620: 13 February 2009
A PLUS. The Town of Perth received the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Community Leadership. “To protect the town’s natural resources, Perth also has a number of green initiatives, including the volunteer-driven ecoPerth,” says the press release.
SEED SWAP. Seedy Saturday, co-hosted by Clean North: heritage, open-pollinated and/or unusual seeds swap and purchase, speaker presentations, documentaries Hijacked Future and King Corn. 28 February.
DO-IT-YOURSELF. Waterloo Region Green Solutions offers four energy saving renovation workshops,starting 3 March.
COUNTRY DWELLERS. EcoSuperior’s new Rural Property Guide is a comprehensive resource package developed specifically for rural property owners in the Lake Superior watershed. It helps landowners manage their property in ways that are in compliance with local regulations as well as environmentally friendly.
TALK. Toronto Green Community speakers series present Cheryl Teelucksingh, author of Environmental Justice & Racism in Canada and
Jennifer Foulds, Pollution Watch web project lead at Environmental Defence. Presentations followed by a panel discussion. 2 March.
BLOG AWAY. The Green Update is Peterborough Green-Up latest online endeavor, blogging. Staff posts on a host of topics and environmental issues.
GREEN ENERGY. The Ontario government has introduced enabling legislation that would clear the way for renewable power development in the province, and require energy ratings of all new and existing homes at point of sale. Energy Minister George Smitherman has also promised action on low-income energy efficiency. "We await implementation details," said Clifford Maynes, of Green Communities Canada, who attended First Reading at the Legislature on Monday. Also in attendance was Brent Kopperson, GCC chair and a leading champion of renewable power in Ontario.
NEW ADVISOR. New GCC certified energy advisor Paige Wilde covers the Muskoka area.
GREEN BOTTOM LINE. Energy conservation measures are a smart investment for small businesses, homeowners, as well as large institutions such as universities and hospitals, says Globe and Mail article.
CLEAN UP YOUR ACT. “Four decades after national environmental laws and departments were created to clean up Canada’s air and water and to safeguard biodiversity, wetlands, and habitats, Canadians still face mounting environmental problems […] Few if any of the problems that led to the advent of the environmental protection agenda have been fully resolved,” says a report by Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development . "We have options, but the past is not one of them."
OVERHEAD. Many nonprofits are pressured to under-invest in overhead and to under-report their true overhead costs, says a study by Bridgespan Group. "This has grave consequences for an organization’s ability to have impact."
PLASTIC BAGS. Ontarians used 269 million fewer plastic bags in 2007 and recycled 80 million more bags than the year before, says a Plastic Bag Reduction Task Group report. 4.32 billion carryout plastic bags were distributed to shoppers in 2006.
EUROPEAN STYLE. A book, Green Urbanism: Learning From European Cities, examines measures taken to make European cities greener. For example, Norway banned new shopping malls located outside of city centres to prevent more traffic.
AWARD. Nominate yourself, an individual or group from your community for a $10 000 Hometown Heroes Award. The award recognizes and celebrates environmental leaders who foster meaningful, long-term community awareness and action. Due 22 April.
Published by Green Communities Canada
Discover more from thegreenpages
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
