Green Living Series Helps Raise Awareness, Protect the Environment and Save Money
Last year, imagineCALGARY Partner REAP (Respect for the Earth and All People) joined forces with Conscious Home to develop a unique program to educate Calgarians about ways to reduce their environmental footprint – and improve their quality of life. The following feature details the role of the Green Living Series – and how it is helping Calgarians become more eco conscious.
Did you know that on a typical cleaning day the indoor air in our homes can be three to five times more polluted than the outdoor air in some of the world’s most polluted cities? Or how about learning five different ways to save up to $500 a year on your utility bills? These are just two examples of valuable information that REAP and Conscious Home’s Green Living Series will share with its participants.
The Green Living Series (GLS) was co-developed by Stephanie Jackman of REAP (winners of the 2009 imagineCALGARY Partners in Action Award) and Lauren Mangion of Conscious Home in the spring of 2008. The series was first presented in June 2008 when the Cougar Ridge/West Springs Community Association hosted it for their community members.
Stephanie and Lauren felt there was a need to provide relevant, concise and inspirational information on sustainable living to those with the will to reduce their individual ecological footprint and create healthier homes for their families. “With so much information on ‘green living’ out there, much of it contradictory or convoluted, the GLS provides participants with a consolidated and clear plan of how to prioritize and effectively progress their own journeys toward healthier and more sustainable living,” Stephanie says.
Another important mandate of the series is to connect people to local sustainable businesses and organizations that immediately and positively impact the local economy and environmental and social landscapes. “Being a city with the bulk of the economy residing in oil and gas, it is a commonly held notion that Calgary is not very 'green,' Lauren says. “We want to let people know about Calgary’s own bright green movement and to instill a sense of pride around the many environmental and sustainability initiatives out there -- and to show Calgarians how to support them.”
Workshops are offered for community associations and organizations as a series of four, two-hour long workshops, or as one-hour “lunch and learns” for businesses, with 10 different topics.
As much as possible, the curriculum of the GLS was developed to align with existing programs or targets that chart a better future for Calgarians, in an approach that compliments the vision of imagineCALGARY. "The Green Living Series was designed with imagineCALGARY goals in mind,” Stephanie says. “Our four workshops - Going Non-Toxic, Greening Your Garbage, Energy and Water Efficiency, and Shopping Responsibly -- directly link to 10 of the environmental and built environment targets in the imagineCALGARY Plan. Living green means taking action toward a more sustainable city, and this workshop series provides Calgarians with the inspiration and resources necessary to do so. It also includes an online tracking mechanism to record our progress.”
Since its inception, the GLS has been hosted by two community associations, with a third in the planning stages for early spring 2010. Individual sessions or the entire series have also been hosted by many different businesses including Shell (Project Better World), the Alberta Securities Commission and GEDCO. The Calgary Zoo also has sessions currently on their program calendar for February and March 2010.
If you are interested in hosting the GLS at your community association, organization or business, please contact lauren@conscioushome.ca.
The City of Calgary’s Community Footprint Program will consider funding a portion of the series for community associations. A funding application is required and approval is dependent on available funds. More information can be found at www.calgary.ca/footprint.
