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

Workshops were a hit!

Well our Alternative Lawn Workshops are over and the feedback from our audience was wonderful. Landscape design expert Deborah May Forbes left no stone unturned (pun intended) and delivered a fun, informative set of workshops that were chock full of tips and creative ideas. It was Green T’s first foray into something other than our usual environmental speakers’ nights and we’re giving it an “E” for effort, excellence and environmental inspiration. Our sincere thanks to the Town of Caledon Community Green Fund for helping us make it happen!

Speaking of inspiration, I had a few moments to speak to some of the Green T members in the audience too and their personal stories never cease to motivate and encourage me. I actually spoke to a new member who commutes to work, from Bolton to Toronto, by bicycle. I believe his perspective on the environment would be amazing insight for a feature story in a future Green Thoughts newsletter. I’ll see if he agrees so stay tuned!

Options Galore!

On Saturday close to 30 people turned up to listen to local landscape design expert Deborah May-Forbes at our first Alternative Lawn Workshop. With a wealth of experience and knowledge at her disposal Deborah shared wonderful insights into alternatives to the traditional grass lawn.

Requiring less time, water, and products than the conventional grass lawn homeowners are increasingly looking at these eco-friendly options and trading in their mowers for items like a bench to relax on in their newly-formed gardens. Indeed, although slightly money and labour intensive at the outset, an alternative lawn ends up giving you a low-cost, low-maintenance, wildlife-friendly space to enjoy for years to come.

So if you missed workshop number one don’t despair. You can join us on October 25th for workshop number two. Deborah will be giving a review of what was covered last week plus additional information and concluding with a question and answer segment so you can get the answers you need. Want to join us? Just give me a shout and I’ll save you a seat patti@greentcaledon.ca

I'm a Green Granny (again)!

This week marked a special occasion in our family as our oldest son Jason and his wife Jacquie bestowed upon us our second grandchild. Jayden Alexander Foley was born on Wednesday October 1st, a bouncing baby brother for 3-year old Julia and a nephew for our youngest son Mike.

To my husband Len and I it’s indeed what life is really all about…..family.

Our children and grandchildren will witness even more of the impending changes to planet Earth than we will. The air we pollute today will be the air they breathe tomorrow. The finite amount of drinkable water on our blue planet will be of an even greater concern than it is now. And the ability to feed ourselves with safe, locally-produced crops will be an issue that they will have to meet head on.

To us Jayden represents more than a beautiful addition to our family. He’s one more reason why we’ll keep fighting the good fight for a clean, healthy planet for him to call home.

Oct 4th is Caledon Day and there's lots to enjoy!

Green T would like to take this opportunity to remind of our members and friends that next Saturday, October 4th marks a very special day. It’s the Town of Caledon’s inaugural Caledon Day, a wonderful idea to bring all Caledon residents together for a day of fun and entertainment during the beautiful fall season.

The parking lot and grounds of the Town Hall will be transformed into a wonderful autumn display of food vendors, product vendors, a farmers market and a whole lot more! Kids will love trying their hand at kite building, face painting, bird house building, rock climbing and all sorts of fun stuff at the Mars Canada Family Village. Adults can enjoy a cold one at the James Dick Construction Brewery Garden while listening to live music on the main stage. While you’re at it check out the Sardo Foods Caledon Café. And to wind things down there’ll even be fireworks after the sun has gone down!

If you’re energetic join in the 5k run or 1k run or to really get in to the fall swing of things sign up for a spot on the Heritage Bus Tour of beautiful Belfountain. Register in advance as there are limited spaces available; call at 905-584-2272 x4235.

Green T will have a booth in the “Caledon Creative Complex” and will be signing up new memberships and selling Green T-shirts so be sure to encourage your friends to stop by and say hello!

Want to know more about our first-ever Caledon Day? Go to www.caledon.ca/caledonday

Green T brewed up a great night!

On Wednesday night the picturesque Caledon town of Palgrave was home to the biggest Green Tea event so far. Over sixty people jammed into the tiny community room in the United Church and chatted with like-minded folks, sipping aromatic fair trade coffee courtesy of Buckstown Beans and organic teas from the Tea Boutique, while waiting for the exciting line-up for this environmental speakers’ event to take to the stage. And making that waiting a lot more fun were the amazing vocals of Kate Moura from Bolton's Moura Music Studio and her talented young student Michelle Woodhouse.

Opening remarks from Caledon Mayor Marolyn Morrison set the tone, touching on the importance of buying local and supporting local farms and businesses. Karen Hutchinson from Caledon Countryside Alliance was up next, sharing information about the Inglewood Farmers Market, Eat Local Month and the Eat Local Challenge Week. Karen even treated her audience with a basketful of fresh ground cherries that were the perfect accompaniment for chef RoseMarie DuPont’s mouth-watering baked goodies.

Palgrave United Church's Turkey Task Force was honoured with an Eat Local "Local Hero Award". Green T also officially launched their new website http://www.greentcaledon.ca/ and kicked off a membership Drive. Soon Lime Green T-shirts will be all over town!

Jeff Gold, one the founding members and project manager of Whole Village, wound up the evening with a terrific pictorial about life in the sustainable farming community in northwest Caledon. Watch for more news soon on Green T’s next Green Tea, scheduled for November 13th – mark those calendars!

Green T's Seeds are Springing to Life!

These are exciting times as Green T moves to the next level. Our new website is up and running and we're really looking forward to our next event on September 17th in Palgrave. We call these environmentally-inspirational speakers' nights Green Teas and they are hosted by Green T five times per year. To date they have been funded by small donations at the door and the proceeds of raffles and very small silent auctions. A grant from the Town of Caledon Community Green Funds has allowed us to kick things up a notch in terms of community awareness for our organization through the creation of a logo, the new website and our exciting soon-to-be-launched electronic newsletter Green Thoughts. Simultaneously we are embarking on our first-ever Membership Drive which will help raise the funds necessary to see Green T continue to flourish and grow.

Commencing with our November Green Tea event there will be a modest door charge of $4 per person. Students and Seniors will be admitted to these events for free.

If you choose to purchase an Annual Membership, for just $24, you will be admitted to all Green Tea events at no charge. In addition you'll receive a discount off any special workshops or other events and, of course, our new electronic newsletter. The first 50 paid memberships will also receive a fabulous new Green T (shirt) in your choice of Fresh Lime or Forest Green! But, most of all, your Membership will help cover ongoing costs for room rentals and refreshments, and will keep Green T growing and spreading the environmental message. Please join us in our mission of inspiring people to go from "Awareness to Action"!