Keep Cool Carefully and other thoughtful tips

(Barrie Waterfront from Ontario Trails Council Website)

Summertime is a good time to think about the environment. You're likely to spend time outdoors in nature, enjoying lakes and forests. Feel the love. Remember to do your part to reduce our impact on climate change (or climate chaos, as I've also seen it called).

Think about some small changes you can make every day to do your part to maintain the beautiful natural places that you love. Here are just a few to think about and to start you thinking about other little things you can do to show your love:

House and Garden:

• Use blinds or curtains to keep the sun out of the house to help keep it cooler. If you're just starting your landscaping, plant a big deciduous tree on the south side. And, set your thermostat to 25 or higher. It's summer, right? Open windows in the evening when it’s cool.

• Try not to use the stove or oven when it’s hot outside. Cook and eat outside (BBQ) or serve cold dishes. Plan ahead and cook in the morning before it's too hot.

• Switch to perennials. Find plants that tolerate our summers. You won’t need to water them.

• Container plants need to be watered daily. If you love container gardening, use a rain barrel.

• Hang your laundry out to dry. 

• Take advantage of the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays.

At Work:

• Wearing a sweater at the office? Speak up. Don’t put up with too much air conditioning.

• Make coffee at home. Drink it out of a real mug and sit and talk to your family while eating breakfast. Pack a lunch in reusable containers. Save money and the planet at the same time, and you'll probably eat better too. 

• Find out if you can work from home some of the time.

• Think twice before printing something. Can you read it and save it electronically instead? 

Holiday Travel:

• Don’t forget your reusable water bottle. You really don’t want to have to buy plastic bottles of water. Have coffee in the coffee shop. Stop. Sit. Talk to the locals. Use real cups. Don't idle in the drive-through!

• Travel close to home. Our part of Ontario is beautiful. Discover Ontario :) 

• Take public transit into Toronto and be a tourist there. 

• If you have to fly somewhere for your summer holiday, consider buying carbon offsets (this can be done formally, through a company such as Tree Canada or Carbon Footprint, or informally by making donations to environmental groups of your choice).