Author Archives{serenabartlett}

Serena Bartlett has authored several GrassRoutes Travel guides - fun loving books with an eye for all things economically, environmentally and socially sustainable. A natural born contrarian, Serena has lived and traveled in more than 25 countries always with an eye for the most authentic cultural experiences. She is an award-winning author and an active spokesperson for lively, inspiring and tasty ways to tread more lightly on the planet.

Ethical journalism and uninhibited travel writing has always been important to Serena, and she is a regular contributor to a number of national and local Bay Area publications, having written stories on everything from shampoo-making with garden ingredients to green business tips to an interview with one of her role models, Riane Eisler. She appears on KRON4 and ABC programs such as Bay Area Backroads as a green travel expert, and has been a featured guest on KPFA and KGO radio. (read less)

Serena revels in creative solutions for becoming more self reliant, like sewing her own sheets and quilts, designing jewelry, making wild forays in the kitchen, and growing her own edible garden (yes, she has grapes). She is a ski bum at heart, and a swimming junkie, equally comfortable on a pack trip with her poodle or as a city slicker.

Stuck on Being Green

2 years ago in Green.0 Comments

A fun-filled visit to Mrs. Grossman’s Sticker Factory in Petaluma is one way to bring back only the best childhood memories. One glance at the colorful roles and I can remember those special birthday cards where brand new sheets of stickers escaped the card when I opened it… If you can think of an object, chances are Mrs. Grossman has {…}

Green Touring Tips for Dry Creek

2 years ago in Green.0 Comments

Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley is a paradise for those interested in tasting bright, spicy, warm, and welcoming red wines, but it can be complicated and overwhelming without guidance. A few stops off Dry Creek or Old Dry Creek Road and you may have hit you’re maximum, so I recommend that less is more, and a little planning goes a long {…}

Swoon for Boon Hotel + Spa

2 years ago in Green.0 Comments

The weather in Sonoma this time of year just begs to be taken advantage of. Guerneville, with the help of the late May sun and some cool shade from the plentiful redwood trees, offers an especially ideal get away for the eco-savvy traveler. Boon Hotel seems like it came to Guerneville like a lightening bolt shooting out of the sky. {…}

Ruby in the Rough

3 years ago in Green.1 Comment

Andrew was the cleanest farmer I had met in a while, but after I took a closer look at his callused hands and listened to his perspective on Bulgarian-Italian mixed wild pigs, rye grass, and soil, I knew he was the real McCoy. Quivira is an exceptional, certified biodynamic winery on Old Dry Creek Road, one of the best windy {…}

Newfound Respect for Wood Chips

3 years ago in Green.0 Comments

Driving by the curvy green pastures of Sonoma County, on the way to Freestone, you’ll be tempted to make many “photo op” stops along the road. A living quilt of corduroy vines, emerald lawns, and twisted old cypress and oak trees in the shadow of willowy eucalyptus, these surroundings make for an astonishing array of greenery any time of year.  {…}

Sustainable Vineyard Hikes

3 years ago in Green.1 Comment

Want to take steps, many uphill steps, to seeing sustainable winegrowing in action? Go on this docent-led hike around the beautiful Kunde Estate, and get the full scoop on all that goes into a healthy winery. This Sonoma acreage is attended to with the utmost care – the soil, the watershed, the native wildlife, the employees and the quality of {…}

Health Care for Dirt: Biodynamic Farming in Sonoma

3 years ago in Green.1 Comment

The past few weeks I’ve been on the edge of my proverbial seat, wondering whether my health coverage will continue with my current provider. The whole thing has got me overly self-involved, a mess of needless worry. So as I take a break from my own fickle worrying, I don’t stray far from my original subject: health. The soil in {…}