I SPY SOMETHING… GREEN

This holiday season was white with snow, but also green.  No, the Grinch didn’t visit.  But the presents given, as well as the clean up process have become more eco- friendly in my family.

This year to encourage the family into being more eco- friendly, I decided to assist them by giving gifts that might cost more initially, but are better in the long run.  I had a bright idea… light bulb.  And that was exactly what I wrapped up.  CFL or compact fluorescent lights are more expensive than incandescent lights, but they pay for themselves in energy savings and last 10 times longer.  CFLs come in many forms, not just looking like curly fries.  They are made for floodlights, vanity bathroom mirrors, and even chandelier lights.  The next trend is toward LED (light emitting diode) lights which are savvier than CFLs but still cost a lot more.  (I wanted to give them away instead, but couldn’t find them in stores even though they sell decorative LED Christmas lights.)  As technology improves, these lights will lower in price and become more available.  Soon the incandescent light will be obsolete.

My family tries to be green but all they need in some cases is a push to the next level.  Every season, a vegetable garden is planted.  We harvest everything the deer, groundhog, mice and birds don’t get.  In the fall, all the raked leaves and grass clippings get dumped there and occasionally we get a load of manure too.  Last year I did a little experiment.  Would they compost other items if made easier, rather than walking all the way out to the garden?  Hauling buckets full of compostable material almost daily proved this.  So to make composting easier, they got a composting bin that can sit right outside the door that the wildlife can’t get into.

Clean up on Christmas Day has become more streamlined.  All the wrapping paper goes in a bag destined for the full recycling containers.  Some of the paper is reused to wrap other gifts.  Stamping and card making has become a big hobby for my mom, so paper is collected to decorate the cards.  Boxes that clothes or other items came in are also sent to recycling or are stored in the basement where they can be reused for birthdays or next holiday season.  The tissue paper and gift bags also make their way to be re-gifted with presents at a later date.

Take a look at your holiday routines and take steps to limit your carbon footprint.  What do you do to keep the holidays ‘green’?

Submitted by Christina Lavallee, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist