Green Calgary's Blog

Green Calgary frequently makes mention of different ways to make a green difference in our day-to-day lives, the most important of which is to make a green goal and work to complete it. But one of the oldest ideas in the environmental community remains one of the best. The Three Rs are still a useful way of thinking about how to lower your impact. But the three Rs have changed form over the years, with new terms taking over the old. So, what are the new terms, and what are some ways to employ them? First, Reduce and Reuse. These are both part of what we now call conscious consumerism. It means buying less and buying high quality, reusable products. Moving away from single use items makes a big difference, as does repairing what you own. With that idea in mind, Green Calgary is starting up the Waste It Not workshops, where we teach you the skills to repair what you own or make something new out of it. You can find out more about the first workshop HERE and you can sign up HERE. Next...

Have you ever wanted to make a career in a sustainable industry or the green business sector? Green Calgary wants to support people in finding meaningful work in these fields. This fall, Green Calgary is hosting a few programs that can teach you skills to find yourself a career in green living or sustainable practice! It all starts with education. Green Calgary is hosting the Canadian Organic Grower’s Organics Master Gardener course starting September 9th. Running every Saturday until December 9th, this program teaches organic gardening and land care for gardeners of all levels. If you’re looking to get into horticulture or landscaping, this course might just be for you! You can register for this course here, but please note that registration closes at the end of Sunday, September 3rd. Green Calgary is also launching its Waste It Not workshops this fall. This series of workshops will teach skills and techniques for repair, as well as creating new home items from recycled material...

This week our Executive Director, Conor Tapp, dives into a problem you can help with right here in Calgary and one of his own passions. Picking up litter. I think this summer has been my most active since being a teenager. My daughter and I have been hiking, and I’ve been on my bikes. I even went to the Inconvenient Sequel film. There is so much to see, experience and learn in and around Calgary. I find it truly humbling to drive on Highway 40 into Kananaskis with my daughter as the mountains grow around us, swallowing our vehicle and leading us to incredible places where we can connect with nature. The scale of everything – the trees, the wildlife, the mountains themselves – everything is so large and so numerous. It takes my breath away every single time, and leaves me grateful that I get to live in this wonderful city. My daughter learned a lot about water, waste, and biodiversity while hiking. She started identifying the insects and other wildlife that we were encountering....

Last week, Green Calgary was up for a Be Local Award from the REAP Business Association. This association, whose name means Respect for the Environment and All People, promotes local business in Calgary. In light of this, we decided it would be a good time to remind everyone why they should promote local business in their everyday life. If you like what you read, you can always go to REAP's directory to find more local businesses! Why Go Local? Economy We talked about the economic benefits of local business in a blog from the beginning of the year. Here’s a quote from that blog: You might have heard about “local” as a rising trend in business, but what does it mean to support local businesses. According to the REAP Business Association in Calgary, “Locally owned businesses spend, on average, 25% more of their revenue locally. This means your money recirculates in Calgary 2-4x and creates more good each time it changes hands.” Local businesses spend money locally, instead of...

Increased consumption of manufactured goods is raising the demand of natural resources and generating more waste. Yet, there is a growing interest in “do it yourself” projects that can help each of us save money, reduce waste, and connect with our communities. Green Calgary was inspired by Repair Cafés, DIY groups, and conscious consumerism to help Calgarians take action to live more sustainably with the Waste It Not workshops. So why repair items? 1. Environmental. After Reducing, Reusing is the next step in the Three R's, and repair is part of that. The creation of every product or good is going to take some resources, and rather than allowing that object's life cycle to end now and its parts go to the landfill or recycling, by repairing the item, you take it out of that waste stream and give it more time to be useful. In addition, this means you don't replace the object with a new product that also took resources to make. 2. Economic. Consumer culture is a culture ...

If you've followed Green Calgary's social media for a while now, you've likely stumbled on our #meatlessmonday posts, where we suggest meatless meals each & every week that are delicious and fun! Last week in our blog and newsletter, we discussed The Sustainability Secret by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn, which suggests that the best thing you can do for the planet is to stop eating meat. Whether you agree with their assessment or not, it's a fact that meatless meals leave less of an environmental footprint than ones with meat (it's how much that is in question). Meatless Mondays weren't started with this idea in mind - it was a healthy eating movement - but, if everyone who eats meat everyday just went meatless for one day a week, there would be a huge difference to our global environment. Even if you're not vegan or vegetarian, many meatless meals are just really tasty, too! We wouldn't want anyone to miss out, so here are 10 of the most delicious o...

The Little Green Library Reviews The Sustainability Secret By Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn Welcome to the Little Green Library Reviews! This year Green Calgary is looking to help you set and keep a green goal and part of that initiative is the new Little Green Library - a collection of materials for you to browse and borrow to enhance your knowledge of green life. To help you decide what to read from the library, our staff are writing reviews of the material. First up, Hillary from our Green Hub read The Sustainability Secret by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn (2015). This is what she had to say about it: "This investigative novel, expanding on the documentary Cowspiracy (Andersen & Kuhn, dir. 2014), looks into the animal agriculture industry and how it is, unknown to most, the largest contributor to climate change worldwide.  Current UN statistics show that agriculture, forestry and other land use cause 24% of global greenhouse gas emissions while the transportation sector...

This summer, your Green Calgary Association team will collaborate with Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and the Boys and Girls Club to inspire Calgary youth to become citizen scientists. The Green Calgary education team is hard at work planning their next big initiative – a program designed to engage and inspire Calgary youth to become engaged in the the natural world around them, monitoring changes in local biodiversity. The citizen science program that is being launched will introduce youth to the ways that data can be collected and shared as a way of achieving answers to questions that are larger than one person. Our citizen scientists will learn from, and be supported by, experts and will explore an introductory, yet scientifically sound, method of recording observational data that can be provided to researchers. They will learn to be record keepers in the face of climate change and the unprecedented risk this poses to species and habitat. Citizen science program...

Stampede is here! It’s a time of year where many of us will be eating outside and at events. Whether you’re on the grounds, or out and about elsewhere in Calgary, here are some tips for being green during Stampede: 1. Pack your essentials: Make sure if you’re going to be outside to have sunscreen and insect repellent. Natural insect repellents are available from Community Natural Foods and our own ecoStore. We also have after sun body sprays to keep your skin healthy even after long days in the sun! 2. Bring food: Some Stampede food is nice to try, but eating a whole Stampede meal is going to be expensive and not necessarily all that healthy. Think ahead and bring some healthy snacks, especially in reusable food containers, limiting your food and money waste! 3. Drink lots: Outside in the heat, you need to hydrate frequently. Your best bet is to have water on hand with you. Bring a water bottle and look for refilling stations in coffee shops and on the Stampede grounds. 4. Hold...

Calgary is facing an exceptional heat wave over the coming week or so. With temperatures expected to soar into the mid to high thirties by the weekend, here are some ways that you can reduce your energy usage while still keeping cool: 1. Enjoy salad for dinner – Cooking with your stove or oven adds heat to your home, so try enjoying a cold meal for dinner on the hottest days. By not using large appliances, you are saving the energy they would have used to cook your meal as well as any air conditioning or fans that you would have used to counter the extra heat in the room. Also, your body generates less heat while processing a lighter meal, thereby keeping you a few degrees cooler. 2. Do laundry and dishes during off peak hours – Just the like a stovetop or oven, your dishwasher and laundry machines can add to heat your rooms. Wait until temperatures have cooled outside before running your dishwasher or laundry machines. 3. Better yet – air dry your clothes – Heat waves are great ...

Heading into our fortieth year, we are looking to build an engaging educational calendar that addresses a number of topics of great concern for our community, and we need your help. Our community has spoken, and they are looking for real information – ‘science!’ – on topics ranging from waste to waster, environmental degradation to ecosystems, pollinators to products labels – and so much more. We are looking for local people who can lead our community through a topic in one of four learning formats: Educational Presentation (you lead a group through subject matter, classroom style) Group Discussion (you moderate a discussion about a topic and provide expert opinions and information) Demonstration (you demonstrate a tactile concept to a group) Group Activity (you lead a group through an activity, example: repair café, nature walk, etc…) If you have knowledge or expertise on an environmental topic, please consider contributing to our upcoming educational calendar. https://www...

Happy Canada Day, Calgary! We here at Green Calgary would like to wish you all the best on the holiday. If you would like to give Canada a birthday gift for its 150th anniversary, the best gift you can give is to respect and love our natural environment. If you need some gift ideas for Canada, we have lots of resources available. Here's a round-up of some past Green Calgary posts that might help you out! Looking for a Green Canada Day? Here are 5 Tips to Get you Started! 5 Ways to Green your Camping Trip 2017 5 Ways to Green your Nutrition 3 Ways to Think about Stewardship 9 Green Summer Fun Ideas for Kids 10 Tips to Green your Summer Roadtrip 9 Things to Lower your Energy Impact Thanks for another great year, Canada! Remember to have fun and be safe today! #canada150 Originally posted JULY 1, 2017

It's finally summer and that means that Canada Day is right around the corner. The best gift you can give Canada is living more sustainably to protect our environment. So how do you keep green while celebrating Canada Day? Here are five tips from us for a greener Canada Day party! 1. Use reusable cutlery: If possible, use cutlery, plates and serving dishes that you can wash and reuse again. Disposable plastic cutlery and paper plates take energy to produce & ship and end up in our landfills after just one use. You can also now get compostable table settings, and Green Calgary's ecoStore sells them! 2. Get creative with the decor: Skip the balloons and cheap decorations and let nature help you add colour to your party! Move your flowerpots to the party location and let your garden be the star attraction. Some great lawn chairs and colourful outdoor cushions can be used all summer long and can add a festive flair to any backyard party! 3. Buy local food/beer: Buying loc...

It’s International Pollinator Week June 19-25, so it’s a great time to consider what pollinators do for us here in Calgary. Pollination is a pivotal system in our environment and pollinators are the crux of that system. Sure, we all recognize the importance of honeybees to pollination, but there are many pollinators beyond that! Here are 7 examples, drawn from the Canadian Wildlife Federation: 1. Hummingbirds. These amazing birds eat the nectar of tubular flowers and, in the process, get pollen on their upper body, which they then carry to the next flower. Major pollinators in Alberta include the Rufous hummingbird and the Ruby-throated hummingbird. Hummingbirds have good populations in Canada, but Rufous hummingbirds are on a watch list as their populations have been on the decline. The best way to support these populations is to have a healthy, natural yard for them to build nests and feed. Nectar rich flowers are preferred for feeding, but if you’re looking to plant native species...

Going into summer, many of us are starting to work on making our yards beautiful and lively for the summer months, but what about making them greener? Not just in colour, but more sustainable, too! There are a lot of tips out there on taking care of your lawn & garden, but maybe these ones might surprise you! 1. Chemical Hazard. Of course Green Calgary suggests that everyone forgo dangerous pesticides and fertilizers, but there are many reasons why these chemicals are bad. They can harm wildlife and ecosystems, even urban ones, and they get caught in our stormwater as runoff. Not only that, but they can harm pets. The worst part is that the chemicals you put on your lawn and in your garden affect everyone else, too. 2. Natural Benefits. All that being said, there are great natural fertilizers, like compost from HOP Compost, and worm castings from our ecoStore. These are not only way safer, but they’re really useful, too. Natural fertilizers also won’t burn your plants like some...

Next week is Canadian National Environment Week, as well as World Environment Day (June 5th) and Clean Air Day (June 7th). Environment Week has been celebrated in Alberta since 1972 and it shows just how committed Albertans are to their province. Here are 7 ways that the week celebrates Alberta & Calgary – one for each day! 1. Alberta parks. Alberta’s Provincial Parks and Calgary’s Municipal Parks are great resources for our citizens, providing education and recreation in a natural setting. What you may not know is that 5 of Alberta’s great Provincial Parks are in the process of being refurbished or that many Calgary parks are being upgraded? For example, Prairie Winds Park reopened this year to great acclaim! 2. Energy innovation. Alberta organizations and companies are investing in energy innovation, opening up Alberta to a bright economic and environmental future. Green Calgary members Bullfrog Power and SkyFire Energy are but a few to lead the crowd. This year’s Energy Fu...

If you haven’t heard, Green Calgary wants to inspire you and all Calgarians in setting a green goal this year. What is a green goal? Think of it as your first step to saving the planet – if you were a superhero, this would be your origin story. Here are 5 ways that we make achieving your green goals easy! 1. Save water: This one is straightforward, even if there are a lot of different things you can do. Our go-to water saving solution is to buy a rain barrel, which can save you 900 gallons a year and diverts that from the stormwater system in Calgary. Another very easy option is to install low-flow shower heads in your home (these will soon be available for free from the Alberta Government). 2. Eat more vegetarian meals: This green goal requires you to switch out a single meal each week that usually contains meat for a veggie meal. We even have our #meatlessmonday social media posts each week that give you recipe ideas. Animal products are very hard on our environment in terms of...

It’s the May long weekend, and many Calgarians enjoy Victoria Day out of the city, spending time in nature and camping. Whether you’re leaving this weekend or any other, here are 5 tips to make sure you keep nature clean and yourself green while camping! 1. Choice of gear. What you take with you will be one of the most important choices you make. If you need new camping gear, look to either get very high quality gear from local retailers that will last a long time or look for used gear. The same goes for your dishes – skip one-use items like paper plates and buy nice re-usable dishes, such as high quality bamboo plates (seriously!) or plastic plates, and thrift store metal cutlery. 2. Skip the tech. Whether it’s time with family or alone, camping is a chance to appreciate nature and learn about your environment. Instead of packing your laptop or tablet, bring field guides to identify plants and animals on a hike, or outdoor games to play with one another. If you need your phone for...

This weekend is a special one for many families, where we celebrate our mothers. Today is also World Fair Trade Day, which means it’s a great time to buy something ethical and sustainable for your mother and support your #greengoals. With Mother’s Day tomorrow, we have 8 ideas for Sustainable and Fair Trade gifts for your mother! 1. Buy Flowers. Locally grown flowers are a classic gift that you can turn into beautiful compost later. That said, even better is a potted plant that can be enjoyed for years to come! Check local garden centres and find a native potted plant for your mother to enjoy! 2. Share some Lovely Food. Many grocers and food establishments will be selling lovely Mother’s Day treats this weekend. You can find fair trade chocolates from Community Natural Foods and other local organic grocers. You can pick up ingredients and cook a favourite meal for your mother, too. You can try one of our #meatlessmonday recipes for a healthy and sustainable choice! 3. Make a Home...

Green Calgary has been talking a lot this year about setting your Green Goals, whether that’s giving up on using plastic straws, or just doing a little better at water conservation. Next week is International Compost Awareness Week and composting is a great Green Goal to aspire to – so let’s celebrate composting together! Whether you’re already doing some composting or you’re looking to start out, here are 5 surprising compost tricks: 1. Treat your compost as a pet. It might sound bizarre, but compost is full of living organisms, whether you’re using worms, bokashi, or just backyard compost – these creatures are relying on you to feed them and fix their problems, just like a pet. Many will even tell you if they’re not doing well by starting to stink. If you treat them like your pet, you’ll find that you will get better compost. 2. Compost in more ways than one. It might sound like more work, but composting doesn’t have to be a single system. Different methods give you different ben...

Last week was Earth Week and that is Green Calgary’s busiest week of the year! We call it the #GreenSeason and in case you missed what we were up to last week, let’s share some of the memories now! GreenTalks After our Annual General Meeting, Green Calgary hosted the first-ever GreenTalks, made possible with the generous support of BluPlanet Recycling. This new, ongoing series of short talks by local speakers on green topics helped those in attendance make Green Goals with Conor Tapp of Green Calgary; learn to make sustainable investments with Patti Dolan of SAGE Investment Advisors; talk about the energy efficiency studies of the Pembina Institute’s Clean Energy Economy research with Julia-Maria Becker; study the City of Calgary’s plans for the Green Cart program with Philippa Wagner; and, share Bullfrog Power’s stories in rural Alberta with Gary Fredrich-Dunne. We will make videos of the talks available soon. In the meanwhile, please check out the links above for more information...

APRIL 20, 2017 (CALGARY): In celebration of Earth Week, Green Calgary Association is kicking off their annual Rain Barrel and Composter Sale Season (the Green Season) this week. For nearly 20 years, Green Calgary has hosted the sales in communities in and around Calgary, and has helped Calgarians install tens of thousands of rain barrels and composters at their homes. While Calgarians each use an average of nearly 7,000 litres of water per month, a single rain barrel saves more than 3,200 litres per year. The impact is the same as if each person harvesting rain water were to not use a drop of water for almost 2 weeks each year. The 2017 Green Season kicks off this Friday (April 21) in the North Parking Lot at the Calgary Zoo. On Earth Day (April 22), Calgarians can find the team at the ATB in Sage Hill and at IKEA. The IKEA event will also include environmental education and fun for guests of all ages. Responding to demand from the community, the team will be in High River, a c...

Ah, Earth Week is here! Green Calgary has many of its own plans for how to celebrate Earth Week, but what are you doing for Earth Week? It's a great time to set a new green goal and make a plan to carry it out. We all make many goals in our lives, goals for our homes, our careers, and our families, and setting a green goal is much the same. Figure out what kind of change you want to make, set the goal, and find resources to help you follow through. Whether it's your first green goal or your tenth, we're here to help you! Call our Help Desk, message us on Twitter or Facebook, or come see us! We also have tons of guides on our website to help you out! If you want to go out and celebrate Earth Week, there's lots happening in the next two weeks. Here's just a small sampling! April 18th: GreenTalks; 6pm-8:30pm Our own AGM is going to be followed by the first-ever GreenTalks, sponsored by BluPlanet Recycling Services! This speaker series features expert Calgarians...

Easter is next weekend and it’s a great time to start showing off your green journey! Here are 6 ideas to make your Easter a green one: 1. Dyeing Eggs: Did you know you can easily dye eggs without food coloring or toxic dyes? There are many natural dyes already in your home, and it can be a great lesson on how things are dyed. There are some great resources online for dying naturally! 2. Local Food: Get your Easter feast ingredients from local and sustainable sources! Try your nearest Farmers Market or Community Natural Foods. 3. Decorations: Instead of purchasing cheap items that will be thrown away, choose quality natural decorations. Plants, flowers, leaves, colourful fabrics, ribbons and shredded paper are all decorative items you probably already have! 4. Gifts: Choose homemade or high-quality gifts for children. You can use baskets that have other uses during the year and fill up them with local chocolates, fruits, plants they can grow, natural play dough or crafts!  ...

When was the last time that Calgary’s incredible natural beauty took your breath away? For me, it was just a couple of weeks ago. I was riding my bike in West Nose Creek Park. I had come up on the pathway from the south, and as I rounded the corner on my left, just before the hill, the sun was hitting the ravine. I had to pause. It was spectacular. I unclipped my shoes and just stood there for a moment. I pulled my sunglasses off and sipped my water while I admired the stunning scene that I have just a few very short kilometers from my house. It’s hard to find the words to describe how privileged I feel to live in this city. And I am so fortunate to be able to spend my days with the team and supporters at Green Calgary. You are part of a community that includes members, customers, funders, staff, board members, and donors who have enabled Green Calgary to do good work. Over the last 39 years, as a member of the Green Calgary Community, you have made a lot of incredible things hap...

TOGETHER WITH THEIR FAMILIES Rain Barrel & Composter Request the pleasure of your company Join us as they exchange vows of love and commitment Saturday April 22nd 2017 At from nine o’clock in the morning until noon ATB Sage Hill Parking Lot 15 Sage Hill Plaza NW Calgary, Alberta Celebration and Magic to Follow Gifts for the happy couple can be purchased on their registry here. Alternatively, donate to the couple’s favourite charity here. Originally posted APRIL 1, 2017

...and We Need Your Help! Green Calgary Association is excited to announce that they will open the Little Green Library at the Green Calgary ecoStore this spring. The library, which will be stocked with books, DVDs, magazines, and more for all ages, will provide a knowledge centre for Calgarians looking to learn more about environmental topics. “Green Calgary is our city’s Green Hub, and the Little Green Library expands on that concept and creates an accessible space where any member of our community can borrow titles in a number of formats on a full range of topics,” says Conor Tapp, Executive Director at Green Calgary, “We are so excited to bring this new resource to our community.” While the organization has invested in some inventory for the Little Green Library, they are asking the public to show their support by adding to the library. Calgarians are asked to donate books, DVDs or Magazines that have environmental, gardening, wildlife, or climate themes to the Green Calgary ...

Today at 8:30pm is Earth Hour, where Calgary and many cities and peoples around the world celebrate the Earth by unplugging and turning off lights. This year is the 10th anniversary of Earth Hour, started by the World Wildlife Fund in Australia. The event now includes 7,000 cities in 170 countries with 2.4 million participants. Some famous landmarks that symbolically turn off their lighting to encourage energy awareness include the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, the Kremlin in Moscow, Hong Kong’s 118 story International Commerce Centre, the Sydney Opera House, the Parthenon in Athens, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, and the Houses of Parliament in London. In Calgary, numerous buildings and landmarks turn off their power including the Stephen Avenue Galleria Trees, the Calgary Tower, The Calgary Municipal Building, the Calgary Water Centre, all the Calgary fire stations, Centre Street Bridge, and Reconciliation Bridge. This year, as in years past, Green Calgary is p...

Make a beautiful statement this spring! Green Calgary needs your help to showcase the charm of our amazing rain barrels. Join our Rain Barrel Art Exhibition as an artist, and enter to win some great eco-friendly prizes! Sign-Up to Participate Here Details: We are accepting entries from artists and groups (families, communities, companies, churches, etc…) from March 22, 2017 until March 31, 2017 Sign-Up to Participate Here All applicants will be contacted via email on or before April 1, 2017. If you are selected as an entrant in the art contest, your barrel will be available for pickup at the Green Calgary ecoStore (#100, 301 14 Street NW, Calgary) from April 1, 2017 until April 8, 2017. Barrels must be picked up and signed for by the artist or a pre-arranged designate. There is no cost to you for the barrel that you decorate. You decorate! We know that paint works really well – but we won’t discourage any inspired artistic idea that you have. You return your barrel to the...

World Water Day is March 22nd and it’s a great time to remember just why water is such an important topic here in Canada. We’d like to explore some reasons why water should be foremost in your mind this week, and what you can do to help! Here are 3 examples. 1. Waste water. The theme of 2017’s World Water Day is wastewater, and we’re lucky here in Calgary that The City of Calgary does such a good job of treating our wastewater, but it’s easy to forget that treating water comes at a cost. You can help off-set that cost to the city, and by extension its residents, by reducing the water that ends up in the water treatment plant. Low-flush toilets can help immensely, as can taking care of how much water you use when brushing your teeth or taking a shower. 2. Safe drinking water. While the wastewater is managed well in Calgary, there are many places in Canada where it’s a large issue. The Federal government has promised to address unsafe drinking water in over 100 First Nations communit...

March is National Youth Science Festival Month and it’s a great time to support youth education and innovation! Our Energy Revolution Fair is coming up this summer (June 8th) and it’s an opportunity for young people to show their great ideas and for experts to share their passions for the environment with youth! Here are 7 reasons why youth and experts should join the Energy Revolution! 1. A bright future. The future of our planet depends on renewable energy, and young people are going to get us there. Starting early in this industry will put youth a step ahead! Experts can get great ideas from the next generation to help kickstart the sector today! 2. Collaboration. Projects are submitted in teams of 3 to 12. Both secondary education and the workforce call for teamwork, and collaborative thinking. It’s also a chance for experts to share ideas with youth! 3. Mentorship. A teacher sponsor must support each team and there are experts speaking and interacting with youth. Finding men...

Are you looking to eat healthier, but being greener while doing it? We are, too! While trying to be greener with your food is a great goal, many of us are looking to watch our nutrition at the same time. March is Nutrition Month, so it’s the perfect time to think about what you eat and where it comes from. 1. Cook at Home. This is a bigger advantage than you might think: it’s healthier, it’s greener, and it’s more cost effective! Not only that, but your food scraps can be used to make compost! Need a place to find green and sustainable food products? Our friends at Community Natural Foods can help! 2. Try Meatless. This is also a healthier choice for you and for your planet than you might originally think! Need recipe ideas? Check our Meatless Monday ideas on Twitter or subscribe to our newsletter. 3. Grow Your Food. You know what ensures that only good stuff gets into your food? If you grow it yourself! Select seeds that are heirloom and non-GMO, makes some compost (or buy it fr...

Did you know that February 22nd was World Thinking Day? This annual awareness day celebrates the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, including many of their sustainability projects. This got us to thinking about sustainability and stewardship. We hear a lot about sustainability, but what about stewardship? We think of stewardship as a broader plan or system than conservation or sustainability alone. It is about caring and preserving for the next generation, and this comes from both education and action. It can apply to all parts of your life, such as energy consumption, water conservation, and sustainable business practices. In our ongoing mission to inspire Calgarians, here are three ways you can start being a steward for our planet, and teach by example! 1. Set up a plan for converting your home to an eco-friendly one! Making small changes to your home, one at a time, can make a big difference over a year, or a lifetime! Check out this comprehensive and accessible list of handy tips f...

With the long weekend here, you might be looking for some more things to do around Calgary to occupy your time, while keeping sustainability in mind. We know we are! Whether your family is large or just you, there’s lots to do in YYC. 1. WinterFest at Fort Calgary: This fun and free event on Family Day itself runs most of the day and features lots of activities both indoors and out. We’re particularly excited for the stories from Siksika Nation peoples! 2. YYC Hot Chocolate Fest: This month-long event can be a fun way to check out local businesses and support Meals on Wheels – another great Calgary charity! 3. Calgary Olympic Plaza: There’s a few fun outdoor activities at Olympic Plaza this long weekend. For kids there’s a Mobile Adventure Playground and it’s one of the spots in Calgary for outdoor skating for the whole family! 4. Family Fun Day at Eau Claire Market: This huge event includes stage shows and fun activities for the whole family! 5. Free swimming: Along wi...

February 16th is Canada’s Agriculture Day, so it’s a great time to think about local business and eating local. You might have heard about “local” as a rising trend in business, but what does it mean to support local businesses. According to the REAP Business Association in Calgary, “Locally owned businesses spend, on average, 25% more of their revenue locally. This means your money recirculates in Calgary 2-4x and creates more good each time it changes hands.” Local businesses spend money locally, instead of sending it to headquarters outside of Calgary, Alberta, or even Canada. This means that supporting local business supports all the economy of the city, making Calgary grow and become more self-sufficient in the process. How does this relate to food? On top of supporting local business, buying local food has lower transportation distance, meaning that it generates less pollution getting from the producer to your table. It’s also more likely to be in season! Even if it’s from a gr...

For February, we’re celebrating the achievements of youth here at Green Calgary, and what better way to do that then talk about the Energy Revolution Fair? Last year our very first Energy Revolution Fair brought together 300 students, teachers, and parents to talk about renewable energy with fun, hands-on activities out in nature along the banks of the Bow River. You can see pictures from the event here. This year, the Energy Revolution Fair is June 8th and will be held alongside the Mayor’s Environment Expo, meaning it will be way bigger, way better, and will make Generation Green the talk of the town! In celebration of the students from last year, and those who will be participating this year, let’s look at a few cool new developments in renewable energy: Have you heard about Tesla Solar Roof Tiles? These glass roof tiles hide solar cells underneath, and though we don’t know too much about how cheap or efficient they will be, there’s great potential to them. Read more on SkyFir...

We’ve all seen the terrible stuff in the news about how the world is getting worse, but what about all the ways that things are getting better? We have lots to celebrate – and lots to fight for – right at our fingertips. So, follow us in learning more about how the world is becoming a bit of a greener place: 1. Transit Habits. People are losing their tight ties to their cars as our city becomes friendlier to alternate modes of transportation. The City of Calgary recently made the cycle lanes downtown permanent, which supported over a million bicycle trips in its pilot period. With increased reach of our public transit system, too, Calgary’s been seeing a steady rise in public transit commuters. Not only does less car use keep our air clean, reducing congestion on our roads also reduces the amount of time people sit in traffic, their car engines idling. Way to go, Calgary! 2. Diverting Waste. Whereas recycling used to be a chore, now it’s a standard that we all work towards. The Cit...

We all know the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle. What we often don’t think about is the order those three R’s are in and why. Recycling materials has become commonplace for many of us, with The City of Calgary’s blue cart programs and the many great haulers here in Calgary, but we tend to forget that it’s also the last step in an overall process. First Reduce. All materials that you throw away have some sort of impact on our environment. While the landfill is the worst of them, you simply can’t get away from making waste as a human. In 2009, Canadians produced more than 700kg of waste per person. That’s a huge number. All of that waste has to go somewhere, and even recycled waste has to be processed to be made usable again – that takes time, money, and energy. A recent blog from Fix.com shows the true cost of using plastics today. All of which is to say that the best solution is simply to use less.                 How? Well, for one, y...