Tomorrow is International Day of Climate Action, and people all over the world will gather in groups to take a stand against climate change. Photos from events all over the world will be submitted to 350.org, who will put together a giant, visual petition (in time to use at the UN Climate meeting in Copenhagen, taking place in December).

During tomorrow's many events, the focus will be on the number 350 - representing 350 parts per million, which is the safe limit for atmospheric c02.

Search 350.org to find a group gathering in your area.

Have a great weekend!

Will you use your whole pumpkin?

With Thanksgiving behind us, we are now able to fully focus on Halloween. How can you not be all about Halloween when those tempting mini chocolate bars are lining the aisles at the grocery store?

I bet you all have your pumpkin, sitting out there on your porch ready to be carved. When you carve your pumpkin sometime in the coming weeks, I challenge you to use the entire thing. Think of how many things you can do with the seeds? They'll be no good sitting in a landfill, anyway!

Salvage all the seeds and give our Jack-Be-Spicy Pumpkin Seeds a try.

And when your done with your uncarved pumpkins you use for decor, use them for a Honey Pumpkin Pie.

Looking for more Halloween ideas? Check out Canadian Living's Complete guide to ultimate Halloween fun!

Also, don't forget to enter my contest for your chance to win a copy of Almost Green. I'll be announcing four winners on Monday, October 19!

We're so used to looking to the experts for advice on how to better ourselves, but what about turning to kids?

I attended an event today at the beautiful Toronto Botanical Gardens where the Sunlight Green Clean Kids were introduced. Ten Canadian kids between the ages of six and 13 chatted about their environmental commitments, projects and dreams. Most of these kids have started eco initiatives in their schools or neighbourhoods, or have just been so darned committed as to change the views of their entire families. The event was very inspiring. These kids may be small, but they are certainly mighty.

The Sunlight Green Clean Kids will have the opportunity to review Green Grant applications and help other environmentally conscious Canadian kids to put their green ideas into action, handing over between $250 and $1,500 to help fund their initiatives. They also each receive a $2,000 honorarium.

Let me tell you, after seeing these kids speak today, I know Mother Nature is very lucky to have them on her side. I'm confident knowing that the next generation is very capable, and will do great things for the environment.

What important environmental lesson has a child in your life taught you?

Celebrate local harvest at Evergreen's Picnic at the Brick Works

Like me, many Torontonians are sitting on the edge of their seats, eager to taste what the third annual Picnic at the Brick Works will bring. Locavores and foodies will once again head down to Toronto's beautiful historic Evergreen Brick Works this coming Sunday to sample delicious local bounty.

This year's theme is Saving Diversity, and top chefs from all over the city will use local farmers' harvests to create tasty dishes to represent the many ethnic groups that make up Toronto.

And how will we wash all this delicious food down? I hear that many local wineries will be on site to showcase their great products too.

You can buy tickets to Picnic at the Brick Works from Evergreen at a cost of $110 per person (food and drink included, of course). Proceeds from ticket sales go to Evergreen and Slow Food Toronto.

If you're in or around Toronto, do you plan to attend to celebrate the sustainable food movement? If not, how does your community celebrate their local harvest?

Is a child in your life making an effort to go green? If so, encourage them to enter the Sunlight Green Clean Kid contest. Starting June 15, 2009, kids can apply for the opportunity to be a Sunlight Green Clean Kid – one of a group of 10 kids dedicated to help develop ongoing eco-programs that encourage and inspire other kids to go green.

Kids between the ages of six and 13 can submit a 150-word essay about how they're helping preserve the environment or inspiring others to go green. Eco-experts will review the submissions and pick 10 kids from across the country to be a part of the Sunlight Green Clean Kids. Each kid will receive a $2,000 honourarium and an opportunity to develop national environmental programs for other children.

Submission deadline is July 24, 2009. To download the application and learn about submissions rules, visit www.sunlightgreencleankids.ca.

What's the most valuable green lesson you've taught someone in your life? Leave a reply here by Friday, July 10 and you could win a:

I love PC Green - affordable AND eco-friendly.

President’s Choice Green Stow Away Shopping Bag overflowing with PC GREEN products. That's right! I have another one to give away. Your stylish new shopping bag (with wheels!) contains:

• 8 jumbo rolls of PC Green paper towels
• 1 kg box of PC Green Baking Soda
• PC Green All Purpose Cleaner
• PC Green Coldwater Laundry Detergent
• PC Green Phosphate-free Dishwasher Detergent
• PC Green Floor Cleaner
• PC Green Multi-Purpose Cleaning Putty

Don’t forget, you have to be a subscriber to my blog to be eligible to win. Subscribe today!

I wonder if she opted for a green wedding!

I went to a wedding this past weekend, and I inevitably got to thinking about what one could do to have a green wedding.

I mean, traditional weddings are usually such large events which require so much planning and so much ... stuff! What possible could be changed or cut back on to help the environment?

My favourite is instead of offering table gifts, make a donation to one of your favourite charities. Another important thing to consider is serving foods and drinks that are grown and produced locally.

Some other tips: (more...)

For those of you who made it to the Green Living Show over the weekend, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. What a great event it was! It sure was easy to kill a couple of hours mulling around the show. My most favourite part was the Farm Fresh Fare area and the Grapes and Hops Tasting Pavilion. Both areas sold tasting tickets which allowed you to scour around for yummy samples right up your alley. I enjoyed some delicious Cameron's Dark 266 beer. I'm a big fan of Cameron's, but had never tried the Dark. The verdict: DELICIOUS. Then off to the Farm Fresh Fare to sample Jamie Kennedy's Sour Cherry Smoothie (for those who don't know, he is big on pickles and preserves - and it was quite a treat to taste such great sour cherries). I also enjoyed not one, but two cinnamon buns from Brick Street Bakery who had a stand set up. I feasted on way more delicious food, but am embarrassed to put it all down on paper!!

I've been enjoying the week off work and have been able to catch up on (or start!) some gardening. I finally got some seeds started indoors (and am very late in getting that going), as well as on the back porch. As I have a tiny yard with almost no space to garden in, I'm experimenting with containers. I have many a helpful books I've been consulting along the way (which you'll be able to see in the photograph). I've started tomatoes, basil, thyme, impatiens and marigolds indoors, and planted some lettuce, carrots and green onions outdoors. I bought my tomato, lettuce and basil seeds at the Green Living Show from a very nice woman who gave me tons of helpful advice. She sold me Brookport tomato seeds for my containers, telling me that they're good in smaller spaces as they grow more like a bush. I've never heard of them, but I'm certain they'll be scrumptious. I'm very excited about my little garden, so you'll be hearing lots about it over the season. Do you have any tips/advice/stories for or about container gardening?

Also, I have many great goods left over from my Earth Day giveaways, so be sure to check back regularly for more contests and random giveaways.

Waiting patiently for my goods to grow!

Hiking around Lion's Head on The Bruce Trail

How many times have you uttered that today? Many, I hope. Today, there's nothing more I want to do then reflect upon all the wonderful things my city, province, country and world has to offer. I have so many resources in my own backyard that I enjoy on a regular basis: a run in a beautiful park, a hike or snowshoe on an incredible trail, a short trip to swim in a lake or rock climbing in the great outdoors. I will certainly spend many moments today - and every day - thanking Mother Nature for such wonders!

I hope you'll share with me, and your fellow readers, what you plan to do to celebrate Earth Day. If you do, you might just have a chance to win two tickets to Toronto's Green Living Show.

Congratulations to (more...)

With Earth Day approaching quickly I have lots going on here at the Green Living Blog. For starters, I want to announce the winners of the Origins Organics prize pack and the Mom, Will This Chicken Give Me Man Boobs? books. Congratulations to (more...)

Cherish winter sports!

Here we are wishing winter away, and there's breaking news reports that we here Canada will have less and less time to enjoy our winter and all those wonderful things that come with it - like skiing, skating, hiking, snowshoeing and other winter sports.

I woke up to the CBC yesterday explaining that the impact global warming will have on Canadian winters could be detrimental. Someone from the David Suzuki Foundation was quoted in the Globe and Mail saying that our ski season could be cut in half towards the end of the century. It certainly is a scary thought that my (imaginary) baby's baby's baby's won't enjoy the snowshoeing or downhill skiing that I have.

On a more positive note, Earth Hour proved to be a huge success this year. About 80 countries, and close to 4,000 cities, participated in this awareness-raising cause. It would be great if this event could take place more than once a year so it could make more of a difference. I know people are catching on, and I can only imagine how much better next year's response will be.

A Good Catch, by Jill Lambert

I have two books to giveaway. If you're a subscriber (or become a subscriber) to my Green Living blog you are automatically eligible to win a copy of Jill Lambert's A Good Catch. This book is a guide on how to choose properly when shopping for seafood. With concern over the amount of seafood our ocean’s can produce, endangered species, and fish that are inhumanely caught, it’s important that eating sustainable seafood becomes a priority. This book helps to explain why, what the most responsible choices are, what sort of questions to ask at your local fish market and how to cook all sorts of seafood. Lambert’s book includes 70 recipes from celebrity chefs across Canada – including a couple recipes from Canadian Living’s very own test kitchen.

Just subscribe to my blog and you could win. I'll randomly select two subscribers and announce the winners here on Monday, April 6.