It’s here: the March Food and Garden issue of Natural Awakenings magazine! In our feature article, “Pioneering Food Trends,” you’ll learn how national food experts predict that local, regional and sustainable foods are among the top mainstream food trends for 2014, and what the term “hyperlocal” means for you. We’ve paired this national perspective with local resources for you in “Eating Local,” a special edition of our Blue Ridge Green Travel series.

We are really proud of this month’s Community Spotlight on how Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op keeps local foods stocked for the region’s locavores. Next year, in 2015, the Co-op will celebrate 40 years of leading the way to provide local, organic, sustainable food and products for the area. It has grown from a tiny group of people to include thousands of member-owners, two stores, farmers’ markets and a farm of its own.

Aquaponics systems are gaining ground in the sustainable food production movement and our Green Living feature this month explores why a home aquaponics system may be one of the best green investments you can make in 2014.  After enjoying the article, don’t forget to sign up for our Jr. Ponics Aquaponics Garden giveaway (ad on page 15) from Blue Ridge Hydroponics (BRH), and check out our news brief on how BRH is helping to provide hands-on opportunities for local campers to learn the benefits of aquaponics and other types of gardening.

Our Healing Ways article, “Powerhouse Herbs,” may surprise you with insights into new research about the powerful healing properties of common herbs. Our Healthy Kids Feature, “Seven Signs of Food Sensitivities,” provides action plans for parents to manage common food-related diseases for their kids.

March and April are full of opportunities to get out and learn about local green living, so be sure to mark your calendars with the events you’ll discover in this month’s news briefs and calendar listings. The Lyric Theatre, in Blacksburg, is host to two eco-friendly film screening events: a green burial workshop in March and a green business movie and panel discussion in April. The Central Virginia Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists is hosting a water summit at Lynchburg College at the end of March, and the Sedalia Center, in Big Island, is hosting its first Health and Wellness Fair in April. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for Earth Day Roanoke on April 26, or find out where your local Earth Day celebration is taking place.

We hope you enjoy this month’s issue, and be on the lookout for April’s Green Living issue of Natural Awakenings, complete with our special annual directory section!

Sincerely

Tracy

Welcome to the Heart Health issue of Natural Awakenings Magazine. This month we are exploring ways to keep your emotional and physical hearts, literally and figuratively, healthy. We’ve lined up a feature article that explores lifestyle changes which have been shown to improve conditions in people suffering with coronary heart disease. On the emotional side, you’ll find an anchient Hawaiian secret to facilitate emotional healing of the heart through forgiveness in our Inspiration article. And I’m in LOVE with our conscious eating article this month, which discusses how dark chocolate (mmmmm, chocolate) can actually be good for your heart.

In our Blue Ridge Green Travel feature this month, we’re excited to share with you an article by our national editor, Linda Seachrist, on how to well, travel green. We’re excited here at …. For our partnership with Virginia Green.

In local news, we love our region and are happy to announce that Explore Park in Roanoke is too – the park will soon be the host of weddings, receptions and other events celebrating love and nature. Speaking of celebrating and heart health, we all know that wine is good for both. So, if you are interested in becoming a winemaker in your own right, check out our newsbrief on a new cooperative starting in the area.

Orvis has been showing the love to residents of the Rescue Mission. Read all about this unique partnership that keeps those in need warm while diverting waste from the landfill. Another newsbrief describes how Roanoke County officials are showing the love to our environment through a new anti-littering campaign. The campaign encourages smokers to keep their butts in their own cars, and out of local road and waterways.

In this month of love, you’ll be happy to learn about how many wild animals mate for life. (Wonder what their divorce rate is?) How signs of heart trouble in women may not be as obvious and how a new Breathalyzer is changing the way doctors can diagnose heart failure, with no invasive procedures in about 30 seconds.

We welcome your comments. Also, please share the love and support the businesses you see in Natural Awakenings and let them know we sent you. Their ongoing support and participation is what allows us to bring you this invaluable resource every month.

As the late Nelson Mandela said “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” Wherever your heart and passions lie, I hope this issue of Natural Awakenings helps you to be more formidable this February.

With love,
Tracy

Happy 2014 from Natural Awakenings magazine! This month, we have prepared a couple of feature articles to help you kick off the New Year right. In “Build Your Own Wellness Team,” you’ll find practical advice on planning an integrated approach to your overall wellness. In “Paths to Wellness,” our editor, Karen Adams, interviews several wellness professionals from across the region. This piece will give you an insight into different philosophies and treatment modalities offered by local practitioners and consultants.

The New Year provides us all with the opportunity to clean up, clear out and start over. Our “Greening the New Year” article provides tips on small, doable steps we can all take to help preserve the planet, such as recycling and donating unwanted items. For information on how to donate while helping your local community, please read our “Lose the Clutter” news brief, featuring Goodwill Industries of the Valleys.

It’s time to start planning for spring and summer activities for ourselves and our children. We hope you’ll join for the 15th annual Tons of Fun family event at Tanglewood Mall, in Roanoke, in early February. The event is sponsored by Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism and you’ll find details about it in our news briefs. In addition to family fun, representatives from local county children’s camps will be on hand to provide information and answer questions about sending your kids to camp.

Once you’ve decided where to send the kiddos for summer camp, you can start planning your own getaway. In this month’s Blue Ridge Green Travel feature, you’ll learn about an organization that helps both residents and visitors to the Virginia region find the greenest and most sustainable vacation spots.

Finally, while your local issue of Natural Awakenings just celebrated five years in November, this month our parent publication is celebrating 20 years of publishing! Over the last 20 years of providing a free community magazine, the corporation has grown into 90 markets, which are all independently owned and operated by local franchise publishers (like me!). We are so proud and honored to be a part of this amazing company, and we hope you’ll enjoy “Catalyst for Change: Natural Awakenings Celebrates 20 Years” by our founder and CEO, Sharon Bruckman.

As always, dear readers, please support the businesses you see in Natural Awakenings in the coming year. Their ongoing support and participation is what allows us to bring you this invaluable resource every month. And make sure to tell them we sent you!

Wishing you a healthy and prosperous New Year,

Tracy

Welcome to the December issue of Natural Awakenings magazine. This month, we address the universal, yet fundamentally personal, topic of “Awakening Humanity,” with articles about how to live in the present moment now, and to live without regrets in the future.

We are getting into the holiday spirit here at Natural Awakenings! What a wonderful time of year to “awaken,” acknowledge our blessings and think about how we can share those blessings with friends and family, our neighbors and the larger community. Check out “Green Merry Making” for tips on how to have an eco-friendly holiday and “Tis the Season to Be Wise” to ensure you take care of yourself and your spirit while enjoying the season. If you are seeking eco-friendly lodging for your visiting family and friends, you’ll also discover some hidden gems in our “Green Holiday Getaways” feature article.

For green, healthy, local, high-quality gifts, please visit the local vendors featured in the Holiday Gift Guide (pages 16 and 17) and elsewhere throughout the magazine. Also, consider an excursion to Roanoke’s 16 West Marketplace, the topic of our Community Spotlight article this month. The Marketplace serves as a great meeting and reception venue with offerings including locally roasted coffee, delicious and healthy dining options and a relaxing atmosphere. Businesses inside 16 West offer beautiful handmade clothing, furniture, artwork, local and organic food and wellness services. We at Natural Awakenings celebrated our fifth anniversary in publication at 16 West, which has become one of our favorite downtown stops. We hope to see you there soon!

In other local news, you’ll find our second installment in Save a Ton Ecotip series, providing you with simple ways you can save a ton of energy and money this winter. Speaking of winter, if you’re looking for an affordable, energy-efficient way to heat those cold spots in your home, check out our news brief on ductless heating systems. We also extend our congratulations to Bookbag Santa, a local nonprofit education organization, which recently won a new vehicle from Toyota! In our news briefs section, you’ll find these and other stories about local green and healthy happenings.

So, kick back with a nice hot cup of cocoa with some cinnamon on top, and enjoy this year-end issue of Natural Awakenings.

Wishing you peace and a joyful holiday season,

Tracy