Blog post 1: dumpster diving
During our ecosystem based management seminar at the Haida Gwaii Institute we got on the conversation topic of food waste. During this we discussed our how we create food waste ourselves, like throwing out leftovers instead of saving them or composting them, but we also discussed how larger companies create food waste. We discussed food waste produced by grocery stores, and the different options that could be made available for larger companies to reduce food waste. Because Haida Gwaii is such a small island there was only two grocery stores in our area, one was a chain and one was locally ran. Myself and a couple classmates decided to go dumpster diving at the chain grocery store to get an idea of the food waste that a small grocery store can produce. Later that night we went to the grocery store and I was amazed to see all of the perfectly good food that had been thrown away. We were able to save fruits, vegetables and other foods that were thrown because it was “past its shelf life” or could no longer be sold for some reason. Me and my couple classmates then brought the food we collected home and washed it all, of course, and organized a dinner for all of our class to get together. Using the food collected from the dumpster we made an entire dinner that fed all 21 of us, the best dish in my opinion being some buffalo cauliflower bites.
This experience really opened my eyes to just how big of a problem that food waste is. In some larger cities I know that grocery stores donate food that can’t be sold to shelters or organizations like that to feed starving peoples. I believe other options include composting programs to try to alleviate the amount of food waste going to landfills. These are good options for larger urban areas to practice environmental sustainability, but places like Haida Gwaii may not have these options. It is important for ourselves to try to find ways to reduce the amount of food waste we produce, but on a larger scale, we need to find ways for these smaller communities to reduce their impact as well. Implementing community composting programs or educating people on how to reduce food waste may be options for these smaller communities to make steps towards being more environmentally sustainable, but in the long run, we need to come up with new and better ways to tackle the problem of food waste.
Blog post 2: making environmental friendly switches
In the last few years there has been a big push for individuals to think about how they can bring environmental sustainability into our lives, even in small ways. For me I really saw this push from the “save the turtles” movement on social media as people bought reusable straws for themselves to use instead of the plastic ones that you get when you order food. This was when I really started to look into how I can replace single-use plastic items that I use in order to reduce my impact. This has been a personal journey for me as I continue to look into sustainable options I seem to find more and more things that I can switch out of my life. There are the obvious options, like bringing your own bags to the grocery instead of always getting plastic bags, investing in food containers or silicone food baggies instead of buying single-use plastic ziplock baggies, and buying metal or plastic water bottles and coffee cups to reuse instead of buying cases of plastic water bottles that just get thrown in the recycling when they’re empty or always getting disposable cups when going to coffee shops. These are the sort of switches I first started making when finding ways to reduce single-use plastics in my life. But as I have looked into these types of switches over the years I’ve found some that I really stand by. These include reusable “q-tips” made of silicone, reusable make-up removing cloths, and compostable toothbrushes and hair brushes. The most recent switches I’ve found that I really like are shampoo and conditioner bars, laundry strips, and sustainable cleaning products. These switches have really helped cut down on the amount of large plastic bottles that I used to continuously buy and recycle. The shampoo and conditioner bars I buy often come in a small compostable package and the laundry strips come in smaller cardboard packages and last just as long as giant plastic jugs of liquid detergent. The sustainable cleaning products is my favourite option I have found in a long time though. Companies will offer packages that include glass or hard plastic cleaning product bottles that can be reused multiple times and all you need to do is add the small cleaning product concentrate “puck”, that comes in compostable packing, to the bottles filled with water. These companies offer this for almost any cleaning product that you can buy and I really like this switch as I no longer have a kitchen cupboard filled with plastic bottles.
But when it comes to the topic of making sustainable switches, we need to think in moderation. Throwing out perfectly good plastic products that are seen as unsustainable to replace them with a more sustainable product still creates waste. When thinking about making these sorts of switches in our lives, we need to make sure that it is right for us and our lifestyle. Even though the examples I provided are just small changes an individual can make, if enough people can move to these types of sustainable switches, it can eventually lead to a large impact on single-use plastics on a much larger scale. This is my hope for the future that as a society it becomes common practice to use environmentally sustainable products.
Blog post 3: getting outside and education
My family has always made it important to get outside to go hiking, skiing, kayaking or other activities like that. I relate this to being a big part of why I chose to go into the natural resource science program and why I have a sense of sustainability in me that I don’t see others having. I believe that somehow being in natural spaces makes us more likely to look into environmental sustainability as we have been to natural places that we would like to preserve. Of course this may not apply to everyone as many times I have been hiking and see large amounts of littering from people visiting the area. But for me, when I see this type of behaviour it makes it more important to me to include sustainability in my life. In parks and on hiking trails there is some information on why not to litter and to preserve the natural area but this is often missed. In order to really engrain sustainable practices in people implementing more education may be needed. This will help to increase knowledge of environmental sustainability. Like how at some public spaces government parks employees have the skins and bones of animals to teach the public about the animals in the area, they should implement the same idea to teaching the public about environmental sustainability. By teaching the public about the reasons behind why we should be more environmentally sustainable, it may make people more receptive to introducing this idea into their own lives. As being in natural spaces often gives people a feeling on connection to the Earth I believe this would be the perfect place to set up an education program like what I am suggesting.
Blog post 4: having “your place”
In my second year of my degree I took an anthropology course titled “First Nations Natural Resource Management”. In one of our first classes were looking at maps and our professor gave us an assignment to create a map of “our place”. This place could be any space that makes us feel connected to the world around us and is a space where we don’t feel stressed, but feel at home almost in a way. For me my place was my cabin at Sylvan Lake. My cabin is at the east end of lake and is surrounded by poplar and evergreen trees. There is always many different types of birds around and we often see deer and other wildlife around as well. In the summer we go onto the lake to go fishing and as a kid I would often go down to the water in the evenings to search for frogs. I see my cabin as my place to escape to, where I can be myself, feel safe, and feel connected to something that is bigger than me. I always want to ensure that “my place” is cared for and kept in its natural state because I care so deeply about it and have that strong connection with it.
Today I try to create that connection I have with “my place” anywhere i visit, wether it be a provincial park, ski hill, or even a city park. That feeling of connectedness makes me want to care for that space and treat it how I would treat my cabin. I thought this exercise was very important to me learning about how to be more environmentally sustainable. If this can be implemented in a more wide scale I believe it can get others to become connected to anyplace they visit. This connectedness, in my opinion, will allow people to think more sustainably as if they care about a place, they will want to preserve it for future generations to be able to experience the connectedness that they feel.
Blog post 5: social media and knowing what you need
Social media is a large part of our lives these days as technology continue to increase and with that platforms like facebook, instagram, twitter, etc. has become a staple in peoples daily lives. But these platforms are often filled with ads as they often track your search histories. For example I had been researching different types of mattresses because I needed a new one and for about a week after that all the ads I saw were for the mattress brands that I had looked up. Like all ads, they showcase a product that will seemingly improve your life and that you need to buy this product. But this can put us in an endless cycle of constantly buying products. For myself this can be problem, but when constantly seeing these ads I often think if I truly need the product and if I feel as though I do, how can do it sustainably? Researching different products is a very important part of this, as I often try to find different ways that I can buy products but still be sustainable. Instead of buying clothes from retailers I often go to thrift stores and find clothes that are just as good. I also browse places like kijiji or marketplaces to try to buy products secondhand, or even in some cases try to build it myself. I also really like to support local businesses so instead of ordering a product online and having it shipped to me, I look to businesses close to me, especially sustainable ones, to support them and reduce my impact on the earth. Being an active consumer in our society is important economically, but we need to contribute in ways that both benefit ourselves and the environment in order to implement environmentally sustainable practices in any aspect of our lives.
Blog post 6: green infrastructure
A really important thing I think more cities need to look into implementing on a large scale is green infrastructure. Green infrastructure is a way of implementing water management that focuses on protecting, restoring, or mimicking the natural water cycle. Its implementation helps to mitigate possible impacts felt by the environment from current and future development. Implementing this type of infrastructure allows for whole communities and even cities to become more ecologically sustainable overall. Green infrastructure can include green roofs, xeriscaping for yards, introducing community gardens, having permeable pavement, and collecting rainwater or reusing water. This type of infrastructure helps to reduce runoff, promote groundwater recharge, soil infiltration. As more and more of cities becoming concrete, water runoff is a large concern and reduces the integrity of soils around these areas. Green infrastructure can address these concerns and reduce the impacts of water use.
This type of infrastructure also include technologies such as low-flow fixtures in homes and businesses, water metering systems, and systems for water reclamation. Low-flow fixtures help reduce water usage, and using rainwater will further reduce water usage as it can be used for watering lawns and gardens. Water metering systems allow us to view exactly how much water we use and some systems include an aspect that is almost game-like, where you can compare your water usage to other consumers and helps you find ways of how to reduce your consumption. The implementation of green infrastructure allows for communities to sustainably use water and do so in ways that benefit cities, individuals, and the environment.