The Mia Connect Power Chat celebrated Spring and brought on a panel of guests that are knock-down/drag-out fabulous! Each of our guests brought amazing insight & content:Image may be NSFW.
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+Shawna Coronado – Full-time writer and photographer, an on-camera spokesperson, professional speaker, andgreen lifestyle evangelist. Shawna’s goal is to promote a better way of living which inspires and encourages a healthier lifestyle. It includes green lifestyle living, eco-travel, organic home gardening, and fresh culinary ideas to help make a difference in community.
+Wayne Meador – Visionary and entrepreneur. He’s the creator of AWorld4ChangeTV, and on a mission to make a difference and change the world around him. When he’s not glued to the computer screen and sharing his mission, he enjoys building food security through gardening, aquaponics, and hydroponics.
+Wayne Nix – Entrepreneur | NeoNatal Nurse | Respiratory Therapist and host of the newly minted ‘Lookin for Good Cookin’ – a weekly Hangout OnAir Program highlighting stories of products, people and recipes from his home state of Louisiana
Shawna Coronado:
Before becoming the Sustainable Activist, blogger and writer she is today, Shawna was in Sales & Marketing & ended up quitting in a huff. She did a 180 degree turn and began landscape gardening which, amazingly enough, diminished the amount of prescriptions she was taking. She felt great being outside but then realized the problem was in her home as well. They discovered the cabinetry in the house was loaded with toxic chemicals. In addition to remodeling, they also removed all the house cleaning chemicals: bleach, window cleaners. She immediately felt better. The connection to this really made her think – although she’s extra sensitive to chemicals, Shawna realized that millions of people are exposed & may not have a reaction and therefore don’t realize how much they were being effected. So she decided to write a book and called it “Gardening Nude” Why that title? It was her hubby’s joke: “In order to get a full grown man interested in reading a book on the green initiative ‘you gotta be naked on the front cover’”!
This lead to social media & the need to market her book. Shawna started off from scratch and had no followers or audience. Shawna took a chance and reached to Chris Brogan for advice on how to get her message out. His answer: “Get off your ass and do video” (that’s a direct quote here, party people) She took the advice and started doing videos (when Chris Brogan takes the time to give you advice.. do Image may be NSFW.
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it!) And Shawna now has 170 videos with over 1 million views as well as 120k who have circled her on G+ and a large audience on Twitter & Facebook. What is Shawna’s Secret Sauce Secret: “The socially good message is what drives me. My goal is to connect with as many people on a personal level so I can get the message out to the world. It has changed my life!”
She took her message a step further and decided to change the way her family eats and has converted her front yard (and now back yard) into a large vegetable garden that not only provides fresh produce for her family but the Coronado’s also donate 120 lbs. of Organic Produce to the local food pantry. Shawna also has park benches on the city property behind her house that are colored “Kiss My Ass” green, in honor of her fight with The City of Chicago when they gave her a hard time for beautifying the property behind her house with a beautiful Pollinator Garden (go figure!)
Wayne Meador
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Wayne also comes from a Corporate Background. He was making good money but realized he was spinning his wheels when it came to making a positive impact around him. He felt like his work wasn’t connecting with his higher purpose and he knew he needed to think outside the box and not rely on systems to bus in produce from other parts of the country (and from around the world). He started his YouTube channel (and was inspired by Shawna’s front yard videos!) and is building a Sustainability WebTv channel called A World For Change TV! Wayne’s mission: Get info out there that others can use and apply to their lives TODAY so we can be sustainable and more self-sufficient. Wayne’s grandmother was a master gardener & taught him a ton. Wayne made a good point: our grandparents and people from that generation did not make the connection to the bigger vision of sustainability. They had survived wars & the Great Depression and things were going well. They didn’t need to think of self-sufficiency –it was lifestyle. Things are different now & Wayne is helping people to see that and to make an impact on the planet in a positive way that will allow us to express care for our earth.
More of the Wayne Meador message:
We have to be concerned about the footprint & the impact we leave. We need to wake up; something is going to change if we don’t. We can take control of the change and mitigate some of the risks of living recklessly as a culture. We can create a positive effect moving forward.
And Wayne is going to address all of that with his new show! Stay tuned and also make sure to check out all the great videos on his YouTube channel – talk about getting your learn on!
Wayne Nix
Our other Wayne has a varied history as well – he is a trained neonatal nurse by trade which brings an interesting perspective Wayne has also experienced personal tragedy which led to time off and he took to gardening which reallyImage may be NSFW.
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changed his mindset! This led to the local farmers market and to… fresh eggs. He noticed the amazing difference between commercial eggs and farm fresh eggs. The snowball effect continued – Wayne’s curiosity continued and which led to learning about hybrid seeds and heirloom seeds. Wayne’s passion & enthusiasm is infectious! He filled us in on how amazing hybrid seeds are & that they regenerate – combine that with the right type soil and the effect is amazing. As Wayne put it “You feel better from the great produce and you accomplish something.” Another great tip from Wayne each state has an Agricultural Department where you can find a ton of Plant Soil & Grow tips and also get your soil tested. You can also grow herbs on your kitchen counter. And I’m so excited that Wayne N. is bringing his message to the airwaves with “Lookin for Good Cookin”, a weekly Hangout On Air Program highlighting stories of products, people and recipes from his home state of Louisiana
Great info & simple tips:
Organic: For those of us that feel the meaning of Organic is a little complicated, Shawna simplified it: No chemicals or less chemicals. When you shop for soil, just make sure it’s organic and it really helps to grow stronger plants
Make that Change! I also got some serious learn on when Shawna talked about one of the biggest changes that her family made which was to give up paper towels completely. Now before you get all fussy and freak out – listen to the reason why and how NON sustainable the paper towel industry is! The trees grown for paper towels have excessive chemicals injected into them. While trees are a renewable resource, the process in making paper towels is not. It involves massive amounts of water and usage of bleach (resulting in whitest of white paper towels). The entire process to get to a single paper towel is quite complicated. She uses white towels now – it took a while to get her family adapted but they’ve done it!
Composting: Wayne Nix recommends it! He’s saving money and regenerating it in his own back yard. Wayne Meador also recommended … worms! You can easily have a small bucket of compost with composting worms. They produce “vermicomposting” or “worm casting”. … Guess what that really means… Worm POOP! Check out RedWorms Express and get your worm on!! Use Wayne’s code : AWORLD4CHANGE for a 10% discount (not an affiliate code, FYI) And then go play in the dirt! Mix in organic dirt & you have quick non-odor compost.
Cleaning Tips: Wayne N. grows loofah & you can use that for cleaning. But be careful – it can be invasive so get ready for a serious clean house!
ACHOO! Here is another HUUUUUGE tip for people with allergies: Eat Local Raw Honey. When you consume it, you are eating the local plants in your area & helps with your allergies. It physically makes you feel better! (NOTE: It needs to be raw, not cooked – raw honey has the pollen bits/good junk in it) Wayne Meador’s tip: He leaves his coffee cup out overnight and it collects pollen & then just pours himself a nice helping of coffee with a side of healthy pollen.
Pollinators – sounds serious, right?! It’s far more than just bees. Shawna filled us in that magnolias are blooming now & what these are pollinated by beetles. Others in the Pollinator Category are butterflies & hummingbirds. Shawna’s goal this year is to start an initiative where more people are growing Pollinator foods. And she’s not alone! She was recently contacted by Brookfield Zoo and they are also on the Pollinator kick. Their dream is to building a “pollinator Corridor” from Chicago to St. Louis. Shawna feels that this could help with the 9bilion people who need food by 2050. Not to scare you all but if we continue to eliminator our pollinators, we also eliminate 25-40 of our food that is no longer available
Pollinator Action Step: A simple container with flowering plants. That’s it! It’s great way to make your space beautiful and help your community and the world around you.
Coffee Drinker? GREAT TIP from Wayne Meador – buy bamboo coffee filters! Buy on Amazon.com Dustin Stout also mentioned that using a French Press is even better.. NO FILTERS!
Go HEMP! We touched briefly on Hemp and could definitely do a whole show on it! Hemp is a miracle product that has more uses than can be listed in 10 blogposts! Do you research but for starters, here are a few products: hemp seed foods, hemp oil, wax, resin, rope, cloth, pulp, paper, fuel, body products.
How to get others involved?
– Focus on the pain point that everyone has which is usually money.
– Live by example, eventually others will follow.
– It’s cheaper to grow your own organic food.. if you can!
– Wayne Nix’s great point – if you spend money on the food, you will spend less on medication. And he knows – he’s been in the medical industry!
The Next Generation: Children that are raised with the right message about the environment make an effort! Both Shawna and I agree – our generation is a perfect example of this with the “Give a Hoot, don’t pollute” commercials and the poignant Native American crying commercial (are you old enough to remember that?! I am!)
Check out the Panel Bat Crap Crazy Moments & Call to Action:
Shawna Coronado: She’s writing several books including a tome on Vertical & Living Walls with tips on how to grow Pollinator & Aphrodisiac Gardens (how fun!) She’s also doing a ton of Eco Travel – she recently hugged a Giant Sequoia. Shawna is Bat Crap Crazy for the ongoing green initative & getting people to change live socially good & to do it the right way
Wayne Meador is Bat Crap Crazy about making a difference & leaving a positive impact. We all need to do that – we all leave a ripple with our life and we can either be a positive one or a negative one – that’s our choice! Wayne is also nutty for his favorite 5 gardeners & you need to follow them! Paradise Lot is another great thing that Wayne loves. A sustainable living facility in the City – a very cool book! Oh, and Wayne is going to help out a friend – Go for Green Living – they will be talking about solar panels, aquaponics, homesteading topics, forging knives. Check it out.
Wayne Nix is Bat Crap Crazy for teaching & cooking and is doing that through Looking for Good Cooking – get back to being human again! Here’s the event link
Mia’s Bat Crap Crazy is the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. And her new show with Chef Dennis Littley called Food & Booze.
Tons of Fun Info in no particular order:
22 Natural Ways To Repel Insects
Cradle To Cradle – Remaking the Way We Make Things – by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
How To Plant a Vertical Strawberry Planter – https://youtu.be/DrafBnSpvwU
DIY Mini Self-Wicking Garden –
One Yard Revolution –
CaliKimDIY –
Blake Kirby –
Rob Bob
Praxxus55712
GoForGreenLiving
Paradise Lot – Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre, and the Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City
Sea Turtle Snorkel and Turtles Lay Eggs in Akumal, Mexico – Eco-Hula Eco-Adventure
Denver Farmers Market Schedule
American Seed Alliance
Better Soil Tips from Shawna
More Soil Info
Full Shade Vegetable Garden List
Shawna The Guerilla Gardener
Shawna’s Front Yard
Shawna’s TedX – One Person Can Make a Difference
The Very First Mia Connect Show
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