You are Wonderfully Made! Respect your Body, Respect God's Creation

By Naomi Yaeger

UMC Earthkeeper

When I was a girl the first television advertisements for menstrual products (period products) upset many people. The public didn’t think this should be mentioned on TV or at all, especially in mixed company.  We had

We had the “Modess...because” ad campaigns. Now, actress Amy Schummer is “turning question marks into periods,” on the web and TV. 

Because of society's reluctance to speak about tampons and pads - there is something called “period poverty.” Nobody wants to talk about that either. Period poverty is when a family can’t afford menstrual products. Many times, especially in third world countries, girls will drop out of school when their first period arrives. What did American women do years ago when they got their periods? Our grandmothers used fabric menstrual pads. Would that have been gross or embarrassing? It was just part of life.

Our mothers used manufactured pads they attached to a belt worn around the waist. Pads attached to panties with self-adhesive were considered a great improvement. They and insertable tampons were and still are an option.

Now many tampons have plastic applicators, which are immediately thrown in the trash, The packaging and the lining of pads is often plastic also. 

About eight years ago my daughter discovered a reusable menstrual product branded “Party in My Pants.” This is a woman-owned company that makes menstrual pads and liners. They are headquartered in Ashland, Wi and make their products “with love.” (partypantspads.com)

There is also a medical-grade silicone device called a menstrual cup. It is inserted near the cervix and catches the flow. There are different sizes of cups depending on the flow. The initial investment for one of these, like the Diva Cup, is $30.

Just think of the savings if you are spending $10 a month on pads and tampons. That’s $120 a year. The cups and pads last at least 7 years. Otherwise, a woman would have spent $840.

Not only will you save money...you will be using less plastic. 

To paraphrase Psalm 139:14  

You are amazingly and miraculously made. God’s works are miraculous.

Nature Boosts Both Your Mental and Physical Health

By Naomi Yaeger

UMC Earthkeeper

Spending time outside in nature can heal you, both physically and mentally.

During COVID lockdown, Terry and I took many walks with our dog. We noticed budding leaves and flowers, then spring arrived. In the summer, as Terry continued to work from home, we continued to walk. Soon Autumn arrived. The same leaves, which were buds, were now turning yellow, orange, or red and falling.

In December, I donated to the Nature Conservancy. With my donation, they invited me to attend a nearby event. The closest one I could find was a Zoom presentation titled," Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative." The featured speaker is Florence Williams, author of "The Nature Fix." She's also written several magazine articles such as "Is Your Noisy Neighborhood Slowly Killing You?" in Mother Jones, and "Fight the Winter Blues, Find a Dose of Nature." in the Wall Street Journal, and "Take Two Hours of Pine Forest and Call me in the Morning," Outside Magazine.

According to Outside magazine, "Florence Williams travels to the deep woods of Japan, where researchers are backing up the theory that nature can lower your blood pressure, fight off depression—and even prevent cancer."

The Japanese are seriously researching how "forest bathing" affects health. This reminds me of the Bible stories of Jesus spending time in nature when he had a big decision to make. I recall specific significant transitions in life when I've spent time in nature. 

The COVID shutdowns spurred Terry, our dog, and me to walk nature trails near our home. We feel better after a walk.

Shh, don't tell Terry, he's getting his Christmas wish -- walking sticks.

Learn the scientific reasons for feeling better with time in nature: join me, read Florence Williams' "The Nature Fix," or visit her website at www.FlorenceWilliams.com.

Terry walking with MaggieBW in the CSS woods.

Naomi walking in Chester Park 
with dog MaggieBW. 

Terry walking with a stick down
an unused ski hill in the spring.

My friend gave me toilet paper as a gift!

For God So Loved the World

By Naomi Yaeger, 

UMC Earthkeeper

Christmas is coming. Have you thought about sustainable gifts you could give?

My friend gave me toilet paper for my birthday!

It was not because of COVID and hoarding situations, but because the company doesn’t use plastic for packaging and because it’s made from bamboo, which grows faster than trees. It arrived “pre-gift-wrapped” in colorful paper. The company gives 50% of its profits to building bathrooms.

I feel a little naughty writing this in, but the company's name is “Who Gives a Crap” -  whogivesacrap.org. The company gives money to WASH, which stands for Water Sanitation and Hygiene.

As a United Methodist, I’m proud that WASH is a recipient of the Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church Advance # 3020600.

Think about what YOU could do this Christmas to bless a friend or family member with a sustainable, useful gift. 

I’m giving bars of soap I made at a local business Mix Cosmetiques mixcosmetiques.com . 

Some 10 % of everything Mix Cosmetiques sells goes to teaching women in Uganda how to make cosmetics and start their own businesses.

When Christians think of Christmas, they often think of John:3:16 -- how God reached out to them to enter into a personal relationship. I want you to remember how much God loves YOU. In addition, this Christmas, look again at what God loves enough to send God’s own Son—the world. God’s own creation! All of creation, not just humans. If God so loved the world, then we also need to. Choose at least one aspect of creation and love it through your actions and advocacy.

Sources: umcreationjustice.org and whogivesacrap.org  and umcmission.org

Show some love to Lake Superior, help clean a beach

By Naomi Yaeger

UMC Earthkeeper

Every year in September thousands of volunteers come out to keep beaches all over the world healthy, safe and beautiful. The Alliance for the Great Lakes, a non-profit is sponsoring an Adopt-A-Beach Campaign to clean beaches.

“You can pick up trash by yourself and that’s great,” Sharon Moen said. Sharon is leading a group near the Lake Superior Estuarium in Superior. But the difference in the group clean-up efforts is that they will keep data on what type of trash is collected and send it back to the Alliance for the Great Lakes. We have a human print on how we are affecting our rivers, waterways and oceans. And of course, there is the socially distanced human interaction with the event.

Several non-profits have joined together to share in the beach cleanups in September: The Ocean Conservancy, The Alliance for the Great Lakes and the Friends of the Lake Superior Reserve.

Sharon has led groups in beach cleanups for more than 10 years and says the item most commonly found is cigarette butts. “The plastic filters do not degrade,” she said, “they will sit there on the beach for a long, long time.” Also the chemicals leached from cigarette butts are not good for aquatic life.

The most interesting trash Sharon has found is  one-half a bowling ball. And the most fun thing she found is surf balls or “whale burps,” -- tightly wound organic matter in the shape of an egg.Sharon will provide trash bags, latex gloves and facemasks. The first few to sign up will get the “really nice,” face masks.

Children need to be accompanied by an adult.
Learn more and sign up at greatlakes.org

Pre-register: https://bit.ly/3hbXtOS

Join us to clean sweep the beach:
Saturday, Sept. 26. 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

A Delightful Way to be Introduced to Endangered Species

By Naomi Yaeger
UMC Earthkeeper

Children running around outdoors, chasing frogs. That’s what I call a happy childhood – time spent outside examining frogs, or hearing birds or running on the beach. Did you ever find a turtle or a frog as a child? Do you think your great - grandchildren will be chasing the same species of turtles or frogs?

Painting by Adam Swanson

On a rainy afternoon my husband and I went to the Great Lakes Aquarium to see an exhibit by Duluth artist Adam Swanson. This exhibit  focuses on some of the 45 endangered species in Minnesota. His whimsical paintings are broad, colorful, acrylic brushstrokes on plywood. The exhibit, “The Mirrors,” includes 14 painting about some of the more than 45 state and federally listed endangered and threatened animals of Minnesota. 

Adam said in an email, “I tried to create colorful, engaging snapshots of our unsung neighbors. Animals who have existed in our region for millions of years.”

If just viewing “The Mirrors,” the exhibit is free to the public. Each work is titled and some information given. Examining one painting, I wondered why the woman was wearing a turtle like a backpack and if Adam intended the turtle to look like a backpack. In another painting, I questioned if the lynx saw the boy at the campfire and if the boy was aware of him. “Would a lynx harm a child?” In an audio recording, Adam says that according to National Geographic there are no known cases of a lynx harming a human.

Viewing this exhibit, I learned more about endangered species. This exhibit will be up at the Great Lakes Aquarium until the end of August. A reception will be scheduled.

I learned a lot via the aquarium’s website, which has photos of some paintings and audio to describe the paintings along with a few words from Adam. Visit https://glaquarium.org/the-mirrors/selected-works-fromthe-mirror/ to learn more and hear Adam’s voice.

A outdoor patio reception is scheduled for July 28, 6-8 p.m.

Two Movies to Add to Your Binging List

Two Movies to Add to Your Binging List 

By Naomi Yaeger

Earthkeeper UMC

Two new movies premiered in April on Earth Day, April 22. One was

The Story of Plastic, which is now showing on the Discovery Network. The other film released on YouTube is Planet of the Humans.

My daughter, Rebecca Bischoff, made arrangements for members of the First United Methodist Church, AKA "Coppertop" to see a screening of The Story of Plastic. I sent a link out to about 35 people. 

One person replied, “I’ve already seen this, and I’m cutting back on my use of plastics.” 

The point of the movie wasn’t that you, the individual, need to quit using plastic, as much as it is about the plastics industry is planning to ramp up their production of plastic. It’s touted as the movie, “Big Plastic hopes you won’t see.”

the plastics industry is planning to ramp up their production of plastic. It’s touted as the movie, “Big Plastic hopes you won’t see.”

They’d rather blame you as a litterbug, then take responsibility for producing even more plastic and selling it to industry as the container of choice. The other film, Planet of the Humans, is free on YouTube. I found it very depressing, so make sure you have something uplifting to do after the movie. To me, the only answer to save our planet after watching this was to curtail our population severely; or our standard of living, or how we make, buy and package things.

Also, on March 18, 2020, right as many were being urged to stay-at-home. Big Plastics wrote to Alex Azar US Department of Health and Human Services, encouraging them to tout the glories of single-use plastic. (And there is a peer-reviewed study that says plastic isn’t any safer)

I know you’ve been watching a lot of TV or binge-watching, so I’m adding these two movies to your list:

The Story of Plastic

Planet of the Humans.

Handwashing with soap and water is effective to prevent COVID-19

With a public health nurse as my mom, hand-washing was emphasized as I grew up. My husband grew up on a farm. If I tell him, “Dinner is ready, go wash your hands,” he gets up and washes his hands. In her elder years, my mom served the church as a “Sunday School Grandma.” Her biggest duties? Taking the little ones to the bathroom. One of my friend’s little boys so thoroughly washed his hands that she asked him, “Where did you learn to wash your hands like that?” “My Sunday School Grandma,” he answered.

I learned a new word: fomite. A fomite is an inanimate object that can transfer disease. According to the CDC a person is most likely to contract COVID-19 from aerosol transmittal, which means from droplets by coming into contact with another person. This is why social distancing and why washing your hands is important.

To keep you safe from COVID-19 the CDC recommends washing your hands with soap and water.

Why is plain old soap and water the most effective way to prevent viruses?  There are three reasons:

1. Washing with soap and water removes visible dirt and mucus.

2. Using a soap decreases surface tension, breaking the glue-like interaction between the virus and your skin.

3. The soap and water is physically removing whatever is on your hands. The outer-casing of the virus is made of lipids which are fats. Soap dissolves fat.

“The soap not only loosens the “glue between the virus and the skin but also the Velcro-like interactions that hold the proteins, lipids and RNA in the virus together,” according to, “The Science of soap – here’s how it kills the corona virus” theguardian.com.

Hand sanitizer cannot penetrate mucus. You would have to literally soak your hands in alcohol-based hand sanitizer for it to be as effective. Though hand sanitizer is recommended if you don’t have anything else or if you washed your hands but need to touch a door handle to arrive at your destination. As Australian professor of Chemistry Pall Thorardson wrote, “You can’t for any price, get a drug for the corona virus - - but your grandmother’s bar of soap kills it.”

You may also find this podcast useful

Why Does Hand Washing Beat Hand Sanitizer Hands Down?

Other sources used: CDC- www.cdc.gov, NIH www.nih.gov, and  Pall Thordarson as interviewed in The Guardian. Thordarson is a professor of chemistry at the University of New South Wales, Sydney

An Eathkeeper's musings about at sustainable Halloween

Homemade costumes

As an Earth Keeper I am passionate about teaching others awareness of environmental concerns and sharing alternatives practices. From personal experience I know that always being mindful is difficult.  A person is less likely to follow their values when hungry, crunched for time, or stressed. To avoid such pitfalls a critical step is to be organized and think ahead. 

Let’s think ahead to Halloween. Will you decorate, wear a costume or somehow celebrate? In the past few years more and more plastic ghosts, ghouls, and giant pumpkins have popped up on yards. But where does that vinyl or plastic go when it’s no longer needed? What about the energy it takes to keep the giant pumpkin or ghoul pumped up? Ghosts made from old sheets, with a ball for a head and twine around the base of the head is a more sustainable way to decorate a porch or a tree. Kids can use pillowcases for trick-or-treating.

Ghosts decor made of cloth

“Although they are tempting, avoid the pull of cheap plastic decorative items,” say the writers of ExistGreen.comhttps://existgreen.com/eco-friendly-halloween/. “There are plenty of natural materials to use for decor. Examples include sticks, dried corn on the cob, gourds, and even dryer lint!

Avoid painted pumpkins – you don’t want those nasty chemicals mixed in with your compost.” A real bale of hay, corn stalks and homemade scarecrows or monsters can all go back to the earth as compost.
Hat tips to members of my church and my neighbors who had these sustainable Halloween ideas, which are illustrated in the photos. Credit or names are not given by request.

If you are painting faces look at the ingredients before purchasing the paint. See if you can find recipes online to make natural edible face paint. Remember if it’s on your skin it’s absorbed into your body. As we know, some medications are delivered subdermally.  Here is one example on how to make fake blood: use beet powder or cherry juice instead of artificial red food coloring Mix it with corn syrup and cornstarch. Hat tip to to ExistGreen and Greg Nicotero, special effects and producer of “The Walking Dead,” Chicago NBC Channel 5 "Walking Dead" FX Guru: How to Be a Killer Halloween Zombie”

Say, “NO!” to single use plastic #Plasticfreejuly

 About a 2 1/2 minute read.

Packing lunch for #Plasticfreejuly. "One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong. Can you guess which thing is not like the others before I finish my song?"

I took the Plastic-free July month challenge, a global challenge asking individuals to refuse single-use plastic.  On social media the hashtag of #PlasticfreeJuly signified the challenge, which included signing my name on a website of www.plasticfreejuly.org

A challenge to refuse single-use plastic means planning ahead. I packed my lunch the night before work. One night I thought about packing yogurt, but that was in a single-use plastic container, so I didn’t. I DID use plastic. I used Rubbermaid containers for my sandwich and sliced apples. Also, I packed silverware in a small cloth bag. I made sure to pack a water bottle and a traveling coffee mug, as sometimes, I like to treat myself at Caribou Coffee. My husband, Terry, usually does the grocery shopping. He is "on-board" with using cloth and canvas bags. (He’s not "on-board” with everything I do), He knows that single-use plastic is a waste, which will be around for years and years. Also the production of plastic spills toxins into our soil and land. He prefers the cloth bags to paper or plastic. 

We took a trip to St. Paul and packed coffee mugs and water bottles. Terry wanted to get an ice-cream treat at Cossetta’s in downtown St. Paul. I saw that it was served in a paper container, and wanted to be a good companion so I said yes to the treat. But I was soon disappointed when I was handed a little plastic spoon. The damage had been done, they had given it to me. So I learned my lesson that I need to tell the workers ahead of time that I don’t want a plastic spoon and keep my spork packed in my purse.

This week, conduct a brand audit in your community. Here's how.

How many brand names of single use plastic do you see in this shopping cart?

Some good sameration filled this shopping cart with litter. Notice all the single-use plastic

This month, think about where you eat and how they serve the food.

Is there a less wasteful option?

Movie Review: The Biggest Little Farm

(630 words. A 4 minute read)

The Biggest Little Farm is beautifully photographed and has a gripping narrative. It has close-ups of raindrops on blades of grass as ladybugs crawl up the edge as well as aerial shots of the farm and wide shots of the stars at night. The baby animals are so darn cute. I attended the film with three friends, one of whom would often say out loud, “Oh for cute,” or “Aww!”

While the photography is stunning, animation is used at times to explain abstract thoughts.

OK, time for true confessions here. I know farming is damn hard. I was prepared for a cute glossed-over hippy-dippy film. After suspending my disbelief in how a couple would purchase a farm and financially maintain themselves, I let go and let myself become mesmerized in the photography and the narrative.

This is a documentary film. The stars of it are Molly Chester, a former chef and blogger who knew how important the sources of the food are, and John Chester, a photographer for National Geographic. The whole film is tied together by a dog named Todd, whom they rescued and promised that their home would be his last home. The newly married couple lived in a  small apartment in Santa Monica and Todd wouldn’t stop barking. Soon they are evicted out of their home and with their promise to a dog decide to purchase a worn, dried out farm one hour north of Los Angeles. “The soil was dead. Every other farmer we talked to thinks we are crazy,” John said.

The couple enlists the help of Alan York, a biodynamic consultant who teaches them that their farm needs animals and a variety of crops.

And they work hard. At one point Johns says, “Every time I cross something off the list 10 more things get added.”

It’s revealed that the farm in the recent past has had 4 different owners, and two of those owners were banks after the farm went bankrupt. The Chesters hire one Spanish-speaking man who has worked on the farm for all four owners. And another man who learn valuable farming skills while growing up in Mexico.  With pleas on Molly’s blog, they also find young adults from all around the world to help with farmwork.

It seems each new animal or crop attracts its own predator or problem. They have over 75 varieties of fruit trees. Birds ruin 70 percent of their fruits. The couple takes their eggs to market and they sell-out in less than one hour. For every victory there is a pest. Of course, soon they have the problem of coyotes attacking their chickens.

At one point John gets his rifle determined to shoot a coyote. (I grew up in North Dakota, where I learned that ranchers had a motto when it came to coyotes: SSS, shoot, shovel, and shut up. But I also knew of another alternative The whole time the Chesters worried about coyotes I wanted to shout, “Get a couple of donkeys! They will teach those coyotes a lesson.” My in-laws raised sheep. The donkeys protected the sheep.)

Soon, snails invade the trees, but ducks will eat snails. Bugs eat the leaves. And on and on it goes.

I won’t give any spoilers. Let’s just say the film is magnificently photographed and edited. The story-telling is captivating.

No rating that I could find. Lots of sex with the birds and the bees LOL ;)

No profanity, or drugs, some violence as predators kill farm animals. Lots of death and birth.

Animation by Jason Carpenter. 91 minutes.

Tends to play at indie theaters. Check mainstream theaters here.

Check Indie theaters here

This film will leave you in awe, some of my seatmates cried.

The film resonated with me and I recalled the Bible verse, “Stop and consider the wondrous works of God.” --Job 37:14.

I give it 5 stars.  

Give God’s earth a break, give up something for 40 days

By Naomi Yaeger

Commissioned Earthkeeper
(United Methodist Church)

Ash Wednesday is March 6. Traditionally some people give up something for Lent.

When I became a commissioned Earthkeeper in 2016, each of those in the class picked a theme. My is “Duluth

Doesn’t do it Dirty.” My goal is to educate others, to meet you where are, and see how you might increase your ways to keep God’s earth beautiful. Hope UMC’s pastor, Rev. Lawton is also an Earthkeeper   FUMC also has Earthkeepers Chuck Campbell and Carol Donahue – they have chosen a different missions.

Lent is a good time to see what you might give up or do for 40 days.

Could you give up plastic cutlery for 40 days? It takes some planning ahead if you eat lunch at facilities that use plastic cutlery.

Plastic cutlery is used because it is cheap and doesn’t need to be washed. Unfortunately, it wastes a lot of resources and is rarely recycled. Most plastic cutlery is made from a type of plastic known as polystyrene. Polystyrene or expanded polystyrene is more commonly referred to as Styrofoam. Styrene is currently classified by the National Toxicological Program’s 12th Report on Carcinogens as reasonably anticipated to be a carcinogen, workers involved in the manufacture of polystyrene foams are at the most risk of styrene exposure.

It is estimated that serval million tons of Polystyrene is produced each year.

My bamboo spork

Most cities cannot recycle styrene. Keep metal cutlery at your office or in your purse. I have a bamboo spork that comes in handy. As soon as I use it I wash it and place it in a waxed paper porch in my purse. Or if you are going for fast food to bring it back to your home or office, ask them to skip the plastic cutlery. Maybe you have another way you’d like to be more friendly to God’s Earth. Try choosing something you can do from Ash Wednesday until Easter. Anything you can do for 40 days is a start.

According to the United Methodist Church Statement on the Environment:

God is the owner of the land (Lev. 25); thus it is a gift in covenant which involves the stewardship of keeping and tending the land for present and future generations; as God's creation, land has the need to be regenerated that it may sustain life and be a place of joy. It is a common gift to all of life requiring just patterns of land use.

(Originally published in Duluth First United Methodist Church's newsletter and Duluth's Hope UMC Church newsletter)

United Methodist Women
UTENSILS M3534
$9.95



Carry your own utensils with you, at a church event or a take-away meal without adding plastic-ware waste to the environment. A fork, spoon, knife and a pair of chopsticks are held in a zipper pouch with the United Methodist Women logo and a reminder to Be Just. Be Green. Excellent gifts for family and friends and a great conversation starter.