Special Features - Think Green 2016

RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, April 11, 2016 A5

Green Deer 2016 April 11 - June 12

As the snow melts, it’s clear that Red Deer needs a spring cleaning, which is why the annual Green Deer cleanup is happening again this year from April 11 to June 12. Green Deer is a volunteer based program where citizens give back to the community by helping to clean up litter from the winter.

“The Green Deer campaign is about beautifying our city and using the positive energy and actions of the majority to cancel out the careless actions of the few who littered over the winter months,” said Suzanne Jubb, City of Red Deer Community and Program Facilitator.

This year the campaign kicks off with a free barbecue on Monday, April 11 from 5p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Parkland Mall parking lot (weather permitting). Those wanting to participate in the Green Deer program can register in person at the barbecue or by any of the methods listed below.

The event is looking for volunteers from all areas of the city to register to help out and clean up during this time. Participating can be as simple as picking up trash while out for a walk, taking 15 minutes with your family in your own back yard and alley way, or by organizing a litter pick up challenge where neighbours, clubs, church groups and sports teams challenge each other to clean up the most trash.

“By individuals picking up even a few pieces of garbage, they are leaving the community better than they found it and have contributed to creating a cleaner and healthier Red Deer for

everyone.”

Those wanting to partake are encouraged to register for the cleanup in order to get the free Green Deer garbage bags and to be eligible for prizes. The prizes this year includes a barbeque donated by Canadian Tire and a BBQ Event hosted by KG Country/ Zed 98.9.

Trash collected during Green Deer can be put out in the special Green Deer waste bags with household garbage on the regular collection day.

Additional bags will not be charged. If large amounts of litter are collected, residents can call 403-309-8409 and The City will pick it up. Residents are asked to ensure that all trash is disposed of properly by securing bins with lids and avoiding overflowing dumpsters. If an issue is identified it can be reported through The City’s website tool Report-a-Problem.

Register for Green Deer • In person: Recreation Centre, Collicutt Centre or G.H. Dawe Centre • At the Green Deer kickoff Barbecue: Monday, April 11, 5 - 6:30 p.m., Parkland Mall Parking Lot (weather permitting) • By phone: 403-309-8411 • Online with Look’n Book: www. reddeer.ca/looknbook , Course Code: #79165 Garbage bags are provided at the kickoff BBQ and from City facilities throughout Green Deer.

For more information about Green Deer, please call Suzanne Jubb @ 403-3098409 or visit the website at www.reddeer.ca/greendeer

Leave it better than you found it.

Green Deer is about more than just picking up trash; it’s about caring for our community and protecting our parks and green spaces.

Join us for a free BBQ and register your team

Community Kick-Off Barbeque Monday, April 11 5 - 6:30 p.m.

Parkland Mall parking lot By registering you are entered in a draw to win a barbeque party for your clean up crew!

For information or to register: 403.309.8411 www.reddeer.ca/greendeer

Green Deer 2016 partners:

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GREEN DEER’S “LEAVE IT BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT” CAMPAIGN

A6 RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, April 11, 2016

Garden PLOT REGISTRATIONS

Public Garden Plot Registration The City of Red Deer prepares and manages plots you can register for and garden for the season. Three locations are available:

Pollinator Parks are areas that promote and preserve the natural habitat of pollinators.

In 2015, The City selected four parks as Pollinator Parks: City Hall, Snell Gardens, Maskepetoon Park and Bower Ponds.

The City Parks section is preserving and enhancing pollinator habitat in these areas by leaving the grass a little longer and by hand picking or using other ecologically sensitive methods to remove weeds and tree pests rather than spraying pesticides or herbicides. Parks crews are also planting some of the pollinators’ favourite flowers, trees and bushes to make the parks more inviting, so pollinators will hang out a little longer.

“Protecting habitat in the city parks is the most important thing we can do to help pollinators,” said Trevor Poth, Parks Superintendent. “As long as we preserve natural areas and promote the establishment of appropriate nectar and pollen sources, they will have shelter, food and water and these insects will thrive.”

The most famous pollinator is the honeybee, yet there are several native species of bees, wasps, beetles, flies, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds that are busy pollinating our flowers and vegetable gardens each year. We rely on these pollinators for about one third of the food we eat as many fruits, vegetables, grains and seeds come from flowering plants that need pollinators. Without these helpful insects and animals moving pollen from one plant to the next we wouldn’t have nearly the amount or diversity of fruits and vegetables, bouquets of pretty flowers, or even chocolate bars or coffee.

Studies have shown that some pollinators, including some of our native species are decreasing in number, and this decrease is upsetting the balance in our environment. The exact cause of the decline in population is not fully understood,

however contributing factors may include habitat changes from growing cities, spread of disease (mites and viruses), and pesticide use. In an effort to keep our local pollinator population healthy The City is committed to the development of Pollinator Parks.

Interpretive signs are being added to the four designated parks to teach residents about the role pollinators play in our ecosystem and what people can do to enhance their own yards and gardens to include pollinator habitat and food sources.

“The City is doing excellent things in our parks system and we want to share our knowledge with residents,” said Trevor Poth. “Many of our tactics can be easily incorporated into people’s backyards to help promote healthy areas for pollinators to live.”

Everyone can ‘bee’ a part of the Pollinator Parks System, by doing the following: • Planting flowers that bloom throughout the spring and summer and into the fall.

• Planting flowers and shrubs to create a green corridor connecting with your neighbor’s plants. Even plants in pots on balconies and decks will work.

• Providing nesting sites - bare soil, rotting wood, stacked rocks, even bee houses encourage pollinators to move in.

• Not spraying herbicides or insecticides on your lawn or garden.

• Mowing less! Consider leaving part of your yard as a natural area for pollinators, birds and other wildlife.

• Being an environmental steward. When going for a walk on the Waskasoo Trails, act with care. Try not to disturb nests and if you do pick up a rock or log, put it back where you found it.

For more information on pollinator parks go to www.reddeer.ca/pollinatorparks.

REUSING NATURE’S RUNOFF

Rain Barrels Can Help Reduce Your Environmental Footprint

BY BRIAN MCLOUGHLIN You’ve seen them around for years, hiding in gardens or near the corner of a house under a downspout. Maybe your grandparents had one in their yard and you used to play around it, marveling at the collection of water bugs and moss that accumulated there every summer. What are they? They’re Rain Barrels, and depending on where they come from, they can come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials and are sold in most home improvement stores and garden centers.

Why do we have them and what can they be used for? From both a gardening and environmental standpoint, Rain Barrels make sense and can provide several advantages to a home owner. If used properly they can: • Reduce water bills and conserve water in the summer months, when demand is the highest. Garden and lawn watering can account for 40 percent of residential water use during the summer. Using a Rain Barrel’s water catch, the typical gardener can recycle hundreds of gallons of water during the growing season.

• Reduce the amount of runoff water in storm sewer systems and cut down on the amount of water that must undergo expensive and energy-intensive recycling treatments. Capturing rainwater and putting it straight to use in your garden eliminates the need for this processing cycle.

• Help protect rivers, lakes, and streams from runoff pollution and erosion by feeding rainwater back to your yard.

• Control moisture levels around foundation of your home by directing overflow away from foundations to help to reduce flooding, damp and mold. Recycled rainwater also works well to keep composts and mulch damp.

• Provide oxygenated, un-chlorinated water which is ideal for watering plants.

Rainwater is highly oxygenated, free of the salts, inorganic ions, and fluoride compounds commonly contained in tap water and that can accumulate in the soil over time and potentially harm plant roots.

Use of rainwater in your garden dilutes this impact, making plants more droughttolerant, healthy, and strong. Care should be taken however, when using runoff rainwater on edible plants as rainwater collected from your roof picks up small levels of pollution as it washes off your roof. But it’s still great water and plants love it.

Rain Barrels are simple and easy to care for and can provide an exceptional return on your investment. For more information on choosing and adapting a Rain Barrel or to see if you qualify under the City of Red Deer Rain Barrel Rebate Program, visit the City on line at www.reddeer.ca/rainbarrels.ch residents about the role pollinators

Michener Gardens, 3809 55 Street

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Piper Creek Gardens, 1709 40 Avenue

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Parkside Gardens, 5320 67 Street

Garden plots will be available for rent on Tues., April 26 and ready for planting on Sat., May 14 (weather dependent).

Large $45 | Medium $28 | Small $16 Register at Cemetery Services office, Alto Rest Cemetery 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Monday to Friday One plot per applicant. The person working the plot is required to register.

Community Gardens & Orchards These are typically smaller, more localized gardens and orchards that promote walkability and strong community spirit. The City of Red Deer offers some support in the way of funding and expertise but the community groups are instrumental in managing these sites. To start a community garden in your neighbourhood, visit www.reddeer.ca/gardening for more information.

For more information visit www.reddeer.ca/gardening or call 403-342-8303.

Recycle theRain Rain Barrel Rebate Program reddeer.ca/rainbarrels

Reduce YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT RUNOFF INTO STORMWATER SYSTEM OR STREAMS & RIVERS HOUSEHOLD WATER USE FOR LANDSCAPING NEEDS

Save MONEY ON YOUR UTILITY BILL!

Rain Barrel Rebate Program The City of Red Deer wants to help you conserve water!water!

The Rain The City of Red Deer wants to help you conserve Barrel Rebate Program is now open, offering residents a The Rain Barrel Rebate program will be back in Aprilrebate ofwhere up to $50 ofthe a rain barrel of their choice. wewith will the givepurchase residents opportunity to apply for a utility rebate on a rain barrel that you purchase.

Rebate applications are available: Ĵ At City Hall - First Floor (4914 - 48 Avenue) Ĵ At Environmental Services - Civic Yards (7721 - 40 Avenue) Ĵ Online at reddeer.ca/rainbarrels Available rebates are limited on a first come, first-served basis.

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HAVE YOU HEARD THE BUZZ ABOUT POLLINATOR PARKS IN THE CITY ?

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RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, April 11, 2016 A7

How is Clean Conscience Recycling different?

“By understanding that you are” Committed to economical and effective waste solutions for your business.

PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Construction Waste Recycling • Special Events/Functions • Confidential, Secure, Reliable Cross-Cut Shredding

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• Garbage disposal (6 & 8-yard bins) • Business Recycling Solutions (Weekly, Bi-weekly, Monthly) • Organics Collection

Think Green

CIGARETTE BUTTS. A LITTLE LITTER CAN DO A LOT OF DAMAGE Although each cigarette butt is small, the cumulative effect is large. Improperly disposed cigarette butts account for almost 30 per cent of the litter collected during the annual city cleanup events.

Many people carelessly flick cigarette butts out car windows or toss them onto sidewalks, without realizing cigarette butts are not biodegradable, they will not disappear. In fact, the build-up of plastic filters and chemicals from cigarette butts is toxic to the animals, plants, and water around us.

Keeping butts off the ground ensures that properties and streets are litter-free and helps the environment. Building owners and property managers are encouraged to have cigarette disposal sites outside of buildings, providing a convenient way help keep litter off the streets. Considerate smokers are asked to continue to do their part to ensure

cigarette butts are disposed of properly.

As part of Green Deer, the City of Red Deer is giving away 1,000 free pocket ashtrays. These handy little tools help keep cigarette butt litter off the ground. It is a reusable and flexible foil lined pouch.

Drop in your butt, snap it shut, and an air seal suffocates burning matter and traps the odour inside. These light, convenient ashtrays easily fit in a pocket or purse, so people can butt out when they’re on-the-go and then dispose of their cigarette butts in a garbage bin later.

Suite 100A, 4315 55th Ave., Red Deer Ph: 1-866-211-0959 www.earldreeshen.ca

The pocket ashtrays are available for free at the following locations:

Recreation Centre – 4501 47A Ave Collicutt Centre – 3031 30 Ave G.H. Dawe Community Centre – 56 Holt St

WHEN IT COMES TO RECYCLING EVERY TOSS COUNTS. It’s time for Red Deer to up its recycling game. So warm up your throwing arm, widen your stance and make your best shot – into the blue box. Now that all numbered plastics are accepted in Red Deer’s residential recycling program, it’s time to fill that blue box to the brim.

Now you can recycle those bulky plastics including shampoo bottles, plant pots, CD cases, yogurt tubs and detergent and fabric softener containers. Simply remove lids and labels, empty and rinse the containers, and toss them in the blue box for weekly pickup. Break down materials to fit as much as possible into the recycling bin. Need a second blue box? No problem! Simply request one at no charge by calling the Blue Line at 403-340-BLUE (2583) or visiting www.reddeer.ca/recycling.

The plastic expansion is part of The City’s Waste Management Master Plan which came into play in 2013. Allowing for more recycled plastics is just one of the key steps in achieving waste diversion targets set out in the plan, including reducing Red Deer’s per capita waste disposal to 500 kg per capita per year. Currently our per capita waste is hovering around 800 kg per capita per year.

It’s a move that The City has wanted to implement for some time.

“We had hoped to roll out the plastics expansion earlier, but the market for recycled plastics was quite unstable at that time,” said Keran Braich, The City’s Waste Diversion Specialist. “However, our recycling contractor has assured us that

Earl Dreeshen, M.P. Red Deer-Mountain View

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...and Make our Community a Happier, Healthier & Cleaner Place to Live

markets have now recovered and we’re excited to be able to recycle more plastics and give residents the opportunity to really maximize their recycling efforts.”

Recycling is one of the most effective ways to reduce the amount of waste sent to the landfill and subsequently reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Along with plastics, residents can toss their newspaper, magazines, mixed paper, telephone books, corrugated cardboard, boxboard, metal cans and glass bottles and jars into the blue box.

“Through recycling, we can conserve the valuable natural resources that go into creating new products,” said Braich. “It just makes sense to take our old products and turn them into new ones like tote bags, furniture, drainage pipe, tissue paper, newspaper and drink containers” The ball will start rolling on the new Red Deer Recyclists campaign in 2016 by recognizing and rewarding a select number of households and businesses each month for their exemplary recycling efforts.

“There are Red Deerians who are already doing an incredible job when it comes to recycling and we want to recognize those who are consistently stepping up to their environmental responsibility,” said Braich.

“We need to take care of our planet and that’s what being a Red Deer Recyclist is all about - taking the time and making the effort to make every toss count.

We’re all in.

Shoot for the Blue Box and score a cleaner community.

We can recycle even more in Red Deer now that all numbered plastics are accepted in the curbside Blue Box program.

Look for the recycling symbol and make every toss count.

It’s a win-win, the more we recycle, the less we waste.

reddeer.ca/recycling 403-340-BLUE (2583)

One Year for $125.

Call 403-314-4300 To Subscribe today Sale valid until April 30th

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A8 RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, April 11, 2016

A WALKABOUT WITH JANE SHARING OUR CITY’S NEIGHBORHOODS

BY BRIAN MCLOUGHLIN Spring is a great time to get out and explore your neighborhood and your city, and Red Deer’s yearly Jane’s Walks are designed to bring people together to share their knowledge of their environments. The event is named to commemorate Jane Jacobs, the pioneering author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities and whose ideas and work centered on building and maintaining livable cities designed for and by the people who live in them.

Every year Jane’s Walks take place in over 130 cities around the world with over 40,000 people taking part in the 2015. Jane’s Walks are free, locally organized walking tours, in which people get together to explore, talk about and celebrate their neighborhoods. A Jane’s Walk can focus on almost any aspect of a neighborhood and on almost any topic. They can be serious or funny, informative or exploratory and they can look at the history of a place or at what’s happening there right now. Anyone can lead a walk because everyone is an expert on the place where they live.

Jane Jacobs was not a city planner by training. She was however, a concerned citizen who spent time observing city life around her, first in New York City and then in Toronto. From her observations, she developed some theories about what makes a city a great place to live.

“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because and only when, they are created by everybody.” After her death in 2006, Jane’s Walk was founded in Toronto by a group of her friends and colleagues who wanted to share her ideas and legacy.

Since that time the Jane’s Walk phenomenon has spread across the globe and 2016 marks the sixth year the event has been held in Red Deer. Last year there were eight separate walks in the City and so far this year five walks have been scheduled for the weekend of May 6 – 8. They are: 1. Downtown Heritage and Public Art Tour, lead by Pat Matheson, City of Red Deer Public Art Coordinator and Janet Pennington, City of Red Deer Heritage Community Development Coordinator.

2. Air Quality in Red Deer and the Parkland Airshed Management Zone, lead by Kevin Warren, Parkland Airshed Management Zone.

3. Restoring an Ecosystem – the Piper Creek Restoration Agriculture Project, lead by Rene Michalak and Cynthia Pohl of Rethink Red Deer.

4. Physical Activity Gems in Victoria Park led by Lynsey Hermary of the Red Deer Primary Care Network. This walk will focus on the opportunities for physical activity that Red Deer residents have in their neighborhood.

5. A Reverent Gaetz Historical Tour… with peeks into the Beyond, led by Lorna Watkinson-Zimmer.

Further information regarding organizing and leading a Walk and information on the dates and times Walks are to be held can be found at www.janeswalk.org/canada/reddeer, and you can also contact the Red Deer city organizer, Matthew Chambers at matthew.chambers@reddeer.ca for additional information. Jane’s Walks will take place on May 6, 7, and 8.

Recycle Your Electronics Drop off only when open:

May ¤

Call out for walk leaders Are you interested in a being walk leader for this year’s Jane’s Walk? We’re looking for residents who want to share their passion and knowledge of our community.

Visit bYf]koYdc gj_£[YfY\Y£j]\\]]j for more details and to register as a leader. The deadline to register is April 1 .

The full listing of free walks taking place throughout the weekend will be available online Zq 8hjad .

Jane’s Walks are free, locally organized walking tours, in which Red Deerians get to lYdc YZgml explore and celebrate our neighbourhoods.

This event is recognized world-wide and was founded by Jane Jacobs, an urbanist and activist whose writings championed a fresh, communitybased approach to city building.

TV’s, Computers, Monitors, Printers and ANY other Electronics for Recycling at NO charge.

Monday-Friday 7:30 am - 4:00 pm 8075-49th Ave, Red Deer

(North Red Deer behind United Furniture Warehouse)

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THE ADVOCATE

JANE’S WALK 201

“Recycling that makes ¢ent$ for you and your community” Profits generated by recycling cans and bottles at Cosmos Bottle Depots Ltd. support persons with disabilities through Cosmos Community Support Services Ltd. and the Cosmos Foundation.

Large blue bins are located around Red Deer and Blackfalds and charities within the communities receive 100% of the profits from the bins on a monthly basis.

Contact the depot manager to have your non-profit added to the list.

What’s Recyclable?

10¢

1 Litre & Under

OTHER PLASTIC JUGS,, ETC.

Get Local news at the moment at RedDeeradvocate.com

PLASTIC BOTTLES

COSMOS I RED DEER #1, 7428 - 49 Avenue

Monday to Saturday 9am to 5 pm

403-342-2034

GLASS BOTTLES

COS COSMOS SMOS II RED DEER 6332 Orr Drive Open Mon to Sat 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM

403-309-8642

MILK CONTAINERS

BAG-IN-A-BOX & POUCHES

ALUMINUM CANS

BLACKFALDS BOTTLE DEPOT 5405 South Street East

Thursday & Friday 10:00 am to 6:30 pm Saturday and Sundays 9 am to 5:30 pm

403-885-2689

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POLYCOAT CONTAINERS

25¢

Over 1 Litre