San Francisco Green Festival
Join EcoMetro Guide in booth 532 at the nation’s premier sustainability event, where you will see the best in green. Enjoy more than 125 renowned authors, leaders and educators; great how-to workshops; cutting-edge films; fun activities for kids; organic beer and wine; delicious vegetarian cuisine and diverse live music. Shop in our unique marketplace of more than 350 eco-friendly businesses—everything from all-natural body care products and organic cotton clothing to Fair Trade gifts and beautiful kitchen tiles made from renewable resources.
Fri-Sun, Nov 13-15
Concourse Exhibition Center 635 8th St, San Francisco
View the EcoMetro Guide coupon>>

Play: East Bay Green Drinks
A lively monthly gathering for anyone interested in sustainability, including green business, environmental and social causes, architecture and design, organics, renewable energy and more.
Wed, Nov 18, 5:30-8pm
Visit the website for location

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Live, Play: San Francisco Green Festival
Join EcoMetro Guide in booth 532 at the nation’s premier sustainability event, where you will see the best in green. Enjoy more than 125 renowned authors, leaders and educators; great how-to workshops; cutting-edge films; fun activities for kids; organic beer and wine; delicious vegetarian cuisine and diverse live music. Shop in our unique marketplace of more than 350 eco-friendly businesses—everything from all-natural body care products and organic cotton clothing to Fair Trade gifts and beautiful kitchen tiles made from renewable resources.
Fri-Sun, Nov 13–15
Concourse Exhibition Center 635 8th St, San Francisco
View the EcoMetro Guide coupon>>
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Eat: Vegetarian Cooking Class - The Joy of Vegan Baking
Whether you want to bake dairy- and egg-free for health, ethical, or environmental reasons, The Joy of Vegan Baking cooking class will show you how you can have your cake and eat it, too! Join Compassionate Cooks' founder Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, author of the award-winning cookbook, The Joy of Vegan Baking (www.joyofveganbaking.com), in her monthly fun-filled cooking classes that celebrate healthful and humane eating that features local, seasonal, mostly organic ingredients. Cost: $55, plus $5 food/materials fee due on day of class. Register online or mail a check to Compassionate Cooks, P.O. Box 18512,  Oakland, CA 94619.
February 28, 10am-1pm
First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St, at Castro, Oakland
View coupon at EcoMetro.com

Live: Fruit Tree Basics Workshop: Pruning, Planting, and Maintenance 
Come to this hands-on workshop and learn everything you need to grow thriving fruit trees. We will cover how to plant and care for bare-root trees, including tips to help them get established, pruning and basic care for young trees, and maintenance for more established trees. Go to website for details.  Instructor: Scott Havill, Ploughshares Nursery Propagationist
February 28, 11am-1pm
Ploughshares Nursery, 2701 Main Street, Alameda
View coupon at EcoMetro.com

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons  More...

Play: Cal Rec Sports PLAYGreen Festival
The Bay Area's premier eco-experiential event for people who want to play, live and work a greener lifestyle will be at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Union located on the UC Berkeley campus. Free, and open to the public, join thousands of UC Berkeley students, campus and community supporters as they touch, taste, feel, experience and learn about the latest products, fashions, technology, services, sounds, cuisine and career opportunities from the very best local and national eco-friendly companies.
February 20, 10-5pm
Sproul Plaza on the U.C. Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Avenue

Live: Green Living - Good for the Planet, Good for Your Wallet
Pick up tips on how to introduce green changes into your daily life, many of which also help the family budget. Joyce Mercado, Environmental Columnist for the Alameda Sun and BikeAlameda Board Member, will offer practical tips for incorporating many of the items in her Alameda Global Warming Checklist and Resource List into your lifestyle. Teresa Montgomery of Alameda County Industries will offer suggestions on how to make the most of ACI’s residential collection program while covering the four R's of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot (Compost/Green Bin). John Knox White will also be on hand to provide guidance regarding how to navigate public transit options.
February 21, 2 - 4pm
Crosstown Coffee and Community Center, 1303 High Street, Alameda
View coupon at ecometro.com

Image: Flickr/CreativeCommons
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I admit it: I expect my children to reflect how cool I am, how urbane, how out-of-the dreary-mainstream.  At least I expect them not to reveal how I sometimes fall from that grace into the plastic, mass-produced quagmire or cave in to unreasonable demands for inappropriate toys or accessories.  

Enter the Mini Messenger bag. The perfect opportunity for my eight-year-old daughter to carry around her wanna-be-tween flotsam and jetsam in an ultra-hip bike messenger bag rather than the transparent pink plastic petrochemical Tinkerbell nightmare from which everyone can see the bottles of nail polish and trainer lip-glosses that she has accumulated against my better judgment. A rugged, unisex bag suited to the collection of stones, cones, and sticks; sturdy enough for a water bottle and a hearty snack on one of our urban explores.  A bag to reflect well on mama’s tastes and choices.   More...

The California Roundtable on Recreation, Parks and Tourism has introduced a new program to get kids outside and exercising called the California Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights. The list of 10 activities is full of throw-backs to The Sandlot days, with charming and simple actions every kid should take by the age of 14. Adults could benefit from the list, too. When was the last time you followed a trail? Read on for the full list. More...

Visit the Dunsmuir Historic Estate year round for a tour of the gardens or in mid July for The Annual Scottish Highland Games. April through October the whole family can visit the Morcom Rose Garden (700 Jean St, Oakland) for free to see more than 6,000 rose bushes in bloom. More...

The best part of embracing local living is the people around you. Meet other locals at places like the neighborhood farmers market, where you’re ten times more likely to chat than in a store. And consider taking your next vacation locally. Airplanes have significant CO2emissions (find out how much at carboncounter.org). More...

Kids may be more aware of environmental issues than most adults realize. Some studies have shown that children worry about the state of the environment more than their homework!

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The climate in the Bay Area makes this an excellent place to be a gardener. With so many options for native and Mediterranean plants, it’s easy to create a beautiful plot that is thriving and diverse. Through proper planning you can grow climate- appropriate plants ranging from Lavender to California fuchsia. Gardening for local conditions helps protect the Bay and conserves resources. More...