By: Claire Brownlie

This summer I was fortunate enough to go on a first and second home visit with the Healthy Homes Calgary team. Healthy Homes Calgary is a program of Green Calgary that aims to help Calgarians create healthier homes, improve personal health, and create stronger communities.

Each home visit was a positive and empowering experience for the homeowner, and it was easy to see that the home assessor truly cared about what they were teaching. On the second visit any changes the homeowner had implemented were celebrated.

By going on these visits and looking through the homework packages I was able to gather a wealth of information that has helped make my home healthier:

• In Calgary 30% of our Ecological Footprint is from household electrical consumption. The average house is using 8% more electricity than in 2005, which drives up energy bills and creates unnecessary air pollution. Switching to green electricity is one way to reduce your footprint. You can also reduce your consumption by turning off appliances when they are not in use, use energy efficient lighting such as CFLs or LEDs, and turn your hot water tank to vacation mode when you will be away for two or more days.

• A leaky toilet can waste 28 bathtubs of water every month and cost you money. To check for leaks place a few drops of food colouring in the toilet tank, wait 5 minutes, and check to see if the dye has leaked into the bowl. To fix the leak simply replace the flapper on your toilet. If you’re in need of a new toilet find out if you are eligible for a rebate. Visit www.calgary.ca and search “residential toilet replacement program” and you could get $50 to put towards an eligible low or dual flush toilet.

• Studies suggest that on a cleaning day in your home the concentration of chemicals can be hundreds or even thousands of times higher than outdoor air in the most polluted cities. To improve your indoor air quality, take your toxic cleaners to the fire department for safe disposal, and avoid antibacterial products and air fresheners in your house. To determine whether the products you are using are safe visit www.ewg.org/skindeep. To replace any toxic cleaners with clean ones visit Community Natural Foods.

• Calgarians throw 1000 kg of waste into the landfill each year. Simply by composting you can divert up to 50% of your waste from the landfill. Worms @ Work and Riva’s Eco Store are two REAP Members that offer composting solutions for backyards or apartments. Talk to Green Start Initiatives or BluPlanet Recycling if your home or business is not served by The City’s blue cart recycling program.

• The average roof in Calgary comes in contact with 54,000 litres of water annually. This amount of water could fill a rain barrel 270 times. Take advantage of this free water source by purchasing a rain barrel from Green Calgary.

• When it comes to food, there is a hierarchy. The healthiest food choices for your family and the environment are ranked as follows:

1. From your garden
2. Produced locally
3. Grown organically or biodynamically
4. From a family farm
5. From a local business and
6. Fairly traded.

Talk to the experts at Calgary Horticultural Society or Greengate Garden Centre about growing your own food, buy from farmer’s markets in the Calgary area or Community Natural Foods, or check out Slow Food Calgary's directory of local producers so that you can buy direct. When eating out, look for restaurants that are locally-owned and that have a local sourcing policy based on what’s in season. REAP Members River Café and Boxwood are solid choices, or visit Leaders in Environmentally Accountable Foodservice (LEAF) for a list of certified establishments.

• If you can only buy a small amount of your produce organically make sure it comes from the ‘Dirty Dozen’, which are foods that have high pesticide use. Stick with the ‘Clean 15’ for non-organic produce because they rank lowest in pesticide residue. Click here for the full list.

TAKE ACTION:

1. Complete the Healthy Homes application form online or call 403-230-1443 ext 223 for more information.

2. Become a member of Green Calgary. This allows the Healthy Homes program to continue in an unbiased way. You will also have your say at Green Calgary’s Annual General Meeting.

3. Support Green Calgary by attending its November 3 fundraising gala: Red Wine, Blue Cheese, Green Art. The highlight of the event will be an auction of environmentally-themed works by local artists. Click here for more information.

4. Visit www.goodguide.com to find out the environmental, health, and social performance of thousands of products ranging from cleaners and personal care products to processed foods and even cars.

5. Shop from locally-owned businesses that share your commitment to people, the planet and Calgary’s overall prosperity. Click here for a list of businesses that have met REAP’s environmental and social membership criteria.