What On EARTH Can We Do?

Making your home more energy-efficient and sustainable doesn't have to be hard! In this live episode of What On EARTH Can We Do? we sit down with green building technology experts Melanie Ross and Peter Graul to find out what green building technologies are and how we can use them to make our homes greener. Support this podcast

About 2.8 million tonnes of plastic waste ends up in Canadian landfills every year, which is the equivalent of the weight of 24 CN towers! In this episode, we sit down with Jade Janzen from https://www.liveswithlessplastic.ca/ (Lives with Less Plastic) and Robert Herritt from https://styrogo.com/ (StyroGo) to chat about plastic pollution and what they're doing about it. And, as always, we'll get some tips on how we can reduce plastic consumption in our own lives! Support this podcast

In this episode: "Regenerative agriculture is a decision to stop with the extraction ... and all about helping the earth thrive" (08:26) "When you support local farmers you're a part of an incredibly hopeful journey" (13:28) "[Alberta] has some of the last left healthy native fescue grasses and it's our responsibility to preserve them" (18:49) About our guests: YYC Growers & Distributors YYC Growers is a social enterprise working to distribute wealth in the area of food production and distribution. https://yycgrowers.com/ (Learn more about their amazing work)! Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation Glenbow Ranch protects 3200 acres of native fescue grasslands and is an active cattle ranch. The Park is home to creatures big and small from moose to bumblebees and spans 10 km of the Bow River. https://grpf.ca/ (Learn more about the park)! Important links: Purchase your Emerald Lifestyle Card and get discounts at sustainable businesses across Alberta - https://emeraldfoundation.ca/elc/ (https://emeraldfoundation.ca/elc/) Are you from Calgary? Consider purchasing a YYC Growers harvest box and get connected to your local food system - https://yycgrowers.com/yyc-growers-how-it-works/ (https://yycgrowers.com/yyc-growers-how-it-works/) Visiting Glenbow Ranch or live nearby? Check out their programs - https://grpf.ca/programs/ (https://grpf.ca/programs/) Support this podcast

"Nîpîy, which is water in Cree, means life… where there is water, there is life” - Katherine Swampy, Band Councilor, Samson Cree Nation In this episode of What On EARTH Can We Do? we're chatting with the Emerald Award-Winning Vermilion River Watershed Alliance & Pigeon Lake Watershed Association to learn all about watersheds and why they're so important! -- In this episode: 02:05 - “A watershed is basically a big area of land that drains water to a single point and that point is a body of water” 04:39 - “stewardship is basically taking ownership for where you live, it's taking ownership of the environment around you and taking care of it and it's incredibly important for providing something for the future” 12:42 - What on earth can we do as everyday people to protect our watersheds? About our guests: https://vrwa.ca/ (Vermilion River Watershed Alliance) The Vermilion River Watershed Alliance is a local nonprofit group formed to revive the watershed, which is part of the North Saskatchewan River watershed in Alberta. Through their efforts, they work to improve water quality, manage flooding, reduce erosion, retain soil and moisture content, and protect local wildlife. https://www.plwa.ca/ (Pigeon Lake Watershed Association) Pigeon Lake Watershed Association (PLWA) is a charitable, not-for-profit environmental advocacy group made up of people who live, work and play in Pigeon Lake and its watershed. Their mission is to enhance, preserve and protect Pigeon Lake and its watershed as a healthy and environmentally sustainable ecosystem for current and future generations. Important links: Purchase your Emerald Lifestyle Card and get discounts at sustainable businesses across Alberta - https://emeraldfoundation.ca/elc/ (https://emeraldfoundation.ca/elc/) Support this podcast

In Canada, https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/efficiency/communities-infrastructure/transportation/idling/4419 (transportation produces 27% of our national emissions), and https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/reduce-emissions.html (homes and buildings produce 13%)... but, there are things we can do to shrink those numbers! In this episode of What On EARTH Can We Do? we chat with The https://craz.ca/ (Calgary Region Airshed Zone) and https://solaralberta.ca/ (Solar Alberta) to learn all about emissions: what they are, why they exist, and what we can do as individuals to reduce them! In this episode: 04:25 - discover how air quality is monitored  11:40 - learn how you can reduce your emissions 17:51 - how does solar reduce emissions? 18:40 - how much does installing solar panels cost? 22:06 - top three tips for people who are looking to install solar 25:17 - five energy conservation methods you may not have considered About our guests: https://craz.ca/about/ (The Calgary Region Airshed Zone (CRAZ)) CRAZ is a non-profit located in Calgary, Alberta. They monitor, analyze, and provide information on air quality and develop strategies to manage air quality issues within the Calgary Regional Airshed Zone. https://solaralberta.ca/ (Solar Alberta) Solar Alberta is a non-profit educational organization located in Edmonton, Alberta. They provide free educational events, training and classes, exhibits, school presentations, public demonstrations, consulting services, and media appearances. Other cool stuff: https://emeraldfoundation.ca/elc/ (Get your Emerald Lifestyle Card) and start saving at sustainable businesses across Alberta! Support this podcast

In this episode, we sit down with Emerald Award winners https://defendabparks.ca/ (Defend Alberta Parks) & http://lchsecovision.weebly.com/ (Lacombe Composite High School's EcoVision). Together, we chat about how public engagement can influence solutions to problems that affect people's lives and how we can use our voices to make a change. What we're chatting about: 03:57 - Learning about CPAWS and the Defend Alberta Parks campaign 05:40 - “we have just under 500 provincial parks in AB, we were looking at losing 175 of those, that's 45%” 06:40 - The early stages of the Defend AB Parks campaign 09:33 - The famous Defend Alberta Parks lawn sign! 12:24 - Did the campaign work?? 15:25 - How to build a successful public engagement campaign 19:00 - Who is EcoVision? 19:55 - What inspires the EcoVision students to become environmental leaders in their community 23:23 - How EcoVision is helping to get other students engaged with the environment About our guests: https://defendabparks.ca/about/ (Defend Alberta Parks) With the help of volunteers and supporters from across Alberta, the goal of Defend Alberta Parks is to ensure the province's parks remain within the Alberta Parks system and remain protected. With the help of volunteers and supporters from across Alberta, a https://defendabparks.ca/december-update/ (plan to delist 175 parks was reversed), and no parks were removed from the parks system in 2020. Defend Alberta Parks is organized by the Alberta Environmental Network and CPAWS Southern Alberta and Northern Alberta chapters. It is funded by generous donations from Albertans, small businesses, and local non-profit organizations.  http://lchsecovision.weebly.com/about-us.html (EcoVision) EcoVision's purpose is to grow student leaders through student-led projects. Everything, EcoVision attempts, needs to enhance:  ​​Improving Our Environment - improve our air, water, or land Enhancing Our Education - supplement the learning of individuals Collaborating with Our Community - increase the collaboration and sharing of ideas, skills, and expertise locally, provincially, and globally Other cool stuff: https://emeraldfoundation.ca/elc/ (Get your Emerald Lifestyle Card) and start saving at sustainable businesses across Alberta! Support this podcast

Who are the individuals across Alberta taking action against climate change and what drives them to do it? What we're chatting about: 02:09 - Get to know Pat Letizia 04:35 - Pat has been a part of environmental granting programs that have dispersed over $11 million dollars to over 734 environmental projects 08:08 - Pat's advice to new leaders or young leaders 10:43 - How Eco-Growth environmental is turning waste into bio-mass energy (carbon-neutral energy)! 13:40 - Eco-Growth's motivation behind making environmentalism the core of their business 23:07 - The impact Eco-Growth is having on the environment 35:37 - How can we as individuals know that we are making a difference for the environment? About our guests: Pat Letizia Pat Letizia has worked with https://albertaecotrust.com/ (Alberta Ecotrust Foundation) for 25 of its 30-year history and led the organization as Executive Director and CEO for over 20 of those years.https://emeraldfoundation.ca/aef_awards/pat-letizia/ ( Pat received the Lifetime Achievement award at the 30th Annual Emerald Awards.) https://www.eco-growthenviro.ca/ (EcoGrowth Environmental) Eco-Growth Environmental Inc. is a Calgary-based technology company focused on providing GREEN initiatives and solutions to environmental challenges through the development of innovative and sustainable technology. Support this podcast