Categories - LUSH Life (clear)
The Man Loves Turtles: An Interview with Dr. Wallace J. Nichols
Life is never boring at LUSH HQ! A typical Tuesday morning may include meeting an inspirational change maker, like Dr. Wallace J. Nichols.
A marine biologist, wildlife conservationist and one of the world's leading experts on sea turtles, Dr. Nichols stopped by to share his passion for the ocean and its inhabitants. Before addressing the packed room, Dr. Nichols passed out little blue marbles as a token of gratitude and a reminder of our beautiful, blue planet. He shared his love of turtles (spoiler alert: he really, really loves them), his groundbreaking research and how he, along with our Charity Pot partners RED Sustainable Travel, helped transform a community of turtle hunters into turtle conservationists.
With our blue marbles in hand, we sat down to chat with him about his Billion Baby Sea Turtles project, the study of neuroconservation and how love can literally change the world.
When did your fascination with turtles begin?
When I was a kid I fell in love with turtles, but there was a period of time when there was no encouragement. It was mostly discouragement. People just didn't study turtles for a living. No one around me was doing that. I saw a flier in the library for a job listing in Costa Rica and applied. I went off to Costa Rica and it rekindled that dream. From that moment, I never looked back. I just kept going, getting my masters and then my Ph.D. I became president of the sea turtle society. I never knew there was such a thing!
You spoke today about love and its...
Memorial Day: Extend Your Weekend With LUSH
Car dealerships host blow-out sales, red, white and blue bunting is brought out, we’re firing up grills and tucking heavy sweaters away - May is almost over, but summer is arriving fast.
Though it has significant origins and meaning, Memorial Day has also been adopted as the unofficial kick-off of the summer season. A lot of people go out of town to enjoy the extra day off. Others enjoy taking on a project at home or in the garden, or having friends over for a cookout. Maybe you unplug all gadgets and finally have a weekend without an inbox (how luxurious does that sound?). There’s a million ways to enjoy any weekend, but we especially love a long, lingering one.
Here are a few great ways to make the weekend last even longer:
Relax, Take A Bath
Floating Island may not physically take you somewhere else, but it can mentally. Draw your tub full of water, set the cupcake-shaped Luxury Bath Melt in the water and it will gently bob along, like a floating atoll, gently dissolving into rich froth. Lemon, sandalwood and the sweet scent of melted cocoa butter swirl beautifully in the perfume that lasts on skin and in the air for ages after the bath is over. It’s an easy way to take a trip without leaving your bathroom.
Give Feet A Digit-al Revolution
...
Easy Compost Tips: Whip Up A Smoothie
It's easy to be green these days.
Composting kitchen scraps is hardly the newest way to lighten our loads on Mother Earth, especially with more communities offering curbside compost services. Our LUSH Kitchens and head offices all compost, and our shops do so whenever possible as well. There's always more we can do, though.
Composting isn't difficult provided there is a designated spot, and a system to it. It's a natural process, so however diligent or casual the system, compost will happen. (We suggest a more diligent system for communal spots like the office though!) A helpful resource for all kinds of compost questions is Barbara Pleasant's article "Compost Made Easy" on Mother Earth News; this is a must-read if you are looking for good dirt on the topic.
On the Internet one day, I stumbled upon another article about "compost smoothies" from a blog called Maoomba. Hang on a tick, I thought - what have my plants been missing all these years? And how easy would this be in an office lunch room? While there's still a compost heap in the yard, Maoomba's article about compost smoothies-or direct composting, or what some even call blender composting, has helped tighten the loop on my kitchen garden by using fresh scraps immediately. (I like to think of the activity of the fresh nutrients doing for my plants what a Fresh Face Mask does for my skin.)
Vegetarian Travel Tips: Pack Your Bags and Fill Your Tummy!
For someone who loves food and travel as much as I do…let it be known that traveling to new places isn’t always easy when you are vegetarian.
While most restaurants these days have vegetable dishes or some carb-heavy option to indulge in, it’s more of a problem for me mid-travel: at rest stops, airports, train stations and so on. Finding a veg-friendly, healthy option can be difficult! It was when I started traveling (years ago!) with my super healthy grandma that I received some recommendations that I still use. Tips to ensure you exercise on the road and healthy snacks to bring along, if you, like me, tend to get hangry (hungry + angry) without a proper meal. Keep in mind I’m not a nutritionist or fitness expert, this advice simply works for me and I’m always sharing it with my trusty travel companions.
Portable meals:
Breakfast: Oatmeal packets (the less sugar, the better) are super easy to keep in your purse; simply add hot water on the plane or from any food court for a quick, filling start to your day! Yogurt and a baggie of granola or nuts is another easy one…yogurt will keep for a few hours in your carry-on so grab a spoon and enjoy! Another favorite is a small pack of peanut butter or almond butter, eaten with an apple, put in oatmeal, spread on low fat crackers or a piece of wheat bread. Boom, breakfast in a pinch!
It's the first long weekend of Summer!
And yes, technically it's still Spring for another month. And we know that our US friends have to wait another week for a 3-day weekend...
But those are just minor details! What's more important is that the warm weather and sunshine are finally upon us. The days are long and languid. Gone are the memories of cold, rain, sleet, and snow. Even if it was only last week.
We're dreaming of bicycle rides, the Farmer's Market, picnics in the park, lazy naps in the sunshine, BBQ's, gardening, chalk drawings on the sidewalk, watermelon and popsicles - every fun-filled, carefree activity we can think of to pack into a long weekend.
After months of feeling cooped up inside it's time to get outside and enjoy green spaces, friends, family, and the neighborhoods we live in. Now 3 long days are before you. Are you staying in town, or heading out to a lake or seaside locale? Or are you packing your hiking boots and getting ready to scale a mountain? Wherever you go, or whatever adventures you get up to - enjoy every minute! And please don't forget to protect your skin with sunscreen and a hat!
