Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde ValleySedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    • Home
    • Sedona
      • Arts and Entertainment
      • Bear Howard Chronicles
      • Business Profiles
      • City of Sedona
      • Elections
      • Goodies & Freebies
      • Mind & Body
      • Sedona News
    • Opinion
    • Real Estate
    • About
    • The Sedonan
    • Advertise
    • Sedona’s Best
    Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde ValleySedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    Home»Sedona News»Green Living: A Passion to Care for the Earth
    Sedona News

    Green Living: A Passion to Care for the Earth

    September 27, 20141 Comment
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Reddit WhatsApp
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email Reddit WhatsApp

    logo asesnationalsolartourSedona AZ (September 27, 2014) – Sedona artist Susan Pitcairn increasingly finds herself exploring the art of “green living” these days, which will be featured at her home from 11 am to 2 pm at this year’s National Solar Tour in Sedona Saturday, October 4th as well as a “Greening Harmony” educational garden tour October 11th.

    “My husband Richard calls me ‘Farmer Sue’ lately,” she jokes. A neighbor even asked if she was selling produce, as she can be seen daily puttering around several versions of “garden houses” she has built in the past year, her name for screened structures that can be covered with plastic and made into a greenhouses in the winter.

    20140927_ases“I thought she was kidding,” remarks Pitcairn. “We would starve to death on what I manage to grow here, between all the critters, the soil and hot,dry weather. My potato and squash beds were totally wasted by javelinas one night when I left the gate open, and we may never learn who cleanly removed a football sized watermelon near our ‘Thousand Dollar’ tomatoes. But seriously, I’m learning a lot about how to grow vegetables in Sedona.”

    “I’ve just discovered microgreens,” she smiles. “They are fast and easy to bring to harvest going before the aphids know what happened.”

    And it’s not just gardening she’s exploring. Walk around the Pitcairn’s 1990 stucco at 1865 Gun Fury Road and you will see an outdoor shower, a solar oven, a “laundry to landscape” greywater setup, two rain tanks installed by permaculturist Chris Anderson of ProBuild, a sometimes steaming compost pile and a terraced orchard designed to absorb rainwater.

    Walk in the garage and you will find a ZENN Neighborhood Electric Vehicle and two hill-conquering electric bikes, powered solely by solar energy drawn from their rooftop photovoltaic system installed by Louis Galluzzi in 2012.

    The Pitcairns cut waste and recycle so conscientiously that they have cancelled regular trash pickup. Instead, they take a trash bag every few months to Sir Moves a Lot, by Sedona Recyles, who hauls it away for $4.

    Sedona Gift Shop

    Nationally known for bringing a similar environmental ethic to their best-selling Rodale classic, “Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide for Natural Health for Dogs and Cats,” both Susan and Richard are finding it fun and exciting exploring how to live more lightly and have convened a monthly “Permaculture Potluck Group” of like-minded friends who share ideas.

    Concerned about depletion of fossil fuels as well as aquifers, fisheries and forests, plus an increasing array of toxins in food and water, the Pitcairns are guardedly optimistic that humans will eventually learn how to live sustainably as we adapt to the changes brought about by modern technology and population growth.

    “And we aim to learn and share what the ordinary person can do to be part of the solution, without waiting on someone else to take action,” Susan offers.

    Finding herself the only homeowner to approach the American Solar Energy Society this year to offer their home for their 19th National Solar Tour, Susan was by default appointed as local tour organizer. In the process she has enlisted and learned from several experts on solar energy and sustainability who will be featured on the 2014 tour: October 4th  9 to 4 in Sedona and October 5th from 11 to 5 in Jerome and Cottonwood.

    “It’s been a lot of last-minute work,” she notes, “but it’s worth it. The earth is worth it. We are all worth it.”

    Printable detailed schedules and maps of the two days of local tours are at http://susanpitcairn.com/events. Or google “National Solar Tour” and use the online map on your phone. For more information contact Susan Pitcairn: 928-203-1095.

    Healing Paws

    This is an advertisement

    1 Comment

    1. Susan Pitcairn on September 27, 2014 4:12 pm

      CORRECTION: Sorry, story was submitted with a type in first paragraph. The date of the Sedona Solar Tour is SATURDAY OCTOBER 4th, not October 5th! The 5th is the Verde Valley tour.

    One Bullet Away

    There’s a storm cloud coiling over America, and most don’t see it yet. But it’s there. Dark. Imminent. Unavoidable. Call it fate, call it consequence—but don’t call it fiction. The divide is real. And it’s calcifying by the hour.

    Read more→

    The Sedonan
    House of Seven Arches
    Need More Customers?
    Bear Howard Chronicles
    Humankind
    Tlaquepaque
    Verde Valley Wine Trail
    Recent Comments
    • JB on One Bullet Away
    • TJ Hall on One Bullet Away
    • Jill Dougherty on One Bullet Away
    • Edyta Wieczorek on Sedona City Council Approves Friendship Cities Agreement with Jasło, Poland
    • Jill Dougherty on One Bullet Away
    • JB on One Bullet Away
    • Lawrence J on One Bullet Away
    • Stephanie Dunshee on The Humane Society of Sedona Maintained No Kill Status in 2024
    • Jill Dougherty on BEAR HOWARD | SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC:”Drowned by Design: How Trump’s War on Government Turns Natural Disasters Into National Tragedies”
    • JB on BEAR HOWARD | SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC:”Drowned by Design: How Trump’s War on Government Turns Natural Disasters Into National Tragedies”
    • Jill Dougherty on Cottonwood, Verde Valley Residents Join Largest Protest Yet to Reject Abuses of Power
    • TJ Hall on BEAR HOWARD | SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC:”Drowned by Design: How Trump’s War on Government Turns Natural Disasters Into National Tragedies”
    • JB on BEAR HOWARD | SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC:”Drowned by Design: How Trump’s War on Government Turns Natural Disasters Into National Tragedies”
    • JB on BEAR HOWARD | SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC:”Drowned by Design: How Trump’s War on Government Turns Natural Disasters Into National Tragedies”
    • TJ Hall on BEAR HOWARD | SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC:”Drowned by Design: How Trump’s War on Government Turns Natural Disasters Into National Tragedies”
    Archives
    The Sedonan
    © 2025 All rights reserved. Sedona.biz.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.