Bryant Moroder
This holiday season, give the gift of locally sourced, organic products created by means of sustainable practice. It’s more than just the thought that counts. These gifts smell great and taste good. They help the lakes and the Ojibwa. Celebrating the environment may be the best gift you can give to friends, family, the earth and our heirs.
Composter or rain barrel
“One pound of leaves can create four pounds of algae,” says Bryant Moroder, co-owner and co-founder of Rain Reserve. A longtime partner with the city of Madison, the company holds an annual spring blowout for rain barrels and composters at the Alliant Energy Center. In the Madison area, as a result, “there have to be more than 25,000, maybe 30,000 composters out there, and maybe 10,000 rain barrels.” But for those who are looking for the ultimate do-gooder gift, you don’t have to wait for the spring sale. Rain Reserve is offering a 20 percent discount, to balance shipping costs. Order a compost bin or 50- or 100-gallon “Build a Barrel” rainwater diverter kits. Use coupon code SAVE20 when ordering.
Cost: $64-$239
Where: rainreserve.com
Where soul meets body
Trillium Organics’ bath and body products “check just about every sustainability box,” says founder and formulator Karen Ciesar. Her Door County-based company does business world-wide. Trillium bath salts, lotions, soaps and body polish not only cleanse your body, “they cleanse your aura,” she says. Oils are sourced from Wisconsin sunflowers.
Cost: Average about $30
Where: Kneaded Relief Day Spa and Wellness, 5500 E. Cheryl Pkwy., Fitchburg, and Essential Massage, 6720 Frank Lloyd Wright Ave., Middleton
Phenology calendar
How about a calendar celebrating phenology? No, not bumps on your head. “Phenology is the study of the timing of seasonal events in nature,” says Maria Kopecky, education coordinator at The Aldo Leopold Foundation. “The 2019 Phenology Calendar is called as such because phenological dates are listed throughout — for example, the first day in spring you can expect to see a sandhill crane return to the area or the date on which red fox kits are typically born.”
Cost: $15
Where: The Aldo Leopold Foundation, E13701 Levee Rd., Baraboo; aldoleopold.org
Wisconsin-made
For one-stop shopping, try the gift shop at the Wisconsin Historical Museum, where local or state sourcing is priority. The wide range of products includes certified-authentic Ojibwa dream catchers, Wisconsin-shaped coasters and food-grade cutting boards made from four kinds of local wood, as well as luxuriant goat milk lotions and soaps from Jangle Soapworks. Chef K. Clark’s delicious beer jellies are made right in Fitchburg. Coming soon to the museum shop are a variety of items based on the revised Madison flag, including lanyards, keychains, dog toys and...flags.
Cost: $9-$39
Where: 30 N. Carroll St.
Historic maps
For someone who has everything, why not a map of the “Bedrock Geology of Wisconsin, Northeast”? Believe it or not, it’s gorgeous. The Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey was created by the state Legislature in 1897 to conduct scientific and practical research. But many of its maps easily qualify as artwork. “There are a number of people who buy them for their walls,” says archivist Brad Gottschalk. Hydrographic Map of Lake Monona, Dane County, Wisconsin,” created in 1900 by L.S. Smith, is stunning with orange, sepia and pale blues. Or, if you want your art to leap off the wall, how about special maps that come with 3-D glasses? Best yet — many maps may be downloaded free. All you’ll need is a good printer, good paper and a frame.
Cost: free-$40
Where: 3817 Mineral Point Rd., wgnhs.uwex.edu
Terry Lischka
Upcycled accessories
Recycling is not only fashionable, it’s fashion at Terry Lischka’s Sew Much Style, featured on the Etsy website. Phone covers and messenger bags are just some of the accessories she makes from recycled wool garments, garnering her a worldwide clientele. “Everything I do is unique,” says the Kewaunee designer. She’s happy to work with clients, especially to create “memory bags” using items from deceased loved ones.
Cost: $35-$160
Where: etsy.com/market/sew_much_style
