Archive for June, 2009

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!

It sure was hard to pick a winner. Everyone had such unique, great ideas on how to make old materials new again.

I would like to congratulate Linda Fast! About recycling, Linda says:

"I recycle everything that I possibly can. Old silverware is flattened with a hammer, a hole drilled into the handle. Loop string throgh hole and turn and ttach to a wooden dowel or tree branch. It becomes a funky wind chime. Plastic tubs with lids are now my “new” tupperware. With out lids they are used for starting plants from seeds in the spring. Fallen branches can be used to make a lattice or trelis for the garden. Egg cartons can be filled with melted wax (left over remnants fron candles work well). They can then be used as fire startes when you go camping. Bread bags can be placed over socks when wearing boots in the winter. This will keep your feet dry and warm when walking or playing in the snow. Coffee bags, koolaid jammers, feedbags, etc. can be sewn to create purses or reusable shopping bags."

Linda, you've won:

I'd go anywhere with this stylish buggy.

An oh-so-convenient President’s Choice Green Stow Away Shopping Bag overflowing with PC GREEN products. 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

I have great news for the rest of you. I have two more PC Stow Away Shopping bags filled with PC Green goodies to give away over the next couple of weeks. So subscribe to my blog to get ready!!

I'm sure your all starting to enjoy the first vegetables from your garden. On Sunday for Father's Day I picked a some mixed greens, rocket lettuce and radishes to make a delicious post-dinner salad for my dad and other company. I've been dying to taste fresh, tender Ontario lettuce all winter, and there I was savouring lettuce from my own back porch. It's led me to one conclusion: Summer is grand!

Delicious back porch goodness! I can't wait for my green onions, carrots and tomatoes ...

What have you been enjoying from your vegetable patch?

Don't forget to enter my PC Green giveaway! I'll be announcing a winner this Friday.

Water wisely this summer!

Summer's upon us now, and with the much-anticipated heat we have to keep a close eye on things in our garden to ensure everything is properly hydrated. Dry soil and tomatoes just don't go hand in hand! However, our responsibility doesn't stop at caring for our lawns and gardens. Us Canadians are the second highest users of water in the entire world. That made you gasp, right? Well, here's another factoid: In the summer, our water usage increases by 50 per cent! Not even the greenest of us can go without watering our gardens, but it's of utmost importance that we do what we can to curb our usage.

Here are some quick tips to help you use less water in the garden:

• Always water your lawn, garden and plants in the early morning or evening. Don't wait until mid-day to give everything a good drink - the sun is high in the sky at this point, and your plants will dry up quickly.

• Consider investing in a rain barrel. It will collect water from rain falls and you'll have an endless supply of H2O for all your watering-purposes!

• Plant flowers and plants that require a lot of water close together, so when it's time to water you just have to douse a specific part of the garden, as opposed to the whole thing. Also, try to plant these thirsty fellow below little slopes in your garden, as they'll be happy for the run-off.

• Add some compost or mulch to your garden as it helps the soil retain water. Compost also gives your plants an endless supply of nutrients, so they'll grow big and strong!

• Add an array of native plants to your garden as they already suit our climate!

Do you have any advice for using less water in the garden this summer? Share you watering advice here!

Hiking - A common summer pastime.

With summer arriving in mere days, we all find ourselves willing to pick up hobbies we let fall to the wayside in the winter. One of my most beloved hobbies, running, always gets put on the back burner as soon as there's a chill in the air. There's something about motivating myself to run on ice-covered sidewalks that doesn't really get me up from the couch. This bad attitude lasts from about December to late February. But now that the weather's warmer (and I have no fear of slipping on the ice and breaking an ankle), I can hardly wait to put on my running gear and pound the pavement a few times a week.

There's also a lot more opportunity to get out hiking in my surrounding areas. And with the days getting longer it's just so easy to find an excuse to wile away the time in the woods.

I also intend to keep up with my gardening, catch up on some reading and do some more cooking.

What hobbies will you pick up this summer? Are you going to revive and old craft project? Learn a new talent? Or simply pass the time relaxing on your back deck?

Don't know what to occupy the time with? Try out one of our favourite eco-friendly craft or hobby ideas.

Also, don't forget to enter my President’s Choice Green Stow Away Shopping Bag contest!

You can find a new use for most things!

I saw a great article in the paper yesterday, titled "12 ways to reuse household items". Though the suggestions were fairly basic and obvious, it got me thinking about all the things I've reused for the sake of keeping them out of landfills for just a little longer. Here's what I've come up with off the top of my head. Hopefully it will give you some ideas on how to reuse items you're thinking of tossing.

• Add old cutlery to your camping gear.

• An old hair brush makes a great heavy-duty scrup brush. I've used it to give my green bin a good clean after it was pillaged by raccoons.

• I've covered my table with an old shower curtain before I start my seeds or any other sort of craft project. This is also great if you have kids and you need to protect your table from paint and glue.

• I keep and reuse travel-size bottles for shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

• I use newspaper as wrapping paper come Christmas time, or other festive events. It's also great to use when packing for a big move.

• Save the things you want to toss for a garage sale. You know the saying, "One man's junk is another man's treasure". Well, if you've ever held a garage sale you know this to be true. I'm always amazed at the stuff people buy. Put the money you make towards a nice dinner out. Or, better yet, donate the proceeds to your favourite environmental charity.

What's the most unusual item you've been able to repurpose? Have you made something totally useless into something you now just can't live without? Tell me how you've avoided sending something to the landfill, and you could win:

I'd go anywhere with this stylish buggy.

An oh-so-convenient President's Choice Green Stow Away Shopping Bag overflowing with PC GREEN products. 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

Leave your answer here by Friday, June 26, and I'll announce a winner then. Don't forget, you have to be a subscriber to my blog to be eligible to win. Subscribe today!

Thanks to all who responded to my Thinking Locally post. You all had wonderful answers and I can hardly wait to give all your favourites a try.

Without further ado, I would like to congratulate (more...)

Another huge aspect of World Ocean Week (which I wrote about on Tuesday) is to promote awareness of purchasing sustainable seafood - seafood that is farmed and caught properly and is fished from proper areas.. Though we're constantly reminded to practice sustainability when we shop for our fruits and veggies, we may often forget to do so at the fish counter. I guess partly because we're lazy to ask questions, and maybe also because our knowledge of what sorts of fish to purchase is somewhat limited (I know that's what my problem is). That's why I was beyond happy when I learned about Sea Choice's Canada's Seafood Guide (download it here!), a wallet-sized pamphlet which helps you determine the best seafood choices at your local grocery store or fish market. The handsome David Suzuki is a big advocate of Canada's Seafood Guide, and when he puts his seal of approval on something, you know it's good!

Do you buy sustainable seafood? If not, will you consider it now?

For more information on sustainable seafood:

• 6 sustainable seafood choices

Also, don't forget to enter my FilterForGood giveaway. I'm announcing a winner tomorrow!

This week, people around the world are doing their part to show their appreciation of the ocean in honor of World Ocean Day (which was yesterday). Informational lectures, boat trips, exhibits and shore cleanups are being held all over the country to encourage folks to conserve and protect water. I love how days like this get like-minded people together to help protect something so important to us all. How great that this cause (like so many other environmental causes) has mobilized a mass of people!

It got me thinking that hosting and organizing a shore cleanup (or any other sort of cleanup) couldn't be that hard. I usually see groups of people picking up garbage together in my local park, and it wouldn't take much to get a group together to do the same. Whenever I notice garbage in my park, I do bend down to pick it up, so imagine if these efforts were practiced by a group of 10 people? We'd get a lot cleaned up!

Have you ever hosted or taken part in a cleanup? What was it like? How did it make you feel?

Don't forget to enter to win a FilterForGood prize pack!

Don't even think of it! They both belong to me.

OK, I'll admit it: I like to imbibe. Not to worry, it's nothing too serious, but I love a cold beer on a hot day (or any day), or a nice glass of wine with dinner. Even after I made the move toward being a conscious consumer, focusing on selecting locally-grown produce, I still went on auto pilot at the beer and liquor stores and bought my usual, often imported, favourite brands. It has only been in the past one or two years that I've really been exploring local beers (and wines too). Oh, and I've been enjoying ever second of it.

It's pretty hard to find organic beers on the market (though some tasty ones certainly exist), but I'm certain that almost ever community has a microbrewery close by that is in need of support. Think about how far some of your favourite brands of beer travel before they get onto your patio table. By selecting local beer you're helping the environment and local businesses. Another thing to consider is looking for beers that don't have labels and bottles that are made of more glass (and are therefore reused more times).

As for wine, and I'm certainly not an expert, I've heard that organic wines are also a bit challenging to find as there is no list which tells you who is an organic wine producer and who isn't. However, someone at your local wine store will be able to help you find something made from organically grown grapes. Seeing as my interest in wine is fairly new, I love heading over to the Ontario section and picking something based on the label (that sort of embarrassing to admit, and my dad would not be happy with how I select wine, but it's true nonetheless). I know that's not a very efficient way of choosing wine, but it's such fun trying a new bottle every once in a while and deciding for myself what's good and what isn't.

What's your favourite local or organic wine or beer?  When do you enjoy it the most? Subscribe to my blog and leave a message here with your answer and you could win a FilterForGood PRIZE PACK containing a:

Say yes to tap water!

• Brita Pitcher Water Filtration System (Grand model – 10 glass capacity)
• 3-pack of Brita Pitcher Replacement Filters
• FilterForGood reusable, BPA-free water bottle

Subscribe to my blog and leave a reply by Friday June 12, when I'll announce the winner.

More reading on local eats and drinks:
• Discover Canada's local wines and brews
• Local speciality foods
• Local Canadian cheese, please
• Enjoy local meat and poultry
• 8 tomato recipes for your local tomato harvest
• Edible flowers
• Canada's wild edibles to watch for