Green+tips

Here you will find a growing list of Green tips to share with your family and incorporate into your daily life.

__**2012-13 **__

__**2011-12 **__
 * MAY- Tips for reducing consumption **

__**Replace Disposables:**__ Wherever possible, replace disposable products with reusable ones (i.e., food storage, batteries, ink cartridges (buy refill ink), water bottle, etc.).

**__Borrow From Friends:__** If you only need something temporarily, ask if a friend or neighbor would loan it to you. No sense buying your own if you only need the item for a short while. Save $ AND the environment.

**__Share With Friends:__** Share things like books, magazines, movies, games, and newspapers between friends and neighbors. You’ll have access to a much wider variety of items for no extra cost to you.

**__Tree-Free Home:__** As much as possible, create a tree-free home: replace paper napkins with cloth napkins replace paper towels with a special set of cloth towels/napkins use a digital device to make your grocery and to-do lists reuse envelopes and wrapping paper leave messages for your family on a whiteboard.

**__Avoid Creating Trash:__** Avoid creating trash wherever possible: when ordering food, refuse any unnecessary plastic utensils, straws, etc., buy ice cream in a cone instead of a cup, don't accept "free" promotional products, buy products with the least amount of packaging, etc. Every little bit of trash avoided does make a difference!

__**Important:**__ St. Anthony's will be instituting a disposable water bottle ban during all of March and possibly beyond. Eliminating bottled water will have a significant positive impact on the environment as the majority of plastic bottles end up in landfills rather than being recycled.

APRIL: **Earth Day**

**__Tip 1:__** Earth day is coming up near the end of the month. Decide with your family what you will do to honour the earth. Perhaps yuo will plant a tree or make a pledge to share the earth in another way.

**__Tip 2:__** There are many ways to save paper and in turn save trees...
 * Go to the library rather than buying new books.
 * Always use paper on both sides.
 * Buy recycled paper products.

**__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Tip 3: __** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">Save the earth by using natural cleaning products. Baking soda and vinegar work just as well as chemical products you buy at the store.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">__**Tip 4:**__ Reuse as much as possible. Egg cartons or lunchable trays make great holders for paint, beads, small plants and so much more!

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">__**Tip 5:**__ Shop smart, buy bulk products with reduced packaging as much as possible, better yet, buy used items with NO packaging.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">**MARCH:** <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">**For the month of March, we will be focusing on water conservation.**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**__Tip 1:__** 65% of the water used in the home is used in the bathroom. To conserve water, turn off the tap when brushing your teeth or washing your face.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**__Tip 2:__** Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator rather than running the tap until water is cool enough to drink.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**__Tip 3:__** Wash only full loads in the dishwasher or washing machine, this can save up to 4,000 liters of water a month.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">__**Tip 4:**__ Shorten your shower by 1 or 2 minutes and you will save up to 600 litres of water a month.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">**FEBRUARY:** <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">**During Febuary we will be focusing on things we can do to save plants and animals on our planet.**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">T __****__ip 1:__** Almost half of the worlds rain forests are already gone for good, at this rate, by 2060 there will be none left. Encourage your friends and family to sponsor a rain forest, this will ensure less forests are deforested and they will remain well into the future.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">__**Tip 2:**__ Go to the zoo. Zoos and safari parks are committed to saving endangered species and your entrance fee will help to keep animals safe and fed.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**__Tip 3:__** Choose the fish you eat carefully. Due to commercial fishing many species of fish are under threat. Make sure not to eat these types so demand will lessen and fisherman will stop catching them.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">__**Tip 4:**__ Don't pick wild plants. Many rare plants around the world are in danger because people have picked them when out on hikes.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">**JANUARY - __Smart Shopping__**

__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">Tip 1: **__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">When ordering fast food, make sure to mention if you're eating in so that you don't end up with lots of excess packaging that you don't need.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**__Tip 2:__** Reusable bags aren't just for grocery shopping. Encourage your parents to take their own bags to places like the drug store and dollar store too.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**__Tip 3:__** Always read labels carefully when shopping. Many products claim to be "organic" or "natural" but in fact contain very few natural ingredients.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">__**Tip 4:**__ When buying large appliances always look for the most energy efficient model. Don't buy electric gadgets like juicers, indoor grills or plug-in toys that you will only end up using a few times then storing.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">Tips for a Green Christmas <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**1<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">A real tree ** can be an environmental choice this Christmas. For every tree harvested at a tree farm, another 10 are planted to ensure a crop every year; and one acre of Christmas trees on a farm will produce enough oxygen to support about 18 people and remove up to 13 tonnes of airborne pollutants per year. Although Christmas trees have been a problem for landfills in the past, many municipalities now chip them for mulching material. If your town doesn't recycle, use the branches and needles for mulch in your garden.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**2.** Buy **a potted tree** native to your region from a nursery and plant it once the holidays are over. This may require digging a hole in the yard before the ground freezes and covering it with plywood until New Year's. Or buy a potted Norfolk Island Pine, which can survive indoors year-round and serve as your tree for many Christmases to come.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**3.** Switch your Christmas tree twinklers to **LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights**. LEDs come in the same brilliant colours as standard lights and use a fraction of the wattage of your older ones. They'll also hold up better to the task of putting up and taking down the strings every year, saving you from hours of serching for that one broken bulb.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**3a,** Purchase a timer so that your Christmas lights turn on at dusk and turn off automatically after 3-5 hours.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**4.** Before heading to the store for decorations, check your backyard. Make a centrepiece out of **pinecones**, or hang **evergreen tree boughs** over entranceways. Decorate your tree with edible decorations like **popcorn strings or cranberry wreaths** (thread 10 to 15 cranberries on a string and tie to create a wreath).

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**5.** Instead of buying trinkets or packaging-laden gift baskets for friends, give a **gift certificate** for a dinner out or theatre tickets. Or **make your own vouchers**, good for a night of free babysitting.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**6.** Instead of battery-powered toys and games, keep the kids on your list active with a gift of <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**sporting equipment** or a voucher for an **outdoor activity**.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**7.** For the person who has everything, why not **donate to your favourite charity** on their behalf? Sponsor a child or donate livestock to a village in need through organizations like **World Vision Canada**. Then send an electronic greeting card, or one printed on recycled paper with details about the gift.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**8.** Before heading to the mall, check out **online earth-friendly shopping** tips and advice, like those found on the World Wildlife Fund's **Be, Live, Buy Different campaign website**.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**9.** When wrapping gifts, go for **reusable cloth gift bags** instead of the paper ones, or skip bags altogether by grabbing some **vintage cookie tins** at your local second-hand store to use instead.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">**10.** Save any special gift wrap, ribbons and bows - When unwrapping large gifts, save the paper for reuse; it can often be cut down for smaller presents. Creased wrapping can be ironed flat. Ribbons and bows are easy to save and reuse.

**DECEMBER** __ **Eco Christmas** __

**__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Tip 1: __** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Every year hundreds of thousands of trees are chopped down to make Christmas cards. Instead of mailing cards, use your computer to design cards and e-mail them to family and friends. You'll be saving paper and the fuel the post office uses to deliver the cards.

__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 18px;">Tip 2: **__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 18px;">Make your own Christmas decorations. Make them out of food such as popcorn, gingerbread or tangerines that can be eaten by birds or composted when Christmas is over. Cut down evergreen branches rather than buying plastic garlands, the fresh boughs smell great and will decompose.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 18px;">__**Tip 3:**__ Make your own gifts instead of buying new. Better yet, don't give material gifts, give good deeds, or tickets to a sport event. You could even adopt an animal an behalf of someone else as a special and unique gift.

**NOVEMBER** **__Reuse and Recycle__**

**__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Tip 1: __** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">The average person uses and disposes of the equivalent of 7 trees of paper a year. Save paper by always using both sides of paper and use scraps for shopping lists. Have you family invest in a white erase board to leave messages for one another instead of using sticky notes.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">__**Tip 2:**__ Be a creative recycler. Reuse items that would otherwise end up in the trash or recycling bin. For example cut up toilet paper rolls to make napkin rings or decorate old CD cases and make them into photo frames. Share your creative reuse and recycle ideas with the green team for a chance to win prizes.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">__**Tip 3:**__ Batteries contain hazardous substances that can leak into the soil if they end up in landfill sites, Invest in rechargeable batteries and a charger so you can use them again and again before recycling them properly.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">__**Tip 4:**__ Hold a neighbourhood swap shop. Instead of going out and buying new clothes, books, DVDs, etc gather up the items you no longer want and get together with some friends to trade items.


 * OCTOBER **
 * Reduce your carbon footprint **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">__**Tip 1:**__ Your carbon footprint is a mesure of the damaging effect that human activities have on the planet in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases they produce. There are many websites with calculators which you can use to calculate your family carbon footprint. We all need to do our part to offset pollution. @http://calc.zerofootprint.net/youth/iearn

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">**__Tip 2:__** If you're traveling a short distance walk or bike instead of starting the car. It will keep you and the environment more healthy.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">__**Tip 3:**__ Did you know that approximately 14% of methane comes from farting farm animals? This means cows cause more pollution than cars. To reduce your carbon footprint encourage your parents to cook vegetarian meals using local produce at least once or twice a week.

**__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Tip 4: __** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">If you commit a carbon crime, try to offset it. For example, you got a ride to school, you can offset the pollution produced by switching off the computer or TV for the evening.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">** SEPTEMBER ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">** Do you live in a "Green" house? ** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">**__Tip 1:__** Unplug appliances when not being used (including TV's, computers, cell phone chargers, etc.) Tell your parents they could save up to 13% on their energy bill by just doing this.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">**__Tip 2:__** Use appliances as efficiently as possible, for example, never run the dishwasher or washing machine unless they are full.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__ Tip 3: __** Check the thermostat. Lowering the temperature of heating and air conditioning by just 1.5 degrees Celsius can reduce your household greenhouse gases by 1 tonne. Make sure to dress in layers and use blankets rather than turning up the heat.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__ Tip 4: __** Make your own cleaning supplies. Commercial cleansers and the containers they come in pollute the environment. You can use baking soda and vinegar to clean bathroom and kitchen surfaces. Mix equal amounts of vinegar and water to clean windows and mirrors.