Many of us live in communities that have water restrictions, especially when it comes to taking care of lawns and gardens. A simple trick to help keep things cooler is to allow the branches on bushes and shrubs to stay full and as low to the ground as possible. Branches create shade, and if you add leaves and mulch on top of the soil, it creates a double cooling effect that reduces evaporation. Less evaporation means less water is needed to keep your plants healthy and alive.

Common kitchen scraps that are birds' favorite delights are eggshells. In the spring and summer months, female birds crave the calcium that comes from eggshells, since their body has been drained of calcium from laying eggs. To prepare eggshells for birds, rinse them and bake them on a cookie sheet at 250 degrees until they are dry, which sterilizes them. Place the eggshells near a feeder or on a flat surface, and watch birds of all sorts gobble them up.

Many schools and nonprofit organizations are turning small parcels of land or vacant lots into community gardens. Certified organic Seeds of Change is working to offer free seeds to nonprofit groups through its website, seedsofchangegrant.com. Just fill in the name of the charity and its 501(c)(3) tax status number, and Seeds of Change will send 12 packets of organic seeds (with just a small shipping fee). It's a $50 value that will help community and school gardens flourish during the summer months.