2009 Summary of Activities of Fairlawn Green Action
Our Vision:
Fairlawn is a green
community that leads by example, is a voice to educate ourselves and others to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions at church, at home, in the community and in our
workplaces. Fairlawn Green Action
supports and actively works for an environmentally sustainable, spiritually
fulfilling and socially just human presence on this planet.
In
2009 Fairlawn Green Action worked in the Fairlawn community and in the Toronto
community to promote local action and broader systemic changes by encouraging
people to pressure our politicians to work for a sustainable environment. Our
focus this year was on networking, and on assisting, promoting and attending the
variety of excellent events and seminars in the Toronto community.
We would like to
thank our team members, and all those who work with us.
Our efforts in 2009
included the following:
Special Church
Services
-
Earth Day Service – Sun. April 26 with Alanna Mitchell
(global science journalist and author of "Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in
Crisis") on the impact of CO2 levels on the world's ocean; and Children's
Time skit "God's take on grass"
-
Kairos KyotoPlus Week of Action on Poverty
and Climate Change – Sun. Oct 18 with Lynn McDonald (Sociology Professor,
former MP & environment critic, a founder of Just Earth) “A Time to Speak of
Poverty, Climate Change and the Role of the Churches”
Events and
Workshops organized by Fairlawn Green Action
-
March 7 – Getting a green team started at
your organization – sharing our experiences at the Conference "A Green
Awakening: Workshop on Faith Communities as a Catalyst for Community Action"
held at Lawrence Park Community Church
-
March 8 – End Oil Aid – a workshop with
Kairos slide show at FAUC
-
March 28 – Earth Hour: Fairlawn's Lights Out
Walk in Alexander Muir Park to support energy reduction
-
April 26 – Clean up Day excursion with
members of the congregation and the Fairlawn Youth Group
-
May 3 – Cycle/Walk/Transit to Church Month to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions
-
May 7 – Earth Angels' Gardening Day to apply
compost and mulch to reduce water consumption at FAUC
-
May 24 – Wildflower Walk with infamous park explorer,
Ontario Jones, on a "Raiders of the Lost Parks" adventure in a
Toronto
-
Sept 19 – KAIROS Climate Justice Tom Cullen
introduced Green Awakening Network
-
Nov, Dec – 350 Petition and online petition
to pressure our politicians to take a tough stand on climate change at the
Copenhagen Summit, to promote atmospheric CO2 levels no higher than 350
parts per million
-
Nov 12-15 – Greening and Growing
Congregations – promoted and assisted Eglinton St. George’s and Green
Awakening Network in organizing a seminar about Be the Change Earth
Alliance with Bruce Sanguin
-
Nov 25 and Nov 30 – Climate Change 101 and
film screening of "Sisters on the Planet" delivered at both Fairlawn and
Beach United Church
-
Dec 13 – Ring our church bells for climate
justice in solidarity with the World Federation of Churches to send a
message to politicians at the Copenhagen Climate Summit
Networking
In keeping with our approach of collaboration,
Fairlawn Green Action joined forces with the following climate change groups in
Toronto to help organize and promote activities throughout the city
-
Green Awakening Network (sponsored by the
Toronto United Church Council & Live Green Toronto), Tom Cullen serves on
the Steering Committee
-
Live Green Toronto
-
Greening Sacred Spaces
-
Kairos
-
EcoAction Teams (Earth Day Canada)
-
Transition Toronto
-
Kyoto Plus
-
Toronto Climate Campaign
Green tips
The following tips
were shared via email and published on the Fairlawn web site in 2009
-
Pesticide reduction / Lawns go natural
-
Slow down on the highway to conserve fuel and
protect the environment
-
Bring a coffee mug to work to reduce garbage
of Styrofoam cups
-
CO2's enormous impact on the Global Ocean in
Crisis
-
Say "no" to bottled water because of the
negative impact of plastic bottles on the environment
-
Announcements of green events in the city
Other Activities
of Fairlawn Green Action
-
Fairlawn Youth committee – worked collaboratively to plan
Youth Green Events for the year
-
Advertising and promotion of many city-wide green events
throughout the year on our website and through our Green Tips emails
-
Attendance at many city-wide events and rallies such as
-
March 24 – Geography of Hope with Chris
Turner
-
March 30 – Climate Crisis Action Forum by
Toronto West CRAG (Carbon Reduction Action Group)
-
Apr 22 – Climate Justice! Climate Action!
by United Church of Canada
-
May 9 – Climate Sabbath Initiative by
Kairos
-
Oct 24 – International Day of Climate
Action by 350.org
-
Oct/Nov – Live with Respect in Creation
at St. Andrew's United
-
Nov 12/14 – Darwin, Divinity and the
Dance of the Cosmos and The Emerging Church with Bruce Sanguin at
Eglinton St. George’s United Church
-
Nov 22 – Eco-Fair at Glebe Road United
Church
-
Nov 28 – Seminar with George Monbiot,
author of "Heat: How To Stop the Planet from Burning"
-
Dec 5 – Pachamama Alliance symposium
"Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream"
-
Dec 12 – Candlelight Rally for Copenhagen
Summit by Toronto Climate Campaign
-
Web site at
www.fairlawnavenueunited.ca/green/
– updated weekly with green tips, events in the city, and links to
important videos and news
Facility
improvements
-
We would like to thank the Property committee
for its work in increasing the efficiency of the rooftop heating & cooling
unit installed this past fall and the planning for improving the energy
efficiency of our main furnace.
We look forward to
another year of activities to raise awareness, educate and promote action to
help us become better stewards of the Earth, as part of Faith in Action.
Respectfully
submitted,
Tom Cullen
2008 Summary of Activities of Fairlawn Green Action
Our Vision:
Fairlawn is a green community that leads by example, is a voice to educate
ourselves and others to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at church, at home, in
the community and in our workplaces.
Our 2008 efforts to care for creation and take action on climate change
continue. Thanks to all who participated and led by their actions. Here are some of the
ways we
acted in 2008.
Waste diversion
- continued to emphasize the concepts of "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle"
especially
through the enhanced waste diversion/recycling program "Put waste in its place".
Green property improvements
- 2008 was the first full year of use of the compact fluorescent light bulbs
(CFLs)
installed in the spring and fall of 2007. Our electricity consumption dropped
13% in 2007
and 21% in 2008 compared to an average of four earlier years in this decade.
This
resulted in an annual savings of over $2500 per year for a onetime $900
investment in
CFLs. Although the entire reduction may not be due to CFLs, the savings have
been
substantial, contributing to a net financial benefit of over $3500 in a year and
a half.
- wrote an article for Community Life on ground source heat
- helped ensure that the new roof over the Birtch Room was sufficiently
insulated
- participated in the Heating Solution Taskforce
Gardening
- organized an Earth Angels "spruce up the gardens" day to use compost and
wood
chips to reduce the amount of water required for the gardens
Local Food
- supported and advertised the local farmer's market in the neighbourhood at
Eglinton-St. George's United Church, Spring to Fall
- provided links to farmer's markets around Ontario for cottage folk
Transportation
- organized the historic bike tour with Gary Schlee to get folks excited
about the joy of
cycling, Summer 2008
- promoted the Toronto Clean Air Commute, Spring
- partnered with The Fairlawn Neighbourhood Centre to organize Bike Clinics at the
June 14
Village Day
- advertised the benefits of bike riding, Spring 2008
Advocacy
- organized a seminar on the spiritual roots of social justice and green
action with Gail
Turner, October 25
- advertised sale of fair trade coffee at Fairlawn Avenue United Church, Fall
2008
- participated in Toronto's "Reclaim Earth Day: U-Turn on Climate Change" rally,
April 20
- distributed information about various online petitions related to the
environment
- added information to the web site on how to be an activist, how to write
advocacy
letters, and email links to government agencies and politicians
Communication / Education
- assisted with and attended the environmental film festival "Green Docs
Fest" at
Eglinton-St. George's, November 1, 2008
- presented a seminar to explain the difference between carbon tax and cap &
trade,
October
- advertised web sites presenting each political parties' policy on the
environment for the
fall federal election, Fall 2008
- set up a Green Table to promote environmental sensitivity in the home and with
transportation alternatives, at the Yonge/Lawrence "Village Day", June 14, 2008
- promoted and attended the Glenview Presbyterian seminar "Facing Our Ecological
Reality: Toward a Climate of Hope", April 13, 2008
- presented the Earth Day service, April 13, 2008 including the dialogue about
the role of
care for creation as part of our faith journey
- led a Fairlawn Avenue group to participate in the worldwide phenomenon of
"Earth
Hour" to turn out all the lights and electrical gadgets for an hour, March 29,
2008
- advertised and attended the Energy Conservation Seminars from Toronto Green
Community, Winter 2008
- led a group from Fairlawn Avenue to attend a Derrick Jensen seminar "Private
Despair
to Public Action", February 1, 2008
- expanded networking connections with other churches and organizations in the
neighbourhood who are also doing green activities - e.g., Glebe Road, Eglinton
St.
George's, Greening Sacred Spaces, Toronto Green Awakening Network
- published more "green tips" and recommendations for "eco-resolutions" for 2008
on
our web site and through our email distribution list; for more information, see
the
church's web site
www.fairlawnavenueunited.ca/green
We look forward to the renewed vigour of participating in the Green Awakening
Network
initiative that the city is helping to fund and of strengthening relationships
with others in
this important faith in action effort.
Respectfully submitted by Tom Cullen, Coordinator, Fairlawn Green Action.
2007 Summary of Activities of Fairlawn Green Action
The Property Committee announced in the fall of 2005 that they were
interested in investigating "geothermal" (ground source heat) as an option for
the boiler replacement. Tom Cullen, who has always been very interested in
environmental issues and geothermal in particular, attended a meeting of
Property Committee. Rory O'Brien of Faith and the Common Good was also
there. They run a program called Greening Sacred Spaces. Rory suggested
we undertake a greening program at Fairlawn. In response to that, in March 2006,
the executive council approved a motion that we educate ourselves on greening
the church. Rory also suggested we pick a green champion. Tom volunteered to
take on the task and created a 'green team' ~ we now call ourselves Fairlawn
Green Action because we want everyone to know that we must all be part of
the solution.
Greening Sacred Spaces
Following our success in December 2006, with a GSS program (Energy Action
Planner) for energy conservation in the home, we maintained regular contact with
GSS, and then proceeded to launch our own program starting with the “Making
Connection” seminars.
“Making Connections” seminars
We held four seminars in January and February of 2007 to develop
environmental awareness in the congregation:
• “Renewing the Sacred Balance”
• “An Inconvenient Truth”
• “The Science of Climate Change” with Dr. Paul Kushner of U of T,
• “So, what now?” which produced our six action areas.
“Taking Action” workshop
The Taking Action workshop in March provided the format for participants to
brainstorm and then focus on at least one action item for each of our six action
areas. Below is a summary of accomplishments in 2007.
Click here for the details of
Making Connections and Taking Action
Fairlawn Green Action Initiatives
1. PROPERTY: INSTALL COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHTBULBS
• The “Light Brigade” charged at our incandescent lamps, replacing all outdated
technology lamps which could be retrofitted with products currently available at
local hardware stores. The intent was to upgrade the lighting efficiency
wherever a simple change could be made.
• 108 lamps were replaced
• 7,700 watts were reduced from the connected load in the Church.
• This represented a 78% reduction.
• The new bulbs have 8-10 times longer life
• CFLs have slightly different light distribution patterns and a short warm-up
period (nobody has commented on the changes!)
• Note: Any remaining incandescent lamps in the Church require some lighting
engineering before we can say we have purged the Church of inappropriate
technology
2. GARDENING: USE LESS WATER ON OUR GARDENS
• Earth Day on April 22nd contributed to 2900 trees planted at Downsview Park
• Garden Event on May 7th to add compost and woodchips to our gardens
• Adopt a garden" scheme with all sections of the gardens having a sponsor
• Campaign on (1) how to get your lawn off grass, (2) use of compost and (3)
woodchips
• More Soil Saver composters added to the side of the building (One was lined
with a garbage bag to contain dandelions, which are yard waste.)
3. BUY LOCALLY-GROWN FOOD
• Charts on buying locally grown food, companies and web sites for more
information
• Advertising farmers markets in Toronto and cottage country
• Presentations at Village Day on June 9th and during coffee hour on Sundays
4. COMMUNICATIONS: CREATE A “FAIRLAWN GREEN ACTION” LOGO
• Fairlawn Green Action logo “Think globally, Act locally” used on our
documentation and posters
• The Green Page web site as a subset of the Fairlawn web site - updated weekly
• Green Resource Corner available in the library and at coffee hour
• "Green Quiz" to challenge recycling knowledge
• Presentation on green activities to MumNet
• Weekly "Green Tip of the Week" via email
• Weekly message on green tips or activities in the Sunday Bulletin
• Advertised various green activities (eco-calculator, Commuter Challenge, Kyoto
Now day of action, Green Living Show, lecture series, conferences, film series,
etc.)
5. WASTE DIVERSION INTO RECYCLING, GREEN BINS AND COMPOSTING
• Garbage audit on April 4th revealed that 1/3 was actually garbage - the rest
could have gone to green bin or recycling
• Revamped recycling program in the church started in November with separate
clearly labelled green bins, recycle bins and small garbage cans in each room,
and worked with the staff to ensure timely emptying of green bins.
6. ADVOCACY: LETTER WRITING
• Online petitions re climate change
• Info on how to contact government officials, how to prepare for a campaign,
how governments develop policies, and how to "say it right" to get your message
across in a manner that will be successful for you.
Web site
www.fairlawnavenueunited.ca/green/letter_writing.htm
Green Tips
The following green tips were shared with the congregation and appear on the
web site.
www.fairlawnavenueunited.ca/green/green_tips.htm
• How to go carbon neutral
• Energy conservation (what you can do at home, energy action planner,
eco-calculator)
• Summer eco-tips
• Environmentally-friendly cleaning products
• Recycling help
• Home composting
• What about weeds?
• What goes in the green bin
• CFLs – compact fluorescent Lightbulbs
• Cold water laundry
• Gardening with compost and wood chips
• Being green at Christmas
• Update on ethanol
• Impact of the beef industry
• Raising a green child
• Community energy action plan launched by the Toronto Green Community
• Organizations that accept household goods for re-use
• Use grey water for watering plants
• Water conservation
• Where to get free compost
• Leaf blowers and GHG emissions
Ideas for the rest of the year
• Film series at Fairlawn
• Bike clinic in the spring
• House audit process
• Guest speaker to discuss how to insulate/caulk your home
• Raise awareness of “ethical investing” for our trustees and members of the
community
• Encourage local suppliers to stock locally-grown foods
• Guest speaker to discuss how to be “green” in a condo or apartment
• Expand networking connections with other churches and organizations in the
neighbourhood who are also doing green activities
• Obtain rain barrels to water our Fairlawn gardens
• Use Environmentally friendly cleaning products in the building
• Displays of environmentally friendly cleaning products at coffee hour for
community to purchase
• Learn about LEED certification (Leadership in energy and environmental design)
and use their ideas
2006 Summary of Activities of Fairlawn Green Action
The Green Team at Fairlawn Avenue United Church formed 2006. The mandate of the
Green Team is to promote education and action to help us become better stewards
of the earth, as part of faith in action. We will focus on global warming as
one of the most pressing issues threatening our planet, its people, our society
and the economy.
Our activities include
-
Heating replacement project looking into geothermal energy, through the
Property Committee
-
Planning a seminar to be called “Making Connections” to educate the
congregation about the impact of global warming and how we are called to be
stewards of the Earth
-
Coordination of 64 participants from the congregation to complete the
“Energy Action Planner” sponsored by Faith and the Common Good to record
reduction in home energy use
-
Distribution of the document “Have yourself a merry little GREEN
Christmas” (ideas for “green” gifts and environmental tips for the holidays)
-
Participation in environmental action groups such as Faith and the Common
Good, Greening Sacred Spaces program
-
Networking with other churches and organizations to learn more about
green house gas reduction
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