When chickens get lice or mites, it can cause a number of problems for your flock. From a dip in egg production to undue stress that negatively affects their immune system, these external parasites are bad news for your hens. When they show up, you want to get rid of them as soon as possible. So how do you do that? 

I’ve found MannaPro Poultry Protector spray to be the most effective and quick non-toxic way to get rid of lice and mites. The issue is I own over 75 hens, so when I used Poultry Protector spray to kill lice and mites, I would go through a bottle a day! With each bottle ringing up at $12, it was an expensive treatment and I couldn’t keep footing the bill. 
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So I did my research and came up with a DIY Poultry Protector spray that costs me a fraction of the price (1/5 the cost to be exact!) and works just as well. In this post, I’m going to share it with you so you can help your hens and save a chunk of change too.

When most of us farmers hear the word “networking” we get a little pang at the bottom of our stomach. The word sounds so modern, so glossy, so dare I say it - corporate. What this word has stood for over the last few decades in our culture is quite literally the opposite of why most of us farm. We farm to escape the rigidity of cubicles, the stuffiness of meetings, and the obligation of hard deadlines.

I want to reframe networking for you and your farm so it doesn’t make you want to turn tail and run to the back forty. Instead, I want you to see how networking is a powerful tool for you to get your farm featured in your local newspaper and beyond.

In the hubbub of holiday shopping from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, I like to keep it simple here at Green Willow Homestead and do 40% off sitewide. Grab both The Holistic Home Ebook and the Chicken Tractor Build Plans discounted at 40% off and start 2020 with your most sustainable foot forward. Scroll on to learn more about both deals!

I know how overwhelming holiday shopping can be. As someone who loves finding the perfect gift, I know how daunting it can be when there are so many people you hold dear that you want to make feel special. I will admit that sometimes it feels like I am buying “just to buy" and get it crossed off my list. Pair that with being someone who cares deeply about being sustainable, ethical, and low to no waste with my shopping - it can take hours of online searching to find companies and products I trust.

So I know firsthand when the holidays come around, the call to spend money on gifts is at a fever pitch. It can be hard to navigate everyone’s wants and needs, while also keeping in line with your own values. 

That’s why I created The Green Gifting Guide. 

With over 60 gift ideas (categorized by age group and interests!), you can easily shop for everyone from toddlers to besties using the guide and give the earth a big hug while doing so. I want to save other earthy-friendly shoppers the time spent searching so you can breeze through your gifting with a clear conscious.

All of the gift ideas shared in this guide can be purchased online, they benefit great companies or artisan makers, are non-toxic, and good for the environment. ​​

We can hardly believe it's been a YEAR since we launched the Positively Green Podcast. Launching this sustainable and holistic living podcast has been such a joy. Becca and I love seeing your sustainable swaps, hearing what episodes have inspired you to change your habits, and creating content that can hopefully make a positive impact as we curb climate change. 

• How we felt about each of the episodes we created
• What episodes are our personal favorites and why
• What’s next for both of us
• When you can expect Season 2 to air!

While screen-time might be the last thing you think you need when building a successful farm, it’s actually what you need the most.

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by a child in my community. She was working on a project for school where she could choose anything she wanted to focus on, and she chose to study female farmers and how to open her own farmstand. So she chose me, a first generation female farmer who raises pastured chickens and produce through permaculture methods on five acres in Southeastern Wisconsin. To say I was touched was an understatement, I felt like I had won a ticket to the moon.

After a short tour of the farm, we chatted in my living room. Her first and most important question was, “How do you find your customers for your farm?”

I stopped to think about it. Then it hit me. We find all of our customers for our farm online.

For all our earth-friendly cat moms and dads out there, we have got the purr-fect episode for you. If you have been wondering how to care for your kitty in a sustainable and toxin-free way, Roberta Donaldson of The Millennial Cat Mom is here to help. In this episode, we learn why cats are true carnivores and how to source ethically raised meat for the healthiest and most sustainable feline diet possible. We also cover everything from eco-friendly litter box care to zero-waste cat toys.

Roberta Donaldson is an Environmental Scientist and Conservation Biologist by day and passionate pet parent by night. She is the creator of the blog Millennial Cat Mom and is the pet parent of her two beautiful fur children, Loki and Lambeau. Roberta’s goal is to inspire pet parents everywhere to take their pet's health into their own hands by providing knowledge and resources about the monster that is the pet food industry. She was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI, but is now lost in the mountains in Denver, CO.

• Why cats are true carnivores and how to keep them healthy
  
• The ethical and sustainable issues in the pet food industry
  
• What types of food options exist for sustainably-minded cat parents
  
• How Roberta went from feeding Friskies to pastured chicken hearts
  
• Pet Fooled Documentary and the Talk To Us Campaign
  
• Holistic Pet Radio
  
• What eco-friendly litter options exist and their pros and cons
  
• How to make the litter box transition for your kitty
  
• What zero-waste cat toys are out there
  
• Our cats, because Roberta and Kelsey are crazy cat ladies
  

• Feline Nutrition Organization
• Raw Feeding University
• Truth About Pet Food
• Karmavore Nutrition
• Perfectly Rawsome

• Vital Essentials
• Answers Pet Food
• Orijen
• Primal Pet Foods
• Steve’s Real Food
• Stella and Chewies

• Stainless Steel Litter Box
  
• Stainless Steel Litter Scoop
  
• Loft 312 Biodegradable Bags
  
• Branch Basics for cleaning
  
• Boxie Cat Litter
  
• sWheat Scoop Litter
  
• Simply Pine Natural Litter
  

The Millennial Cat Mom
@LokiTheKittyKing
@LambeauMiniAussie

Throwing a sustainable, zero-waste, and ethical wedding does not have to feel impossible. I created this guide as a way to help put all the options in one place.  In June of 2019, my husband and I pulled off our very own sustainable wedding and I am so excited to share the eco-friendly an zero-waste options you have at your disposal, hah, you see what I did there? 

If you are here as a new bride, congrats! If your here because you want to get your research done before the ring is on your finger, awesome! Take a moment and give yourself a pat on the back for caring enough about the earth to learn how to go about a green wedding.
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I want to preface this guide by saying I worked as a wedding photographer for a decade in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. I’ve photographed over 100 couples and thus have seen a lot of different types of weddings, and in turn, have seen first-hand the amount of waste that is produced from the average wedding day. Even then, when I wasn’t the conscious consumer I am today, it raised a red flag in my mind.

A 130 person wedding on average produces 62 tons of carbon dioxide and 400-600 lbs of waste. These numbers include everything from the wedding invitations to the flowers to the wedding dress.

An opposition arises when you try to have an earth-friendly wedding within the confines of modern wedding culture. We are constantly bombarded by pictures and ideas on Pinterest of perfect personalized weddings with all the trimmings. Then you have the concept of zero waste, which can feel so minimal and bare, making a bride feel like there’s very little wiggle room to make it feel special for herself and her guests.

The good news is that there are so many options for making your day feel special while still achieving an earth-conscious wedding. Once you understand the basics of having a green wedding then you can choose your own adventure from there. I can tell you from personal experience with my wedding that we were able to achieve a beautiful aesthetic without having to compromise our earth-friendly values.

In this guide, we will go over the options you have from finding an ethical engagement ring to where you can buy an eco-friendly wedding dress. While we talk over these options, I’ll provide you with what I chose for my low to no-waste wedding so that you have some experience to fall back on and you know you are not alone as you plan your own big day.

• The top ethical and conflict-free ring companies
• The best fair trade and sustainably made wedding dress companies
• How to go about sending invites to cut down on your carbon footprint and reduce waste
• How to set up a conscious consumer wedding registry
• Tips on how to cut down on food waste and the right questions to ask your wedding caterer
• The best places to get eco-friendly glitter and confetti (because duh)
• Other sustainable wedding tips you might not have thought of!

This week on The Positively Green Podcast we have organic skincare formulator Emma, founder of The Sunday Standard. As someone who has dealt with acne-prone skin her whole life, chatting with Emma about her nourishing facial oils was so enlightening. I've been implementing the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM) for nearly six years and Emma took my understanding of why it works to a whole new level. If you've been curious how OCM works or you have been trying it for a while and want to take it a step further, this episode is for you!

​The Sunday Standard is a beauty brand based in Milwaukee, WI. Emma's products are made with non-toxic, plant-derived ingredients and are formulated to heal blemish-prone skin from the inside out.

• How Emma became interested in clean and natural beauty
• Why facial oils are so beneficial for our skin (especially acne-prone skin!)
• What the “oil cleansing method” is and how to properly do it
• The most effective way to layer your skincare products and how to avoid wasting your money!
• Why Emma started her own skincare line and more about the products
• Challenges with natural formulas + more about Emma’s Formula Botanica diploma in Organic Skincare Formulation
• How Emma practices sustainability with her business and the importance of sourcing high-quality ingredients
• What’s next for The Sunday Standard
• 5 Simple Dietary Changes for Better Skin
• What the F is GLA? A guide to the importance of fatty acids in skincare.

• The Sunday Standard's Website and Blog
• Follow Emma on Instagram @ThisIsTheSundayStandard
• The Sunday Standard Facebook Page