Canada's greenest communities

Becoming energy efficient
Energy conservation is also a focus of many community initiatives. When Charlottetown resident David MacKay started up the Enviro Church Conservation Project, dozens of church communities across the Island jumped at the chance to have energy-saving renovations done on their buildings. Many of them were drafty, had high ceilings and were difficult to heat efficiently. David provided the churches with plans to reduce energy and water usage and waste, and the majority of church communities happily put them into action. The results? Up to a 25 per cent reduction in the use of heating oil and a subsequent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Elementary and high school students are also getting on board the green plan – literally. The City of Charlottetown launched its first ever local transit system in 2005 and through a "Go Green" program, the city partnered with school programs to encourage students to ride the bus to and from activities. Ridership climbed, and gas emissions fell. In addition, recycling is now mandatory in P.E.I. for many materials. In 2006, the province led the country in all forms of recycling with 99 per cent of residents saying they had access to, and were using, at least one recycling program. The province has also banned the disposal of organic materials in landfills or incinerators. Today nearly 100 per cent of Islanders say they compost their waste, and the amount of overall waste diverted from landfill sites is currently an outstanding 64 per cent. "As an Islander, I feel proud that we're the only province recycling pretty much almost all household wastes province-wide," Darcy enthuses.

Dealing with pesticides
Pesticide use continues to be controversial on the island because its economy is so dependent on specialized agriculture. Sandy and her husband considered this when deciding where to build their home eight years ago. "We initially thought that we would buy five to 10 acres, but the more we looked around, the more we wanted to have a bigger buffer zone away from potato fields to protect our family." She wishes P.E.I. would become an organic province.

Raymond Loo, born and bred on a 250-acre farm near Breadalbane, is doing his best to make that happen. He remembers his father beginning to farm organically about
15 years ago. Raymond has carried on the tradition, and his two sisters also own certified organic farms. "Organic farmers do not use ammonium or synthetic nitrates. It benefits the community because we’re not adding them to our water," he explains. (Nitrates are chemicals found naturally in some vegetables and oil, as well as in manure and chemical fertilizers.)

Raymond is working hard to inspire others to join him in reducing their use of pesticides. He boasts that there are now 40 organic farmers on P.E.I. Raymond is yet another community member proving that the island truly has a green spirit. Perhaps Laine Brehaut, a 22-year resident of the island, explains it best: "We are all so close to each other here. We really are connected, and we really are able to make a difference."

Read more:
• Canadian Living's guide to greener living
• Save energy (and money!) in your home
• Guide to organic and eco-friendly bedding

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