January

• Now's the time to take down those Christmas lights.  Remember to use ladders safely:  inspect the ladder for cracks or broken joints and place the ladder on a stable, even, flat surface.  Never place a ladder on top of another object.

February

Irrigation accounts for the bulk of water use in homes, particularly in drier areas over the summer months.  A few of the biggest mistakes made are:

• Plant selection; usualy by using plants that aren't native to the area
• Sprinklers that throw water up into the air, which is then windblown or evaporates
• Watering during the hottest part of the day
• Over-watering

March

"Bathroom"

• Use low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets

April

"At Work Quick Tips"

• If you sent packages by courier, contact a bicycle courier company for local deliveries
• Take your own ceramic or china coffee cup to work
• Bring your lunch in a reusable container
• Investigate the health hazards in your office and line of work.  Seek and promote alternatives
• Waterproof your workplace to save energy
• Help educate your coworkers about the environment
• Set up a recycling program
• Walk or ride a bike to work. Use public transit or carpool.
• Make a sign for inside the front door that says " last one out turn off the lights "

June

"Paper"

Canada's ancient forests are being stripped away from many disposable paper products you can find at home and at work, such as toilet paper, phone books, newsprint adn writing paper.  Here are a few things you can do to save paper and trees:

• Photocopy or print on both sides of the page and reuse paper until both sides are used
• Reduce the number of copies of any given document
• Buy recycled, chlorine-free paper and recycle office paper when you are finished with it
• Reuse envelopes
• Buy one copy of the news-paper and leave it in the staff room for everyone to share
• Buy a permanent cloth or mesh coffee filter instead of disposable paper filters

July

"Green Community Tips (Malahide/Aylmer)"

• Organize a beach clean-up
• Organize a tree planting program
• Get involved in one of the many local environmental groups in your area
• Organize a fundraiser and donate the proceeds to an environmental group like Grass Roots Effect (aylmer) or Sustainable Belmont

August

"Avoid idling vehicles 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.

September

"Back to School"

• Use both sides of your paper
• Save scraps to use in making crafts
• Bring a "wasteless" lunch using reusable containers in a reusable lunch bag
• Set up a "reuse centre" for binders, folders, report covers and other supplies

October

"Halloween Tips"

• Dress down- reuse a costume, make one out of items you already have, swap costumes with friends
• Send your kids out to collect their candy with reusable buckets, canvas bags or pillowcases
• Redecorate- save decorations for year to year 
• Teach your children to dispose of candy wrappers 

November

"Shopping"

• Buy in bulk
• Buy loose fruits and vegetables instead of packaged
• Bring your own canvas or reusable bags
• Don't accept a bag when making small purchases
• Avoid disposable items such as razors and toss-away dust cloths
• Buy reusable products, such as cloth napkins

December

"Bottled Water"

• Clean water is a human right, not a commodity. Right now, the bottled water industry pumps billions of litres of water-water that belongs to everyone-out of underground aquifiers each year and sells it back to us for profit.
• Carry a portable BPA free water bottle with you wherever you go