sierraclub.org - sierra magazine - nov/dec 2011 - gifts that keep on living
Sustainable Slurping | Trendsetter: Eric Larsen | Gifts That Keep on Living
Gifts That Keep on Living
The problem with most holiday presents is that they're just so . . . lifeless. Not these.
—Avital Binshtock
Think of it as Sea-Monkeys' more sophisticated cousin. resembles a crystal ball foretelling a serene future of red shrimp, algae, and microbes. It's an enclosed, self-sustaining system, so you never have to feed the critters; all they need is natural light. Based on a concept developed for NASA, this microworld is made from handblown glass, plus a bit of earth, air, and seawater. $60 to $150, depending on size
Shopping for a fun guy? Consider . The grow-your-own kit comes with "soil" made of recycled coffee grounds (the company is on track to save 1 million pounds of caffeinated refuse from landfills this year), and the packaging box doubles as the vase. Within 10 days of opening it, you can harvest up to 1.5 pounds of recipe-ready pearl oyster mushrooms. $20
A teched-up twist on 's 1950s classic is the . Western Harvester ants eat their way through the cylinder's green goo, tunneling a mazelike space. Thanks to an embedded lens and an LED light, their huge, crawling silhouettes get projected onto the ceiling—for the coolest night-light ever. If you'd prefer to give a ladybug, roly-poly, or tadpole habitat, no problem—Uncle Milton's got those too. $40 for ant farm, $6 for 30 live ants (or catch your own for free)
Watch as children morph into lifelong biology enthusiasts: With the from , they get a netted pop-up habitat and at least three caterpillars. Give the striped larvae the enclosed food, and within three weeks they'll envelop themselves in cocoons and emerge as Painted Lady butterflies. $20
For fashion that grows on you, visit on Etsy and add the ($16) and ($10.50) to your cart. The ring is made from an acorn, a tiny patch of verdant moss, and an adjustable band. To care for it, spritz it with water from time to time and make sure that it, like you, gets a bit of sunlight. The same instructions apply to the necklace, an antique chain whose pendant is a small glass vial filled with living lichen. Five percent of the profits benefits animal charities.
For more holiday gifts and tips, go to sierraclub.org/greenlife.
Photos from top: Lori Eanes; iStockphoto/Ziutograf; Lori Eanes (2)