Going Green, Our Children Magazine, September 2007
By Megan Venner
As parents we’re torn. We want the best future for our kids but in the midst of our jam-packed lives we have little extra time for change. We know our wasteful ways of living are slowly degrading our quality of life but it’s hard to know where to start.
Making change requires time and effort, things that are in short supply when you’re just worried about getting dinner on the table before bedtime. From time to time, most parents rely on some not-so-environmentally friendly shortcuts. We sometimes pop a frozen lasagna in the oven, even though we’re left with a depressing amount of plastic and paper waste. We drive to get the mail, even though it’s far better for our health and the environment to walk. And many parents often feel like we live in our carbon-spewing vehicles.
The good news is change doesn’t have to take a lot of time and starting small is often the best way to begin. “A lot of the changes we encourage are simple,” says Heather McKibbon of Halifax’s Ecology Action Centre. “Commit to what you are capable of committing to.”
That strategy has worked for Halifax mother of three Théa Matheson. She says product packaging has a big impact on her buying choices. “I love cherry tomatoes but, if I flip over the package and I see I can’t recycle the container, that week I won’t buy them,” she says.
She also looks closely at where the food is coming from and chooses to buy local or at least North American produce over items from South America. Buying local produce can make a big difference in the long run, lowering the amount of emissions caused by trucking in food from far-off locations. “There’s so much to take into account with food miles and how far your food has travelled,” McKibbon says.
Too often, parents worry that environmentally friendly or sustainable choices cost more money but in many cases, the opposite is true. Choosing local and seasonal fruits and vegetables is often easier on your budget. And the same holds true with recycling too.
“There’s so much that we can share with each other,” says Pat Millar, a Dartmouth mother of three. She exchanges clothing and toys, not only within her own family but also among friends. They pass along boots and jackets and other expensive items that still have lots of wear. Second-hand clothing stores like Frenchy’s and consignment shops are also great places to find reasonably priced clothing that will keep your kids in fashion.
And some lifestyle choices aren’t just good for the environment—they’re good for your health too. To keep her vehicle use at a minimum, Millar walks or bikes whenever possible and arranges car pools for her kids. That’s a great way to cut emissions and get a break once in a while. “As parents we’ll all get together and my car can hold five teenagers,” she explains, “That saves five different parents all getting in their cars and driving.”
For her, living green is all about global choices. “One of the things that I think is environmentally responsible is buying an older house instead of pushing further out into suburbia,” she says. “Sometimes when my kids want plastic toys or they want ready made food that comes in more packaging than what I would like, it helps to remind myself of one decision that I’m quite proud of, that we reduced out footprint by taking someone’s house and living close to things.”
Whether it’s changing your light bulbs for more energy efficient ones or giving up your second car, doing your part for the environment is about making smart choices for your family that will benefit future generations.
“I feel a large responsibility because we have chosen to bring three children into the world,” says Matheson. “How we live has to be as simply as possible to minimize our footprint on the planet.”
McKibbon agrees. “I think it’s really about people realizing they’re raising the next generation,” she says. “So what kind of environment is going to be left for their children and what kind of lifestyle is going to be left for their kids?”
No matter what you decide, what’s important is to take that first step and make the choice to live consciously. “For me, I feel like I can’t do everything that I would like to do,” Millar explains, “So I try to do a few things that are more manageable. It’s important to just try things out and maybe that will encourage you.”
Small Changes that Make a Big Difference
Use cloth napkins: it’s not much extra laundry and it could be a fun craft project for your kids to make their own napkins rings or use fabric crayons to decorate their own napkins.
Line dry: This saves energy and goes easy on your budget by sparing the use of you energy sucking dryer.
Use phosphate-free laundry detergent: it’s gentler on your kids’ sensitive skin and won’t pollute the waterways.
Avoid plastic toys: admittedly this is not an easy one but plastic sits in landfills for years before degrading. Wooden toys, books and cotton and wool stuffed animals and dolls make great gifts.
Walk or ride: Try going vehicle free for a day or even a week. Take your kids to school on their bikes and walk to the park.
Use cloth bags: Take your own bags to the grocery store—they hold a lot more and you’ll cut down on the endless supply of plastics bags cluttering your closet.
Replace light bulbs: Change all of your bulbs to compact florescent light bulbs; it saves waste and money
