I love this planet

That title is not a metaphor for anything. It’s how I legitimately feel. I’m a conservative nature lover. Yes, I know that just blew your mind. I want to win the war and save the whales. I’m an enigma. I accept that fact.

But seriously, I am a big fan of nature. I was actually a Biology major and even taught science in a former life. My senior year in college involved a field study course in tree ecology. It was an amazing course and I learned so much that I never knew. In fact, I learned things that I didn’t know that I never knew.

With all of that said, I was only too thrilled to be invited to attend and promote the Planet Earth Celebration, sponsored by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (of which I am a member) and Burt’s Bees (of which I am a consumer).

Being a big deal blogger (in my own mind), I got to attend the press preview for the event on Friday where I got to hang with the General Manager of Burt’s Bees, Nick Vlahos, and the Mayor of Raleigh, Charles Meeker.

(okay, so I didn’t hang with them but I did get to force my card on the GM of Burt’s Bees while I threatened to post embarrassing pictures of him.)

Mayor Charles Meeker kicked off the press event prior to the celebration.

Then he saddled up to make man-powered strawberry lemonade smoothies with Nick Vlahos and the Marketing Director from NC Museum of Natural Sciences.

Nick’s smoothie didn’t mix. We weren’t sure if it was the blender or the man power.

I’m pretty sure it was rigged.

All that mattered in the end was that we got to sample the strawberry lemonade smoothie.

I wasn’t sure what to expect for the actual event but the preview made me just a little excited about celebrating downtown. What didn’t make me excited was the weather forecast. It called for rain in the morning and severe storms in the afternoon. In fact, by the early evening, we’d be huddled in our bathroom hoping a tornado didn’t hit. Thank God it didn’t but it seemed a timely reminder of how powerful Mother Nature.

We headed out early on Saturday for the early part of the celebration.

We did pay attention to Mother Nature (in more ways than one).

We enjoyed the recycled artwork. This mixed media piece used beer bottle caps to create the Cat in the Hat. Hmmm, something seems a bit off with that.

We entered the Cardboard Kingdom made entirely of cardboard boxes and crafted by the Paperhand Puppet Intervention.

I was kind of hoping this was my chance to be queen of the castle.

Ultimately, the true ruler was revealed.

And he also ruled at Tumbleweed Bowling. Yes, this little man pushed a ball made of over 9000 plastic bags. The point? That’s the amount of plastic bags consumed every second.

My husband decided to get in on some action too. He just had to try his hand at making a strawberry lemonade smoothie. And yes, for him, it was a competition.

I have to admit. He did make the smoothest smoothie around.

And what better way to end the day than with… SHOPPING! Lots of eco-friendly vendors there including Leslie Fesperman Glass. Leslie said she was too windblown and wouldn’t pose with her work but I fell in love with that soap dish made from recycled glass.

I also got to stop by be green be the change, a company committed to bringing you eco-friendly products like organic cotton t-shirts and featuring products from companies like Organicality (I love that name).

Then I met Matthew Mahler, founder of Tierra Ideas. He’s very proud of what he’s doing. He had a line of messenger bags and purses from repurposed and recycled materials. He showed me the bag below make from tire inner tubes and also a purse made from old Delta Airlines seat covers.

I ended my shopping on a high note. That’s right. You’re seeing the Burt’s Bees Tent Sale. Did I need any more Burt’s Bees products? No, I did not. Did I buy more Burt’s Bees products? Yes, I did.

And just as we were wrapping things up, Mother Nature decided to make sure we knew who was really in charge. Yes, you are seeing the start of tornadic winds. It was a hellacious day for weather and a reminder to all of us that we really are at the mercy of this planet.

Thus ends my Planet Earth celebration recap. But in case you didn’t catch it in the first paragraph, I’m a nature girl. I like this stuff. If you don’t, you might want to come back next week because I feel a whole theme coming on this week.

I’m already planning a few nature-lovin’ projects for me and my son for this great idea. Tell me how you plan to get your crunchy self involved for Earth Day?