We had a great meeting Monday night! Thanks to everyone who was able to join us.

For the record, here's our disclaimer: The information in any literature provided or products recommended are not intended for the purpose of diagnosing, treating, curing or preventing any disease. The advice and suggestions offered are the opinions of the individuals that spoke and do not constitute medical or legal advice. Do not discontinue medical care without first consulting a qualified health care provider.

To start off the meeting, Malcolm Beck, Founder of Garden-Ville shared about bats and bat guano. He talked about the the beneficial microbes in bat guano. He carries around a jar, half full of guano for when he feels like he may be coming down with a cold. He takes a whiff of the guano and wards off the cold.

The bat guano is a slow release fertilizer that will work for 2-3 years. I believe he said the ratio is 10 x 3 x 1. He also talked about Bat Conservation International, which was established to save the bats. They would hang out (literally) under the Congress Street bridge and many people wanted them gone, thinking that they were not sanitary, but then they realized how many mosquitoes were eaten by the bats. Now, it's a tourist attraction to watch the bats come out from under the bridge.

He also showed slides of many other insects and told us that only 1% of the insects in our world are not beneficial ones. The wasp are the intellectuals of the insect world - they learn, remember and pass on knowledge, according to Malcolm. He talked about the reason we have such a problem now with web worms - because of the aerosol wasp killing sprays that are used.

Thank you Malcolm for educating us and entertaining us with your experiences over the years.

Our next speaker was Mason Arnold, Founder and CMO of Greenling Organic Food Delivery. They are based out of South Austin and deliver from Georgetown to San Antonio. To find out if they deliver to your area, go to their website and enter your zip code. Fortunately, they are delivering to New Braunfels 78130. Hopefully, soon they will be delivering to 78132. If you are interested in buying food from them and live in 78132 or 78133 or 78163, enter your information on the Greenling site and also send me an email to shall@axs4u.net with your zip code. I will email everyone that responds with the names for people in your area, so that maybe you can coordinate something between yourselves and Greenling. Since they do not charge for delivery, they need 5-10 people in a zip code to be able to deliver to that area. If you each tell just 1 neighbor and they want to do it also, it could happen quickly! I'm attaching the flyer that was handed out at the meeting. Feel free to use it for your first order and to pass it on to your friends and family. Greenling wants to get the word out and has given us permission to pass it on, as long as you have the coupon code. In case you can't read the coupon code, it is N B O C X 8. (I put spaces between the letters to make it easier to read.)

Leslie Tatum won the door prize of a Greenling bin stocked with fresh produce. I emailed her to find out how she liked the veggies and she said that everything was "super fresh." She's already placed her order for next week. Jasmine Wegler won a gift certificate from Greenling as a door prize. Carrie with Greenling will be contacting her to work out getting the gift certificate to her.

They use local farmers whenever possible, which is why everything is so much fresher than from the grocery store. They deliver organic produce from certified organic farms and small farms that are operating with organic principles. They investigate every company that they work with, to ensure that they are committed to the same values. They do also work with farms that are in transition to becoming certified organic land. By helping to support these farmers, it will increase the accessibility and availability of organic food for everyone.

Greenling currently delivers every Thursday to New Braunfels, according to the website. (I believe that Mason had said Tuesday in the talk.) They deliver the produce in an insulated bin. They also offer meat and dairy, bread, etc.

There is a lot more information about the company on the website. Go to www.greenling.com to see what all they offer.

A $10 gift certificate for food and drinks from Nicoya Authentic Nicaraguan Cuisine was won by Gudula Fisher. They are located at 1528 Common Street, Suite 12, New Braunfels, TX 78130. They are just past the light at Gruene Rd and Common, in the strip center on the right. Their website is www.nicoyanb.com and their phone number is 830-626-0229. Check out their food, it's very tasty. They have a buffet from 10:30 am - 3:30 pm, Tuesday through Sunday.

Nina Stanfield won a $10 gift certificate to The Bike Platz, located at 1312 Common Street, Suite 402, New Braunfels, TX 78130. Their phone number is 830-626-BIKE and their website is www.thebikeplatz.com. They have quite a selection of bikes, such as Townies and any bike accessory you can imagine. They are located near Thunder Cloud Subs and For Goodness Sake.

Dr. Sherrie Reimers won a 3 day, 2 night getaway in September at Water Wheel Condominiums in New Braunfels. It's a 3 bedroom, luxuriously furnished Condo, overlooking the pool and hot tub with river access. This was donated by Brian and Corie Groody.

Judy Godinez spoke about a symposium coming on Saturday, Sept 20 from 10 am - 3:30 pm (lunch provided) at Unity Church in New Braunfels, TX at 408 Gruene Road. (There's a $10 donation suggested.) It's called "Awakening the Dreamer" and it's about coming together with conscious, aware people who care about what's happening in our world, our community and with our families. There will be philosophers, scientists, community leaders and more. For more information or to register, visit www.AwakeningTheDreamer.org or call (830) 608--9515.

Sharon Levett brought a flyer about an upcoming meeting at Seekatz Opera House on September 18, 2008 from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm about "Sustainable Growth in the Hill Country and New Braunfels". "The group is "Citizens Alliance for Smart Expansion" and their purpose is to educate the public and address New Braunfels area planning and growth issues by working with government leaders for the betterment of the community. In talking with Sharon, it sounds like they'll be discussing how to preserve our natural features of the area, leaving room for bike trails, etc. I encourage everyone to attend if at all possible. For more information, contact Sharon Levett at nbcase@satx.rr.com or April Hughes at hughes@az.com or call (830) 237-5889.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you know of someone that might be interested in this information, please forward it to them. We can make a difference in our community!

Until next time,

Susan Hall
Organic Living Club

Photos by Stuart Dowlen

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