What I Did Over The Holidays —
Snowy Owl Sled Dog Tours
I'm very fortunate to live near the rocky mountains and places with awesome outdoor activities. Since social gatherings are currently prohibited, I had to be a little creative and think how to bring in the New Year with a bang! Well, something I've been wanting to try for a while is a dog sled tour and that's exactly how I decided to bring in the New Year on January 1st with Snowy Owl Dog Sled Tours in Canmore. It was so much fun I couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the day. I chose Snowy Owl because they are very transparent on their website with details on their pups care and when a pup hangs up their sledding harness, reaching retirement, they are available for adoption, which is done through a very selective process.
The pup on the left is Thunderbird and smiling on the right is Sabbath.
What I Was Wondering About —
Is Working From Home Better for the Environment?
The real answer here is: it depends. Most of us were driving more before the pandemic lockdown so there would be less transportation emissions; however, spending more time at home may mean our home energy bills have gone up (tips to lower your bill here). Also, is your office staying fully lit and heated during the week even though there are only a few staff members going in per day? Lots of factors play into this, more here.
How I'm Staying Active —
It takes a little more creativity these days but here are the sustainable activities I've started regularly participating in:
Skating, there are lots of great outdoor rinks around Calgary and a few of them offer skate rentals as well. Bowness park has even started renting out ice bikeswhich is neat! Be prepared for a wait though, I tried to rent an ice bike and it was a four hour wait. Another neat spot to skate is Lake Louise, they also have their famous ice castle up now until spring.
Snowboarding or skiing, so far I've been able to get out to Sunshine, Marmot Basin and Hidden Valley for some great snowboarding. P.S. there are several great discount cards out there, I have the sunshine card which includes deals for about 6 different hills.
Cross-country skiing, over the holidays I rented equipment which was only $20 for a full day, and went on trails located in Cypress Hills. You can find Calgary trail information here. You can also use the AllTrails app to find cross-country trails around Alberta.
What I'm Doing —
The Government of Alberta' Survey on Outdoor Recreation
The Government of Alberta recently released their Crown Land Vision and an associated survey on sustainable outdoor recreation. The survey focuses on gathering opinions from Albertans on how recreation on public lands (also called Crown lands) should be funded. If you wish, you can read the guide that Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society has put together to help inform your answers. Our input is needed.
What I'm Listening To —
Money Talks: How to Green Your Finances
Did you know that "greening" your financial assets (like your savings account) is 27 times more impactful in terms of your personal carbon footprint versus eating less meat, using public transit or shopping ethically. Me either, let's learn more about it!
January's Hot Tip —
Don't use your phone while its on the charger (guilty) this effects your phones battery life and will also wear on the bottom of the charging cord quicker.
P.S. Be sure to catch me live every Wednesday at 12pm MST in Budfunding's Sustainability Group on Facebook where every week I'm chatting about a different area of sustainability, when you pop in be sure to say hi in the comments!
That's about it for me. If you have any feedback, a favourite part or suggestion to share about the above please let me know. Also, if you have any suggestions for future "What I'm Budding About" newsletters I'd love to hear them. Have a wonderful week and let's keep creating a green future together!
The future is bright,
~Kristin