biophilia

Reduce Workplace Distractions with Plants

| May 18, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
People working in an office with lots of plants.
Companies were quick to jump on board the open office design trend when it first showed up in the 1990s. Busting down the doors created community and encouraged creativity. People also needed less workspace thanks to technology. No one needed a huge computer workstation anymore when a laptop or even a tablet or phone would do. By opening up office space and shrinking the average workstation, companies could also save a lot of money on their office leases. The result: the International Facilities Managers Association says 70 percent of all workplaces today have some kind of open office design. In the 20 plus years since the walls came down, workplace efficiency experts have learned a lot – mainly that the pendulum swung a little too far and some corrections are needed.… Read More

Eight Ways to Celebrate Mother Earth This Mother’s Day

| May 11, 2017 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
Time for our annual public service announcement, if you haven’t already heard: Sunday, May 14 is Mother’s Day. You’re welcome. As we all get older, we appreciate our Moms more than ever. This is especially true if you’re a parent. Most of us have to be asking ourselves, “How did she ever put up with me?” So we try our best to say thank you with flowers, gifts, and Sunday brunch. Mom always says she’s thrilled no matter what you do. But there is another Mother we should remember on Mother’s Day: Mother Earth. Why not honor both? They both play vital roles in your life.… Read More

World Naked Gardening Day, There’s a Serious Point

| May 3, 2017 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Nature and Wellbeing
Be careful with your gardening tools on World Naked Gardening Day - it's on May 5, 2018!
When I found out this Saturday, May 6 is officially the 13th annual “World Naked Gardening Day,” of course I laughed. Come on, who wouldn’t? Then I thought, ‘Boy, that’s going to take a LOT of sunscreen. More for some than others!’ World Naked Gardening Day is a real event, and while we all might giggle about it, there’s an important point to it. People across the globe are encouraged, on the first Saturday of May, to get outside and weed, dig, plant, fertilize, and otherwise tend to their garden space as Mother Nature made you: without any clothes on. Founder Mark Storey, a Seattle resident, says gloves, hats, and boots are perfectly OK by him.… Read More

Got a Prana Problem? We Have The Answer: Vastu

| April 26, 2017 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing
Whether you think it’s an art, a science, both, or neither, most Western cultures know about the Chinese practice of feng shui. It is a complex system of rules and beliefs created 3,000 years ago to balance positive and negative energy in the world around places people live, work, and play. But I bet you aren’t as familiar with a similar practice from India called vastu. Vastu is another system of creating harmonious living and working environments in conjunction with the forces of nature. Vastu is older than feng shui, and thought to have been carried across the Himalayan Mountains into China where it was adapted to the local culture where it became feng shui.… Read More

Earth Day is Yuuuge! at Good Earth Plant Company

| April 19, 2017 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Sustainable Living
Do whatever you can to reduce your environmental impact. Small steps add up. sustainablity
It all started as a protest over a Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969, and from the first Earth Day in 1970, it has become the single largest non-religious observance worldwide. Millions of people in 192 countries will participate in Earth Day activities this Saturday, April 22. Chances are pretty good you are one of them. San Diego participates with the largest free all-volunteer Earth Day event in the world at Balboa Park. It takes place this year on Sunday, April 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you attend, you can talk with 300 exhibitors, see the Children’s Earth Parade in the morning, an arts and crafts show, and plenty more.… Read More

Meet the Next Generation of Eco-Warriors

| April 5, 2017 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing
Sixth grade students from Innovation Academy took a field trip to Good Earth Plant Company’s living lab earlier this year. Students are working on green roof and living wall projects and wanted to see the “real deal.” During their visit to our living lab, we first did a power point presentation about how to build a green roof or living wall and some of the issues and concerns keeping them alive. We showed them photos of green roofs and living walls around the world. Then it was time to go outside and see them up close. Boy do they have a lot of questions, some really smart ones.… Read More

No Surprise: More Evidence You Need Nature for Good Health

| March 30, 2017 | Categories: Biophilia, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
While Americans have watched efforts to improve our natural healthcare system stall (and that’s as much as I care to mention about politics, I promise), I ran across a new European study offering great advice on something we can all do to improve our health right now. Plant a tree. People living in European nations face a lot of the same health problems we do in the United States: obesity, mental health disorders, and negative effects from pollution. On top of this is the stress and impact of living in our typical urban environments in cities. A team of researchers at the Institute for European Environmental Policy spent a year reviewing more than 200 academic studies on health outcomes to see if there were common findings and recommendations.… Read More

The Nose Knows When It’s Springtime

| March 23, 2017 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Gardening, Nature and Wellbeing
People who live in climates with true changes of season say they love the cycle from snow to rain to sunshine to fall leaves. It’s true there are times of year when spring flowers and fall leaves are a truly beautiful sight. Transplants to San Diego will tell you they “miss” the changing seasons. Southern California seasons change, too. The changes are more subtle, that’s all. We know it’s officially Spring this week, even when we’ve been hit by more rain (and nothing wrong with that). We are getting more hours of sunlight. Human beings instinctively feel it as part of the biophilic connection we have to the rhythms of nature.… Read More

Go Green Or Your Employees Might Go Home

| March 2, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing
The job market has been opening up. It’s great news for people who want to find a quality job. But it’s not such good news for employers trying to retain their most talented employees. Employers should pay attention to the findings in this year’s annual “State of the American Workplace” survey from the Gallup Organization. It gives them a game plan for developing the kind working environment talented people are looking for. A record 47 percent of the workforce say now is a good time to find a quality job. More than half of employees (51 percent) are searching for new jobs or watching for openings.… Read More

Can Plants Save The World? Isn’t It Worth Trying?

| February 17, 2017 | Categories: Biophilia, Environment, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
I started my career in the plant industry with a flower bucket stand in downtown San Diego. Now I’m heading toward my 40th anniversary in business at warp speed. It’s crazy! It took a lot of hard work, but it also took a little luck and lots of help along the way. I’m grateful for where it’s taken me. When you have the gratitude attitude, two things happen. First, you feel great. Second, you want to pass it on, and that feels great, too. In 2016, a presentation by Alpha Project Chief Operating Officer Amy Gonyeau opened my eyes to the growing scope of homelessness in San Diego.… Read More