Conserving, Cleaning, Commuting

Last Thursday Green Tea fans gathered at the Caledon Community Centre in Caledon East to hear a terrific slate of guest speakers.

First in line was Rae Horst, CAO of the Credit Valley Conservation Authority, a community-based environmental organization dedicated to conserving, restoring, developing and managing our natural resources on a watershed basis. Ms. Horst delivered an impressive presentation that really hit the mark as she spoke about how our natural environment is deteriorating as a result of urban growth. The CVC Stewardship and Restoration Program is committed to the continued growth and promotion of ecological management, by means of partnerships with NGOs, private landowners and other agencies, through on-the-ground projects, education and stewardship. For more information contact Heather Yates at stewardship@creditvalleyca.ca

Next up was Michelle Fruendt from Eco-Friendly Home Cleaning Services sharing her experience in environmentally-friendly cleaning. Michelle demonstrated that a simple regiment that uses only water and a couple of special items is an efficient and cost-effective way to clean without using endless quantities of chemical-based products. By the way, we’ve had several enquiries about the items she uses and Michelle welcomes anyone interested to give her a shout at michelle@wholevillage.org

Mark Carr, the dynamic Executive Director of Smart Commute Brampton Caledon, finished up the evening with a dynamic presentation and an armload of door prizes for us. Smart Commute Brampton-Caledon is a Transportation Management Association (TMA) that provides transportation options, programs, and services to assist commuters in finding more convenient and less stressful means of travelling to and from work. Learn more at www.smartcommute.ca/brampton_caledon or contact info@SmartCommuteBramptonCaledon.ca

Once again we were lucky to have Michelle Woodhouse, winner of Caledon Idol, using her beautiful voice to entertain us on the break. Barb Imrie, of Buckstown Beans, supplied delicious Fair Trade coffee and Lena Valliquette, of The Tea Boutique, offered up a wonderful array of teas. Rosemarie DuPont was double-booked but the chef extraordinaire still managed to drop off taste-tempting fare that, of course, disappeared down to the last crumb!

Lastly, just a reminder that, if you’re a Zehr’s shopper, we hope you’ll save us loads of receipts over the upcoming holidays. Kay MacDuffee has offered to be our interim Zehr’s tape collector but we’ll need a new volunteer for 2009. If you’re up to the task please let me know patti@greentcaledon.ca