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Avoiding meat and dairy products is one of the biggest ways to reduce your environmental impact, according to recent scientific studies.

But what is the difference between beef and chicken? Does a bowl of rice produce more climate warming greenhouse gases than a plate of chips? Is wine more environmentally friendly than beer?

To find out the climate impact of what you eat and drink, choose from one of the 34 items in our calculator and pick how often you have it.

How do your food choices impact on the environment?
Which food would you like?
How often do you have it?
Find out

The latest plans for a major redesign of Elgin Street reveal a downtown strip that’s livelier, more accessible and friendlier to cyclists.

Over one kilometre of Elgin Street between Gloucester Street and the Queen Elizabeth Driveway will be reduced from four lanes to two, with turning lanes. The sidewalks will be widened and parking reduced from 120 spaces to 90. The proposed south-facing view of Elgin Street near Waverley Street. The bollards and pavers indicate parking spots that could also be rented as patios for restaurants. Cyclists and cars will have to share a single lane for vehicular traffic in each direction and the priority is on traffic-calming measures and wide sidewalks.

The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) partnered with the National Capital Commission (NCC) to design and construct a small wetland adjacent to the Ottawa River. This new wetland is located close to Remic Rapids along the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway. The feature is 0.15 hectares and consists of a shallow basin that is a water supply for wildlife as well as amphibian breeding and bird foraging area. Volunteers and NGO community groups provided clean up and planting assistance. The wetland provides a unique and highly visible habitat feature along the National Capital Commission Ottawa River Pathway.

Benefits of the Project
•Altered elevations creates areas for more diverse aquatic and terrestrial plant life
•Provides new and enhanced habitat for wetland wildlife
•Provides quiet area for water fowl and shorebird nesting, rearing and feeding
•Installed woody structures creates more diverse habitat
•Installed sand and pea stone creates turtle nesting and basking areas
•Common buckthorn (invasive species) removal allowed for more native plant growth

The Russell and District Horticultural Society is turning 100 years old in 2019! To help celebrate, and to look towards the next 100 years, RDHS wants to mark the occasion by helping to make our community greener!

Each RDHS member can buy one tree from Beyond the House at a reduced price. Beyond the House has a selection of trees and tall shrubs to choose from that are hardy, do well in our area and look beautiful.

Orders are being accepted now and will continue until March 31, 2019.

The Kingston Area Seed System Initiative (KASSI) promotes responsible stewardship of our agricultural seed heritage in the Kingston Area.

Come celebrate local seeds! Learn how to save your own seeds, swap seeds with others and visit our local seed vendors-activities for the whole family!

Location:
LCVI High School,
153 Van Order Dr., Kingston, ON

Seedy Saturdays are fun, inexpensive events where you can swap and exchange seeds, get exciting varieties that other seed savers are sharing (as well as the stories that come with them), attend workshops and talks, meet vendors and buy seeds from seed companies. Whether you are a first-time or master gardener, seed enthusiast or expert seed saver, there really is something for everyone.

Location: Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre, Britannia Beach,
102 Greenview Ave., Ottawa, ON

A tradition is continuing this holiday season as volunteers gear up for the 16th annual Lanark Highlands Christmas Bird Count.

Data from the count is sent to Bird Studies Canada, where it forms a definitive record of bird species in the area.

Four counts are taking place this year: near Carleton Place, Rideau Ferry, Pakenham, and the Lanark Highlands.

Each will cover a circular area with a radius of about 12 km, and each dedicates a single day to its count — the same day every year.

The Lanark Highlands Christmas Bird Count takes place on Dec. 30 and is open for volunteer registration.

If you know birds by sight or sound and would like to participate in this year’s count, please contact Marilyn Barnett to be added to her list for the December 30th, 2018 LHCBC.

eQ Homes recently received the ‘Most Environmentally Friendly Builder’ at the Greater Ottawa Home Builder’s Association Awards Dinner.

At eQ Homes we aim to do the right thing, and we’re dedicated to keeping the environmental impact of our homes to an absolute minimum.

Our homes include a number of standard green features that help to ensure the safety and health of your family and also to reduce household energy costs. Some of these features include Low E Argon windows, high quality insulation (including in the basement), low-flow toilets, high-efficiency hot water heaters and much, much more.

We source wood from second growth trees in order to help protect old growth forests, and we are proud to purchase many of our building materials from local sources, thus reducing transportation impacts on the environment, and ensuring that excess building materials and waste are recycled.

CWF is working with the National Capital Commission, Hydro One, and Lanark County to create learning labs for establishing wildflower meadows in Ottawa and Lanark County. Work has begun to prepare the sites and planting native wildflower seeds will happen next spring.

The action is in three spots: at Greens’ Creek, near McCarthy Road (i.e. the Southern Corridor), and County Roads 5 & 7 in Lanark County.

The aim is to encourage management of rights-of-way and pathways that helps to restore the Monarch butterfly while effectively managing invasive plants such as wild parsnip.

This is a certified net zero home, disguised as a modern luxury infill (i.e. sixty-seven per cent more efficient than the current building code)

Nestled on a tree-lined street in the desirable Alta Vista neighborhood stands a remarkable home. Designed by award-winning architect Christopher Simmonds and built by RND Construction, it boasts a seamless contemporary design. No detail too small, the home seems to flow from outside in and from room to room.