biophilia

California’s Trees Are Worth Saving

| July 22, 2015 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
San Diego is losing its Torrey Pines at an alarming rate because of the drought.
Have you noticed changes in the landscaping along San Diego’s freeways? Caltrans has cut a lot of trees down, replacing them with low profile, low water use landscaping. I bet Caltrans is doing this in other areas of California as well. Caltrans isn’t alone. KPBS Radio reported 100 trees have been removed from the Torrey Pines Preserve, which is a lot more than the yearly average. Twelve MILLION trees died in California state forests in 2014 because of the drought. Almost 90,000 of those were in San Diego County. All over the state, our urban and suburban street trees are being removed due to drought, disease, and because they’ve become street hazards raising sidewalks.… Read More

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

| July 9, 2015 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living
It's a small step in the right direction toward preserving our planet's resources.
Some days the news is a little hard to take, full of reports about shootings, natural disasters, and drought. I thought I would write about it, but then I realized the topic seemed familiar. Check out this blog post I wrote two years ago this month. Not much has changed, has it? The location of the shootings is different, that is about it. As for our weather, it only seems to get drier and hotter. My observations and my advice then wouldn’t change now either. We know what needs to be done and we have many of the solutions at our fingertips, even more than we did two years ago.… Read More

Getting Schooled about Plants, Nature, Biophilia and Wellness

| June 25, 2015 | Categories: Biophilia, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing
Architects designing today’s hospitals are merging art and evidence-based research to create environments that promote health and healing. Views of nature, natural light, earth-toned color schemes and the sounds of nature all help patients heal more quickly, and they suffer less from depression or side effects. Starting with a study in 2002 by University of Texas professor Roger Ulrich which we have written about before, there are now over 1,000 studies and they all prove the same thing. Plants and nature promote healing. It’s serious science and it is finally starting to be taken seriously. This week, the San Diego Business Journal published an article about changes in the approach to architectural design of hospitals and other healthcare facilities to put these principles into practice.… Read More

Earth Day Fast Facts from Good Earth Plant Company

| April 22, 2015 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Sustainable Living
Happy Earth Day 2015 from Good Earth Plant Company
Forty-five years ago today, the first Earth Day took place in 1970. It is now an annual event celebrated on April 22, coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network. It reaches more than 192 countries each year including hundreds of communities in the United States. Many communities that support environmental issues choose to celebrate an Earth Week. Not to brag, but we celebrate Earth Day every single day at Good Earth Plant Company! In honor of Earth Day and Earth Week, Good Earth Plant Company shares some fun facts with you. The late Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin founded Earth Day to raise public awareness of environmental issues.… Read More

Pushing Nature Into Urban Planning with Living Walls

| March 12, 2015 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
Pure Fitness living wall at the Westgate Hotel by GreenScaped Buildings
  The Downtown San Diego Partnership, the leading advocate for the revitalization and growth of downtown San Diego, recently offered this observation and it stopped me in my tracks: “For the first time in 100 years urban growth has outpaced suburban growth.” Assuming this is true, as an advocate for integrating nature into our everyday environment, I see opportunity. Think about the typical suburban environment. There are yards, parks, and other spaces where nature is present. Now think about the typical urban environment. It’s full of concrete, glass, shadows and hard surfaces, but not a lot of nature or plants. This means people like me need to push even harder to make sure nature is included in urban planning.… Read More

Hear Jim Mumford on “Communities Digital News Hour” Thursday, Feb 5

| February 5, 2015 | Categories: Indoor Plants, Media Coverage, Sustainable Living
Jim Mumford of Good Earth Plants in San Diego on Communities Digital News Hour radio, commdiginews.com
If you know anything about Good Earth Plant Company from reading our blog page, you know how much we all love what we do to enhance and transform our clients’ environment, health and well-being with plants and flowers. A very close second is educating people about the many benefits of plants. I never miss an opportunity to communicate all the ways human beings rely on plants and benefit from them, and the need for us to think about how to preserve and cultivate more plants in our urban environment. If you’ve heard me you know how enthusiastic I can get! I have a new opportunity to reach more people through a regular column starting this week with the online news organization Communities Digital News, based in Washington DC.… Read More

Tips for Preventing The Time Change From Affecting Your Health

| October 30, 2014 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Sustainable Living
Don't forget to "fall back" this weekend on Saturday, Nov. 1.
This weekend we change our clocks from Daylight Time to Standard Time in the U.S. and Canada (unless you’re reading this from Arizona, Hawaii, four U.S. territorial islands or a few small spots north of the border). Before going to bed on Saturday, November 1, turn your clocks BACK one hour. You’re welcome. Our public service announcement for the week is concluded. Now for our safety message: Next week, be extra careful commuting, especially driving home. The transition to standard time increases motor vehicle accidents, especially fatal accidents and pedestrian vs. car accidents. It is estimated that sticking with daylight time year-round would prevent 195 deaths from car accidents, and another 171 pedestrian fatalities.… Read More

Go Green at Sea: Royal Caribbean’s New Ships

| October 2, 2014 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Living Walls
This new living wall aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship will really get around. Courtesy Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean is known for its extravagant cruises and for keeping its guests happy with the latest shipboard innovations. Its ships “Oasis of the Seas” (what a great name!) and “Allure of the Seas” feature the perfect balance of activities and relaxation. Where better to relax in the middle of the deep blue sea than in the green of the Royal Caribbean Central Park? This version of Central Park is an onboard neighborhood garden covered with 12,000 beautiful living plants. Good Earth Plant Company was thrilled to learn about this, and we are so glad to see ships growing real plants instead of displaying all replicas as many have done in the past.… Read More

Bioinspiration: Letting Nature Inspire Your Work

| November 12, 2013 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living
This week wasn’t about the usual business of green roofs and living walls. I jumped outside the box, exited my silo and spent time at events that remind me of what else is out there. I attended a Downtown San Diego Partnership workshop featuring Fred Kent of Project for Public Spaces. I first heard Fred speak at the Greening the City symposium in March 2006 at Liberty Station. It was there that I was exposed to the idea of green roofs. My passion was ignited. I went on to take a course in New York and studied Fred’s concepts about energizing, engaging and programming public places to build communities.… Read More

Our Biophilia Connection to Nature

| August 20, 2013 | Categories: Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Nature with waterfall
At some time in life, we all become interested in something new and different. Maybe we take up making sushi or read a book on building a treehouse and get inspired to make one. For me I am intrigued by the word biophilia. I got interested in it years ago and whenever I see an article about it I think…hey! I was thinking about that years ago! Your next question might be: what is biophilia? And why does it haunt Jim Mumford? Here’s my best shot at a definition. Biophilia is basically an appreciation of life, nature, science and the living world.… Read More