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November 1, 2011

Apartment613’s Support Local Month in Ottawa

Posted by greenlivingottawa under 100-mile, arts and culture, Blogroll, books, clothing, food, household, media, organic, Ottawa
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Written by guest blogger Denise Deby, who writes on local and global social and environmental issues.

The people at Apartment613 have lots of good ideas, but this time they’ve outdone themselves. They’re making November “Support Local” month in Ottawa. And they’re talking not just local food but also local musicians, artists, restaurants and businesses.

They’ve set up a series of events throughout the month—a list too long to replicate here but do check out their website. Some examples:

You can also let Apartment613 know if you have ideas for other events (email editors [at] apt613 [dot] ca with “Support Local” in the subject line).

 

July 15, 2011

Bike Friendly Ottawa?

Posted by greenlivingottawa under arts and culture, building, climate change, clothing, health, household, Ottawa, recycled, transportation, volunteering
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Written by guest blogger Denise Deby, who writes on social and environmental issues and appreciates her aging yet reliable bike.

Is Ottawa bike-friendly?

We have an enviable network of recreational pathways, and many other decent biking routes. We have Sunday Bikedays and Bixi bike rentals. We can transport our bikes if need be on the O-Train and some OC Transpo buses. And we now have a segregated bike lane on Laurier Avenue, launched on July 10.

The League of American Bicyclists and the Share the Road Cycling Coalition say we’re bike-friendly – to a point. They’ve awarded the City of Ottawa a Silver Bicycle Friendly Community Award for its cycling initiatives.

Silver is not the Award’s highest designation, and cycling in Ottawa is not always smooth sailing. Ottawa has far too many accidents involving bikes, and numerous problem areas, some documented on Ottawa Biking Problems, where people can report on challenges they encounter.

So we’re not Copenhagen, where over a third of people commute by bike every day; nor, fortunately, are we following Toronto’s example of removing cycling infrastructure.

We could do more as a city, but there are some signs that we’re gradually changing infrastructure and attitudes to make cycling safer and more convenient, so that biking becomes a real option for getting around, for more people.

Some of the recent changes in this direction include the NCC’s Park and Cycle pilot program, which provides parking lots for commuters to leave their cars and cycle the rest of the way downtown; the addition of cycling directions for Ottawa to Google Maps; and services like complementary Bluesfest bike parking offered by Citizens for Safe Cycling and Bluesfest.

Ottawa also has many resources for people looking for assistance or gear, like Can-Bike courses and Recycles and Recyclore bike shops. (See Ottawa Start for additional cycling links.) We’re also starting to see a slightly greater diversity of bikes available for people with a range of abilities.

Then there are the people and groups who are helping change our perceptions of what is “cycleable,” and encouraging us to see cycling as something that most people can do, whether it’s a commute to work, a leisurely outing on a bike path, a mountain bike ride or a quick trip to the grocery store. This includes bloggers like Andrea Grant’s Apartment 613 post about bike-accessible places to go swimming around Ottawa; Ottawa cycling advocate Kathleen Wilker’s family biking blog; and Ottawa Cycle Chic, which does as much for promoting cycling as an everyday activity as it does for bike fashion. (I have to say that I’m pro-helmet, myself). As well, the organisation Cycling Vision Ottawa aims to support people of all ages and abilities to feel comfortable on their bikes.

These developments are important for Ottawa. As cycling advocates point out, biking not only has environmental and health benefits but also gives us a connection that we wouldn’t otherwise have to nature, to the urban landscape and to each other. A recent Sustainable Cities Collective post states that “the most vital element for the future of our cities is that the bicycle is an instrument of experiential understanding” – i.e., a way to really get to know and connect with our communities and our city.

In other words, a bike-friendly city is also a friendly city. Sounds like a good idea for Ottawa.

 

March 29, 2010

Sick of Your Wardrobe? Make a Swap April 2nd

Posted by greenlivingottawa under clothing, Ottawa, personal care, reduce, reuse, waste reduction
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By guest blogger Marilyn Champagne

Do you have too many clothes that don’t fit anymore?  Do you sometimes buy things on impulse but never end up wearing them?  Would you like to declutter your house but dont`t want to all your things to go to waste?  Would you like to get new clothes but don’t have money to spend?

Then our clothing swaps might be for you! :)

I started a clothing swap club in Montréal which became very popular, with over 250 members.  Last year, when I moved to Ottawa, I started one here too; it’s called the Garde-robe collectif and we have around 70 members so far.

Clothing swaps are events where people bring used clothing and other items that they don’t want anymore and can take things that other people brought, so it’s a win-win situation; you can get rid of things that are wasting valuable space in your home without creating more waste since your things will either go home with someone else or be given to a charity if nobody wants them, and get new things in an environmentally friendly way by reusing items, without having to spend any money!

The Garde-robe collectif meets once every two months at one of our members’ place.  Usually, 5-10 people attend each swap.  People can bring any clothes, accessories, shoes as well as books, CDs, DVDs, and other small household items that they don’t want anymore.  We put everything together and people take what they like; there is no minimum or maximum of items to bring or take. Whatever is left at the end goes to the Salvation Army.  Sometimes we get local designers to give us samples or items from their older collections for the swap as well.  There is usually food prepared by the host or brought by attendees :)   It’s a fun way to meet people who are also into a greener and more frugal lifestyle in Ottawa-Gatineau!

It’s free for people to join our club.  You can either join the mailing list by sending an email to garderobecollectifathotmail.fr, or look for le Garde-robe collectif group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14625518938

Here is an interview about my club that aired on the CBC Ottawa (Frugalista) if you want more info: http://www.cbc.ca/ottawablog/2009/07/swap_till_you_drop.html

Our next swap will be Friday, April 2nd at 10 AM in the ByWard Market area and there is still room for people to participate! :)   Feel free to email me if you have any questions or would like to attend our current or future events!

Marilyn
Founder, president
Garde-robe collectif

 

October 23, 2009

Conscious Consumerism – what’s that?

Posted by greenlivingottawa under Blogroll, clothing, household, media, Ottawa, reduce, waste reduction
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Today, it is my pleasure to publish a post from another local-to-Ottawa environmental blogger, Katherine Forster.  You can check out her blog at: http://greeneststuff.blogspot.com

Greenest Stuff, by Katherine Forster

Katherine writes…

Last week someone sent me the video  The Story of Stuff and it got me thinking some more about how we can raise awareness about “thinking before you buy”.  I love reading about “freegans” and talking about “buying local” and seeing so many people “freecycling” or using Kijiji Ottawa – but when will these activities become more mainstream?

I do think that there are signs that we are coming around the corner – from the stores of Dalhousie North selling lots of local, handmade, and recycled items, to hearing that my fashion savvy friend is having a clothes swap rather than buy new this fall.  But seeing Karma Wear close was a huge black cloud for the local Ottawa environmental scene.  Will this movement ever be able to compete with the cheap buys that can be had at the local big box store or the bargain centers?

So I was thrilled to see “The Story of Stuff” video.  I sent it to friends, and I want to try to encourage it to be shown in schools.  I’m also so happy that local communities, provinces and territories are celebrating “Waste Reduction Week” in Canada this week – the 2009 theme, Too Good To Waste, emphasizes conserving Earth’s resources to make life on the planet sustainable.  This is a great way to make people think about the impact they have on the Earth and to encourage everyone to start some new habits.  I hope that through activities like these people can start seeing how powerful they are as consumers and that with even small changes they can become activists too.  As Jane Goodall pointed out “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.”   Her efforts today focus on empowering people to “recognize their personal power and responsibility to effect positive change through consumer action, lifestyle change and activism”.

Come share your thoughts on sustainable consumption and your efforts on purchases that make positive changes at “Greenest Stuff”.  This is where I’ve been posting about purchases (from Ottawa or further), trying to consider the impact these purchases make.  I’m hoping that at the end of the day, I can make better choices as a consumer.  If you have any great finds in Ottawa or are interested in the topic send me an email.

My next purchase?  Canadian-made vegan winter boots!

Guest blogger, Katherine Forster can be reached at: kifness-at-hotmail.com

 

June 15, 2009

“After enlightenment, the laundry.” Zen Proverb

Posted by greenlivingottawa under climate change, clothing, energy, household, personal care
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By Eloise Collison. Eloise is a freelance writer, organic gardener, and fibre fanatic who lives and writes in Westboro.

Laundry

I’ve been thinking about laundry a lot lately. With five people in the house and a lot of rain this spring, laundry is becoming more of a sporting event than a chore.

To lessen the environmental impact of all this washing we are looking at solar hot water heating, and will be attending the next info session in our neighbourhood. If you missed the previous post it will be in Westboro (Ottawa): Tuesday June 23rd, 2009. 7pm-9pm at Dovercourt Recreation Centre, 411 Dovercourt Avenue, Ottawa, ON.

I am also hanging as much of my laundry outside as possible. It’s been raining a lot this spring but I sometimes hang it out anyway. I call it the second rinse. It will dry eventually, and still smell fresh.

In some communities there are by-laws prohibiting the hanging of laundry. However, in Ontario those by-laws have been repealed. (As far as I can judge from the legalese that I found here.) The environmental tips page at the City of Ottawa encourages the use of lines and laundry racks.

In BC an organization called Let’s Hang Out is working to promote outdoor clothes drying, as a way to combat global warming and save energy. According to the people at Let’s Hang Out, 6% of your household energy is consumed by the clothes dryer.

If you need a reason to abandon your dryer here are mine:

Top 10 reasons to hang your laundry on the line:

1 You can meditate about life as you pin up the clothes.

2 Folding the clothes as they come off the line prevents that “we decorate with mountains of socks” look in your living room.

3 Hanging laundry gets you outside on a sunny day.

4 Laundry flapping on the line is beautiful.

5 In the few minutes it takes, you can keep an eye on your garden, your children and what’s happening in your neighbourhood.

6 No static cling, and no need for fabric softener.

7 It’s a chemical free way to bleach out stains.

8 Bacteria in your clothing is killed when exposed to the sun.

9 Your laundry will smell fantastic when it’s dry.

10 Air drying your laundry saves money and Energy!!

 

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