Queen of Green | Blogs | David Suzuki Foundation

Green camping essentials

2013-05-21T12:17:39Z

Solar panels for off-the-grid green camping. (Courtesy of Christopher Herwig, www.herwigphoto.com.)

Like so many of you, my family's on a never-ending mission to reduce our overall carbon footprint and live as harmoniously as possible with the earth. Enter camping!

Fuelled by nostalgic childhood memories of cooking over an open fire, playing from sunrise to sunset and swimming in glacier-fed lakes, we purchased a second-hand tent trailer -- swore off jet-setting vacations -- and set out to create our own family memories.

Spending night and day in nature is intrinsically green! But with a little planning and forethought, it's simple to make your camping trip super-green.

Natural bug protection

Traditional bug spray has between 10 and 40 per cent DEET, a pesticide that inhibits the activity of the central nervous system. Health Canada recommends children under the age of 12 use only repellents containing less than 10 per cent DEET and that it never be used on infants. Opt instead for natural alternatives.

Wear or burn essential oils like cedar, citronella, lemongrass and rosemary, which help ward off bugs. Make your own spray by misting diluted oils in water onto skin and clothes, purchase a prefab natural bug spray, or burn essential oils in a diffuser around the campsite.

For truly desperate situations, get stinky! Apply fresh garlic to exposed skin. This repels bugs and people alike.

Protect from the sun safely

Opt for long-sleeve light clothes, a hat and the shade. By covering up you can enjoy the many benefits of the sun -- like vitamin D -- while protecting your skin from damage.

When sunscreen is a must, choose a safe option by referencing the Environmental Working Group's Sunscreen Guide to avoid ingredients that damage the environment or your health.

Borrow a friend's camping gear

When it comes to creating a sustainable future, less is more. So for the occasional camper, consider borrowing instead of buying. Sharing sites like Yerdle.com help connect people with needs to people with stuff.
Green power for camping

Use solar power to harness the energy of the sun and keep your off-the-beaten-track experience off the grid too! Small appliances and trailer heaters can easily be solar-powered. Consider also going battery-free with a crank-flashlight!

Eco-friendly camp food

Minimize packaging waste by choosing homemade whole foods and avoiding individually packaged items. For easy, wholesome outdoor meals, freeze a selection of stews or casseroles beforehand and bring a refillable water container.

As important as what you eat is what you eat on! Avoid disposables or plastic and hit your local thrift or outdoor-gear store to find a set of durable enamel dinnerware.

And always, leave only footprints and take only memories. Share your tip for green camping success and be entered to win an all natural, broad spectrum, vanilla-coconut sunscreen lotion courtesy of True Naural.

Happy Trails!

Sincerely,
Tovah Paglaro, Queen of Green

Pop up a picnic

2013-05-13T23:25:12Z

Get into nature with a pop up picnic. (Credit: queen_of_subtle via Flickr)

If you're two weeks into the 30×30 Nature Challenge, you're probably starting to feel the benefits of increased time in the great outdoors! How did you ever get through your day with such a nature deficit? (Actually, it was with about 20 per cent less concentration and 20 per cent more stress -- but that's a post for another day).

More than 10,000 Canadians joined the challenge just in the first week!

This fact made me sit back (against a tree in the park) and ask myself (while listening to the birds sing): What is it about this that's striking a chord? Have we finally reached a tipping point, where our innate desire to feel connected to the Earth can no longer be contained within the walls of an office cubicle and an urban landscape?

A girl can hope!

After two minutes of quiet contemplation, my shoulders relaxed, my breath became fuller and the constant buzzing in my head gave way to clear thought.

What popped into my head: more people need to do this!

All through the month of May, your friends, family and coworkers can join the 30×30 Nature Challenge.

Host a Pop-up Picnic a nearby park and invite your guests to experience the benefits of nature. Be sure to tell us about your picnic. If it's a public event, we'll send you postcards to hand out and help spread the word.

Just imagine your mother-in-law with a healthy dose of Vitamin N or the fellow at the cubicle next to you taking the time to reduce his stress level.

Yes, more people need to do this! And if you invite them, they just might...

Sincerely,
Tovah Paglaro, Queen of Green

P.S. Tell us about your favourite picnic spot in nature (maybe somewhere you'll pop up a 30×30 Nature Challenge picnic) for a chance to win a non-toxic sunscreen to tuck into your picnic basket!

Green grass is pesticide-free

2013-05-08T14:23:03Z

Pesticide-free grass is greener. (Credit: aussiegall via Flickr)

You detoxified your cleaning closet, rid your home of triclosan and filled it with air-cleansing plants. Your garden boasts an assortment of veggies and bee-friendly flowers and you never use pesticides. Your home is on its way to becoming a green haven!

But sometimes, you might sit on grass you don't maintain. Maybe you'll take off your shoes and dig in your toes. Your dog or kids might roll on it.

And it may have been treated with pesticides.

Even in the five provinces that ban cosmetic pesticides, regulatory loopholes--like the exception for golf courses and invasive species--mean you might dig your toes into toxic soup.

Research shows pesticide exposure increases the risk of cancer, birth defects and brain and nervous system disorders. Children are six times more likely to get childhood leukemia when pesticides are used in the home and garden, according to a U.S. National Cancer Institute study. One European review considers many widely used pesticides as neurodevelopmental poisons that may cause health effects even at low levels.

Pesticides are meant to kill. Many modern formulations were based on Second World War chemical warfare research into nerve gas.

This isn't beautiful. It's deadly.

Pesticides also threaten pollinators--helpful insects essential to our food supply. Even small amounts of certain chemicals affect bee longevity, memory, navigation and foraging.

So, what are you going to do about it?

If you're like me, you chose this lifestyle because you value environmental health, believe in living in harmony with the natural world and know it feels right to be green. You might not see yourself as an advocate or leader.

But you are, because you care about democracy, social justice and eco-friendly lawns. Embrace it!

Learn about pesticide policy where you live. Whether in the city with the highest concentration of pesticide use in Canada (Winnipeg) or the provinces with the most comprehensive policies (Nova Scotia and Ontario), there are improvements to be made at the local and provincial government levels.

1. Start close to home

Organize your neighbours and declare your block a "Pesticide Free Zone".
In municipalities with bans, certain pesticides may be permitted--that doesn't make them safe or necessary

2. Talk to municipal representatives

Express your concern
Ask them to stop using chemical pesticides, especially near schools

3. Go to your province

Write politicians and tell them you support tighter controls over pesticides
At election time, vote for the environment!

Here's to a plentiful, pesticide-free, growing season!

Sincerely,
Tovah Paglaro, Queen of Green

Can minimalism be green?

2013-04-30T13:21:37Z

Minimalism and green living both promise of fulfillment in the face of hyper-consumerist culture. (Credit: Steve A Johnson via Flickr)

I'm wrestling with the intersection of minimalist and green lifestyles -- attracted by minimalisms promise of a clutter free home and mind, but rooted in the packrat mentality of a reusing green junkie.

If minimalists can be green, what do I do with all this stuff?

My green cleaning habits and cosmetic drawer provide inspiration. Homemade household cleaners and DIY cosmetics live up to the minimalist promise of fulfillment in the face of hyper-consumerist culture: a few ingredients combined the right way beautifully meet all my needs.

There must be other synergies!

So despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that my home is bursting with saved bits of this that, I resolved that this year's spring cleaning will be a minimalist face lift. Donated are the pants from grade 11, our amassed mismatched kitchen cups and three boxes of books that probably weren't on the "timeless treasures" list. I've joyfully recycled a large crate of hard-to-recycle items and safely returned a couple cans of almost empty paint and a small bag of expired medications to the appropriate places.

I won't ever be a perfect minimalist. The kid's art table still offers a selection of bottle tops and bread-bag tabs, inviting creative young minds to make recycled masterpieces. And given our commitment to whole foods, I'll always have more than a minimal selection of kitchen stuff.

But I'm not scared to strive for minimalism anymore! I could even take a Be More With Less Mini-Mission.

And responsibly clearing out items we don't use often, never wanted or didn't even know we had has made room for better living.

The marriage of minimalism and green living is imperfect. But at the heart of both paradigms is a desire to live lightly. Here are my five tips for being a green minimalist:

Acquire only what you need. And choose used before new.
Buy the best your budget permits. Broken items are wasteful clutter.
Clear out unessentials. Less stuff means reduced dust and improved environmental health. Fewer emails allows more time for baking bread.
Share. The sharing economy connects communities, while cutting back on consumption and clutter.
Donate. Need I say more?

Sincerely,
Tovah Paglaro, Queen of Green

Unlock the power of everyday nature

2013-04-23T05:59:44Z

If you're among the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who spent part of the weekend celebrating Earth Day in nature, you're likely feeling relaxed, refreshed and re-energized.

I am. But my hypothesis about your state is based on more than personal experience. It's based on sound science.

Researchers around the world arrive at the same conclusion: time in nature makes us smarter, healthier and happier.!

Regular immersion in a natural setting -- like a park, woodland or forest -- lowers blood pressure, anxiety and stress levels, and boosts immunity. "Green time" also reduces feelings of anger and depression, while increasing energy, creativity and attention span.

We know this intuitively. But to have it validated scientifically -- well that's a breath of fresh of air!

According to Your Brain on Nature, by Drs. Alan Logan and Eva Selhub, the lure of electronic technology is largely to blame for our national nature deficit disorder.

That's half the equation. We're the other half!

We have to choose to make time in nature a priority -- even on days with jam-packed schedules (or when "Glee" is on TV).

The benefits of taking time to soak up nature come back to us in spades. Imagine your workday (or your kids' school day) with a 20 per cent increase in short-term memory and a 50 per cent increase in creativity!

That's why I've joined the 30×30 Nature Challenge and committed to spend 30 minutes a day in nature for 30 days for the month of May. Join me!

Drs. Logan and Selhub say "sustainability of the planet is not merely about being a good citizen and recycling; it is ultimately about maintaining an intimate relationship with nature."

Let's be smarter, healthier and happier (and greener) every day -- not just Earth Day!

Sincerely,
Tovah Paglaro, Queen of Green

P.S. Tell me why you're signing up for the 30×30 Nature Challenge and you could win a copy of "Your Brain on Nature".

Keep toxins out of the water...and us!

2013-04-16T12:52:51Z

Keep toxins out of nature...and us! (Credit: Peter Dutton via Flickr)

What goes down the drain, goes into the water!

Whether it goes down the kitchen sink, the laundry and bathroom drains, gets flushed down the toilet, or goes down the storm sewer on your street, it all ends up in our lakes, rivers and oceans. And because everything is connected, eventually, it evaporates, comes down as rain, and gets taken up by plants and other living things -- including you and your family.

Why the grade five science class refresher? It's all about cleaning!

Some of the most common and most concerning ingredients in household cleaners are reported to be "persistent in the environment" -- with devastating effect.

Fragrance (a.k.a. parfum), for example, refers to some combination of 3,000 chemical ingredients. Among the most common:

Synthetic musk, a perfuming agent--identified by Environment Canada as a human health priority and now found in measurable quantities in Great Lakes fish.

Diethyl phthalate, a substance that makes scent linger -- linked to early puberty in girls, reduced sperm count in men and reproductive defects in the developing male fetus, and listed as a priority toxic pollutant under the U.S. Clean Water Act.

Protecting our oceans and invaluable marine habitat is a daunting task that requires a comprehensive strategy. Luckily, Canadians are up to the challenge! More than three-quarters (78 per cent) recently indicated they would support all levels of government in "investing more to meet the goal of protecting 10 per cent of Canada's marine areas by 2020."

That's great news. And with the good work being done on initiatives like the Marine Protection Plan, we could see that goal realized sooner rather than later.

But we don't have to invest more -- or wait for government or policy -- to do the right thing for 100 per cent of our water right now.
It's as simple as cleaning with vinegar!

By choosing to make effective non-toxic cleaners, or buy products without chemicals of concern, you can take important steps in keeping toxins out of the water...and out of us!

Share your favorite green cleaning tip for a chance to win an all natural bubble bath courtesy of Rocky Mountain Soap Company. Because after you #GreenSpringClean, you deserve a soak!

Sincerely,
Tovah Paglaro, Queen of Green

Green My Spring Clean and win!

2013-04-09T00:27:18Z

Green my Spring Clean. It's fun on Pinterest! (Credit: Username via zippaparazza!)

Spring cleaning isn't fun. Know what is? Pinterest!

Which is why Monday, April 8 marks the launch of the first ever Queen of Green Pin It To Win It contest.

Spring cleaning isn't awesome. Know what is? Keeping toxins out of our air, water and soil--and out of our bodies!

By creating an inspiring and informative Green My Spring Clean board, you could plant seeds of change far and wide, motivating others to clean green this spring.

Spring cleaning isn't exciting. Know what is? Prizes!

By doing all that good, you could also win any one of the awesome #GreenSpringClean weekly door prizes, or the grand prize -- a Whole House Cleaning Kit from Aspen Clean and basket of other goodies!

Ask your Green My Spring Clean questions

Not on Pinterest -- don't sweat it! We'll be exploring how to Green my Spring Clean all through the month of April here on the blog, on Facebook and on Twitter.

Comment now with your questions, and I pledge to answer them this month!

To get us started, Alicia Sokolowski, founder of Aspen Clean, shares her top tips for a green spring clean:

Use microfibre. To get rid of germs and bacteria, focus on eliminating carriers. Microfibre cloths are more effective than cloth or paper for picking up dust, dirt and microbes. (Of course, they're petroleum based where as an old t-shirt turned rag is zero-impact, so the priority here is your call).
Go fragrance free. A strong scent does not mean clean. Fragrance-free cleaners are equally effective, healthier and kinder to the Earth.
Be safe. Avoid products with labels warning about hazardous ingredients (like "poison"!) or other cautions.
Try homemade cleaners. Take a DIY approach to cleaners. It's easy, effective and safe.

Will you Green Your Spring Clean? Pledge to clean green by commenting now. Then spread the word by entering the #GreenSpringClean Pinterest contest!

Sincerely,
Tovah Paglaro, Queen of Green