Green Calgary's Blog

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...

It's nearing the end of the year and Green Calgary is doing it's annual fundraising campaign Every Action Counts. This year is a little different, as we asked some Calgarians to become Action Ambassadors, make videos about what they do in their day-to-day life to lower their impact on the environment, and share a little about their lives. Their stories are documented over on  EveryActionCounts.ca . You can join them in making your actions count, and here are 5 reasons you should! 1. You  will  impact the environment, but you get to  choose  what that impact is.  Every day, the choices that we make impact the environment, but they're within our control to change. Today you might choose to reuse an old t-shirt as rags, and keep it out of the landfill for a little longer – that has an impact on the environment. 2. You  will  impact other people with your choices.  Not only will your choices about how you live your life affect you, but t...

As we get into December and people’s schedules get busy preparing for the end of the year, along with all its celebrations, holidays, and general winding down, we start to get a little reflective at Green Calgary. This year has been a busy one for us, with us growing a lot in 2018. We have a lot of exciting programs and announcements in store for 2019, but until then, let’s look at some of the accomplishments of this year! Winter 2018 Our winter season was dominated by the Green Calgary Bag Share. This was a first attempt to help redistribute reusable bags to those who needed it that Green Calgary has done in a long while, and we were blown away by the success! Our aim was 100 bags, maybe 200 if we were really lucky. We collected over 500 reusable bags! This was a great success, and it allowed us to offer bags to customers at our EcoStore, as well as those who joined us for events. In both cases, we sometimes got even more bags out of the deal, as people came back to drop off their...

Gift giving is such a personal thing – for both the giver and the recipient. There is often a lot of thought, planning, and emotion in a gift. Advertising tells us that the best gifts come from the best or most exclusive retailers. They come from far away places. They come with a cost that is equal to our love for the recipient. And each incredibly unique mass produced item is made especially for our loved one… As I reflected on my childhood Christmases some years ago, I realized that I only really remembered one gift that I was given as a child – a ghetto blaster and a stack of cassettes. I had everything from country music, to classic rock, to disco and party music, to heavy metal, and even some very early hip hop under the tree that year. Every year after, I would ask for more tapes, more records, and eventually CDs. I don’t remember what tapes came next – but I do remember that first year with Randy Travis, Run DMC, U2, Cat Stevens, and Motörhead (I honestly don’t remember the di...

Yesterday (November 23rd) was both Black Friday and Buy Nothing Day. In the USA, Black Friday (right after Thanksgiving for them) is the start of the Holiday shopping season. Here, in Canada, it's been gaining traction for almost a decade, with 6.4 million Canadians staying homefrom work to shop last year. In recent years, with the rise of online shopping, and especially internet access on mobile phone, Black Friday deals start earlier and run longer, even though last year saw a slumpin electronics sales in December, after the Black Friday rush was done. So, the appeal of Black Friday is supposed to be the great deals on every sort of product (even though many Canadians still think Boxing Day has the better deals). So, what's the appeal of Buy Nothing Day? Well, while it started as a sort of protest day against consumerism, it's taken on more nuancein recent years. Buy Nothing Day is more about conscious consumerism now, purchasing what you need, from ethical and local ...

With all the events that come with the end of the year, it's a good time to talk about what it means to have a green event! One of the greatest goals for event greening is high waste reduction and diversion, i.e. reducing waste and diverting it from the landfill. A large part of that effort is about having the proper waste receptacles, having them accessible, and having good signage. Other elements can play a role, too, such as making sure that the event is using more sustainable products wherever possible and having well-trained waste sorters or collectors. But being a green event means other things, too. For example, an event can purchase renewable energy credits to offset the power that their using from the power grid. Event organizers can also provide water (to avoid single-use water bottles) and refrain from giving out "swag" or other little gifts that might find themselves on the ground or in the landfill. It might sound like these examples are only for large ...

This weekend is Green Calgary's Introduction to Natural Dyeing workshop! Our Senior Manager of People and Paper, Christie, is also an instructor at Olds College teaching Fibre Spinning, so she agreed to teach people to dye fabrics the natural way! It's a very interesting workshop that combines chemistry, artistry, and fun! We asked her to tell us about her interest in natural dyeing: "One of my favourite things about dyeing with nature dyes is being able get more use out of something that would otherwise be waste.  Avocado pits and skins are usually destined for the compost bin, but on their way they can infuse dish towels with peach tones.  Onion skins are likewise headed to the compost, but can brighten up a pair of socks with lovely golden hues.  I have to soak my black beans before cooking them, so I might as well get purples, blues, or even greens from them first, and I can still use the beans for my Meatless Monday!  I love that I can revitalize old textiles;...

When it comes to holidays, Green Calgary always sees the opportunity to give people the tips and skills they need to make them a bit greener! We've talked in the past about how to make Halloween greener for you and your little ghoulies, but more specifically we'd like to share some tips on getting the most out of Halloween costumes. This idea comes from seeing my nephews grow up, and every Halloween, they invariably want a new costume, and they often want one that reflects their current interests. Whichever superhero is in this season is much more desirable than the one that was in last season! How do you keep from buying expensive costumes every year? How do you prevent adding old costumes to the landfill? The answer is actually really similar to a concept in sustainable fashion: essential basics. When we talk about essential basics (like Bonnie does from our Every Action Counts campaign), we're talking about having pieces of wardrobe that we can mix and match to m...

Green Calgary is all about climate and environmental literacy; we aim to educate people in how to understand the environment and climate they live in. It's been a wild couple of weeks in the world of environmental and climate literacy! First of all, Greenpeace put out a brand audit coming off of World Clean Up Day (September 15th). The audit reported that 5 companies and 10 items made up the majority of the litter that was collected. You can read the CBC's coverage of the audit here. Secondly, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) released a huge study about the current status of climate change. The big takeaways of the report are that we still need to limit the climate to 1.5 degrees C warming, but that we can do that! You can read the BBC's summary of the major points of the report here. What do we take away from this as Calgarians? Green Calgary has a few points to make: Things are changing. Both because of major pressure on companies & governmen...

Every year, we write about what to do with the waste that’s generated from Thanksgiving dinners, family gatherings, and general merrymaking about this time of year – and you can find those articles here and here – but this Thanksgiving weekend, we want to write to you about what to do with the food that’s left over: the good stuff, rather than the waste (but a little of the waste, too, because we can’t help ourselves). So, here we go! You top 10 Thanksgiving leftovers solutions! 10. Hot sandwiches: This is a great way to make a second meal out of your leftovers. Put some of your main protein on a toasted piece of your favourite bread, cover with hot gravy or sauce, and serve other leftovers on the side. Quick, easy, and tasty. 9. Lunch buns: Whether it’s turkey, vegan stuffing, cranberries, or another Thanksgiving favourite, you can probably work it into a sandwich. Put it on a bun, gluten-free if you want, and add whatever flavour it’s missing. Turkey is fine with just a small amo...

This week we launched #EveryActionCounts, where we've been discussing water saving. I don't know about you, but I certainly didn't understand why it was so important to save water before I started working with Green Calgary, but now I have adopted many of these very easy tips that I'll share below. First to the why, though. Here are my top three reasons - maybe they're different from your top three, so please feel free to share! A) Keeping water out of the treatment plant saves us money and electricity. B) Water is very inexpensive now, but it can only go up (just look at water costs elsewhere in the world), so I'd rather be prepared. C) Water is precious and it seems disrespectful to spend it frivolously. These are certainly not the only, or even best, reasons to save water. But no matter why you want to save water, here are some easy ways to make a big impact. 1. I put water aerators on all my faucets. 2. I limit myself to a 5 minute shower. 3. I...

CALGARY – Green Calgary Association, an award-winning charity delivering environmental education programs, is launching a campaign to inspire Calgarians to positive environmental action. With an aim to educate Calgarians about the environmental impacts of all of their choices, the “Every Action Counts” campaign helps community members to understand the collective impact of the small steps they take each day. “Calgarians are making sustainable choices everyday, even when the environment is not the main motivator,” says Conor Tapp, Executive Director at Green Calgary, “We may ride transit to save on parking, ride a bike for the health benefits, take short showers or use the stairs to save time. Each and every day, millions of sustainable actions are taken in our city. This celebrates all of the little things that we do and the small steps that we take.” The potential impacts of the campaign are significant. A note from the charity reads, “Imagine if everyone in our metro area  – ...

Fall is around the corner, which means it's time to clean-up your yard and prepare it for the harsh Calgary winter. A thorough Fall Clean-Up can help keep your garden healthy all year round and give you a head start for the next growing season. Our partner MowSnowPros is a Calgary-based startup that offers on-demand and contract free landscaping services including Fall Clean-Up packages to suit your lawn size and landscaping needs. Part of the proceeds of any of their Fall Clean-Up packages you request using our fundraising code will go to support our environmental education programs for youth. Head to: http://mowsnowpros.com/fall-cleanup/ and use code GREEN1 to book your Fall Clean-Up today. Originally posted SEPTEMBER 14, 2018

Summer is ending, Fall is right around the corner. September comes with our first frosts and is generally our last chance to do significant yard work. That's why it's important to be fall ready! It's good for the environment (this way we need fewer harsh treatments on our lawn/garden) and it saves us money, too! We have for you some yard and home tips, including some you might not have thought of before and others that are just good reminders! 1. Winterize your rain barrel – if you have a rain barrel (and why wouldn’t you!), it needs to be stored for the winter, as freeze and thaw can crack it, costing you a lot of money to replace in the spring, and creating unnecessary waste. Disconnect and empty your rain barrels, turn upside down so they can’t collect water, and put a rock on them so that the wind doesn’t gift them to your neighbour! You can learn how to winterize your rain barrel on our website. 2. Do an outside house check – this is a good time to check to make s...

A little over a week ago, some of the Green Calgary staff went on a hike together to Twelve Mile Coulee as part of a team building exercise. While we were walking, between identifying birds or plants, we talked about Twelve Mile Coulee itself. Of our 6 participants, about half had been to Twelve Mile Coulee before, some more than others, and the other three had either only heard of it or not at all! So, naturally, we started to talk about other hidden gems in the city. Parkland or urban wild spaces that we've discovered or that we go to all the time, that others might not have heard of. What was impressive is that no one had complete knowledge of all the places mentioned. Some people knew more or less of these hidden gems of Calgary, but nobody knew all of them! We decided to share 5 with you in the Urban Park category, but we hope to continue the series later with other hidden gems of Calgary. Here are 5 hidden gems in Calgary: Parks Edition! 1. Twelve Mile Coulee: Of cour...

We hope you all survived the record-breaking heat of yesterday, but while the forecast gives us a little break, it looks like it isn't over for the heat. Indeed, the trend is for things to keep getting warmer, so we all have to learn to adapt to our new normal. The CBC published an article this week giving a strategy for keeping your home cool with an application of science, fans, and a little jury-rigging! We have also provided heat-beating techniques in the past, such as trying to cool yourself rather than everything around you with a cooling cloth. Whatever way you use to try to stay cool, just remember that it's important to look out for your safety first! Conserving energy in your heat-beating techniques is good, but don't let that get in the way of being healthy! We’d love to hear more techniques to beat the heat, stay cool, and save energy while doing it! Get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and tell us your cool tales (pun intended)! Thi...

Over the past week, we've run two Native Insect Identification Walks in Prince's Island Park. Thanks to our incredible experts, Nick Johnson of Eat My Shrubs Holistic Landscaping and Haydee Peralta, Ecologist and Insect Expert, we were able to take a few dozen brave souls on the journey into the fascinating world of bugs! Nick provided tips and tricks for pesticide free insect management as well as gardening info. Haydee led the insect identification portion. Everyone had fun learning about our buzzing buddies, even if they were unsure at first. There was a couple that were a little scared of bees but by the end of the walk they were confident enough to gently catch and release wasps! That's a big leap! The Bugs in Your Backyard program has been something Green Calgary has been interested in doing for a while now, and we're very pleased to finally get the chance. If you missed the event, that's okay. You can learn a lot on your own, either by checking in with a citi...

Last week we were discussing the tools you can use to solve purchasing dilemmas when they come up for you, but one part of that that we didn’t discuss much is the question: who made this? This is a simple question, which is also one of the most complicated today. Our economic system cares a lot about getting products to people, but very little about revealing where those products are made. This question is a variant of the Fashion Revolution’s rallying cry: Who Made My Clothes? This is their demand to the fashion industry to be more transparent so that we as consumers can make informed decisions. This is because clothing production – as well as many other kinds of production – is so hidden that we can’t even use our decision-making tools when we buy something. We can’t choose the products that represent our views because we simply don’t know which ones do! So, how do you answer this question? It will vary from product to product, of course, but let’s focus on clothing for now. The ...

Doing the right thing for the Earth can be hard. Everyday we gain new insight into how humans are impacting the world, and we have to re-evaluate our decision-making to take new information into account. It can be overwhelming – and even if you don’t find it overwhelming for you, there is likely someone in your life who does find it overwhelming! So, how do you evaluate the tough environmental decisions? When is it better to use one thing over another? For a good example, electric vehicles use batteries whose production and disposal are both bad for the environment, so when is it better to just use a gas-powered vehicle instead? There’s almost never an easy go-to choice, but here are some tips to help you make those decisions every day! Use Life: This term refers to the whole life of a product or tool from production to discard (and is a borrowed term from archaeology). This means, how much are you going to use the product – this can make a lot of decisions easier. Let’s say that you...

There are a lot of fun activities, camps, classes, and events this summer for the whole family. Learn more about Calgary’s urban environment and have fun while doing it! If you’re looking for an event to fit in between other summer plans, we have some suggestions! 1. Bugs in Your Backyard: Green Calgary is presenting two bug observation walks this summer, on July 28th at St. Patrick’s Island and August 4th at Prince’s Island Park. $20 gets your whole family a chance to learn about local wildlife (buglife?) with an expert tour! Find out more and register here. 2. River Ambassador Eco-Float Trip: Riverwatch is hosting Saturday floats down the Bow River, with education on the natural history and stewardship of the river. This event is free (though a deposit is required) and, if the sold out weekends in the first part of July are any indication, extremely popular (for good reason)! Find out more and pick dates here. 3. Building Bee Homes: Green Calgary is hosting a pollinator worksho...

Summer is here and with it are many outdoor events where you’ll be generating waste. Whether you were at Stampede this week, or you’re going to one of the many festivals around Calgary and beyond throughout the summer, it’s a good idea to know how to decide where to put your waste. Here are five steps to help you with that: 1. Identify your waste receptacles. This might not sound like a big deal, but know where to put your waste starts with knowing where the bin is. If you’re attending an event, as you come in, take a look around and see where they have bins set up and what kind of waste they are collecting. 2. Make your waste plan. This is actually a really quick step. If the event venue is missing a compost bin, for example, what are you doing with your compostables? We recommend having a container in your bag or purse to put that waste into. This way, you can find a receptacle for it elsewhere or back at home. 3. Clean your waste of contamination. Contamination is one of the b...

The Calgary Stampede is here again! It’s one of the most quintessential Calgarian experiences, and you can certainly reduce your own impact no matter what you’re doing for Stampede: At the parade! It's going to be a really hot day for the parade this year, but whether it’s the Stampede Parade or one of the community parades that happen at this time of year, it’s a good idea to make sure you have sunscreen, and if you’re getting some new sunscreen, take a look at natural sunscreens. It’s just as effective, and it’s way better for the environment. You can find a few brands at Community Natural Foods. At pancake breakfasts! If you’re at a pancake breakfast, there are a few things you can do to keep things green. At the top of the list, is making sure that you put your waste in the right place, separating compost, recycling, and landfill garbage. You can also bring your own reusable utensils just in case they only have plastic ones and not compostable. In your backyard! If you’re...

Here we are with another Canada Day long weekend. Happy Canada Day everybody! This is always a time of year that we like to take a moment and reflect on what it will take to keep Canada’s natural environments safe and urban environments green. Whether you’re a visitor to Canada, a citizen, or in the process of becoming a citizen, we all have a social responsibility to respect and care for the environments in which we reside. Stewardship. We call this social responsibility stewardship, meaning that we are the stewards, or caretakers, of the environment. For us in Calgary, that means taking care of our urban environment, and ensuring that living here is sustainable and, even, regenerative for that environment. So, take this Canada Day to reflect on how you take care of your environment each and every day. We all have things that we do well in being stewards, and things that we could work on. We call that last category Green Goals, and we’d love to hear what you decide to tackle as ...

During a conversation at the GCA offices this week, we were considering some recent events, and remarked on just how important it is to us to collaborate with others, and what collaboration really means. Saying that we collaborate on something is a good catchall term for partnerships of various kinds, certainly, but it’s also a good way to say that we can do more together than we can apart! This extends to the support of Calgarians, Albertans, and the communities we serve, whether through membership, donations, or volunteering, as well as the many organizations from whom we receive funding, such as the Calgary Foundation, the Alberta EcoTrust Foundation, and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, only to mention a few. But, this also extends to all the great organizations that we partner with to deliver programs, such as CAWST, CPAWS (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society), and the Arusha Centre (again naming only a few). Without these partnerships, we wouldn’t be able to reach ...

Being in Alberta, the answer is most often coal, but increasingly other sources of power are becoming prevalent. If we aim high, we could even rid ourselves of coal within 20 years! Back on June 7th, Green Calgary held its 3rd Annual Energy Revolution Fair, a pop-up learning event for students grades 6-12, where we shared many visions of Alberta's Energy Future! One of our exhibitors was EDP Renewables. As a global renewable energy company, they have great insight into what makes renewable energy successful. They were on site to teach the students about wind power specifically. Wind power is one of the most affordable and fastest growing sources of electricity available today. Students had the opportunity to learn more about the wind energy from the fourth largest owner and operator of wind farms in the world. Some of the questions they answered: how does a wind turbine produce electricity? What goes into building a wind farm? What trends are we seeing in the wind industry? What ...

Canadian Environment Week is coming to an end, and we hope you found a way to engage with our environment in some way throughout the week. We’d like to take this opportunity to give you a last few things to think about. First of all, yesterday was World Oceans Day, and we think it’s important to remember how the oceans affect us even here in Alberta. Despite being landlocked, Alberta’s waterways are not limited to Alberta alone. Our waters flow into and out of the province to our neighbours and eventually to the ocean. That’s why it’s our responsibility to treat the water in our home with respect. Now, you might be saying to yourself that you do respect our waterways, and that’s a great thing! But part of respecting water is understanding there are many things that affect our water: Single-use plastics take a lot of water to make, and choke our waterways. Even with our best intentions, plastics can get away from us. The next time you’re walking through a park or on a sidewalk and s...

Hey Calgary! It's Canadian Environment Week this week and it's a great time to get involved in protecting our environment! We wanted to give you a quick rundown of some things that are happening this week! Here are 7 ways to celebrate! TODAY Join the Commuter Challenge! The Commuter Challenge started yesterday, but you & your office can still sign up! What a better way to honour the environment than to challenge yourself to do something better for it? You can find info on their website. Protect your own micro ecosystem! Urban environments have their own life cycles, and you can find these environments in your own backyard! Learn more about your backyard neighbours! Get a bird or insect book (you can borrow these from our library), take a close look at how plants and animals interact in your yard, and maybe you'll even figure out some improvements to your yard! TUESDAY It's UN World Environment Day! The Alberta Emerald Awards are this evening at Theatre J...

You might have heard us talking about 100in1Day already, or you might be hearing about it for the first time, but either way, it's an event you don't want to miss! Actually, it's 6 events you don't want to miss! With the residents of 12 cities in Canada, and many more in the world besides, joining together to transform their city through hundreds of interventions - actions to reinvent and bring together communities - there's a lot to celebrate. 100in1Day has brought together groups of Calgarians to celebrate Calgary through 6 projects to make the city shine. You can check out one (or more) of them this Saturday, June 2nd! Some don't even need you to go far from home to participate! Here's what you'll find on Saturday: The Amazing Trash Race; ALL DAY; No Location Using an app on your phone, you can record litter you pick up throughout the day, from wherever you want. The person who collects the most waste - and logs it! - will win a prize. Enjoy the...

With all the great weather we've been having recently, it's a great time to get outdoors and enjoy nature, and a great way to do that is to ride your bike to work! Riding your bike to work not only strengthens your connection to nature, but it also gets you exercise and reduces your carbon footprint! It doesn't even need to be a big difference in time! Taking your bike avoids a lot of traffic. Our Executive Director says his commute is a difference of only a few mintues between driving or taking the bike! Riding your bike isn't the only way to do that, though! You could walk to work, for example, and it doesn't need to be all or nothing, either. If your commute would be too much for a bike trip or a walk, consider going part way. You could bike to a coworker's house and then carpool, or walk half way and then catch a bus or carshare car. Even telecommuting (i.e. working from home) can help with these things! If you can, take a day in the week and work on y...

The long weekend is here! No matter what your plans are for the weekend, it’s a great time to enjoy the outdoors! Camping, barbecues, outdoor games, bike rides; it’s all on the table! How do you get the most out of these activities while protecting the environment we live in? Here are a few ways to get started! 1. Have a plan. Having a plan for your activities and food means that you avoid making unnecessary waste when you head out. If you’re having food outdoors, have a plan for composting the waste, and get compostable dinnerware (like at our store, for example). If you’re going for a hike, have a plan of how you’ll get there, bring water (avoiding getting bottled water), and bring a way to deal with the waste you make (a bag for your garbage). 2. Be adaptable. While having a plan is great, it doesn’t always go like you’d want it to. Think of likely scenarios that could come up and have a backup plan: what do you do if you have to cancel your hike, if the picnic site you go to ha...

These days it’s easier than ever to be green! With more widespread appeal, green movements across the globe are going mainstream, and that means it’s easier for you to be green yourself! Here’s 15 ways it’s easy to be green! Learn Some Skills Skill-building and homesteading-skills are something you can pick up once and keep reaping the benefits over and over! 1. Learn to garden your own veggies 2. Learn to make great compost: You can join us for a beer and talk all about this at Craft & Compost 3. Learn to make bread 4. Learn to make your own soaps and cleaners: You can self-teach yourself this, like with our recipe book 5. Learn how to repair something you have Seek Knowledge Fundamental to being green is being in the know. This takes several different forms, but if you become really interested in at least one thing, you can start passing your knowledge on to others. 6. Read books & watch documentaries: We have a bunch in our Little Green Library at the Eco...

We've been waiting for what seems like forever for the weather to get nice! But now that it's here, it's easy for us to forget that we had spring plans before the weather kept them from us! To get everyone back on track, and have the most of our very short spring, here are 5 things you should consider doing now that the weather has turned nice! Plus, it's Calgary, so we're likely to have a least one more spot of snow or rain before the end of May (so don't put away all your mitts and toques quite yet). 1. Do Some Spring Cleaning: As tempting as it is to just get outdoors and play, also take some time to consider cleaning your living space. This will make you feel good, as well as make your space more livable throughout the year! If you're getting rid of things and that includes books, it's the perfect time to donate your books to the Calgary Reads Big Book Sale, and keeping them out of the waste stream! This weekend and next week are the last chance to...