Happy Dancing Blog

Double checking your printer settings to prevent common office waste. If you had a chance to read my previous blog about “Stumbling into...

What is your definition of rural? Whatever it is, Benjamin Winchester, a sociologist who focuses on rural living, wants it to be a...

Climate change is a hoax, or at least the notion that reducing carbon and other heat-trapping gasses in our atmosphere can stabilize our...

I grew up in the Central Valley of California during the start of the recycling revolution trend, but that doesn’t mean I understood it....

If you’ve heard an undercurrent of whining every time you step outdoors, that may have been my muttering carried on a brisk north wind to...

"Now" is always a great time to take stock of your well-being and how you care for yourself. One aspect of mental health that is often overlooked is the role that clutter plays. Decluttering will not only make the spaces you live in more comfortable but may have a profound impact on your mental health.

Use of food shelves in the Northern Lakes area increased dramatically during the pandemic and has continued to grow post-pandemic. For the Lakes Area Food Shelf and the Pine River Area Food Shelf, that has meant challenges in keeping up with customer demand. But Farms 2 Food Shelf, a new program, is meeting the need for produce on a whole new level.

For eight weeks, from late April to mid-June 2023, Happy Dancing Turtle was fortunate to host the We Are Water MN exhibit on the Hunt Utilities Group Resilient Living Campus. The experience of having a museum-quality exhibit on campus plus the events, collaborations, and conversations that arose during that time continues to inform Happy Dancing Turtle’s work to grow good stewards of the planet.

Like most of us, we were very excited to return to a “normal” summer this year. While we craved the routines and activities of the past, we also recognized the need for caution and to ensure the health and safety of our staff and program participants. So, we were back to “normal”, with a few small changes.

Pollinators have been all the buzz in recent years as research has shown steady declines in populations.

One of the most difficult problems that gardeners face is proper use of water. They either use too much or too little.

Now that we’ve had a few frosts, many think they can hang up their garden gloves. But think again. If you want a successful garden next year, start this fall. Your garden is still alive and the microbial livestock in your soil need to be fed.

There are options for how to handle the overabundance that is likely pushing against your fridge door’s capability to seal (or is this just my fridge?). Eat right now, eat soon, or preserve/prepare for later consumption, or find a new home – these are the options we’ll be addressing.

2018 was designated the Year of the Bird by the National Audubon Society, so Birds of a Feather seemed like a natural theme for this year’s Eco Camp. With August now upon us, we have just one camp left. Our first three camps were a huge success and so much fun was had by all! There are favorite activities that we do every year with each group.

Entire schools, and communities across the nation participate in Screen Free Week, endeavoring to not use any screens during non school and work hours. No smart phones, no video games, no TV, no computers, no screens of any kind

The vendor fair is great place to catch up with old friends. Photo by HDT Staff. There were over 260 early registrations, with many more walk-ins. It was a really busy day! Photo by HDT Staff. Boondock Enterprises had a workshop on jelly making and joined the vendor fair for the first time this year. Photo by HDT Staff. Some of the samples were hits. Photo by HDT Staff. Dave enjoyed the horseradish jelly. Photo by HDT Staff. Phil Hunsicker and Mike Duvall of the MN DNR entert

Looking back at a summer of eco camp.

Three of our four 2017 Freshwater Friends Eco Camps are in the books. Our campers have ventured on field trips, eaten straight from the garden, and learned a bit about our environment.

No doubt the energizing keynote speaker had something to do with Back to Basics 2017 was the largest most attended B2B, yet. J. Drake Hamilton, Science Policy Director for Fresh Energy, spoke for an hour on the state of the renewable energy market in its current state and its future prospects.

Many families in Minnesota rely on food from food shelves to feed their households. For some, the food shelf is temporarily their only resource for fresh produce. Eating healthy food like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is important.