EcoLiving Events - Calgary Alberta

Please help EcoLiving Events win $50,000!

Admin — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:52:29 +0000

EcoLiving Events has been selected as a finalist in a national contest entitled “Fueling Change” hosted by Shell. Not for profit organizations from across Canada were selected to compete and we are one of 54 organizations eligible for this funding. Please help us by voting for us at the Fuelling Change website. The voting started May 4 and ends October 31.

The winners of the next round are dependent on the number of votes they receive. Shell Canada has asked their customers to vote for the organization they feel are most deserving of funding.

This is your opportunity to show your support and we ask you to cast your vote here: http://fuellingchange.com/ until October 31.

Each vote will put us one step closer to getting this funding, which will allow EcoLiving Events to continue to thrive and expand.

Each Shell receipt can be entered for an additional 10 votes (max 3 receipts per day). The bottom of the receipt has an ST number this is the store number and a TRAN number and this is the transit number to add to the redeem code.

River Cleanup this Saturday – Call for volunteers

Admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 03:11:35 +0000

This year’s 45th annual Pathway and River Cleanup is Sunday May 6, 10 am – 1 pm (ish). EcoLiving Events will once again participate in this City event by getting a volunteer group together. We’re looking for volunteers to help out. Here are the details:

This one day City of Calgary event engages hundreds of local volunteer groups to participate to remove accumulated litter along designated pathway areas. Garbage bags and an orientation are included.

What: Volunteer to help clean the river pathway by Bowness Park to Stoney Trail of litter

When: Sunday, May 6, 2010, 10 am – 1 pm (weather permitting)

Where: river pathway by Bowness Park to Stoney Trail

Who: YOU (and any of your friends, family, neighbours)

- Age 12 years and older.*
- Youth ages 12 – 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.*
- Physically fit and willingness to get dirty.

Why: A good deed, fresh air, exercise, fun, meet new people and / or your neighbours

If you are interested, please contact Judi at 403-874-6046.

Event info at The City of Calgary Web site.

Greening Bowness Resource Fair

Admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 02:44:39 +0000

On Saturday May 5, 11 am – 2 pm at the Bowness Community Centre, come visit EcoLiving Fair’s booth at the Greening Bowness Resource Fair. This event is being jointly hosted with the Bowness Community Association and Servus Credit Union. It will include speakers and booths on a wide variety of home, neighbourhood and environmental topics – home repair, gardening, worm composting, solar technology, water resources, getting the best from your mortgage and using home equity to renovate. Check the poster for details, and see you there!

MAKE SHIFT HAPPEN: John Ralston Saul

Admin — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:53:57 +0000

Wednesday April 18 at 7pm
Knox United Church 506 4th Street SW Calgary

John Ralston Saul has received 14 honorary degrees, been the Massey lecturer, received the Order of Canada, and won the Governor General’s Award. Time Magazine declared him as “Prophet” and Utne Reader listed him as one of the world’s 100 leading thinkers and visionaries.

We are witnessing revolutionary movements happening around the world from the Occupy movement to the Arab Spring. These acts of defiance to the status quo are causing people around the world to challenge and question our role as citizens. Our power is no longer being left to a few decision makers, but rather a groundswell of creativity, passion and commitment has led millions to mobilize and make governmental, social, and environmental change possible. John Ralston Saul will share his thoughts on this power shift and how the power of a people’s voice can affect Alberta during an election.

We hope you will join us for this event and bring a friend or two along.
Tickets are $20
Available at The Arusha Centre, Pages Books,
and www.primeboxoffice.com
Information at 403-270-3200

For more information contact:
Gerald Wheatley at gerald@arusha.org
Julie Hrdlicka at calgary@pialberta.org

This event is part of Public Interest Alberta’s conference MAKE SHIFT HAPPEN www.pialberta.org

Junior and Senior High Workshops now available!

Admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 04:02:27 +0000

Attention Grade 8 and Grade 9 Teachers

EcoLiving Events is offering workshops for Junior and Senior High School students. The workshops focus on Volunteerism, Sustainable Living and other curriculum based activities. The program is one hour in length (although can be custom designed).

A comment from a teacher who has participated:

“The EcoLiving Events presentation that Judi gave was effective, interactive, and perfect for a class/teacher interested in adding an environmental component for their students. She covers a myriad of topics which keeps the students interested while exposing them to a wide variety of information and ideas for how to shape the future. I would definitely recommend having Judi come in to any class.”

- Bill Robinson
St. James School – Calgary, AB

Contact us now for bookings in May – info@ecolivingevents.ca

Project Ploughshares Spring Workshop

Admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:37:03 +0000

Can Peace Be Green?
Using Nonviolence to Support the Earth
April 13-14, 2012

Mining in Peru, famine in Ethiopia, water rights in India… more and more conflicts locally and globally have an environmentally-related root cause. How do protests affect global warming? How do petitions and boycotts affect mining corporations? How do traditional non-violent tactics work in relation to the rise in conflicts about the environment? How do we work with one another in a peaceful way to effect change when issues impact the environment? How do we work with stakeholders when change impacts the environment?

With our facilitators and speakers guiding us we will look at nonviolent strategies that have been used throughout history, discussing how they are or are not relevant in the context of environmental conflicts. Participants will have the chance to discuss and develop new non-violent strategies that are relevant to the issues they currently work with.

All of the speakers bring a wealth of experience to the area of environmental issues and the conflicts we see in the news over resources, land, and often the resulting displacement of populations. Join us to learn more about dealing with these conflicts successfully and non-violently.

For more information: http://www.ploughsharescalgary.ca/, call 403-270-7366 or email office@ploughsharescalgary.ca

The Value of Earth Hour

Admin — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:14:26 +0000

Earth Hour is quickly approaching, and we at EcoLiving Events are preparing a night for us to all to come together. But why exactly are we celebrating Earth Hour? The general understanding is that every year during Earth Hour we decide as a community to turn off the lights for an hour in order to reduce our ecological footprint. While this action is positive and demonstrates our desire to ward off climate change, in reality this action itself is not enough. Firstly, not everyone participates in the event, and when you consider that there are 8784 hours in this leap year, this one hour doesn’t seem like we’re doing very much. If everyone were to turn off all their lights for Earth Hour, this translates to an overall energy reduction of 0.0001%.We should also keep in mind that the energy we use for lighting purposes only constitutes a part of the energy we use each hour – we still have to consider heating, transportation and other sources. With this in mind it becomes easy to see why some people have become cynical about this event, however they may not truly realize where its true value lies.

So why do we turn off the lights? Are we fooling ourselves into thinking this is enough? I actually don’t think this is the answer. I think the power of Earth Hour comes in the cynicism it creates. You can’t save the world by turning off the lights for an hour each year – this is ‘slactivism’ at its worst. Earth Hour helps us realize that we really aren’t doing enough, and that we could do better. It helps us realize that the environment won’t heal unless we’re willing to take action ourselves to reduce our wasteful habits. We can’t depend on the government, the business world, or others to hold our hands each step of the way; we have to be responsible enough to search out solutions on our own. Yes awareness is a good thing, but if you can discover real solutions is that not better?

So what do I hope our Earth Hour event will accomplish? I hope to find my own answers by connecting with others and hearing about what they are doing to minimize their environmental impact. This is the power of Earth Hour – its ability to bring people together under a common cause and lay the foundation for future successes. So with this in mind I hope that you will join us at 8pm on March 31^st at the Calgary Area Outdoor Council building to discover for yourself new ways to live a sustainable lifestyle.

by Kevan Coyle – EcoLiving Events Director

Welcome to the new Board!

Admin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:04:20 +0000

EcoLiving’s recent AGM highlighted a lot of our projects from the previous year, as well as ushered in a new board for the upcoming year. Check out our EcoLiving Events 2011 Final Report (PDF 2.5 MB) and take the time to see who our new board members are!