Community Engagement

Email:           Facebook: Going Green at 70 by Nancy MacRae

Hi there Green Beans,

Valentine's Day is approaching and although it’s tempting to buy cards, roses, and chocolates – let’s see if we can try something different this year.

You can make Valentine’s Day cards with recycled paper or you can look for re-cycled cards. Or maybe it’s time we try to get away from this card-giving business altogether. Here is a stat that made my head spin:

How big is the greeting card market in Canada? $369.1 M for 2023

Seriously that is a lot of hard-earned dollars being given to people who read and toss. Unless you are one of those people who save cards, although I still think it’s a crazy amount of money.

See if your florist offers organic flowers. Organic flowers use less artificial chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides. Even if they don’t carry them, it might get them thinking that It’s time to start offering alternatives. Another option is a plant; something that hopefully will survive. Even if it makes it to the spring where it can be planted, better than smell and toss.

Sometimes I wish I had never started down this path. Did you know that cocoa production is linked to child labour, slavery, deforestation, and low wages? Now before we all swear off chocolate, realistically that could be pretty daunting for a lot of us – there are ways to get chocolate without the negative effects. We can check out labels for Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, or UTZ certifications. Words like sustainable and eco-friendly can be green-washing; meaning not accurate. I hate green-washing because the bottom line - it is just taking advantage of our ignorance; we need to start getting educated on this stuff. Buying dark chocolate is a better alternative; it at least gives more money to the cocoa farmers because dark chocolate contains more cocoa.

I think the best gifts are cooking a nice meal for your loved one, treating them to a massage gift certificate, a spa day, or telling them to put their feet up and all chores are off limits for the day. Now how romantic is all that!

“Love does not consist in words or feelings, but in deeds. It is an act of the will; it is a gift; that is to say, a giving.” — Maria Faustyna Kowalska