>> L.A.’s turning into a cyclist’s paradise for a day, when CicLAvia rolls into town. Come Sun., Sept. 12 from 10 am to 3 pm, 7 miles of roads from Boyle Heights to East Hollywood will be closed to cars — and open to bikes and vibrant, car-free streetlife. (via LAist)

>> Prep for CicLAvia by taking the FREE Confident City Cycling Course sponsored by the City of West Hollywood. Local bike activist Ron Durgin will be teaching the class, which includes a class session on Sat., July 10 and an on-the-road session Sat., July 17. Classes frun from 11 am – 4 pm both days; contact Ron at 424.288.1747 or rdurgin@gmail.com to sign up. (via Be a Green Commuter)

Photo by ubrayj02

>> Always wanted to practice with New York yoga star Tara Stiles? Through Vital Juice, I found out Tara’s teaching a free class in Hollywood next week. RSVP to hollywoodyoga@standardhotel.com or call 323.650.3001 to make sure there’s a spot for your mat on Tues., June 22 at 3 pm at The Standard Hotel, 8300 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood.

>> Need regular yoga classes? You’re in luck. A new do-gooder organization called Heal One World — which basically seeks to make healthy living practices and therapies available at free or low cost — recently started offering free weekly yoga classes in Santa Monica and Venice. Donations are welcome, but classes are free. The Tuesday Hatha or Vinyasa Flow classes run from 5:15 pm – 6:20 pm at 1318 2nd St #21, Santa Monica, while the Friday Hatha Yoga classes run from 8 pm to 9:30 pm at 606 Venice Blvd. #H, Venice.

>> If you plan to spend time in Malibu this summer, get to the pier every weekend for Yoga On The Pier. These free weekly yoga classes on Malibu Pier happen every Saturday from 8:45 am to 10 am between June 19 and Sept. 4. Post-practice, yogis will get to enjoy a complimentary continental breakfast at the Beachcomber Café.

>> Still in high school? Then I hope you live in Hollywood, so you can take advantage of The Hollywood Hot Spot, a program that offers free summer art and yoga classes for local high school students. The fun begins July 17 at Helen Bernstein High School, 1309 N. Wilton Pl., Hollywood. RSVP to the office of your councilmember Eric Garcetti at 323.957.4500 or angela.motta@lacity.org.

Photo by Andrew Kalat

>> Get to City Hall on Hunger Action Day to voice your concerns to local elected officials about budget cuts to nutrition programs. Events begin Wed., June 2 at 4 pm on the City Hall South Lawn on Spring St., between 1st and Temple.

>> Wolfgang Puck’s declared Thursday Wolfgang Puck Iced Coffee Day. Get a free organic Wolfgang Puck Culinary Iced Coffee — which I can’t drink because they’re not lactoce-intolerance-friendly — at 5 Wolfgang Puck Bistro and Wolfgang Puck Express locations on Thurs., June 3: Downtown Los Angeles (11 am – 2 pm), Costa Mesa (11 am – 2 pm), Universal City (3 pm – 6 pm), Santa Monica (3 pm – 6 pm), and Westlake Village (3 pm – 6 pm).

>> Green gallery Eco-LogicalART presents Global Sustainability: Central America to Maine, featuring “a multi-media presentation showcasing cutting-edge sustainability projects across Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.” There’ll be a live DJ, an acoustic band, giveaways, beer, sustainable food, and ice cream! The event happens Thurs., June 3 from 6 pm – 9:30 pm at Eco-Logical ART Gallery, 4829 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. Cost: $10 with a portion of proceeds donated to a featured project selected by the attendees. Earlier: Eco-LogicalArt turns old billboards into eco-art.

>> If you’re in the O.C., head over to The So Cal Green Solutions Expo to see the fastest “Green Machine” in America (above) — which runs on veggie oil and biofuel and can break 100 mph — and “Green Herbie — an electric VW. You’ll also be able to test drive greener vehicles, learn about saving money with wind power, get lessons on sustainable gardening, and browse the wares of more than 115 green exhibitors. The FREE festivities happen Sat., June 5 and Sun., June 6 from 10 am to 6 pm both days at Orange County Great Park in Irvine.

>> Celebrate World Oceans Day a day early at FusionStorm Foundation’s 1st annual fundraiser “My Ocean Planet” — to benefit Ocean Voyages Institute/Project Kaisei and its efforts to study clean up the the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — that scary vortex of plasticky trash in our ocean. You’ll get to mix and mingle with eco-conscious celebs while enjoying live music, entertainment, an open bar, auction, and raffle. The party happens Sat., June 5 from 6:30 pm – 11 pm at Malibu Lumber Yard, 3939 Cross Creek Rd., Malibu. Cost: $50.

>> After 22 years, Los Feliz’ green demonstration house Eco-Home is closing its doors — so don’t miss the last tours of Eco-Home that’ll teach you about sustainable urban living. The last two tours happen Sun., June 6 and Sun., June 27, starting at 2 pm both days Cost: $10. RSVP to 323.662.5207.

>> Weigh in on the Subway to the Sea at the Metro Westside Subway Extension meeting to discuss alignment alternatives connecting Beverly Hills and Century City. Be there Mon., June 7 from 6 pm – 8 pm at the Auditorium of Roxbury Park Community Center, 471 S. Roxbury Dr., Beverly Hills. Earlier: Update on the Subway to the Sea.

Photos via Wolfgang Puck and Green Solutions Expo

Want to play in the dirt — productively? Take a staycation by visiting Vital Zuman Organic Farm and Fig Tree Ranch in Malibu. This organically-farmed 6-acre spot has to be Malibu’s best kept secret — because while the farm’s been around for more than 50 years, the place is still quiet and peaceful — an idyllic eco-paradise of sorts offering figs, wild spinach, and sweet potatoes grown right by Zuma Beach.

Believe it or not, you can visit this nearby farm six days out of the week, whether to buy very local and healthy yummies — or to get the stuff free by volunteering a few hours. Vital Zuman is a public farm, open to visitors, volunteers, shoppers, and even sellers. That’s right — If you live nearby and have an overabundance of avocados and lemons, take your bounty to Vital Zuman to sell the stuff for a dollar a pound — or trade the produce for other goodies at the store.

For those who want their local farmers’ market to become a permanent fixture, Vital Zuman’s 6-days-a-week store comes pretty close to fulfilling that wish. Here, you can buy not only Malibu-grown fruits and veggies, but also raw local honey, jams and pickled veggies made from local produce, raw milk from Organic Pastures, locally-made balsamic lemonade (apparently a good vodka mixer), local handicrafts, and even used books at very cheap prices!

Vital Zuman is certified naturally grown and is farmed using organic, permaculture principles — and gets all its clean water from its own well. The farm isn’t USDA organic certified — since after all, all the produce grown at the farm’s purchased and enjoyed locally by neighbors who are welcome to visit — and work — the farm firsthand.

When I stopped by earlier this week, I got to walk around nibbling on everything from radish blossoms to mustard greens — picked straight off the garden, since I didn’t have to worry about pesticides. Unlike the straight, weedless, artificial-looking crop lines at monoculture farms, Vital Zuman’s land has many different types of produce growing next to each other symbiotically. Some of the edibles weren’t even planted deliberately! “When you’re doing it organically without any pesticides and herbicides, stuff just comes up again,” says farm volunteer Kazimir Klossowski (above, right, with volunteer Reisha Fryzer).

Quite a few volunteers come through the farm, whether for a break from city living, for a chance to get free local produce, or for community service credits, in the case of students. The public farm allows for an “enlightened peasant class,” according to Alan G. Cunningham (above), the sole owner of Vital Zuman since 1995, when he returned to run the farm that’s been in his family for more than 50 years.

“We’ve been in operation here for 30 years before Malibu became a city,” says Alan, who is now working with the City of Malibu to make Vital Zuman a city-owned community farm (PDF). “I’ve never considered that this property belongs to me. That’s a really fundamental understanding in terms of growing food is that it doesn’t belong to you. You’re just cooperating with mother nature.”

Inspired by Alan and the volunteers, and invigorated by the beach breeze, I returned home with a jar of local raw honey and a Salad Bag (above) — a gigantic pre-packed grab bag of freshly-harvested salad-friendly produce that goes for $10. Then I made a salad (below) — complete with lemon-honey dressing!

Want to try some of Vital Zuman’s produce? Stop by the farm’s shop to shop a la carte, or sign up for Vital Zuman’s Farm Box Program, which gets you an overflowing boxful of local produce (below) for $45 a week. You can also find Vital Zuman at the Malibu and Mar Vista farmers markets — or contact the farm directly to volunteer in exchange for fresh farm produce.

Vital Zuman Organic Farm and Fig Tree Ranch. 29127 Pacific Coast Highway. Malibu. 310.457.4356. Tues. – Sun from 10 am to 5 pm.

Earlier: Locavoring in a box: Organic CSAs in Los Angeles.

Bottom photo by Vital Zuman; all other photos by Siel

Now, I’ve found three more.

I’ll update the main CSA options post for easy reference soon. But in the meantime, here are the other three — two of them brand new!

Old Chimney Farm.
Cost: Roughly $30 for about a dozen servings of produce
Pick-up locations: Delivered to your doorstep in Malibu!

If you live in Malibu, this is about as local and convenient as you can get. Get your weekly box of produce direct from a local 8-acre permaculture farm — delivered to your doorstep every Tuesday between 4-6pm. This brand new CSA requires a seasonal commitment ($360 for a 12 week season). Sign up now — Only 7 spaces are left, and deliveries begin June 22!

CSU Farm Fresh Produce Bag Subscription Program .
Cost: $10 to $12 for a bag of produce for 1 – 2 people
Pick-up locations: Thursday Farm Stand at EXPO, 3980 Menlo Ave., Los Angeles

For low income or bargain seekers who live near USC, this CSA program sounds the most affordable, though I haven’t actually seen a $10 bag to see how much Community Services Unlimited — a nonprofit community organization based in South L.A. — deems is enough produce for 1 – 2 people. If the produce isn’t enough, you can opt for the larger $20 bag — still a great deal, considering the fact that the very local produce comes from CSU’s urban mini-farms and local farmers.

Subscribe for a minimum of four weeks. And if you’re a well-heeled locavore, consider paying the “supporter rate” — $12 for a small bag, $24 for a large — to help out your local farmers.

Silver Lake Farms CSA.
Cost: $20 for a box of produce
Pick-up locations: Silver Lake and Beachwood Canyon

Launched late last year, Silver Lake Farms CSA gets all its vegetables very locally, from one Farmer John in Echo Park and Tara, veggie grower at Silver Lake Farms. Become a member by contacting Tara at info@silverlakefarms.com or 323-644-3700. One downside: These CSA boxes are fruitless, at least until L.A. laws are changed to allow for sale of locally-grown fruit. Upside: Tara posts recipes for current CSA box ingredients on her blog!
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Thanks to Heart Beet Gardening for the news about the new CSAs!

>> Join the last Malibu Public Beaches Safaris by The Los Angeles Urban Rangers! On Sat. Feb. 27, the rangers will offer three FREE 1.5-hour mini-safaris, taking off at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. You don’t even need to sign up — Just show up at the public beach accessway between 22140-22126 Pacific Coast Highway (~.5 mis west of Carbon Canyon Rd. and ~1 mi. east of Malibu pier). Rain cancels the safaris. Earlier: Malibu Public Beach Safaris: Why activists should chill on the beach this summer.

>> L.A. Council President Eric Garcetti wants you to join him for a Day of Beautification in Echo Park. Meet on Sat., Feb. 27 at the Walgreen’s parking lot in Echo Park (northwest corner of Sunset Boulevard and Echo Park Avenue) at 8:45 am, nibble on refreshments and get instructions, then clean up the hood for 2 hours.

>> Take a crash course on Small-Space Food Gardening with gardening expert Darren Butler, who’ll teach you how to grow food even if you don’t have a garden plot. The day-long class happens Sat., Feb. 27 from 8:45 am – 4:30 pm. Cost: $100, or $85 if you pay before Feb. 19. Earlier: Fresh Food From Small Spaces – Balcony gardens, simplified.

>> Cut back on your water bill by taking Greywater 101 with Leigh Jerrard, founder of California Greywater Corps, who’ll show you how to reuse waste water from bathtubs, showers, bathroom sinks and laundry for landscape irrigation. The lesson begins Sat., Feb. 27 from 2 pm – 4 pm on the east side; RSVP to Julie at contactgbf@gmail.com for the exact address. Cost: $25.

>> Planning a green wedding? The FREE Champagne & Cupcakes Eco-Bridal Trunk Show presented by Copper Willow Paper Studio will feature eco-friendly wedding vendors and resources, green wedding and event experts, creative tutorials and demos, dessert and hors d’oeuvres tasting, and hourly prizes and giveaways. Be there Mon., March 1 from 4 pm – 8 pm at Copper Willow Paper Studio & Collection, 8530 Washington Blvd., Culver City. RSVP required to info@copperwillow.com or 310.836.6004. Earlier: Copper Willow – Gorgeous green letterpress holiday cards from Culver City. Earlier: Soi-Meme: Eco-weddings made economical.

>> See eco-celebs at Global Green USA’s 7th Annual Pre-Oscar Party. Famous actors attend, and famous musicians perform, at this annual eco-event and fundraiser — but would-be attendees should be warned that last year, the party got so full ticket holders had to stand in line for hours to get in. Perhaps they’ll be better organized this year. The party begins Wed., March 3 at 8 pm at Avalon Hollywood, 1735 Vine St., Los Angeles. Cost: $75.

>> The Green LA Coalition’s put together a workshop on Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programs: Community Benefits, Workforce Opportunities & Challenges (PDF). Learn about everything from broader environmental implications of retrofits to direct benefits for building owners and apartment renters on Thurs., March 4, 9 am to noon at The California Endowment, 1000 N. Alameda, Los Angeles. RSVP to szabanal@greenlacoalition.org by Feb. 26.

Ha ha!

Okay — The situation’s not THAT bad. We’ve got many allies on our side, and A Day Without a Bag in the works. Plus, the move to ban plastic bags isn’t simply an environmental one in SoCal, considering the fact that our tourist dollars depend on clean-looking, not-too-plasticky beaches. But despite pretty widespread support for a plastic bag ban, these bans are a hard time coming.

Why? The plastic bag industry, which has been killing marine life with its products for years, is marketing itself as an endangered species in need of environmental protection.

That’s right — The plastic industry’s renamed itself the “Save the Plastic Bag” coalition. And it’s arguing that the California Environmental Quality Act — which requires environmental impact reports for projects and plans that may harm the environment — applies to plastic bag bans! The industry’s saying that cities and counties must be required to conduct time-consuiming environmental impact study to see if banning plastic bags could be bad for the environment. Mark Gold, President of environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay, wrote about this crazy irony back in January:

If you were to believe the letter [from the plastic industry] that reads as if it came straight out of Lewis Carroll, banning plastic bags will lead to major climate change and deforestation impacts.

Thank God the plastic industry is trying to save us from global warming….

Surely, this is the definition of insanity. Also, the precedent of being forced to complete an EIR on every ordinance or zoning change is beyond horrifying, and would lead to a perpetual state of inertia in local government.

Sadly, the plastic industry’s been quite successful at using environmental laws to stall plastic bag bans. Remember how Manhattan Beach voted to ban these bags back in July 2008? That city got sued, so the ban’s still not in effect. L.A. County voted in not-even-that-threatening voluntary reductions, to be followed up by a bag ban if agreed-upon reductions don’t happen by July 2010 — and got sued by the plastic bag industry. Santa Monica started working on an ordinance for a ban in Feb. 2008 — then decided in Jan. 2009 to hold off on passing a ban because the plastic bag industry threatened to sue.

The one city that hasn’t gotten sued is Malibu, whose plastic bag ban went into effect Oct. 2008. Why no lawsuit? Who knows? “It’s very bizarre,” said Kirsten James of Heal the Bay earlier this week, “but it’s good news that they slipped through the cracks.”

So what happens now? Kirsten James says that local counties and cities are trying to work together on joint Environmental Impact Reports to cut costs. The hope is that L.A. County will be able to complete its EIR by spring, before the automatic ban trigger kicks in, thereby throwing off the plastic industry’s lawsuit.

And hopefully, the City of L.A. will see a ban soon too. The Los Angeles City Council actually voted to ban plastic bags by Jan. 1, 2010 if a statewide user-fee on plastic or paper bags has not been established by that time. No state law’s been passed, which means a city-wide ban should become reality — except the a ban doesn’t automatically kick in Jan. 1. The City Council now needs to pass an ordinance to adopt a city-wide policy banning plastic bags — which isn’t likely happen before Jan. 1, according to Kirsten James. This means Angelenos need to put pressure on the City Council to pass that ordinance ASAP.

On the state level, my own state assemblymember Julia Brownley introduced AB68, which, if passed, would put a 25 cent fee on paper and plastic bags, with the revenue going to local governments to help clean up trash and litter. Kirsten James says the bill’s stuck in its first house at the moment, but hope remains: “The budget is an excuse for a lot of things in the last year … but we see this as a potential revenue generator.”

Want the city to pass a bag ban ASAP? Write your councilmembers asking for the ordinance they promised. Want the state to tax the bag? Heal the Bay’s Trashed site has a handy letter supporting AB68 you can send to the California Legislature.

Earlier: Bring your own bag: How to BYOB in easy eco-style

Photo by Envirowoman

>> State parks will stay open, but most will have “reduced hours of operation and maintenance levels,” reports The L.A. Times. Also, “The park system faces a larger budget cut of $22 million next year.”

>> Construction begins on Malibu Legacy Park, a private/public partnership that’ll create a central park for the city as well as function “like an environmental cleaning machine to reduce pollution impacts and improve water quality in Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon and the world-famous Surfrider Beach.” (via ecosalon)

>> Report roadkill via the California Roadkill Observation System. According to The Sierra Club’s The Green Life:

The project, developed at UC Davis, aims to increase understanding of how roads affect ecosystems, and is part of an emerging field called ‘road ecology.’ We already know that cars kill large numbers of animals every year; the project’s aim is to get more detailed information about where roadkill occurs most often, and which animals tend to fall victim.

The roadkill photo gallery‘s rather gruesome.

>> L.A. Times profiles the East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, “part of a new generation of urban, blue-collar environmentalists” tackling the disproportionately bad environmental pollution in their working class neighborhoods.

Photo of Montana de Oro State Park by docentjoyce

California state parks have been getting some much needed attention lately — if for rather downer reasons — but Angelenos have yet more public playgrounds to be taking advantage of: Beautiful Malibu public beaches.

Many Angelenos don’t even know we’ve got 27 miles of public beaches in Malibu — much less taken advantage of them. Thanks in part to unfriendly Malibu homeowners and public beach funding issues, these gorgeous beaches can be tough to find for newbies.

That’s why a group of activists who call themselves Los Angeles Urban Rangers have taken it upon themselves to take Angelenos out on Malibu Public Beach Safaris — to introduce people to the beaches they own, and to engage them with the many issues and fights over private-public spaces happening in the L.A. area. The Safari’s are free, thanks to grant funding.

I went on a safari yesterday along with about 30 other SoCalians — and visited Broad and Lechuza beaches in Malibu for the first time! Once there, the Rangers got safari takers involved in funny educational games and activities — like trying to take advantage of the public easements (public areas on the dry sand above the high tide line) on Broad Beach that have been encroached on both by homeowners from the east and beach erosion from the west. Below’s Ranger Ron Milam, explaining public easements.

Finding the public accessways to these beaches aren’t easy. For one, the accessways are far and few between — and the ones that exist are often obscured by foliage, marked with confusing “private” and other warning signs, and gated to resemble private property. One game for the safari takers was to locate the 3 access points to Lechuza Beach — and I wasn’t able to without consulting a detailed map put together by the L.A. Urban Rangers! Below’s what one of the gates look like.

That said, not all Malibu homeowners are against people accessing public beaches. At Lechuza, someone had even created a porch area — complete with comfy seats, benches, and cushions — where people could hang out while overlooking the beach. The beaches themselves are beautiful — and clean and quiet, especially compared to the crowded Santa Monica beaches. Below are Rangers (right: Jenny Price), on the move.

Yesterday was the last Malibu Public Beach Safari of the summer, but you can download a free Malibu Public Beaches map (PDF) to figure out how to enjoy the beaches yourself. And look out for more L.A. Urban Rangers events this year. According to Jenny Price, the next set of events are likely to happen somewhere in downtown L.A.

>> Friday must be gallery night. The opening reception for “Land Sea Air“ will feature “three installations that reflect the land, sea and air of Huntington Beach presented by artists Robert Wysocki, Peter Segerstrom, and the Cypress College Contemporary Art & Technology Seminar” — whose students have created “a large inflatable Pterodactyl (her name is Prana) that changes color based the quality of air outside of the museum,” according to Ed Giardina. Be at the Huntington Beach Art Center, 538 Main St., Huntington Beach on Friday, July 31 from 7 pm to 9 pm. The exhibit will be on view until September 06, 2009.

>> Curious about Colony Collapse Disorder? Go to a fundraiser for and a sneak peek of the documentary film The Vanishing of the Bees, where you’ll see clips from the film, hear a Q&A with filmmakers George Langworthy and Maryam Henein, and maybe bid in a silent auction. All that happens Fri., July 31 at 7 pm at G2 Gallery, 1503 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice  Cost: $10 donation.

>> Don’t forget about Fallen Fruit’s 4th annual Public Fruit Jam on Sunday, Aug 2, 10 am – 1 pm at Machine Project in Echo Park.

>> Sign up for the next series of Green Living Workshops with Sustainable Works. The 6-week workshops meet once a week to cover many aspects of green living. Pick from Sunday (starting Aug. 23), Tuesday (starting Aug. 25) or Wednesday (starting Aug. 26) classes, both offered in Santa Monica locations. Cost: $25 for Santa Monica residents; $50 L.A. residents.

>> Also sign up for the Malibu Public Beaches Safaris and take back the beach! The free events happen on Saturdays and Sundays in August.

>> Bike advocates: Don’t miss the 4th Street Bike Blvd Campaign Meeting! Help make 4th St. a real Bike Blvd. by participating on Thurs., Aug. 6 from 6:30 pm – 8 pm at Shatto Park, 3191 W 4th St., Los Angeles.

>> Drink pinot responsibly if you drive your plug-in electric car to Plug-ins, Pinots and Progress, Plug In America’s annual fundraiser. You’ll see rare plug-in electric vehicles, enter auctions for cool items, nibble on organic yummies, drink wine, and just party with other eco-thinking folks. The event happens Sun., Aug. 9 from 4 pm – 8 pm at Thomas Fogarty Winery, 19501 Skyline Blvd., Woodside. Tickets start at $120.

Image via Heal the Bay