Greetings!

Is everyone having a fabulous summer, so far? It's a tad bit hot. Okay, it's a why-do-I-even-bother-showering king of hot, but that's a great way to conserve water, right? Kidding, of course. 


The Girls Gone Green has hosted a couple of great events recently, and we have more coming! Here's a recap of last month's events – in case you couldn't make it – and a preview of some upcoming events!

In the meantime, here's our Green Tip of the Month to help you survive the sweltering summer days!

– The Girls Gone Green

  Green Tip of the Month
  Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender essential oil is going to be your new best friend this summer. Grab a bottle and keep it with you when you're headed outdoors.

Sunburn? Bug bites? Yep, lavender essential oil is great for treating both! Nothing says summer quite like sunburn and bug bites.

To use: rub a small amount of essential oil on the affected area. Some people are more sensitive to essential oils than others, so before you go slathering it on, it would be wise to test a drop on your skin first to see how you react. If there's any redness or irritation, don't use!  

Alternatively, you could use a carrier oil with the essential oils. Instead of applying the oil directly to the skin, layer on a bit of coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil or any carrier oil of your choosing, followed by the essential oil. The carrier oil will dilute the oil a bit. 



Peppermint Essential Oil


Peppermint essential oil can cool you down on a hot day.


To use: rub a little on the back of your neck or add a few drops to a wash cloth and place in the freezer. Slap that cold bit of wonderful on the back of your neck, sit back and relax!


  Past Events
  Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Tour   

Have you ever heard of natural burial? Our ancestors have. It was just called burial, then. 


On June 25, The Girls Gone Green took a field trip to Gainesville’s Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery. 


If you’re an environmentalist, you couldn’t ask for a better place to be buried. There are other natural cemeteries located in Florida, but Prairie Creek is the only conservation cemetery.


PCCC partnered with the Alachua County Conservation Trust, which owns the 12,000-acre preserve where the cemetery is located. Ninety-three of those 12,000-acres were bought by PCCC, and there’s plenty of room to expand in the future. 


There are no headstones marking the graves. Instead, only “nature sculptures” are allowed meaning the grave sites can only be adorned with natural items found on the land. The grave sites are located using a GPS system. 


Why natural or “green” burial? Because we are poisoning our water system with chemicals from embalming fluid to the tune of 800,000 gallons a year. That’s 800,000 gallons of chemicals, including formaldehyde. To put that in perspective, nearly the size of an Olympic swimming pool’s worth of water leaks into the U.S. water system every single year. 


The cemetery and surrounding areas are absolutely breathtaking. See for yourself! The cemetery is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. There are hiking/biking trails connected to the cemetery and golf cart tours are available upon request. 


If your legacy is to create a greener world while you’re living in it, wouldn’t you want your burial to be green as well?


Next stop: lunch!


After the tour, we headed to Reggae Shack Cafe for scrumptious Jamaican eats! If you haven’t checked this place out yet, make plans to go the very next time you’re in Gainesville, or heck, just make it a day trip there for an “eat-cation.”


There’s a huge vegetarian/vegan menu including curries, jerk tofu (the spiciest dish in the house if you like it hot!), tempeh and seitan dishes and even vegan steak! The owner and staff are incredibly nice, and it’s such a fun and funky, laid-back place. 

There are tons of vegan options in Gainesville, which is more than awesome. In fact, for dessert, we headed right next door to Karma Cream


An organic ice cream cafe, Karma Cream had tons of mouth-watering vegan ice cream flavors and made-from-scratch vegan treats. There’s vegan sandwiches and organic tea and coffee as well.


And they are 100 percent environmentally-conscious! In-house, everything is served in glassware, and take-out is placed in plant-based, compostable containers. Speaking of compost, the cafe also composts their food waste through Gainesville Compost. How great is that? 


  World Vegan Pizza Day at Present Moment Cafe!
  Tofu Blue Cheese/ Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza
Pizza. Who doesn't like pizza? And vegan pizza, raw pizza or gluten-free pizza? Yes, please!   

Present Moment Cafe hosted a World Vegan Pizza Day celebration June 29 with three options to choose from: Tofu Blue Cheese/ Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza, a gluten-free Margarita Pizza, and a Raw Pizza with Sundried Tomato Crust and veggies!

Who says vegans can't eat pizza? All the flavor without any of the guilt. Because calories from cruelty-free deliciousness don't count, right?
  Raw Pizza   
Upcoming Events
A G3 Affair: Republic Services North Florida Recycling Center Tour

Join The Girls Gone Green for a tour of Republic Services North Florida Recycling Center Thursday, July 13 at 5:30 p.m.!


We’ll get to see the recycling process first-hand and have a chance to ask questions before and after the tour. We’ll also watch a short lifecycle of recycling video.


The tour should last for about one hour. Closed-toe shoes are a must, so if you’re planning on coming straight from work, throw a pair of sneaks in your bag! Afterwards, we’ll meet up at Green Erth Bistro in San Marco for dinner, for those who want to join.


Republic Services is located at 7000 Imeson Road, Jacksonville, FL 32219. Green Erth Bistro is located at 1520 Hendricks Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32207. They have tons of vegan options, so bring your appetite! Check out their menu online at www.greenerthbistro.com. 

  A G3 Affair: Screening of "What The Health" & Vegan Potluck

Grab your friends for an eye-opening screening of the documentary film "What the Health?" July 30 at 6 p.m. and bring your favorite vegan potluck dish to share!


From the makers of award-winning documentary "Cowspiracy," "What the Health" explores the correlation between a healthy diet and preventing or reversing the nation's leading causes of death: heart disease and cancer and how big business influences our country's health. 


Tickets are $8 per person. The screening will take place at Present Moment Cafe, located at 224 W. King St., St. Augustine, FL 32084. 


To purchase tickets, visit www.flipcause.com.


 

Save the date!


7th Annual Northeast Florida Veg Fest


The 7th Annual Northeast Florida Veg Fest will take place Saturday, March 3, 2018 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Riverside Park, 753 Park St., Jacksonville, FL, 32204!


This year's Northeast Florida Veg Fest is going to be bigger and better than ever before! The festival will still have the classics: eco-friendly businesses, vegan eats, cooking demos, a kids' zone and live music.


More details coming soon! Visit www.nfvegfest.org or follow Northeast Florida Veg Fest on Facebook to stay up-to-date with the latest information. We can't wait; hope to see everyone there!


The Northeast Florida Veg Fest is Jacksonville's original veg fest and the only one hosted by The Girls Gone Green.


For more information,
or
follow the NEFL Veg Fest on  Facebook

The Girls Gone Green | www.thegirlsgonegreen.com