Sustainable wellbeing and green living

There are some organizations that are particularly close to my heart because they creatively tackle issues of Sustainable Wellbeing on multiple fronts. BUILD Inc. is one of these examples. They work towards long-term poverty reduction through skill development and employment while also working on green housing initiatives. It is beautiful and brilliant!

BUILD Inc. is a social enterprise non-profit contractor and training program that is based in Manitoba. BUILD, which is an acronym for Building Urban Industries for Local Development, aims to improve the sustainability of Manitoba public housing units through water and insulation retrofits.

Some of the services provided by BUILD include:

• Water saving retrofits
• Drain water heat recovery (which consists of using the heat from your shower water to heat your hot water tank)
• General plumbing work
• Maintenance (including simple repairs such as patching up holes and repainting, as well as deep refreshes of units)
• Cabinetry
• Insulation
• ...

I admit it. I like fashion, well I did before COVID lockdowns meant that I wear the same darn outfit for an entire week - OK, season, because there is nowhere to go!

Sure, clothing is an essential part of our everyday lives, but it is also a way of expressing ourselves and our values. The clothing you wear impacts the way you are perceived by others, and it can be creative and fun. But, how do we reconcile fashion or even just the necessary clothes that we wear when it comes to the impacts of the fashion industry?

The issues with fast fashion

Purchasing clothing items that align with your sustainability goals can be difficult due to the fact that the fast fashion industry is responsible for a large percentage of today’s clothing production.

Fast fashion clothing items are often made with cheap, synthetic materials, and poor construction. These types of clothing have a very limited lifespan, as they tend to get worn out and fall apart with use. Once sent to the landfill, these...

Did you know there is a word that describes the feeling of coziness and contentment we experience when taking part in our favourite feel-good activities or indulging in the small comforts of life? The Danish word, “Hygge” (pronounced hue-ga) describes exactly that. Hygge can come in many shapes and forms, as it is any experience that you find comforting and enjoyable, and of course, it is not just experienced by the Danes and it is not only for cold winter climates!

Hygge has been recently adopted into the English language and is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “A quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.”

By including the word hygge in our vocabulary, we are better able to recognize the feeling of hygge, and the activities that make us feel hygge. This can encourage us to make an effort to incorporate hygge into their lives, and foster Sustainable Wellbeing, which is the wellbeing that comes...

When we think about the long-lasting impact of climate change, our concerns are often centred around future generations. This is because environmental issues such as climate change and ecological degradation have created uncertain futures for children around the globe.

While children are the least responsible for climate change, they will experience the greatest burden of its impact and will be saddled with the responsibility of finding a climate change solution. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals acknowledge that children are “critical agents of change and will find in the new goals a platform to channel their infinite capacities for activism into the creation of a better world.”

Kids for Saving Earth

Clinton Hill was a child who took environmental activism into his own hands. In the 1980s, Clinton started a club for kids which was dedicated to peaceful Earth-saving actions. This club was first started in his school, Sunny Hollow Elementary, located in New...

Most of us want to make a positive impact in the world, but we are not always sure how to do so, and our lives tend to already be pretty full and busy. But there are some organizations that we can rely on. They are already on the ground, and doing the important work; all we need to do is support them in whatever way we can.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical aid and healthcare is a topic that has been at the forefront of everyone’s mind. It is clear just how important access to proper healthcare is. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to access medical aid. This is a truth that Médecins Sans Frontières is trying to change.

Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF, also referred to in English as Doctors Without Borders, is an international humanitarian non-governmental organization that provides medical care and saves lives for those living in conflict zones, natural disasters, and epidemics.

This Nobel Prize-winning emergency humanitarian medical...

Have you heard of Sable Island? There is a good chance you haven’t, as Sable Island National Park Reserve is a small Canadian island that is located 300 kilometers southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Canada’s east coast. Despite its small size, Sable Island has an interesting history, unique vegetation, and exciting wildlife, including a population of wild horses!

The history of Sable Island

Since the 1500s, there have been numerous attempts to settle on Sable Island by various colonists and adventurers from Portugal, Basque, France, Spain, England, and New England. These attempts at settlement only lasted a few years or less, as the location of the island made settlement quite difficult.

Sable Island is known for the large number of shipwrecks that occurred as a result of the island’s sand bars. It has been estimated that 350 vessels have met their fate at this location as a result of its low visibility, treacherous currents, and the fact that it was located in...

It is quite possible that throughout the course of your life you have accumulated at least one, if not multiple, musical instruments that you no longer have a use for. It might be an instrument that you played when you were younger, one that was passed down to you or one that needs some repair. Perhaps you’ve picked up an instrument as a hobby and lost interest, are a musician who has cycled through instruments over the years, or maybe you know someone else who no longer has a use for the instruments they have acquired.

Whatever the case, deciding what to do with an unused instrument can be difficult. While many may choose to simply throw away their instruments, especially if they are broken, there are other options that not only benefit the environment, but other people as well!

Embodied energy

When deciding on what to do with your old or broken musical instrument, it is important to think about its embodied energy. Embodied energy is the sum of all the energy that is...

Fairtrade is a certification that you have likely already encountered. But you may not have considered why the designation is important and how it makes a difference. Although you may be aware that buying Fairtrade items is a good thing to do, as it has positive impacts on people as well as the environment, do you know why Fairtrade is important?

How does Fairtrade work?

Fairtrade is a certification, given by the non-profit association Fairtrade International, that ensures better prices, decent working conditions, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers that grow the produce and make the products that we all depend on. When you buy an item that is Fairtrade, it means that the ingredients or the product itself was produced by small-scale farmer organizations or plantations that meet Fairtrade social, economic, and environmental standards.

Fairtrade standards are the requirements that the producers and businesses that buy their goods have to follow. These standards are...

Wouldn’t it be nice to take time off from work and take an actual break? To many, this may seem impossible due to work constraints and peer pressure in the workplace that prevents people from actually taking their vacation days. I know that for many years I did not take my full allocation of vacation days - it seemed that there was just always too much work to do.

Luckily, many businesses are embracing the idea of mandatory vacation days in an effort to keep their employees happy and healthy. Although required by law in most countries around the world, allocated vacation days or paid time off, often go unused by employees. According to Expedia’s Vacation Deprivation Study, 31 million vacation days were unused by Canadians in 2016. In 2018, 768 million vacation days in the United States went unused.

Clearly there is an issue at hand. Employees are feeling that they are unable to take their vacation days, often due to demanding work schedules, looming deadlines, and...

The holiday season is all too often overtaken by the messages and tradition of consumerism. But what if we could break away from this consumptive habit and get back to what is meaningful? Could we use this as an opportunity to do important work? Could we focus our attention on elevating humanity rather than just buying more stuff?

As the holiday seasons approach and our minds shift into gift-giving mode, it is easy to become hyper-aware of all the sales being offered on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. After all, great deals can be tough to ignore! Despite the fact that Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other deals are advertised throughout the holidays, it is important to remember that this time of year isn’t about physical items. Instead, it is a time of giving, volunteering, and spreading kindness to others! In order to encourage people to do good and be generous, GivingTuesday was created!

What is GivingTuesday?

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement that occurs every...