Green Calgary's Blog

At the end of 2019, Green Calgary was talking with some of our frequent partners and friends in the sustainability community, and we got to talking about our wishes for 2020: what our sustainability goals were individually, and what we hoped for in general. We wanted to take this moment to share some of our wishes for 2020, and some of those that we've gathered from the community. We hope that this might inspire you for the year and help showcase some other voices in the sustainability community! First, Green Calgary's sustainability wish for the year is for more Calgarians to engage with the sustainability community - there are many great organizations and events throughout the year in Calgary, and we hope that Calgarians show their passion for the environment, our city, and the planet. Next, we have some responses from a couple of members of the community. From Joe Vipond (@jvipondmd on Twitter): You can find more of what Joe is working on at The Cana...

Welcome to 2020 everyone! A new year and a new decade, and introducing some more sustainability into your life has never been easier! With 2020 starting off with some major climate-related disasters and lots of uncertainty, it can feel out of place to equate using a water bottle to fighting climate change, but we're here to remind you that tackling climate change and sustainability starts with each and every one of us making choices in our lives. Looking at climate and environment news, it's clear that the problems our planet is facing are global, so personal solutions can often feel small or insignificant, but they really do have an impact on the world we live in.  Every action we take helps shift behaviours - in us, in our social circle, and in the local economy. That means each step we take on our green journey makes a difference, even if that difference is very small, and when we add them all up, we make a huge difference. So, while it's important ...

A new year is right around the corner, and now is usually the time we start to think about what we might want to change in our lives: what we resolve to do better. Being a little more sustainable doesn't have to be difficult, it just takes a little planning, so here are 20 suggestions for New Years' Resolutions that will make you more sustainable! 1. Ride a bike to work more often 2. Upgrade all your light bulbs to LEDs 3. Get energy saving power bars for your electronics 4. Upgrade to a programmable thermostat 5. Make a meal plan every week to lower your food waste 6. Switch one of your meals to meatless each week 7. Drive less: walk, carpool, take a bike or scooter 8. Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth every time 9. Shower for a minute less each time 10. Switch to shampoo bars instead of liquid shampoo 11. Or, get your liquid soaps and shampoos from a refillery in Calgary 12. Take your own bags every time to go shopping 13. Shop for gifts at thrift s...

We all struggle to be more sustainable in our everyday lives, whether there's something that we always forget to recycle, some product that always seems to make it into our shopping cart that we don't need, or some electronics we can't seem to remember to turn off. Whatever the case may be, Green Calgary's holiday wish is for everyone to take that next step that they've been putting off to be more sustainable. We hope that this year has been kind to you and that next year will be even better. From everyone at Green Calgary, Happy Holidays! Please note that Green Calgary's offices will be closed from Wednesday, December 25th to January 1st, inclusive. The EcoStore is now closed for the season and will reopen January 7th, 2020. Thank you!

We hope our 2019 Gift Guide gave you some ideas for great green gifts to give to everyone! When we have a gift to wrap, however, what are our options to make it as green as possible, and where does the wrap go when we're done with it? I've listed some wrapping options first, then where to put your wrapping waste at the end. Without further ado! No wrap: You heard it right! No wrapping is the best way to give nature a break. If you're gifting an experience or a donation, this is a no brainer, but even for other gifts, you might be okay with leaving it uncovered! Reusable gift bags: Reusable gift bags, especially out of durable materials like cloth, are second to none when it comes to green gift giving. The bag itself is like another gift and once you get a good supply of these out to your friends and family, you can trade them back and forth for years! They're also easy to make for anyone with a sewing machine. Wrap it in another gift: Folding up a blanket or...

Our 2019 holiday gift guide is here! Every year when we get to the holiday season, we start looking at what to get as gifts for family, friends, co-workers, and more. We also look at how we can reduce the waste that comes from gift-giving: packaging foremost of all. Here are 10 ideas for gifts that don't come with much packaging! 1. Home made personal cleaners! You can get a DIY personal care kit from our online store HERE ! 2. Buy lightly wrapped bath goods, like soaps from local companies! 3. Buy something from a thrift store - there are lots of great gifts to find! 4. Make a donation in someone's name! You can donate to Green Calgary HERE ! 5. Buy something at a craft sale! 6. Buy experiences, like a walking tour or lessons! 7. Make your own decorations! Check out our green decoration blog HERE ! 8. Buy products with very little packaging, such as clothing or books. 9. Cook a meal for someone or take them out! 10. Make a piece of clothing by knitting,...

Every year, I try to be well-prepared for the holidays. I know people who are very prepared - they have a schedule and everything goes smoothly. That never seems to be me, though. Between a packed social calendar, trying to make it to friends' Christmas parties, a work celebration, and family events, on top of a hectic schedule of shopping, baking, making travel plans, and more, I never seem to have time to put much into holiday decorations! To be really green, I should probably make my own and reuse them for years, but I've never really had the time for that, either! Here are some holiday decorations that you can make/put up that are easy AND pretty green, too! 1. Make a Gourd Display: I haven't tried this one yet, it was just an idea I had when I sat down to make this list, so maybe it needs some refinements, but why not get a mix of a bunch of different gourds and squashes and make a little display of them? Sort of like decorative gourds for harvest, but then you ...

It's November, which means that holiday parties are just around the corner. You may have even begun planning them already! But whatever phase of planning your in, we have some ideas for you on how to plan this holiday season with sustainability in mind! 1) Conceptualize. Party planning begins way back in the concept phase. Make yourself a list of things you need to have at the party, things you want to have, and things you don't want to have. Once you have this list in front of you, you can see where your priorities lie and start shifting things around. This lets you make a master "to do" list quite easily. It's right in this phase where you can start the groundwork of making your part sustainable. 2) Research. Now that you have your master "to do" list, you can look at how each step can be handled in the most sustainable way. If you have food on your list, you can start to ask: what kind of food, where do I get it, what do I do with the lefto...

Once again, it's Waste Reduction Week in Canada! From October 21-27, and each day has a theme: Oct 21: Circular Economy Circular Economy is all about planning for the entire life of the products people make and use. Rather than planning for the end of the life of a product to be the landfill, circular economy looks to reuse, re-make, or recycle every product.  Find out more here . Oct 22: Textiles Textiles, particularly clothing, make up a lot of waste that can be reduced and reused. Think about repairing clothing, buying high quality, and keeping a smaller wardrobe. You can learn about fast fashion waste here . Oct 23: Champions & Innovators You, too, can be a champion of waste reduction! Inspire your friends and family by setting green goals for yourself and showing them how it's done! Oct 24: Plastics & Packaging Plastics and packaging clog up our oceans and landfills, & creating greenhouse gases as they degrade. Find out more about how to deal with plastic ...

Ideas for a waste free Thanksgiving and Halloween! October is here and it's a month of feasting! Whether that is Thanksgiving staples or candy. In either case, celebrations undoubtedly mean that there is more waste than usual and being that this month also includes Waste Reduction Week (Oct 21-27) in Canada, it's a great chance to practice some waste reducing tips! Show your thanks to our planet by cutting down on waste! Thanksgiving. This national holiday is usually accompanied by feasting as a harvest festival and that means food waste. Here are a few ways to avoid the waste. Share food. Whether this means inviting people over, giving leftovers to your neighbours, or freezing as much as you can to give to others later, sharing food keeps the food waste down and is in the spirit of the season! Give yourself time. We live busy lives and frequently the holidays creep up on us, but prepare ahead of time and you can avoid a lot of waste. This lets you bu...

As one festival ends, another one is upon us.  Calgary Folk Fest  is just around the corner and will occur July 23-25. This festival has happened for 40 years in Prince’s Island Park and is a hot spot for showcasing funky food, cool market finds, and seventy artists from over sixteen countries! Another reason to showcase this festival is because of the extent Calgary Folk Fest goes through to try to make the festival as sustainable as possible. At this event, disposable water bottles are not available for sale and because of this, every attendee should bring their own reusable bottles to refill. Food  purchased at the event is also provided on completely compostable dishware along with compostable cutlery. At the event, an event greening crew is in place to manage all the waste disposal to make sure that everything is properly sorted and other volunteers are constantly monitoring and cleaning up any litter that ends up on the ground includi...

Ya-Hoo! Stampede is just around the corner and we want to remind you of some tips on how to enjoy the festivities in a sustainable way. The Stampede has come far in its efforts to try to make the event as green as possible and are continuingly trying to improve this . As they are doing their part, it’s important that we as attendees try to do our parts as well! Read up on our ideas from last year here . These include using environmentally safe and mineral-based sunscreens , which is important not only for human health but for ocean health as well. Also included in the blog is using reusable or compostable dinnerware for your at home stampede parties, as well as bringing your own water bottle to the grounds and filling it up at the refillable water stations. Another way the stampede aims to help reduce carbon emission is by introducing discounted transit prices during Stampede week. Taking transit is a great way to not only reduce air pollution but to also invest in the communit...

It's 2019 and another World Water Day is upon us. Water is such a vital part of our lives. We drink it, eat it , wear it, use it, bathe in it, and more every day. It seems odd that we only celebrate water on a few days every year! Each year, the UN declares a theme for World Water Day. This year's theme is clean water for everyone. Surprisingly, there are many communities - even in Canada - that don't have access to clean water. It goes to show that we still have a ways to go in terms of managing this precious resource. Here are other reasons we should all respect our waters! Calgary gets floods. We all remember the big flood of 2013, but there's flooding fairly regularly. The City has plans extending far into the future to help lessen the impacts of floods. Learn about how to mitigate flood risks for you and your neighbours on The City of Calgary's website . It takes a lot to manage our water. The City of Calgary has its job cut out for it! Betwee...

Much of what we write about here is how to make your home and life more sustainable - reducing the waste you generate and that you throw out is a big part of that. But does that only apply to your life at home? People spend an average of 13 years and 2 months at work over their lifetime - that's a big chunk! It's definitely worth it to try to make your workplace a bit more sustainable. Here are six steps to a Greener Workplace! 1. Reduce Energy Usage. Change lightbulbs to LEDs, turn off and unplug equipment that isn't in use, and turn down the thermostat. 2. Save Water. Install low flow toilets, check for leaks and fix promptly, and plant drought resistant plants for landscaping. 3. Reduce Waste and Increase Recycling. Host zero waste meetings, only print when necessary, and replace disposable products in the staff kitchen. 4. Reduce Emissions and Carbon Footprint. Encourage telecommuting/working from home when possible, provide a bike rack for employees...

Starting down the Zero Waste path is not easy. Most of us will find it very challenging, and many of us will have setbacks. But with some work and support, we can all start reducing our waste. Why do we want to cut down our waste? The Zero Waste philosophy is about waste management and planning - respecting the products in our lives and reducing our reliance on landfills. The benefits are many, such as reducing the plastic pollution in waterways, reducing the land use for landfills, and conserving our water and energy. “Canadians rank worst of all countries on earth for waste production per capita. Albertans produce the most waste of all the provinces and territories in Canada.” – Conference Board of Canada, 2014 How does it work? The Zero Waste philosophy is more about guiding principles than it is about hard-and-fast rules. Respect the products you use, and plan for the entire life of the product. Not all of the work can be done by people alone, and companies and ...

New Year, Old Challenges: Part 2 At the end of last year, we reported on some of the goals our team had to finish out 2018, and some of the challenges that came with that. Now, moving into 2019, we're all reexamining our #GreenGoals - some of us made resolutions for the new year, while others continue on the path we'd set last year. Here are some of the goals we had, what we achieved, and where we're going next! Conor was looking to reduce electricity usage in his home and was able to achieve this through some home automation and some education with his children. Christie, Reka, Lex, Raine, and Stephanie all had goals to reduce their single-use plastic usage in some area of life or another. They were all able to do this with switching products to those with less packaging, buying in bulk, or changing shopping habits. Deb, Gabriela, and Jen were trying to lower their disposable paper usage in the home, mostly by removing paper towel where they could. They were all...

It's the end of the year, and as always we start to look forward to next year's resolutions! Around the office, that means we're looking at our Green Goals! We actually cheated a bit, though, and started pushing those goals at the end of 2018, even putting them up on the wall in the office and supporting each other! Here's some of what we learned: It's difficult to go totally plastic free. Like, really difficult. Many of us took one particular plastic that we use frequently and tried to remove it from our lives. Switching away from paper towel takes more work, but it's worth it! In fact, it's a goal that does double duty, since making rags is a good way to upcycle old clothing. We all have more work to do. That last observation is important. No matter what we are doing, we always can make changes to make things more sustainable or efficient. It's not about finishing your Green Journey right away, it's about constantly working on it! That...