post by Cheryl Gudz

April 22, 2010 marks the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day in North America – a day that helped put the environmental movement on the map. It is also the 20^th anniversary of Earth Day Canada; that’s 20 years of important environmental education, action and recognition.

We’ll Be Sky High, Come Celebrate with Us!

Earth Day Canada and Green Drinks Toronto are inviting environmental professionals and green Torontonians to come together at the CN Tower for an Earth Day like no other.

For $25, ticket holders will enjoy sensational views of Toronto from the CN Tower Horizons Lounge (normally $33 to access), and some Earth Day birthday cake.

On Thursday, April 22nd, the CN Tower will turn green from 7:30 to 10:30, and Bullfrog Power will offset the event with clean, renewable electricity. Get your tickets today and join the party!

Nowhere near Toronto? Search for events in your hometown

Throughout April, Earth Day events and activities will engage over 6 million Canadians and virtually every school-aged child in the country. To participate at a local event, or to plan your own celebrations, visit EDC’s events page

Hi Cheryl

I really appreciate what you do.

I’m trying to make a better world, one child at a time as an environmental educator at The Toronto Heschel School. And you are correct; we start with remembering to bring our own bags, we end up saving lots of bucks by power barring our appliances and winning over spouses and children, changing behaviours big time.

I am writing to ask you for information you might have for connecting a downspout from a house and setting up a system of water collection to use your rainwater for flushing toilets and washing machines. My  husband is asking since he saw something on Daily Planet last night…

Dear Ellen

Good for you for wanting more information about wise water use, and thanks for reaching me through ecoblogist.

I think that Riversides (a Toronto organization with ties to the City) may be a good resource for you to consult re: rainwater harvesting. Riversides recommends Stark Environmental, an American company that does work in Ontario, for purchasing and installing collection systems.

But have you heard about grey water systems? Capturing and recycling grey water is another option for you to consider. Grey water is collected from the bath, sink, and washing machine and is then directed to the toilet bowl or for outdoor irrigation. A CBC news article highlighted the products and services of Montreal-based Brac systems, who seem to have a good reputation for capturing grey water in homes.

One pretty easy rainwater collection activity you can do, without much hassle or expense, is to connect a downspout to a rain barrel so you can gather water to use on plants and the garden.

Lastly, you may be interested in this ‘healthy house’ model from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation or inspiration (and information). 

Let me know how things go as you weigh your options. Best of luck!

photo by Kristin Slota

No doubt about it. Trees are absolutely indispensable to the urban setting.

That’s why it’s hard to imagine trees going to waste when they are deemed expendable due to construction projects, storm damage, disease control, etc.  Most trees removed from their urban setting end up as wood chips (or worse, just get sent to landfills).

Urban Tree Salvage (located in Scarborough, Ontario) is harvesting these forsaken trees and turning them into something beautiful. Customized tables, chairs, shelves – each piece is a work of natural art. Of course, if you’re more of a do-it-yourself-er, you can buy slabs and design your own furniture pieces.
The eco-friendly part is two-fold. You’re supporting wood that would otherwise go to waste AND you’re sustaining the natural environment by not creating a demand for the removal of a tree somewhere else.

Look for a local vendor of cast-off lumber or wood products in your area next time you need to fix that fence or buy a table.

I cringe every single time I hear someone say:

Young people are apathetic.

To me, it’s such an inaccurate generalization. Young people are more informed now than ever to what’s going on in the world. In high school, they are organizing events to draw attention to local and international issues; they head up environmental clubs, human rights clubs, and are pushing their schools to do more. True, not *all* are interested in politics, economics and social or environmental issues, but which generation can make that claim?

So it’s time to give credit where credit is due. The next generation of youth are more than ready to take on the task of changing the world.
Last Wednesday, I presented at the Global Youth Forum (GYF) in Waterloo where over 100 environmentally-oriented high school students gathered to attend Generation Green: Cultivating Connections, Creating Change.

The students in my workshop were at different stages of awareness and understanding but all were very bright. When asked to introduce themselves by picking five character traits, I was excited to hear such confident statements as: determined, a realist, a leader by example, and privileged.

That last one really got me. The ability to identify one’s own location in society as privileged, is an exceptional show of self-awareness.

One of the activities in the workshop involved working in small groups and brainstorming. They were asked to identify possible barriers that prevent people from making better environmental choices, and ways that they can spread the message to conserve.

This is what the ‘kids’ said:

Barriers to Making Better Environmental Choices

-Pessimists
- Costs
- Not worth the effort
- Focus on “now” not future
- Ignorant towards issues
- Don’t care – lazy
- Doesn’t effect them
- Dependent on others, not self
- Procrastination
- Blame, excuses
- Think they’re doing enough already
- Inconsistent
- Media/technology

How Do You Get the Message Out?

- Facebook
- Word of mouth
- People at work
- Celebrities, commercials, media
- Talk to people about the little things that they can do
- Focus on the incentives
- Stress how easy it is to change
- Posters/announcements at school
- Lead by example
- Witty t-shirts
- Protests
- Inform people of negative effects
- Boycott companies or products
- Inform yourself, then others

Clearly this group is interested in making a difference and won’t wait around for someone else to take charge. Keep up the good work y’all.

cg

p.s. What would you add to the lists?