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For more than 40 years, Earth Day has united communities around the world in a day dedicated to preserving the environment. For this occasion, everyone is invited to take action to save the planet! While the official date of the event is April 22nd, this year, we invite you to adopt eco-friendly habits throughout the month to help take care of our environment.
Did you know that tree roots "talk" to each other? Indeed, the roots of our favourite deciduous and coniferous trees can meet underground and mingle to better survive. Trees can thus help each other and share their resources through their common roots to grow together. Inspiring, isn’t it? Several cities offer trees or compensation to their citizens to encourage the planting of trees in the spring. Why not go ahead this year and contribute to making your neighbourhood greener by giving friends to your favourite trees?
Just like trees that live together, an increasing number of plant sharing and donation initiatives are springing up everywhere. Facebook is full of groups where users can donate or acquire plants. Did you know that the Semaine lavalloise du don de plantes (Laval Plant Donation Week) takes place from May 22 to 28? It’s a great opportunity to get some greenery and enhance the natural diversity of your surroundings. Visit the Facebook page of the event for more details.
Celebrating nature can be as simple as walking in the forest. Discover the trails at Bois Papineau to recharge your batteries and reconnect with Mother Nature. Science has clearly proven that there are several physiological benefits: being exposed to nature slows blood and heart rates, and calms the nervous system. Nature is a bit magical and deserves to be taken care of... so that it can take better care of us!
Earth Month is also a great opportunity to do little things every day to make a big difference. Our gasoline-powered cars do pollute, but several things can be done to minimize their harmful effects. Carpooling, responsible driving and even car maintenance are all things to keep in mind. By sharing a car and observing speed limits, you can reduce your vehicle’s emissions without losing any of its practicality. Of course, active transportation (by bicycle, public transit, on foot, etc.) remains the preferable alternative!
Another thing you can do is to clean up your email inbox. That’s right! Emails that are sitting in your inbox are a source of pollution, because they’re hosted on servers that consume a lot of energy - and we don’t even know what kind of energy is powering them. So let’s avoid the risk and keep only the essential messages in your inbox! (As a bonus, it will be beneficial to your mental load... guaranteed!)
Finally, using the dryer on a regular basis is another habit that you should reconsider. Europeans hang their clothes to dry, why not adopt this practice? The dryer consumes a lot of electricity and damages the fibres of our clothes, thus making them deteriorate more quickly. Why not kill two birds with one stone?
The food industry is one of the sectors with the greatest environmental impact for several reasons. From food production to storage, processing, packaging and transportation: all of these steps consume a lot of energy and we should be aware that losses occur at every step. So this month, we invite you to grab your reusable cloth bags and glass jars, and buy locally and in bulk. That will mean less plastic and less travel for your tomatoes!
To take action on all fronts, challenge yourself to reduce food waste this month. Get the children involved in your menu planning and use apps like Magic Fridge to cook delicious, creative meals from your leftovers without too much effort! We also recommend buying less food more frequently, to avoid having to throw away your perishable food. And remember: the freezer is your best friend!
On a daily basis, DUO Laval acts to preserve the planet's resources. Consult our Environment page (coming soon) to find out all about our various initiatives and come meet our employees and our retailers to mark Earth Month in style!
1600 Boul. le Corbusier
Laval, QC H7S 1Y9, Canada