilacre Park is more like hiking three parks in one without realizing it. Wilacre, Coldwater Canyon and Fryman Canyon parks all sort of merge into each other without any sort of warning of boundary lines. Take the Cross Mountain Park trail system a little further and you'll hit Franklin Canyon Park. There is something simple about going to Wilacre: if you want to get outdoors and "away from things," Wilacre couldn't be easier......