Feeling Green and Doing My Bit for the Environment

Summer: Feeling Green and Doing My Bit for the Environment
Credit: MS Office ClipArt: Floral Leaf Green

It Is Summer Time: Feeling Green and Doing My Bit for the Environment

It is summer, hurray. It is the silly season for news. So why not talk about something light – my composting Red Wiggler worms. Like any proud pet owner, I am very going to boast how well they are eating my fruit and vegetable leftovers. They are verifiable eating machines. And like any other pet owner, I worry: are they too warm, too cold, do they have enough oxygen, do they like their box, should I put air conditioning into their box, shall I buy gourmet apples, would music help …

But joking aside, I have often been asked why I would do vermicomposting at home, in my apartment, something so yucky (my mother’s words). It is actually really clean, but I guess worms can cause a certain emotional response.

Well, it is all about doing your bit for the environment, even in on a small scale. I do not have access to a garden to do proper composting and getting my little wigglers was the next best thing. Also, as a sidebar, I need to eat more fruit and vegetable and since I refuse to go shopping for my worms, I need to consume suitable quantities myself to keep them alive. So I eat more healthily, do my bit for the environment and feel good about it. And those worms are actually quite interesting; it’s like having a strange terrarium.

Being a contractor with an emphasis on green of course we would encourage all our clients to implement green measures, such as day lighting, sun shading, heat sinks, heat recovery units and even solar, geothermal and wind power. Of course solar and wind get really exciting when you can convince your neighbours to put solar cells and wind mills on their roofs as well.

Large scale installations are so much more effective. For example, Partners in Project Green: the area around Pearson airport is an eco-business zone which includes four municipal jurisdictions – the Region of Peel, City of Toronto, City of Mississauga and City of Brampton. Here businesses implement green measures to help their bottom line.

But we also get excited about smaller community projects such as Project Neutral. These projects inspire people to change their attitudes and in their own way try to do as much as possible; change light bulbs to energy efficient ones, change their appliances, upgrade their insulation and much more.

But back to my worms. They may not be mainstream, but in their way they help me be more green.

Martina Ernst
President/CEO
Wo-Built Inc. - Innovative Design and Build

links:
wobuilt.com/blog: From Worms to Green Building

wobuilt.com/blog: Carbon Neutral Neighbourhood Project Launch in Toronto

slideshare.net: Green Design and Build - Wo-Built's Presentation

+ feedback on the web

Screenshot: Feeling Green and Doing My Bit for the Environment
The Composting Daily, Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Published by CompostMania.com

Feeling Green and Doing My Bit for the Environment
wobuilt.blogspot.com - Summer: Feeling Green and Doing My Bit for the Environment
Squirm

RT @wobuilt: Feeling Green and Doing My Bit for the Environment http://bit.ly/rhQGVT - from composting worms to big projects #projectneutral
@Squirm Cathy Nesbitt, Toronto

@Squirm many thanks. The worms seem to be doing splendidly. Trying to keep them cool during the heat wave. #vermicomposting
@wobuilt

That's great. Many thanks @Squirm bit.ly/pQzpOE Your blog was included in The Composting Daily! #vermicomposting
@wobuilt