Green Calgary's Blog

After the first few weeks of the New Year, we’re all still working to get things organized again after the holidays. People are cleaning, eating better, and generally following their resolutions a bit more carefully. But instead of looking to what we shouldn't be doing, stay positive! Whether you’ve decided to clean your house, your body, or your palette, make this New Year your Do Year! Here are some DOs without those nasty DON'Ts! DO: Clean the house! Cleaning up the house is a great way to jump-start your year. Green cleaners are just as efficient as conventional ones and you don’t run the risks to your health. You can pick up green cleaning products at green stores, like yours truly, but otherwise just look for green cleaning supplies, such as AspenClean. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can even come to one of our workshops and make some of your own! DO: Clean yourself! Starting your day fresh helps make the year fresh. Rather than strip all the oils out of your...

New Years Resolutions are all about trying to do something better or be someone better. While they can help us transform ourselves, why not try to help transform the planet at the same time? Here are 5 not-as-hard-as-you-think resolutions you could try! Even picking just one could help change the world! 1. Drive Less. With the new Carbon Levy, this is not only environmentally friendly, but could save you money, too! You have lots of options: car sharing programs, transit, and biking to name only a few. These days, living car-free is a real possibility! You can start small – take your bike on short trips at first, or plan to do a bunch of errands all at once and plan your trip on transit. 2. Reduce your Waste. This is getting easier all the time. You can print documents double-sided to reduce paper use, compost your organic waste for your garden, and reuse a lot of your old stuff. Our Natural Living Series has workshops that show you how easy it is to compost indoors or upcycle your...

The New Year is just around the corner, and it’s time for something new at Green Calgary, too. As many of you undoubtedly have heard, 2016 was the last year for our previous Executive Director, Areni Kelleppan, who has moved onto other projects after fulfilling her mandate here at Green Calgary. For 2017 and beyond, we have a new Executive Director, and we’d like to take this chance to introduce him to you! Born in Winnipeg, MB, our new Executive Director, Conor Tapp, has lived in Calgary for more than 25 years. He has served some of Calgary’s smallest and Canada’s largest charities in his 15+ year non-profit career that most recently saw him leading Strategic Philanthropy for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. You can learn more about Conor’s career on LinkedIn. Conor is the Communications Chair on the board for the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, Southern Alberta Chapter. He speaks regularly at conferences on a number of topics, and has offered his knowledge and experienc...

As we come to the end of the year, Green Calgary is deeply grateful for everyone who makes up our green community. From our sponsors and members, to our donors and volunteers, to those who attend our workshops and come out to our annual Rain Barrel sales, it’s all of us together that will make Calgary a world-leader in sustainability. Thank you all. From our family to yours, we wish you all a wonderful, green holiday season. Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas! Originally posted on DECEMBER 23, 2016

As the holiday approaches, for many of us it’s easy to get lost in the scramble to get everything done, and still give back to the planet. Here are 12 things you can do for our planet leading up to Christmas: Dec 13: Shop Smart. Still have some shopping to do for the holidays? Reduce your footprint by carpooling with friends or taking transit to the malls, and plan for a litterless lunch to take with you. Also consider looking at our 10 green gift giving tips! Dec 14: Decorate Ahead. Last minute decorating is the worst, but there are some things you can do that are green and fast. Consider picking up second-hand decorations, using fewer holiday lights, or making your own decorations. Here’s some inspiration to get you started! Dec 15: Turn it Off. Whether it’s your car from shopping or your Christmas lights at home, it’s important to remember not to leave things running. Keeping warm in your car by idling while waiting for others is nice, but it wastes your gas (and your money!) while...

Gifts are one of the best parts of the holiday season. Canadians are so nice they spent an average of more than $1000 on gifts last year. Unfortunately, all that generosity can take away from the ability for our Earth to offer us the gifts we need, like a stable climate, clean water, food, and air. Luckily, there are greener (and cheaper!) ways to give, and show our friends and family how much we love them. Here are 10 tips for green gift giving: 1. Make your own. There are so many DIY gift ideas online it’s ridiculous. Try bath salts in pretty jars, soap, jam making, hot chocolate mixes, aprons from t-shirts or hop on google for hundreds of more ideas! Need ingredients? Check out Community Natural Foods or Sunnyside Natural Market for all sorts of treats and supplies! 2. Buy second hand. Head to a second-hand or vintage store to choose a unique gift that doesn’t have to be made from brand new resources. 3. Buy experiences. Purchase something you and the recipient can enjoy doing toge...

Tis the season of holiday party after holiday party! Unfortunately, the holiday season can be a strain on our Earth’s resources and produce a great deal of waste. We’re more likely during this time of year to purchase things for ourselves and others that we don’t need. In fact, we produce 25% more household waste during the holidays. If you’re putting on a holiday party of your own, we have some suggestions to keep it green! 1.    Email Invitations: Avoid paper invitations by sending emails or creating a good ol’Facebook event. 2.    Use Green Ornaments: Avoid purchasing one use, low quality or any ornaments at all. You can also look for ornaments at a second hand store, or do a swap with your friends if you’re bored of the ones you’ve used past years. Also see if you can use natural materials such such as sticks or dried leaves, and then incorporate leftover ribbon or other materials you have lying around the house. 3.    Reduce Food Waste:...