Blog Posts by TheDailyGreen.com

These are the most visited parks in the United States -- and for good reason. Their grandeur and beauty have made them destinations for generations. The conservation movement was based, in part, on their preservation, and many U.S. presidents have burnished their legacies by protecting these American icons. Worried about affording the trip this year? Look for volunteer vacation opportunities to explore beautiful landscapes while helping to preserve them.

1. The Smokies

Great Smoky Mountains National ParkAmerica's most visited park logged 9.4 million visitors in the National Parks Service's latest survey). And for good reason.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park boasts 800 miles of hiking trails, up rugged Appalachian Mountain peaks -- 16 of them greater than 6,000 feet. Straddling the mountainous border between North Carolina and Tennessee, the park is traversed by rivers and streams that reveal countless waterfalls. Part of the park's appeal is the diversity of recreation available there, from picnics and scenic

The personal benefits of vacations are well-known: They can reduce stress, rekindle relationships and rejuvenate you physically. But your vacation can also benefit the world around you. Across the country and around the world there are opportunities to study the environment and preserve the landscape with Volunteer Vacations.

"The key to a successful Volunteer Vacation is being realistic about your desire and abilities," says Doug Cutchins, one of the authors of Volunteer Vacations. Being realistic about what you'd like to get out of the trip will certainly decrease your chances of winding up in a tent for 10 days dreaming of running water. Think about what areas and subjects are important to you: Do you want to study climate change in the Arctic or preserve the campground you and your family love?

Cutchins suggests asking about the demographics of others on the trip with the host organization. Ask: Will there be other families, singles, seniors, or school groups on

Stressed about work, the kids or the bad economy? You need a vacation! But you're not like everyone else, so why not consider a great trip that takes care not to spoil the magical spots for everyone else, including wildlife?

Yes, "staycations" are cheap and inherently green (since we don't burn fuel and we don't normally consume much when we stick around our neighborhoods). But there's also a tremendous amount to gain from experiencing different ecosystems and cultures. Plus, we certainly enjoy daydreaming about fantasy adventures! If you are still flush, wow your loved one with the romantic experience of a lifetime. Or if you're like many of us, at least you can dream, and maybe plan, together.

Take advantage of the growing area called ecotourism, which is about protecting local and global resources, reducing pollution and cultural impact, and supporting local economies and people, especially indigenous populations. It's about enriching your own life through learning and

The last thing you want this summer is to get a phone call from a trembling child, pleading with you to come pick him or her up at summer camp on account of unfriendly tentmates, inedible food or drill-sergeant counselors. It's natural for kids to get a little bit homesick - that's part of growing up - but you want to make sure your kids get sent to a camp that's right for them.

You may already have some idea which five questions to ask camp directors, but maybe you need a little more inspiration. The following summer camps are pioneers in combining environmental education with a fun, safe, worthwhile experience - one that is sure to last a lifetime.

For example, Bainbridge Island, Washington's IslandWood offers a wide range of sleepaway and day programs throughout the year for everyone from young children to grad students and adults. The beautiful, 255-acre outdoor learning center brings top-notch opportunities for enrichment in science and the arts together with a strong

With recent concerns about melamine showing up in baby food and baby formula, additives being linked to ADHD and the prospect of other unsavory ingredients finding their way into conventional store-bought baby food, many parents are looking to the past for help raising their baby. Making your own food -- and keeping it organic, so as to minimize any exposure to toxic chemicals -- is the rule of the road.

Alexandra Zissu, The Daily Green's Ask an Organic Mom blogger and an author of The Complete Organic Pregnancy, offers these five tips:

1. Use Glass Storage Containers

In an effort to stock up on homemade options, most families puree big batches, then separate them into ice cube trays for storage. While the resulting squares are perfect serving size for tiny tummies, parents who want to avoid plastic can either troll the Internet for hours in search of stainless steel ice cube trays (not easy to find!) or stock up on glass storage containers.

Canning jars are an obvious option, as

If you're like us, you may be looking out on an expanse of snow and ice right now. But take heart, spring is really just around the corner, and warbling songbirds and longer days aren't as far off as they may seem. If you're also like us, you may already be starting to formulate garden plans in the back of your brain, and are feeling some New Year resolve to eat better and get more abundant results from a bit o' working the land -- even be it a humble garden plot or even a single flower box.

It's true gardening can at times seem complicated, what with all the options available in terms of soil types and conditioners, techniques, fertilizers, seeds, plant varieties, gear and gizmos, not to picking cute gloves and the right hat and sensible outfit. There are a million things that can go wrong, from freak frost to hail, browsing wildlife, droughts, floods, fungal diseases, hungry beetles or clumsy neighbors.

But on the other hand sometimes the best results spring up naturally,

As Leslie Land points out in her blog on The Daily Green, wild turkeys can be a real nuisance to gardeners and landscapers, now that they have made a strong comeback in much of the country, returning from the brink of extinction. Leslie writes:

Scene 1.
Kristi and I are discussing the last bits of putting the garden to bed. We're wondering about the winter rye, our standard cover crop for the Maine vegetable plots. Nothing seems to be coming up. Big Mystery. Seed was fresh, there has been rain...

Scene 2.
Mystery solved first thing in the morning. I look out the bedroom window into the rosy dawn and there in the garden is a flock of wild turkeys, busily scratching and eating.

Ten years ago, sighting a flock of wild turkeys was a rare treat, a real ooh and ah event. That was then. Now I only wish they were easier to shoot and dress out. Like deer they've become a plague, not only restored to their old stomping grounds but also quickly spreading into habitats they

CockroachIn a report that is the first of its kind, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has come to the unshocking conclusion that "bug bombs" -- which fill indoor air with pesticides to kill cockroaches, fleas and other bugs -- are not very good for people's health.

One state, New York, has already seized on the findings and is moving to ban the use of these "total release foggers" by all but professional licensed pesticide applicators. Until that ban takes effect, and in most other states, these products are readily available to the public.

They are designed to release a cloud of poison -- usually pyrethrins (derived from chrysanthemum flowers) or pyrethroids (synthetic chemicals that mimic those compounds), according to the CDC -- to fill every nook and cranny of an indoor space. Problems resulted when people failed to get out of doors before the fogger started pumping pesticides into the air, when people returned to the rooms before the fogger was done discharging, or