The Glove and Trowel Garden Club met on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 3:30 p.m. at the home of Hostess, Marilyn Zunk, with 17 members present. After refreshments, our President, Molly Pittman, called our meeting to order, thanked Marilyn for being our hostess, and then led in the reading of our Garden Club Collect.
Ditto Jenkins, Program Chairman, introduced our guest speaker, Carl Claytor from Loris, S.C. who is the Conservation /Environmental Committee Chairman for the Garden Club of South Carolina.
He gave a very interesting and informative program and made us aware of how wasteful we are in our daily use of electricity, water, etc. The Environmental Protection Agency ranks indoor air pollution among the top environmental dangers, and much of this pollution comes from common cleaning products (or what we’ll call “indoor pollutants”). Immediate effects of exposure to indoor pollutants can include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, as well as exacerbated symptoms of asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Long-term effects include respiratory diseases, heart disease, and even cancer. The indoor pollutants that can cause these reactions are so common that the EPA strongly recommends everyone improve the air quality of their home, regardless of whether symptoms are currently present. Within 26 seconds after exposure to chemicals such as cleaning products, traces of these chemicals can be found in every organ in the body. There are more than 80,000 chemicals in use today, and most have not been independently tested for safety.
He gave us a list of Chemical-Free Recipes for Spring Cleaning as well as 8 natural and homemade insecticides to save your garden without killing the Earth!
Julie Sawyer, Secretary, gave her report on our March meeting. A treasurer’s report was given by Julie LeChette. Members were reminded of the GCSC State Convention ?on April 26, 2018 at the Embassy Suites on Stroneridge Drive in Columbi.
We have one student, Ian Bethea, who will attend Camp Wildwood this summer, and the release of our butterflies will take place in about four weeks at East Elementary School.
A note was read from Norma G. Miller, “Five Star Honor Club Chairman, of the Garden Club of South Carolina “, thanking us for our generous donation in supporting the five members of the club and stated that our club name will appear on a plaque and be displayed at the 2018 GCSC Convention in Columbia.
Our next meeting will be ?on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, at the home of Amy McColl when we have our annual plant exchange.
The Glove and Trowel Garden Club was organized in 1953 and is a member of the National Garden Clubs, Inc., the South Atlantic Region, the Garden Club of South Carolina, Inc., and the Coastal District of the GCSC.