REDUCING OUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

 

Food Footprint...................................................................................................................... 2

1- Topic: Eating habits........................................................................................................ 2

2- Topic: Food industry....................................................................................................... 3

Goods and Services Footprint............................................................................................... 4

3-Topic: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.......................................................................................... 4

4- Topic: Composting.......................................................................................................... 5

5- Topic: Consumerism....................................................................................................... 6

6- Topic: Garbage waste..................................................................................................... 7

Shelter Footprint................................................................................................................... 8

7- Topic: Energy and Water Efficiency............................................................................... 8

8- Topic: Greening building techniques.............................................................................. 9

9- Topic: CO sinks and CO2 Caps.................................................................................. 10

10- Topic: Natural landscaping......................................................................................... 11

Mobility Footprint............................................................................................................... 12

11- Topic: Transport......................................................................................................... 12

12- Topic: Traffic, Idling & Travel.................................................................................... 13


Reducing our ecological footprint

www.royalsaskmuseum.ca/gallery/life_sciences/footprint_mx_2005.swf

 

Food Footprint

“People who eat less meat will have a smaller footprint”.

1- Topic: Eating habits

            Questions:

1.      Why is a vegetarian diet preferred? Isn’t meat good for you?

2.      What is the difference between a vegan and a vegetarian?

3.      Are there vegetarian restaurants in Montreal and what do they serve?

4.      What is the MUCS and what is their “zero food waste” program?

5.      What does organic food mean?

6.      What, where, and how does a community garden function?

7.      What are container gardens?

8.      How can we avoid food waste?

9. What percentage of products commonly used in the home is recycled. (estimated as percentage of biomass).

10.  Determine the amount of recycling within the LCC community. Are we doing enough?

 

           

            Activities:

A: Tour the restaurants in NDG and note if they have vegetarian dishes and what they are.

B: Visit a grocery store and compare the pricing of organic food with their non-organic counterparts. Create a menu for a multi-course super meal (example: entré, main dish, salad, desert…beveridge).

C: Identify restaurants in NDG or Montreal that are sensitive to environmental/humanitarian issues (e.g., Ben & Jerry’s, etc.)

 

 

“People who eat a lot of processed and packaged food will have large footprints. The same goes for foods that are grown using pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and imported foods”.

2- Topic: Food industry

            Questions:

1.      Why is it important to buy local?

2.      What is a food mile?

3.      How can we reduce packaging waste?

4.      What are environmental purchasing criteria for packaging?

5.      What are some important facts on Montreal’s Farmers markets?

6.      Why shouldn’t we use pesticides and synthetic fertilizers?

7.      What are alternatives to using pesticides and synthetic fertilizers?

8.      What are GMO foods and what are some of the benefits & costs to the environment?

9.      What has happened to cost of foods ever since they have added (Best before” labels to food items?

10.  Why is it illegal for farmers to eat their own produce (specifically eggs, poultry and milk and meats).

11.  Take a typical foodstuff and draw a pricing cycle for a year based on source and pricing (eg. Strawberries).

12.   Compare the price of milk at source to the milk bought in the local store.  What is percentage increase from farmer to shelf.

            Activities:

A: Visit grocery store and list ten locally grown items and calculate their food mile: http://www.lifecyclesproject.ca/initiatives/food_miles/

B: Create a menu for a multi-course super meal (example: entré, main dish, salad, desert…beveridge) that includes all food groups. Visit a grocery store and compare your choices and pricing keeping the following in mind: frozen or not, locally grown or imported, packaged or not, organic or not. (Should they explain costs/benefits of each?)

C: Visit popular grocery stores and see if you can identify products that contain GMOs. Based upon your internet research, identify those that properly label their products as containing GMOs versus products that contain partial GMOs but avoid inidicating such on their labels.

D: Visit a local grocery store and identify well known food items or processed food products whose packaging is excessive or even unsafe or whose ingredients are unhealthy (e.g., cans lined with plastic coating~Bisphenol ‘A’, foods containing preservatives, trans fats, etc).

 

 

 

Goods and Services Footprint

 “Composting and recycling are effective ways to reduce our goods and services footprint”.

3-Topic: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

            Questions:

1. What is the purpose of eco-centres? Eco-quartiers?

2.  What is meant by recuperation? What are some of the second-hand and re-use businesses in NDG?

3. What can be recycled?

4. What is done with hazardous waste products?

5. What are some of the second-hand and re-use businesses in your community?

6. What is an eco-designer?

7. What are the 4Rs the 5Rs?

8. What are the different recycling codes?

9. What is the publication “Couleur Bazar”?

9. What percentage of products commonly used in the home is recycled. Estimated as percentage of biomass.

10.  Determine the amount of recycling within the LCC community. Are we doing enough?

 

 

            Activities:

A: Survey a few streets and make notes on the garbage on the street that could have been recycled. Survey 5 garbage cans in the NDG area. By simply looking at the surface layer of garbage, create a list of items that should be in the garbage versus items that should have been recycled. According to your list, what percentage of waste in NDG garbage cans should actually be recycled.

B: Bring used clothes from home and visit to the various second-hand or recuperation centres in NDG to drop them off.

C: Identify business or groups in NDG that each adhere to one of the 5Rs.  (Find one example for each ‘R’) (e.g., 2nd hand bike shop started by teenager in NDG, etc.)

D: Identify businesses, groups or areas in NDG that could each benefit from one of the 5Rs (find one example for each ‘R’)

E: Survey your peers to ask them how much they recycle their electronic gear!

 

 

 

 

 

4- Topic: Composting

            Questions:

1.      What is meant by composting?

2.      What is vermin-composting?

3.      What do you need to compost? What can you compost? Do you need a backyard or can an apartment-dweller have one too?

4.      What is the purpose of the autumn leaf and Christmas tree pick-ups?

5.      What is humus?

6.      What is meant by biodegradable?

7.      How does vegetable matter decompose?

8.      What are soil micro-organisms?

9.      Can you create a compost bin in your backyard? What are the bylaws for this?

10.  What soil type and texture is best for plant growth?

11.  What are the roles of macronutrients in the proper growth and survival of plants?

12.  What is compost tea?

13.  What are decomposers?

14.  What are the best conditions for the proper developmet of compost?

15.  Does Motreal have an organic waste collection program? Other Canadian cities?

16. Investigate ways to add composting for apartment dwellers, including pros and cons of each method.

 

 

           

Activities:

A: Collect soil samples and conduct a series of experiments.

B:  Collect kitchen scraps to nourish your worms.

 

 

5- Topic: Consumerism

            Questions:

1.      What have industries and individuals done to reduce our packaging wastes? Have our packing wastes actually been reduced?

2.      What are green cleaning products? What are they being replaced with and are they free?

3.      Why are plastic bags so bad?

4.      Why is the clothing and textile industry considered among the highest pollutants?

5.      What is eco-fashion?

6.      How has the music industry influenced environmental concern?

7.      What are the consequences of pet owners using regular plastic bags to store their animal’s feces and how is this becoming a major problem for major cities? What measures are some cities taking to address this problem?

8.      How is the electronics (batteries, computers, cell phones) industry way behind in leaving a green footprint?

9.      Can you calculate the rate of electronic disposable objects among your peer group.

 

 

 

 

 

Activities:

A: Canvas bag collection: survey of which businesses make use of canvas bags and how much they charge.

B: Visit groceries stores and survey the number of people using canvas bags versus paper versus plastic bags at each.

C: Visit grocery or hardware store- what are the green cleaning products and prices.

D: Visit a large store. Identify products that use excessive packaging (e.g., small item using large amounts of plastic) versus products that have made an attempt to reduce wasteful packaging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6- Topic: Garbage waste

            Questions:

1.      How much solid waste do Canadian households throw away?

2.      Where does the garbage go?

3.      What happens to waste in landfills?

4.      What does an incinerator do?

5.      How does food waste impact the environment?

6.      What is the Saint-Michel Environmental Complex?

7.      What is the Lachenaie dump?

8.      What are sustainable solid waste management strategies?

9.      What is the “pay-as-you-throw” waste management program?

10.  What are the “cleanliness by-laws” in Montreal and campaigns such as “menage ton voisinage” and operationmontreal.net.

 

 

 

            Activities:

A: Map where the garbage bins are located in NDG and their usage. Also, identify the location of public recycling bins.

B: Observe a one-block stretch of road containing restaurants or grocery stores whose garbage is readily visible. How many average bags of garbage versus bins of recycling did you see? Which businesses appear to produce more garbage than others. From your observations, which businesses could benefit the environment by recycling more. Identify those piles of waste that you feel could benefit from vermin composting, significantly reducing the establishment’s waste.

C: How clean are the streets of Montreal?

 

 

 

 

Shelter Footprint

 

“Anything that makes a house more energy efficient will shrink its footprint”.

7- Topic: Energy and Water Efficiency

            Questions:

1.      What are energy saving features and energy-saving habits of homeowners?

2.      What are some water-saving features? What are some wasteful water habits and what can we do to improve our such behaviour?

3.      What are “Energy Star-rated” products that can by households to reduce energy consumption (e.g., for mowing lawns, household chores, etc.)

4.      What are dry-composting toilets? 3-flush toilets & What are low-flow fixtures?

5.      What energy efficient improvements can be made to someone’s home?

6.      In what ways has LCC ‘greened’ its campus (provide 5 examples).

7.      Calculate the average water flow in a typical day at LCC.

8.      What are low-flow fixtures?

9.      Green lawn mowers?

10.  List four energy sources that have had a negative impact upon the environment. Explain.

11.  List four clean sources of energy that could supply all of the world’s energy needs

12.  If clean energy sources exist, why hasn’t the world switched over?

13.  How is coal used to produce electricity and how much  does it contribute to climate change? What is clean coal technology and is it actually possible?

14.  In what way does dirty energy produce smog and what are some of the primary health problems that people suffer as a result

 

 

 

 

            Activities:

A: Street survey:  types of housing how many have clotheslines, sprinklers, awnings (to reduce entry of sunlight and reduce need for air conditioning).

B: Visit to a hardware store to compare energy efficient options.

C: Survey your own home. Identify a minimum of 12 areas that could benefit from energy saving measures (e.g., changing old windows, improving insulation, introducing low flush toilets, having dad use a bowl of water to shave, etc.)

D: Draw or paint your vision of an energy self-sufficient home and car in the future.

 “Some houses and building techniques produce smaller impacts than others on resources”.

8- Topic: Greening building techniques

Questions:

1.      What makes eco-friendly?

2.      What is organic architecture?

3.      What are reclaimed and renewable building materials?

4.      What are passive building systems?

5.      What is the purpose of the “Green Lab” project issued by the Urban Ecology Centre of Montreal?

6.      What is a LEED building? What buildings in Montreal adhere to LEED standards?

7.      What makes the Mountain Equipment Co-op building in Montreal green?

8.      What are R-2000 homes?

9.      What is the Benny Square project in Montreal?

10.  What are the highest ranking greenest cities and why?

11.  What energy-efficient measures were undertaken for the building of the Bill Durnham Arena?

 

 

            Activities:

A. Survey LCC and identify specific areas that have been engineered to reduce energy consumption (see Mme Simard-Laurin or Mr. Karassaferreian for information/interviews).

B: Survey a large building and identify aspects of that building that could easily benefit from energy saving modifications or implementation of LEED designs.

 

 

9- Topic: CO sinks and CO2 Caps

            Questions:

1.      What is a CO sink?

2.      How much carbon can an average mature tree in NDG standing 15 to 30 metres high absorb in a year. What is the average lifespan of such a tree and how much can it absorb in its lifetime? What types of trees are best at absorbing ?

3.      Identify some of the major forests of the world. What percentage of forest has our planet suffered over the past 25 years and how does this contribute to climate change?

4.      What is the Kyoto protocol?

5.      What are the advantages and disadvantages of sinks?

6.      What are the major forest regions in the surrounding area of Montreal?

7.      What is a carbon credit and how do governments use them to limit pollution?

8.      What is behind the notion of a carbon tax and how would this reduce  emissions?

           

Activities:

A: Each team of 2 students should choose a given street block within NDG and count the number of trees from end to end on each side of the road. Students should also count how many cars travel this stretch of road within a 15 minute period. Using this data, and knowledge obtained on the Internet regarding how much carbon mature trees are capable of absorbing, students should try to calculate whether a street contributes or actually absorbs more .Teams should compare notes and identify which streets are green and those that are not (e.g., Monkland versus Hingston, etc).

B: Each team of 2 students could count the number of cars/trucks heading north on Decarie within a 10 minute period. Also, identify how many passengers were in the car. Using your 10 minutes of data, how many cars do you estimate travel Decarie within 60 mintues during a non-rush hour period, and how many people are being transported. Optional: How much  do you think the entire stretch of Decarie North releases in one hour (If Decarie is 2km long, and every car is doing the 80km/hr speed limit, each car will be on Decarie North for 4 minutes, emitting .)

 

 

 

 

10- Topic: Natural landscaping

            Questions:

1.      What is herbicycling?

2.      What are examples of indigenous flora in the Montreal area?

3.      What species of birds and other wildlife thrive on our indigenous trees?

4.      Why is the Norway Maple a bad choice for planting?

5.      What are green roofs?

6.      What are alternatives to pesticides?

7.      What are alternatives to herbicides?

8.      What is Bioengineering?

           

Activities:

A: Survey how people beautify their property. Who has the most natural landscape? Which street is the most appealing?

 

B: What percentage of green space versus housing is there on a given property. Using observations from a few houses, and multiplying this by the number of houses on a given block, provide a green space percentage for a given stretch of road

 

C: Choose a street in NDG stretching  one block. Take note of the different types of trees on that block (e.g., Norway maples, Oak, Pine, etc.).

 

D: Visit to the community gardens and survey plots, location, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mobility Footprint

 

 “Using public transport will reduce your ecological footprint and the footprint of your community”.

11- Topic: Transport

Questions:

1.      What is Montreal’s public bike system all about? Where are the cycle paths in Montreal?

2.      What measures have been taken by Montreal to “green” the transit system?

3.      Tramways back in Montreal- where? When? Why?

4.      What is  “La Route Verte”?

5.      What is the purpose of the event “ International walk to school day”?

6.      What are “green cars”?

7.      What is meant by the term “Carbon Neutral”?

8.      What is the Vauban neighbourhood in Freiburg, Germany?

9.      What are the hydrogen buses used in Reyjavik? In Vancouver?

 

 

Activities:

A: Offer alternative ways in which students can come to school- Which bus routes serve the LCC community? How frequent do the buses run? What are the present and future sites for bike paths in NDG.

B: Visit train depot via the bike trail and list where people are going, how many use the train, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Our footprints grow the more we travel, especially when we travel by car”.

12- Topic: Traffic, Idling & Travel

            Questions:

  1. Why are there anti-idling campaigns?
  2. What is the law in Montreal on anti-idling?
  3. How does traffic cause air-pollution? Noise-pollution?
  4. What measures has Montreal taken to reduce traffic?
  5. How  does the global airline industry emit per year?
  6. How much  does an average person emit when they travel by air, from Montreal to each of any three cities in the world (e.g., Montreal to London, Montreal to Shanghai, etc.)
  7. What are the 10 most polluted cities in the world and what can they do to overcome such a situation?

 

 

            Activities:

A: Calculate COemissions on various NDG roads (Sherbrooke, Monkland, Decarie, etc.)

B: Randomly Survey 10 students on their vacation trips and provide and estimate of their CO emissions as well as that of their family as a whole.

C: Survey a street from one block to another and make a list of cars that are highly inefficient (SUVs), modestly efficient (cars) or highly energy efficient (e.g., hybrids). Survey of types of cars people drive (Decarie) and how many contain more than one passenger.