Simple Suggestion #207... Celebrate Environment Week

How will you celebrate? I'm celebrating by taking extra long walks in the river valley with my dog and appreciating the fragrance of blossoming trees. Or maybe I'll plant some extra bee-friendly plants in my yard. I'm definitely going to recycle the unnecessary papers on my desk. I'll ride my bike to work tomorrow. And maybe I'll make a fresh salad from the lettuce that is almost big enough to be picked from our cold frame as part of our 50-foot diet.




Click here for info about Environment Week in Canada

If you know me, you know that none of these activities are out of the ordinary around here. So how is Environment Week any different than any other week of the year? I guess the point I'm making is that I'll continue to do the things I'm always trying to do, because EVERY WEEK should be Environment Week. Reducing our ecological impact on our planet needs to be a daily, ongoing thing in a world threatened by climate instability, pollution, over-consumption and waste. As I'm constantly reminded, the way we live is a justice issue -- we owe it to the web of life to live more lightly on the planet, or, as Desmond Tutu commented earlier this week in Fort McMurray, we'll all be "kaput."

For me, Environment Week is a good time to up the ante -- to learn more about my local environment and how to protect it. It would also be good to come up with even more hard-core activities I can implement at home to reduce my ecological footprint. Those are harder to figure out. If you have any suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them! Ah, one just came to me. A shorter shower this morning...

The thing is, we only have one environment to protect for future generations, and every choice we make as human beings impacts it in one way or another. How can we impact it positively? If we think and act on that question all the time, every week IS Environment Week, as it should be.

How will you celebrate?

P.S. If you're in the Edmonton area, why not take a tour of the city's amazing Waste Management Facilities? Tours are being offered every day at 1:30 and 5:30 pm (except Wednesday, only 5:30) and you can register/get details by calling 311. It's well worth the trip -- an awareness of where our garbage goes and how much waste our city produces has inspired many Edmontonians to find ways to reduce, reuse, recycle and recover things that might otherwise end up in the landfill, something our earth can no longer afford.

P.P.S. Looking for more Simple Suggestions? Click here.