R E D D E E R A D V O C A T E S P E C I A L F E A T U R E Saturday, April 11, 2015 E1

ThinkThink

GGREENREENThe Red Deer Advocate and

The City of Red Deer have worked in conjunction to produce this feature aimed at

helping to make Red Deer a happier, healthier and cleaner place to live!

InsideInsideGreen Deer - Leave it better than you found it campaign kicks offWhat not to flush?Environmental benefits of transitJane’s Walk

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R E D D E E R A D V O C A T E S P E C I A L F E A T U R E

Green Deer 2015April 13 – June 14

Leave it better than you found it.

Join others in the community as we protect our parks and green spaces from harmful litter.

Community kick-off barbeque Monday, April 135 – 6:30 p.m. Parkland Mall parking lot

For more information or to register:

403.309.8411 www.reddeer.ca/greendeer

Green Deer 2015 partners:

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Earl Dreeshen, M.P.Red Deer

Suite 100A, 4315 55th Ave., Red Deer Ph: 403-347-7426 Fax: 403-347-7423

...and Make our Community a Happier, Healthier & Cleaner Place to Live

Think Green

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R ER E DD D ED E E RE R AA D VD VD O CO CO C A T EE S PS E C I A L F E

Green Deer’s “Leave it Better than you found it” campaign starting

As the snow melts, it’s clear that Red Deer needs a spring cleaning, which is why the an-nual Green Deer cleanup is happening again this year from April 13 to June 14. Green Deer is a volunteer based program where citizens give back to the community by helping to clean up litter from the winter.

“The Green Deer campaign is about beautifying our city and using the positive energy and actions of the majority to cancel out the careless actions of the few who littered over the winter months,” said Suzanne Jubb, City of Red Deer Commu-nity and Program Facilitator.

This year the campaign kicks off with a free barbecue on Monday, April 13 from 5p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Parkland Mall parking lot (weather permit-ting). Those wanting to partic-ipate in the Green Deer pro-gram can register in person at the barbecue or by any of the methods listed below.

The event is looking for vol-unteers from all areas of the city to register to help out and clean up during this time. Par-ticipating can be as simple as picking up trash while out for a walk, taking 15 minutes with your family in your own back yard and alley way, or by or-ganizing a litter pick up chal-lenge where neighbours, clubs, church groups and sports teams challenge each other to clean up the most trash.

“By individuals picking up even a few pieces of garbage, they are leaving the community better than they found it and have contributed to creating a cleaner and healthier Red Deer for everyone.”

Those wanting to partake are encouraged to register for the cleanup in order to get the free Green Deer garbage bags and to be eligible for prizes. The prizes this year includes a bar-beque donated by Canadian Tire and a BBQ Event hosted by KG Country/ Zed 98.9.

Trash collected during Green Deer can be put out in

the special Green Deer waste bags with household garbage on the regular collection day. Additional bags will not be charged. If large amounts of lit-ter are collected, residents can call 403-309-8409 and The City will pick it up. Residents are asked to ensure that all trash is disposed of properly by secur-ing bins with lids and avoiding overflowing dumpsters. If an issue is identified it can be re-ported through The City’s web-site tool Report-a-Problem.

Register for Green Deer

•IN PERSON: Recreation Centre, Collicutt Centre or G.H. Dawe Centre

•AT THE GREEN DEER KICKOFF

BARBECUE: Monday, April 13, 5 - 6:30 p.m., Parkland Mall Parking Lot (weather permitting)

•BY PHONE: 403-309-8411

•ONLINE WITH LOOK’N BOOK: www.reddeer.ca/looknbook , Course Code: #72631

Garbage bags are provided at the kickoff BBQ and from City facilities throughout Green Deer.

For more information about Green Deer, please call Suzanne Jubb @ 403-309-8409 or visit the website at www.reddeer.ca/greendeer

Participating can be as simple as picking up trash while out for a walk

RED DEER NORTHCandidate for

Alberta Liberal PartyAND

Green Party of AlbertaRed Deer’s Citizen of the year 2014Campaign Offi ce 403-309-0610

learn more at :www.Dawe4RDNorth.com

“Authorized by the Committee to Elect Michael Dawe”

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VOTE FOR CHANGE M MICHAELICHAEL

DAWE

E2 Saturday, April 11, 2015

R E D D E E R A D V O C A T E S P E C I A L F E A T U R E

RED DEERJoin Mayor Veer &

Red Deer City Councillors for

@cityofreddeer #letstalkrd fb.com/thecityofreddeer@

BE CONNECTED - LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR CITY. Red Deer City Council, and staff from City departments and agencies will be throughout the mall to talk to Red Deerians about City projects, programs and services. Come and see

the over 30 displays to learn more about being active, being green, being safe and belonging in our great city.

SATURDAY, APRIL 11 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM

Bower Place Shopping Centre

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Cigarette Butts � a little litter cando a lot of damage

Although each cigarette butt is small, the cumulative effect is large. Improperly disposed cigarette butts account for almost 30 per cent of the litter collected during the annual city cleanup events.

Many people carelessly flick ciga-rette butts out car windows or toss them onto sidewalks, without real-izing cigarette butts are not biode-gradable, they will not disappear. In fact, the build-up of plastic filters and chemicals from cigarette butts is toxic to the animals, plants, and water around us.

Keeping butts off the ground en-sures that properties and streets are litter-free and helps the environ-ment. Building owners and property managers are encouraged to have cigarette disposal sites outside of buildings, providing a convenient way help keep litter off the streets. Considerate smokers are asked to

continue to do their part to ensure cigarette butts are disposed of prop-erly.

As part of Green Deer, the City of Red Deer is giving away 1,000 free pocket ashtrays. These handy little tools help keep cigarette butt litter off the ground. It is a reusable and flexible foil lined pouch. Drop in your butt, snap it shut, and an air seal suffocates burning matter and traps the odour inside. These light, convenient ashtrays easily fit in a pocket or purse, so people can butt out when they’re on-the-go and then dispose of their cigarette butts in a garbage bin later.The pocket ashtrays are available for free at the following locations:Recreation Centre – 4501 47A AveCollicutt Centre – 3031 30 AveG.H. Dawe Community Centre – 56 Holt St.

Brian McLoughlin

We often think of our homes as a self-contained haven away from the rest of the world. In some respects this is exactly what they are, but in others ways we can lose track of what we do, even at home, and how it affects our environment and our city’s infrastructure.

In Red Deer, our homes are con-nected by a slender network of ser-vices that act to sustain our personal environments 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. Power, gas, phone, Internet and tele-vision signals all enter our homes to make our lives easier. In balance, an equally slender network of ser-vices takes away the byproducts of our daily lives. The wastewater and storm water lines leaving our homes and neighborhoods carry away large quantities of wastewater produced in our homes as well as rain and snowmelt from our yards and neigh-borhood.. If anything happens to any of these services it can certainly have a negative impact on our lives, but none of these are as likely to af-fect both our lives and our environ-ment as much as problems affect-ing both the sewage lines leading away from our homes and the storm water collection lines leading from our homes and out of our neighbor-hoods.

Sewage lines are meant to carry human waste and toilet paper out of your home to the City of Red Deer Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it is processed to remove the fibrous material and nutrients, including phosphorus and nitrogen and return the water to the Red Deer River. Flushing items other than this waste can cause blockages and backups in the sewer lines which can cause damage and disruptions in the lines and the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

“Common sense definitely comes in to play when thinking about what to flush”, says Barry Brookes, Lead Source Control Inspector for the City of Red Deer’s Environmen-tal Services. “Our environment is very important to us. Some of these blockages can lead to sewer water going into your home, onto your street and into the river and it can lead to expensive cleanups and health concerns.”

According to Brookes, items that should not be flushed include: pa-per products such as tissues, paper towels, and paper napkins, rags, dis-posable diapers; feminine hygiene products, Q-tips, cotton balls and cotton swabs, bandages and med-ical wrappings, medications such

as pills, capsules and liquids, den-

tal floss, disposable toilet cleaning

brushes, cat litter; condoms, hair

from hairbrushes, toothpicks, cig-

arette butts, fats, cooking oils and

grease, vegetable and fruit parings

scraps, diabetic needles and other

sharp objects as well as motor oil,

varsol, paint thinner and other sol-

vents.

While paying close attention to

what should and shouldn’t be in-

troduced into the sewage system is

important, knowing what to keep

away from the storm water system

is also very important. This system

carries rainwater and snow melt

from sidewalks, streets, and parking

lots, but does not move it through

the Wastewater Treatment Plant but

rather transfers it directly into the

Red Deer River. This means heavy

rainfall and snow melt runoff can

wash all types of pollutants into

storm water drains and directly into

the river.

There are some simple steps you

can make to prevent this from hap-

pening. Collect litter and animal

waste before they wash into storm

drains; choose organic pesticides

and fertilizers and apply them spar-

ingly and do not over water your

lawn. Go to a car wash to wash your

vehicles and ensure those vehicles

do not leak oil or other fluids. Do

not wash oil and solvent spills down

storm drains and as the City of Red

Deer cannot accept used motor oil

at the Waste Management Facility

take the used oil to Wal-Mart, Ca-

nadian Tire or other used oil dis-

posal site. Finally, empty your swim-

ming pool or hot tub into your floor

drains, because the chlorine and

other chemicals used can harm fish

and other aquatic life. Even if you

don’t live by a body of water, the

storm water collection system will

carry pollutants to the Red Deer

River. Allowing or intentionally

pouring pollutants into the storm

water or wastewater collection sys-

tem is illegal and can be punished

by a maximum penalty a fine of

$2500.

Living in a city as great as Red

Deer comes with responsibilities

and using the waste and storm water

collection systems responsibly is an

important way to help protect and

preserve our environment.

For more information on these systems

and their usage, visit reddeer.ca or con-

tact environmentalservices@reddeer.ca.

Wait! Don’t Flush That!

Waste and Storm Water Blockages

Affect Our Environment

“Some of these blockages can lead to sewer water going into your home, onto your

street and into the river and it can lead to expensive cleanups and health concerns.”

Saturday, April 11, 2015 E3

Barry Brookes, Lead Source Control Inspector for the City of Red Deer’s Environmental Services

R E D D E E R A D V O C A T E S P E C I A L F E A T U R EE4 Saturday, April 11, 2015

Brian McLoughlin

In 2016 the City of Red Deer’s Transit System will cel-ebrate its 50th anniversary, and as the those first fifty years wind down Red Deer Transit looks to the challenge of the next fifty years with excite-ment and anticipation.

The world looked consider-ably different as the first Red Deer Transit buses hit the streets in 1966. Ernest Man-ning was the Premier of Al-berta and Lester Pearson was Prime Minister. Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Ottawa Rough Riders for the Grey Cup, the Montreal Canadiens bested the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. Neil Young joined forces with Ste-phen Stills and Richie Furay to form the rock super group Buffalo Springfield, the origi-nal Star Trek premiered and Kurt Browning, Wendel Clark, Kerrin Lee-Gartner and Keifer Sutherland were born.

Much has changed in the in-tervening years, but the tradi-tion of customer service, oper-ating excellence and forward thinking pioneered through those years by Red Deer Tran-sit continues into the city’s second century. According to George Penny, Transit Manag-er for the City of Red Deer, the rapid and continual advances in technology give Red Deer Transit the opportunity to de-sign and implement a bus sys-tem built around rider’s needs and preferences. “The past few years have been very suc-cessful for Red Deer Transit, but we need to keep building on the progress we’ve made, we can’t allow the momen-tum we’ve generated to die,” says Penny. “We have excel-lent support from our riders and from City Council and we have a number of outstanding projects slated for 2015; such as identifying alternative fuel options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our carbon footprint, implementing mo-bile data terminals on Action buses and a new electronic fare collection system, all of which will provide a positive boost for us as a city.”

The planners at Red Deer Transit know they can’t remain idle when ongoing innovation and responsiveness to rid-ers needs must drive the bus. The department was in high gear in 2014, introducing Red Deer Transit on Google Maps, initiating the Small Bus pilot project and partnering with Lacombe and Blackfalds to launch BOLT Transit regional system.

Ridership data collec-tion will play a huge role in the future, as will the ability to provide real time bus route information to riders by way of smart technology. “We’ll be using the information we col-lect through our new electron-ic fare collection system and bus based GPS location track-

ing to identify peak periods

on our routes, allowing us to

enhance or reduce bus avail-

ability on different routes”,

says Penny. “We will also be

able to track bus location and

provide riders with bus arrival

time updates by way strategi-

cally located digital display

boards and smart phone apps.

We also want to be able to use

the system to be able to let rid-

ers know when they will arrive

at their destination. Another

innovation we’re reviewing is

Automatic Voice Annunciation

that will play recorded messag-

es announcing upcoming stops

and departures, both in the

bus and outside. I like to say

that we’re trading an old fash-

ioned bus for a BMW or ‘Bus-

ing My Way’, giving riders the

ability to tailor their bus con-

nection to their own needs.”

Red Deer Transit current-

ly operates 38 modern buses

over 12 city routes ranging

from Johnstone Park and Kent-

wood in the north to Gasoline

Alley and Springbrook in the

south. Regional bus routes in

conjunction with the Town of

Blackfalds and the City of La-

combe also gives our riders

the opportunity to commute

to these municipalities on the

BOLT Transit system.

Red Deer Transit also op-

erates the Action Bus sys-

tem which offers personal-

ized transportation services

to citizens of Red Deer who

cannot use regular transpor-

tation because of a disability

or physical need. Action Bus

customers include adults and

children with disabilities and

seniors.

“Using transit is a great way

to help the environment be-

cause riding the bus helps to

fight traffic congestion, reduc-

es air pollution, and contrib-

utes to a healthy, vibrant com-

munity,” says Penny, “At any

given hour we operate, each

Red Deer Transit bus could

take between 30 to 60 vehicles

off the road. When people

make the choice to travel this

way, it has a hugely positive

impact on the environment.”

For further information on

Red Deer Transit routes and ser-

vices check them out online at

reddeer.ca/city-services/transit.

Give the environment a break,

make Red Deer Transit part of

your lifestyle.

Go Green with Red Deer Transit

Taking the Bus Just Makes SenseLeaving Sorenson Station Transit Terminal.

Photo by Brian McLoughlin

Back in the beginning. Red Deer Transit number 71-15 in November 1968. Photo by Peter Cox

reeD deR

TRANSITit’s an environmental choice.

Clean air and a healthy community.

Make Transit part of your lifestyle

Red Deer Transit is making it easier for riders to plan their commute with a free trip planning tool that uses Google Maps to show the latest bus routes and schedules.

Go to Google Maps

Enter your destination

Pick your bus route

1

2

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reddeer.ca/transit

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R E D D E E R A D V O C A T E S P E C I A L F E A T U R E Saturday, April 11, 2015 E5

Jane’s Walk:

Walk and Talk about Red Deer

“No one can find what will work for our cities by manipulating scale models, or inventing dream cities. You’ve got to get out and walk.”-Jane Jacobs.

Teena Dickerson

This May, the City of Red

Deer will be hosting its fifth

annual Jane’s Walk. Last year

there were more than 1000

Jane’s Walks hosted in 130 cit-

ies across 6 continents.

What is a Jane’s Walk?

Jane’s Walk is a Canadian cam-

paign of free, locally organized,

community hosted, urban walk-

ing tours inspired by Jane Ja-

cobs. The walks are hosted by

individual community mem-

bers telling the stories about

their areas, celebrating their

neighborhoods, and connect

with issues relevant to the ur-

ban environment. Jane’s Walks

are focussed on cultivating

community curiosity, sharing

culture, discussing civic issues,

and exploring community cre-

ativity at the grassroots level.

Who is Jane? Jane Jacobs

(1916-2006) was an urban activ-

ist and writer in New York and

Toronto. She advocated for a

community based approach to

city building and urban plan-

ning. She was interested in a

pedestrians-centered approach

to neighborhood planning and

the refurbishment of old build-

ings rather than construction of

new ones. She was also deeply

concerned with urban sprawl

and its implications on the en-

vironment. Jane’s Walk is a

project of Tides Canada Initia-

tives Society, a Canadian char-

ity dedicated to social and en-

vironmental issues.

“Red Deerians have been

really responsive and have

come out in force to learn more

about their community. That’s

the point: it is to get people

out in the community, talking

about their community, and the

issues that matter to them.” ex-

plains Lauren Maris, the city

organizer for Jane’s Walk Red

Deer, “They are walking con-

versations, encouraging discus-

sion and participation in the

community.”

In the past four years, there

have been several creative and

interesting Jane’s Walks in Red

Deer. One popular walk last

year was hosted by the public

art coordinator who offered

commentary and a tour of the

bronze sculptures in the city’s

downtown core. Another walk

was titled, “Where Did the

Sidewalks Go?” and explored

the challenges of pedestrian

navigation in Red Deer. An-

other popular and innovative

walk was “Where Will All

the Boomers Go?”, led by a

grandmother and granddaugh-

ter team. This walk opened a

conversation about Red Deer’s

city development and acces-

sibility for the growing Baby

Boomer generation and se-

niors.

If you are proud of your

neighborhood and would like

to share its unique character-

istics, or facilitate a conversa-

tion about its challenges, you

can host your own Jane’s Walk.

Walks can be funny or serious,

informative or exploratory, his-

torical, social, political, or cul-

tural. Walks can focus on any

aspect of your community and

on almost any local topic you

are passionate about. Jane’s

Walks are an opportunity to

get creative in your region and

highlight local interests and

opinions. If you would like to

host your own walk, it is simple

and fun. The first step is to de-

cide what you want to talk about,

the location, and then plan your

route. After that, you can visit

www.janeswalk.org to create

and account and register your

walk details. The website has

tips on planning, hosting, and

easy to use promotional tools

and templates for posters, post-

cards, and buttons.

If you would like to attend a

Jane’s Walk in Red Deer you can

visit www.janeswalk.org/canada/

reddeer or reddeer.ca/janeswalk

to see a listing of walk events and

dates. You can also contact Red

Deer city organizer, Lauren Maris

at lauren.maris@reddeer.ca for

more information. Jane’s Walks

will take place on May 1, 2 and

3 in neighborhoods around Red

Deer.

If you are proud of your neighborhood and would like to share its unique characteristics, or facilitate a conversation about its challenges, you can host your own Jane’s Walk.

JANE’S WALK 2015

Call for walk leadersAnyone can lead a Jane’s Walk because everyone knows something about where they live. Walks can focus on almost any aspect of a neighbourhood and almost any topic.

Visit www.reddeer.ca/janeswalk for details and to register as a leader by April 13.

This global event is in honour of Jane Jacobs who believed that residents should have input on how their neighbourhoods develop, and encouraged people to explore the places they work, live and play.

Find the full listing of free walks taking place throughout the weekend at www.reddeer.ca/janeswalk.

May 1-3Jane’s Walks are free, local walking tours for Red Deerians to explore, talk about and celebrate our neighbourhoods.

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R E D D E E R A D V O C A T E S P E C I A L F E A T U R EE6 Saturday, April 11, 2015

www.reddeer.ca

YARD WASTE PICKUP BEGINS

YARD WASTE PICKUP RUNS April 13, 2015 - Nov. 13, 2015

I want to come back as a carrot.

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GIVE IT ANOTHER CHANCE

Yard waste is only a waste if you let it be. Grass clippings, leaves, garden materials and tree branches can all be recycled by The City of Red Deer and given a new life.

Yard Waste GuidelinesWe provide weekly collection of yard waste for single-family residences, so that yard waste can be given new life as compost.

Yard Waste Includes:• Grass clippings • Tree trimmings

• Garden waste • Leaves

How to Put Yard Waste Out For Pick-up- Place it loose in a garbage can marked with a yard waste

sticker (available at CITY HALL).

- Place it loose in a paper yard waste bag, which are available at most hardware and department stores.

- Small branches can be bundled and tied with a string. Maximum branch size is 1 inch in diameter and 4 feet long.

yyara dd wawasstee stst cicickekekerr (a(a(avava lilil babablele aatt CCICICITYTYTY HHHALALALL)L)L)L))..

- PPPlalaacecece iiittt lloloososee iinin aa ppapaperer yyarardd wawaststee baba hihi hh

YARD WASTEACCEPTABLE ITEMS

Grass, Leaves, Garden Waste & Tree Trimmings

[12.5 cm (1 inch) Diameter, 1.2 m (4 Feet) Long]

PLEASE MAKE

VISIBLE TO DRIVER

For more information

340-BLUE

Green thumbs

Dig into City gardensJillian Best

The City of Red Deer has sev-eral gardening programs avail-able this year for those who like a little dirt under their finger-nails. City Garden Plots, Com-munity Gardens & Orchards, and the Parkside Community Food Forest provide opportunities for residents to access fresh, locally grown produce.

“The City Garden Plot pro-gram allows residents to plant and grow their own produce over a season,” says Ken Lehman, Ecological & Planning Specialist with The City of Red Deer. “The City prepares and manages the plots and oversees soil mainte-nance in these gardening areas, in addition to administering an-nual plot registrations.”

Starting April 28, residents can register on a first-come, first-serve basis for a plot in one of three gardening areas in our city, Michener Gardens, Piper Creek Gardens and Parkside Gardens. There are three plot sizes avail-able at different costs, includ-ing Large (120 m2) for $43/season, Medium (60 m2) for $27/season, and a Small plot (30 m2) for $14/season. Plots become available for gardening on May 16 and are accessible to registrants until Oc-tober 13 when they close for the season. To register for a plot, call 403-342-8303.

Community Gardens & Or-chards is a partnership between The City and various community groups to oversee several differ-ent gardening initiatives in vari-ous neighbourhoods. These areas are typically smaller, more local-ized gardens and orchards that promote walkability and strong community spirit. There are cur-rently eight separate sites oper-ating in Red Deer with several more planned. With the excep-tion of the one community or-chard, all other locations have raised beds, and some have rain barrels and composting units available to users. Each site is prepared and managed by vol-unteer community groups, with annual feedback of challenges

and successes of the projects provided to The City. Funding is available through The City for groups interested in starting up a garden project in their neigh-bourhood, and interested parties are encouraged to contact the Parks section for information on the process.

“There are many benefits to gardening and local food produc-tion, including increased physi-cal and mental well-being, and better food quality resulting from organic gardening practices, which is a requirement for all City garden projects. There’s a lot to be said for knowing where your food comes from and how it was produced,” says Lehman. “Community gardening also en-courages residents to get out and meet people, learn about garden-ing and share their knowledge. It’s a great community-builder.”

The Parkside Community Food Forest, adjacent to the Parkside Garden plots, is the first of its kind in Red Deer. Initi-ated by The City, in partnership with Tree Canada and using tree donations from local nurseries, it utilized volunteers from ReThink Red Deer and the general public to assist with planting. Produce grown in the food forest is avail-able for the public to harvest. The City asks residents to harvest respectfully to avoid damaging the trees and shrubs, and to be sure to leave enough for others to enjoy. Projects like the Food Forest typically take at least three years to start generating a significant amount of produce. The 2015 season should bring in a crop of berries (haskaps or honeyberries, blueberries and saskatoons), while apples, plums, pears, sour cherries, and hazel-nuts are what we can look for-ward to in future years.

For more information on City Garden Plots, Community Gardens or the Parkside Community Food Forest, contact the City’s Parks sec-tion at 403.342.8303 or visit www.reddeer.ca/gardening.

Green Cart program will encourage reduction of organics in landfills

Do you leave stuff in your fridge way past the expiry date so that you can compost it? Steal your neighbour’s bags of garden clippings, so you can spread it on your flowerbeds? Crazy, right? In fact, the City of Red Deer wants a lot more residents to get crazy. Not so ridiculous that we waste good food, of course, but rather in the sense that more of us ac-tively embrace the benefits of composting. This month, the City of Red Deer is rolling out the Green Cart Pilot Project, in part to divert residential organ-ics. Other goals of the project are to “trial” various aspects of organics collection, including the use of automated carts and educational materials in order to refine the design of a future citywide program.

Approximately 2 thousand households have been selected to participate in the program. Keran Braich, Waste Diversion Specialist in Environmental Services, says the participants reflect the overall demographic of the full population.

With wheels and lids, the green carts provided by the City will hold kitchen food scraps, including meat or meat prod-ucts, garden clippings and leaves, soiled paper – think of pizza boxes - and pet waste. Braich says all these items are fine to toss into the cart. Collec-tion days will remain the same as the usual garbage and recy-cling schedule. Participants in the pilot program are supplied with a limited number of com-postable bags in order to make

moving food scraps from the kitchen to the cart easier. The City won’t be giving out extra bags beyond the initial supply, but the bags are available at many retail locations.

“This isn’t a new idea, “ says Braich. “In fact, it is part of the 2013 Waste Management Plan adopted by the City, with the goal to reduce our overall waste. We are focusing on re-ducing the amount of organic matter in our landfill.”

Organic waste – kitchen scraps, garden debris, and the like – accounts for 40 per cent of the volume found in the landfill. Along with addressing problems of volume in landfill sites, diverting the waste helps reduce greenhouse gas emis-sions. These seemingly inno-cent scraps in the trash heap potentially trap and heat the air in the atmosphere. The green-house gas they produce contrib-utes to the problems associated with global warming. “We want to deal with our organic waste better because it has value in terms of the finished compost and has great environmental

benefits,” according to Braich.A contractor will transport

the green cart waste to a local facility where it will be made into compost for use on agricul-tural land from the contents. Soil amendments reduce the need for chemical fertilizers and water: an environment bo-nus in both instances.

To plan for this program, the Environmental Services De-partment accessed information from other communities, such Calgary and Airdrie. “We had to consider certain issues that we face in Central Alberta. For example, how the weather will impact use of the carts. We talk-ed to our counterparts in north-ern communities about how to operate the carts in the snow,” Braich says.

Environmental Services staff plans to solicit and answer questions from the program participants from before roll-ing out a citywide program in 2017. “We want to learn as much as we can from the residents so we can be ready to offer the best full-scale program for ev-eryone,” says Braich.

Organic waste – kitchen scraps, garden debris, and the like – accounts for 40 per cent of the volume found in the landfill. Along with addressing problems of volume in landfill sites, diverting the waste helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Why a green cart?Organic matter – kitchen, yard & pet waste – accounts for a whopping 40 per cent of the volume of stuff in our landfill sites. The City of Red Deer has adopted the 2013 Waste Management Master Plan to reduce the overall waste in our community.

What can I put in the green cart?Kitchen scraps including meat, yard clippings, leaves, pet waste & litter box contents, including compostable bags, soiled paper, including pizza boxes.No need to separate items or use additional containers.

When do I put out my green cart?Green cart collection will occur on your regular scheduled garbage & recycling pick up day & location.

Who can use the green carts?It’s a pilot program at this stage, for 2 thousand pre-selected households, but Environmental Services hopes to offer a city- wide program in spring of 2017.

Where can I get more information?greencart@reddeer.caReddeer.ca/greencart403-340-8662

R E D D E E R A D V O C A T E S P E C I A L F E A T U R E Saturday, April 11, 2015 E7

Water correctlyWatering a lawn can do more

harm than good if the lawn is not watered correctly. Excessive water-ing is a waste of water and can cost homeowners money while harming the environment at the same time. Water that is not ab-sorbed by the lawn can result in runoff, which causes nitrogen in the grass, any fertilizer that was applied and chemicals in the water itself to run into gutters and even-tually pollute streams, rivers and oceans. In addition, grass needs

oxygen in the soil to grow properly. But when a lawn is overwatered, the oxygen between the soil par-ticles is pushed out, depriving roots of the oxygen they need to grow in strong. This leads to shallow root systems, which make a lawn more susceptible to stress, disease and insect infestation. But overwater-ing can also be unsightly, as lawns that are overwatered tend to have more weeds, robbing even the greenest of lawns of its aesthetic appeal. (MS)

Are you interested in composting? Red Deer residents get discounts on composting tools at Red Deer Peavey Mart. Find out how to get your coupons by visiting www.reddeer.ca/composting.

Dennis BurrissTiffany Crone

Jimmy KennedyDeanna Doan

Karen GardinerCristina Stewart

Lisa GoltzLouise Munn

Jolene ArsenaultJoanne Palecek

Mitchell SargentVanessa GilbertsonLeah Christiansen

Lesley StaffordHarley Richards

Danielle BustamanteKyla Courte

Kim TangTera KatreniczLou Trudgeon

Linda ZnakShauna Hubel

Jennifer McCordRebecca Johnson

Elly JacobsonKelly O’Brien

Carol Van De WegheSteven Gruenberg

Rachel StebbinsSora Kanngiesser

Cindy KlaudtDonna Matolsci

Crystal CummingsVerna Penner

Nicole McgeoughWinter StrongKarmen Weiss

Shay TangermanCaitlynn McNutt

Brenda KempCharlotte Wagner

Ashley Larsen-StewartShireen Anderson-Kuprowski

Doug WiesnerPaige Mitchell

Toni HaleyAdrienne Young

Mark BlatzVincent Leckie

Natalie Day LazenbyQuitcy MacAulay

Tracey Gall

Jackie MuddleHarrison Blizzard

Tanya OlafsonChristine SwiftKaisa Nadeau

Cathie McCrackenDean Duniece

Leanne LaBrashCheryl Reynen

Tanya MullakadyDoug SpicerCarla Walli

Tony PenneyDori NeufeldKelly JustusLisa Delver

James BetterSara SmillieScott SimonDaniel Kim

Justine BromleyWendy NahernyAnnette BeisickLindsay Ziegler

Carla MorinBecky Amthor

COMPOST!Congrats to these amazing Red Deer families who have been composting

for nearly a year after joining the Composting at Home program.

Since 2012, nearly 650 Red Deer households started backyard composting.

& Keep up with the Jonesesthe Johnsons, the Penners, and the Morins

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Air quality in Red Deer is everyone’s concern

Teena Dickerson “Sometimes when you drive

into Red Deer from Sylvan Lake now you can see that Red Deer has a layer of yellowish gray smog.” explains Lauren Maris, Environmental Program Spe-cialist for the City of Red Deer. “We have taken our air quality for granted. We are now having problems and we need to take ownership. Its everyone’s re-sponsibility and we need every-one to join in the solution to re-ducing air pollution in Red Deer and the region.”

Air quality in Red Deer is among the worst in Alberta and has recently exceeded the Can-ada-wide standard for fine par-ticulate matter. The only other area in Alberta with similar lev-els has been the capital region around Edmonton.

Fine particulate matter is ma-terial smaller than 2.5 microm-eters that is suspended in the atmosphere. These tiny parti-cles are dangerous to both hu-man and plant life. Particulate matter is very easily embedded into lung tissue and studies have linked it to cardiac and respira-tory illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, and various forms of heart diseases. People with chronic lung problems, such as asthma and emphysema, will ex-perience worsening symptoms when breathing air with higher concentrations of fine particu-late matter. It can also affect plant health and nutrients in soil and water contributing to soil and water toxicity. Fine par-ticulate matter levels are moni-tored in two stations, in Red Deer, operated by Parkland Air Management Zone.

“This is primarily a winter problem from what we under-stand from the science so far.” Lauren Maris continues, “We are working on getting some causation but it is complex.”

Particulate matter comes from both natural and human sources. It is caused two ways, either, directly, in a primary contribution like wind-blown dust or ash from a forest fire, or indirectly, as a secondary substance created by chemical constituents working in com-bination with meteorological conditions. A good example of secondary particulate matter is vehicle emissions and stagnant weather. When emissions from vehicles, public or industrial, combine with very cold weath-er and calm winds, particulate matter is created and becomes trapped and concentrated with-in the area. Emissions from any combustable source react this way in these weather conditions: wood furnaces, fire places, in-dustrial processes, construction operations, or vegetation burn-

ing (such as land clearing or yard waste).

“Because we exceeded the Canada-wide standard, Alberta Environment Sustainable Re-source Development is respon-sible for the development of a management plan.” said Sharina Kennedy of Alberta ESRD. “We have gathered relevant stake-holders, including representa-tives from municipalities, indus-try, and the public to provide input on a plan that will get us

below the exceedance level. There are many opportunities to address the issue and everyone has a role to play.”

An advisory committee made up of organizations most influ-ential on nitrogen sources (a chemical precursory of particu-late matter) and local stakehold-ers, such as Red Deer County and Lacombe County represen-tatives, has been assembled. The advisory committee met in January to discuss the issue and have planned another meeting for June. The June information session will welcome the public and invite feedback. The pur-pose of the June meeting will be primary education, to provide updates, and to share recom-mendations for the public, mu-nicipalities, industry, and pro-vincial government on how to change behavior, activities, and policies to improve air quality in Red Deer and surrounding ar-eas.

Right now, the easiest thing the public can do to improve air quality is to not idle their vehi-cles. Environment Program Spe-cialists in Red Deer recommend and that if you are going to be stopped for more than one min-ute, except in traffic, turn off the engine. Another recommenda-tion involves warming up vehi-cles; even in the coldest weath-er, modern engines don’t need to be warmed up any longer

than five minutes. You can further reduce warm up time by getting a block heater timer that will heat your engine be-fore you need it. A final, and timely, recommen-dation to improve air quality involves yard waste and spring clean up; yard waste should be composted rather than burned. The City of Red Deer has a bylaw banning back yard waste burning and of-fers a yard waste pick up pro-

gram. “Nobody owns air but it af-

fects everyone. Its really chal-lenging to find ways to actively engage people in promoting air quality.” concludes Maris. For more information on air quality and upcoming public meetings vis-it www.reddeer.ca/environment.

Air quality in Red Deer is among the worst in Alberta and has recently exceeded the Canada-wide standard for fine particulate matter.

Lauren Maris, Environmental Program Specialist for the City of Red Deer

R E D D E E R A D V O C A T E S P E C I A L F E A T U R EE8 Saturday, April 11, 2015

Time For Spring Clean-Up!

Turn Your Scrap Into Cash!

IS HUNGRY FOR SCRAPWe Pay Cash For All

Types Of Metal

Including Scrap Autos, Industrial

Scrap Metals, & Farm Scrap Metals• Bin Services (large or small

containers) allow you to store your recyclable metals at your own site, we exchange/drop off with a fresh one when needed.

• Drive on scale for precise measurements and ease of use

• Personal and professional services to load/unload your materials

• Free scrap vehicle pickup in the Red Deer area

• Purchase of copper, aluminum, brass, tin, and many other non-ferrous metals

• Large volume metal clean ups on site

$50CASH PAID

$100CASH PAID

For Your Scrap Vehicle Includes

pick-upwithin 10kmof Red Deer

If youdeliver yourscrap vehicle

to us!

4305-78 St. Cres.,Red Deer 403-347-5815

www.bulldogmetals.net

Copper • Stainless Steel • Brass • Steel • Aluminum• Iron • Batteries • Rads • Car Disposal

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Eco-friendly lawn care can be easy

Homeowners know that a healthy lawn can add considerable curb ap-peal to a property while giving resi-dents of the home a place to relax and enjoy the great outdoors. But few might know that a healthy lawn can also benefit the environment, espe-cially when homeowners take a pro-active approach to lawn care that em-phasizes eco-friendly techniques.

A proactive approach to lawn care can prevent certain problems, includ-ing disease, insect infestation and weed growth. When such problems arise, many homeowners opt to com-bat them with pesticides, which can harm the environment. But a proac-tive approach to lawn care can re-duce the likelihood of developing such problems and protect the planet at the same time.

Emphasize healthy soil. Healthy soil promotes strong roots,

which leads to a more robust, lush and aesthetically appealing lawn. While a lawn needs to be fertilized in the spring and at various points throughout the summer, it’s impor-tant that homeowners avoid overfer-tilization, which can create thatch that, when allowed to thicken, will prevent nutrients from penetrating the soil. Lawns need more nitrogen, phos-phorous and potassium than soil can typically provide, so fertilizing throughout the warm weather seasons and into early fall can pro-mote a healthy lawn. But choose a slow-release fertilizer so it gradually feeds the lawn. Compost and grass clippings can also be spread around the lawn to promote healthy soil. The pH level of the soil should also be checked to ensure the lawn can fully absorb nutrients. Speak with a local lawn care pro-fessional to determine what a healthy pH level is for soil in your area.

Choose a grass that can thrive in your

climate. Though you might

prefer the look of a cer-tain grass, choosing a grass based entirely on appearance is a mis-take that could cost you money and prove harmful to the environ-ment. When installing a new lawn, opt for one that’s suitable to the lo-cal climate. Installing a lawn that needs sub-stantial amounts of wa-ter in a region known for drought can rob the lawn of its aesthetic appeal and will cost homeowners a substan-tial amount of money to maintain. If an existing lawn struggles to stay green regardless of your best efforts, then con-sider replacing it with a new type of grass that might be more suited to the local climate.

Don’t cut too low when mowing.

Homeowners who d o n ’ t e n j o y m o w -ing their lawn might be tempted to simply cut the grass as low as possible to extend

the intervals between cuts. But the United States Environmental Protec-tion Agency recommends that grass never be cut more than one-third of the height of the grass blades. Lon-ger grass can take in more sunlight, allowing it to grow in thicker and develop a deeper root system. That deep root system can help a lawn sur-vive drought and prevent disease, two potentially costly problems that often force homeowners to embrace solu-tions that are not eco-friendly. Ideal lawn height depends on the type of grass, so consult a lawn care profes-sional to ensure you are cutting your grass to a healthy length.

Avoid overwatering. Excessive watering not only wastes

water, which is not very eco-friend-ly, but also hurts the lawn when dry periods inevitably arrive. That’s be-cause shallow and frequent watering encourages roots to stay near the sur-face, so when dry periods arrive, the roots struggle to find water. An estab-lished lawn should not need daily wa-tering. Instead, watering responsibly when the lawn needs water and when evaporation can be kept to a mini-mum, can strengthen a lawn and do so in an eco-friendly way. (MS)

#1, 7428 - 49 AvenueOpen Mon, - Sat

9:00 AM - 5:00 PMThurs & Fri 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM

403-342-2034

5405 South Street EastOpen Thurs - Sat 8:30 AM - 5:00 PMSun 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

403-885-2689

COSMOS IRED DEER BLACKFALDS

BOTTLE DEPOT6332 Orr Drive

Open Mon to Sat9:30 AM - 5:30 PM403-309-8642

COSMOS IIRED DEER

“Recycling that makes ¢ent$ “Recycling that makes ¢ent$ for you and your community”for you and your community”

Profi ts generated by recycling cans and bottles at Cosmos Bottle Depots Ltd. support persons with disabilities through Cosmos Community Support Services Ltd. and the Cosmos Foundation.

Large blue bins are located around Red Deer and Blackfalds and charities within the communities receive 100% of the profi ts from the bins on a monthly basis. Contact the depot manager to have your non-profi t added to the list.

OTHER PLASTIC JUGS, ETC. PLASTIC BOTTLES

10¢1 Litre & Under

25¢Over 1 Litre

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What’s Recyclable?What’s Recyclable?

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Recycle Your Electonics

Monday-Friday 7:30 am - 4:00 pm8075-49th Ave., Red Deer

(North Red Deer behind United Furniture Warehouse)

www.recycle-logic.com or call 1-403-348-0770

DROP OFF:TV’s Computers, Monitors, Printers and ANY other Electronics for Recyclingat No charge.