CWF Challenges #30-39

It IS a wonderful world, so let's take care of it.

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Week 30: Opt for Brick and Stone Over Pavement
Sure it only takes an afternoon to lay down pavement on your driveway, but an interesting interlocking brick pattern would look so much better! Plus it’s better for our waterways. Runoff will seep into the cracks and crevices of brick or interlocking stone, and will have a harder time making its way to storm drains.

Week 31: Check Your Septic System
If you’ve got a septic system, you’ll want to be sure to check it every three to five years. When you leave it too long, the nutrients and pollutants in household wastewater like nitrogen and phosphorous in the tank can seep into ground and surface water.

Week 32: Make Your Garden Grow Sans Pesticides
Don’t douse your English roses in pesticides to ward off pests. The chemicals you use to protect your favourite annual will eventually drain into our rivers and oceans. If you really want to keep pests in check, why not choose native plants that naturally resist the little buggers? Don’t be afraid to chat up your local nursery to find out which plants would work best for your garden.

Week 33: Grow a Fertilizer Free Lawn

People use 10 to 50 times more fertilizer on their lawns and gardens than they need to! And all that extra fertilizer runs off into storm drains, which then flows into streams and lakes, causing havoc in watery habitats. If you do use fertilizers, opt for organic or slow-releasing fertilizers to minimize nutrient run-off. Better yet, compost your yard trimmings and use it to give your soil a boost!

Week 34: Plant a Tree!

Or at least take care of the trees you’ve got. Both trees and shrubs will soak up and purify the water and can seriously slow runoff. And that’s a good thing for our waterways! 

Week 35: Invest in a Rain Barrel
Nevermind the garden tap. Collect water from your downspout in a big rain barrel and you’ll have plenty of water to keep your lilies blooming. You’ll be saving on your water bill and you’ll also be saving our oceans - all that downspout water would have gone directly into the sewers.

Week 36: Pick Up After Pets

After Fido has done his business in your backyard, make it your business to stoop and scoop. When pet droppings gets into storm water, it eventually leads to our waterways, bringing with them bacterial pollution.

Week 37: Go to the Car Wash

You might save a few pennies washing your car at home, but all the soap goes directly into the storm drain which leads to our lakes and rivers. Instead, head to a car wash that filters and reuses waste water.

Week 38: Fix that Oil Leak

Did you know, one drop of oil can pollute 25 litres of water? Yuck! What’s more disgusting is the fact that the amount of discarded, used motor oil that comes from our cars every year is seven times more than the amount of oil spilled in the Exxon Valdez disaster. If your engine’s leaking, get to a mechanic, stat!

Week 39: Use Eco-friendly Alternatives to Salt on Your Icy Driveway

It’s estimated that five million tonnes of road salt is used on Canadian roads every year. And all that salt can damage our lakes and rivers harming fish, insects, plants and all the other organisms that live in these water bodies. You can get the same traction by sprinkling a little sand or fine gravel on your driveway instead.

You can read more about CWF, it's 50th anniversary and the challenges here:
http://www.cwf-fcf.org/en/about-cwf/50th-anniversary/the-anniversary-challenge.html