Everyone loves to see holiday lights this time of year. In Tucson, Arizona a local neighborhood has been making holiday lights a tradition for over 62 years along with giving back to their local Community Food Bank.

The Winterhaven Festival of Lights began in 1949. CB Richards, the founder of Winterhaven Water & Development Company and was inspired to create the Festival after visiting a similar display in Beverly Hills, California  in the 1930s.  The Festival has been held continuously since 1949 except for one year during the 1970′s energy crisis when the residents of Winterhaven voted to stay dark.

This will be the 62nd year for the Winterhaven Festival of Lights in Tucson Arizona. It is one of the longest running festivals of its kind in the country.  It is visited by hundreds of thousands of people from all over southern Arizona and helps so many in need this time of year through their Food Bank donation efforts.

The Festival is one the most important events for the Community Food Bank in Tucson.  In 2010, over $27,000 and 44,000 pounds of food were donated to the Food Bank through the Festival. What a great way to give back this time of year!

You can keep the lights shining this year by helping The Winterhaven Festival and the local Community Food Bank by making a donation today.

WinterhavenFestival.org

By Jason Cook

With their beauty and versatility, living walls, or vertical gardens, have opened up a whole new world to plant lovers everywhere. Whether indoors or out, these elegant structures make a stunning addition to any home or business, and offer many other benefits as well.

For those in the urban jungle with limited space, vertical gardening can drastically expand available growing area. You can make your own inexpensive vertical garden for a balcony or patio out of an average shoe organizer. Simply fill the pockets that would normally hold the shoes with high quality potting soil, ensure that it will drain sufficiently and plant as you would in any other container. This will work well for many herbs and some vegetables.  There are also kits and ready-made options available for purchase if you so choose.

Indoors, living walls and living wall art act as air purifiers. During photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. They also remove Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s). VOC’s are released from plastics, paints and fragrances worn by a building’s occupants among many other sources. Studies have shown that indoor plants help reduce stress, improve creativity and contribute to a feeling of well being, and, in the workplace, they help reduce absenteeism and improve worker productivity.

The living wall art piece pictured consists entirely of edible plants, which adds yet another potential benefit: Food!

Bringing living walls and vertical gardens into and around your home will add a touch of class and beauty, but the benefits go far beyond aesthetics. Make your home a greener place, and it will work full time to make you healthy and happy!

Jason Cook is the owner of Savory Sceneries in Tucson Arizona. Visit their website to learn more about Living Walls.