Our Essential Gift Guide for EarthCare Workers + Gardeners in Every Season!
Looking for thoughtful and valuable ways to support the Earth workers, land stewards and ecological gardeners in your life? We put together this gift guide to share our favorite EarthCare + People Care essentials that will delight, nourish and support the land lovers in your community, so they can keep planting, repairing, replenishing, rebuilding, rewilding and getting their hands in the soil...which is probably all they want to do anyway ;-)
Gifts for Every Season
As we near the Winter Solstice, much of our work turns inward. Shorter days and cold weather mean that your favorite EarthWorker might actually have time to read a good book! Our bodies slow down and absorb the impact of working hard on the land, and quality herbal medicines offer the support we need. And of course, EVERY season is the perfect time to gift a great new or upcycled tool! Read on for our must-haves, favorites, and what makes the cut for our own WishList.
LadyBug's EarthCare Essentials
Looking for a unique gift for the aspiring eco gardener in your life? Ready to dive deeper into EarthCare and take action on your own land this year? We created the EarthCare Calendar for you!
LadyBug EarthCare is on a mission to support wildlife by helping humans reconnect through land stewardship. That's why we created the EarthCare Calendar - updated + improved for 2023: coming soon!
Tips, inspiration, and an EarthCare Checklist for each month will help you focus on what's most important in every season, taking the mystery out of caring for your land as you get to know it more intimately.
In collaboration with our local community, the calendar is complete with stunning scenes of native plants, wildlife and pollinators.
Designed with insight from native plant and habitat stewardship experts, the calendar will guide your EarthCare journey each month. Ideal for those brand new to EarthCare and for those with experience who want new ideas about how to relate to your land in a deeper way.
Learn more + order your calendar here! 2023 edition coming soon!
EarthCare Tools
Our number one hand tool we love and recommend is the "hori hori" - a Japanese garden knife. This small but mighty tool has a 7" concave blade, marked with measurements for easy bulb planting. One edge is smooth, and the other serrated, to aid in cutting into and digging through tough soil, stems and roots. Read more about our favorite garden tool and why we love it! Pair with our favorite sustainable, comfortable and durable Bamboo Gardening Gloves.
The LadyBug Crew never goes anywhere without our Rebel Garden Tools. These innovative and powerful tools are high quality, handmade, and designed by woodland steward, forager, and citizen-scientist, Wilson Alvarez, with input + feedback from Benjamin Weiss, who also manages the brand under Susquehanna Sustainable Enterprises. While each unique tool excels in its own niche in the forest, field or garden, they're also incredibly versatile, and we wouldn't dream of showing up for a project without them.
Our Favorites:
◦ 5-Tine Broadfork - for breaking up sod, turning soil, prepping to plant trees + gardens
◦ Magna Grecia Field Model - amazing for cutting through roots, breaking up clods, sifting or removing sod + chunky bits, trenching, and even digging in a pinch! We use our Magna Grecia almost every day and would love to have a few more in our shed.
🐞 WishList:
◦ The Woodsman Multi-Tool - design emerged from Wilson's Land Steward Training Program at The Horn Farm Center.
PeopleCare Essentials
EarthWork is just as physically demanding as it is fulfilling, and there's nothing we would rather be doing. Supporting the mental, physical and emotional health of the Land Stewards in your community plays an essential role in caring for the Earth as she supports us all! Everyone deserves health and well-being, so put a bookmark in this section and treat yourself too =)
MindCare :: Books We Recommend
◦ Beyond The War on Invasive Species - Tao Orion
◦ Teaming With Microbes : The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web - Jeff Lowenfels + Wayne Lewis
◦ Braiding Sweetgrass : Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants - Robin Wall Kimmerer
◦ Bringing Nature Home - Douglas Tallamy, with Dick Clark
◦ Food Not Lawns - Heather Jo Flores. Purchase from Powell's Book Store or read for free/donation on Heather Jo's website!
These picks are available from Chelsea Green Publishing - one of our favorite companies.
🐞 WishList:
◦ Rewilding : The Radical New Science of Ecological Recovery - Paul Jepson + Cain Blythe
◦ Garden Revolution : How our Landscapes can be a Source of Environmental Change - Larry Weaner, Founder of NDAL
◦ Planting in a Post-Wild World : Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes - Thomas Rainer + Claudia West
Photo Credit :: Sacred Spiral Apothecary
BodyCare :: Our Favorites + Perpetual WishList 🐞
Susquehanna Apothecary is our year-round source for potent medicines made from sustainably harvested wild plants.We especially love the...
Ditchweed Craft Hemp is a sister company of Susquehanna Apothecary and another staple in our BodyCare routine. Our favorites for calming + soothing sore muscles are the 4oz High CBD Hemp Salve + 2oz Hemp Mango Tincture.
Our favorite local Herbals from Sara Rose make lovely healing gifts that will nourish and sustain your loved ones all year. Check in seasonally for offerings from Sacred Spiral Apothecary
Community Share :: How To Find Used + Up-Cycled Tools
With a little bit of care and maintenance, a used tool can go a long way! Cleaning, repairing and sharpening a great gardening tool can transform a piece of "junk" into a treasure for your garden-loving confidantes. Plus, a dose of DIY shop time does the soul good.
Here's where we look for Used + Up-Cycled tools in our community:
◦ Susquehanna Gift Circle (Facebook Group)
◦ Facebook Marketplace (New to you? Read this How-To Guide)
◦ Ask a farmer! They're often getting rid of tools for free or cheap.
◦ Ask a neighbor! Lend a hand with their shed or garage clean-up, keep those tools out of the landfill and give them a new home.
🐞 LadyBug is always happily accepting donations of these used tools for the growing Tool Library:
◦ Spades
◦ Rakes (leaf, spring, iron)
◦ Loppers
◦ Pruners
◦ Axes
◦ Wheelbarrows
◦ Hammers
◦ Mallets
◦ Tarps
◦ Grinders
◦ Wet Stones
◦ Sharpeners
◦ Repair Tools
Wishing you a season of warmth and gratitude, and a transformative solstice! We hope this Gift Guide will help you show some love to the gardeners and EarthWorkers in your life in every season, because #EarthWorkGivesBack to us all.
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