Seriously, people, don't litter!

June 11, 2013

When people litter animals often pay the price.

Luckily there are some smart, kind people out there to help undo the litterers' damage.

CWF challenges 40 to 50

Week 40: Recycle Oil and Antifreeze
Got leftover antifreeze in your garage? Don’t dump it! Service stations and recycling centres will take both oil and antifreeze for you and dispose it properly
Week 41: Stop Hosing Down Your Driveway

A toxic potion of brake fluid, oil, grease and antifreeze can cause havoc on a watery ecosystem. When you hose down your driveway, this chemical concoction eventually leads to our lakes and rivers. It might be a little extra work, but cleaning up spills properly is well worth the effort. For dry spills, simply get out your broom and dry sweep the area; for wet spills, clean it up with kitty litter and an absorbent cloth.

Week 42: Swap chemical cleaners for good ol’ elbow grease

Sure chemical cleaners take the work out of cleaning the oven, but many degreasers and disinfectants are wreaking havoc on aquatic organisms. Not only do they pollute aquatic habitats studies have found 70 per cent of American streams contain traces of the surfactants that make chemical cleaners suds up - but they also toy with the hormones in fish. So roll up your sleeves and clean soap scum in your shower with some good ol’ fashioned elbow grease.

Week 43: Trade antibacterial cleaners for a homemade cleaning potion

Not only does bacteria boost your immune system, but some bacteria can actually benefit the environment. Antibacterial ingredients, such as triclosan, have been found in 58 per cent of our steams. Mix your own cleaning potion with one part vinegar to one part water. Can’t stand your home smelling like vinegar? A few of drops of lavender or rosehip essential oil should mask the scent!

Week 44: Ditch the Drano and unplug your clogged drains environmentally

Your thick head of hair might be great for styling, but it’s awfully gross when it plugs up the drain in the bathtub. Still - there’s no need to rely on industrial lye and acids to unclog your shower drain of hair and debris. A simple plunger or plumber’s snake will do the trick.


Week 45: Check your dishwashing detergent for phosphates

Get your dishes squeaky clean with dishwashing detergents that are chemical free. Although most laundry detergents and dish soaps no longer contain harmful phosphates in their list of ingredients, some detergents still contain the ecosystem disturbing chemicals. Once phosphates get into lakes and streams, they can spark a boom in algae and weed growth.

Week 46: Make the Switch to Recycled Toilet Paper

Did you know Canadians use 3.4 billion rolls of toilet paper every year? It’s true! The average person uses 100 rolls of toilet paper annually. So how can we make a difference? Swap your virgin bleached variety for recycled. If we all switched out just one roll, we’d be able to save 48,000 trees and nix 4,500 kilograms of air and water pollution that goes into creating it.

Week 47: Combat dandruff with tea tree oil instead of mainstream dandruff shampoos

Many mainstream dandruff shampoos are full of toxic ingredients like coal tar, selenium disulphide and zinc pyrithione all synthetic ingredients that are harsh on aquatic species and ecosystems. Fight the flakes by washing your hair with natural tea tree oil shampoos instead or add a few drops of tea tree oil to your regular shampoo.

Week 48: Fight bad breath with a tongue scraper instead of mouthwash

Think bad breath is bad? The stuff that’s in mouthwash is worse. After ingredients like anti-parasitic thymol swish around in your mouth as you gargle, they make their way into our lakes and rivers and can be toxic to aquatic organisms. Start scraping your tongue with a tongue scraper everyday instead to combat stinky breath.

Week 49: Lay Off the Lather
Primping with clarifying shampoo, deep conditioner, moisturizer with SPF, and exfoliating body wash might make you feel like a million bucks, but have you thought about the laundry list of ingredients in them? All kinds of complex chemicals wash off your body and into our rivers and oceans every time you shower. Opt to reduce the amount of product you use or treat yourself to a shopping spree all-natural formulas only.

THE LAST ONE!!!

Week 50: Wrap it up recycled style!

All the wrapping paper, tags and trimmings involved in gift giving makes for a lot of wasted paper come Christmas morning, after the kids have torn apart their presents. With this bow tutorial, you can have an eco-friendly holiday while wowing your tikes in just 12 minutes flat.

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

CWF Challenges #30-39

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

Don`t forget to make you donation via my personal page (I`m only 13% towards my goal...) - this could be my Xmas gift...:
http://donate.cwf-fcf.org/goto/tiggeric


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

Cut it out or cut it up

Please buy items with less packaging!
If you must buy items with plastic, make sure it gets recycled and cut any loops so that animals don't get stuck in them...like that poor turtle middle, bottom row!!!

Think about it

CWF challenges #20-29 & Gardening Guide

Seasonal Gardening Guide:
Grow Wild — Summer 2012
http://www.cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/newsletters/wag-seasonal-guide/2012/summer.html

week 20:
Health Canada estimates that Canadians spend close to 90 per cent of their time indoors. And that’s certainly true when the temperature dips! Indoor air can be 10 times more polluted than outdoor air. Yuck! You’ve been breathing in stale, polluted air all winter! But don’t let it get you down. Just throw open the windows and let the fresh air waft its way through your home. Want to usher in even fresher air? Plant a tree in your yard - they are the best air purifiers around.  

Week 21: Lawn Watering

Water your lawn once a week that’s all it needs. Deep, infrequent watering promotes deep, strong roots and will make your lawn healthier. Watering too often may cause disease by starving the soil of oxygen. Apply 2.5 cm (one inch) of water once a week, only if watering is needed.

Week 22

Throw a birthday bash without the balloons! When they are released into the atmosphere (particularly near the coast), they pose a threat to marine animals like leatherback sea turtles that mistake balloons for prey.

Week 23: Celebrate Rivers to Oceans Week

Celebrate Rivers to Oceans Week with the Canadian Wildlife Federation from June 8 to 14 by visiting a body of water in your town. Whether it’s the ocean, a river, or a stream, know that they’re all connected. Did you know that 75% of all ocean pollution comes from land? It’s up to us to reduce our impact on Canada’s water.

Week 24: Go meatless on Mondays

The water that goes into maintaining livestock is staggering. For example, the average water footprint per calorie for beef is twenty times larger than for cereals and starchy roots. But don’t worry! You can still make yummy meals without the impact. Opt for soy, beans and protein rich veggies to get your protein fix for the day.

Week 25: Scout out cleaning products that are non-toxic

You can either buy environmentally safe products at the store or make your own! The fewer toxins that leach into our rivers and streams, the happier and healthier our waters and the wildlife that live there are. Learn about the impacts of agriculture and other industries on water quality by watching CWF’s water PSA’s Navigating Troubled Waters or take the Water Challenge.

Week 26

Water sports that involve a powerboat aren’t great for the environment. So make a difference by using motorboats responsibly over the season: keep the engine tuned, follow the recommended service schedule, properly match engine horsepower to vessel size, reduce idling, use the right size of propeller, reduce stops and starts and keep the hull clean and waxed to decrease drag and increase fuel efficiency. Better yet, play water games that don’t require a motor at all. Marco Polo anyone?

Week 27: Clean Up After Recycle Day

Have you ever noticed how much litter is in the streets after garbage day? As workers are tossing recycling into the truck, a can here and a container there inevitably escape and find their way onto the street. This litter washes into our waterways via storm drains. But plastic garbage doesn’t break down and can actually choke wildlife that mistakes it for food and can drown others that get tangled up in the debris. Take a couple of minutes and pick up the straggles left behind.

Week 28: Drain Your Hot Tub Onto Landscaped Areas

Chilling out in the hot tub is a great way to unwind after a long day, so when it comes to maintaining your tranquility tub, do it responsibly. Firstly, wait for the tub to cool down before you dump the chlorinated water out. When you drain it, ensure the water is pouring onto lawn, away from storm drains. There’s no need to add extra chemicals to storm drains.

Week 29: Dispose of Paint Properly

Pride yourself on your superb painting skills? Now you can pride yourself on painting with the environment in mind too. After you’ve finished a room, make sure you squeeze excess paint from your brushes and rollers on newspaper before you go ahead and rinse your tools. And if you’ve got paint left over, drop them off at your local household hazardous waste collection centre.

Don`t forget to make you donation via my personal page (I`m only 13% towards my goal...) - this could be my Xmas gift...:
http://donate.cwf-fcf.org/goto/tiggeric

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

CWF Challenge #13 - special re: no pesticide gardening

Week 13: Pledge not to use pesticides this year.

Spring has sprung, and along with the flowers in our gardens and buds on the trees can also come weeds through pavement cracks and mischievous insects that may dampen spring excitement. This year pledge to drop the can of pesticide. In fact, why not retire it entirely? Instead, learn five great ways to keep your garden pesticide free and looking gorgeous. But before you toss it, make sure to contact your city to find out how to properly dispose of hazardous waste.

http://www.cwf-fcf.org/en/action/how-to/at-home/five-alternatives-to-pesticides.html

Spring has sprung, and along with the flowers in our gardens and buds on the trees can also come weeds through pavement cracks and mischievous insects that may dampen spring excitement. I know what you’re thinking. Drop the can of pesticide. In fact, why not retire it entirely? We’ve got five great ways to keep your garden pesticide free and looking gorgeous. But before you toss it, make sure to contact your city to find out how to properly dispose of hazardous waste. Alright, let’s get our hands dirty!

Wake-up Call
Did you know that coffee grounds are an all-natural way to provide soil with the nitrogen needed to fertilize flowers, grass and even vegetables? Even if you don’t drink coffee at home, Starbucks franchises have started saving their coffee grounds (Grounds for Your Gardens) in an effort to be environmentally responsible. You can mix it in with your compost or right into your garden soil.
Not-so-sluggish Solution
Do you find your beautiful hostas tend to look a little more beat up than bountiful by mid-summer? This year, try mixing a solution of equal parts water to vinegar and spray this solution around the plants when they are starting to shoot out, before the leaves open. If you do this for four to five days, you should be slug free for the summer!

Heat Wave
When you work hard to keep your property presentable, it can be tempting to buy products that zap weeds fast. Unfortunately, the harm these products do to the ground water, helpful insects and the environment is a large price to pay. This year, try the free AND easy option: pour boiling water on troublesome weeds. To increase the effectiveness of this method, trim the weed down, pour a little salt on top of the weed and then add boiling water. This will kill and dry up your weed for good.

Get Some Air
 Looking for a lush, healthy lawn that will be the envy of all your neighbours? This year, try aerating your lawn in spring and fall to maximize oxygen intake and rejuvenate your grass. Think of it as an exfoliation treatment for your property! Usually, local landscapers or garden centres will offer this service, but they also rent out equipment to take care of the job.

Biodiversify Your Garden
2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. Celebrate it in your garden by planting a wide range of native species. In doing so, you will be increasing the variety of helpful critters that will work to eliminate the harmful ones. And what more could you ask for than not having to lift a finger? We’ve got all the tools you need to create your perfect garden, whether you are working with shade, in dry or wet conditions or gardening for wildlife. Check out CWF’s demonstration gardens for helpful ideas!

CWF Challenge #11-19

Week 19: Mother’s Day Tip
This Mother’s Day as you pay homage to your mom, take a moment to think about the Mothers of wildlife bearing their young out in the wild, trying to find suitable habitat and remind yourself and your friends of the many hardships they must face the things you can do to help. Why not send a CWF Mother’s Day e-card?

Week 18: Restore a Ribbon of Life The strip of moisture loving trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants along the edge of a lake, river, wetland, or other watery habitat is called the buffer zone. This ribbon of life enhances the beauty of the shoreline; shades and prevents the heating of water, which can kill aquatic creatures; protects water quality by filtering the run-off of pollutants like fertilizers and pesticides from land; controls soil erosion, which muddies streams and ruins fish spawning habitat; and provides food, cover, and nesting sites for a rich variety of life forms on land and in water.

Logging, construction, agriculture, or other activities can damage one of these areas in your community. Visit the Hinterland Who’s Who to learn how to protect and revitalize a shoreline in your community.

Week 17: Bring Fido out for an extra walk. Not only will you make Fido’s day, you might also improve your own health and well-being too! Studies show people that own dogs have lower blood pressure and cholesterol. We bet those walks are a big reason for that! So get out for an extra walk with your furball this week and don’t forget to log your kilometres on www.NationalWildlifeWeek.com. 

 Week 16: missing
 

Week 15: It’s National Wildlife Week!

And it’s starting to feel like spring outside! So put your gym pass on hold and get those legs moving outdoors. A 160-pound person walking at a quick pace can easily burn 277 calories an hour. But if you want to step it up a notch, hit the trails; hiking will burn 438 calories per hour. After your workout, log your kilometres on NationalWildlifeWeek.com.

Week 14 Kick your kids outside to play! 
Research has shown that kids who are not exposed to wildlife and the natural world have lower test scores, and higher rates of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), obesity and depression. So do your kids a favour and send them out for a game of tag in the backyard.

week 13 - see separate post

Week 12: Buy local

Support the local economy and enjoy fresh local food when possible. When the average person in North American sits down to eat, each ingredient has typically traveled at least 2,400 km. That’s like traveling from Moncton to Florida to get your strawberries! The transportation of this food emits tons of carbon dioxide, not to mention increases the cost to the consumer.

Week 11: When you travel, do not contribute to the profits of people who capture or kill endangered species

Learn about the regulations of the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and follow them when you travel. CITES makes it illegal to import goods made from endangered species, such as skins of leopards and ivory from elephants.



Don`t forget to make you donation via my personal page (I`m only 13% towards my goal...) - this could be my Xmas gift...:
http://donate.cwf-fcf.org/goto/tiggeric

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

Hinterland Who's Who

CWF Challenges 1-10

CWF Challenges 1-10

 Week 1: old Christmas Tree
If you have a real Christmas tree, ‘tis the season to think about taking it down. Instead of putting it at the curb reuse it instead. Take it out to your yard, re-decorate it with popcorn, suet, and birdseed. As the tree starts to break down, the needles will fall into your flower beds or garden adding nutrients to the soil. The birds, chipmunks and squirrels will take shelter in its boughs, and get a good meal from the food you’ve "decorated" the tree with.

If you don’t have a yard or a tree set up some bird feeders to help out your feathered friends weather the harsh winter months.

Week 2

Break ice on puddles in the winter so animals can get a drink.

Week 3: Learn About Wildlife

Learning about wildlife is an important first step in becoming involved. Getting outside and becoming an observer of life around you is a good way to begin. Try to incorporate nature hikes to a nearby park, wetland, or woodlot into your regular schedule. Or use these cold winter months to hunker down and do some reading about the wildlife you see in your neck of the woods. For tons of information about Canadian wildlife visit hww.ca.

Week 4: Avoid idling your vehicle for more than one minute

Instead of letting your car idle, turn off the ignition. It uses less gas and emits less CO2 to stop and restart your car than to let it run. In fact, idling uses twice as much gas as driving! If every driver in Canada avoided idling for five minutes a day, we could prevent 1.6 million metric tons of CO2 from being emitted.

week 5: Lower your thermostats
Lower the thermostat by three degrees in winter and you can save up to 10 per cent on your heating bill. A common myth is that when you reduce your thermostat for only a few hours it will take more heat to bring your home back up to the desired temperature. This is not so. You will save money and fuel because your heating system will not have to keep your home so warm. Wearing that sweater never felt so smart!


Week 6: Avoid products with disposable plastic packaging

Animals have been known to die after swallowing plastic debris or becoming entangled in plastic six-pack holders. Always recycle your plastic products.

Week 7: Change your light bulbs 
Changing just one traditional incandescent light bulb to a compact fluorescent bulb results in savings of over $45 during its lifetime. Each bulb uses one-fourth of the energy of an incandescent bulb, lasts up to 10 times longer and the energy saved keeps CO2 out of the atmosphere.

N.B. for those who may have questions about CFL's please refer to the following sites:
Scientific American (mercury in CFL's)
Snopes (toxins)
Natural Resources Canada (Impact Study)

Week 8: Choose your recreational activities wisely

Consider cross-country skiing and canoeing instead of snowmobiling and motor boating. These activities are quieter so they don’t disturb wildlife, and they increase your chances of seeing wildlife. Remember that loud noises in winter disturb animals at a time when they need to rest and conserve energy.

Week 9: Feed the birds

Put out suet and fat mixes to keep birds warm and give them lots of energy.


week 10: Make a warm winter home.
Recycle woody debris, such as fallen branches and clippings from pruned shrubs and trees, to create shelter for songbirds. Brush piles not only provide year- round cover for birds, they also are excellent nesting sites for small mammals and invertebrates. If you don’t have the space, consider letting a corner of your yard grow wild.


Don`t forget to make you donation via my personal page (I`m only 13% towards my goal...) - this could be my Xmas gift...:
http://donate.cwf-fcf.org/goto/tiggeric

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

Hinterland Who's Who