News

Environment Week in Canada

27 May '10

Environment Canada’s Environment Week is May 30 to June 5. Here are 20 ways you can participate.

1. Buy locally grown food. Take time to visit local farmers’ markets and learn more about the benefits of choosing food that has been locally grown.
2. Encourage your local supermarket to use less packaging. Forty percent of packaging is found in our grocery stores.
3. Go for a day hike on a local nature trail and revel in the beauty and serenity you are trying to preserve for future generations.
4. Take part in a tree-planting campaign during Canadian Environment Week.
5. Create your own instructional YouTube video on how to be environmentally friendly. Examples could be how to make your own household cleaning products or soaps. Share your knowledge with the world!
6. Help prevent pollution and protect the people handling your garbage by disposing of your household chemicals safely through waste collection roundups. Consult your municipal government’s website to learn how.
7. E-waste is one of the fastest growing segments of our nation's waste stream. Instead of throwing out your old computers, TVs, VCRs, stereos and fax machines, reuse, refurbish, or recycle them!
8. Reduce the amount of bottled water you drink. Buy a reusable stainless steel bottle and refill it throughout the day. Did you know that nearly one-third of all Canadian households are choosing to drink bottled water over tap water? (Statistics Canada) Many of these bottles end up in landfills and can take up to 1000 years to biodegrade.
9. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. This will help saving hundreds of litres of water annually.
10. Turn off your hard drive when you’re not using your computer. This will double its life and save energy!
11. Adopt a park! Get your community or environmental group to develop a park protection and clean-up plan, assigning a specific task to each member. Join a friends-in-the-park group. Take part in the enhancement of a municipal, provincial or national park.
12. Install ENERGY STAR® Qualified Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) wherever possible, for maximum energy and money savings.
13. Take public transit or carpool. Not only will you help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it will save you money on fuel.
14. Write a letter to the editor of your newspaper to express your commitment and urge your fellow citizens to take action on protecting biodiversity.
15. Invite local leaders, mayors, MPs, business executives and environmental spokespersons to take part in your Environment Week activities.
16. Feed the land and not the landfill! Start collecting organic waste for composting. This will help to divert a third of all residential waste from landfill.
17. Invite each class at your school to conduct research on a biodiversity issue and to prepare a class report that will be presented during Environment Week.
18. Bring eco-friendly reusable bags when you shop. These long-lasting bags are made from canvas, cotton, linen or hemp. Unlike their plastic cousins, they do not contain chemicals and will not spend an eternity in landfills.
19. Join local groups that help reduce biodiversity loss. If there isn’t one already set up in your neighbourhood, create your own! Your friends and neighbors may also want to get organized for action.
20. This summer, walk short distances to the mailbox, local video or grocery store and school. Exercise, enjoy the outdoors, and save fuel and greenhouse gas emissions.