FOCUS ON HEALTH:Living naturally, in good health

Though St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone, things are still plenty green at the Camp in Costa Mesa.

The alternative retail center — which features a grass roof, self-sustaining landscaping and a percolation sprinkler system that produces no ocean runoff — will affirm its commitment to environmentally friendly and sustainable practices with its first annual Greenology event Thursday, presenting vendors of green products, environmentally conscious films and green lifestyle information to the community.

“We are excited that there are a lot of folks out there who are really embracing sustainability because at the time we started, it was a bit challenging,” said the center’s owner and founder Shaheen Sadeghi. “Today, everybody is buying a Prius and shopping at Trader Joe’s.”

Representatives from many of the Camp’s restaurants will greet visitors with a selection of organic foods and wines, including samples from the Camp’s new raw foods eatery, 118 Degrees, set to open in the coming months.

In addition to offering recipes and discussing the health and environmental benefits of consuming uncooked and unprocessed foods, restaurant owner Jenny Ross — who came to the raw diet many years ago and has “never felt better” — will give a workshop on how to greenify a kitchen, which includes discontinuing the use of commercial cleaning products and sprouting your own nuts, seeds and grains.

“One of the biggest benefits of raw foods is that it is 100% sustainable for the environment, and you are not taking in any of the nasty toxins you find in processed foods,” she said. “The more sustainable, the more green, the more toxin-free and the more natural you live, the better you will feel.”

Rachel Hulan, who owns the Santa Ana-based interior design business Path Design, will take the process a step further, presenting advice on how to purify the air throughout your living space — which she said is two to five times more polluted than the air outside — and information on green furniture and home products, which don’t have to look natural or modern.

“Cleaning products, carpeting, furniture — all these things can have an effect on the toxicity of the air inside your house,” Hulan said. “The very first thing you can do to clean the air in your home is open your windows, which most people don’t.”

Greenology also includes screenings of “The Future of Food,” “Who Killed the Electric Car?” and several episodes of HGTV’s “Living with Ed,” a reality show about environmentally conscious living. Organic and recycled bags, hats and shoes will be for sale, as well as fake-leather belts, wallets and purses.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: The first annual Greenology festival

WHEN: 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday

WHERE: The Camp, 2937 Bristol St., Costa Mesa

COST: Free admission

INFO: www.sobeca.net